“Are you alright?” I search her small frame for injuries. “Were you hit by it? Does anything hurt?”
Slowly, she shakes her head. “I-I’m fine… I think…” She keeps her eyes on the ground. “But I think I heard something.”
I gasp. “You heard a voice too?”
Her brown eyes flick up to meet mine, but we both flinch at the sound of the iron gate swinging open.
“Princesses!” Several guards charge into the clearing, drawing their weapons at the sight of all twelve of us on the ground. “We heard screaming. What happened? Is anyone hurt?” The head guard glares at me as I stand.
“We don’t know exactly,” I explain. “One moment we were dancing, and then there was a huge glowing light.” My breath catches before I add, “Some of us heard a voice too.”
“A voice?” The guard scowls, then glances around the clearing. “Get the princesses back to their rooms,” he barks to his men, “and then we’ll search the grounds.” He turns back to me. “Do not fear, Princess Amaryllis. If there’s anyone out there, we’ll find them.”
I nod, though for some reason I doubt they’ll have much luck.
“Come on.” I lean down to help Liliana up. Hesitantly, she rises to her feet while the guards help the rest of our sisters.
“What did you hear?” she whispers, her hand gripping mine. “From that voice?”
“I’m not sure,” I whisper back, guiding her towards the open gate. “Something about a gift, and they said my name too.”
“So strange,” she breathes. “I thought I heard it say my name instead.”
“We must’ve imagined it then,” I decide.
Liliana glances away. “Maybe,” she says, before passing through the iron gate and pulling me along behind her.
It’s funny. For once, I’m glad to leave our dance circle and return to my bedchamber.
2
AMARYLLIS
The following morning, we’re lined up side by side like crystal chess pieces in the grand hall. Above us, sculpted arches support the wide painted ceiling. In the centre, Father’s diamond chandelier looms over us, shining just like the strange moon did last night. But judging by my sisters’ excited whispers, I’m the only one here who’s spared a thought for last night’s bizarre events.
Who would worry about an assassination when there’s a handsome prince on his way?
Only me, apparently.
As usual, we’ve been lined up by age, with myself at one end and Liliana at the other. Each of us has been dressed in our finest sparkling gowns, with our hair styled in impressive twists. Even the youngest girls are well dressed for the occasion, wearing stunning new dresses and tiaras. Clearly, Father wishes for us to make a good impression – or maybe he just wants to show us off.
“I hear someone coming,” Camellia, the third eldest, squeals from my right. Her announcement sends murmurs bubbling down the line as two sets of footsteps rapidly approach from beyond the double doors.
“Quiet, girls,” I shush, flapping my hands to grab their attention. “And remember to curtsy when he enters.”
But I may as well have been speaking another language. The moment the doors open, I hear a collective gasp whoosh down the line, and not a single one of us curtsies.
“His Royal Majesty the King and His Royal Highness, Prince Hugo,” a guard announces, as we all just stare with wide eyes at the odd man in front of us.
I knew I was expecting bad. But this… This is beyond awful.
The visiting prince is small, with hardly any hair and a podgy nose that sticks out almost as much as his belly. Upon noticing us, he smiles in a way that reveals several missing teeth and adjusts his cuffs, although it does little to improve his hideous appearance.
He’s also old. Very old. At least twice my age, if not closer to seventy. And certainly far older than Father, who looks almost the complete opposite as he stands beside him.
Father looks regal in his typical red and gold overcoat, with a glittering golden crown. And when I look at them both together, one is clearly a king and the other is…
Well…
