Chapter 7, part 5

“I have been brought up to be something near the opposite. I have been told to be silent, dignified and feminine, not to be loud and running around. I never felt the desire to make myself the centre of attention like that.”

Catherine tried to look sympathetic. If she could get this one princess to loose a small bit of her confidence she might still be up against a lot of beauty and perfect, long hair, but she would have a slightly better chance. And a sudden change in behaviour might confuse the prince.

“I thank you for the advice, my dear, but I think I will stick to most of what I know. I will try to make myself a little more noticed, though.

Catherine smiled her most friendly smile and nodded. On the inside she wanted to kick herself. She had wanted to make an older, more experienced woman make a mistake by giving her false information. That in itself had obviously been stupidly dangerous, considering what she was dealing with. Now she had even managed to give the beautiful princess advice that might make it easier for her to get close to the prince. The only real advantage she had had over the princess had been the fact that she was quiet and did not push herself to the foreground to speak to the prince. It was too easy to see this now that she had ruined it.

“I have to admit I am afraid not to be able to catch his attention,” the princess was saying. “I offended a suitor of mine by accepting the invitation, and if gossip about the true nature of our visits should get out, I risk losing everything. My older brother will inherit the throne, and I was hoping to rise above him in status by marriage.”

Catherine smiled and nodded politely. She sipped some tea.

“Well, I make it sound so dramatic. Really there is little reason to believe that something like this would be a true problem. Magic is not forbidden in our country, and who can blame me for trying my luck?”

Catherine nodded again and sipped more tea. She tried to get her thoughts together, but all she could think about was the shiny, soft hair of the woman in front of her and the dusty streets of her life so far. A spark of hope lit up in her mind. Maybe she had given the prince a tougher choice by giving the princess an advantage. If all the women seemed desirable, he might not know which one to chose.

Maybe, if she made good friends with the ones that he was most likely to choose, she could tell them the truth when he married them. If the future crown princess was her friend she would not throw her out on the streets.

“Catherine, are you feeling well?”

She looked up at the princess and smiled, then nodded. She pointed to her head.

“Were you lost in your thoughts?”

She nodded.

“Were they thoughts of consequence?”

She shook her head and smiled again. The princess was about to say something when the bells of a small clock behind Catherine interrupted them. She turned around and looked at the contraption, sensing the princess' gaze turning in the same direction.

“I suppose we should get ready for lunch now?”

Catherine, who did not trust her own abilities to read a clock, or her remembering when lunch started, just smiled. Princess Iris reached across the table and picked up a small bell. She shook it. There was a long moment's awkward silence before Ingrid came in.

“Please close the door behind you for a moment,” princess Iris said quietly. Ingrid lifted an eyebrow and obeyed, sending Catherine a look.

“Catherine. I know that you are lying. I know that no one has taken vows of silence for so long that it is quite unlikely that anyone would seriously consider using one now. I know that the prince is not attracted to strong women and I know that you are most likely not a noble of any kind. The only thing I have yet to find out is why you are here and who you really are.”

Ingrid remained at the door. Catherine looked back at her, but found no help in the other woman's frozen face. She shifted uncomfortably, but did not speak. The princess looked at her intently. Catherine felt her pulse behind her ears. The tea she had sipped seemed halfway up her throat again. It sounded like her breaths were loud enough that people should be able to hear them through the closed doors. The only thing in her field of vision were the princess' dark eyes, digging into hers.

“Fine,” she said, when it was absolutely clear that none of them were going to speak. “I have a feeling that you are not dangerous as such, and I will give you the benefit of doubt. But I will ask you to keep your distance. I have no need for people like you close to me. Please leave now.”

Ingrid still did not move. Catherine was stuck in her uncomfortable position in the floor and was unable to get up. Just as she considered actually speaking to ask for help, princess Iris seemed to take some pity on her.

“Your lady is embarrassed, maid. Are you not going to help her?”

Ingrid finally left her place and came to Catherine's rescue.

“Sorry, my lady,” she whispered, as her mouth came close enough to Catherine's ears for her to hear it. She helped her get on her feet and then led the way out of the rooms. Catherine felt her face grow more and more warm with shame. She had never felt so small, so selfish and so dirty in her life.

As soon as the door opened, the princess spoke again.

“It was a pleasure, Lady Catherine. I hope we will meet at dinner!”

This time Catherine did not manage to smile or nod. She stared at Ingrid's back all that way back to her own rooms, where she was delighted to see that they were alone.

“How'd she find that out? How could she? Who is that woman?”

“You will have to go to his majesty with this,” Ingrid was saying. Catherine stopped talking and slumped down on a chair at the wall.

“I will?”

“I can not do it again, not so soon. I just can not. It is your opinion he wants and you are the one who somehow got yourself revealed.”

“I-” Catherine did not know what to say. There was nothing for her to say. She got back up and started walking across the large, gleaming floors.



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