Aerity wanted to lie in the hot water forever and forget her worries. She’d moaned like an ailing woman when she climbed in the tub. The water was a cloudy shade of brown from the dye washing out, but she didn’t care about soaking in dirty water. It felt glorious.
She’d wanted to be left alone to wash and to think. Was she doing the right thing? Would towns further revolt upon hearing her proclamation? And what if nobody came? Most of all, what would it take for the Kalorians to return her parents? A nagging voice at the back of her mind kept whispering one loathsome thought: they’re already dead. Aerity squeezed her eyes shut and submerged herself under the water, where all was muted.
When she slid back up and wiped her eyes, two faces were leaning over her, one quite furry. Aerity let out an automatic squeak and covered her chest. Wyneth laughed as Aerity caught her breath and smiled.
“I should have known you’d take to Furball,” Aerity said. The cub seemed quite comfortable and happy with her cousin.
“I can care for him if you’d like,” Wyneth said.
Aerity felt relieved. “That would be a huge help. He was a spontaneous decision. A sort of parting gift from Paxton, but I’m not sure he’ll be well received.”
“Don’t worry about that.”
The creature suddenly wiggled to get down from her cousin’s arms. “Oh, no,” Aerity whispered. And sure enough, the moment he broke free, Furball bounded to the tub and pulled himself up the side. Aerity jumped to her feet inside the tub just as Furball dived over the side with a splash. The princess snatched her towel from Wyneth’s outstretched hand and climbed out, not at all interested in bathing with the beast. Wyneth was in a fit of laughter.
They both watched Furball dunk himself over and over, pawing the water and making a grand mess on the floor. And naturally that would be the very moment when Caitrin appeared, a look of confusion on her face as she peered from Lady Wyneth to Princess Aerity to something splashing about and snarling in the tub.
Caitrin let forth a scream and jumped back. “What the raging seas is that?”
“He’s our . . . pet?” Wyneth said.
“But . . . but . . .” Caitrin stared at its claws and face as it peered over the edge at them, blinking away drops of water.
“We saved him from Rozaria,” Aerity explained.
Wyneth grabbed a bar of soap and converged upon the creature in the tub, careful not to slip on the puddles of water as she set to cleaning him.
Aerity looked at the sealed bottle in Caitrin’s hand. “You found red dye?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Caitrin spared one last quizzical look at the beast before turning her full attention to Aerity. “It won’t be your natural color, but it will be beautiful, and eventually the darker red will fade into your natural color better than this brown has.” Caitrin touched a strand of her faded, mousy colored locks.
Aerity nodded, shivering.
“Come, Princess,” Caitrin said. “Sit before the fire while I dry your hair. I’ll have you ready to face the people in no time.”
Aerity sat on a stool, thankful for the crackling fire, and let Caitrin work, drying her strands with a comb heated by the fire, and then applying the new dye. She was glad for the respite of the bath and laughter she’d been able to share with Wyn, but those good feelings were quickly replaced by dark wonderings. If Prince Vito and Rozaria were working together, that meant the prince was seeking Lashed rights throughout Eurona as well. Would the infirmaries be enough to show them she was attempting to change things in Lochlanach? Would it be enough to make them stop the daily killings, give them back her parents, and perhaps focus on another kingdom instead? She felt horrible at the thought, but they needed time to regroup and prepare, just in case it wasn’t enough to appease them.
That evening after supper, Aerity gathered the entire castle staff into High Hall to inform them of all that was happening. She walked into the room with her chin lifted, her hair as vividly red as her mother’s had been, wearing her best sea-green gown. The staff gasped. Some of the women sighed and murmured, “Beautiful.” “Fit to be a queen!”
She felt humbled by their appreciation, and it made her long for her mother. What would the actual queen think of her older daughter at that moment? She so wanted to make her parents proud.
“Thank you for coming,” Aerity told the staff. “I want to thank you for all you’ve done. I know the past week has been especially difficult and frightening for you. To have enemies in your midst and then left without a ruler . . . I imagine some of you felt quite powerless.” A few nodded their heads and brought handkerchiefs to their eyes.
“I apologize for not being here, but I learned much while I was away. I learned that the enemy is vaster than we first imagined. And I learned that it’s time to make a few compromises to allow for peace as long as possible.” Aerity told them all of the proclamation herself. And though the atmosphere became tense and fearful, nobody spoke out against the news.
“And lastly,” Aerity said. “I don’t like the idea of you being unable to protect yourselves. I’m issuing a bow and arrows and a dagger to each of you who want them, along with personal lessons from our royal guard instructors on how to use them. Training begins tonight. Not one of you is too old or young to learn how to defend yourself.”
Whispers of interest went up. People smiled at one another. Lord Alvi appeared at her side and squeezed her shoulder. “I’ll be happy to help train,” he said to the room in his booming voice.
More murmurs, and quiet giggles from maidens in the back. Aerity gave a tight smile and turned, taking Lief by the hand in a united front, and giving him a side glance.
He chuckled. “I’ll behave myself.”
They left High Hall together and Aerity whispered, “Any news from your family?”
“Nothing. But I sent a message by trade ship to my uncle today telling him what you learned of Kalor.”
“Do they know of my parents?”
“Yes,” he said. “I’ve been communicating with them all along.”
“One-way messages is hardly communication,” Aerity said. The king of Ascomanni expected Lief to keep him updated on every detail of Lochlan news while sharing nothing in return.
“The Ascomanni way is that no news is good news.”
“Humph.” Torestans and Zorfinans had been open about their situations, so Aerity had been sure to send a message of her predicament and their next step, along with what she’d learned on her travels.
Aerity was about to return to her chambers when Lief gently took her wrist.
“About the beast you brought—”
“It stays,” Aerity said. He pursed his handsome lips and dropped her arm. “That is my final word on the matter, Lief.”
Before he could protest, she turned from him.
Lief called out, “Highness.” She stopped and awaited his argument. To her surprise, he said, “You look stunning.”
She held back a grin and disappeared into her chambers for the night.