Donkeyskin - ON HOLD

Of War

 If there was anyone Elodie trusted with her life, it was Mattelaine. They were family, and that had to count for something. She traipsed across the frozen castle grounds to the animal workers' hall, only to learn that the goose girl and boy had taken the geese to their field earlier that morning.

Elodie shivered, drawing her cloak closer, wishing she'd had the courage to wear her donkey-skin hood, but the risk that the royal family would recognize it was too great. Prince Alexandre had given it to her without ever having met her, and the gift had saved her life on her long flight from North Avalon, and during that winter in the mountains.

The fields were sloppy with half-thawed mud, and Elodie wondered how she'd ever get her boots clean again. The goose pasture was the farthest from the castle, with a manmade pond at its center. Beneath a barren willow sat the goose-girl, bundled up to her ears, her hair carefully wrapped in a thick scarf. The goose-boy, Conrad, stood by the pond, using his crook to trace shapes in the dusting of snow on the frozen water.

Elodie sat beside Mattelaine, bringing her knees up to her chin. "Mattie," she said. "I need advice."

Mattelaine turned slightly, just enough to indicate interest. "Oh?" she murmured. "So you came to me, because that totally makes sense. Apparently I am the wiser of the two of us, hm?"

Elodie had to smile when Mattie cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "Conrad! Did you hear that? Lune called me the smart one!"

Conrad blushed and turned away. Elodie took a deep breath, preparing to tell Mattie everything that had happened since she'd last seen her. Instead, what came out was, "I think the queen knows about me."

For awhile, they sat in silence. It seemed Mattie had been taken by surprise. The geese honked and squawked, and Conrad kept them from leaving the pasture. It was bitter cold, and, when Elodie thought she could bear it no more, she added, "Also, my father's gone mad, North Avalon's in a civil war, and I think it might be my fault."

Mattie snorted. "All right, what, exactly, happened last night? You were fine yesterday!" she exclaimed. "What, did you dance with the ambassador, or something?"

Elodie hung her head, feeling stupid, utterly stupid. "Worse," she admitted. "I danced with both princes, then talked with the queen in her boudoir. Also, I think I'm now the Crown Prince's mistress. Sort of."

Mattie's eyebrows–Elodie noticed they'd been darkened to a light brown–rose. "How can you be a mistress if the man isn't married?" she demanded. "I think it just makes you his lover."

"But we aren't sleeping together," Elodie cried. "And I don't think we will. So the most accurate term is 'mistress.'"

Mattie giggled. "Well, then, the accurate term is actually 'friend,' or, if it's romantic, 'love interest." She took Elodie's hand in hers. "Don't worry so much. It will give you wrinkles."

Elodie turned a disbelieving gaze upon her. "How can you be so calm? I can't be friends with the Crown Prince! It's too dangerous."

Mattie frowned. "No, it's not. What are you so afraid of happening?"

Elodie opened her mouth to snap a reply, then shut it just as quickly. More calmly, and sadly, she said, "I think I'm afraid that they'll turn me over to the King of North Avalon."

Mattie considered this. "You say the Crown Prince is in love with you," she pointed out. "The queen, too, seems to favor you if she brought you to her boudoir. I doubt either of them would simply hand you over to be brutalized and murdered–you have heard about your father's wives, haven't you?"

Wordlessly, Elodie nodded. Mattie went on. "In my case, if someone finds out who I am, Leonie will kill me. You are putting to much weight on your fears. These rulers are good people, I think. If you had gone to them and said, 'I am the Princess Elodie,' and had asked them for amnesty, they would probably have granted it, and then you and Prince Alexandre would be married by now. You were–are, I don't know–betrothed."