Thick as Thieves

A Ball Fit For A Queen Part II

Cecilia:

“You led me through the grand entrance of the castle, only to duck into the first door you saw in the hallway because you were frightened of what might have happened to you if one of the guards had recognised you?” I asked Emil, stunned by his sudden reaction.

He shrugged and smiled apologetically.

I groaned. “And now, we’re lost, thanks to you, because you thought it best to escape through a labyrinth of dusty hallways leading to who knows where?”

“I suppose?”

“How do you expect me to become your wife if you can’t even reason rationally, Emil? Am I and Eric really going to be safe and provided for by this behaviour?” I took off the mask and brushed small locks of my hair out of my face, heaved and sneezed hard. If the accumulation of dust made it hard for me to breathe, despite the gut-wrenching corset, I don’t know how Emil feels when he stifles a cough.

Emil wanted to speak but he coughed into his handkerchief again. The sounds that came from his chest had me worried, as well as the wheezing sounds he made when we hastily ran through the corridors. He needed help, but blimey, was he stubborn!

I patted him on his back, not knowing how it would help.

“We need to get you something to soothe that throat,” I said whilst wiping my nose. “We’ve been breathing in dust for too long.”

“I’m…fine,” he said between coughs.

I rolled my eyes, grabbed his hand, and laced my fingers through his.

“I agreed to this stupid scheme of yours not only to help other people, Emil, but you as well. Promise me you’ll attend a physician as soon as possible?”

“Fine,” he said, apparently gaining his breath again. “I will promise you, but only if you accept to be my wife.” I did not know how to react when he sank down on his right knee and held my hand tight. “Cecilia. Will you do me the greatest honour and make me the happiest man in this world and marry me?”

My hand flew to my mouth. It was not exactly the most romantic place to be proposed, but I guess it’s his sneaky way of making me marry him – by playfully manipulating me into marriage and him making a promise to look after himself once we'd gotten what we wanted. Hypothetically, it was a win-win situation, but I cannot help but feel forced, though gently, to accept Emil’s marriage proposal. He knew I cared for him deeply. He’s my best friend, someone who rescued me from a life filled with dread and poverty and taught me everything I know. If it weren’t for him at the time, I would have been dead by now and for that I shall remain forever grateful. Ideally, thanking him for all he has done for me would be accepting his proposal, but committing myself to someone when I am still young and free from the burdens of parents pressuring me to marry for wealth and power was not something I had initially planned for. In the future, maybe.

However, I know Emil well enough to know that he will not seek a physician’s aid if I don’t accept.

“Yes,” I told him. “I will marry you.”

A smile as bright as daylight lit up his features and he stood up and embraced me lovingly. He leaned in for a kiss, from which I turned away.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “Can’t I kiss my wife-to-be?”

“You must get better first,” I told him, but softly pressed my lips to his cheek. “No kissing until the bleeding stops, alright?”

He pouted but nodded in understanding. “I know. It must be a disgusting sight…”

“Not at all,” I reassured him. “It just worries me, Emil. You’ve been coughing blood ever since we set foot on the Isle.”

“I still reckon it’s the climate.”

“I still reckon you should see a physician, like you’ve just promised…” I crossed my arms challengingly.

“Sometimes I forget how cunning you are,” Emil mused and smiled.

Look who’s talking, I added in my mind, but did not let the thought slip out. “Come,” I said. “We need to find a way out of here.”

Our footsteps echoed through the stone-walled corridors, until we eventually came across people dressed to serve partygoers, pouring wine from casks into pitchers and servants carrying treats from the kitchen through a small door, which must lead to the ballroom. Emil and I hid behind a pillar supporting the roof to observe whether the people would stop carrying things from the kitchens.

Eventually, the last man carrying a tart walked down the hallway through the small door.

“The coast is clear,” I told Emil, and we walked past the casks, not missing the sobs coming from behind a tapestry dangling from the ceiling.

“I don’t know what I am going to do,” I heard a woman sob. “I just cannot keep up with this façade anymore, Devon. I can’t! How do they expect me to rule? Me! A bloody decoy for a princess who may be dead for all I care!”

“It’s alright,” a man’s voice soothes the wailing woman. “There must be a way out of here. I know the opportunity will present itself. Just don’t let the king see you in such a state, Luna.”

Emil and I spared each other a glance. Boy, what drama was there within the walls of this castle?

Emil began wheezing and soon he coughed again, busting us eavesdropping on a conversation we weren’t supposed to hear. Two figures emerged from behind the tapestry: a man dressed in chainmail and carrying a sword on the hip and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, tears staining her blotchy face, evidence that she'd been crying.

Shit.

“Halt!” I heard her order and the armoured man held out his sword towards us. I froze and shielded Emil’s form with my own, giving him a chance to recover.

The woman regarded me from head to toe, taking in my whole form. From the tacky dress with its bows and beads to the way my hair is styled and the mask in my hand. I returned the favour and regarded her pale skin, her dark brown eyes and long, dark hair that fell in curls down her back. It was her neck where my gaze focused, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not look away. Around her neck was the most extraordinary piece of jewellery I have ever seen! A delicate silver chain decorated her collarbones and in the middle, a glowing, white gemstone hung between her breasts. On the gemstone was a fine engraving of a drooping flower that resembled the banners I saw in the grand entryway of the castle.

“How do they call you?” she asked me, tearing my gaze away from her necklace. “And what business do you have to be wearing the very gown the princess wears?”

“Pardon?” I asked, stupefied.

“Her highness wishes to know your name,” the armed man asked in her stead. “Who are you?”

“Cecilia,” I blurted, inwardly cussing. s**t, why did I tell them my real name?

“Tell me, Cecilia,” the woman spoke up. “Where did you find this dress?”

Emil placed his hands on my shoulders to push me behind him. “A seamstress had it made,” he stated while clearing his throat. “What’s it got to do with you?”

“Show some respect, good heavens!” the armoured man called. “Who are you to address her highness in such a rude way? One more word from both of you and I shall cut right through…”

He was cut off by the woman raising her hand to silence him. “What’s the seamstress’s name?”

“Betty,” I answered, checking with Emil if I recalled the woman of the inn’s name correctly. “She runs an inn not too far from the city.”

I saw the woman’s eyes gaining a sudden glimmer of hope as she turned to the man. “My mother… do you hear that, Devon? If we don’t take this opportunity, I might never get to see her again!”

“What the hell are you talking about, lady?” Emil asked, only to be replied with a sword’s blade in his face.

“Are you blind? Your lady friend is wearing the exact same dress as the princess!”

I glanced down at my gown with the bows and beads and compared it with hers. It was identical, but how?

“I’m not sure what is going on,” I told the woman. “But please, know that I meant no offence…”

“No,” she quieted me. “No, you have not. In fact, you have given me hope!” She hugged me. “Thank you! Thank you! I will never forget what you have done!”

As I struggled to find the right words for the baffling situation, the woman took the necklace from her neck and placed the beautiful jewel around mine, before smiling at me.

“My prayers have been answered and now I am free! Good luck.” She curtseyed, grabbed hold of the man’s hand. “Your highness,” she said and led the man down the corridor Emil and I came from.

I glanced over to him. “What was that?”

He, too, was gobsmacked. “These people are really something special,” he mused before laughing. He carefully tucked locks of hair behind my ears and took the mask from my grasp before fastening it around my head. “Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight, my betrothed?”

A smile formed on my face that did not reach my eyes as a guilty feeling settled in my stomach. Good heavens, how will I be able to tell him…? “I think you have told me back at the inn.”

Emil placed a kiss on my hand. “I mean it, Cecilia. I care not what the other people in our hideout might say. To me, ever since I’ve found you, you are the most beautiful girl I have laid my eyes upon.” He softly caressed my cheek. “To think you’re going to be my wife…”

“Let’s not get too sentimental,” I said, stepping away from his touch. He frowned, but I reminded him, “What about that thing you ought to get here? Something that will change our lives for the better?”

“Oh, yes. Of course.” Emil revealed a simple black mask and placed it over his eyes. “We need to inspect every jewel worn by every noble in the room. I cannot describe it, but I was told by my father when he was still alive that the Waevian royal family had something extremely precious within the castle’s inventory and that only the heirs to the throne are deemed worthy enough to even gaze upon it.”

“That’s a load of bull,” I said to him. “What makes the royal family of this place better than the rest of us?”

“Hush now, Celia. My father would not have lied about this. All his life he searched for this kind of gemstone. It was said to be an enchanted charm, kissed by the moon itself.”

“What does that even mean? Are these people getting drunk on fungus growing on their highlands or something? The moon cannot kiss anything!”

Emil sighed. “Must you be such a killjoy?”

“I’ve had it too hard in life to believe in idiotic fairy tales, Emil,” I said to him. “Besides, myths are exactly what they are: myths. Stories made up by the elderly to teach the younger generations some valuable life lessons.”

“So, are you telling me that you don’t believe in fate? Magic? Miracles?”

I looked down at the palms of my hand. “I don’t,” I told him earnestly. “But what I do know is that if we stall longer, Lani might be wondering what’s been going on. So, are you going to be an escort for this prissy noblewoman or not?”

Emil chuckled. “Always to the point with you, eh, my lady?” He bowed mockingly. “I am your humble servant.”

We walked towards the door and opened it, greeted by a large room with crystal chandeliers dangling from the high, domed ceilings. The room itself was fascinatingly stunning! White walls with golden accents, ferns and ivy decorate the marble pillars that support the floors above. A platform was set on one side, complete with a feasting banquet table fit for a king and queen to dine at, while various other seating and tables were set around the dance floor in the middle. The room smelled of the wine that was served and the sweat of the guests that danced. Lani performed on the other side of the vast room, her curvaceous figure swaying to her music while she enchanted every man and woman present. I brushed the curtain aside, stepping out into the light and revealed myself to the many guests that attended, not at all wanting to attract unnecessary attention.

To no avail…

As soon as the beads of my dress glimmered in the light, the music ceased to play. Every head turned in the direction where Emil and I stood, as if he and I had committed some scandalous deed within the shadows.

“Why are they all looking at me?” I whispered nervously to Emil.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back.

He led me to a banquet table and took two goblets of wine, offered me one, and we entertained a toast. For whatever reason he toasted for, I did not know. Maybe because he proposed?

“Your highness!” someone called, and I paid no heed. Let the royals do their thing, I thought, as I glanced over the table with all the delicious foods presented for the evening. Good heavens, are these people really going to eat all of this?

Suddenly, a strange old man adorning a golden crown on his head startled me immensely, making me jump and let out a little yelp.

“Eluna, where have you been?” the old man asked. “And who’s the man you came out of that corridor with?” I did not know what to say, as the old man seemed to speak to me, but he also didn’t, which placed me in an uncomfortable position. “Do you have any idea the rumours that can circulate of an unmarried princess was in the presence of a gentleman without a chaperone?”

“Oh, darling,” another stranger chimed in. She was heavily pregnant; had hair the colour of snow and her eyes were the most eerie pair of eyes I have ever seen. “I’m sure her highness has a decent excuse. She was seen entering the servants’ corridors; this gentleman may have aided her on her way out.”

Phew! Whoever she was, I clearly owed her something for saving my sorry arse out of that awkward situation.

“Besides, weren’t you just dancing with Count da Silva before you took a little rendezvous, your highness?” she asked me with a sweet smile.

Count who? Who’s the old man with a crown? Why were they all addressing me as ‘your highness’? First it was the woman at the wine casks with a dress identical to mine, and now a super pregnant woman? What in the world is going on?

“It’s quite alright, your majesties,” a low, baritone voice spoke up. The man was incredibly tall, towering over Emil, and built like an ox, as his clothes seemed as if they could rip at any moment if he moved too quickly. His jet-black hair curled just past his shoulders and a slight stubble could be seen on his jaw. His eyes, though, were shielded by a golden mask which reminded me of the sun. “I’m sure her highness feels quite better after a breather. I fault her not, for the room can get too humid with all the warm bodies and the freezing temperatures outside.”

I was speechless. Who was I talking to?

I looked nervously over to Emil, but he just shrugged and whispered to me, “Just play along.”

“My apologies,” I spoke up, surprised that my own voice sounded so cool and calm. “But the claustrophobia got the overhand for a moment, I just had to catch my breath.” Of course, it would be improper of a woman from high society to mention her corset is the culprit for her breathlessness. “You were saying we danced before I suddenly…” s**t, what is the right wording?

“Shall we continue where we left off?” His smile was warm. It made me think of a place where the summer would never end, with cloudless skies and pleasant temperatures.

A proper noblewoman would curtsey before accepting a hand that would lead her to a dance floor, or so I think. It felt uncanny to bend one knee only halfway before rising again. A soothing, slightly romantic melody began playing. I glanced over my shoulder to see Lani winking at me whilst strumming her lute and I reckoned I would have a serious word with her afterwards. What is she aiming at by playing this type of music?

The tall, dark stranger took me in his arms. I felt an urge to run away coming over me, before feeling his hand on the small of my back. Blimey, what’s going on with me? I can’t move!

“Your highness,” he stated. “I’m sure dancing does involve some movement.”

I felt my ears heat up and blood pooling to my cheeks. “O-of course,” I stammered. Why am I stammering?! “It’s just… I haven’t danced in a while.” It’s the truth, after all. I’ve never gotten the chance to learn.

Every eye seemed to be on me and the stranger, and for whatever reason, I began to feel rigid and stiff, mortified about being placed in the limelight like that. Was this Emil’s plan all along?

“Your highness, I need you to relax.”

“How?” I asked incredulously. “How must I relax when everyone is watching…?”

I don’t know what happened.

I felt my eyes widen at the feel of something firm, yet soft, brushed on my lips. I breathed in the scent of earth and pine trees, the scents making my lids flutter closed and giving in to the strange, pleasurable sensation.

The tall stranger kissed me softly and I was not appalled by it. Not at all.