She’s as beautiful as we’d hoped, said a voice I didn’t recognize.
But why was she crawling around on the floor? The last voice sounded much more doubtful about me than the others.
I cleared my throat. “I apologize for disturbing you, but I would greatly appreciate some food if you could find some. Just some bread and cheese would be sufficient.”
I don’t know that His Highness would want us to feed her after she refused his invitation. Gilda sounded torn.
I suppressed a snort. Invitation. That was one name for his curt command.
But she’s a princess, Gilda. Surely we can’t disobey her! I got the distinct impression Tara was merely attempting to distress the more senior woman.
We can hardly let our royal guest starve, said the voice I recognized as Matthew. And she’s to be our mistress, is she not? Seems to me she’s as much right as any to be giving orders around here.
I’m not sure that His Highness would see it quite that way, said the earlier doubting voice. He seemed to be located near Matthew, and I wondered if he was a footman or a groom.
My stomach grumbled loudly, and I lost my patience. “I don’t care how ‘His Highness’ sees it. I am not the Beast’s prisoner, and I will not be constrained by his orders.”
Shocked silence filled the room.
Chapter 8
Can she…can she hear us?
Impossible! But the doubting footman (or groom) didn’t sound quite sure.
“Certainly I can hear you,” I said calmly, as if such a circumstance was to be expected.
She must truly be the one! The scullery maid sounded breathless.
“The one? What one?”
Never mind their babble, Your Highness, said Gilda quickly, clearly trying to turn the subject. Have a seat, and let me get you some food. I’m sure we can find something more suitable than bread and cheese.
“Truly, I don’t want to be a bother.” I was grateful for my years of practice with Lily, because it felt strange speaking aloud in response to a mental projection. But I wasn’t confident I could project in the general way they did. I felt grateful enough I had worked out how to hear them.
Bother? No, indeed. You must forgive our foolish words before. Ah. Gilda’s change of tone now made sense. She must be scrambling to remember what they had all said previously.
But I had no desire to alienate the first people I had spoken to in days. Excluding the Beast, of course. “Thank you, and I can’t imagine what you mean.”
Please, have a seat. The kitchen tables were lined with long benches that could be tucked away when not in use, but the head and foot had wide, elaborately carved wooden chairs. One of them scraped backwards, presumably pulled out by one of the invisible servants, and I carefully made my way toward it.
I hadn’t collided with anyone in my days at the castle, so I assumed they had all been making some effort to avoid me. But walking among them still made me uncomfortable. I had to resist the urge to stretch my arms out in front of me as I moved.
As I sat, sudden conversation burst out all around me, along with a flurry of sound from various plates and pots and cupboards. Trying to follow their words alongside the cacophony of actual noise hurt my head. I let my concentration drop away, and the words faded back into whispers. I could only hope it became easier with practice, or I would spend each day in a perpetual headache.
When I realized a platter of food had been hovering beside me for some time, I started and reopened my awareness.
Apologies, Your Highness, is something not to your liking? The tone sounded a little snide, and I was almost certain it belonged to the doubter from earlier—a footman, then.
“No, indeed, I apologize. It looks delicious.” The food started traveling from the platter to my plate on a large silver spoon. I watched it, too fascinated to look away. “May I ask your name?”
Connor, Your Highness.
Several other voices started talking at once, and I held up my hand. Silence fell. “I’m afraid it’s rather difficult to follow a conversation when you can’t see any of the speakers.” My connection with Lily was so close that I didn’t need her body language to understand her words. Plus, there was only one of her. It was astonishingly difficult to follow an invisible group such as this. “I’ll need you to project a bit more slowly, and one at a time.”
Project? What do you mean? The curious child’s voice sounded from the far corner of the room where he had no doubt been banished following my arrival.
Hush, Gordon! Don’t disturb Her Highness. I could have anticipated Gilda’s rushed response.
“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” I looked in the direction of the voice. “Gordon, is it?”
After a moment of silence, one of the scullery maids whispered, She can’t see you, idiot! and Gordon mumbled a quick, Yes, Your Highness.
I grinned, sure he must have initially nodded in response. “I don’t hear you with my ears, but rather in my mind. Projecting is merely what I call such communication—when you send out your thoughts rather than speaking aloud.”
I don’t know anything about thoughts, Gordon sounded confused. I’m just speaking like always.
“Oh.” I looked around, wishing I wasn’t surveying a room of empty air. “I think someone needs to tell me exactly what is going on here.”
Silence reigned, and I imagined them all looking at each other, wondering who was going to speak. I had already pictured faces for them all, I couldn’t help myself.
Well, Your Highness, said Matthew at last, it seems we’ve all been caught up in some sort of…curse. His voice hesitated strangely over the word, and my brows drew together. As best we can tell, we’ve all been sort of…moved sideways. Into some other realm, I suppose. He sounded uneasy with the talk of other realms. We can see, hear and interact with each other like normal. And we can interact with objects just fine. But we soon discovered no one outside Palinar can see or hear us at all. We have our animals with us even. He paused, and I thought of the coach that I had assumed to be horse and driver-less. Which is why we weren’t expecting Your Highness to be so astute, and why we know nothing of this projection you speak of.
He paused again as if hoping for some sort of explanation, but I remained silent, unwilling to tell him of my gift. When he said nothing more, I prodded him. “But why have you been cursed?”
Another moment of awkward silence and then Gilda rushed in. Well, as to that, Your Highness, who can say? Certainly not the likes of us.
I frowned. It was easy to tell they knew more than they were saying. I let it go for now. “But what of the Beast, and his horses? I can see them well enough.”
Matthew made a sound like a throat clearing.