Page 63 of Disenchanted
“It renders a woman so completely desirable that any man, even a prince, will be dazzled by her charms and fall helplessly in love with her,” Amy recited.
I was certain that she was directly quoting Mal. “You and Netta are both lovely, charming girls. Neither of you have need of a love potion.”
My sisters stared blankly back at me, clearly unconvinced. I expected Imelda to second my opinion and dispose of the elixir at once. To my utter shock, she raised the bottle and took a swig.
“It tastes rather… flowery,” she pronounced.
“That would be Mal’s secret ingredient, the magical blue rose hips,” Amy said.
“Can’t be much of a secret if Mal told you,” I replied dryly.
Amy pulled a face at me. Looking a trifle sheepish, Imelda offered the bottle to me, but before I could decline, Amy snatched the bottle away.
“Ella certainly has no need of this.” She took another swallow and passed the elixir to Netta. Netta took a sip and handed it back to Amy who tipped the bottle up and chugged.
She hiccupped and leaned back against the coach’s velvet cushions. “Ah, I think I can feel the elixir working already.”
“I can’t.” Netta looked disconsolate as she upended the empty bottle. “You had far more than me, Amy, you greedy thing. You drank it all.”
Amy’s only response to her sister’s complaint was a beatific smile that made me uneasy. I wondered what else Mal might have put in that potion of his besides rose hips. I heard Imelda draw breath to scold Amy but before she could do so, the coach lurched to a halt.
“Goodness!” my stepmother said. “Surely we cannot have arrived already.”
We all scooted across the seat to peer out our respective windows. I could ascertain little beyond the fact that we had stopped behind a pumpkin styled carriage. I lowered the glass and leaned out as far as I could. By craning my neck, I could see we had joined a queue of coaches wending their way up the hill toward the palace gates. The carriages’ running lamps made it look like an orderly procession of fireflies on the march.
Imelda tugged at my skirt. “Do come back inside and close the window, Ella, before you disarrange your hair.”
I did as she asked and settled back against the cushions. While Em fussed over me, smoothing out my hair, I noticed my sisters perched on the edge of their seat.
“You may as well relax, girls. It may be a while before we are able to alight. The entire kingdom appears to be on their way to the ball.”
“Oh, dear,” Imelda said. “It is quite vulgar to be the first to arrive, but I hope we shall not be the last either.”
“Don’t worry, Em. I’ll tackle whoever is in front and you and the girls can scramble over their bodies.”
Amy and Netta giggled, but my stepmother gave me a long-suffering look.
“I believe we discussed this, Prunella. You need to mind your tongue tonight and not blurt out some of the inappropriate thoughts that flit through your head.”
“I will try,” I promised.
“Try very hard, dear.”
We traveled the rest of the way to the palace in a series of fits and starts until even I grew impatient. I thought we could have arrived much faster if we had disembarked and walked.
Finally, our coach door swung open and Long Louie let down the steps. He bowed and stretched out his hand to help my stepmother down, but Imelda froze in the doorway.
“This cannot be right,” she said. “We have stopped by the gates. Tell the coachman he must follow the drive so that we may alight by the palace steps.”
“I am sorry, milady,” Louie replied. “But it appears that the king has forbidden it.”
“Nonsense! Why should His Majesty do such a thing?”
“I believe it is for reasons of security. The king does not wish any undesirable sort of persons sneaking into the ball.”
Undesirable? Such as people who had not paid for their tickets or prospective thieves like me? I wondered.
My stepmother, who is not a good walker, protested, “But it must be at least a half mile to the castle. There was never such an order given before. How very strange and disagreeable!”
