Page 64 of Slippers and Thorns
After a pause, Ella jolted into action. “Come on, Shadow,” she whispered urgently, squeezing her knees to prod her horse after them. “Charlie, Jake! What are you doing?”
They ignored her, continuing to move forward as if deaf to her cries.
“Charles! I order you to stop!” Still nothing. “Jacob!” she tried, a little more frantically. “You will answer me this instant!”
And still her faithful guardsmen kept their focus on the castle, oblivious to their charge.
Ella pulled Shadow to a stop. Noise. She needed a loud noise, but what did she have? Would it work if she shouted louder?
Frustrated, she went one better. She opened her mouth and screamed.
As one, Charlie and Jake swung their mounts around. “Princess? What’s wrong?” Charlie demanded, trotting back to her. His face wrinkled in confusion. “Why were you not with us? How did—” He glanced over at his fellow guard, who looked just as worried and unsettled as he did at his failure to notice his distance from the person they were supposed to be protecting.
So relieved she could have cried, Ella nudged Shadow forward. “It wasn’t your fault,” she assured them. “But perhaps we should return now?”
“Yes, I believe that would be wise,” Charlie agreed, casting his eyes uneasily around.
She wondered if she should attempt to explain what had happened, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t ease their guilt, even if they believed her. It might even cause them to forbid her from riding out again before they left.
Before they left… Ella shifted uncomfortably. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave, but this wasn’t an isolated incident. Just as Jackie had claimed, she saw evidence of it every few days, although most of the time it seemed to end without her interference. And she was certain the volume at which she had last spoken to them had at least matched that which had broken the—dare she use the word?—spell upon their original arrival with Axel and Katy, but it hadn’t worked just now.
Perhaps it was time to be truly concerned.
For the rest of the day, Ella was distracted and withdrawn as she struggled with herself over the behavior of her guards and what it meant – or should mean – for her and Mike’s future at Reineggburg. Even though she enjoyed helping with the food distribution program that she had begun at Hartford, and even though she didn’t really have any activities at Reineggburg that could be deemed “productive”, if it were purely dependent on her, she could wish never to leave. Life at Reineggburg with Mike – without all of his duties and responsibilities as crown prince – was lovely. She didn’t want to end it early.
The continuing random abstraction of half the castle’s occupants, though, was cause for great concern. Especially if it was getting worse. What if she hadn’t been able to snap Charlie and Jake out of it?
Knowing what she should do, Ella sighed. It wasn’t like she could keep Mike at Reineggburg indefinitely, anyway – the increased amount of time that he’d been spending in the library reading princely subjects proved that his mind was already starting to drift homewards.
She walked up behind the library chair in which Mike sat, slightly slouched with one booted foot crossed on the opposite knee, one elbow on an armrest and his head propped up on his fist, and a book open on his lap. His shirt collar was unbuttoned, the gently-burning fire nearby enough to keep him sufficiently warm against the chill creeping through the castle with the coming winter. A still-steaming cup of tea sat on a small table next to him.
“Mike?” she said, kneeling beside his chair.
Looking up, he smiled. “Good evening, Ella.” He reached out a hand and brushed a loose lock of hair from her face, allowing his fingers to trail gently down her neck. “Would you like me to pull a chair over so you can be more comfortable?”
Ella shook her head, resisting the urge to lean into his hand. This would all be over soon; no sense making it harder on herself later.No, she argued with herself,all the more reason to soak it in now!But his hand was gone, and the opportunity passed.
“Mike, something isn’t right here,” she began.
He frowned slightly. “What do you mean? Should I call for Mrs. Nickelby?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.” She paused, trying to put the words together to explain her concerns. “Haven’t you noticed anything…off? About how all the men behave every few days?”
Mike looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. “Ella, if you’re referring to that rumor among the servants that your maid told us when we arrived, there’s nothing going on. I’ve heard other mention of it since we’ve been here, but I’ve seen nothing to support it.”
“You really don’t know?” Ella asked hesitantly.
“Know what?”
“Mike…it affects you, too.”
He startled. “What do you mean, it affects me, too? I would know if—”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Every few days, your eyes go blank. Sometimes, you start walking somewhere. You come out of it when I touch you.”
Staring at her uneasily, he said, “I don’t remember this.”
“No, you never seem aware of it,” she admitted. “Neither did Jake and Charlie. I’ve been ignoring it, but I think—”
