CHAPTER EIGHT

The Aftermath

Getting back inside the palace was easy. Instead of chancing the drainpipe again, I walked in through a back door and headed towards my room until one of the guards saw me. For the second time that morning, I was escorted back up to the fifth floor. The guard outside my room looked surprised as I walked back into my room, but neither of us said anything.

I never thought I’d sleep again, but after the adrenaline and shock wore off, I slept all through the day and into the next night. No one came to wake me or to bring me food. It was the heel of the glass slipper, digging into me that finally roused me from a nightmare-filled sleep.

I pulled it out from under me, where it had fallen. I’d slept with it, not knowing if Cynder was alive or not, and it broke my heart. The pain I felt was indescribable and so raw it eclipsed the ache left behind by Grace. I had never felt more confused in my life, nor as low as I did now. My heart felt like a lead weight in my chest, threatening to pull me under. When I saw the light of day, I realized just how long I’d slept.

I jumped out of bed as Agatha walked in. She seemed surprised to see me awake.

“Morning, Your Highness.” Her voice was flat and her face expressionless.

“You’re ok!” I ran to her and gave her a hug. She hugged me back tightly.

“I’m fine. I was at the other side of the room when it happened. The king kindly gave me the day off work yesterday and for the rest of the week. He even offered those of us who live in the staff quarters money for a hotel in town, but I couldn’t bear to stay away. This is my home.”

“Of course it is. Do you know what happened?”

“You don’t know?”

“No, I’ve been here since the morning after the explosion. No one has told me anything.”

“That was yesterday morning. I can’t believe no one has been to see you since then. You must be starving.”

“I slept through it.” I yawned as if to prove my point.

“Let me get you something to eat.”

She turned to leave, but I caught her arm.

“No. I’m not hungry. I just want to know what happened.”

“I don’t know much,” she said, suddenly looking fearful.

“Then tell me everything you do know.”

“The investigators seem to think it was a bomb planted by the Magi who were demonstrating.”

She was so quiet when she said it that I almost didn’t hear her at all. I wasn’t surprised. She was a Mage too.

“They couldn’t have!” I cried, sounding more outraged than I had planned.

I watched Agatha’s expression turn from one of fear to one of relief. “You don’t think so?”

“No, do you?”

“Of course not. We are not a violent people. I knew people in that demonstration, and none of them would hurt anyone.”

“Of course, they wouldn’t.” Would they? I remembered Cynder’s anger as he spoke about his people being treated unfairly. Were the other Magi as angry as he? Were any of them angry enough to kill?

“Agatha, I need your help. I need to go and have a shower. I feel disgusting, but there are guards outside. Can you tell my father to tell them to go, so I can go use the bathroom?”

“There is no one outside the door, Your Highness.”

I peeked out, and she was right. I ran across the corridor and used the toilet before jumping into the hottest shower I’d ever had. The burning water washing over my skin was a relief, taking my mind from everything that had happened in the past few days and cleansing me of the dirt and spots of blood that had caked on me.

Agatha appeared ten minutes later with a large white towel and some clothes for me. I let her dry me and help me into the black dress. Another black dress. Were we still in mourning for Grace or were we mourning someone else now?

“How many people died in the blast?” I asked as she buttoned up the dress.

“I don’t know,” replied Agatha. “There hasn’t been an official total, but the newspaper said that there were more than twenty. The Prince of Aurora was killed.”

I remembered the prince of Aurora was one of the older princes. I’d not spoken to him apart from saying hello at the beginning of the night. His death would cause a huge impact for our already floundering kingdom.

“Who else?” I asked thinking only of Cynder.

“No other names have been released. I do know that Jenny is in the palace infirmary.”

Jenny! I’d not thought of her at all, and now I felt terrible.

“Is she ok?” I demanded urgently.

“I think she was hurt pretty badly, but she’s alive.”

I ran out of the bathroom, with my dress not buttoned up all the way to the top and with no shoes on my feet. Not that I cared what I looked like. The palace was subdued. There were guards on every corridor, but none of them made any attempt to either stop me or speak to me. When I got to the infirmary, I found that it too was guarded.

The two guards stepped back when they saw me to let me pass.

The small ward of ten beds was full. I recognized some of the staff as well as some of the men from the ball. Jenny was in the last bed. I ran straight over to her. Her right arm was in a sling, and she had cuts and bruises on her face, but she was alive and awake.

“Jenny. I’m sorry I’ve not been down to see you. I was asleep. I only just found out.”

“Don’t you worry about it. The king has been sitting with me.”

“My father?”

“Yes, he was down here most of yesterday making sure that everything was being done that could be done. Most of the injured went to the hospital in town, but those of us with only superficial injuries were treated here.”

“Superficial injuries?” I eyed her arm.

“Just a hairline fracture. Nothing to worry about. It will be in a cast for six weeks then back to normal.”

“Can’t they fix you with magic?” Even though Magi were not permitted to become doctors, we did have a Magic nurse on staff. I knew she could mend bones; she mended a broken finger of mine a couple of years back when I fell out of a tree.

Jenny beckoned me closer and talked to me in hushed tones.

“There has been talk that the Magi set off the bomb and the police seem to think it was an insider. All the Magi in the palace have been suspended for a week while the police carry out their inquiries.”

“But that can’t be true!” I’d only just left Agatha. She was a Mage, and she was still working.

“Shhh!” Jenny nodded her head to the bed opposite where a Mage was sleeping. It was one of the cleaners.

“Agatha is still here,” I whispered.

“Your father, along with the chief of police, called for it, but I know there were a few that were asked to stay. Agatha was asked to stay because they thought you might need the support. June, Elise’s dresser was also asked to stay, but the majority have left.”

“But that’s madness.”

“Your father has to be seen to be doing the right thing, plus the police demanded it.”

“But my father is the king!”

“Not even the king is above the law. Some very important people were killed here the other night. He has to be seen to be doing what is right.”

“How is it right that half the staff have been taken away? Why do they think it was a Mage anyway? Just because they were demonstrating, doesn’t make them murderers.”

“Keep your voice down!” Jenny hissed. “There was a shoe found by the site of the bomb blast. A glass slipper. It was melted beyond recognition by the heat of the blast, but one of the guests said they’d seen a member of our staff carrying glass slippers just before the blast. The police seem to think that whoever set the bomb dropped the slipper just before they ran away. They are now scouring the kingdom for the other one.”

My thoughts went up to my bedroom. I knew exactly where the other slipper was. It was lying on the floor next to my bed.

“I need to go and see my father,” I said hurriedly, kissing her cheek. I hated to leave her after such a short visit, but I needed to find out why they were looking for Cynder. A melted shoe was hardly enough evidence to mount a kingdom–wide manhunt.

I found him in his study surrounded by people.

“Father, I need to speak to you. It’s urgent.”

Normally, he’d call me on my rudeness for barging in, but he must have seen the panic in my expression.

“You heard her gentlemen. My daughter needs me. We’ll resume this conversation after lunch.”

The men filed out until there were only myself and my father left in the room.

“Charmaine. What is it?”

“Who do they think planted the bomb?”

“Have you had breakfast yet? You look so pale. You must still be in shock. I must say the last few days have been shocking for all of us.”

“I’m fine. I’ll eat later. I just want to know who planted the bomb.”

My father sighed. “Sit down. I was hoping to be able to brief you and Elise together, but as you are here asking, I’ll tell you all I know.”

I sat in the leather chair opposite him and waited.

“At ten fifteen one of the guests saw a member of staff acting strangely in the outer corridor. He was carrying a pair of glass slippers and something else. The guest thought it odd that one of our wait staff was carrying something so out of place as glass slippers, but he shrugged it off and carried on his way to the bathroom. It was there he heard the explosion. The center of the explosion was found to be right at the exact spot where he’d seen the member of staff. The boy’s description matched one of our kitchen hands who’d been working as a member of the wait staff that night. The boy escaped, but don’t worry, the police are after him.”

So Cynder escaped. The relief that I felt knowing he was alive was overshadowed by the fear I felt that the police were after him.

“Why do they think Cy...the kitchen hand did it? I’m sure a lot of the wait staff used that corridor.”

“A few reasons. Firstly, he dropped one of the shoes right in the spot where the explosion was. The police think he would only have done that if he was in a hurry. They also think he might have stolen the shoes from a guest because they were expensive. Way beyond the means of a kitchen hand. Secondly, the boy in question had links to the protest group. He was a Mage and was known for protesting for Magi Rights. Thirdly, he ran away. If he was innocent, he’d have stayed like the other Magi.”

“So they know he ran away and wasn’t caught up in the blast?”

“He was seen a couple of hours later on the outskirts of town, but by the time the police got there, he’d escaped.”

So Cynder was definitely alive. He was also wanted for murder. I thought back to the man I’d come to know. Could he really have done this? I didn’t think so, but at the same time, I realized I didn’t know him as well as I thought I did. I didn’t know he was a member of the protest groups. He’d never mentioned it, but on the one occasion we’d talked about the treatment of Magi, he’d become angry, before changing the subject.

“If they know...think they know who did it, why have they rounded up all the Magi in the staff?”

My father sighed and massaged his temples.

“We are living in difficult times. I argued with the chief of police, but he got the mayor involved, and from there, word got out that it was a Mage that had done this. We had to be seen to be doing something.”

“By rounding up innocent people? You are the king. You have final say on everything.”

“The people need to see that things are being done. I did what I had to do. The Magi will be ok. In a couple of days, they will be let off without charge and sent home.”

“Sent home? You mean they won’t be coming back here?”

“No. We are in the process of hiring new staff. Non-magic staff. When we have filled the positions, we’ll be doing the same for the remaining Magi.”

I stood up. “You are firing the Magi?”

“I have to. There would be an uprising if I didn’t. They have caused enough trouble. Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll get jobs elsewhere.”

“How are they supposed to get jobs elsewhere when our very own king won’t support them?” I screeched.

“Calm down, Charmaine. Why is this so important to you? You’ve never shown any interest in politics before.”

“This isn’t politics, this is people’s lives. Innocent people who will now not be able to put food on their table.”

His level of anger rose to match my own. “And what about the innocents who were killed here on Saturday night? Twenty-three people lost their lives, Charmaine. One of which was a member of royalty. I have spent the last twenty-four hours trying to persuade the Prince of Aurora’s parents not to declare war on us. I had to explain to them why I let Magi into the palace at all when they are so obviously volatile. I had to fire them. I had no choice.”

“But...”

“This discussion is closed. I did what I had to do, and I don’t want to hear any more about it. Now go and see your mother about breakfast.”

Every part of me wanted to argue right back at him, but I knew there was no point. I stood up and stalked out of the door.

One thing my father was right about—the only thing. I needed food. I’d not eaten in over thirty-six hours, and I was beginning to feel lightheaded. I headed for the breakfast room.

My mother and Elise were there eating. I took my usual seat. Within seconds, one of the staff brought me breakfast. The food smelled lovely—poached eggs and salmon, but I felt so miserable, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat it.

“Charmaine, it’s lovely to have you with us. How are you feeling today?”

I looked at my mother. She looked worn and tired, but, as usual, she had a smile on her face. I wanted to tell her how angry I was with everything, but she held no sway over my father. Shouting at her would solve nothing. I tucked into my eggs. “I’m fine.”

“Good. I’m glad your long sleep did you some good. I’ve set up your first official date. I know you were supposed to choose five men at the end of the ball, but obviously, that didn’t happen, so I went with the ones you’d picked earlier in the evening. Alexander decided to go home after the explosion and have no more to do with the competition, but the others stayed. I’d like to have fixed you up with the dates in alphabetical order to show no preference, but that lovely Leo never got to dance with you, so I thought it would be nice to let him go first.”

I nearly choked on my eggs. Was she being serious? Elise looked up in surprise too. I guess she, like I, had thought that the men would be allowed to leave and this whole marriage thing would quietly go away on its own.

“This ridiculous charade is still going ahead? After everything that’s happened?”

My mother clucked impatiently. “Of course, it’s still going on, and please don’t call it a charade. We need this now more than ever.”

“People have died, and innocent people are being thrown out of their jobs, and the people need me to go on dates with men I don’t even know?”

“It’s important we keep going as we were. Our people expect strong leadership. Now how would it look if we decided to drop everything just because of a little incident?”

“Little incident? Twenty-three people were killed, and the police are looking for an innocent man.”

I didn’t mean to say it, but my mother didn’t seem to notice. Elise, however, gave me an odd look.

“And that’s exactly why we have to carry on as before. Now I’ve set your date for seven o’clock this evening. Leo has already been notified. I just need to know exactly what you want to do for your date.”

“I don’t want to go on a date.”

My mother ignored me. “I’ll tell him you’ll meet him in the gardens at seven precisely. Xavi will be informed so she can dress you for the occasion. I’d like to have invited the press, but security is high at the moment, so it will be just the two of you. Don’t worry though; guards will be keeping an eye on you from a distance. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

And just like that, the nightmare I’d woken up to got a whole lot worse.