Midnight in Everwood(43)
Marietta set her glass down. ‘How can your family be unaware of your captivity?’ she asked. ‘Are you not a princess?’
Pirlipata lowered her eyes. ‘They believe I have been wed to King Gelum.’ She plucked at the sequins on her dress. They scurried away from her fingernails, a sparkling migration across the golden sheath she wore. ‘He delights in the ruse he devised. It is why I am forbidden to dress in any shade other than gold, the traditional bridal colour in my home of Crackatuck. Gold for joy, for our magnificent sunsets that draw tourists from all corners of Celesta and beam from our oldest university’s turrets. And when my parents sent letters, requesting a visit—’ Her voice wisped away.
‘He commands us to participate in the charade,’ Dellara finished for her. ‘She was forced to write a response blaming her newfound duties as Queen of Everwood for why she was unable to entertain them for a visit presently.’
‘At first I defied him. I attempted to pass my mother an encoded message, signalling the true state of affairs in this palace, but King Gelum found out. He notices everything. It’s a preternatural gift of his. And I am not the only one who has suffered at his hands.’ Pirlipata swallowed, her voice cracking with emotion, and dread pooled in Marietta’s stomach, unsure she was prepared to hear more. As she witnessed a look of sadness from Pirlipata towards Dellara, Marietta noticed for the first time silver scars filigreed across Dellara’s arms and legs. They crept up beneath the fabric of her dress in a lattice of pain etched into her skin. Marietta was nauseous at the thought of what Dellara must have suffered to gain them. She chided herself for being so wrapped up in her own cloud of indulgence and childish fantasies during her first few days in the palace that she had been oblivious to the truth in front of her.
‘You weren’t to know,’ Dellara told Pirlipata. ‘My scars do not define me,’ she added to Marietta. ‘I am more than my body.’
Marietta’s attention whirligigged. It halted on something Dellara had mentioned earlier. ‘Why might the dressmaker not be inclined to aid you?’
‘No one would wish to become the king’s latest acquisition.’ Dellara’s refrain from contempt was palpable.
‘We cannot fault her for that,’ Pirlipata said.
‘So it is possible she might aid us?’ Marietta drew the thought out.
Dellara’s refrain melted into incredulity. ‘Are you snow-blind?’
‘Of course,’ Pirlipata told Marietta, placing a hand on Dellara’s arm. ‘Though I am not convinced I could ask that of her. If she were to be caught and bear the consequences of my actions, well, that is not a price I am willing to pay.’
‘I understand. Though it signifies the presence of people within the palace who might be sympathetic to our plight—’ Marietta forged ahead in a flurry of fresh ideas ‘—which means we might escape King Gelum’s clutches. We merely need to seek out trustworthy allies to help us slip through the enchantments and—’
‘No.’ Sparks seeped from Dellara’s fingertips. ‘It’s far too dangerous. Someone would inevitably betray us to secure the king’s favour and his wrath would end us.’
Marietta spoke once more. ‘Supposing the king—’
‘King Gelum holds a veritable battalion of spies in his employ,’ Dellara interrupted Marietta again. ‘For this precise reason. He is known as the Great Betrayer and once you have sunk to those glacial depths, you expect others to betray you. It’s too great a risk and the subsequent devastation would be untold. The king is a cruel man, Marietta, do not tempt him into unleashing that cruelty on you. Nothing is worth the loss of your life,’ she said quietly. Shadows laced over the entirety of her irises, submerging her pupils.
It took effort for Marietta to subdue her reaction. ‘What of your magic? I presume, like the king, you are in possession of certain abilities.’ Pirlipata glanced away and Marietta hoped she hadn’t committed an otherworldly faux-pas. Nevertheless, she stiffened her spine and marched on to her point. ‘Are you capable of shattering the enchantments that keep us incarcerated in this palace?’
Dellara continued to stare at Marietta, her black eyes swirling. ‘I possess some magic,’ she said, ‘though not sufficient to break the bounds of the Grand Confectioner’s enchantments; those are cast deep, penetrating the very material this world is crafted from, and cannot be manipulated. It’s impossible to find the like in the Veil of Enchantments, nor Sugar Alley. But I hold enough magic of my own to be capable.’
The dregs of Marietta’s hopes rose, a sole star in a dark night.
‘If my wand hadn’t been taken from me,’ Dellara finished. Her eyes faded to dusk.
‘King Gelum has it hidden under lock and key in some forgotten crevice of the palace,’ Pirlipata told Marietta, keeping a watchful eye on Dellara. ‘That is how she came to be captured, the loss of her wand ensured her vulnerability.’
‘Why did he wish to capture you?’ Marietta asked, watching the shadows in Dellara’s eyes recede.
She rolled them. ‘He was threatened by my power.’
Marietta suffered a moment of respect for her. ‘Forgive me for inquiring but I cannot help but be curious if I am to reside here with you both,’ she said politely, covering her desire to learn the king’s motivations. If he was to be her opponent then she must study him intimately. Learn his strengths, weaknesses. What he desired and feared, his secrets and shame. Not for nothing had she pored over Sun Tzu’s words in her history lessons some years ago.