A Dove's Tale

Chapter 44

Every good day for Mother came at a greater cost than the last one, and she was significantly worse the day after our picnic. I made her as comfortable as I could before I left for the palace, stopping briefly at the Stotts' house to drop off my grocery list with Rachel, their youngest, a five-year-old bundle of sunshine.

If only I had her energy. I'd gotten no sleep thanks to nightmares.

But I was no stranger to faking normality after a sleepless night, and I made my journey to the palace and Prince Chevalier's room, where he was a motionless lump under the blankets, and sunlight flooded the room with a soft, golden light.

"Good morning, Prince Chevalier!" I called at nine o'clock, opening the drapes and adding even more brightness to the room.

He didn't move or even grumble.

"Is Prince Clavis back from his party, your highness?" I asked, turning away from the window to pull his clothes out of the bureau.

An irritated sigh emanated from the blankets.

Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. The next thing that came to mind was Prince Licht's surprise visit to my house last night, but that probably wasn't a surprise to Prince Chevalier, and I didn't want to bring that up. Mostly because I didn't know what to think about it.

"Nevermind," I said, setting his clothes on the sofa. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your breakfast, your highness."

He didn't reply. I left for the kitchens, trying not to think too hard about what that reaction might mean. The palace and the princes were his affair, not mine. But if Prince Clavis wasn't back yet, and Prince Nokto was gone on his business trip, I might finally get a nice, quiet day for once.

And Prince Chevalier wouldn't have anybody to help with his workload. That might be what the sigh was about.

The kitchens were in their usual state of controlled chaos. I sidestepped a butler carrying a loaded tray into the hallway, and then I stepped into the kitchen where Prince Chevalier's breakfast would be ready and waiting, ducking past a cook who was flipping a pancake onto a steaming stack, weaving through the crowd to find Prince Chevalier's breakfast tray waiting on a counter. Three loud claps broke through the noise, and everybody stopped to look in the direction they came from.

"Good morning, everybody!" Prince Clavis said cheerfully, his bright golden eyes matching his usual smile as he walked into the kitchen.

Or maybe Prince Chevalier's irritated sigh was because he knew Prince Clavis was back.

"Oh, no, it's Prince Clavis," a cook muttered, though he was still wearing a smile.

"I know you're all overjoyed to see me, and you're just dying for me to give you all individual and complicated assignments, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," Prince Clavis continued.

"Thank goodness!" the head maid said, chuckling. I stared in surprise at the gray-haired, usually severe woman, now smiling and relaxed in Prince Clavis' presence.

"I will be unavailable today, which means you can all carry on as usual. Oh, except Nokto is away, so now would be a good time for a few adventurous maids to clean his room. Please leave your names and contact information for him so he can thank you all personally when he returns. Especially you, Marge," Prince Clavis added, looking pointedly at the head maid with a teasing smirk.

A ripple of laughter traveled through the servants, and more than one maid blushed. Marge was giggling like a schoolgirl.

"That is all. Back to work, everybody!" Prince Clavis said happily, clapping his hands again.