CHAPTER TWELVE

The Secret

I’d recognize that curly hair anywhere. He’d been trying to contact me for a week, and I’d shrugged him off as a member of the paparazzi.

I waved and then dropped my hand. If he could see me, it meant other people could too. If they caught me waving at someone, they’d investigate, and Cynder would be caught. I could feel my heart thumping as I gazed through the telescope. He’d seen me wave and that was enough. As I took in his features, I realized just how much I missed him. Our nights together dancing around the kitchen had meant so much to me, and they had ended so abruptly the night of the ball.

The red and blue flashing of a police car’s lights lit up the walls of the town house for a second as it passed and Cynder disappeared from view.

I waited for a few moments for him to come back, but he didn’t reappear. I could understand why. He’d put himself in great danger trying to contact me.

I fingered the chain around my wrist. I’d not taken it off since the day of the ball. It was my one link to Cynder.

I needed to see him, but how? I wasn’t allowed out of the palace grounds and with all the guards stationed around; there was no way I could sneak out. Cynder coming in here was impossible. He’d be caught in no time. He had most of the police in the kingdom searching for him. It was a miracle he’d gone this long without being caught.

By the time Agatha had brought my dinner to my room, I was no closer to figuring out a solution.

Agatha put the silver tray down on the bed next to me. “When you didn’t come down for dinner, the queen instructed me to bring food up here for you.”

“Thank you, Agatha.”

“It’s no problem, your highness. I hope you enjoy it.”

I looked at her. Despite all her problems and her upcoming firing, she still managed to keep a smile on her face. I don’t know how she did it.

“What’s going to happen to you, Agatha?” she’d lived in the palace her whole life. Her mother had been a maid here as had her grandmother before her. In all the time I’d known her, I’d never once asked her how she felt about being a Mage. It was just something unspoken between the two of us. Maybe now was the time to change that.

“I’ve got an aunt and uncle who live a couple of hundred miles away in the south of the country. They’ll probably take me in. I’ll find something to do when I get there.”

“Doesn’t it annoy you?”

“I don’t like it,” she sighed, “but my aunt and uncle are nice people.”

“I don’t mean that. Doesn’t it bother you that you can pick up a wand and do anything you want, and yet, those without wands tell you what to do?”

“Wand use has always been strictly regulated. I’m used to it.”

“But why should you be used to it? Don’t you want to use your wand and... just fly away sometimes?”

She laughed. “Even if I wanted to, I’m not powerful enough to fly.”

“You know what I mean. It’s such a waste. All those things at your fingertips, and you use your wand for folding my clothes.”

“I enjoy working for you. I do sometimes wish I dared use my wand to conjure up a nice dress like the ones you’ve been wearing lately, but it’s not worth the trouble I’d be in if I did. Besides, where would I wear a nice dress?”

It broke my heart. She had the whole world at her fingertips, and she’d been conditioned not to use her wand for anything but serving others. I stood up and ran to my wardrobe. Most of the beautiful clothes were kept in the dressing room downstairs, but some of the outfits had ended up in here. I picked out a couple of the prettiest dresses and handed them to her.

“These are for you. I want you to have them. We’re about the same size. If you don’t want them, you can sell them later.”

Her eyes went wide as she touched the fabric. “I can’t accept these.”

“After everything you’ve done for me, these dresses are the least I can do.”

“You know they’ll think I’ve stolen them, right?”

“I’ll tell my father I’ve given them to you. He can hardly complain after what he’s doing to you.”

She stood up and flung her arms around me. I held on to her tightly. I didn’t know if it was the last time I’d see her. Both of us wept in each other’s arms. If only I could get my father to see the damage he was causing.

After she had left, I picked at my dinner, thinking of my situation. I felt almost as trapped as Agatha was, neither of us able to do what we wanted to do. I envied her slightly too. At least, she knew what she wanted. All I ever wanted to do was climb trees and read books. It was hardly a career choice.

I brought my mind back to Cynder. The conundrum of how to get to him was in the forefront of my mind, but whichever way I looked at it, I couldn’t see a way to manage it. He was so close and yet so far away. Every so often, I’d go to the window and peek through the telescope in the hopes of seeing him, but he was never there. It was only when it had gotten dark that movement in the garden caught my eye. I didn’t need the telescope to see who it was. Leo was once again taking food out to feed the homeless. I could see two bags in his hands. I watched him walk down the staff driveway to the back gate, which two guards opened for him. He really was an extraordinary man. I waited for him to return, curious to know how long he spent out in the town when he was giving out food. It also gave me a good excuse to be gazing out of the window. Even though my gaze kept wandering to the town house, if anyone saw me, I could simply say I was watching for Leo. It would make a cute story for the newspapers. Two hours later and he finally returned, his hands empty. In that time, I’d come up with a plan. I was going to see Cynder again! I just had to convince my father. I went to bed fingering the charm he’d given me. At some point in the night, the little gold carriage turned into a pumpkin pulled by mice as dreams took over.

 

The next morning I was up and dressed early. I needed to see my father before he was too busy to speak to me. I’d gotten halfway down the corridor before Jenny caught up with me.

“Look at you! I normally have to drag you out of bed. What’s the occasion?”

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing. I just wanted to have a word with my father.”

“There’s time for that later. The news team will be here in an hour to interview you about your date with Xavier and Xavi wants to sort your make up out first.”

I sighed. As my date had come to an abrupt end, I’d hoped this wasn’t something I’d have to do. When Sadie had interviewed me after my date with Daniel, she’d chatted as we rolled bowling balls, this time minus the drinks. The thought of appearing on screen in front of hundreds of thousands of people wearing nothing but a swimsuit was enough to make my blood curdle.

Thankfully, Xavi agreed and asked Alezis to give me a wet look hairstyle while she dressed me, rather inexplicably in a navy blue sailor dress. The interview was to take place in the swimming pool area, with Xavier and I sitting on the edge of the pool with our feet in the water. My mother thought it might show a playful side to the royal family. Personally, I thought we looked stupid as we answered Sadie’s insipid questions. Strangely enough, she made no comment on how our date ended, instead, asking lots of questions about our swimming abilities. All the while, all I could think about was talking to my father. I wanted to ask him if I could accompany Leo on his nocturnal aid mission. All my answers to Sadie’s questions were in monotone and Xavier didn’t say much more. He was elusive when asked about his history, and once again, I wondered exactly what it was he was hiding.

“I think that’s all for today,” Sadie said to the camera through gritted teeth. Today had not been a success for her, and I almost felt sorry for her. “Tune in on Wednesday for our catch-up with Princess Charmaine and Prince Luca.”

I smiled and ran before Xavier could talk to me. I know it was rude, especially as our date had been so short, but I needed to speak to my father. I found him in his study. This time, thankfully, he was alone.

“If you’ve come to lecture me about the Magi, Charmaine, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve got enough on my plate at the moment.”

“No, it’s not that, although I should tell you that I’ve given Agatha a couple of my dresses as a gift.”

“Uh huh.”

“I was actually here to ask if you would mind if I went out with Leo tonight.”

He looked up, surprised. “You want to go out with Leo? I think that’s a splendid idea. Where are you planning on going?”

“Is it?” I asked, taken aback by his answer. “He feeds the homeless out in the town. I thought it would be nice if I joined him.”

“Splendid. I’ll get a couple of guards to go with you. Would you like me to ask your mother to call that Sadie woman? It would make great publicity.”

“No!” I shouted abruptly. “I don’t think Leo would like the publicity. He’s pretty shy.” I fabricated wildly. For all I knew, he’d love to be followed around town by a cameraman.

“Ok, just the guards then. What time will you be leaving?”

I thought about it. On the two occasions I’d seen Leo leave; it had been about eight o’clock. If I told my father ten, then we’d miss the guards. I could always come up with some story about how I got the wrong time by mistake. Slipping away from Leo was going to be hard enough; I wouldn’t be able to slip away from two guards as well.

“Ten.”

“Wonderful, does Leo approve?”

The way he asked the question was strange. Did he know that I’d just made it all up on the spot?

“Of course, daddy!”

“Great! Have fun.” He was back to normal, with only that one question making him pause. Although he was awfully keen for me to go out with Leo, strange as he was the one that picked Xavier. Why would he want me to go out with Leo?

I found Leo talking to Elise in the sitting room. They were both so deep in conversation that they jumped when I walked in, making me instantly suspicious.

“You weren’t talking about me were you?”

Leo smiled that warm smile of his and crinkled his eyes “Actually we were. We were discussing how much trouble you were having with this whole dating thing. Every time you go on a date, something happens. It’s like the public wants you to stay single.”

“Our date wasn’t cut short,” I reminded him. “Actually, that’s why I’m here. I was hoping we could go out on another date.”

Elise’s eyes went wide. “Why? Surely it’s Luca’s turn?”

It was expected of me to date them each once first without having a second date with any of them, but it wasn’t in the rules. Technically, I could ask any of them out on a date whenever and they would have to agree. It was a stupid rule that I’d never follow. I’d never want to go on a date with someone that didn’t want to go. What would be the point? Of course, if Leo said no now, I’d have to make an exception.

“Where would you like to go?” asked Leo, not leaving me time to answer.

“I’ve been watching you go out and feed the homeless. I was hoping that you’d let me join you tonight.”

He seemed surprised. “It’s not glamorous work I do. The photo opportunities will be thin on the ground.”

“I’m not inviting Sadie or her cameraman. I was actually hoping to go incognito. I just want to help.” I felt bad for lying, especially as he was doing all this for a good cause, but I could think of no other option. I’d make sure the kitchens gave him some really good food to make up for it.

“Ok, I guess that would be fine. The people I feed know me. I think they would feel overwhelmed by a princess and camera crew turning up.”

“Great. I’ll sort the food out and meet you by the back door at eight.”

I’d done it. Well, I’d planned it. It remained to be seen if I could actually pull it off.

I did as promised and asked Pascal to pack the best food he had to offer. He seemed rather put out when he found out it was to feed the homeless, but he begrudgingly agreed.

In my wardrobe, I picked out the darkest outfit I could find and slipped into it. Xavi would cry if she could see me in the plain black trousers and black sweater, but with any luck, Xavi, nor anyone else would see me.

Eight o’clock couldn’t come around fast enough, and I found myself with nothing to do for the first time in weeks. One of the guards told me that Prince Luca was looking for me, but as I didn’t want to deal with him, I stayed in my room for the rest of the day, occasionally looking out of the window to see if I could spot Cynder. I didn’t see him all day, but I knew he was there and that was enough. At seven forty-five, I picked up the bags of food from the kitchen. From there, it was easy enough to sneak out through the back doors to wait for Leo.

He turned up minutes later and like the true gentleman he was, he took the bags from me. I knew my first hurdle would be the guards at the gates, but they let me through with no problem. The townhouse that Cynder was in was just a short walk down the road, but Leo turned to walk in the opposite direction, and I had no choice but to follow him. He turned down a couple of side streets before coming to a crudely built shelter made from garbage and things scavenged from the streets.

“This is their home,” Leo whispered, before knocking on a piece of wood that I suppose could have been a door. A young woman with a baby on her hip opened the door cautiously. When she saw it was Leo, she flung it wide and hugged him. I followed them into the dirty “house” surprised to find eleven people there. Five of them were children, all playing together in the ashes of a burnt out fire. The others ignored us. They all lived together in one room. At one side, was a pile of dirty rags, which I assumed was where they slept. Despite the dirt and the roughness of the place, it smelled wonderfully of fresh flowers. I’d expected a lot worse.

“This is Charmaine. She’s a friend of mine. Charmaine, this is Lita and this little one here...”—he tickled the baby in her arms,—“is Juno.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, extending my hand, which she shook.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” the woman asked.

“Yes, please.”

Then to my surprise, she pulled out three mugs and filled them using a wand she’d just brought out from her belt.

“You’re a Mage?” I exclaimed.

“She doesn’t know?” The woman suddenly looked fearful, and the others who had, so far, ignored us, looked up.

“She’s fine. She won’t tell on you for using your magic.” Leo turned to me. “Will you?”

How could anyone live in a state like this when they could change it in an instant with a swish of their wand? It was unimaginable that anyone would choose to live this way.

“No. Of course not. Why would you not want me to tell anyone about you using your magic?”

She looked at me as if I’d just arrived from another planet.

“Because it’s illegal, isn’t it? Where are you from?”

Illegal? The staff at the palace used magic all the time. At least, they had until they were fired. I picked up the tea and drank it down, so I didn’t have to answer her question.

“The police have been around twice this week to check up on us,” Lita said to Leo. “Like we are going to do anything with them coming around all the time. Still, I couldn’t resist using a flower spell. I can’t stand the stink of the diapers otherwise.” She kissed her young daughter on her nose. The baby giggled.

So that’s why the place smelled so nice despite its obvious decay.

“How’s the job hunt going?” Leo asked her

“No luck. No one will hire us. Especially now the palace is firing everyone. I’m sick of looking, but the others still spend all day knocking on doors begging for work.”

“Uncle Leo?” one of the children, a scruffy little thing who looked no more than four years old, pulled on Leo’s trouser leg. “Did you bring us food?”

“Of course, Dylan.” He emptied the contents of one of the bags onto the table, and the other kids came running.

“Are you not hungry?” I asked as Lita watched her kids tuck into the food.

“I’ll wait for the kids to finish, and then I’ll grab a bite.” She looked so skinny; I just wanted to give her a sandwich. I was just about to empty another bag out when Leo stopped me.

“Those are for other families.”

After we left, I questioned him. “There are more families like that? Magi, I mean.” This time I kept my voice down.

“There are hundreds of them all over the city. I try to visit different families every night, but I’m limited to what one person can do. I’m too scared to hire anyone to help because if I get caught I’ll end up in jail and they will too.”

“You’ll end up in jail for feeding the homeless?”

“If they are Magi, yes.”

“But why?”

“The non-Magi don’t want them around. It’s easier to let them starve.”

I’d not realized until now, just how sheltered I was living in the palace. I’d lived my whole life among Magi.

“How can using magic be illegal? Most of the staff in the palace use it, or, at least, they used to.”

He pulled me to the side of the road and looked both ways to make sure we were out of earshot.

“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but I think I can trust you...”

“Go on.”

“When I was invited to the palace, I was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement. Most of it was the kind of stuff you’d expect: don’t talk to the media about the palace or royal family, don’t talk to anyone about the princess without the permission of the family, etc. The last clause was that we should not tell you or Elise about magic being illegal.”

“Why?” I had never felt so outraged or confused.

“I think your parents wanted to protect you both.”

“In less than five months’ time, I’m supposed to be getting married and preparing for a life as the queen and head of the country. How do my parents expect me to fulfill my role if they are keeping things from me?” It was a rhetorical question. I didn’t expect him to answer. He answered me anyway by putting his arms around me and giving me a hug. I’d not even known I’d needed protecting, but at that moment, his arms felt like walls around me, keeping the entire world out. I snuggled into him grateful for his presence and warmth.

“Maybe, you will be the queen to change things?” he said.

And maybe he’d be the prince to show me the way.

A noise startled me. It was only a cat, but it brought me back to reality. We’d already been away from the palace twenty minutes, and I was no closer to getting to Cynder.

“Listen, can you do the next one on your own and I’ll meet you at the palace gate just before ten?”

“I don’t know. I don’t like the thought of you out there on your own. I promised Elise I’d look after you.”

“I’ll be fine. I know someone else that could do with some of this food. It will be quicker if we split up.”

“Ok, if you are sure.” He passed me one of the remaining bags and kissed me on the cheek.

The townhouse that I’d seen Cynder in had five floors of apartments and a communal entrance. As it was open, I slipped through the front door quietly. The last thing I needed was anyone to spot me.

I ran up all the stairs as quickly as I could until I reached a landing with no doors. It made no sense. Where was the entrance to the top apartment? There was an old writing desk with a wilted bunch of flowers and an empty bookcase. A sliver of moonlight hit the floor from an open window. I looked out, wondering if this is where I’d seen Cynder, but it couldn’t have been. It looked out the wrong way.

“Cynder?” I hissed, not wanting to raise my voice.

There was no answer. I was just about to head down a floor to knock on the door there when I heard a creak behind me. I turned to find the book case opening. From behind it appeared a familiar face with a mop of curly hair on top.