Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Startled, heart almost bursting out of my chest, I spun on my heels, arms up to give the impression that I knew how to fight. But the hooded man before me merely stood a few feet away with his hands in his coat pockets.
In the dim moonlight, I could see that he wasn’t wearing the ship’s uniform, nor was he one of our accompanying guards. Neither of which had a way to the balcony without going through the princess’s room.
“How did you get up here?” I rasped.
“I have my ways,” he said with a smile in his voice. “Don’t worry, I’m not here to hurt you.”
Giving up the pretense of bravery, I lowered my fists. “Then why are you here?”
He came one step closer, sending me a step back. “To speak with you. To make you an offer.”
I set my hand on the cold, damp railing, attempting to find his eyes in the dark of his hood. “Whatever it is, I can’t pay for it.”
“You haven’t even heard what it is.”
Still nervous by his presence, I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is you want, you’ve got the wrong person.”
“I assure you, I don’t.”
“Right then, who do you think I am?” I said.
“The maid to the Princess of Avongart,” he said, gesturing to the room behind him, where Gertrude slept. “The only person in the world who knows her best.”
I swallowed. “Listen, whatever it is you want from her, if you think I’m going to lay down my life for hers then you have overestimated my loyalty.”
The stranger chuckled at my rambling, shaking his head. “I already told you, I have no intention of hurting you, her, or anyone else.”
“Then what is it? What do you want from me?”
He took another step closer, making my stomach flip, even if not with fear. “To help you live the life you deserve, and for her to do the same.”
“You—You’re not making any sense.”
He shook his head. “No, I suppose I’m not. Would you rather I be blunt?”
“Please.”
He moved closer until I backed into the balustrade.
I could still barely see his shadowed face.
The only things that stood out were very light eyes that seemed to glow from within his hood, and hair that gleamed like polished silver in the moonlight.
“You know, there’s a time-honored tradition of maids impersonating their mistresses, taking on their role in public to protect them. ”
Even among the scents of storm and sea, I could smell him, as if a field of wintergreen and juniper surrounded him, like he had come deep from the winter woods.
I licked my dry, cold lips before I spoke. “I’m aware.”
“I can help you do that, not for her sake but yours.”
Frowning, face partially numb from the weather, I said, “I thought you were going to be blunt.”
He chuckled again, amused. “I’m offering to help you take her place, in a way that no one would question, and it wouldn’t be about her safety, but your freedom.”
This entire situation made as much sense as a fish scurrying on land, yet I was compelled by him, half scared and half fascinated by his presence, not to mention the odd offer he was making.
Being exhausted and sleepless must also be playing a big part in my disorientation. It must also be why I didn’t consider screaming for help, and why I asked, “How would that even work? There is no way she would accept switching gowns with me, let alone roles.”
In lieu of an answer, he raised his hand and sparks came to life between his fingers until a ball of flames sat in his palm.
Magic.
I’d seen sorcerers a handful of times at the castle back in Schwarzdorn, usually on holidays, where they were brought to perform magic in the awe of a giddy audience, colorful light shows, fire in animated shapes that galloped about the room, and tricks with chosen members for our amusement.
Apart from that, I had only heard that there was a sizable population of magical people who lived among us in Avongart in peace.
It was why we had gone to war with the western kingdom of Arbore, over them persecuting their own.
Orcage’s support of Avongart during the war had been the main reason they requested Gertrude marry their crown prince, a fair trade for their financial help.
“You’re a sorcerer,” I breathed, the vapor of my ragged wonder curling between us.
The fire in his hand warmed the side of my face and lit up the lower part of his own, showing me a wide mouth that lost its firmness as it quirked in a sardonic smile. “That I am.”
There was suddenly no fear left within me, no worry that he could burn me or even fling me down onto the deck with a mere flick of his hand. Against all reason, I felt that his offer was sincere, though I couldn’t begin to tell his reasoning behind it.
I had a thousand questions. I asked the first that came to my lips. “How long have you been watching us?”
“Long enough to know that you are gravely mistreated, that your mistress needs to be humbled, and the one way to fix both situations is to give you both the chance to know what the other’s life is like,” he said, clenching his fist and snuffing out the flames, leaving no evidence of it but the wisps of smoke that escaped through his fingers.
I’d once read a book to Gertrude that had a similar plot.
A prince and a peasant meeting by chance, noticing their striking resemblance, and swapping lives.
The difference was that they both did it willingly—and briefly.
If I accepted, and got to know what Gertrude’s life was like, I doubted I’d be willing to go back to washing her feet and being slapped about.
She, on the other hand, would be desperate to get her life back.
But with my cheek still aching from her earlier act of callousness, it felt like an offer I couldn’t refuse. Gods Above knew that she could do with some humbling, and I could use some pampering.
“Explain to me exactly how this would work, and how I wouldn’t be punished for it,” I said, my addled mind racing. “Because what you are suggesting is treason, and she would yell it at the top of her lungs. I’m not keen on losing my head once we land in Orcage.”
His lips twitched. “Your head would be totally safe. I would make sure she holds her tongue, and would have your escorts’ eyes glazed so they don’t notice anything amiss. Apart from that, those waiting to receive you have no clue what she even looks like.”
Straightening to come closer for the first time, I raised my face to his, trying to read his expression, his intentions. “And what are you getting from all of this, Mister…?”
He grinned fully now, teeth so bright in the dark they gleamed. “Roderick. And I get the privilege of watching this little experiment play out, namely seeing someone like her learn what you have to suffer through as her caretaker.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “That’s all?”
“I may ask for a favor once you are wed to the prince. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
The prince. I hadn’t thought about how he’d fit into this plot. I would wed him in her stead? This wouldn’t be a mere switch, but a full replacement?
Mind clearing at the enormity of what he was offering, I whispered, “So, this is a long-term game I have to play? Not for a few weeks and then we’re back to our spots once her lesson is learned?”
“It is. Unless you don’t want it that way.”
“I don’t,” I blurted out. “I don’t want to take orders from her again. I don’t want to be at anyone’s mercy ever again in my life.”
“Then you won’t.”
My thoughts twisted and tangled in a feverish surge of hope.
If this worked, I would be a princess, not just by deception, but by marriage.
I would one day be queen of this land. I would never have to worry about upsetting anyone or being humiliated or punished.
Others would be worried about my feelings, because I would have power over them. Over Gertrude.
“All right,” I said, letting my breath out, and with it any misgivings that were screaming at me. “I’ll do it.”
“Excellent.” He stepped back away, taking his shadows with him, and opened the balcony door for me. “After you.”
Inside, the fireplace I had slaved over throughout the day boomed to life with dancing flames as he went to stand over Gertrude. With a snap of his fingers she was upright and ripping off her eye-mask.
“What is going on?” Gertrude scowled up at him, unafraid in her instant fury and oblivious entitlement. “Who are you, and how dare you come in here?”
“The princess allowed me in,” he said calmly, hand out in my direction at the foot of her bed.
“I’m the princess,” she snapped, spilling off the bed and stomping towards me. “Ottoline, this man is disturbing my beauty sleep. Throw him out, and inform the captain so he would be punished.” I didn’t move and she yelled, “Do as you’re told!”
I crossed my arms in a show of defiance. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“I’ve had enough of your petulance, and now you are out of chances,” she seethed. “You’re staying on this ship and going back with the guards once we land to be punished. You are done here. Do you understand? Done!”
She turned to him and opened her mouth to scream for the guards—only to choke instead. Hands clawing at her throat, Gertrude staggered backwards, bumping into me, before falling back onto the bed, gagging.
When she removed her hands and laid back panting, she revealed a slim golden choker wrapped around her throat.
Roderick turned to me. “This will keep her from saying anything to anyone, and compel her to follow any of your orders.”
“What are you talking about?” Gertrude spluttered. “Where did this come from? Why can’t I scream? You will pay for this. Guards!”
I glared at her. “Shut up!”
Gertrude’s teeth slammed together with a loud click, sealing her mouth shut.
Just witnessing her obey my order had my blood rushing with an amplified version of the exhilaration I’d felt earlier when I’d denied her commands. I just had to test this compulsion further.
“Stand up,” I ordered.
Automatically, she shot up, back straight and eyes bulging with disbelief.
“Take off your bonnet and give it to me.”
She showed signs of struggle, face reddening, veins standing out in her forehead and neck, her inborn stubbornness fighting against Roderick’s enchantment. But she couldn’t fight it for long and ripped the bonnet from her head, and handed it to me.
“Now bow to me.”
She immediately bent at the waist, bowing deep before me, as I have done countless times before her. Her lingering resistance only managed to raise her trembling head to meet my eyes with a murderous glare.
So, this was what it felt like to be on the other end of servitude? I couldn’t deny that it was a rush that could prove addictive. Like the taste of sweets, I’d keep wanting more to maintain the rush it gave me.
Relishing the moment, I pulled her past actions from the recesses of my mind, playing out the first day I’d been assigned to her. Fingers under her chin, I forced her back upright.
“I need you to listen to me very closely,” I repeated from memory. “You are nothing. But now that you are my primary servant, you will be something: mine.”
“Is that what she said to you?” Roderick asked, a quiet fury radiating from him.
I nodded and continued, “And to you, I am everything. I am your mistress, your princess, and you will do everything I say. You will learn to do it all, even without me saying anything. You exist to take care of me, and if you don’t, I’ll have you thrown back out to the mud heap you crawled out of.
” I gripped her chin hard enough to cause pain, as she had done mine. “Are we clear?”
Gertrude’s whole body trembled with the ongoing struggle to refuse me.
I recognized it as an inner war between rebellion and a bid at self control.
I had always bitten my tongue, literally, to hold myself back from responding to her, and shook with the effort to stop from turning and walking away from her.
But now, she was the one fighting to deny me, and failing.
“I said, are we clear?” I then repeated another part of her initial speech. “Say yes if you understand me.”
“Yes,” she bit out.
“Good.”
A knock came at the door. Suddenly panicked, I looked at Roderick. He just nodded calmly.
Deciding to trust him and his magic to have the same effect on everyone, I called out, “Come in.”
Reinold opened the door, then froze on the threshold, his eyes going blank briefly, before fading back to their warm brown. He shook his head, snapping out of whatever that was, and asked, “I heard a commotion. Is there anything wrong, Your Highness?”
It took a second too long to realize he was looking at me. Gertrude turned to him, opening her mouth to say something that could unravel this plot before it had begun.
I hissed at her, “Be quiet and go back to your cot.”
Heart in my throat, still expecting her to break through Roderick’s compulsion, my shoulders sagged in relief as she dragged her feet to obey.
Plastering a calm expression on my face, I turned back to Reinold. “No, nothing’s wrong. My servant fell over while stoking the fire and woke me up. That’s all.”
Nodding and mumbling apologies for the intrusion, he retreated out of the room.
As soon as the door shut, I whirled around, seeking out Roderick, but I found the balcony doors shut, and him gone, He had vanished as if he’d never been here.
The only proof that he had been here at all was Gertrude, stuck on my cot, no doubt losing her mind with being unable to scream her throat bloody and throw me overboard, and her bonnet, given against her will, in my hand.
Slowly, trying to let everything that had occurred sink in, to let it be my new reality, I put my hair in her bonnet and got into her bed. I groaned as my aching body hit the soft bedding and mattress, and reveled in the unknown size and comfort.
Though I had a hundred questions left for the missing sorcerer, none of them mattered for now.
Whatever favor Roderick wanted in exchange for this, he could deal it out with the prince.
Husbands were meant to settle their wives debts, weren’t they?
And if all went as planned, I would have one who would afford me no more responsibilities or worries for the rest of my life.
If that sounded too good to be true, in this moment, I didn’t care. If this wore off by morning, and I was sent home to be banished or beheaded.
I was going to enjoy this for as long as I could.