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Chapter 3

It has been over two months since my second trip to town. I needed some fresh air so I am currently walking in the gardens.

My mind wanders to Fritz. He has been disappearing a lot lately, and I haven't seen him at all since before breakfast three days ago.

The knight that showed up in his place after breakfast told me Fritz was "sick."

This is strange. He has never been gone for so long before.

He has fallen ill before, but very rarely. Yet he always recovers quickly.

Fritz, what happened to you?

I…I am worried for him. He is…Fritz is…

He is…something.

For now, the knights have been placed on shifts to guard me. I decide to focus on the flowers, the lilies, instead of on Fritz. I breathe in the smell of the beautiful flowers, reminded of a simpler time.

"Do you love the lilies, darling?"

"I do! I do!"

"If you learn this perfectly by the end of today, Mother will plant you more flowers."

"Yes, Mother."

I don't even realize I am crying until I hear my name being called.

"Princess Lucette!"

I blink at the familiar voice, reaching up to face, feeling the tears. I hurriedly wipe them away and turn around, shocked.

In front of me stands Fritz, smiling hesitantly, though the look quickly turns concerned when he sees my face.

"Princess, were you – I mean, are you alright?"

"I am fine," I say, turning my face away slightly.

Fritz looks as if he wants to say more, but thinks better of it. "Okay, if you're sure."

I nod gratefully. "You were sick for a while."

"I was…" Fritz's eyes grow dull. "Yes, I…"

"You what?" I ask.

He shakes his head, seeming confused. "I woke up this morning and my father told me I was sick for the past few days. But I don't remember anything. It just feels as if I was sleeping for a very long time."

"What kind of ailment did he say it was?"

"He…didn't…" Fritz furrows his eyebrows, "He didn't say exactly."

"You have been acting very strange," I say, looking up at him, not bothering to hide my eyes anymore.

He frowns. "I'm sorry if I have been, Princess. I certainly did not intend to."

I sigh. "Well, it is good that you have recovered."

"Thank you, Princess," Fritz says, and this time his smile is full and genuine. "Oh, I have this for you."

For the first time I notice a small box clutched in his hand. He holds it out to me and I take it slowly, tilting my head up at him questioningly. Fritz simply smiles and tells me to open it.

I open it, not knowing what to expect, but certainly not expecting two croissants.

"Why, Fritz?" I ask, trying not to show how much my mouth is watering at the smells wafting from the box.

He smiles. "I bought them from my favorite bakery, you remember the one we went to?"

At my nod, he continues. "I wanted to cheer you up; you've seemed, ah, exceptionally melancholy for a while, and also it is as an apology for being gone these past few days."

That was true, I have been in a worse mood than usual, and I…I have missed his presence in his absence…so I simply nod and say, "thank you," which makes his face light up like nothing I have seen before.

I neglect to inform Fritz that my melancholy mood is partly because of him. Because he has been disappearing so much, because he is being so secretive.

A croissant won't hurt me, though, and I highly doubt he has poisoned them or some such. I grab one of the croissants from the box and hand it back to him.

"Princess?" Fritz asks, scrunching his eyebrows together.

"You can have the other one," I say. "I am not very hungry."

His eyes widen, but he quickly recovers. "If you are sure, princess…" Fritz smiles. "Then I must thank you now."

I sit down on the bench, and after a moment, I invite Fritz to sit down as well. He hesitates for a bit, but eventually seats himself next to me. For a while, we say nothing, just enjoying our croissants and the nice weather.

"It rained a few hours ago," I say. "You like the smell, don't you?"

"Princess…" Fritz smiles sheepishly as he reaches up to scratch the back of his head - a gesture which I have become much too familiar with. "…I did not realize you remembered that."

"I remember a lot of things," I say refraining from mentioning that I remember almost everything he says.

He chuckles, but there is a dispirited undercurrent to it. "Unfortunately, I seem to be suffering the opposite. Sometimes I come to, not knowing how or why I am where I am, or what I was doing, and only later realizing that some time has passed. I thought at first it may just have been sleepwalking, because most of the time I would wake up at night or early morning out of bed without knowing why, but now these lapses in memory have started occurring during the day as well."

"So…you weren't necessarily ill? You think it was one of these 'lapses in memory?'"

Fritz shakes his head. "I am not sure. My father told me I was bedridden for most of it, that I wouldn't come to no matter what. But these lapses in memory…I know that I have moved from one place to another, because I often wake up somewhere I wasn't before."

"Perhaps you should see a doctor," I say, brushing my hands of the crumbs from my finished croissant.

He shakes his head again. "I doubt that what is ailing me is something a doctor can fix. There is nothing that can fix an ailing brain, after all."

"You think your brain is ailing?" I ask, and I cannot help but feel some concern at this.

"I am sorry, princess…I have been trying to hide my concerns, but I know you have noticed…I actually have seen a doctor, and he had no idea as to why this is happening to me, especially since I am still young…but he surmised that it is an illness that I will inevitably succumb completely to. I went to several other doctors with some hope…but they all said the same thing. I am sorry, I know I said I will always be there to protect you, but I am afraid that soon I will have no memories left."

"You can still protect me even if your memories run out," I say.

"Princess-" Fritz starts, but I cut him off.

"I am sure that even if you cannot remember where you are or why you are there, you will not forget your skills with the sword," I point out. "Anyway…you…I cannot imagine you not being by my side, protecting me. It would feel strange if you weren't there anymore."

I glance sideways at Fritz, whose cheeks have become a tinted red, and he is stuttering.

"P-princess…I am…"

"It is only because you have served me well these past three and a half years," I clarify, feeling heat coming into my own cheeks. "I cannot imagine another knight with your caliber. Even though you were gone for only a few days, your absence was noticed greatly."

Fritz coughs, then speaks. "I am honored, princess, that you think so highly of me."

I make a noncommittal noise as I stare up at the sky, noting how pretty the shade of blue is.

A month has passes and nothing has changed. This morning after breakfast, I am informed by a maid that I am to report to the throne room.

If this is another town visit…

But what else could it be? The king only ever wants to see me when he decides I need to "bond" with my stepfamily more.

Trying to ignore the pang of irritation I feel, I push open the throne room doors to see the king, looking down at me with his forehead creased.

What is making him so anxious?

"Ah, Lucette, how are you?" He says, attempting a smile.

"You saw me not even half an hour ago," I point out. "And I am sure you did not call me here for simple pleasantries."

"Lucette, I simply wanted to make conversation-"

"Which you could have done at breakfast, but Emelaigne and her books were more important," I say, cutting him off. "Why did you call me here?"

"I have something important to tell you," he says slowly.

So it isn't another order to go to town? Good.

"Lucette…" He clasps his hands together. "You are turning eighteen soon. That's why I thought…it's about time you knew."

"Knew what?"

"About your mother."

I tense. "What about her?"

I am not ready to hear slander against her. When the king told me he had something important to tell me, I assumed it had to do with, well, with me. But if he is only going to talk about Mother and how I should accept Ophelia as my new mother…

I huff. "I don't want to hear it."

"Lucette, please. This is important," the king pleads. I shake my head.

"I said a few months ago that you are not my father. You have no right to speak about Mother to me. I highly doubt you even knew her that well. How can you know anything about her that I do not already know?"

"Lucette…it isn't like that, I promise," the king insists. "I know that…you do not trust me. But if you were to trust one thing, even just one thing that comes from my mouth, it should be this."

"I would prefer to trust nothing that comes from your mouth."

He closes his eyes for a few moments. "I know you think you knew Hildyr well; she was your mother after all, but…I did know her, very well, in fact. She…was not exactly the person she presented to you, Lucette."

My hands become fists, and I realize I am shaking. "You! How can you say such a thing? Mother was the only one who loved me, she was the only one whom I could tell everything to, she was the only person I could ever trust. She never lied to me, unlike you."

"Lucette," The king's eyes become sad, but I continue.

"Did you…why did you even marry her? It is clear to me now that you did not feel for her what you do for Ophelia, especially how you simply discarded any memory of her, how you never comforted me in my grief…you never loved her, did you?"

"Lucette, I…" The king's expression is pained, and he looks as if he does not know what to say.

"Mother was right," I snarl. "Love like that is just a sham. I never should have hoped that you would be there for me, I should have heeded Mother's warning. You never loved her, and you don't love me. Isn't that why you married Ophelia? So you could forget about me and replace me and Mother with them?"

"It isn't like that, Lucette." The king smiles gently, but it looks forced. "You…I care so much for you, Lucette. I know that I neglected you horribly during those times, and there is nothing I regret more than that. But…I want to be there for you now."

"I do not need you. I realize that now. The only one I ever needed was Mother."

He blinks, and I notice his fingers slowly curling together. "Lucette…I am sorry."

"I'm not. I'm glad that your true nature has been revealed."

I do not care to look at his shocked face as I spin around and walk out of the throne room, heading back to my room, burying my face in my pillow.

Why am I crying?

I look up at my shelf, wiping the tears away. "Why, Delora? Why did he marry Mother? He did not love her. He does not love me."

Why?

I am not much in the mood for dinner with the others tonight, but I cannot show that this morning's conversation has affected me.

Part of me still wonders what the king wanted to say to me, but it probably really was just lies about Mother, because he truly cannot bear to see me offend Ophelia.

If Mother were still alive, the king wouldn't even bother me at all.

I sit down at my spot, ignoring the greeting from Ophelia and sending a glare right back at Rod. The king himself enters just a few moments after, smile on his face, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

Emelaigne, predictably, is not present. She comes bursting through the doors a few minutes later.

Can she not even manage to make it to dinner on time?

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I was-"

"Reading a book and lost track of time," I deadpan, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, we know."

She blushes and shakes her head at this. "Actually, I wasn't reading a book this time. I just, I, uh, I was in the gardens and lost track of time. The weather was so lovely today!"

I scoff and focus on my food.

Suddenly the doors burst open again and I focus my glare to the doors, wondering who on Angielle decided it was a good idea to interrupt our meal.

My eyes widen when I see who it is - Sir Alcaster, and, behind him, a large collection of knights. My eyes automatically skim over them, looking for Fritz, but I do not see him.

Maybe it is good he is not here. Because whatever this is, it doesn't seem like a good thing.

The king abruptly stands up and narrows his eyes at the interrupters. "Sir Alcaster! What is it?"

"Round them up!" Alcaster barks at his men, who move closer to us, surrounding the table.

"What is the meaning of this, Alcaster?!" The king glares at the man. "Why are you doing this?"

Clearly the king has caught on to what is happening much quicker than the rest of us. I shake my head in the confusion of it all. Why is Alcaster here? Why is he…why is he ordering us to be rounded up like criminals?

Fritz, are you part of this?

Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him at all today. He has fallen ill several more times since we spoke in the gardens; once for longer than a week.

Maybe he truly wasn't to be trusted, if his own father is doing this.

I feel something rough grab my arms and force them behind me and I cannot help but yelp at the sudden movement. The person holding onto me yanks my arms up, forcing me up from my chair, before pulling me down to my knees on the floor.

I see that other knights have done the same to Emelaigne, Rod, and Ophelia. I feel the gritty texture of some sort of rope being tied around my wrists, holding in the urge to wince. We are all also being held by multiple knights, so much so that we could not escape them even if we broke our holds.

Emelaigne is whimpering, Rod is scowling, and Ophelia has silent tears streaming down her face.

I, however, keep all emotion out of my face. I do not want to show weakness. They are all weak.

Especially the king, who doesn't bother to hide his anger and confusion that shows clearly on his face. His eyebrows are knotted together, and as he stands next to his chair, surrounded by a circle of knights, I can tell that he is quickly losing hope.

"Why, Alcaster?" The king asks again, hopelessness seeping into his voice, as one of the knights roughly grabs his arms to tie behind him.

I know that the king knows how to fight, but being surrounded by a group of fully-trained knights - by the looks of it, an entire half of the knights of the Order of Caldira - quickly ensures he could not defend himself even if he had a sword or other weapon.

Alcaster walks right up to the king, still being held back by multiple knights, now, and sneers in his face. "You are a weak king. The people of Angielle need a strong ruler who rules with an iron fist."

The king's face hardens. "And you believe that ruler is you."

It is a statement, not a question, but Alcaster nods anyway.

"I will bring the kingdom back to what it once was. When the people didn't rule their king, but the other way around."

Wait a minute…

I…have long since agreed with these sentiments. And yet, overthrowing the king has never occurred to me.

Possibly because I knew I would become queen eventually so I could simply implement those ideas when I did, but also…because it is so needless. Alcaster is one of the king's most trusted advisers. Why, then, is he not content with the fact that he holds so much influence over the king already? Why does he thirst for more power?

"Queen Hildyr had the right idea," Alcaster continues, and my stomach lurches at the mention of my mother. "She made the kingdom productive. Nowadays everyone is so lazy because they know their king will do anything for them. But the kingdom shouldn't care so much about the individuals at the expense of the sustainability of the kingdom; do you not care about the future of Angielle? About what state you will leave it in when Princess Lucette becomes queen?"

The king's eyes find mine, and I sense the urgency in them. The worry. The…fear.

Does he fear me too? Just like all the townspeople?

He is no better than them, but I have always known that. It seems every moment I am in his presence I find another reason to distrust him.

But…Fritz. What about him?

"And the knights?" I say, speaking for the first time since the start of breakfast. Everyone's heads turn to face me, even the servants who cower along the walls.

Cowards.

"How did you convince so many to follow you?" I ask, genuinely curious. And I wonder, then, if Fritz is with them. If he's known about his father's plans this entire time. If he's actually a part of these plans.

If this is what he has been hiding all these months from me.

I knew I could not trust you. I knew there was an ulterior motive to acting so loyal and friendly to me.

And yet I cannot help the shattering of my heart at the revelation that the secret Fritz has been keeping from me is much larger and dangerous than I imagined.

Alcaster laughs, his mouth twisting into a smile. "They know when to listen to logic. And princess, I know you are a person of reason and logic. I am not averse to putting you on the throne."

I raise my eyebrows at this. My hands are being stretched much too far behind me to be comfortable, straining my muscles, and the rope is chafing against my wrists so hard I think they may bleed soon, but I still raise my chin haughtily.

"And that is why you have me tied up as a prisoner? Because you want to see me on the throne?"

And then Emelaigne laughs. Actually laughs. "I never thought you could make a joke, Lucette," she says.

We are becoming prisoners in our own home and this is what you focus on?

But on closer look, I see the pained look on her face as well, and I realize; we all know we are powerless at the moment, and lightening the mood is her way of regaining some of that power.

Alcaster sneers and I feel the rope around my wrists tighten.

"Silence, all of you!" He barks. "You will all be escorted back to your rooms."

Across from me, a voice that has spoken about as sparsely as I have speaks up.

"So, you aren't intending to kill us?" Rod asks, his eyebrows twisting together.

Alcaster gives that same twisted grin, and I cannot help but make note of how different it is from Fritz's eye-crinkling smile. "Not yet," he says tauntingly.

I hold in a gasp as the knight that was holding onto me forces me to stand up again.

I have been pacing back and forth in my room for a while now, not knowing what to do. It has been a few hours since I've been escorted back to my room, and Alcaster only stopped by briefly to speak with me. He listed all the merits of joining his side, then left to give me "some time to make up your mind."

On one hand, Alcaster is a traitor to the crown. On the other, his ideals fit my own, and he has said himself that he would not oppose my rule. He even informed me that if I agreed to his demands, I would be given freedom and the crown.

But…can I really believe him? With the way he had his knights treat me at dinner…I cannot imagine that he any more respect for me than he does for the others. If he really wanted me to be queen, having his knights capture me, tie my hands behind my back, and shove me around like some common criminal was not the right way to bring me to his side.

For now, I am a prisoner in my own room. There are several knights outside my room, far enough to give the illusion of nothing wrong but close enough to listen in if they tried. I can only assume that the same is true for the rest of the royal family.

It has only been a few hours, and I am sure that the people of Angielle do not know what has happened yet. Even the servants that witnessed what happened were most likely silenced in some way. Alcaster said he wants to do this with "as less bloodshed as possible," as long as the royal family cooperates.

Meaning, if my father publically abdicates the throne and "willingly" hands it to Alcaster - or me, if I cooperate.

"What do I do Delora?" I ask in a soft voice, not wanting the guards to hear, as I stop my pacing to stand right in front of my shelf. It is only then I realize how ridiculous this is. "How stupid of me to ask you. You're nothing. You're just a doll!"

"Doll, princess?"

I stumble backwards, just managing to catch myself from falling. I could've sworn the voice came from…but, no, that's impossible! I look around the rest of my room carefully, wondering where the voice could be coming from.

"It really is coming from me, you know, believe it or not."

That voice…it is coming from my shelf. From the top part, specifically.

I stand up straight and march over to the shelf, leaning in close to Delora. Did her mouth just curve up?!

"Yes, it really is me, princess."

This time I really do fall to the ground. Strangely enough, I don't feel any impact with the hard floor; instead I feel cushioned and there is no sound as I collide with the floor.

I look under my legs, noticing the purple glow.

"I just saved you princess; that would've been a nasty fall, not to mention the sound would have brought the knights right in here."

"Who are you?" I whisper. There is another purple glow, and I think I see…a diamond pattern, and suddenly there is a tall woman standing in front of me, dressed in a similar outfit to my doll, down to the sleeves to the cape to her dark wavy hair and red eyes…

I stand up. "Y-You-How?"

The woman in front of me - Delora - smirks. "Hello, princess."

I finally piece together everything. "You're a witch, aren't you?"

The woman's smile widens. "That's right. You are a smart one."

"And you've-you've disguised yourself as my doll for, what, a year?!"

"Hush!" The woman cries, before I see another purple glow extend from her fingertips and suddenly the entire room is encased in a thin glow. She catches the look on my face and elaborates. "It will help keep the sound in this room."

"You're…not with Alcaster?" I ask. I wouldn't put it past Alcaster to ally with a witch, but if she's trying to keep his guards from hearing us talking…she must be here for some other reason.

She laughs as if the idea is ridiculous. "No. I have no respect for the man."

"Well I can certainly understand his ideals," I refute, before crossing my arms. "And why didn't you use the sound spell earlier?"

She shrugs. "I needed to regain enough energy. And enough time. I haven't used major spells like that in a while, you know. Not much you can do as a doll on a shelf."

My face contorts in anger, as the fact that this woman is, indeed, my doll Delora sinks in completely. Now that I know there is no danger of being overheard, I yell at her.

"Why are you in my room?! Why have you been watching me?! What do you want with me?!"

All the while the woman stays standing, arms folded, smirking.

It dawns on me then that this woman knows everything about me. Well, not everything exactly…but I have told her so many things. So many private things; I have cried in this room, I have voiced my suspicions about Fritz, I have talked about Mother and about the king and Ophelia and Rod and Emelaigne…

She knows everything. And she could use it against me.

So one of my dolls has betrayed me.

Wait…

I eye the other dolls on my shelf suspiciously. "Are any of them witches too?"

The woman laughs. "No, no, they're all real dolls."

I round on her. "You have yet to answer my questions!"

"Now, now, princess, one at a time. First, my name is Delora. Yes, I used magic to influence you to pick that name for me, because I wasn't in the mood to be called something else for who knows how long…I am in your room because…well, it's a long story, but the main gist is that I wanted to get to know you."

"Why, so you could bring me down later?"

She shakes her head slightly, still wearing that infuriating grin. "No. Or, you could say that, yes, in a way. We wanted to see if you were cruel like your mother, or if there was still hope for you. I…intended to curse you, actually, but I decided to stick it out another day and I saw you accept that gift from Emelaigne and you threw it back to her later but…I saw some goodness in you that day, princess."

"Curse me?" I exclaim, picking out those two words out of the torrent of words she's just threw at me. She chuckles.

"Yes, we wanted to test you. We wanted to teach you goodness."

"And how is goodness fooling me for an entire year, listening to all my secrets, then only revealing yourself when the palace has been taken over and I have no way to defend myself? Oh, not to mention, the fact that you did all this to curse me?!"

"Sometimes things aren't always good and bad, princess. We were…desperate."

I register the rest of what Delora said. "Who's 'we'? And what do you mean cruel like my mother? She wasn't-"

"Okay, next question! Sorry we don't have time for this right now, maybe later I'll tell you all the details. Why I was watching you…I already said, it was to see if you had capacity for good or not…and right now I don't want anything with you, except for maybe save you from this predicament you and your family are stuck in."

Okay, I will hold you to that. I will make you tell me all the details when we have the time.

"You…want to save us?" I ask, having calmed down from my previous outburst. In all honesty, I am ashamed of myself. I rarely lose my composure like that, but finding out that my favorite doll is actually a witch in disguise and she has been watching me for a full year is jarring enough to warrant that reaction.

Delora's smile becomes a bit gentler now. "Yes. I am sorry this happened. We…as in, some friends of mine and I, have been suspicious of some of the happenings in the palace for a while now, and that's another reason I snuck in. When I knew that no one would be in your room for a while, I would sneak out and investigate a little. It was hard to find anything, though. I wish I found something earlier. I could have helped prevent this, and for that, I am sorry, princess."

A witch? Apologizing to me?

"Why do you feel bad about not saving the palace? Aren't you all enemies of the crown?"

"Some witches are. Some aren't. I am a good witch, you know."

"As if those empty words mean anything to me-"

"Ah, but don't you remember a conversation not so long ago? You wondered about good witches, didn't you, princess?"

I glare. "If you're just going to use everything I said against me-"

"I didn't mean it like that, princess. Parfait would have done this differently for sure." She mumbles the last sentence, but I still catch it.

"Parfait? Is that another witch?"

Delora grins mischievously. "Nope! A fairy."

"A fairy?!"

"And she's probably going mad right now. I'm usually able to send her messages every once in a while, but I was supposed to send her a message earlier, and obviously, I couldn't."

"Why are you working together with a fairy? Does she know anything of your intentions to curse me to teach me goodness?" I spit the last word out, but Delora surprises me by laughing.

"Oh, yes," she says. "We came up with the plan together, after all."

Is she one of those "friends" Delora mentioned, then?

"I don't believe you."

"I didn't expect you to. But the main thing is, I revealed myself just now because, as it stands, we are both trapped right now. And we are going to get out."

"Can't you just magic a way out?"

Delora shrugs. "Unfortunately, I'm not strong enough of a witch to create portals. And trying to overwhelm every single guard is just a foolish idea. Well, it could work, but the problem is there's a witch in here."

"Yes, I know, she's standing right in front of me," I say. Delora shakes her head.

"No, I mean in the palace. I can only assume they're a bad witch. I've sensed their presence, but they have a strong glamour - oh, that's just a way we can hide ourselves from other witches and fairies - but this witch has a strong glamour cloaking them from me. I was able to detect small traces of magic since a few months ago, but following those traces lead to dead ends. Whoever this witch is, they are much stronger than me."

"So…you revealed yourself to 'help me,'" I say, holding up the air quotes, "and then tell me that you're basically useless."

"Not completely useless," Delora smirks. "I do have some skill. Besides, I have a brain too."

"So do I."

"Ugh, you're impossible, princess."

"So are you."

"It does feel nice to finally be able to talk back to you, though. I promise next time you pour yourself out to me I won't remain silent-"

"There won't be a next time, because if I ever see you on my shelf again I am tearing you apart."

"Ouch. That's cruel, even for you," Delora says, but the amused grin on her face reveals that she is not offended at all.

I sigh, sitting on my bed and rubbing my forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

"Princess?"

What do I do?

At this moment, the only one I can really depend on is Delora, despite how much I hate the idea of allying with her.

But what would Mother do?

Mother would know what to do in this situation. Actually, she probably would've been smart enough to figure out Alcaster as a traitor and gotten rid of him before he would've had a chance to put his plan in motion.

But what had Alcaster said? That he wouldn't be averse to me being on the throne…that he wanted to bring Angielle back to when Mother was queen.

So if Mother were here, Alcaster might not have revolted in the first place.

If Alcaster is telling the truth, though, I could agree with him and I will then become queen.

But then what would happen to my father and stepfamily?

And what about Fritz? I would still like to know what happened to him. I did not see him at dinner, nor this entire day. But he has been falling ill so often recently…and when he comes back fully recovered he will not say what ailed him, simply that he was unconscious for most of it…it could be lies but…could Fritz still be innocent in all of this?

Whatever. I will think about him later. There are more important things to worry about right now. Like figuring out what this witch wants.

And figuring out what I want to do.

"You say you've been suspicious of Alcaster for a while now?"

Delora nods, a grim smile on her face. "About a year and a half ago, I met two former knights who'd been dishonorably discharged for disobeying Alcaster."

"Those two knights wouldn't happen to be Jurien Valiente and Garlan Belrott, would they?" I ask, recognizing the story. Both Jurien and Garlan were highly regarded; both very skilled and intelligent. For a while I was under the impression that they had voluntarily left, but later I heard that they had disobeyed Alcaster.

Fritz was especially saddened when he found out. He always got along well with the two knights.

"Yes, it was Jurien and Garlan. What really happened was that they had found out about Alcaster's plot to take over the throne, and tried to warn the king, but the king chose to believe Alcaster over them so they were kicked out of the Order," Delora explains.

I have no reason to believe that Delora wouldn't lie to me…but, all the evidence is here. Alcaster has turned the palace, where I have always been safe, into a prison.

"So the king did not believe them, and yet you did?"

Delora smiles warily. "I know it seems strange. But Parfait and I decided to take what they said as possible truth, and after getting to know the both of them, we trust them completely."

"You can never fully trust a person," I say, "There is no way of knowing whether they are just pretending."

Delora frowns. "Princess, there are plenty of people you can trust-"

"I trusted Fritz," I point out. "But then he kept disappearing, apparently 'ill,' and now his own father has betrayed the king. And he was hiding something all these months. He…probably knew about this plot, and yet he pretended to be my friend…" I try to keep from letting my voice falter at the end, but Delora notices anyway.

"You don't know the full story," She says. "Besides, he's just one example. Generally I find that more people can be trusted than not-"

"Then what about you?" I retort. "The only ones I've ever trusted completely besides Mother are my dolls. And now I cannot even trust them."

"I told you all the others are real-"

"That doesn't matter," I snap. "Forget about it. Why do you want to help my family?"

Delora grins. "I'm a good witch, remember-"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "I mean why. A specific reason. What makes you a good witch, because I've seen nothing so far that marks you as an ally of the crown."

Delora stares for a few seconds, then says in a quiet voice, "Because I care about the kingdom, princess. Because so many people I care about will be affected if Alcaster becomes king."

"Is that…why you wanted to curse me? Because you didn't think I would be a good queen?"

I knew it. She doesn't want to help out of the 'goodness of her heart' or because she actually cares about the royal family, all she cares about is if the king will benefit her or not.

Delora closes her eyes, inhaling sharply. "That's…part of it. I mean…not that we didn't think you could be a good queen, princess…but for the past few years, all anyone knew about you was that you were cold, unforgiving, and cruel. The curse we had in mind was intended to be instructional and quite easy to break…if you had the capability of being good, but we still didn't want to be impatient. A curse is not something to take lightly, after all. I relayed some things to Parfait, and she convinced me to wait a bit more before casting a curse."

"What would this curse have done?" I ask, partly because I am curious, but also because I am currently at a loss as to what I should do. I don't even know what the people outside of the palace know; they must not know about the coup, but surely some have realized that something is wrong…?

Delora sits down next to me on my bed, and I glare at her. "What do you think you are doing?"

"My legs hurt," Delora answers with a shrug. When my glare does not lessen, she elaborates. "I'm normally standing on your shelf for hours at a time. Even witches need their rest."

"I cannot imagine that standing on a shelf is very taxing," I say dryly, and she laughs.

"Maybe, but my legs do hurt, princess. And considering the circumstances, that I still have the ability to curse you, you'd better fix that attitude of yours."

"You'd better fix yours! I'm the crown princess, and you're treating me with such disrespect when you're the one that broke into the palace and tricked everyone with the intention of cursing me," I say, now breathing hard. "I'd say you're the one that needs a lesson in 'goodness!'"

"To answer your question, princess, the curse would have made everyone forget about you, so that you would no longer be a princess or have your family," she says nonchalantly, as if we are talking about the weather.

"Can you really do that?" I ask, eyes wide. But it's niggling in the back of my mind,

She's probably lying.

"Oh, yes," Delora says brightly. "It was meant to be a twist on Cinderella. She went from a peasant to a princess practically overnight, but this would have reversed that. Of course, we wouldn't have left you completely alone - we're not that cruel - but you would still have to work to break your curse."

"But…I never read the story of Cinderella, but didn't she just go to a ball and find a prince?" I ask. "I don't think that attending a ball has anything to do with your perception of goodness."

Delora smirks. "Smart, you are. No, as I said, it was a twist on the original tale. Cinderella was always kind to everyone, even if they were cruel to her, so you would have had to complete three good deeds. As I said, it would have been easy to anyone with a sense of what goodness is, but we figured this would be good for you."

"Do you believe that I am not good? That I am truly cruel?"

Delora smiles at me sadly. "Princess, I used to think you were completely cruel. And some of your actions do reflect that, such as the way you've treated your stepfamily and your own father, but I believe that you really are capable of goodness. I just think that you've forgotten how to be good, and that you do not trust anyone who is good, either."

I clench my fists. It is unfair for this witch to speak as if she knows me well! Sure, she's been on my shelf for most of a year, since my seventeenth birthday, and I have poured myself out to her but…

How does this woman expect me to ever trust anyone by betraying my trust in my own dolls of all things?!

"So," Delora says suddenly, "We need to figure out what to do."

"There is no we," I snap. "What you need to do is get off my bed right now, or I will not consider working with you."

"You're forgetting, princess, that I can use magic and you have no way of defending yourself against me."

"But you have no intention of killing me, do you?"

Delora shakes her head. "I'm a good witch, remember?"

"Well, then, considering I will still be alive at the end of this mess, I will be sure that everyone knows of your disrespect towards me. And you will suffer the punishment," I threaten.

Infuriatingly, Delora just laughs. "You're forgetting that I only revealed myself because I want to try to get you out of this mess. Threatening your lifeline is not considered polite, princess."

"Who said I even want to get out of this mess? Sir Alcaster would not refuse my rule, he said so himself," I tell her. "He wants a ruler that will be as good as Mother, and considering how passive the king is, I do not blame him. I do not necessarily agree with his methods…but I do not find his reasoning disagreeable."

Delora's eyes go wide. "But…princess, you realize that what Alcaster wants is…well," she sighs. "I suppose you think the best of your mother-"

"Of course," I say, "She was a good queen."

"Do you even know about most of her policies? Or any at all?"

"I-" I falter, trying to think. "Well, she did not tolerate weakness. I can only assume that same intolerance extended towards the kingdom. The king, on the other hand, is too soft on his subjects."

Delora just shakes her head. "Let me put this another way…do you want to be Alcaster's puppet?"

"I-what? His puppet?"

"He wants power, princess. He may have said he is amiable to you being on the throne, but what if he finds himself dissatisfied with the way you rule?" Delora asks pointedly. "We both know what he is capable of doing when he thinks the ruler is not up to his standards. Would you like him to organize another coup against you?"

"I didn't think of that," I acknowledge. I don't know what to make of Delora, but she does have a point. What if I do or make a ruling that Alcaster does not agree with? What if he asks for more than just the promise of bringing Angielle back to what it once was? What if he wants more than just what he's said?

It occurs to me that Delora could be lying, trying to twist Alcaster's words to make sure I follow her but…truly, I didn't even think too much about what Alcaster would do. About what he really wants.

He'll still want power either way, won't he? I'm still young, so even if I become queen now he'll have an excuse to stay a top adviser and 'advise' me even more than he does the king.

And…for whatever reason, Delora is against Alcaster, but she doesn't seem to oppose my rule completely. She said she didn't think I'd be a good queen…but…

Well, I can wait my turn. As long as my father is alive, I am content being crown princess until I am older.

"And we don't even know what demands he will make of you. Don't forget, princess, he still has that witch ally who could force you into doing things you wouldn't normally do. And think of what will happen to your family. Once Alcaster has what he wants, he won't see a reason to keep them alive."

"I don't care what happens to them. After all, they never cared about me."

Delora's presses her lips into a thin line. "You can't mean that, princess."

"How would you know? Just because you lived as a doll on my shelf doesn't mean you know everything about me," I sneer.

She shakes her head. "No, I mean about them caring about you. They really do, you know."

"Rod hates me, he's said so himself. Ophelia acts kind, but she is just a fake. Pretending to be a real queen, pretending she is my real mother…as if! And Emelaigne is so infuriating. She just wants to be crown princess," I say, and Delora looks as if she is about to say something but thinks better of it as I continue. "And the king is the worst of them all. He rarely even looked my way until he suddenly came back with a new wife and two kids and told me that they are my new family. And I'm supposed to believe his apologies?"

"Princess…" Delora sighs. "Well, either way, I do assume you don't want to be controlled by Alcaster? If you want to retain your birthright but not be Alcaster's puppet, then we have the same goal."

"I…suppose," I concede. "Then what is your plan?"

"If I had a way to contact Parfait…" Delora sighs. "There is one way to get you out of the palace. Whatever happens, you are not safe here."

"What is that way?" I ask warily, not sure I will like it.

"The Cinderella curse, if implemented, will cause you to wake up somewhere outside of your current location. I…would not know where. So it might…actually not put you somewhere safe."

I flinch. "No way."

Delora shakes her head. "No, I know. I would still be stuck here, after all, and I would still have no way of telling Parfait what was happening."

I narrow my eyes. "Couldn't you just teleport us out of here? Or are you just that inadequate?"

Delora grimaces. "Some witches are stronger than others, princess. Only the very strongest of the witches and fairies have that ability."

"So you're basically useless," I surmise. Delora tilts her head, contemplating for a while.

"Princess, I know I said it would be hard to try to bypass all the guards, even with my magic, but it would be much easier to sneak by while tiny, wouldn't it?"

I realize what she's implying and shake my head frantically. "No, don't make me small!"

"It's the best way I can think of, princess. Unless you want to deal with all those knights out there?"

I'm about to respond when I hear the door knob turning. I turn my furious gaze to the door as Delora turns doll-sized again and removes her sound barrier as well, returning to her place on my shelf.

Who would enter my room without knocking first?

Hmm...I wonder...