The Most Beautiful One Page 2

  We walked out of the palace and into the fading sunlight. A fine carriage and four horses were waiting for me. The lady handed me a small, glass vial. “This will help you sleep. The journey is long and unpleasant, and it is best not to be awake for all of it.” I nodded as a footman took my hand and I stepped into the plush velvet interior.

  No sooner had the door closed, but we were on our way. I marveled to myself at the efficiency of the whole process. From entering the doors to being sentenced to an unknown and awful fate had taken less than two hours. If I had murdered someone, the same damning sentence by a judge would be passed in weeks or months. My head filled with a thousand threads and thoughts, all of them screaming for attention. I opened the vial in my hand and downed its entire, sweet contents, hoping that when I awoke it would all be just a silly dream and I could go on with my real life. With my forehead pressed against the glass, I stared at the palace. As it disappeared from view, my eyelids became heavy.

  Chapter Two

  Terrible beasts, roaring dragons, and cackling witches took over my dreams. The nightmares woke me several times in the night. Whenever I opened my eyes, darkness surrounded me, broken only by the carriage lantern floating in front of us, which terrified me even more as it cast haunting shadows into the cabin. The potion proved to be strong. I wanted to stay awake and try to find a way out of the carriage. Every time I sat up it seemed like everything was spinning and I should lay back down again or I would certain I would be sick.

  When I finally awakened and was entirely conscious again, there was bright daylight outside. Sitting up, I pressed myself against the glass of the carriage window, which was freezing. The journey from Port Paradiz to the palace was flat and full of fields, but now we were somewhere else. Powdery snow covered a thick canopy of forest, making the woods seem both illuminated and sinister at the same time. I shifted my view to the ground and realized that we were being pulled along on sledges atop sleet that looked a foot deep at least. There was never snow where I was from. I had seen drawings and read about snow but the clean whiteness fascinated me as it glittered in the filtered sunlight that made its way through the branches.

  I wondered how long I had been asleep because we must have come much further than I had thought possible in a night. We were in the Northlands; I knew that much from the trees I could make out. There weren’t any pine and birch in the southern parts of the country. They only grew in the mountains close to the border. The first happy prospect in what seemed like days came after knowing that a book I read the year before about common foliage in the kingdom was proving useful.

  I closed my eyes and wished myself back to my father’s library. If I concentrated hard enough, I almost smelled the leather and parchment. When I opened them again and remembered where I was, I wondered again why I had been so stupid. As soon as they posted the notice in the town square, I should have taken every measure necessary to avoid my fate.

  By Royal Decree, all eligible maidens much present themselves in the Market Center on Wednesday at noon. Her Majesty Queen Yanifa seeks the fairest in the kingdom to perform duties for the Crown. In the five years that they hammered the message to the yellowing noticeboard in the town square, the words had never changed, but my reaction to it had been so different the last time. We had celebrated my birthday the week before, and I was now legally old enough to wed, making me an eligible maiden for the first time. Thinking I had more time was the problem. The same notice had been posted not a month earlier. Usually, these decrees were placed perhaps three or four times a year, and prior to that one, it had been six months at least. I thought I had a few months to decide what to do. Even before I came of age, I knew that I would probably be selected and taken to the Queen for inspection when the dreaded announcement came.

  Within a few hours of the notice, my father faced a stampede of suitors for my hand in marriage, all offering to make me a bride before that ominous deadline. Some were young like me, the sons of successful tradesmen and lesser nobles, and others were older than my father, making their proposals while leaning on walking sticks. It was a mystery where they all came from. It was still too early for me to be presented to society. My family and I planned the party for the next month when the weather was cooler so we could all be on the terrace. I had appeared out socially with my sisters and brother maybe a dozen times since my 13th birthday but, apparently, the reputation of my beauty had reached the masses.

  We sat in my father’s study the whole day, listening to these men talk about security, a comfortable home and generous pocket money. I thanked them all for their attention and gently declined. In between each audience, my father begged me to accept one of them, any of them, to save me from my fate. I refused them all, and I regretted it so bitterly now. Instead, I presented myself in the square for all to judge me, along with my sister Halina, and been named the most beautiful maiden in Port Paradiz. The mayor insisted that I would absolutely be chosen as the most beautiful in the land.

  It had been years since a maiden from Port Paradiz had been chosen, but people still talked about her. The lady’s name was Audara, and she was acquainted with my eldest sister, Berga. I had never seen her, but after she left, no one could stop talking about how lovely she was. Three months later they posted another notice announcing yet another display in the square, and I had seen her mother and sisters. The mother sank to the ground and sobbed bitterly. Berga said that Audara’s sisters were sent away to marry at once. Audara had become something of a legend since then, and people sometimes said that they had seen her walking through the mist at night as if she were a ghost. Another even claimed to have seen her on a journey abroad, but he had spoken to her and it wasn’t the same person. Now, every time they put the notice there, someone would think of me. All the people in town would speak about Belara, the tradesman’s daughter with the copper hair. At least until they chose another after me. I had usurped poor Audara’s fame by now.

  The carriage came to a sudden stop, and I lurched forward slightly, coming out of my melancholic reflection. After a moment, the footman came around and opened the door. A blast of cold wind hit me, causing goosebumps to spring up over my entire body. The footman placed a heavy fur cape on the seat beside me. “You must walk from here, miss.” I pulled the cloak around me, more for fear of cold than wanting this plan to progress.

  “Walk to where?”

  “Past the gates, miss.” My curiosity got the better of me, and I allowed him to hand me out of the carriage, sinking half-way up to my knees in the freezing snow. The driver offloaded the trunks from the back of the carriage and pushed them towards the gate that the footman had spoken of.

  They stood at least twice my height, made of twisting black iron with a faded crest emblazoned in the middle. The twisting metal reminded me very much of the surrounding trees, knotting in what didn’t seem to be a real pattern, vaguely sinister. There were small gaps in the design of the gates, but all I could see beyond was more whiteness, more snow. I moved towards the cracks, trying to get a better look, but nothing clear came into focus. “I’ve stared at that gate a lot, miss. The only way to find out what’s beyond is to go through it.” The driver muttered these words as he slid the second trunk, which I did not recognize, in front of me. “You’ll have to push these through the gate yourself, we can’t go through it.”

  “What do you mean?” My entire body shivered, not just my soaking feet.

  “We can’t go through, only you.” Despite never having spoken to the driver and footman before, the thought of them leaving me was unbearable. I didn’t want to face whatever was behind the gate alone. Still, my curiosity seemed to weigh more heavily than my fear, and my shaking hand advanced towards the gilded handle. With a small push, it opened just enough for the trunks and I to pass. Even though the gate was ajar, I couldn’t see anything more beyond the gates than I had seen before. I kneeled down and pushed my trunk through the snow, finding it much lighter than I expected. As soon as it crossed the threshold, it disappeared. I took a step backward, my hand flying to my mouth as I tried not to cry out. What if I would disappear too? I turned to the footman and driver. Their hats rested in their hands as if we were all attending a funeral.

  “Please. My father has money, enough for you to start a new life at least. Can’t you take me back to Port Paradiz? Or across the border?” I looked at them, but they focused on the ground and did not speak as I pleaded. One of them shook his head. I wondered if they would chase me if I ran. The snow was half-way to my knees and my only clothes had disappeared through the gate. As far as I could see, the road ended at right in front of me. This seemed to be the only place for miles and I could not remember passing anything else since I had woken up. I would freeze to death even if they didn’t manage to catch me. There was nowhere to go but inside.

  The second suspiciously light trunk was easily pushed through the gate before disappearing. With a deep breath, I stepped over the invisible line and found myself surrounded by white powder. The gate behind me slammed shut, blowing a fine dusting of snow onto my capped head. I turned and saw an ancient, enormous castle further down the snowy path. The building stuck out from the sinister, twisted trees surrounding it. The building was flat and square, with a large tower sticking up into the horizon. I realized that I had been holding my breath and exhaled, my breath transforming into a mist.

  The quiet was overwhelming. The wind blew against my cheeks, but nothing around me seemed to stir. I spun around and tried the icy handle of the gate, but it wouldn’t budge. I tried again, pushing all of my weight into the metal, but the thick iron showed no sign of yielding. Tears rolled down my cheeks and seemed to freeze to my skin in the cold. Wherever I was, I was trapped. I took another deep breath to calm myself. It would not help to fly i
nto a panic. I needed to have my wits about me.

  I turned again to face the castle, and a red rose appeared in the snow. Stepping forward, I saw a note tied on the stem made of fine, smooth parchment. When I opened the paper, it revealed a neat, educated hand, with every dot and flourish where it should be.

  Welcome,

  I hope that you have had a pleasant journey. Please leave the trunks, I will see that they are taken care of. A place to rest has been prepared for you inside the castle. During your time here, all of your needs shall be attended to. Attached to the rose is a ring. If you place it on your finger and say what you desire, it will be provided for you if at all possible.

  If it is acceptable to you, I should like to meet you this evening at supper and discuss with you your time here. The meal is served at seven. Again, you are warmly welcomed. I hope that your stay here will be as pleasant as is possible.

  Your humble servant,

  The note was unsigned. I flipped it over, but the other side was blank. From the stem of the rose, I retrieved a golden ring. The band looked like a vine of leaves, with a collection of tiny rubies making up the design of a very lifelike rose. I turned the ring around and around in my hand, not trusting the letter or whoever wrote it. It could be a trap. When I put on the band, I could be frozen into a statue, or the hand could fall off. I still had the awful stories my nursemaid had told me when I was a child running through in my head. Young, pretty maidens were fooled all the time into becoming goblin wives or servants of sorcerers by an innocent mistake. The ring and the note fit nicely in the pocket of my cape, where I decided they would stay.

  I shivered as I stood in the snow, my feet wet and my frozen tears just below my eyes. There was not a choice anymore. If I was dying here, there was no sense in freezing to death. If a dragon waited for me inside at least I would be warm. I trudged through the slurry up to the castle. Everything exposed was soaked and almost numb by the time I reached the end of the path. The doors had an ornate pattern carved into them, with a scene of knights charging into battle only slightly faded by time. As I reached out to touch the handle, I stopped myself, imagining what I might find on the other side. My stomach twisted into a knot as the lock clicked open on its own, and they swung open with a mighty creak.

  The entry hall was dark, despite several large chandeliers and candelabras placed throughout the space. The chamber was massive and cavernous, and even with all the light, I found it difficult to make out even a few feet in front of me. There were no windows, and when the door closed behind me, the room seemed to shrink. There was a small noise coming from somewhere in the blackness and I jumped backward, grabbing the candle nearest to me and holding it towards the darkness as my heart raced. Something shiny made pattering steps on the stone as it came closer to me, walking slowly. I pressed myself against the wall, prepared to fight the evil creature when it stepped into the light of the chandelier above us. It was a statue of a small animal, a baby deer, and the body was crafted entirely in gold. The creature approached and seemed to sense that I was terrified. The animal kneeled into an unmistakable bow before me. It looked up at me with its smooth, golden eyes, and I extended my hand, which it nudged. The deer was like a statue come to life, metallic and cool to the touch. I crouched down on the ground beside it, and its cold tongue licked my cheek. “Hello there, little one.” This could also be a trap or a trick and I knew it, but I didn’t know what else to do.

  I heard more small feet coming towards me and I looked to see a tiny golden rabbit, a squirrel, and even a monkey coming tentatively out of the shadows. There was a loud clank and looked up to see a golden parrot that had roosted on the candelabra on the wall behind me. When they saw me looking, they all did their own bows, and I nodded back. There was magic here, that much was obvious. I had never seen any real magic before, only read about it with a hearty dose of distrust. Magic is a dark thing. The books all told me so. These little creatures seemed sweet and harmless enough. I was desperate to find something good and nice to cling to. If I allowed myself to trust them, it was only because there was nothing else I could do. I stood up and patted the deer on the head again. The animals all at once began moving towards the stairs and looked back at me when they realized that I was not following, so I started behind them. They led me up the stairs and down a dark corridor made entirely of stone with no carpets or decorations of any kind besides the candles on the walls that provided small pools of light.

  A door in front of us opened, and I sensed the warmth emanating from it as soon as I could see inside. In stark contrast to the dark parts of the castle that I had seen, this room was beautiful. The first things I noticed were the flowers. On stands placed every few feet along the walls, and on all available surfaces were bunches of gorgeous blooms. The scent hit me immediately, but it was far from overpowering. Lilies, roses, jasmine, and tulips all popped out of the splendid arrangements, along with flowers I did not recognize. One large window sat on the far side of the room, but every other inch of wall was draped with cream velvet tapestries. Entering the room, I pivoted and traced a beautiful scene of a princess and an ogre stretched out over the fabric in stitches so small that I could barely feel where one stopped and another began with my finger. The floor was blanketed in plush carpets in bright pinks, purples, and greens that all overlapped one another so that the rough stone floor underneath was camouflaged. There was a large, canopied bed on one wall. From below the canopy, I saw what looked like actual diamonds were sewn into the fabric to make it resemble a starry sky.

  Whoever prepared this room for me made a real effort, at least. I hoped that this meant that they planned to keep me alive for a little while. For a few minutes I wandered around the room, touching every soft object I observed and admiring it. In front of the large window stood a dressing table, and I went over to examine the shelves of perfumes, ivory hairbrushes, and pearl-studded hairpins.

  The rabbit came towards me and gently nudged my feet, leading me towards the sofa in one corner of the room. I sat down, and all the little animals gathered around me. The squirrel unlaced my boots, and the monkey placed a warmer underneath my stockings. The deer gestured to a pot of tea on the table next to me and I poured a cup gratefully. My hand rested on the deer’s head, and it nuzzled me affectionately. For the first time in two weeks, a bit of peace came over me as I lounged with my new golden friends. In the beauty of this room, warm, I almost forgot where I was and why. I don’t know how long I sat there, but it felt like a trance.

  The clock on the mantle chimed five times, and the sinking sensation of dread that had occupied my stomach for the past few days returned with a vengeance. This meeting with whatever stranger was hosting me here was sooner than I would have liked. I peered out the window and saw that the sun had set during my rest, although this room was so brightly lit by chandeliers, the hearty fire and candlesticks everywhere I hardly noticed. The rabbit came again and nudged my feet, and I stood up, being gently pushed closer to the window. A small chair facing the dark view waited for me, and I sat down as instructed by the rabbit. I looked around for a moment, wondering why I was there when a large crackling boom made me scream. This made the animals that had settled at my feet stir. Outside the window, there was a brilliant flash of light, followed by another and another in short succession. “Fireworks!” I exclaimed it to the parrot that perched itself on my shoulder. I had only ever seen them once before when Prince Fenrar had come of age and we celebrated with a week of festivities throughout the country. On the last night, there had been a fair and at midnight they led us onto the beach where the fireworks had seemed to go on for hours as I stared up at them. I was enraptured again this time until finally everything stopped and all was silent again.

  The rabbit retrieved me and led me to the bath which had filled itself with steaming water. The statues made quick work of removing my clothing and I soon sunk into the warmth, which smelled of rose oil. The squirrel ran balsam through my hair while the parrot scrubbed my tired skin with a delicious smelling soap. When I finished, they wrapped me in a soft towel and then a silk robe before leading me back to the dressing table.