The Nine Princesses Revised Edition (Volume One)

Chapter 88: Carriage Ride.

The dappled gray horses pulled the carriage away from the castle. Coralina sat by the window and scowled at the summer morning that blossomed and fluttered and warbled. It had no right to be fresh and beautiful.

"We'll talk of nothing unpleasant!" Luxley clasped her hand. He had chosen to sit beside her rather than on the opposite bench. "Nothing but sunshine and rainbows for my darling!"

Coralina didn't want sunshine and rainbows. She wished Luxley hadn't come. He was too cheerful, too shiny, wrapped in silk and crowned in sapphires. Coralina had thrown on a plain gown of lavender cotton and hadn't brushed her hair.

The carriage sloped downward between straight rows of lumen trees, following the wide road that divided the forest. "Why aren't you angry?" she asked.

"Angry?" Luxley laughed. "At what?"

"You were angry after the ball. When you... got hit on the head."

"I was embarrassed!" Luxley said. "The prince of Bella Reino knocked out by a falling tree limb! You really should chop that old willow down before another fellow gets hurt."

Falling tree limb? Coralina wondered which of her sisters had lied to Luxley. Probably Heidel.

Bless her.

"Where are we going?" Coralina asked.

"Wherever you desire!" Luxley lay his arm across her shoulders. "We can stroll hand-in-hand through the pretty streets of Merridell. Or lounge on the grassy banks of Lumen Lake, singing ballads under the sun. Or ride the horses bareback across a wild meadow!"

Coralina shook her head. "Creaklee." She hadn't planned this. The thought fell upon her like a roof collapsing. She needed to see Gord. Now.

Luxley frowned. "Creaklee. Isn't that a village of peasants?"

Coralina sighed. "There's... there's something...." She could think of no reason that sounded convincing.

"And isn't Creaklee the locality of that buffoon who butchered your play?"

"Yes," she said weakly. Luxley thought Gord's outburst was part of the play, a badly revised ending he'd concocted himself.

"Ah!" Luxley said. "You wish to chastise him for his wretched performance. Will that lighten your spirits?"

Coralina shrugged. "It might."

Luxley directed his servant driving the carriage. As they ambled over the hills, he filled the miles with talk of his kingdom: the blushing skies, the sparkling oceans, the snowless winters, the breezy palaces. A kingdom, he said, where everyone was beautiful.

"Promise you will visit!" Luxley said. "Even among its beauties, you will shine."

Coralina smiled. "Yes, I'll come."

Luxley grew quiet as they crawled into Creaklee and she sensed he enjoyed the close, colorless streets as little as she did. After some argument, she convinced him to wait at the Old Ogre Inn while she continued on foot.

"But you're injured!" Luxley cried.

"It hurts very little now," Coralina said. "Please. My errand must be done alone."

With barely a limp, she worked through the streets, giving no thought to the peasants who bustled around her. She turned down a small lane that crept between shops of weavers, spinners, and tailors. A trio of tall peasant girls shuffled past her, their arms weighted with wool skeins. Coralina caught her name being whispered, followed by scornful laughter. Clearly, they had seen the play.

She lifted her chin and went on. But as she tried to pass a clothier's shop, a large man stepped out of it, blocking her path.

Gord.