The Secret of the Seven Princesses

Secrets Chapter 10

It did work. For weeks and weeks, it worked.

Eurielle smiled happily as she thought of how Raia's plan had gone off without a hitch. Petra had procured a large bundle of the sleep-inducing root from the palace gardens, which Raia had dried and crushed into a fine odorless powder. Each night, the princesses offered Justine a valerian root-laced cup of wine upon her entrance to their chamber nearly an hour before their scheduled bedtime. The first night, Raia had claimed that it was only fitting that Justine join them in this "nightly routine," and the woman seemed little the wiser that the routine had only been invented that morning. The maid was more than willing to accept the offering, as she was unused to such luxuries, and of course agreed not to divulge that they'd given her wine while "on duty." In keeping with the routine, the princesses joined her in partaking of the (undrugged) drink so as to avoid any suspicion. Eurielle had never really liked the taste of red wine very much, so she just kept her lips closed and pretended to drink and swallow, her eyes trained on Justine's face until an elbow jab from Petra reminded her to look away.

The initial effects of the sedative were gradual—so much so that neither Valeria nor Justine suspected anything when the housekeeper visited at her usual time. Not long after the door was locked, however, the younger woman displayed the classic signs of sleepiness: excessive yawning, unsteadiness of gaze, and the tendency to keel over on the nearest piece of furniture. Of course, Eurielle hadn't actually seen these behaviors for herself. The first night, she had awoken from her own sleep when Justine collapsed into the corner armchair, her slightly-open mouth emitting the faintest of snores. Cliodne and Thaleia had carried the maid from the chair to her cushy collapsible cot in order to make her more comfortable and to keep her from getting a crick in her neck the next morning. Justine's complete lack of reaction when moving her had convinced Cliodne that nothing short of an earthquake would wake the drugged servant, so she gave her official sanction to descending into the sanctum as usual.

As she stepped into the brightly lit room, Eurielle breathed deeply, inhaling the magic that permeated through the air and into her very skin. As always, the last vestiges of her exhaustion were wiped away; indeed, she never felt more energized than when she was in the Room, and this was partially the reason why she felt compelled to return each night.

The princesses fanned out across the room, each with a complicit understanding of her role and responsibilities for the night's activities. Though their adventures in the sanctum had initially begun with the spontaneity of their bedtime skits, the past six months had witnessed a change in the context of their storylines—or, as things progressed, storyline. For they had not changed the skit for many nights now, instead choosing to perfect and reenact a story of Callia's that they'd all taken a liking to.

For all intensive purposes, the story was perfect for each of their preferences. It had the right amount of danger, intrigue, and adventure to suit Thaleia and Petra, and its dramatic scenes perfectly fit Eurielle's, Raia's, and Eralie's expectations. As for Cliodne, she was satisfied that the female characters had the right balance of femininity and independence to make them interesting heroines, rather than tiresome. In both respects, both the story and their acting pursuits had flourished beyond their wildest dreams, and each princess found her natural role in either the production or the story itself.

More and more, the princesses had been relying on Callia to dictate the story, rather than merely narrating. She was the natural storyteller of the group, and it seemed only natural that she be the one to keep track of the story itself. Eurielle, for one, had never before cared whether their skits made sense—it was all in good fun after all—but Cliodne insisted that Callia attempt to keep the story as justifiable as possible. Considering Eurielle's and Thaleia's penchants for throwing curve balls, Callia certainly kept herself busy in constantly revising the script and making changes to scenes that didn't flow on stage.