34
“ C issa! There you are.”
Maddox trotted down the opera house steps and rounded the corner to the sparse garden I sat in.
After eating my fill, I had taken Misty and Pippin for a stroll. The two deserved play and exercise after being clutched like rag dolls for the entire night.
It was much later in the afternoon, though it was difficult to tell with the unchanging gray skies. I knelt on the threadbare lawn as Maddox approached. His lack of uniform meant he was off duty, but he looked harried and exhausted nonetheless.
“Yes?” I hated how weak my voice sounded.
He furrowed his brows. I must’ve been an awful sight. My face was still swollen from crying. “Giselle told me everything,” he said.
“Oh.” I pursed my lips. I had no wish to hear the same spiel from him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Maddox said with a huff. He joined me on the ground, wiping the dirt off his boots. “I’m not going to lecture you.”
I picked at the grass as Pippin explored the bushes. Misty never left my side. I was grateful, but her constant presence only accentuated the silence.
“What is it, then?”
“King Maximus and Crown Prince Bennett left for Delibera this morning,” he said.
“I know,” I said, looking at my hands. “Did His Majesty give orders about where I should go? Or was that not a priority?” I didn’t bother masking the bitterness in my voice.
Maddox crossed his arms over his knees. “We’re to remain for another week,” he said slowly, as if worried I’d explode if he talked any faster. “After that...well I don’t know what’ll happen.”
“He’s leaving an entire entourage of guards idle. How considerate.”
“Not exactly. Lord Frederick let most of the tour guards return with His Majesty. Flannery’s gone.”
I twisted my torso to face him. “Then why are you still here? The tour is finally over. You could’ve taken Lady Vanessa with you.”
“You weren’t well last night. Mother said so,” Maddox said simply.
He had done nothing but complain about being a guard from the beginning. Now he was staying because I wasn’t well?
“But...you can go back home. You don’t have to be a guard anymore.”
Maddox shrugged, poking at the damp debris with a fallen branch. His hands had accumulated more scars since the last I had seen of them, and the purple bags beneath his eyes had never disappeared. “It’s funny. I didn’t have anything to do at home except ride and practice swordsmanship. Being a guard...it’s purposeful. Don’t get me wrong. It’s bloody exhausting and downright boring at times,” he said, “but I have a duty now. It’s almost comforting.”
Lady Vanessa, Father, me, and now Maddox. What was with this family and duty? It seemed to bring nothing but disappointment.
Maddox dropped the branch. “I don’t plan on doing this for long, though,” he said, surprising me.
“You don’t?”
He snorted. “Are you kidding me? Look at Father. He dedicated his entire life to protecting the royal family. It’s admirable, yes, but foolish. And unfair to us.” He paused and glared. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
I held out my hands. “But if you give up your duty as a guard, what else is there?”
“I’ll have other duties. To family, to friends, to myself. Blazing fires, sometimes you don’t need duty. It’s enough to exist and relax. But to be fair,” Maddox said, stretching his legs, “I’ve been relaxing excessively before this.”
“Then...what do you plan to do after?”
“I haven’t a clue. But I can’t go back to being a guard.”
“Why not?”
“Because,” Maddox said, standing up and offering me a hand, “we’re going to commit treason.”
I stared. “Excuse me?”
“Come on. We can’t let Celeste get away with this,” he said. “Have you forgotten? She’s inviting witches to come to her show tomorrow night. For free. What she did to you, she’s going to do to them.”
My head spun as I recalled Celeste’s charitable charade. Had this been her plan all along, to gather witches and remove their magic in masses? Had I been some sort of preliminary experiment for her?
“If you won’t do it out of duty, at least do it for those witches. Giselle told me what it’s like, having magic taken away,” Maddox said, hesitating. “Father had a choice, but the others...it’ll be against their will. It’s not right.”
Misty put a paw on my hands and meowed. It was a beseeching meow, that much I could tell despite the severance of our connection. She wanted me to take action.
I stared at her in despair. How I wished I could hear her speak again.
Perhaps...perhaps I could. Giselle said Celeste was always forced to return the magic she stole. Her method of stealing had evolved, but if she could return magic before, surely she’d be able to now.
Olderea’s approval was no longer my concern. I had to do this for Misty, if I wished to speak to her again. For the witches who didn’t deserve the pain of losing their magic. For Bennett, who didn’t have the option to defy the king. If we never saw each other again, at least I’d be able to do this for the kingdom he so dearly loved.
I drew Misty to my chest and took Maddox’s hand. “Let’s do this.”
He grinned, pulling me to my feet. “That’s my sister.”
LADY RUAN KNOCKED ON my door when I returned, her round face lined with distress. It turned out that my episode the other night did not go unnoticed, and neither did King Maximus’s order of surrounding the rebel meeting. There was a great commotion, I heard from passersby, though there was no sign of any violent scuffle .
“I didn't know about these meetings, Lady Narcissa, I swear it,” Lady Ruan said, her eyes bloodshot. “But when I went to beg audience with His Majesty, I was told he departed with the crown prince this morning. I don’t know what to do.”
I assured her that she would not receive punishment for her ignorance, but the worry lines between her brows did not disappear.
“A poor visit this has been, hasn’t it? I’m afraid I haven’t been a very good hostess.” Lady Ruan sniffed and shook her head. “Is there some way to make it up to you?”
“There may be one thing,” I said, leaning against the doorframe. Maddox and I had come up with a haphazard plan on the way back to my room. Now everything depended on how well I could act.
She perked up. “What is it?”
“My brother has developed an interest in theatrical engineering.” The lie came smoothly. “He would like to inspect the suspension wires above the stage tonight.”
Lady Ruan widened her eyes. “I’m sure that can be arranged. But tonight we have Celeste’s rehearsal for tomor—”
“Perfect! He can see the wires in action, then,” I said.
“I’m afraid having outsiders during rehearsal gets distracting, Lady Narcissa. Celeste is only here for rehearsals and shows and she’s very strict with her schedule. Perhaps your brother can come another time?”
“He’ll be as quiet as a mouse.”
Lady Ruan gave me an apologetic look.
Tears welled up in my eyes. They came easily as I channeled the damsels of the romance books I had read. “Being separated from my betrothed has been unspeakably difficult, not to mention the chaos of the other night.” I sniffled. “If only my brother could be allowed to engage in his interests. Seeing him happy would greatly improve my mood.”
“Oh. You poor thing,” Lady Ruan said, tutting as I dabbed the tears dripping down my cheeks. “I’m sure I can make an exception. Where is your brother so I may tell him?”
Maddox leaned over from the other side of the door, making the matronly woman jump. “Here,” he said, flashing a smile. “Thank you for your generosity, Lady Ruan. I do hope to work here once I become a theatrical engineer.”
She tittered. “Of course. I will send for you when the time comes, dear.”
We watched her leave until she disappeared around the corner.
Maddox raised a brow. “Are you alright?”
My face was still dripping. I sniffed and hastily wiped the tears away, dampening my sleeves with salty blotches. Perhaps the lie I told Lady Ruan had some ring of truth.
“I’m fine,” I said to my brother. I took a deep breath. “Well, that’s the first part of the plan. What now?”
“Now,” Maddox said with a sigh, “we find Giselle.”