Chapter 11
For the next few days, Sonya thought back to that moment in Azam’s room, the way he had said her name, as if finally finding an answer to something that had puzzled him for quite some time.
She told herself it was only about the dresses, but then she heard Winnie’s voice in her head, teasing her …
She tried not to think about it too much, and she was quite busy, besides.
Azam had finalized the sketches, and then set about making a few sample dresses so people could see his craftsmanship at work, and she was to be his model.
She was in the shop with Azam now, trying to hold still as she stood on the platform in front of the mirrors. The sample dresses were made to her measurements, so she had to keep trying them on as he inspected them, then made adjustments, adding buttons or ribbons or lace.
Azam was a professional; he kept his gaze trained solely on the dress during this time, focused.
But that didn’t stop her from staring at him.
She couldn’t help it. Not when she was up on the platform, level with his arresting eyes, the long curve of his eyelashes and the way his hair curled at the ends as it sat against his forehead.
More than once she had the urge to brush his hair aside, or to wrap a lock around her finger, just to see how it felt.
She mentally scolded herself. Desire was a new emotion, and it was making her quite irrational. She wondered if it was like this for everybody. Did people just walk around, feeling like this all the time? It seemed absurd.
Azam said something, but she was so caught up in her thoughts that the words didn’t register. He looked up and met her eyes. ‘Sonya,’ he said, brows knit.
‘Yes?’ she asked.
‘Could you turn around for me, please?’
She blinked. ‘Right. Of course.’
Goodness, she needed to get a hold of herself.
Azam was her friend; she could not jeopardize that.
And she most certainly could not let feelings get in the way of their professional relationship, not when she was intent on seeing his dreams come true!
Sonya turned, glad he could not see her cheeks color pink.
Azam inspected the neckline, lightly brushing her hair aside. She felt faint but steeled herself. Then he made a frustrated sound to himself.
‘Thank you,’ he said. She turned back around and he offered her his hand, helping her step down from the platform.
‘I need to get lace,’ he said, buttoning up his waistcoat. Today, he was wearing an olive-green waistcoat with dark brown trousers. ‘I’ll have to go to Castletown for it. Would you like to come with me?’
‘Um,’ she started. Castletown was risky. ‘I would, but there are some things I must take care of here. We’re in need of a trip to the butcher’s,’ she said, giving him what was hopefully a convincing smile.
‘Alright,’ he said, finishing up with his buttons. She went behind the changing screen and changed back into a work dress, then followed him out to the hallway, where they both sat on the stairs to put on their socks and shoes.
They told Kiri where they were going, then headed out, walking together until they reached the edge of the market, at which point they went their separate ways, Azam heading north for Castletown.
Sonya could see the butcher’s from there, and she walked over.
When she entered, the strong smell of blood and meat overwhelmed her; she wrinkled her nose. There were chickens squawking in their cages and, behind the counter, she saw Enzo.
‘Hello again, darling,’ he said, giving her that charming smile.
‘Hello,’ she said. ‘Just a chicken, please.’
‘Coming right up.’ Enzo grabbed one of the chickens from the cage, and the chicken tried to fly away. Sonya jolted, and Enzo gave her an amused look, saying, ‘Don’t worry.’
He spoke soothing words to the chicken, petting its feathers until the chicken calmed a little; then Enzo broke its neck. The chicken went limp. This, at least, Sonya had seen before by spending so much time at the castle kitchens, and Enzo had done it in the gentlest manner possible.
Enzo gave the chicken to another man, who then set about plucking it, and then cleaning and cutting the meat for her. Sonya watched Enzo as he returned and wiped his hands along his apron.
‘You are perfectly nice, I don’t understand why Winnie—’ she said, thinking out loud before she could stop herself.
‘—can’t stand me?’ he finished good-naturedly, as he laughed. Sonya nodded. Enzo leaned forward, dropping his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Winnie is holding a grudge from when we were children. I beat her at the annual spelling bee.’
‘Ah. I can see how that would upset Winnie, of all people.’
‘I’ll admit, I was a bit rough around the edges when we were children, but I don’t purposely do things to irritate her, you know.’ He paused, then cracked a smile. ‘Well, not all the time.’
Sonya laughed. Then, the meat was ready, and she paid for it.
Even though Azam said he could not pay her for her cleaning services, every time she went out he gave her money, and whenever she tried to give him the change back, he never took it, so she had a good amount of savings now.
About eighty silver coins equaled one gold coin, and about a hundred bronze coins made up a silver coin. Having grown more familiar with money, she finally understood the mistake she’d made at the tavern trying to pay with gold coins on the night she’d run away.
Once the meat was paid for and safely in her basket, she said goodbye to Enzo and went on her way. Now she needed to remember the way home. She was terrible with directions and found herself wishing Azam was with her.
Don’t be silly, you can do this. Just concentrate.
She was so focused that she didn’t notice the soldiers until they were heading her way. Even though they wore armor, she could make out the captain quite clearly. And there was only one reason a captain of the guard would be roaming the Outskirts.
They were looking for her.
Heart racing, she ducked into the nearest alleyway. She pressed herself flat against the stone wall, the cold of it seeping into her skin. She held her breath, listening to the stomping feet, the sound of clattering growing closer and closer.
They would pass the alley soon; if they looked in, they would see her. She inched further from the corner, toward the shadows. Her grip on the basket was tight, her hands shaking.
Footsteps approached. She squeezed her eyes shut.
Then, they passed.
She opened her eyes, peeking out of the alleyway. The soldiers had gone on. She released a long breath, pressing a hand over her chest. She was safe.
Or so she thought.
‘Why are you hiding from castle guards?’ a familiar voice asked.
Sonya froze. She had been so focused on evading the guards that she hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t alone in the alley. She turned very slowly to face Winnie, who looked confused.
‘Winnie,’ Sonya breathed. Her thoughts raced as she tried to think of an excuse, but she couldn’t think of anything. She was no good at lying!
Winnie’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she approached Sonya. ‘What’s going on, Sonya?’
Sonya knew there was only one thing for it: the truth.
‘Winnie, if I tell you a secret, will you keep it?’ she asked, meeting Winnie halfway.
‘A secret,’ Winnie repeated, face lighting up. ‘Delicious. Tell me at once.’
Sonya’s heart pounded. ‘Um. Well. You know the princess?’
‘Mhm.’
‘The Princess Sonya Tahir?’
‘Yes, what other princess do we have?’ Winnie laughed.
‘Well …’ She trailed off.
Winnie looked confused for a moment, until everything seemed to click into place. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping open. ‘Sonya! That’s … you? But how?’
Sonya nodded. ‘You know the tourney coming up for the princess’s hand in marriage?’
‘Of course, everyone does. Castletown is in a frenzy trying to prepare for it, and the subsequent wedding on the summer solstice. Almost everyone in the Outskirts is involved, one way or another.’
‘Well, I didn’t want to get married. So, I … left.’
‘You ran away?’ Winnie asked. Sonya nodded, feeling dreadful, but Winnie only looked awed. ‘Wow.’ Winnie blew out her cheeks.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.’ She braced. ‘Are you angry?’
‘No!’ Winnie said. ‘I had a feeling something was off; I ought to have connected the dots sooner, but you really were in quite a state when we first met.’
Sonya let out a laugh at that, relief flowing through her. If anything, Winnie looked almost pleased.
‘Come on,’ Winnie said. ‘You should head home before that meat spoils.’
Sonya looked around. ‘Erm, about that …’
Winnie laughed. ‘You’re lost? Sonya, what will we do with you? Come on, I’ll take you.’
Sonya knew that Winnie would never betray her, so there was no need to worry on that front. ‘Thank you,’ she replied, and they walked together back to the cottage.
As they walked back, Sonya mentioned that she had seen Enzo at the butcher’s. ‘He said you’re holding a grudge because he beat you at the annual spelling bee,’ Sonya said, then watched with some amusement as Winnie’s expression contorted as quickly as dry logs catching fire.
‘That is RICH coming from him,’ she said. ‘I doubt he mentioned the chess competition I absolutely demolished him in?’
‘He did not mention that.’
‘Of course not.’ She scoffed. ‘Anyway, I am not holding a grudge from when we were children. He’s just … annoying. He has an irritating face and an irritating personality.’
‘Mhm …’
They made it back to the cottage rather quickly, then stopped by the front, while Sonya thanked Winnie again.
‘Will you ever return to the castle, do you think?’ Winnie asked in a whisper, curious.
‘I don’t know,’ she replied honestly. It was a question she had asked herself but hadn’t thought of too intently. ‘Not anytime soon. Hopefully, if I never turn up, the suitors will be so offended, they’ll leave me be and never return. I just need to make sure I don’t get caught before then.’
‘Don’t worry, you won’t,’ Winnie said, gesturing at Sonya’s hair and outfit. ‘You fit right in here. You just need to work on your accent. You sound much too posh for the Outskirts.’
‘Oh dear.’ Sonya pressed a hand to her mouth.
‘When you speak, open your mouth,’ Winnie instructed. ‘Draw out the vowels and prolong the sounds. That should help.’
‘Like this?’ Sonya tried.
Winnie smiled. ‘Good, keep practicing.’
Sonya let out a long breath. ‘Thank you, Winnie. You’re a true friend.’ She hugged Winnie, a bit awkwardly with the basket between them, and Winnie held her close.
‘I never had a friend who was a princess before,’ Winnie said, with a mischievous smile. ‘I think it ought to be good fun, as long as I don’t have to call you ‘Your Majesty’ or anything of the sort—?’
‘The technical address is Your Royal Highness,’ Sonya teased. ‘But to you, I am not a princess, only a friend.’
‘Well, good, because that is a mouthful,’ Winnie teased back.
They both laughed. It began drizzling a bit then.
‘You really ought to go in,’ Winnie said.
‘Thanks for walking me,’ Sonya said.
‘Of course!’ Winnie did a mock-bow, then walked away.
Sonya watched her disappear before heading inside. She felt much lighter for having told someone the truth. As she took off her shoes and entered the living room, she thought of Azam and how badly she wanted to tell him, too. And Kiri and Dania, of course.
But what if they cast her out?
It was too risky, too scary. She didn’t want to lose them.
She knew Winnie had handled the revelation well, but it wasn’t the same. Winnie wasn’t the one who had taken Sonya in.
Azam would feel betrayed, and she couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t hurt him.
With a sigh, Sonya set the meat down in the kitchen, kissing Kiri hello as Dania called her over to play dolls with her.
Sonya went, though her thoughts strayed to the family she had run away from.
She knew they had left her with no choice, but guilt needled through her.
It had only been two weeks since she left home but she felt as if she had lived more in these weeks than she had in all her years at the castle. She was happy.
She didn’t miss the castle, but she missed the people who populated it. Even her overbearing father and overprotective brothers. She thought of Shahmir’s plants, and Irfan’s puppies, and Mustafa’s scribblings. Her father’s big belly laughs and his all-encompassing hugs.
She thought of an April day from a few years ago.
There had been a butterfly exhibit at the Castletown Gardens, but Sonya hadn’t been allowed to go, for it was too far from the castle, and there would surely be too many people there.
She had pouted about it, until the king brought the exhibit to her.
The butterflies had been in their ballroom, fluttering around, their wings bright blue and orange and red.
‘Baba!’ She had laughed, mouth wide open. ‘It’s wonderful!’
Irfan, being a shepherd-witch, was able to herd the butterflies so they were calm, but Mustafa kept yelping and hiding.
She had danced with Shahmir, spinning in the air, and everyone had been so happy.
They had even had dinner there, beneath the butterflies, sitting on cushions on the floor with a delicious meal Arabella had made.
Sonya missed Arabella, as well. How she’d always made Sonya feel as though she was welcome in the kitchens.
And she missed Elspeth, with all her questions and opinions.
Elspeth was always chattering on and on; as such, Sonya knew everything about every single one of Elspeth’s family members and all the gossip about the other maids, and who fancied which soldier, and who was sending love letters to whom.
When Sonya had made plans to run away, she hadn’t accounted for all this missing.