Chapter Eight: Luncheon
Danni opened her eyes and stretched. She felt extremely refreshed. Her bed was so soft and cozy that Danni pretended that she was sleeping on clouds. She sat up.
It was just after dawn. Her nose wrinkled. She was quite sure that none of the other princesses were up at this hour, but she had always been an early riser.
She bit her lower lip in thought.
"I should probably go to the library and look up a little about Tolaro," Danni muttered to herself as she opened up the closet. "I'm sure there may be a few things that other people know about it."
She made a small exclamation of pleasure when she saw that Lark had supplied her with a nice choice of dresses. She pulled out a light pink day dress and slipped out of her nightgown.
She opened a drawer in the closet to find a selection of undergarments. She pulled on a camisole and a pair of drawers and stepped into the dress.
She pulled the dress up and found that the buttons were on the back. She managed to get the bottom buttons done up, and the ones by her neck, but the dress gaped open in the middle of her back.
"Oh, confound it!" she cursed as she contorted, trying to do up the last four buttons.
"Let me, highness," Lark said from behind her. He did up the rest of her buttons.
"Thank you, Lark," Danni said, searching her closet for a pair of slippers. She found some and sat on the edge of the bed to slip them on.
"What do you plan on doing today?" Lark asked as he motioned her to the chair in front of the vanity.
"I was planning on going to the library to research Tolaro, then I have luncheon with the women, then I'm going riding with the prince, then I have dinner." Danni ticked off her list on her fingers as she counted.
"You are riding with the prince?" Lark said, running the brush through her hair. "Do you have a horse?"
"Well, no," Danni admitted. "I thought that Aiden would lend me one."
"Aiden?" Lark asked. "I thought you were interested in Cameron."
Danni's brows drew together. "Aiden is Cameron. Or Cameron is Aiden. Either way, he lied to me, saying he was the prince's valet when he was really the prince."
Lark laughed causing Danni's scowl deepen.
"And you aren't angry with him?"
"I want to be, but he's so darn charming!" Danni pouted.
"A burden, I'm sure," Lark grinned, coiling her hair into a knot at the nape of her neck. Danni gave him an irritated glance.
"I'd like to give you a present," Lark said, pinning her hair in place.
"But you've given me so much already," Danni protested.
Lark's face grew serious. "I'm very close to finding out who set that trap. And if he's who I think he is, you will need some help to escape from here."
He pulled Danni to her feet and snapped his fingers. Instantly, they stood in the stable.
Danni looked at the lofty roof and decided she liked this stable. It looked clean and neat.
"Hey!" the stable master called from where he was forking hay into a pile. "I'm sorry. I dinna hear ye come in." He smiled and bowed. "I'm Freddy, tha stable master here."
Danni liked this man. "No worries, Freddy. I'm Princess Daniela. I'm merely here to check on my horse. I'll let you continue with your chores."
"Thank ye, highness," Freddy said, bowing again.
Lark led her over to a stall where a beautiful horse was grazing peacefully. She entered the stall.
"He's magnificent," she said, stroking his forehead. His coat was a rich brown but his mane and tail were a deep black. "What's his name?"
Lark said something in a tongue filled with liquid vowels and a couple clicks.
Danni looked at him doubtfully. "I don't think I can repeat that. What does it mean?"
"A rough translation is 'Him whose hair is as lustrous as a carpet."
She smiled and petted the horse's nose. "Hello, Carpet," she said.
Lark led her out of the stall and out of the stable. "Now, if you ever get into trouble, you just say to Carpet 'like the wind,' and he'll be faster than any other horse you've ever ridden."
Danni nodded her thanks. "Will you be alright?" she asked.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Lark said. A grin split his face again. "Library, right?" Lark asked, and snapped his fingers before Danni could answer.
"I hate that," Danni muttered under her breath. She looked at the walls of books in the library. "This is going to be harder than I thought."
She looked at the one wall, reading the titles of the books on the spines.
"Fiction," she said to herself. She moved on to the next wall.
"Here we go," she exclaimed after a few minutes of searching. "History." She realized the books were in alphabetical order and climbed the ladder a few rungs until she reached 'T'.
"'Tolaro, a History.' Perfect," she said, pulling the book out of its spot.
She brought the book back to one of the large leather chairs in front of the fireplace.
"Hmm," she said, looking back to the fiction wall. After a few seconds of thought, she grabbed a fictional book.
"Can't let them think I'm reading my own history for entertainment," she murmured. She sat in the large chair, tucking her legs in beside her.
Her mother had a few books before they had to sell them to keep food on the table, and as such, Danni did know how to read. Still, there were some words in the volume she was reading that she did not know.
"Agriculture?" Danni muttered to herself. She went back to the wall of non-fiction.
"Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, pulling out a large tome. "Protantia's Royal Dictionary."
Armed with the large dictionary, she went back to her reading. Despite having to look up a number of words, she found that she could quite easily put a large number of facts to memory. Unfortunately, the history was only up to fifty years ago.
"Drat," she said, closing the tome. She went back to the shelf where it had come from. She read the titles of the other books, but the book tucked under her arm was the only book on Tolaro.
She went back to her chair and pulled out the fictional book. "Sir Francis and the Dragon," she said, raising an eyebrow. She opened the book and soon lost track of time.
"There ye are, highness!" a maid exclaimed, opening the door. "We were lookin' for ye, but when we came up ta yer bedroom, ye'd already left."
"My apologies," she said, closing the book, promising herself that she would come back to it.
"Duchess Sarah would like ye ta come ta lunch now," the maid said, motioning her out the door.
"Is it lunch already?" Danni asked. Her stomach let out an angry growl, causing Danni to blush.
"Aye," the maid said, leading Danni to a double door. Danni walked in.
"Princess Daniela," Sarah said happily. "I'm so glad you could come." She introduced all the women in the room, most of who were lounging in chairs, chatting amiably.
She motioned to the table where a grand feast was laid out in front of them.
"Please, ladies, sit," Sarah said. There were seventeen people including Krysalyn, Sarah, and the fifteen princesses that had arrived.
Danni took some grapes, and began eating them, slowly, listening as the other princesses talked about clothing, lessons, and finally, Aiden.
"What do you think of Aiden, Daniela?" Krysalyn asked her. "You danced with him twice."
"Twice?" a lady that had been introduced as Princess Amanda Fer Karrish asked her. "He didn't dance with any of us twice."
"Perhaps he grew tired," Danni said. She turned her attention to Aiden's sister. "Prince Aiden was very charming."
"Not to mention handsome," one of the princesses sighed.
Danni shrugged and picked up a strawberry. "His looks are secondary to his intelligence in my mind." She bit into the strawberry. "These are delicious, Princess Krysalyn."
"Please," she said with a smile, "call me Lynn."
"Then you must call me Danni," Danni replied.
"Danni?" Amanda scoffed. "Isn't that a boy's name?" She seemed to have taken a disliking to Danni.
"Why not Ella?" another of the princesses asked.
"Ella was my mo- my nurse," Danni corrected quickly. "It would have been very confusing."
"I guess it suits you, as you are sort of mannish," Amanda sneered.
Danni gave her an icy look. "That seems a little hypocritical coming from someone who actually has 'a man' in her name."
Amanda glared, but closed her mouth. Lynn coughed to cover up a laugh.
Another princess started in on the subject of hair styles.
"That is an intricate style, Amanda," a princess remarked.
Amanda send a smug grin towards Danni and patted her elaborate hair. "Yes, it is, isn't it Danni?"
Danni gave her a sweet smile. "Yes, it is very pretty. I would like to wear my hair like that all the time, but my nurse told me that wearing one's hair up all day and all night would cause one's neck to become as thick as an ox's." She could hear Lynn nearly choking, trying not to laugh. It strengthened her resolve. "I'm sure you wouldn't have that problem anyway, Amanda. Your neck is already so thick and strong that you have no worry."
Amanda was bright pink with fury, but could come up with no good response.
They finished the lunch with no more attacks from Amanda.
"I'm sorry, but I must start getting ready for dinner," Amanda said, standing up from the table.
"Me as well," another princess said. The other princesses agreed and they all stood up from the table and went their separate ways.
Danni looked at the clock. It was only half past one. She decided to tour the castle. She took off at a brisk pace, making her way down the hallways.
About ten minutes later, she found herself at the hallway leading to the throne room. She was examining the portraits of the regency. They all looked fairly stern until she came to one couple.
A woman with flaming red hair and clear grey eyes, sat on an ottoman, while a brown haired man with familiar emerald eyes stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder. They were smiling broadly, and looked very much in love.
"My great-grandparents," Aiden said from behind her, causing her to jump. She turned and he nodded a greeting as he strode up to stand beside her. He looked at the portrait.
"King Robert Par Drewery and Queen Annalia Fer Drewery were two of the best rulers we had. They had a very interesting story." He smiled at her. "Perhaps I will tell you sometime."
"That would be delightful," Danni said truthfully.
He offered her his arm, and she took it.
"Shall we go ride?" he asked.