6. Library
Colette
The library was breathtaking. So much, that in fact, I skipped lunch.
Armed with a sizable stack of books, I resorted to using my elbow to open the door to my room.
As I peered around the stack, I spied Maude making my bed.
She laughed and it bubbled like a babbling brook.
Wiping her hands on her apron and brushing the green hair out of her face, she looked out of sorts as she pulled a handful of books off the top of my stack.
“I see you found the library,” she teased.
“With help—but yes! Do you like to read?”
“Absolutely,” she gushed, and held up the book on top of her stack. “I just finished this book and it was incredible. I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Then place that one on the nightstand please, and I’ll start it first,” I said as I sat my stack down on the corner of the desk beside the window.
Standing next to my bed, I now realized where her exhaustion had come from: my bed had grown by an extra mattress.
I cupped my cheeks with my hands as I beamed with excitement. “You got me a new mattress?”
Maude leaned against one of the posts and admired her handiwork. “They delivered the feathered one not too long ago and I placed it on top of the existing one so you’ll be extra cozy tonight.”
A yawn hit me suddenly and was so forceful, tears leaked from my eyes. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m so exhausted, I was almost dozing off during the meeting and struggled to find my way. If it wasn’t for the Governor, I would probably still be lost.”
My blood warmed when I remembered how we had parted ways. There was something so enchanting about his eyes, I felt myself wanting to know more about him. There was a magnetism to him that kept pulling me in.
“The Governor? Oh! Julian.”
I found myself sinking into the feather mattress, it was soft and lush, just like my bed back home.
“Mhm,” I yawned again, “I figured he’d be the best person to ask since he’s familiar with this place more than I.”
Maude made a curious expression that had the dragonflies on her ears twitching. “I wouldn’t say that. He only just arrived when the trial started.”
“Oh …” I trailed off. “He’s never been here before?”
“Not that I know of,” she replied as she fluffed a pillow. “Shall I send for your dinner?”
“Yes, please. I’d like to retire early.” I ran a hand across the velvet comforter. “Curl up with a good book and fall into blissful slumber.”
Maude smiled and headed towards the door. “I’ll have them bring you up dinner and I wish you the best night’s rest.”
“Thank you,” I breathed, leaning back against the pillows and kicking off my slippers.
The bed was plush and I sunk into it as I began reading Maude’s recommendation.
But I couldn’t seem to fully appreciate the comfort.
I flipped on to my side, holding the book off the edge of the bed, and found my shoulder hurting, as if I was laying on a boulder.
I shimmied to my other side and after only a few tries of reading the same sentence had to roll onto my back.
I must have been beyond exhausted and bordering on delirium.
There was a knock on the door and I dragged myself out of bed to answer it.
A tiny elf, with a puff of cloud for hair, held a large silver tray in front of her. It was almost the same size as her.
“Your dinner, Princess Colette.”
It smelled so amazing. I had to swallow before responding. “It smells divine. Here let me—”
I offered as I reached for the tray, but she swept past me and into my room. If I had been well rested it would have been easier to keep up with her, but exhaustion was weighing my limbs down. My arms felt as if they were made of the same alabaster stone of the Dragon Mountain.
She set the tray down on my bedside table and came back for me, tugging on my hand and escorting me back to bed.
“Rest, rest,” she purred, tucking me in and placing the tray on my lap.
I inhaled the steam still swirling from the perfectly crisped skin of the turkey leg. Each one of the small purple potatoes beside it was already cut in half, sprinkled with thyme and pepper. A bed of greens were piled to the other side in varying shades of dark and light—a bountiful harvest.
I took a bite from the golden roll and moaned. The food was enticing enough to wed even the cruelest of princes.
After I had eaten to near bursting, my eyelids drooped, as shadows crept in from the window. Night was upon us at last. I stretched my arms above my head before sinking farther beneath the covers.
I could not fall asleep.
The bed had turned to stone.
It wasn’t—logically, I knew this. Yet every position had pain throbbing through my back, spine, neck, and shoulders.
As the moon rose higher, and sleep was still far away, I kicked the covers off, and flung myself out of bed.
Standing beside it, I pressed my hands into the mattress and was aggravated that it felt soft.
I pulled sheets off, using the moonlight to see, and checked for the stones I felt digging into my back—there were none.
My groan was stifled against the pillow I squeezed against my face. I ripped all the pillows, blankets, and sheets off the bed and piled them all on the floor, and crumpled into the heap. I managed a very fitful sleep.
The first trial was tomorrow and I needed rest.
But I did not find any.
I watched as the first rays of dawn broke outside my window. A timid knock on the door had me grinding my teeth.
Maude walked in with a breakfast tray and froze in horror.
“No—it wasn’t comfortable?” She stared in shock at my position on the floor.
“It was not,” I whined, pushing a pillow against my face.
“You look positively dreadful,” she crooned, setting my breakfast tray on the bed. I heard her footsteps pad across the room, and the clatter of the dinner tray being set on the desk. She pulled the pillow from my face and stared at me with pity.
“Oh, dear … I have my work cut out for me today.”
She pulled me from the floor, her long limbs surprisingly strong, and she had me on my feet in the blink of an eye. The change in position had the room spinning. Maude blew her long green hair out of her face and handed me a steaming cup of tea.
“Do you think it’s just nerves? A new environment?” She asked as she started my bath.
I sipped the tea she handed me, the robust floral flavor soothed my throat. “No. It felt as if I were sleeping on stone.”
“Hmm,” she hummed and tutted as she appeared in front of me again, brushing my hair behind my shoulders, and placing the back of her hand upon my brow. “You’re not getting sick are you?”
I shook my head and took another sip. “The first trial is today—and I feel like a trudging troll.”
“Well, the good news is the trial is merely walking. You will be fine,” Maude said with a warm smile.
“Walking? The first trial is walking?”
“That’s the gossip in the kitchen this morning. A princess has charm, but a queen has elegant composure in the face of duty. You’ll need to prove that you have both.”
I sighed with relief. I could definitely walk, and gracefully, at that. I had been dancing across the battlements of our home since I could wander the halls alone. Light steps and steady movements, each foot meticulously placed.
“Eat quickly. I have much to do!”
She really did have her work cut out for her. Maude placed teabags over my eyes as I bathed, and she scrubbed my skin within an inch of my life. Then she put on an astronomical amount of cosmetics under my eyes to hide the bluish bruises that had rendered my face gaunt and hollow.
Now, slumped against the hallway wall outside the gallery, I waited my turn to speak with Julian. My mind whirled as I pondered what he might ask and how I should answer. These questions were no doubt part of the trial—I just didn’t know how.
A yawn had me covering my mouth as Zuri slipped out of the gallery, her red gown resembling a rose. The layers of her skirt fell over each other like petals. Her skin glowed and her eyes were alight with what could only be the result of a full night’s rest.
I turned green.
My gown was made of emerald gossamer and resembled a willow branch, the skirts not nearly as full as hers, but I preferred it that way, it made it easier to move.
“Are you ready?” Zuri asked with a supportive smile.
“For the questions?”
She frowned and shook her head. “No! The trials … are you alright?”
I glanced behind me. Elizabeth was touching up her lipstick and appeared to not be paying attention to our conversation at all. Her gown was golden like the sun shining outside and it made my tired eyes hurt.
“Not really,” I whispered to Zuri. “My bed is most uncomfortable.” I rubbed at my lower back and felt the throb of a budding bruise.
Zuri looked surprised, her warm brown eyes widening. “Well, don’t tell him that, if you want to win,” she whispered and jerked her chin towards the gallery. “Princesses don’t whine. Besides, I was up all night as well. I received a letter from Prince Leo. ”
I placed a hand on my chest, to quell the nerves that bubbled up. “What did he say? Wait—what kind of questions does—”
“Princess Colette!” Charles called from the doorway, gesturing with his hand for me to enter.
I bit my lip as Zuri whispered, “Good luck!”
The gallery was just as breathtaking as it was the day before. Julian stood before a painting of a willow tree beside a sparkling pond. A pair of swans swam in the center, one of them black and one of white.
“That’s stunning,” I said as I walked towards him. Maude had paired my gown with brown slippers, the color of freshly tilled soil. Little jeweled butterflies glittered from the tops of them, but the flat soles would make my trial that much easier.
“It’s my favorite,” Julian replied as he turned to face me. I had almost reached him when my toe caught on the hem of my gown and I tumbled towards him. He caught me, right before my face could collide against the marble floor.
“Good heavens—”
His hands were firm and yet gentle as he pulled me to my feet.
“I’m so sorry,” I rubbed at my temple. “That does not bode well for today.”