Once Upon A Princess

33: Awake In a Nightmare

She'd been told to wear white. All the girls had, in fact. They'd all been given the same nightgown, each fitted to their size. It was short, cutting off at her knees. It was cotton and chiffon and ribboned on the sleeves and neckline.

They'd been led down different hallways. Each girl had their own room, and they were far enough away from one another that Amelia figured several people had been emptied out of their rooms for this. All they had been told was to rest well the night before because the test would be in the morning.

As Amelia watched each girl enter her room, she was surprised to see them give sly, confident smiles to the remaining girls. None of them seemed the least bit worried. Only one girl had even spoken to Amelia at all, and it was the girl who'd been friendly to her at dinner before. She only gave her sympathies for Amelia, saying she felt horrible that someone had tried to kill her. It didn't make Amelia feel any better.

She was finally deposited in her room, and her guard, Brand, was told to wait outside the door. Leesil had been beside herself with worry when she saw Amelia after last night, but her leg injury prevented her from guarding her tonight like she had wanted.

Without any more ceremony, the door was closed and she was alone in the room. It was an ominous feeling; she was rarely completely alone.

The first thing she noticed about her room was that it was bare except for a few pieces of furniture. All of the pieces looked new and empty; they had to have been placed just for this night. The window was covered in heavy curtains, and only a small sliver of moonlight was visible to light the room in a blue sheen. Her eyes immediately fell to the bed, the strangest thing in the room.

The bed itself was tall, so tall that a ladder was placed beside it in order to climb up it to lay down. It had to be at least a dozen mattresses stacked on top of each other. The ceiling wasn't any higher than the rest of the castle rooms, and so she figured she'd be crouched if she was standing on them.

She didn't even have an explanation for why the bed was so tall. They hadn't said anything about it; in fact, they'd been very tight-lipped about anything concerning the test at all. She'd read a little bit about the various tests and especially the trial afterward, but she hadn't read extensively so she could have missed whatever this meant.

A quick investigation in the small nightstand and dresser gave her no information. They were empty, as she thought they'd be. She went to the window and opened the curtain, flushing the room in the bright light of the full moon. She looked down, seeing only bare grass and the tall walls. The window was normal; double-paned glass that frosted over with her breath. Everything about the room was regular, albeit a little strange, save for the giant-sized bed.

Amelia finally walked over the ladder, giving it a small shake with an outstretched hand. It looked thin and bendy, but it actually seemed to hold its own against the wall of the mattresses.

She climbed up, slow at first. The ladder made no sound, and she heard her heartbeat in her ears. It felt strange to be off solid ground.

She finally reached the peak, hitting the top of the tall ladder and the flat surface of the topmost mattress. It was topped with several blankets and pillows, all in different shades of purple and all looking more plush and comfortable than the next.

She rolled herself forward off the ladder and onto the mattress. It was firmer than she would have expected, and she found it wasn't as tall as she thought it'd be. She would easily be able to stand up with ease if she wanted to. Her head would be a few inches away from the ceiling. If the other women had the same bed in their rooms, then they might have more trouble.

But did they have the same bed? Maybe they had a different piece of bizarre furniture in their rooms. Was this a way to throw them off before the test tomorrow? She didn't see how a tall bed was going to disable her in any significant way. If anything, she would probably be so comfortable she'd get a perfect night's sleep. That is, if the nightmares would ever leave her alone.