“Hardly,” she scoffed.
Ember had taken great pains to get dressed up today, which was hard, since she didn’t have many nice dresses. Annali made almost all of her clothes, and while she was a talented seamstress, Ember was a tomboy, and she preferred Finn’s hand-me-downs to most anything that Annali made.
The dress she’d put on today was a bit small. The blue fabric came up just above her knees, and it pulled snug across her chest. Her black curls were still a frizzy mess, but she’d clipped them back with a few strategically placed bobby pins.
Because she was going out to the barn, she’d put on her father’s oversized work boots, and they clunked heavily on the ground.
“Everybody in the whole kingdom is going to the engagement party.” Ember leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, where a few pigeons roosted. “It’s not fair that Mom won’t let me go.”
“Everybody isn’t going,” Finn corrected her. “I’m not. Mom isn’t. Most of your friends probably aren’t.”
“But you could be going,” Ember countered, and looked over at him. Her eyes were so dark they were nearly black, and they appeared almost too large for her face, making her look younger than her twelve years.
“But I’m not.” He turned away from her then, hoping to avoid another conversation about the Princess, and grabbed another bale of hay.
“Right. So I should be able to go in your place.”
“I wasn’t invited as a guest,” Finn reminded her. “I would’ve been there to guard, and you haven’t had enough training yet to watch the palace.”
“I’ve started my training.” Ember absently petted a goat that nibbled at the hem of her dress. “It’s only three more years until I graduate from the tracker program, and I’m at the top of my class.”
“I’m sure you’re great.” He gave her a smile to show her that he meant it, but she just continued sulking. “There will be plenty of other parties for you to attend. And once you start going, you’ll realize how dull and pointless they all are, and you’ll wish you never went at all.”
“I’ll never wish that,” Ember muttered.
Finn sighed and walked over to her. She lowered her eyes and kicked emptily at a rock by her feet. When she took a deep breath, it came out in a plume of fog.
“I hate to break it to you, Ember, but it’s not any more of a fairy tale at the palace than it is here. Yeah, they dress nicer, but that’s about it,” Finn said. “It’s cold out here, and I’m done cleaning up. Why don’t we go inside?”
Ember shook her head. “I’m not ready to go in.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’d rather stay out with the goats and freeze to death than argue with Mom anymore.”
Finn tried to think of something to say to her, but Ember was stubborn to a fault. Besides, she’d come in when she got cold enough, and judging from the goose bumps covering her skin, it wouldn’t be that much longer.
When he left the barn, Ember followed him out, but only so she could stomp about the yard with the few goats that decided to stay outside. She jumped into a puddle of slush, splashing the icy mush out around her, and apparently working off some of her frustration.
The heat from the hearth struck him wonderfully as he opened the front door. There were many negative things he could say about growing up in F?rening, but he’d never been anywhere that felt quite as homey as his cottage with his family.
Finn wasn’t sure what his mother was baking, but it smelled like fresh cinnamon bread. Annali sat at the battered kitchen table, mending a few of his pants and vests that had gotten worn. Finn could sew, but his mother was a far better tailor.
“Is your sister out there?” Annali asked without looking up from what she was doing.
“Yeah. She’s just playing in the field.” Finn went over to the sink so he could wash the goat filth from his hands.
“Good. I was afraid she might sneak up to that party.” She threaded a needle through the pants and watched her son. His shoulders tensed as soon she mentioned the party, and she frowned.
Finn finished washing his hands, then leaned against the metal basin. He stared out the small round window above it, watching Ember slosh about the field.
“You know, I could take her up there,” Finn said, his words tentative. “Just so she could see what it was like.”
“No,” Annali said sharply and shook her head. “There are too many people, and it wouldn’t be good for either of you.”
“But if she saw what it was really like, how boring and stuffy everyone is, maybe she wouldn’t be going on about the Princess and the palace all the time. She has them on such a pedestal.”
Annali snorted. “I wonder where she learned that from.”