33
W hen Elowyn and I returned to Lana’s cottage, Rowena demanded to know what had happened. Elowyn was bursting to tell the entire story, but I whispered to her it was better if Rowena didn’t know, lest we got another round of lectures. That convinced her to keep quiet.
After a simple dinner of bread and cheese and a long overdue bath, sleeping arrangements were made. But I could only lie awake in my cot, wondering at Ash’s unspoken words and hoping my haphazard plan would work.
It was nearing noon when Lana shook me awake.
“I have something for you,” she said. I didn’t have a chance to ask any questions before she swept out of the room.
After splashing water on my face, I found Lana in her own chamber where she had given me Mama’s crystal. A magnificent gown of the same color hung in the armoire, with a silken bodice and gauzy sleeves. Amaranth flowers of wine and gold bloomed down the skirts and brushed the embroidered hem. I recognized it immediately.
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“She wore this at her Debutante Ball,” Lana said, trailing her fingers along the fabric.
“You’re giving it to me?” I asked, touched.
“Who else would I give it to?” she said gruffly.
It was clear Mama’s things meant the world to her. First the crystal and now this. Tears stung my eyes and I threw my arms around her.
“Thank you, Aunt Lana.”
Her stiff demeanor melted and she patted my back. “Of course.”
Evening came quickly enough, and after Lana instructed me on how to incorporate the manbane into her unfinished antidote, Rowena and Elowyn helped me get ready for the masquerade. Mama’s dress, to my surprise, fit perfectly. Elowyn weaved flowers into my hair and Rowena gave me a matching mask.
“There,” Rowena said, pushing me in front of a full-length mirror.
I pressed my hands to my lips, shocked to see how much I looked like Mama.
Elowyn sighed. “You’re as pretty as a princess,” she said. “Too bad Ferdinand has to change that.”
“Just to be safe,” Rowena said at my look of confusion, “I asked him to cast an enchantment to make you unrecognizable to everyone, except for the people you tell.”
I nodded, my anxiety easing. “Thank you,” I said, tears threatening to spill again. “Where would I be without you two?”
Elowyn smiled. “Worse off, I suppose.”
I ARRIVED WHEN THEY announced the crown prince.
“His Highness, Crown Prince Bennett!” The herald’s high voice was muted by the heavy tapestry I appeared behind.
“Good luck,” Elowyn whispered. With a wink, she vanished.
I crept out from behind the tapestry, making sure I hadn’t attracted the attention of the musicians. Luckily, they were busy playing a stately march as the crown prince descended the stairs. The music and chatter and glitter of the ballroom overwhelmed my senses, a stark contrast to the dingy dungeons and the muted surroundings of Witch Village.
I hurried from the balcony through the archway and descended the narrow staircase that led to the ballroom floor. It was difficult to see out of a mask, but I managed to slip into the crowd without tripping.
The guests tonight were a mix of debutantes, their families, and courtiers who wanted to take part in the festivities. I touched the beaded border of my mask. Ferdinand’s enchantment would only last till the hour before midnight.
The crowd was still fixated on Crown Prince Bennett when I spotted Narcissa’s coppery hair. She was behind the front row of guests gaping at the crown prince, who was now making a stately trek to the dais.
I huffed. He was moving slower than one of Miriam’s snails.
It seemed an eternity until he sat. The king stood and began to give a speech about youth entering society. I tucked myself into the shadows beneath the stairs. My eyes were on Queen Cordelia, who looked frailer than ever before. Her eyes were hollowed and her skin was pasty. A sickly air hung about her that even the rouge on her cheeks couldn’t hide. I didn’t need my crystal to tell she was dying.
When the orchestra commenced the first dance of the night, someone tapped my shoulder.
“I’m not dancing,” I said without turning around.
“I didn’t think you would.” Narcissa crossed her arms over the glittering bodice of her white ball gown. An elegant feathered mask covered a quarter of her face, which did little to conceal her stony stare.
“How did you recognize me?” I said, touching my mask again.
“You’re the only one hiding like a criminal,” she said. “And I saw you at the orchestra balcony. Could you be any more careless?”
My brows raised at her words. I hadn’t forgiven her for my time as her scullery maid, but I held back from saying something rude. “Do you have it?” I asked instead.
Narcissa thinned her lips. “No,” she said. “But I will.”
I felt for the flask of unfinished antidote Lana had given me that morning. It sat in the pocket of my dress, weighing as heavily as the duty on my shoulders. “Then hurry up,” I said. “I need it before the ceremony.”
Narcissa glanced at the grandfather clock on the other side of the ballroom. It read half past nine. Only thirty minutes before the Choosing Ceremony and one and a half hours before my disguise wore off. The duchess would not be fooled by a mask that barely covered half my face.
“I told you I will,” she said. “Don’t move too much lest I waste time looking for you.” With that, she swept off and I was left with the familiar desire to box her face.
I stepped out from under the stairs into the light. The refreshments table was inches away. I took refuge behind the towers of puff pastries and candied pineapple. It was surprisingly crowded due to the attendance of older people whose empty stomachs mattered more to them than appearances.
A gentleman in a phoenix mask picked out a glazed pastry. His thick black hair gave his identity away easily enough, though he was also throwing frequent glances at me. When he eventually meandered next to me, I sighed.
“Yes, it’s me.”
Ash looked relieved. “I thought I was seeing things,” he confessed, scanning my face. “That is amazing!”
I would have gladly explained Ferdinand’s magic if there weren’t more pressing matters at hand. “Is everything ready?” I asked.
He nodded as he chewed on his pastry. “The mentors will make a toast soon—it’s Season tradition. I made sure the duchess’s goblet is coated in truth potion.”
“Good,” I said, taking a puff pastry for myself. My stomach had been much too knotted for lunch despite Lana and Rowena’s urging to get me to eat something. Only now was I feeling the consequences. “Narcissa is getting the locket.”
Scanning the ballroom again, I spotted Genevieve dancing with Cedric. I smiled, glad that despite the circumstances, my stepsister was enjoying herself. But my survey brought no hint of Narcissa. A seed of doubt planted itself in my brain.
“Don’t worry,” Ash said, noticing my unease. “If she did decide to desert us we still have the truth potion. The duchess has no chance of leaving tonight unscathed.”
But Queen Cordelia’s life depended on that locket.
Minutes ticked by. The duchess was nowhere to be found and neither was Narcissa. I grew tense when the grandfather clock read five minutes to ten. The mentors had yet to gather before the dais. Eventually, the herald came and whispered something into Ash’s ear.
“I have to go,” Ash said. “The ceremony is starting.”
He left for the dais before I could reply. When he took his seat, I spotted Tori coming toward the refreshments table.
“Tori!” I said when she was close enough. “It’s me.”
She looked up through a sapphire peacock mask. “Amarante?”
We ducked behind a fountain of chocolate. “Remember what you’re supposed to do,” I said in a low voice. “I’m counting on you.”
Tori nodded, sticking a strawberry into the chocolate and popping it into her mouth. “Don’t worry. I got it.”
She swept away just as Queen Cordelia stood.
“Thank you all for coming tonight,” the queen said. “This ball marks the end of the Season, which has been quite eventful, to say the least.” Murmurs went through the crowd as Her Majesty gave a grim smile. “But I hope to end the summer with positivity and hope, mainly, with the Choosing Ceremony.”
A glimpse of a feathery white dress drew my attention to the far archway. Narcissa had entered and oddly enough, with Misty in her arms.
“Many lucky debutantes will be paired with the dashing young gentlemen they have met during the course of these two months. They will be announced and intertwine their bells and ribbons per Olderean tradition...”
Narcissa scanned the crowd, her eyes settling on Duchess Wilhelmina who was standing with Madam Lucille and Lady Hortensia .
“By the end of the ceremony, my eldest son will reveal his choice of a possible bride among the debutantes...”
Cheers went through the ballroom. Narcissa set Misty on the floor.
“...before we commence the ceremony, our mentors would like to say a word about their experiences this Season.”
Narcissa paused and swept her skirts over her cat. I let go of the breath I was holding and looked over to Ash. He looked similarly relieved. I wished he would have remembered that the mentors spoke right before the Choosing Ceremony and not thirty minutes before.
Duchess Wilhelmina and the two other mentors stood before the dais and took the goblets offered to them. The white-blue glow around the duchess’s goblet confirmed that she had the truth potion. My stomach tensed in anticipation.
Lady Hortensia was the first to speak. She praised the debutantes for their beauty and wit and charms and commended the gentlemen as handsome and well-bred. She praised the queen, the duchess, and the courtiers’ generous donation that made the event possible. She probably would have praised the maid who dusted the vases in the ballroom if Madam Lucille hadn’t coughed and told her it was quite enough. Lady Hortensia raised her goblet and sipped.
Madam Lucille’s speech was much shorter in comparison, but I still did not have the patience to listen to her rave about the talents and graces of this Season’s young ladies. Eventually, she too raised her goblet and drank. It was fifteen minutes till eleven when it was the duchess’s turn to speak.
“It has been an enchanting experience mentoring this year’s debutantes.... ”
The rest of the duchess’s words faded as I focused on her goblet. Time seemed to slow. I didn’t know how long I stared before she tilted her head back and let her lips touch the rim of the goblet. She swallowed.
Then, a voice shouted from the crowd, “Who poisoned the queen?” To my utter amazement, it was Olivia’s.
Tori jumped onto a stool on the far side of the ballroom. “Who poisoned the queen?”
“Who poisoned the queen?” Genevieve said from beside her.
All at once, everyone began to speak.
“What is this?” King Maximus said, rising from his throne.
“Why, I have never heard such disrespect!” Lady Hortensia exclaimed.
“Young ladies, you ought to be ashamed!” Madam Lucille said.
The duchess said nothing. Her eyes were wide open and her lips were pressed tightly closed. I gritted my teeth. The truth potion made one tell the truth, but only if one spoke. She would never confess her crimes if she weren’t forced to speak.
The clock read one minute till eleven. “Duchess Wilhelmina, will you not answer?” I shouted. “Who poisoned the queen?”
“How dare you wreak havoc during this celebration?” King Maximus said. His voice boomed through the ballroom and I ducked behind a tiered stand stacked with sandwiches. The guests around me were giving me scandalized looks, so hiding was futile. “All of you will face punishment for your brash mouths. Guards!”
“Father, wait!” Ash’s shout cut through the noise as members of the Royal Guard streamed in. “Duchess Wilhelmina has not answered.”
The king glared at him. “Do not tell me you are a part of this scheme, boy.”
“The duchess has no reason not to clear her name, Father,” Ash said coolly.
King Maximus’s face pinched in annoyance, but he turned to the duchess. “Wilhelmina, put an end to this foolishness.”
Her face turned an unflattering shade of puce. She was biting so hard on her lip I thought she would draw blood. The grandfather clock chimed. The deep, melodic peals reverberated through the quieting murmurs. When it reached the eleventh, she spoke.
“I poisoned the queen.”
Dead silence ensued. The remaining chime resounded, louder than the ones before. The king stared. Queen Cordelia clutched the arms of her throne, her face drained of color.
“Is this true?” the queen said.
Duchess Wilhelmina pressed her hand to her mouth, then shakily removed it. Something in her mien changed, like a snake shedding its skin. Suddenly she stood straighter, her eyes shone with defiance, her lips twisted into a depraved grin. “It is, Cordelia,” she said. “I want you dead.”
Gasps and shrieks went through the crowd. Lady Hortensia fainted right there on the steps, but nobody came to help her. Madame Lucille stumbled back. The king was still frozen in shock.
Crown Prince Bennett’s face was a picture of rage. “What is the meaning of this?” he said. “How dare you do this to my mother? ”
She smirked. “I wanted you dead too, boy. Both you and your mother would’ve been gone in a week if my plans weren’t spoiled.”
Ash stood slowly, his gaze never leaving the duchess’s, as if she were a wild animal. There was no saying whether she would flee or attack. “You confess to framing Captain Greenwood and Amarante for your crimes?”
“Yes.” Duchess Wilhelmina gritted her jaw and narrowed her eyes. “She’s here, isn’t she? That witch girl is here. How did she escape? How?”
A shard of fear stabbed my gut. I ducked lower, but the movement caught her attention. Her eyes met mine.
“You!” she screeched, pointing straight at me. “You have spoiled my plans you wretched girl. Guards, seize that witch!”
I backed away, but the guards did not move. They were eying both the duchess and me, seemingly torn between which one of us was more dangerous. She snarled in frustration. Then she charged for me.
The rest happened in a blur. A yowl and a streak of black slammed her to the ground. The duchess screamed.
“Get off, you cursed cat!”
Misty clawed her face and yanked off the locket. Before the duchess could raise a hand against her, she bounded to me, a golden chain dangling from her teeth. I had never been happier to see the feline when she dropped the locket into my hands. I gave Misty’s head a pat. “Good girl.”
Without a second glance, I fled for the staircase to the orchestra balcony. I abandoned my mask behind me—there was no sense in wearing it when my identity was known—and reached for the flask in my pocket.
Screams exploded in the ballroom. I didn’t turn back to see. There was only one task on my mind— to finish the manbane antidote. I remembered Lana’s instructions clearly. One drop of manbane was enough for the antidote. It must be stirred counterclockwise for two minutes to truly incorporate.
I burst into the balcony. The musicians had taken cover beneath their music stands. A violin player started at my entrance.
“Mind if I borrow this?” I said, plucking the bow out of his hands. He answered with a squeak.
There was a vase of marigolds on a pedestal. I tossed the flowers and emptied the water. The opening was narrower than I would’ve liked, but it would have to do. I squeezed the antidote into the vase and pried the locket open with shaking fingers. A tiny vial of scarlet liquid rested inside, nearly empty.
As I hovered the vial over the opening, the duchess’s burly accomplices swarmed in and attacked the wall of guards that encircled the dais. Queen Cordelia was missing, and so was the duchess.
Someone below shouted at me. Before I could decipher their words, a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Give it to me! Give it to me!” Duchess Wilhelmina’s crazed face was inches away from mine. A drop of manbane fell into the vase.
I jerked away. “Give it up!” I told her, clutching the locket behind me. “Your crimes have already been—”
My eyes widened at the sight of an unconscious Queen Cordelia crumpled behind the duchess. Had she been dragged up the stairs?
The duchess lunged for me. I evaded her again. My back hit the railing and I teetered.
“She’s going to fall!” somebody squealed.
That distracted me enough. Duchess Wilhelmina wrenched my arm from behind me. Pain shot up my shoulder and the locket clattered to the floor. She cackled and snatched it.
“Goodbye, witch.”
She shoved me. The world turned upside down and for a terrifying moment, I was falling. And then my hand caught the bars of the railing.
“Amarante!” It sounded like Ash. I didn’t look down to check.
The duchess had forced Queen Cordelia’s mouth open and was holding the vial over it.
My fingers began to slip. I swung my other hand up to grab the railing when Ash barged in and knocked the locket out of her hand. It slid across the marble.
“No!” Duchess Wilhelmina screamed. She scrambled to retrieve it. I struggled to pull myself up, ignoring the burning of my arms. Ash grabbed my wrists and hauled me back onto the balcony. I barely caught my breath when the duchess charged for the queen.
“Get away from my mother, monster!” Ash lunged for a music stand and jabbed her shoulder with it. Sheet music went flying as the duchess howled.
I clutched the vase and began stirring counterclockwise with the bow.
“Slow, steady stirs,” Lana had said. “Otherwise it will not be done properly.”
I didn’t know if I had the capacity to do anything slowly or steadily at the moment, but I forced my arm to still as I drew wide circles at the bottom of the vase.
“What is she doing? What are you doing, witch?”
“Slow and steady,” I muttered to myself. I did not look up. I had to trust Ash to keep the queen safe and the duchess away as I worked .
Magic pooled from my chest to my fingertips and seeped into the violin bow like honey dripping from a comb, filling the antidote. A purple-red haze flooded my vision, rippling with magic. The scuffle was merely at my periphery as I stirred. But my stomach wrenched when I heard Ash cry out.
“Mother, stop!” It was Narcissa. “Stop this at once, please!”
“You ungrateful girl! How dare you betray me?”
“What you are doing is wrong, Mother.”
“I knew it! You are weak! Weak like your good for nothing father!”
And then something very strange happened. An explosion of emerald green magic burst through my vision. Out of nowhere, a bevy of swans swept into the ballroom, their bugles and flapping deafening as they swooped past me and swarmed the duchess.
“What? Stop! Narcissa, stop this! How dare you—!”
Mice flooded in from the staircase, squeaking and scurrying. “Let me go! Give that back, you stinking vermin!”
The locket appeared at my side on a bed of moving white mice. One of them pushed it toward me with tiny paws. I took it and tucked the locket into my pocket. With a final stir, I knew the potion was done.
The sight that greeted me when I looked up was rather bizarre. Duchess Wilhelmina lay unconscious beside the queen, her skin pecked and bruised and bitten. The pond swans had made themselves comfortable on the seats of the musicians, many of whom had fainted. The mice cascaded down the steps. Narcissa stood before it all, looking breathless and bewildered with feathers in her hair. Ash was nursing a large bruise on his forehead .
I pushed the vase toward him. “It’s done,” I said. He gave me a weak smile.
The stillness was interrupted when the Royal Guard marched up the balcony. Two seized the duchess and one of them grabbed me.
“Your Highness, are you alright?” Sir Hughes said, helping Ash up.
He winced and touched his forehead. “Quite.” He gestured to me. “Release Amarante at once. She saved my mother.”
Sir Hughes looked down at Queen Cordelia, who was still unconscious, and tutted. “No, she didn’t. And anyhow, that girl is a witch and is a danger to us all. We must imprison her again, this time with more security.”
Ash began to shake his bruised head but seemed to think better of it. “You don’t understand—”
“Now, now, Your Highness. What you need is some rest,” he said.
I stepped forward, but my guard restrained me. “Give Queen Cordelia the antidote quickly,” I said to Ash.
He grabbed the vase. “Sir Hughes, take my mother to her chambers.”
“Understandable, Your Highness. First let me take care of this madwoman and this witch. And these birds.”
Ash widened his eyes. “Wait, don’t—!”
That was the last thing I heard before something slammed into my head and I lost consciousness.