Chapter 18

I wanted to storm over there and demand Kirsten apologize for accepting thanks for a gift she hadn’t given. But I couldn’t do so without revealing to Nicholas that I was the one who had given it. If Nicholas knew the truth, he’d assume the worst.

He’d think the gift was disingenuous, and that I was just chasing after his crown.

I didn’t want nobility. I didn’t want to be his wife, or girlfriend, or whatever else.

I only wanted medical care for Elva. So I kept my mouth firmly shut.

Julian plucked my dropped bow off the ground and handed it to me. “Something on your mind, Piper?” His knowing smirk returned tenfold.

I wasn’t in the mood for his games anymore.

I turned in my bow and went back to my room.

After a group lesson with the dancing instructor, all of the girls rested in the parlor, accepting water and towels from the servants.

Nathan stood nearby, loudly discussing the proper rules for the First Ball. The princes would each take a turn dancing with all the ladies. However, the order was randomized, for fairness.

Some of the girls bemoaned the randomness. “I never have any luck.”

Others, like Kirsten, seemed confident that things would pull in their favor.

“Don’t forget that Prince Nicholas invited me to sit next to him at the banquet,” Kirsten said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he pulled a few strings to dance with me first as well.”

“It’s supposed to be random,” someone hissed.

Kirsten rolled her eyes. “Nothing is ever random.”

I did my best to ignore her, still irritated over Nicholas’s gift.

To calm myself, I focused on Elva instead. I lifted her and twirled her through the air. She giggled in delight. The sound soothed me like a balm over my wounded heart.

“Will there be candies at the ball?” Elva asked, when I’d stopped spinning.

“I bet they’ll have all kinds of deserts. Candies and cakes. And the gowns, Elva….”

“More pretty dresses?” Elva asked.

I nodded. “So many. And yours will be the prettiest of all.” I pulled her in and kissed her cheek.

“Like a princess,” Susie said from beside us. Elva smiled at her.

“We’ll have to look like princess to attract the attention of the princes,” said one of the girls.

“What kind of dress do you think they’d prefer?” asked another.

The theme for the First Ball was ‘Blessings of the Moon Goddess.’ What that meant was open to interpretation.

Most of the girls seemed to be leaning toward the classic look of the Moon Goddess. They’d wear dresses in shiny silver or white, with teardrop-shaped headpieces.

Kirsten halted all friendly conversation by saying, “I’m not sharing what I’m going to wear. Why would I give my competition any chances to outdo me?”

The girls quieted after that, looking at each other suspiciously.

Gradually, the group of us disbanded, and I returned with Elva to our room.

My maids were hard at work on my own gown.

“Can’t we make it shorter?” the talkative maid suggested. “A short dress would accentuate Miss Piper’s graceful figure.”

The quiet maid disagreed. “You know the royal family disapproves of inappropriately-dressed women. We can’t even make the gloves too short, let alone the hemline.”

The talkative maid begrudgingly agreed. They both looked at me.

“What do you think, Miss Piper?”

Honestly, I didn’t have a clue. I hadn’t been aware of any of the fashion trends even when I’d attended the Royal Academy.

Still, I knew enough to know that I wanted to stand out. “What about a bright color?”

The talkative maid gasped in excitement. “Yellow. We could make it yellow!”

The quiet maid pondered it a moment. “The color of harvest, appropriate for the current season.”

“And it represents the true blessing of the Moon Goddess!”

They both nodded, finally in agreement.

They removed the dress they had been working on and added it to the scrap pile.

“What are you doing with that?” I hurried to the discarded dress.

“It’s all wrong,” the talkative maid said. “The color’s too dark, and it’s not shapely enough. We can do better.”

“Don’t throw it out.” I held the dress protectively to my chest.

They both looked at me. “Why not?”

“It’s beautiful, and you both worked so hard on it. Let me keep it. I don’t have to wear it to the First Ball, but I’d like to wear it at some point.”

They glanced at each other.

“It’s up to you, Miss Piper,” the talkative maid said. “Everything in here is a gift to you. If you would like to keep it, that’s your decision.”

I smiled, relieved. I really didn’t want such a beautiful gown to go to waste. I went to the closet and hung it inside.

As I admired it, hanging among the other beautiful gowns, Elva came running into the room.

“Mommy! The scary guards are here!”

“What?” I rushed out of the closet. Elva followed, but I made sure to keep her behind me.

Three guards were in the room. One stood at the door while the other two closed in around my talkative maid.

“I didn’t do anything!” the maid called out.

I nodded to the quiet one, who took hold of Elva’s hand, keeping her safely out of the way. Then I hurried forward.

“What is the meaning of this?” I insisted.

The third guard, the one by the door, stepped forward. “Apologies, ma’am, but your maid has been accused of stealing royal dress materials.”

“It’s not true, Miss Piper, I swear!”

“She says she didn’t do it, and I believe her,” I said.

The guard seemed sympathetic, despite his harsh words. “It’s not up to you, ma’am. She’ll need to be investigated.”

“So investigate her. You don’t have to take her away.”

The guards each grabbed one of the maid’s arms and tugged her toward the door.

“We do,” the guard told me. “She’ll need to be interrogated --”

“Interrogated! That’s outrageous. You can’t take someone away without knowing for sure they are at fault.”

The guard shook his head. “We can if it is on palace grounds. These are palace affairs. I’m sorry, ma’am, but this is just how things are done. Please stand aside.”

The maid was pale, with wide frightened eyes. Still, she said, “Don’t get involved, Miss Piper. I’ll be okay.”

“But –”

“I’m innocent, right? When they figure that out, they’ll let me go, and everything will be okay.” Her voice trembled. I didn’t know if she believed what she was saying.

I wanted to fight for her, but I didn’t know what to say or do.

“Don’t risk Elva,” the maid said, and I froze.

She was right. If I made too many waves, Elva might be in danger again.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

She gave me a sad sort of smile. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

Then the two guards tugged her away. The third guard remained.

“A replacement maid has been assigned to you, with this new absence,” the guard said. He stepped out into the hallway and waved someone closer.

A woman followed him back into the room.

At first glance, she appeared friendly enough, smiling peacefully. She curtsied to me and introduced herself.

“I’m looking forward to serving you,” she said.

But I found it strange… Surely she had passed my other maid being taken away down the hall.

What kind of person would be smiling so calmly after having witnessed such a thing?