Chapter 14
Chapter
Fourteen
In spite of how the day had begun, Rosie went to bed that night feeling as though she’d just taken flight. After a long night of strange and foreboding dreams, however, she woke up with a start, feeling very much as if she’d crashed.
Natalie had told her not to give Jonathan any more attention than she had to. And how had she ended the night? By dancing with him in front of the whole court, trapped in his piercing gaze.
Surely the entire castle would be buzzing with talk that morning about how she was continuing her quest to steal the prince’s heart right out from under his parents’ noses.
Her stomach churned with worry as she changed into a day dress and went to see whether her mother would like to go with her to breakfast. She rather hoped against hope that she would, as her mother would give her someone to talk to, so she wouldn’t have to sit around and listen to her name being whispered around her.
Unfortunately, as usual, her mother did not want to attend breakfast with her. And as Snow was already gone, Rosie was forced to go alone.
When she neared the dining hall, however, she found a large crowd pressed into the entryway of the palace.
And as she reached its edge, she was even more surprised to see that not a single person spared her a glance.
They were all gathered around Snow and Frederick and a beautiful woman with sparkling wings.
A woman who could only be a fairy godmother.
Rosie sucked in a fast breath and began winding her way through the crowd.
She had always dreamed of meeting a fairy godmother.
Who hadn’t? They were the stuff of myths and legends in the villages like the one where Rosie had grown up, despite being very real and active in the world.
Stories abounded, but very few humans ever met one, and even fewer were blessed enough to be counted among their favored godchildren.
And now one was here, handing a golden necklace to her sister.
As if sensing her sister’s presence, Snow looked up and around until she spotted Rosie, and her face lit with joy.
“Come!” she called, beckoning Rosie to her side. “Come see what Godmother Margaret has given me!”
The crowd of courtiers, which Rosie had been carefully navigating, opened at this command, and Rosie hurried through, stopping only to curtsy to the great lady.
She really was quite striking, and not simply because her silver hair, skin, and fine yellow gown were all flecked with the glitter and glow of what Rosie could only assume was magic.
Her bearing was as stately as the queen’s, and her pale blue eyes seemed to see everything around her at the same time.
And as Rosie curtsied before her, she studied Rosie with that same intensity.
“Rosie!” Snow exclaimed, holding up a golden necklace. “Godmother Margaret has given me a necklace to protect me from the troll! She says trolls dislike this kind of flower, and it will help keep her away from me!” She handed the necklace to Rosie, and Rosie took it carefully.
The gold chain was thin but strong. Not delicate like most of Snow’s new jewelry. The chain, however, didn’t look much out of the ordinary. What caught Rosie’s attention was the beautiful little five-petaled flower that had been inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl.
“What kind of flower is this?” Rosie asked, hoping the fairy wouldn’t be angry with her for asking.
But the woman only smiled. “It’s a Bellamure. The gold casting will keep it fresh and healthy and extend its power along with it.”
Rosie had never heard of such a flower. After studying it again, however, she let out a little laugh. “Back at home, we call this kind of flower a yellowbelle. Wild yellowbelles grow all over the forest floor at its edges. Is it real?” she asked, daring to look up at the fairy godmother.
“It is,” the woman answered slowly, her sharp eyes still on Rosie.
“Back at home, you also milk your own cows and sew your own stockings,” murmured some young female in the crowd, but Rosie chose to ignore the speaker. She’d had an idea.
“What about the flower will protect my sister?” she asked the fairy godmother, suddenly excited. “Rather, is it the flower itself that will provide the protection?”
The fairy tilted her head slightly. “Why do you ask?”
Rosie glanced up and realized that the entire palace entrance had filled with courtiers and staff, and suddenly, she felt as though the entire palace were listening. But the questions this discovery had spawned were too important to go unanswered.
“Because,” she said, trying not to let her voice falter, “I’ve just recalled that we…
that Snow and I were picking this very flower when the troll found us the first time.
And though he seemed to wish to do us violence…
he didn’t. And it makes me wonder. Well, perhaps you know.
Was it our flowers that gave us this protection? ”
The fairy godmother’s blue eyes grew wider, and they fairly glowed as she grinned. “Clever child,” she murmured, almost as though to herself. “I’d heard of you before this, but now I see. And I’d almost say it was a fairy gift if I didn’t know better.”
Rosie blinked at her, not sure at all what the lady meant or what she was supposed to say. The fairy godmother had heard of her? Who would have told her? And why should anyone have been discussing her with such a great lady?
But the woman only looked up to where the king and queen now stood. “Don’t let this one slip away,” she said with a sly smile. Then she disappeared, only remnants of her glittering magic remaining where the lady had just stood.
Rosie quickly gave the necklace back to Frederick, who clasped it around her sister’s neck. But as she did, she realized that Jonathan had been standing a little way from his brother. His eyes, though, were on her.
Had he talked to the fairy godmother about her? And if so… why?
The crowd began to disperse and move in unison toward the dining hall doors, but Rosie turned and began walking quickly back toward her suite. The others could eat. She had work to do.
“Rosie,” Snow called after her. “Aren’t you going to have breakfast?”
“I’ll ask the servants to bring something up,” Rosie called over her shoulder.
Snow grabbed Rosie’s hand before she could go any farther. “What are you up to?” she asked, frowning.
But Rosie only gave her twin a sly smile. “I have an idea.”