Page 17 of A Heart Too Tender

Colette

The library was breathtaking. So much, that in fact, I skipped lunch. Armed with a sizable stack of books, I resorted to using my elbow to open the door to my room. As I peered around the stack, I spied Maude making my bed. She laughed and it bubbled like a babbling brook. Wiping her hands on her apron and brushing the green hair out of her face, she looked out of sorts as she pulled a handful of books off the top of my stack.

“I see you found the library,” she teased.

“With help—but yes! Do you like to read?”

“Absolutely,” she gushed, and held up the book on top of her stack. “I just finished this book and it was incredible. I can’t stop thinking about it.”

“Then place that one on the nightstand please, and I’ll start it first,” I said as I sat my stack down on the corner of the desk beside the window.

Standing next to my bed, I now realized where her exhaustion had come from: my bed had grown by an extra mattress.

I cupped my cheeks with my hands as I beamed with excitement. “You got me a new mattress?”

Maude leaned against one of the posts and admired her handiwork. “They delivered the feathered one not too long ago and I placed it on top of the existing one so you’ll be extra cozy tonight.”

A yawn hit me suddenly and was so forceful, tears leaked from my eyes. “Oh, thank goodness. I’m so exhausted, I was almost dozing off during the meeting and struggled to find my way. If it wasn’t for the Governor, I would probably still be lost.”

My blood warmed when I remembered how we had parted ways. There was something so enchanting about his eyes, I felt myself wanting to know more about him. There was a magnetism to him that kept pulling me in.

“The Governor? Oh! Julian.”

I found myself sinking into the feather mattress, it was soft and lush, just like my bed back home.

“Mhm,” I yawned again, “I figured he’d be the best person to ask since he’s familiar with this place more than I.”

Maude made a curious expression that had the dragonflies on her ears twitching. “I wouldn’t say that. He only just arrived when the trial started.”

“Oh …” I trailed off. “He’s never been here before?”

“Not that I know of,” she replied as she fluffed a pillow. “Shall I send for your dinner?”

“Yes, please. I’d like to retire early.” I ran a hand across the velvet comforter. “Curl up with a good book and fall into blissful slumber.”

Maude smiled and headed towards the door. “I’ll have them bring you up dinner and I wish you the best night’s rest.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, leaning back against the pillows and kicking off my slippers.

The bed was plush and I sunk into it as I began reading Maude’s recommendation. But I couldn’t seem to fully appreciate the comfort. I flipped on to my side, holding the book off the edge of the bed, and found my shoulder hurting, as if I was laying on a boulder. I shimmied to my other side and after only a few tries of reading the same sentence had to roll onto my back. I must have been beyond exhausted and bordering on delirium.

There was a knock on the door and I dragged myself out of bed to answer it.

A tiny elf, with a puff of cloud for hair, held a large silver tray in front of her. It was almost the same size as her.

“Your dinner, Princess Colette.”

It smelled so amazing. I had to swallow before responding. “It smells divine. Here let me⁠—”

I offered as I reached for the tray, but she swept past me and into my room. If I had been well rested it would have been easier to keep up with her, but exhaustion was weighing my limbs down. My arms felt as if they were made of the same alabaster stone of the Dragon Mountain.

She set the tray down on my bedside table and came back for me, tugging on my hand and escorting me back to bed.

“Rest, rest,” she purred, tucking me in and placing the tray on my lap.

I inhaled the steam still swirling from the perfectly crisped skin of the turkey leg. Each one of the small purple potatoes beside it was already cut in half, sprinkled with thyme and pepper. A bed of greens were piled to the other side in varying shades of dark and light—a bountiful harvest.

I took a bite from the golden roll and moaned. The food was enticing enough to wed even the cruelest of princes.