CHAPTER FOUR
To call the carriage ride back awkward would be putting it mildly. I couldn’t tell Donya the truth because the guards might overhear, and the carriage driver definitely would.
Donya sat in the seat across from me, staring warily. A bruise covered her left cheek. She’d looked so tall before, and now she was smaller than me. Coldly, she said, “I suppose you’re taking me somewhere less public to execute me.”
“No, absolutely not! I’d never—I mean, I’ve realized that your help would be invaluable to me in running this country.” I tried my best to sound convincing. Yanking at my bodice, I tried to make it cover a little more of my chest.
Donya gazed at me with the face of someone afraid to feel hope.
Then she glanced out the window. I had a bad feeling she was counting the number of guards.
What should I do if she tried to run off?
I didn’t want to imprison her, but I desperately needed her.
If only she would stay long enough for us to be alone, then I would tell her everything.
“My la—um, D-Donya, I apologize for my earlier actions. Please, just hear me out. Once we’re alone, I’ll explain everything. ” I winked frantically.
Donya’s eyebrows rose. “I suppose you realized that you need me as a hostage to use against Ysabel, since Bora escaped. At least that means she must have gotten out of the city.”
“Oh, Bora is fine—” Except I wasn’t fine.
I’d accidentally committed treason, and my real body was off who-knew-where doing who-knew-what.
My breath hitched. My chin wobbled. (All that fat.
I was fine with fat. Fat wasn’t a bad word.
I felt sick. I was not fine. I wanted to cut off the wobbly bit with a knife.) I gagged.
A sob heaved my body. I bit my lip hard to prevent another tear from slipping out.
Donya looked at me with bafflement and disgust. I could not stand to see that contemptuous look in her eyes. If we couldn’t get back to the palace soon, I would break down.
Rubbing my eyes, I stuck my head up front and screamed at the driver, “Faster!”
Whatever he saw on my face absolutely terrified him. He nodded and urged the horses on.
I quickly learned that by barking orders at people, I could get stuff done.
All I had to do was order the footman to find a private room, and one manifested.
I’d made certain to clear the room of all staff, even ordering the guards away from the door so we wouldn’t be overheard.
Donya sat in the palace parlor holding a mug of hot tea.
The bruising had steadily turned more purple.
I approached holding a cold cloth. “This is for your face. The doctor added herbs …”
She slapped my hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
I’d been through far too much today. Nearly being executed, throwing myself off the city wall, having my body stolen. I burst into tears.
Donya gaped with wide eyes.
“My lady, I don’t know what to do,” I sobbed. “I’m so scared! I’m not the duchess! I’m Bora!”
“Sherdan humor?” Donya asked weakly.
“It really is me! Princess Antonia has a body-swapping gift. I became the duchess, and she’s me. I don’t know how to make you believe me.” I rubbed at the tears pouring down my cheeks.
Donya gazed at me only with calculation, no sympathy. “You seem to have fallen ill, Your Grace. I’ll summon a doctor at the palace.”
“I see that look! You want to have me committed to a mental institution.” I sniffled.
“Please, I needed you to save me from such a fate. Like how you saved me from Falael when we first met.” Crap, that didn’t work, the Blood Duchess had been there, too.
“Then you introduced me to your stablemaster, Vestan?” His name was probably common knowledge.
Unfortunately, I had not known Donya long enough for us to have shared any personal identifying secrets, though I lived in hopes of us reaching such a place later.
“The doctor will help you, Your Grace.” Donya wasn’t a good actor. Despite her attempt to sound soothing, menace slipped in. The doctor would help me be deemed unfit to ever be seen in public again.
“Um … I’ve collected all twenty of your activism posters, including the extremely rare first one, and only one, where you wore a dress.”
Donya recoiled. “A stalker?”
“Please, no, just a fan.” My sister would be a better source for finding a shared secret.
“Ysabel talked about you in her letters. She admired you a lot.” But most of what my sister had said about Donya’s accomplishments had been public knowledge.
I thought harder, finally digging up details from one of my sister’s more vulnerable letters.
“Before you two became friends, when you called her ‘a heartless snake incapable of love,’ she asked me if I thought it might be true. Only the two of you knew about that, right?”
Donya froze, assessing me closely. Her eyes softened. “Ysabel admired me even before we became friends? I hurt her feelings when I said that? I had no idea. Oh dear.” Donya set down her teacup. “You’re really Bora?” Hesitantly, she reached up to pat my back.
I collapsed into her shoulder. “I don’t know what to do! Please help me!”
“By the Sun God, it’s strange seeing that expression on the Blood Duchess’s face.” Donya put her arms around me and guided me to the sofa. “Tell me everything.”
I poured out the whole story to Donya, from my escape out of the city to what the princess had done. “I don’t understand why I got swapped when I wasn’t anywhere near the princess,” I finished in an admittedly whiny tone.
“Princess Antonia wished for the Blood Duchess to be a kind person.” Donya tapped her chin. “That’s why she swapped with you.”
I rubbed my eyes. “I’m flattered, but the city must be full of kind people.”
“Who else cushioned a girl falling out of a carriage with her own body?” Donya shrugged. “You also jumped off a wall to save my life. That type of self-sacrifice is rare. You remind me a lot of Ysabel.” She patted my head as if I were a little kid.
I’d already known my crush was hopeless, but it still stung. I’d been placed in the best friend’s kid-sister box. There would be no escaping that box.
But also, I was stuck in some weirdo’s body, so what did it matter? I sniffled. Donya handed me a tissue. Blowing my nose, I said, “I’m glad I could save you, my lady.”
“Please, call me Donya.”
“But I’d like to go back to my own body now. Can you help me ask the princess to swap us back?”
Donya raised her hand. “Don’t be so hasty. This is a prime opportunity.”
“No, no, no. I’m not staying like this!” I punctuated each no with a sharp shake of my head.
“If I’m caught impersonating nobility, I’ll be executed!
And I’m not a good actor, Donya.” I grabbed her collar for emphasis.
“When I was a kid, I was assigned to be a tree in the church performance of Holy Maiden Ava’s life, and I accidentally knocked the entire stage set over on top of everyone.
I knew then and there that I was never destined for a life on the stage! ”
Donya patted my hand. “I know I’m asking a lot from you. But your kingdom needs you. This is our big chance to take back control.”
“How about this? I’ll order all the guards to leave the city, then voluntarily walk into a dungeon cell. After locking the door, you swap us back. Easy as mugging a dead man.” My country accent came out stronger as my voice rose.
“Unfortunately, the kingdom needs the Blood Duchess.” Donya pinched her forehead. “The late and unmourned King Uctor was childless, and he didn’t care about his younger half sister or his legacy. He figured that if he could sell his kingdom once, he could sell it three more times.”
“You mean besides selling the regency to Sherda …”
Donya counted off on her fingers. “King Uctor also promised the princess’s regency—and effective control of our country—to two other kingdoms. And he promised the Sashan Guild of Slavers a thousand of our citizens in slavery in exchange for a large sum of money.”
“But …” I gaped. “Slavery wasn’t legal in Arahasnor, even before it got outlawed globally in the last World Games. He can’t do that.”
“I imagine Uctor thought that wouldn’t be his problem since it was agreed that the guild would collect upon his death. They can’t force us to hand our people over, but they can ask for their money back. The kingdom doesn’t have any money. We’re completely broke.” Donya’s shoulders sagged.
“Oh dear,” I said. That didn’t seem sufficient. “Oh shit.”
“The Blood Duchess knew about the other rivals. She came here with a plan. She adopted the princess legally, meaning she has the first right to the regency. Sherda gave her a large sum to pay off the slavers. If the former slavers’ guild gets a foothold in our kingdom, they’ll bring misery and disaster.
You don’t know how badly we need that money, Bora. ”
“I know that I can be executed for impersonating a duchess!” I drew a thumb across my throat.
This new information only made my position even worse.
The kingdom was on the edge of collapse, everyone hated me, and three rival powers wanted my stolen throne.
Nope, nope, nope. I was not taking responsibility for this mess.
I was going back to my peaceful life with my little brother in the countryside and never setting foot outside my village again.
In comparison, even my mother bossing me around and tossing passive-aggressive insults suddenly felt like a nonexistent problem, and it had gotten easier to avoid my father since the divorce.
I would greet Dad’s harassing creditors like old friends because at least they didn’t have armies to back them up.
“I’ll protect you, I swear. I’ll figure something out.” She did not sound confident enough to inspire any confidence in me. “If everything goes wrong, you can always flee to Conollia, and Ysabel will protect you.”
“Why do I have to get exiled? I want to live in Arahasnor! It’s my home!”