“Oh, girls, I nearly forgot. I have some exciting news to share with you.” She placed her teacup down with an elegant flourish before reaching for a stack of letters on her side table. She casually fingered through the envelopes until she selected a grandly embellished letter with a royal seal broken on the front. “It would seem our family has been invited to Prince Jasper’s betrothal ball. The prince will be expected to choose a bride at this event, so only ladies of noble status or higher have been selected to attend. It’s a good thing we prepared for this, right, girls? Your dresses will be stunning tomorrow evening.”
Brielle and Odelia both lit up with excitement while I dumped another spoonful of sugar into my tea.
“I hope I get a chance to dance with the prince!” Odelia beamed. “We would be so perfect together! Both of us have the perfect blonde hair and blue eyes. I just know the kingdom would adore us as a royal couple!” In the midst of Odelia’s fantasizing, Brielle rolled her eyes with an audible groan.
“I have the same hair and eyes, you dunce, and so do half the girls in the kingdom,” Brielle snorted. “You’ll need to be a little more exotic to catch the prince’s eye, which is precisely why I chose an imported dress from Isalla. I doubt any of the other girls will be bold enough to wear such high-end fashion.”
Odelia laughed. “You fool, the prince already refused a betrothal with the Isallan princess, and she’s far prettier thanyou. What makes you think he’d still have any interest in Isallan fashion now, hmm?”
Brielle threw a cushion at her sister, and the two began to bicker like children. I watched with mild amusement as I crunched on my third biscuit.I wonder how much of the crown’s support money went into those dresses?
Sapphira rubbed her brow in irritation for a moment before clearing her throat. “Girls,” She said firmly, instantly silencing the two before Odelia could hurl a biscuit into Brielle’s hair. “You shall both be visions of beauty tomorrow for different reasons, but if you cannot behave like a princess, then you shall never get a chance to become one.” She gave them a stern glare and they settled back into their seats, still slipping annoyed glances at each other. “Now then, there is one other matter I need to address.” She directed her attention toward me, and I gave her a disinterested glare as I spread jelly on biscuit number four. I was not in the mood for her slandering today.
Sapphira gave me a slightly appalled look at my unladylike performance, so I politely shoved the entire biscuit into my mouth before meeting her gaze. “Yes, stepmother?” I mumbled through crumb-coated lips. Her disgusted expression brought a bit of sunshine into my gloomy mood.
“Do control yourself, dear,” she said with a bit of a gag. “I simply wanted to inform you that you will not be permitted to join us at the ball tomorrow evening.” She plucked the fourth invitation from the envelope and tossed it into the parlor’s fireplace. The girls watched with rapt attention as the paper vanished into flames. They darted their gaze back toward me with anticipation, obviously looking forward to my disappointment.
“Very well then,” I said casually, while applying more jelly to a fifth biscuit. All three women looked at me in confusion.
“Meaning you will stay home, alone, tomorrow,” Sapphira clarified, as if I hadn’t understood the first time. “Due to your negligence to follow my orders regarding that ridiculous job application, you will be forced to remain home until your birthday.” She pressed her lips into a fine line, awaiting my reaction.
She was going to keep me cooped up until my birthday?I can’t say I’m surprised. I took another bite, my stomach was beginning to overstretch from the sweets, but my family’s appalled reaction made it too entertaining to stop. I picked up the last biscuit on the tray, despite still having one in my hand.
“Yes, stepmother, I understand. I have no interest in attending the ball, so I hope you all enjoy yourselves.”
Sapphira pursed her lips. “Good,” she said tartly, clearly taken aback by my lack of reaction. “In that case, you will not mind if Brielle takes your dancing slippers. It’s not as if you were ever going to have a chance to wear them, anyway.” She raised her chin slightly, looking to strike a nerve.
“Very well then.” I shrugged. “I have no interest in dancing, and I’ve grown accustomed to walking around barefoot. You should really try it sometime, stepmother.” I smiled at her sweetly, and she tensed.
“That’s quite alright, dear,” she said rather conceited. “I have a tad more self respect than those who play in the dirt.” Her villainous smile returned, and I felt myself grow hot with frustration.
Even when I tried not to let her bother me, she still managed to dig her claws in. I took a calming breath. “The ‘play’ that you refer to, is what produces such beautiful gardens for the manor grounds. I thought you held an appreciation for appearances, stepmother?” I asked with a challenging glare.
Her relaxed features grew stiff with annoyance. “I do care, dear. But gardens are such fickle things; they aren’t like art or furnishings. If you leave them alone for too long, they go wild and require far too much attention... much like half-witted stepdaughters.” Her eyes narrowed. “If you don’t cut them back early, you’ll only have an ugly mess on your hands.”
I matched her intense gaze, summoning up a foolish amount of bravery. “What do you know about gardens? Much like stepdaughters, you’ve never cared for either.” Without pausing to consider my actions, I stood from my seat and marched over to Sapphira with my teacup in hand. While making direct eye contact, I poured the remaining contents of my cup into Sapphira’s lap. She let out an ear-splitting shriek as the girls simultaneously cursed at me. Not wanting to wait around for the following consequences, I dashed out of the room and sprinted. All the servants were rushing toward their screaming mistress, eyeing me as they went. Once I made it outside, I was instantly met by the familiar cluster of gardeners.
“What in the realms happened in there!?” Chester exclaimed breathlessly. They must have run over from the back of the garden.How loud had Sapphira’s scream been?
“What did you do this time, child?” Beatrice asked with a pointed glare.
“W-what makes you think it had anything to do with me?” I stammered a little more guiltily than I had intended.
Beatrice and Yvette crossed their arms as Yvette raised an eyebrow at me. “Kalina…”
I buckled under the weight of her glare. “Alright, I may have poured my tea on her,” I confessed, tossing my hands up in the air. All three of their mouths dropped open, and I huffed. “She was antagonizing me! I just couldn’t take it anymore, and thought… I don’t know what I thought. I just couldn’t let her keep ridiculing me like that.” I slumped down in the grass, tucking my head between my knees. I was too frustrated to cry, but I couldn’t face my friends with the shame of my actions right now. A gentle hand touched my shoulder.
“Oh, Kalina…” Yvette said soothingly. “You shouldn’t have done what you did, but you don’t deserve what the mistress does to you, either.”
A second hand touched my shoulder. “Ya only have a few more days. Yer strong enough, Kalina.” Beatrice’s warm voice eased my tension. “Ya just need to funnel that bravery of yers a little better. Pouring tea on yer stepmother won’t get yer application back.” She squeezed my shoulder slightly and I sighed. She was right. I needed to keep a tighter rein on my tongue… and my temper.
“I’m just disappointed that I missed it!” Chester chirped in. “Next time, let me know if you’re gonna embarrass the mistress. I could’ve been casually clipping bushes by the parlor window.”
Both ladies groaned at Chester’s mischief, but I let a weak laugh sneak out of my huddle. Slowly, I stood to my feet, allowing the group to embrace me. “You’re right, thank you all. And I’ll be certain to pencil in my next act of defiance, Chester.” I winked at the boy.
He grinned back at me and chuckled. “That’s all I’m asking!”
I looked back at the bustling house and imagined Sapphira’s rampage. She was likely planning on boarding me up in my room for the next five days. I thought back to my letters with the mystery man; I had never returned his last note. He was expecting me at the ball tomorrow, and I couldn’t go. What would he do if I ignored both his letters and the event? My gaze followed the garden over to the horse stables.