Page 79 of Pippa of Lauramore
Not waiting for help, I dress myself. I will need a new riding dress made—the glasseln ripped mine to shreds. I pick a soft, lightweight gown with smooth fabric that won’t tug at the bandage over my shoulder. Even that hurts.
I’m fighting with the lacing at the back—it’s impossible to tie without pulling at my stitches—when there’s a soft knock at the door.
“Pippa,” Leonora says as soon as she steps through. “You’re awake.”
I stop struggling with the tie and let my hands fall to my sides. Leonora has Ginna with her, and she waves the girl in.
A savage pain radiates from my wound. It travels down my arm, up my neck, and down my back.
“I wish I were dead,” I say dramatically.
She raises an eyebrow. “You almost were.”
“You too,” I say, my voice quiet as I remember how close to losing Leonora we were. “How are you?”
She wanders my room. She pulls back the curtains from the balcony and then examines trinkets on my dressing table. “I’m all right.”
“And…”
I can’t say baby, not with Ginna here. For some reason, Leonora and Percival have been keeping the news quiet.
She smiles. “The baby is fine as well. Everyone knows now.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
Ginna has laced the dress, and she’s now brushing the rat’s nest of tangles out of my hair.
“This time—the tournament—is yours. I didn’t want to take that away from you.”
This is typical Leonora behavior. It’s why she makes a much better princess than I do.
“You haven’t taken anything away. You’ve added to my joy.” I move to hug her, unintentionally making Ginna trail behind me as she continues to unsnarl my hair, but my shoulder protests. I drop my arms and pat Leonora’s arm instead.
I don’t feel joyful right now, though. The thought of Archer and Galinor out there fighting off glasselns, scavenging from dragons, and evading an occasional grim boar has me nervous.
“Do you think they’re all right?” I stare out the balcony at the mountains.
Leonora settles down on my bed. “You know Archer. If anyone can best a dragon, it’s him.”
Ginna’s hands go still in my hair, and she’s obviously surprised by what she just heard.
I turn back and give her a sharp look. “Not a word of this.”
She gives me a cheeky smile before she continues her work. “No, Princess.”
I change the subject. “How is Marigold?”
Leonora sighs. “Like you, she slept most of the day. She’s up now but not doing well. The maid-of-the-shadows poison is still in her system. It’s brought back a slew of buried nightmares.” She shakes her head. “Poor thing.”
We’re silent for a moment, remembering Marigold’s whimpers in the cave.
“What happened to her, Leonora?” I ask. “How did her family die?”
Leonora sighs. “During the wars, a flight of dragons flew over their land and set fire to their tenant’s cottages and farms. Her parents went after the dragons and were killed in the battle. After the small village burned down, the dragons set her family’s villa on fire. Marigold, only thirteen at the time, had been left with the care of her young brothers and sisters. The house collapsed in on itself. They were trapped inside.”
I close my eyes, trying to forget her cries. No wonder she’s so frightened of confined spaces.
“The young ones died of hunger and dehydration,” Leonora continues. “When one of the surviving tenants finally found Marigold, she was hysterical. Her entire family died.”
