Promising Light (4 page)

* * *

After a long day, Grace returned to
her room, ready for bed. She’d spent the afternoon at the royal
banquet, seated by Prince William. Her friends and mother had been
ecstatic to hear about the trip, perhaps more than Grace. She
wasn’t sure how to feel. William was very handsome and charming,
but she felt like an impostor. She kept wondering if he actually
thought she was someone else, not Grace Ellengreen, the general’s
daughter.

She kept thinking of Dar, too.
Comparing all William did to what Dar did. Wondering what Dar would
think about her on a trip with the prince.

As a maidservant helped her with
her dress, she couldn’t help wondering about the man who warned her
at the tavern. When she was speaking with him, she’d wondered if he
was seeking her affection. Was it ridiculous to think that the
prince may have had something to do with it? How could Dar possibly
be dangerous? If it was just a ruse to get him away… now, she was
free of attachments, free for the prince to move in.

She dismissed her maidservant and
pulled on her robe. She unwound her hair from its braid and started
to brush through it. A knock on the door interrupted her. She stood
to open the door, but it flung open before she reached
it.

Her mother came in, a servant with
the royal emblem on his tunic following her. “The prince sent you a
gift!” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Grace. “Grace! Why
aren’t you wearing something proper?”

“Why didn’t you wait for me to
open the door?” Grace said, closing her robe.

Mother apologized to the servant
profusely, who shook his head and insisted it was all right. Grace
examined the package in the man’s hand—it was half his size, round,
covered with a canvas.

“The prince sent you a gift!”
Mother beamed.

The servant swept off the canvas to
reveal a birdcage. Grace gasped. A small blue and yellow bird
flitted around the cage, chirping as he saw light. It was the same
one she’d been looking at earlier when speaking with the prince.
“Oh, my goodness,” she breathed.

“Prince William hopes you can
enjoy a new pet,” the servant said.

“Oh, he’s beautiful,” Grace
exclaimed. “Let’s hang him by the window.”

“It’s actually a female,
m’lady.”

Mother called a servant from
downstairs, and they nailed a hook to the ceiling. The bird’s cage
hung next to the window. Grace poked her fingers through the bars,
and the bird pecked at her fingers.

The servant held a pouch out for
Grace. “Prince William also sends birdseed.”

She dropped some of the seed across
the bottom of the cage, staring at the small animal in awe. “Tell
the prince I’m so thankful.”

“You must write him a letter,
Grace!” Mother said, tugging at Grace’s sleeve.

It was the first letter Grace had
ever written to the prince. She wondered if she’d write him more.
The thought of a relationship with the prince made her stomach knot
up. She’d only just ended it with Dar—or more accurately, he’d
ended it with her. Those six months had been amazing, regardless of
their mysterious and abrupt end. She didn’t know if she could jump
into something with the prince. William was charming, though, and
she enjoyed herself around him.

Father and Kyler came into the
room, also, to see the prince’s gift. “He must really like you,”
Kyler said, his eyes wide.

“He’d be a fool not to,” Father
said.

Mother grabbed Grace’s face and
kissed her on the cheek. “You blessed child! I’ll escort his royal
servant outside. Don’t go to sleep yet; I’ll be right
back.”

Grace exchanged amused looks with
Kyler as their mother left. She’d probably keep Grace up for hours
giving her tips for the trip. Grace held back a yawn; she just
wanted to sleep. She glanced at Kyler and Father, about to ask them
to let her go to bed, when she had a thought. Her father had
visited Shyra only a couple weeks ago. He probably would have
agreed with the man at the tavern, even if she didn’t know why.
Maybe he knew something about the shape changers. About Dar’s
departure.

She lingered by the birdcage,
trying to figure out how to ask him. Father yawned, then opened his
mouth to speak.

“Father, you’ve traveled more than
I,” she said. “Does true magic exist?”

Father’s eyebrows knitted together,
and he stared at her. His hesitant pause told her much more than
his words. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, dropping some seed
into the birdcage. “I stopped by a booth today, and the woman there
told me tall tales of healers and shape changers.”

His hands clenched into fists, and
she held her breath. “That’s all they were,” he said. “Tall
tales.”

Grace glanced at Kyler. “Remember
when Lady Phoresa saw that man at the circus who made his hand
invisible?”

“They just trick your eyes,”
Father said, waving his hand.

“She said shape changers were from
Shyra,” Grace said, trying to sound casual. “You’ve visited to
Shyra a lot. You’ve never seen anything like that?”

Father shook his head. “No, Grace.
It doesn’t exist.” He patted her on her shoulder. “Don’t worry
about things like that. You’ll be with the prince on his trip in a
week.”

“To Nyad.” Grace smiled. “I
remember when you used to tell us about magical creatures who lived
in Mumbar Jungle.”

Father chuckled, but his smile
didn’t reach his eyes. “Stories to get you to sleep. Which is
exactly what I need right now. Goodnight, Grace.” He kissed her on
the forehead, a surprisingly gentle gesture for her father. “I’m
proud of you.”

He walked to the door and left
Kyler and Grace alone. She crossed her arms, staring out the
window. Her father was proud of her for catching the prince’s eye.
That was her goal in life, according to her father. Marry well and
have strong children. As she grew older, he emphasized this above
everything else. She doubted he knew how much she loved playing
piano or being outside among flowers and plants. How much she loved
reading, how she dreamed of writing her own book
someday.

“I’m going to bed, too, Grace,”
Kyler said quietly. “Goodnight.”

She smiled at him tightly.
“Goodnight, Kyler.”

Once he was gone, Grace turned to
her new pet and touched the bars of the cage, wondering if she’d
ever find answers.

* * *

Chapter Three

A week later, Grace’s parents
escorted her to the castle. It was a gray fortress made of stone
and concrete. The old builders had not cared much for beauty;
they’d worried about its strength.

Once they pulled up to the stables,
half a dozen servants arrived to help them with Grace’s trunks. She
brought only two. Her mother tried to talk her into taking more
things—dresses fit for a wedding, enough makeup to last her a
year—but the last thing Grace wanted to be was a burden on the
prince. He invited her for companionship, not for something extra
to worry about.

Prince William came out of the wide
doors of the castle in his riding clothes. His blond hair was
ruffled, and his cheeks pink. “General Daniel, Lady Pearl, thank
you for bringing your daughter.” He looked at Grace and smiled.
“Lady Grace.”

“Your Highness.” Grace inclined
her head.

“Come, my father wants to speak
with you.” Prince William glanced at her parents as well. He took
Grace’s arm and led them to the doors. The interior of the castle
was nothing like the outside. The corridors and rooms were
beautiful with detailed tapestries, smooth marble pillars, and
arched windows lined with gold paint. To Grace, it felt like two
different castles.

In the sitting room, the king stood
with a voluptuous, dark-haired woman. She wore a ruby red dress
that matched the king’s tunic perfectly. Grace was fairly sure it
was the king’s mistress, but her name slipped her mind since they’d
never been formally introduced.

King Thomas saw them, and a grin
spread over his round face. “General Daniel!” He greeted the women,
who curtsied appropriately. “Lady Grace, have you met the lovely
Lady Sashe?”

Grace’s eyes widened at the
familiar name, but she quickly tried to mask her surprise. She
smiled. “No, I haven’t. I’ve seen you about the castle,
though.”

“Yes, I’ve seen you, as well,”
Sashe said. Her gaze roved over Grace’s traveling dress. “I’ve
heard so much about you.”

Grace tilted her head and grinned.
“I hope they were good things.”

Sashe laughed. “Of course,
darling.” She winked at her. “I wouldn’t mention it if they were
bad things.”

“She’s too much of a lady,” King
Thomas said, turning to eye Sashe with a waggle of his
eyebrows.

Prince William cleared his throat.
“Perhaps we should do inventory.”

Grace idled in the sitting room
while Prince William prepared the carriages with the servants. Lady
Sashe and her mother talked about mindless things: court affairs,
the weather, upcoming social events. Grace half-listened to their
conversation, thinking about Tia and wondering what Lady Sashe’s
reaction would be if Grace mentioned her.

But by the time Prince William
announced they were ready to leave, she’d decided against it. She
said goodbye to her parents, and the prince showed her to the
second carriage. He rode with his advisor for the first hour, and
she watched the city of Renaul fall away.

She’d never been to a state other
than Wharfedale, the royal province; she couldn’t wait to see more.
She’d read about places in books and studied maps, but her father
rarely brought her on his trips around the country. Once, he’d
taken the whole family to Shyra and they’d stayed at Dar’s family
manor. She pushed that trip out of her mind.

The prince joined her after their
first stop. “Now that I’m finished,” he said, settling into the
seat across from her, “we can enjoy the ride.”

“When should we arrive in
Nyad?”

“The day after tomorrow. We’ll
stop in Ridgefield tonight, and then Johnston tomorrow.”

“This will be
the longest trip I’ve ever been on.” Grace smiled. The trip to
Shyra had taken three days.
No, don’t
think about Shyra or Dar
, she told
herself. “What do you do to pass the time, your
Highness?”

Prince William motioned to her
book. “I read, I enjoy the scenery, I sleep. I sleep quite a
bit.”

Grace laughed. “I suppose it might
get boring.”

“You’ll see soon
enough.”

“And this trip, what is it
for?”

“I meet with the governors of the
country and a few other political figures twice a year,” the prince
said. “We talk about the state of the country, give ideas, talk
about the future. It’s just an occasion to catch up with
everyone.”

Governors? Grace wondered if she’d
see Dar. Would he show up with his father? What would she say?
Well, nothing, of course. She was on the trip with the prince. She
moved the book from one hand to the other. “Your Highness… I wanted
to ask you about something.”

Prince William looked at her, a
lock of his hair falling over his blue eyes. “Yes?”

“Well, it seems really silly when
I try to think about how to say it.” Grace cleared her throat.
“Last week, on Victory Day, I stopped at a booth in one of the
alleys. The merchant there had some strange books. Languages I
didn’t understand. She said they were about magic and things like
that.” She paused, and the prince nodded for her to go on. “Well,
she mentioned Shyra and talked about shape changers.” The prince’s
forehead furrowed, and he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his
knees. “She said her books would convince me magic was real. I’m
sure it was nonsense. But when she heard I was going to meet with
you—”

“You told her?”

“No, Jocelyn said it when she was
talking to me,” Grace said. The prince pursed his lips. “Anyways,
she said she knew someone from Shyra at the castle… she told me to
tell Lady Sashe that she—Tia—hadn’t forgotten about
her.”

The prince leaned back in his seat,
turning to look out the window.

“I didn’t say anything because I
knew it wasn’t my place, but I don’t know, I thought I should tell
you…” Grace trailed off. “Perhaps they’re old friends.”

“Or perhaps they’re something
else.”

“What do you mean?”

The prince merely shook his head,
remaining silent.

She cleared her throat. “Well, I
suppose you could tell her, if you wish.” She paused. “How long has
she been at the castle?”

Prince William’s fingers played
with a spare thread on his tunic. “A little more than a year.” He
met her eyes. “Thank you for telling me, Lady Grace. I’ll pass the
message along.”

Grace nodded, but she still wasn’t
sure she’d done the right thing.

* * *

The time in the carriage did get
boring, but Grace enjoyed watching the changing landscape. They
passed little villages, farms overrunning with animals, forests.
She felt like there was an entire world out there waiting just for
her.