Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 43

A shocking revelation
Anaisa glanced over her shoulder just before Trace was gone from sight. He was looking at the ground, and not at her like she’d hoped. She felt guilty about keeping yet another secret from him. He was angry with her, or disappointed at the very least. That was plain on his face.

She understood the feeling, but there was nothing she could do about it right now. She would have to find some way to apologize and explain to him later, if he would let her. They both had secrets, right? It wasn’t like she’d done something unthinkable.

Why did she feel so guilty about it? She shook her head. She could think about that later.

Since the moment she’d gone to see the Princess, it was yelling and chaos. How did the young woman keep from going hoarse?

Everyone in the palace practically leapt out of the royal’s way, avoiding her eyes and looking for all the world as if they wanted to be invisible.

The pale powder was back in place in addition to the terrible hairstyle and scarf. The Princess had even added eye charcoal to make slightly darkened circles under Anaisa’s eyes. A glance in the mirror confirmed she looked nothing like herself today.

The Princess wound her way on horseback through the back area within the palace walls, confidently and swiftly. The horses also seemed to know where to go.

A strange sort of tunnel appeared ahead, and two soldiers moved aside with grim faces when they met the Princess’s eyes.

The horses plunged into the darkness, apparently used to it, but it was several moments before Anaisa’s eyes adjusted.

They were moving down the lamp-lit tunnel at startling speed at a steady descent.

“…Where are we going?” Anaisa dared to ask, but received no reply. Had she not been loud enough, or was she being intentionally ignored?

After hearing Princess Sapphira threaten the lives of half a dozen people so far this morning, Anaisa was unwilling to repeat herself and find out.

For several minutes, the descent continued before the tunnel leveled out and then steadily began to rise again. This was an incredibly strange place for a Princess to ride for pleasure!

“Close your eyes.” Sapphira commanded over her shoulder.

“Pardon me?” Anaisa responded.

“The tunnel entrance is a military secret. If you know it, you’ll be executed.” The Princess warned, and the new maid quickly clamped her eyes shut.

Why was she being taken through a secret entrance?

The bright red of day shone on her eyelids, and it was likely she wouldn’t have seen the entrance anyway due to the sudden change in light. She kept her eyes closed until her horse came to a stop some moments later.

“Oh, you can open your eyes,” Sapphira laughed.

Anaisa peeked first, and then slowly looked around. The Princess had dismounted, and was staring up at the other woman with an expression quite unlike she’d worn before. It was almost… vulnerable?

A small smile graced the royal’s lips, and she made a gesture inviting Anaisa to get down with her.

The commoner tensed. Alarm bells were going off in her head at the sudden change in demeanor.

“I won’t bite,” Sapphira promised, “Not here, anyway.”

“What does that mean?” Anaisa swallowed and got down from her horse, who pulled loose from her grasp to commence grazing in the large field.

They were outside the city, somehow, with rolling green hills all around, and a clear stream nearby. It was breathtaking.

“It means… well, you had better sit down.” Sapphira sighed and flopped down in the most undignified way amongst the wildflowers. “We have a lot to discuss.”

“Discuss?” A growing pit in Anaisa’s stomach was threatening her breakfast.

“I need you,” The Princess said frankly, “but it’ll be much easier if you’re willing to help me of your own free will.”

“Need me for what?” Anaisa bit her lip as she realized her manner of address was rather informal, almost rude. She knew the protocol for addressing royals, but Sapphira’s suddenly casual demeanor made her more approachable.

“My coming out ball is next week, as you know,” The Princess eyed her, “I’m sure you understand the significance.”

Anaisa shook her head no. She really didn’t understand what the big deal was about this party the whole castle kept talking about. It meant the Princess was old enough to receive courtship and marriage proposals, but so what?

“I have no brothers, did you know?” Sapphira pursed her lips. “No, of course you don’t. Father says that the identity of the heir to the throne is secret for his own protection, and refuses to release the name of the ‘young prince’ to the kingdom. Nobody, not even the nobles or the servants, is aware that my stepmother has failed to bear a single child.”

“The poor woman,” Anaisa said softly. She remembered the day, so long ago, when she and Katia had snuck away from home to watch the new queen parade into the city. A beautiful young woman at the time, it was hard to believe no children had come to her. “But… is no one suspicious that a royal birth announcement was never made?”

“Well, obviously some are probably suspicious, but you’re missing the point. You’re not grasping the situation, Annie.” Sapphira chided. “This isn’t about her. It’s not about my father, it’s about me.”

Anaisa frowned, distracted from her memories of the queen. To never have born a child was a sad fate for any woman, particularly one of such importance, and the spoiled princess before her seemed to feel not an ounce of compassion over it.

“How is it about you?” She asked sharply, but the reality of the situation quickly dawned on her. If there were no others…

“There is no young prince. There is no other heir. There’s only me.” Sapphira eyed her maid carefully. “The crown will come to me, or if I am married, it will come to my husband.”