Princess Elodi's Arc

Chapter 6 of 55

Weeks passed, and the guard never left Elodi's door. Each night she heard his boots settle in the hall. Each morning he was gone, replaced by another. Her tools waited in the vent below, past the forge, past three locked doors she could no longer reach. Opal curled on the windowsill, watching pigeons cross the blue slate roofs. Elodi pressed her forehead to the cold glass and counted the spires. She had no plan left. She had only the guard, and the bolt, and the long empty days. Then the door opened without a knock. Her mother swept in, gold gown trailing, dark hair pinned high beneath her crown. The Queen carried a rolled paper and a smile Elodi did not trust. She had not smiled at her daughter since the night of the forge. "I have news," the Queen said. She unrolled the paper on the table. "A ball. Held here, in three weeks' time. For you." Elodi stayed by the window. "For me." "Lords and ladies from every corner of Avalonia." Her mother touched the guest list with one finger. "A ball will find you a marriage alliance. Friends. A life worth staying for." She looked up. "You have been so alone in these rooms. I want that to end." Elodi understood. The ball was another wall. A husband would bind her tighter than any guard. Her mother wished to fill the cage with music so the bars would not show. She opened her mouth to refuse. Then she stopped. Opal lifted her head. The guest list meant guests. Guests meant open gates, crowded halls, servants running, doors unlocked for carts and trunks. For one night the castle would forget to watch a single girl. "You would do this for me?" Elodi asked. She made her voice soft. She crossed the room and looked at the list. Dozens of names. Dozens of strangers who would fill every passage. "Of course." Her mother's face eased. "Then you agree?" "I do," Elodi said. "I will need a gown. And I should learn the halls again, if I am to greet so many." The Queen took her hand. Her grip was warm and certain. "You will not be locked away that night. A princess cannot host from behind a bolt." She smiled wider, believing she had won. "The guard stays until then. But at the ball, you will be free to move among them." Elodi bowed her head so her mother would not see her face. The guard would stand at her door for three more weeks. Then, for one bright night, he would stand aside. Doors would open. The forge would sit unwatched while the whole castle danced. "Thank you, Mother," she said. The Queen left the list on the table and swept out, pleased. Elodi lifted Opal to her shoulder and looked at the date. Three weeks. On that night she would slip to the vent, take her tools, and reach the tunnel at last.