The next day was a strange one. Part of it was the kind of mental fatigue anyone would feel after a very emotional night. My body was probably dehydrated from the tears I’d shed.

But it was more than that. I wish I could say I’d turned a corner, and that I’d gotten a handle on the guilt I felt. I wish I could say I’d made peace with the way I’d let Teresa and the others down.

And maybe I had—a little. Talking with the prince had definitely helped. Saying it all out loud had helped. But I still had a long way to go before I could forgive myself.

The other reason I felt disoriented today was because of Nico. All day long, the memory of his arms around me kept returning. He’d made me feel so safe and secure. And last night, I’d been too upset to think about the ramifications of the way he’d held me, but today it kept entering my thoughts. If he truly didn’t want to be with me and didn’t think there could ever be anything between us, why had he taken me in his arms like that?

It went beyond the fact that I’d been upset. After all, I couldn’t imagine him holding Gretchen that way if she’d been sharing a painful story from her past. The more I thought about it today, the more it seemed like it had to mean something.

Or maybe I just wanted to read more into it than I should have. Maybe Nico had just been comforting a friend. Perhaps it hadn’t felt as intimate to him.

It sure as hell had felt intimate to me, though.

Where did that fact leave me? Confused, tired, and adrift in a castle in Falkenberg.

Lunch with the children was rather subdued. Elyse already had her Princess Merida dress and wig on. Usually, I assisted her with it after lunch. I wondered if perhaps Gretchen had helped her put it on this morning. If so, I hoped that didn’t become a habit. I’d grown to enjoy talking with the little girl while I pinned her long hair up. It was the time of the day she was most likely to respond to me.

After lunch, I relied on a favorite trick of nannies, babysitters, parents, and teachers everywhere—I let the kids watch a movie. This time it was The Little Mermaid. The twins loved it, and the music was great, but it did seem rather disturbing that the central message seemed to be that it was okay to trade away your most prized possession—in Ariel’s case, her voice—for a handsome prince with good abs.

Hmm… maybe I was projecting a bit too much of my life into the movie.

By dinner, I was dragging, ready for this day to be over, but also a little curious about seeing Nico again. Would he treat me like an injured bird that needed sheltering? Or would he act like nothing had happened last night? I didn’t know which option I preferred.

When the twins and I entered the dining room, Nico was already there. He greeted me cordially, but when he asked how I was doing, he stared intently into my eyes as if he really did want to know. And while the servers were bringing out the first course, he asked me in a low voice if we could talk for a few minutes after dinner.

I was just about to respond when two guards entered the room. Like the first night I’d been there, the servers jumped to attention, and Nico and his children got to their feet. I did, too, trying not to stare as I saw Queen Margrit for the second time in my life.

The twins and I remained standing while Nico and a servant ushered the queen to a chair at the head of the table. I kept my head bowed, unsure what exactly to do. Was I supposed to curtsy while standing behind a table? It didn’t quite seem right. Why hadn’t there been a course on royal etiquette at college?

“Have a seat, Cara,” Nico said, smiling at me. I blushed, realizing that Derrick and Elyse had already sat back down and were now watching me curiously. Derrick gave me a smile, but Elyse looked concerned, her dark eyes staring at me from under the wild red curls of her Merida wig.

The queen was quiet while servers brought her tea and a bowl of French onion soup. The moment they retreated, she turned to Elyse. “Take that ridiculous thing off your head.”

My mouth fell open as I gasped with surprise. Elyse’s face fell, and I wanted to go over there and hug her.

The monarch wasn’t done. “It’s bad enough you wear it around the castle, but I won’t have it at mealtimes.”

Nico set down his fork. “It’s harmless, mother.”

The queen ignored him, and to my horror, directed her glare at me. “My granddaughter is a princess. You’ve made her look like a cheap circus clown. In my day, there was none of this ridiculous playacting. You’ve filled her head with nonsense.”

It took me a moment to find my voice. “I—I apologize, Your Majesty, I just—”

“Don’t,” Nico interrupted, but I wasn’t sure if he meant I shouldn’t apologize or shouldn’t speak. “It’s just a costume, Mother. Children like to play dress-up.”

The queen rounded on Elyse again. The little girl was pressed back against her chair, looking down. “At least take off that ridiculous wig. It has no place at the dinner table. Who knows where she got it from.”

The she, I presumed, was me. It angered me to hear the queen talk about the beautiful wig that Frankie had sent as if it were a diseased animal.

“I won’t have my granddaughter wear something so tacky. Take it off.”

Everyone looked at Elyse, and my heart went out to her. What was the harm in wearing something that made her so happy?

“It’s just for dinner.” Nico’s voice was gentle as he spoke to his daughter. “You can put it back on right afterward.”

My heart sank. I wished he’d stood up to his mother. But on the other hand, it’s not like it would kill Elyse to take the wig off just for dinner.

But the little girl didn’t. Instead, she huddled on her chair, her body trembling. More than anything, I wanted to run over there, scoop her up, and get her out of this room. She seemed terrified—perhaps having this many eyes on her was intimidating?

Unfortunately, Nico was growing frustrated. Or perhaps he wanted to get the matter over with before his mother could say something harsh again? “Take the wig off right now, Elyse.”

With shaky fingers, Elyse grasped a handful of unruly curls and pulled. Almost in slow motion, the wig slid to one side of her head. As she continued to pull, it fell to her shoulder, long tendrils momentarily covering her face.

And then gravity took over and the wig slipped off her arm and onto the floor. The rest of us looked on in shocked silence as Elyse stared at her lap.

The brown hair on the little girl’s head wasn’t long and sleek anymore. Instead, it looked like it had been attacked with a hatchet. It stuck up in all directions, each tendril no more than a couple inches long. It was like no haircut I’d ever seen unless it was done by a blind man with a hedge-trimmer.

For several long moments, there was total and complete silence in the room.

The queen was the quickest to recover her voice, and it was directed at me. “You did this.” Oh my god… Elyse cut off her hair, and the queen was going to cut off my head.

“No, I—” The words rose automatically to my lips, and I could’ve kicked myself. I should’ve taken the blame and protected Elyse. But I hadn’t thought quickly enough, and now it was too late. The queen’s glare had returned to her granddaughter.

“Why did you do this? Your beautiful hair… it’s all gone.”

Nico seemed to break free of his shock. “Mother—”

But the queen cut him off. “I told you not to let this woman into our home. This self-absorbed American who’s barely more than a child herself. I told you no good would come of it.”

The queen’s words barely hurt. It wasn’t much of a surprise that she felt that way. My concern was all for Elyse. Tears glistened on the little girl’s cheeks, and Derrick had reached out and placed his hand over hers.

The queen’s anger turned into baffled confusion as she spoke again to Elyse. “Your beautiful, beautiful hair that was so much like Lady Lisette’s. It’s all gone, and it was so thick and glossy, just like your mother’s—”

“Stop saying that!” My words echoed through the room as I rose to my feet. Blood pounded through my veins though my hands shook.

The queen looked at me, shocked into silence. The prince did as well. After a long pause, he spoke quietly to the twins. “Derrick and Elyse, please go to the playroom. I’ll meet you up there in a few minutes. It’ll be okay,” he added as Derrick guided his sister away.

The few seconds that took was enough time for me to compose myself. I briefly considered backing down, but the memory of the misery on Elyse’s face gave me strength. “Your Majesty, I don’t think you realize how much that comparison bothers Princess Elyse.”

“Don’t you lecture me about my granddaughter.”

“Someone has to,” I said. If the queen wanted to kick me out of the castle, so be it. But I wasn’t going to stop now. “It’s not just you, Your Majesty. I’ve heard many people here say how much Elyse is like her mother.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nico watching me intently. His hands were flat on the table as if he was ready to stand at any moment, but for now, he was still.

I forged on. “Princess Elyse has been trying her best to live up to that ideal. She’s been so busy trying to act like her mother that she’s hasn’t had a chance to be a child. To have fun and be silly and play. She’s been trying to live up to a memory, a standard that’s impossible for a child to achieve, and she’s been making herself miserable in the process.”

“She’s perfectly fine,” the queen retorted. “She’s a quiet child—there’s nothing wrong with that. Lady Lisette was at that age, too.”

A memory from an article online surfaced in my mind. The prince’s late wife had been the daughter of one of Queen Margrit’s oldest friends. “You’re still doing it, Your Majesty. You’re forcing Elyse into a role that’s not her own. She needs to be herself—and I’m not even sure that she knows who that is.”

“Whatever amateur psychology class you took in school was sadly lacking.” The queen’s heavy, ornate crown seemed to gleam in the light, giving her words extra resonance. “Having Elyse run around the castle pretending to be some kind of wild child with a bow and arrow does not constitute being herself.”

“But it’s a step in the right direction. It’s an identity she’s chosen, not one that was forced on her. And good for her. All children make-believe—at least when they’re not suffocating under tremendously unrealistic expectations.” My voice was strong thanks to years of theater training, but I could feel my hands trembling from the stress of this confrontation. “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I don’t think the time Elyse spends with you in the afternoons is doing her much good.”

Nico looked surprised, and I realized I’d never told him about Elyse’s visits with her grandmother.

The queen’s normally dignified face filled with anger. “How dare you say I’m harming my granddaughter? Get out. I want you out of the palace tonight.”

Her command hit my body like a shock wave, and it was all I could do to remain on my feet. If I had to leave now, I’d miss Derrick and Elyse terribly. And the thought of never seeing Nico again? That was too painful to contemplate. Even so, I knew I’d never regret this. Someone needed to stand up for Elyse.

“Stop right there.” Nico’s voice was firm as he stood. “She’s not going anywhere.”

“You can’t possibly defend her. Did you see the way your daughter looked?” The queen’s voice was full of disbelief.

“The state of Elyse’s hair is far less important than what’s going on inside of her head. She needs help, and Miss Andrews was the only one who could see that.”

The queen scoffed. “This girl is not part of our family, and she needs to go back where she—”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Nico spoke over his mother. “I hired her, and I want her to stay. And the twins want her to stay, so it’s settled.”

Nico moved to my side and spoke quietly. “Would you please wait in my office, Cara? I need to speak to my mother and then the twins. Then I’ll come find you.”

I nodded, feeling the fight-or-flight adrenaline fade. All of a sudden, my knees felt weak. As I turned, Nico put his hand on my arm, guiding me. His touch gave me the courage to hold my head high as I left the room.