The Princess's Servant

89. Starry-Eyed

The early autumn days that followed were temperate and sunny. Every morning looked the same: Sybil (or she supposed she was Cara, now) would bound out of bed, throw on her disguise and rush to Holden's cabin. And there, the prince would meet her on his porch, rub his eyes and fix his bed-head hair. And then together, they'd embark on their adventure to anywhere.

They hiked waterfalls and explored caves behind streams. They snuck into palace kitchens and stole crumpets from warm trays. They foraged vegetables in great forests and boiled stews over hot coals. They attended plays together, turned up to festivals together, sang ballads together; pulled pranks on Sebastian together. And every evening, Cara would part from Holden just as darkness dawned, just as she had the night before. They'd say their goodbyes and promise to meet again the next day. And on one such day, Cara was ready to go home.

The two of them had spent the afternoon erecting a make-shift forest shrine near a pond not far from Holden's cabin. They now laid on a blanket in front of the shrine as they watched the stars blink awake in the watercolor sky. The pond before them had gone glassy with the evening stillness and it reflected the reds and oranges that glowed in the sky like embers.

Cara rested her head on Holden's stomach as she fiddled with the last of the grass crosses he had showed her how to make. When she noticed that the thin blades were becoming difficult to distinguish, it occurred to her that night had almost fallen.

"Shit!" she cried, jumping up. "It's late! I've gotta head home." Normally, she would have been back at her guesthouse by now, but clearly time had gotten away from her.

Holden sat up. "You can't stay a little longer? There's a meteor shower that's supposed to start soon," he said.

Cara drew out a long, thoughtful Hmmm... "It's a long trek back," she said, "and I'm already getting tired. Plus bandits come out at night. Wouldn't want them stealing my highly valuable trinkets." She flashed Holden the little reed crosses and godseyes she had made.

"Well, of course not," Holden smiled. "But if you're that worried about it, then maybe you could sleep over," he offered. "In my bed, I mean. I mean— you'd take the bed, I'd take the couch. If that was something you might want?"

Cara giggled. "Sleep in your bed? Are you sure?"

"Of course." The prince sat up a little straighter. "You're the guest. And the couch is plenty comfortable. I've fallen asleep there loads on times."

"But what about your wife?" Cara asked. "Surely she'd be jealous if she knew you'd had another woman over."

Silence. The type after a glass breaks and everyone looks to see what's been done. Holden's eyes went wide and his cheeks flushed red. He froze, as if she was a bear, and said nothing.

Cara's lips parted. "Oh," she said. "Oh I shouldn't have said that."

Holden did not reply, so Cara continued.

"It was meant to be a joke," she said, kneeling once more beside him. "But I— I didn't want to imply—" She searched his eyes and found only shock, and maybe a hint of fear. "I mean, I would never— You're married," Cara said, "and you and me is just—" Stars in the heavens, she thought. "I'm sorry."

There was silence again, and for a moment, nothing could be heard except the lapping of water and the evening song of far-off birds. But after a beat, the moment passed, and an amused smile spread upon Holden's lips. "Wow," he said.

Cara felt the tension melt and she sighed. "Yeah," she whispered.

Holden moved closer to Cara and put an arm around her shoulders. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. "I don't want you to worry about Sybil," he told her. "Sybil... is someone who doesn't care for me — or who I'm with for that matter. Hell, the two of us could disappear tomorrow and she wouldn't notice for at least a week," he said with what was almost a laugh.

Cara watched the colors dance on the surface of the pond, though in truth she stared far past it. "I'm sure that's not true..." she told the prince.

"It is," he said.

"I'm sure she cares about you in some way. You're her husband."

Holden chuckled. "That is a nice idea, isn't it? I think maybe she did care about me once — for the entertainment I provided her, anyways. But now that that's over, and she's made herself clear. She wants absolutely nothing to do with me."

Cara threaded a few dots together in her head. "So... you want nothing to do with her, then."

Holden looked at the woman in his arms. "I never said that," he said.

And Cara once again fell silent.

Just as she did, a shooting star streaked across the sky. "Hey, look!" Holden pointed and Sybil caught the very last blink of the star.

As its light went out, the shooting star's mirror image twinkled in the dark of Cara's pupil. And so the prince and the princess-who-was-not-the-princess-tonight held each other under the stars. It was in this comfort and this warmth that Cara fell deep, deep asleep.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please remember to vote!