Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 46

A new plan
“What?” Trace’s voice rose beyond what he intended, and he grimaced.

Be the princess’s double at the coming out ball? A ball where, by all reports, rich men from all over the kingdom, and many from others, would dance with her and fawn over the Princess? Risk execution if caught by the king?

“I don’t want to do it,” Anaisa’s eyes hardened, “but I’m playing along for now because I’m terrified. If the king discovers… I’ll be in terrible trouble. I’m in over my head. Can you use whatever special skills you have to wrap this up quickly and maybe your blackmailer can get us out of here?”

Trace took a deep breath. The innocent suggestion that they become servants in the palace to find out information more quickly had spiraled far out of control. His side of the bargain was going as planned, with him maintaining a low profile and gathering information as it came.

Anaisa’s, on the other hand…

“Do you attract trouble constantly?” He asked, truly bewildered.

“Excuse me?” His wife was caught off guard. Offended.

“The inn, when you had that spat with the innkeeper’s wife, and then having the luck to get assigned to marry a man being blackmailed, and now looking exactly like a princess who wants to use you for her own schemes…” Trace shook his head. “Is this going to be what our entire lives are like? Have you always been this way?”

Anaisa’s mouth hung open in shock and outrage. She snapped it shut and glared at him.

“You’re the one being blackmailed. I’m a victim of all this.” The woman pointed an intimidating finger in his face, but it only served to mildly amuse him.

“You’re telling me this terrible luck of yours is a recent phenomenon and not a lifelong one?” He continued.

Anaisa’s brow furrowed. “I’m not bad luck! I… have had a series of unfortunate circumstances which will ultimately resolve themselves in my favor.”

“I’m sure that will definitely be the case.” He nodded overly seriously.

She glared at him, sensing his mockery. “If it doesn’t, at least you’re stuck in it with me.”

Trace couldn’t conceal his grin this time. At the very least, it seemed his life was never going to be boring!

“I have to go,” Anaisa told him suddenly, “I can’t be missing when the princess comes back from dinner.”

“I gather the royal dinners last a long time,” Trace leaned forward. “Why the hurry to leave?”

She frowned, but despite the danger they both faced, being ensconced with Anaisa so closely was reminding him of her dream last night. He would be content to linger here a long while.

The space was exceedingly small, and he raised one arm to rest his hand on the opposite wall of the alcove, next to Anaisa’s head. The stones there were uneven, and he tapped his fingers in a rhythm across them. His wife stared at him with wide blue eyes and took a shaky breath before speaking again. It seemed his nearness, or probably something else entirely, was disrupting her thoughts.

“The princess doesn’t eat with the others, only her parents, and then her parents go and eat with the rest of the household. She said the rest of the royals and nobility are routinely pushed out of whatever part of the palace she visits, so although she has free reign of her home, she never sees anyone besides servants so that her identity remains protected.” The words spilled out of Anaisa’s mouth. “That’s why they have the hair-changing magic user, Yemi. The Princess’s appearance is liable to change so that no one important can know for sure what she looks like… until the coming out ball.”

“She told you all of this?” Trace frowned and leaned back again. The mystery and intrigue were enough to kill his good mood.

Anaisa nodded. “She’s training me to be her. She said only for one night, and then she’ll take my place or I can escape, but she’s an unpredictable person. I don’t trust her.”

“As well you shouldn’t,” Trace whispered more to himself than to her. “All right, go back now. I don’t want you missed. How did you manage to get away?”

“I snuck out. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to do so at this time of day again, and I don’t know how else to talk to you…” Anaisa fretted.

“If you need to get a message to me, but can’t find me,” He said, “just come here.”

“Here?” Anaisa’s eyes darted around.

Trace brought his arm back up to where he had rested his hand before. His wife’s eyes widened as he leaned close. She swallowed, looking nervous and vulnerable. Trace lost his train of thought for a moment as he imagined Anaisa tilting her chin ever so slightly upward in invitation…

A clang of plates downstairs made them both jump, and Trace’s eyes went to where his hand still rested.

“The stone here is loose, look.” He ran his thumb down the side of it where a section of mortar had chipped away with time. “You can leave a note for me here, and I will find it. Don’t use either of our names, of course.”

“That’s clever,” Anaisa’s eyes lit up. “You really do have skills with these sorts of things, don’t you? Did you carve this out yourself or go hunting for a spot that would suffice?”

One corner of Trace’s mouth lifted.

“I’ll tell you one of my secrets,” He told her, and Anaisa leaned forward slightly. She was studying his face, apparently looking for any hint of deception as he revealed something intensely personal.

“What is it?” She whispered with anticipation.

“I found that spot just now when I put my hand up on the wall.” He chuckled as Anaisa’s expression soured. She made a face at him and turned away to leave without saying anything further. His smile faded as he watched her turn and scurry up the stairs, back towards danger.