Page 11 of A Heart Too Tender

Layers of gossamer, with delicate sleeves, and a fitted bodice. But it was the embroidery that took my breath away. A forest scene straight from the rolling foothills of the Dragon Mountain. With wildflowers, grazing fawns, and birds mid-flight. I had never beheld a dress so exquisite before.

“That’s for me?” I asked, lifting my head off the lip of the stone tub to get a better look at the gown.

“Of course! They want everyone to be on an equal footing for the trials.”

Her revelation made my chest ache, but I smiled past the pain so my gratitude would not be mistaken for anything else.

“It’s lovely.”

Maude had a dress, shoes, and jewelry all laid out for me by the time I rose from the bath. The water ran down my bare skin turning cold, and I missed the warmth of its touch as the air nipped at my exposed bits.

Maude wrapped me in the softest robe before sitting me in front of the carved oak vanity. I stared at her in the large opal mirror as she used her wind magic to dry my sopping wet hair. It took but a few heartbeats. She rubbed some oil between her fingers and raked them through my curls. They clumped perfectly and bounced in an effortless way they never had before.

“Do you prefer your hair up or down?”

I blinked slowly, having never been asked before. “What does the Prince like?”

Maude chuckled. “I don’t know, but if I were a prince, I’d want to be able to wrap my fingers around a curl … so, down.”

My cheeks instantly flooded with color, and I covered my mouth to conceal my laughter.

“You’re funny,” I said, still trembling with giggles.

“And you,” she tugged my curl so that it sprung back up perfectly, “are all ready. I’ll escort you to the gallery. They’re assembling all the princesses there.”

I followed Maude through the palace. It wasn’t as colossal as the capital palace, but still just as grand. Picturesque windows allowed views of the navy-blue sea or the slate cliffs overlooking the black sand beach.

“I’ve lived in the summer palace for fifty years,” Maude explained. “I’ve watched over Prince August since he was a wee babe. I’m so thrilled he’s ready to find a wife.”

I wrapped my arms around myself and nodded. It’d take a miracle, or a witch’s spell, to ensure my victory.

“Are you alright?” Maude whispered.

I glanced behind us, ensuring the hall remained empty. “I just don’t think I stand a chance. I don’t know anything about being a princess to a kingdom this grand.”

“Oh, nonsense,” she tutted. “You’ll do fine.”

The weight of my sleeplessness pressed down on me, and I hid my mouth behind my hand as I yawned. “That might be easier said than done.”

Maude outstretched her hand, halting us, and looked both ways down the hall before slipping some sort of cosmetic out of her apron. “Hold still,” she ordered as she tapped it under my eyelids.

“What is that?”

She sucked her full lips into her mouth and squinted her eyes as she worked. When she had finished and slipped it back in her apron, she finally answered. “It’s to help with under eyes. You appeared to have been smacked in the face by a troll.”

I choked out a laugh again and quickly covered my mouth. “Oh, you’re terrible!”

Maude grinned as we began walking again. “You’ll thank me when you’re standing beside someone who actually slept last night.”

I blew out a breath, fluttering the hair around my face. “You’re probably right.”

“I usually am,” she replied with a wide smile.

“What’s the Prince like?” I asked.

“He’s an angel, that man. Utterly kind and gallant. Helped rebuild the orphanage with his own hands. You’d like him very much.”

I had heard much the same from the other servants and commoners I had spoken to. That he was a Prince worth entering the trials for.