“Thank you, Gwen.” Estelle smiled at the servant girl as she placed a tray of food on the table. “You may leave now.”
“Are you sure, milady?” she asked tenderly, and Estelle smiled back, nodding.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry. I plan to grab a book from the library and return to my room. If I need anything, I’ll send for you,” she said in her nice voice and the girl nodded, satisfied. Estelle waited for her to leave and then erased the smile from her face. It wasn’t that she disliked the girl, in fact, she had grown accustomed to her, but she wanted to be alone and Gwen had been finding things to clean and arrange around Estelle’s room for the past hour.
Estelle waited a few minutes to make sure Gwen was gone and then headed toward the door, grabbing a book from the table next to the window. It was a romance story like the ones her mother liked to read, but she had no interest in the boring, too-good-to-be-true tales that most ladies sighed at and drooled over. Well, most ladies outside of Roder.
Estelle opened the door and stepped into the corridor, where she was immediately greeted by her two guards. They straightened up in their places as she gave them a bright smile.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she said, lifting her book up to her chest. “Would one of you be so kind as to accompany me to the queen’s chambers?”
They exchanged a silent glance and nodded, one of them stepping forward.
“And you. Varen, was it?” She turned toward the other one, who nodded stiffly. “Would you be so kind as to fetch me some candles?” The man nodded, and she flashed him her most charming smile. “Thank you. Let’s go.”
She noticed that Varen walked in the opposite direction and decided that it was time to proceed with her plan. Her guard followed her close behind without asking questions or engaging her in a conversation, and she was glad for that.
“We’ll be going to my mother’s chambers first, as I have to give her these books back, and then to the kitchens since I am craving apple pie,” she told him, and the man nodded. Usually, she always slipped away without her guards finding out, and that’s why her mother always scolded them for failing to fulfill their duty. Those two were new, or at least Estelle didn’t know them well, so the chances of her plan succeeding were pretty good.
After a few minutes, she stopped abruptly, and the guard almost crashed into her.
“Ugh, I am so stupid!” she exclaimed, hitting her forehead. “I forgot the other book!” She let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to face the man. “My mother’s chambers are at the end of this corridor. Can you go back to my room and get the book? It’s on the table by the window. I’ll be waiting for you in her chambers. Please!” Her pleading smile made him hesitate. “I’m not lying! You know where the queen’s chambers are. Please, I don’t want to go all the way back! I’ll be in your debt!”
“Of course, milady. Just… wait for me in the queen’s chambers.”
Estelle nodded with a bright smile and he turned his back on her, quickly disappearing down the corridor. She waited until he was out of sight, then glanced in the direction of her mother’s chambers. That had been disappointingly easy.
Chuckling, she took the other corridor that would take her to the library. She had won herself at least half an hour if they were smart, or an entire hour if they had actually believed she was planning to go to the kitchens after.
Upon reaching the doors of the library, she looked around, but there was nobody as usual. Few people came here beside her, and they seldom stayed longer than they needed to. The ones she had to worry about, Reinhart and his apprentice, Aaron, were probably in there, so she had to think of a way to get them off her back. Or at least one of them.
She pushed the heavy door open, wincing at the creak that reverberated through the library. So much for getting in unnoticed. She ought to get those stupid hinges greased again.
“Estelle?” A familiar voice made her jump, and she quickly found its source, sighing in relief. A head appeared from behind one of the tall shelves, followed by the thin frame it was attached to. The apprentice of the Keeper of the Chronicles of Roder was a skinny boy around her height, with pitch-black hair and a crooked nose. His long face was covered in dust and there was dirt on his left cheek, but he seemed unaware. Estelle tried not to laugh, wondering if she should gift him a mirror for his next birthday.
Aaron cleared his throat and straightened up a little, looking behind her as if searching for something. “Where are your guards? I thought you were supposed to have guards with you at all times since you refuse to take a Guardian.”
She ignored him, trying to figure out if Reinhart was hiding somewhere nearby. Aaron raised his eyebrows questionably, and she smirked, finally meeting his gaze.
“They are outside.” She shrugged. Such small talk annoyed her immensely, but that whole charade was for the old Keeper, who was trying to keep a very close eye on her for the king. She knew well how to protect her secrets, but his persistence was annoying. Aaron, on the other side, had been loyal to her, and she considered him something of a friend, one of the few she had. The only one, actually.
She had not revealed to him the fact that she had magic, although she suspected that Reinhart might have mentioned that. Or not. In any case, he had not asked her directly, and she had not confessed either, which worked for her splendidly.
“Right,” he snorted, scratching the back of his neck. “So… what can I do for you today, milady?” he asked in a mocking tone, bowing down. Estelle gave him a sharp look, trying to suppress her smile. She still couldn’t see Reinhart, but judging by Aaron’s behavior, he was probably somewhere nearby. Not that their friendship needed to be a secret, but she was positive that Reinhart would find a way to exploit that connection and ruin it.
“I need a book,” she said. “It’s called Chronicles of the Kings of Roder. Volume one, two, and three.” His eyebrows went even higher, and she rolled her eyes. “Do you know where it is or not?”
“I’ll get it for you,” he replied slowly, his eyes still watching her carefully. “Anything else you need me to find?”
“You can return this one,” she replied calmly, handing him the book she was holding. Sticking out of the front page was a note he couldn’t have missed — instructions of what she was actually looking for. He pulled the piece of paper and grinned, but then smoothed his face before walking away.
The moment he disappeared, she rushed toward the third shelf from the door where she had hidden the small treasure she found the other day. Reaching out, she pulled it from behind the neatly lined books on the front. One of them almost fell on top of her head, and she cursed quietly. When she finally got the small, neatly bound book she was looking for, she stared at it with a grin. The sound of heavy steps coming closer made her hide the book behind her back just as Reinhart appeared next to her.
“Good day, Princess Estelle. It’s good to see you. Can I help you with something?” he asked while she tried to keep a polite smile on her face.
“Your apprentice is already looking for the books I asked about, thank you.” She turned to walk away, but the Keeper’s voice stopped her.
“What is the name of the book you just took?” he asked, and she slowly turned to look over her shoulder. “So I can write it in the ledger, in case anyone else comes looking for it.”
She cursed silently and turned to face him, fingers squeezing the two books she was holding. She didn’t get the chance to put back the one that had fallen and now she was very glad about that, since it was much bigger and thicker than the one she had come to find.
“Oh, this?” She raised the bigger book, trying to keep hers behind it. “It’s called ‘Official customs and etiquette of the court, tome one’.” Estelle tried to hold her smile, but the situation was so ridiculous she almost gave up the pretense. “With the Anamirian guests coming, I thought it might be a good idea to brush up on my knowledge. I don’t want to make a mistake or offend them.”
“I see.” He looked at her just as distrustfully, his infuriating smile still on his face. Estelle felt a sudden chill running through her as if a wind had just blown in her direction. The windows were all closed to keep the afternoon chill away, so she looked around, puzzled. She could swear somebody had used magic just now, but Reinhart definitely hadn’t moved a muscle. “Are you alright, Princess Estelle?”
“I’m fine,” she murmured, shaking her head. Fortunately for her, Aaron appeared with a small pile of books in his hands and a wide smile on his face, which immediately disappeared before Reinhart could see him. He cleared his throat, offering Estelle the pile, but she simply laughed.
“I’m not carrying all of that. You’ll help me bring them to my room. You don’t mind, Reinhart, do you?” She glanced at the Keeper, who just shook his head, his eyes following them as they left the library.
Taking the servants’ routes and some of the less used corridors helped to avoid any guards, and the servants that crossed their path were too busy with their business to pay them any mind. When they finally reached her room, she found one of the guards marching nervously at the threshold, one hand on his sword, one balled into a fist. When he saw her, his face reddened to the point she was ready to laugh. Following her better judgment, she simply tilted her head, smiling again.
“Here you are, Varen! Did you get my candles?” He pursed his lips as if he was holding back a retort, so she waited until he bottled his embarrassment. Her other guard was nowhere in sight, but by the reaction of his fellow soldier, she was sure the poor man was running circles in the castle, searching for her.
“Yes, milady. They are in your room,” he said in a flat tone.
“Excellent!” She stepped toward the door, waiting until he opened it. Aaron followed her in, but the guard hesitated before closing it as if there was anywhere she could go. She wished there was, but her room had only one entrance and she doubted she could sneak past him now. Not right away, anyway.
When she found her room empty, she sighed in relief, stepping toward the open window across from the door. She tossed ‘Official customs and etiquette of the court, tome one’ on the table next to the lunch she never touched and leaned forward, pulling the handle of the window.
“You shouldn’t ditch your guards like that, they are there to protect you. What if a demon appears and attacks you and there are no guards with you?” Aaron said in a disapproving tone.
“I can take care of myself,” Estelle murmured, staring at the gray sky above where thick clouds were piling up in the distance, and by the looks of it, they were heading in their direction. Estelle shook her head, then closed the window, returning to the middle of the room. Her eyes stopped on the chair next to the wall and she stepped toward it, moving it in front of the door and putting its back under the doorknob. Aaron watched her with bewilderment, still holding the books.
“They have the annoying habit of checking on me every now and then,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “So, what do you have for me there?” She grinned, extending her hand. Aaron passed her the much smaller book hidden between the big tomes. She didn’t care that he watched her, she didn’t care that he was there. She had a new spellbook and Reinhart didn’t know about it.
“Why are you so interested in those magic books?” Aaron asked, placing the rest of his load on her table. Estelle avoided looking at him, pretending to be studying the book’s intricate cover. “As far as I know, magic has been dead for ages. That gibberish would only work for magic users. For you or me — it would be like trying to speak the Old Tongue. When I think about it, parts of those spells are in the Old Tongue…”
“How do you know that?” she asked, raising her eyebrows questionably.
“Well, I know a bit of the Old Tongue and I recognize some words and constructions… Don’t judge, Master made me study it…” he murmured, blushing under her gaze. She actually meant how he knew magic was dead, but his answer was saving her from one very dangerous discussion. To her surprise, Aaron continued. “Take this book, for example. When I was going through it, I noticed some very powerful spells — at least the effects of them, and the consequences seemed quite extreme. Some of them can hurt a lot of people if used the wrong way. No wonder Master had hidden it so well.”
“Which spells?” she asked quickly, cursing her own haste. She was just so impatient to get started with it that she now wondered why she even asked for his assistance. “Why do you think that? Why would somebody put normal spells in the same book as dark magic spells?”
“They are not dark magic,” Aaron replied with a shake of his head. “One of them was about helping the crops grow faster, which is great. On the other side, the same spell could be used to destroy the crops completely. There is another spell that would allow two magic users to link their minds and talk through that connection. It can also allow one very powerful wizard or a witch to invade the thoughts or the dreams of another with the same spell. Imagine power like this in the wrong hands.”
Still pondering over her thoughts, Estelle nodded. Her mind kept going back to the book and its contents and she was still holding it in her arms, close to her as if somebody would try to take it.
“So you don’t think magic should be given just to anybody?” she mused, glancing at him. He shrugged, as if it was more than obvious. “Well, what if magic is not something you choose? What if it chooses you? There must be a balance, good and bad, light and dark. That is how the world works. There can’t be one without the other.”
“True.” Aaron nodded, scratching his nose. “But you forget the demons. They are bad, the dark — call it as you wish. Those with magic have to be their opposite, not their supporters as it happened in the past…”
“You’re wrong.” Estelle turned her back on him, heading toward the bed and taking a seat in it. Aaron didn’t speak, so she looked up — he was watching her, waiting for her to elaborate. “The magic users are not the opposite of the demons. Humans are. The sorcerers are the catalyst between them. And if they are all good, there will be no balance.” He kept on looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. “Anyhow, I’m actually a bit tired, so I think I’ll be going to bed early. Do you think you can slip out tomorrow for a walk? I’m sure we’ll be able to evade my guards for an hour or two.”
“Sure.” He nodded, his face reddening as she smiled at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He headed toward the door, removed the chair that was blocking it and left. She barely waited for the door to close before she waved with her hand, forcing the chair to take its previous position by itself. Suddenly full of energy, she jumped to her feet, opening the book in her hands. Her eyes slid through the first page and she smiled, her magic already dancing on her fingertips.