The Lost Mirror

Chapter 12

"These will be your chambers for this evening should you choose to stay my lady." The female maid informed her. She looked out of place in the room. Her clothes were old and ripped, her brown in a messy bun while the room she stood in was the picture of luxury. The four post bed had a large wooden box with eagles hand carved into the sides. A long wooden table was on the left of the room, opposite the bed. It was laid out with a gold plate and cutlery with a big bouquet of freshly cut white flowers that she recognised from the gardens she had walked through. The servant girl stood with her hands clasped at in front her.

"Thank you." Jade had said it without thinking about it but soon regretted her actions when she saw the look of surprise on the maids face. She had forgotten, Zachariah had told her that in private the Princess looked down on everyone, she was a spoilt brat. The words thank you would never have been used by the Princess on a servant.

"It was my pleasure my lady." She said giving her a curtsy. She looked grateful for her small act of kindness though it worried Jade. It had been out of character for 'the princess.' "Can I help you with anything my Lady?" Jade needed to assert herself as the Princess again, to make her kindness less strange and out of character.

"Yes, fetch the knight I came in with and Zachariah I need to speak with them." She ordered her. Jade didn't like it. The words felt wrong to her as they came out of her mouth but it erased all the suspicion from the girls face. She curtsied again.

"Of course my Lady. I shall fetch them right away." With that, she left. Jade let out a sigh of relief when she had gone. She was alone but she was welcoming it. She walked over and sat down on the bed, the soft mattress feeling like a cloud after a night of sleeping on the forest floor. She laid back and stared up at the ceiling of the posted bed. The hair that had been bothering her stretched out all around her. She closed her eyes and let herself drift. What seemed to her like seconds after she had relaxed that there was an impatient knock on the door. Jade jumped up and smoothing her green dress a little, walked towards the centre of the room.

"Come in." She called. The door opened and in came two familiar figures. Zachariah was first, Ethan followed closely behind and the maid that had fetched them slipped into the rom behind him. "Leave us." She ordered her. The girl curtsied and turned to leave the room but not before Jade noticed the longing glance she gave Ethan. A pang of jealousy ran through her. She knew that she could never look at him like that, not just because she was in the body of the Princess but also because she wouldn't be staying long in that world. She would leave with a broken heart if she allowed herself to look at him like that. Jade shook her head and pushed the feeling aside.

"Giving orders now I see." Zachariah commented as he held his staff close to his body. Jade shot him a glare.

"I made a mistake. I said thank you to her."

"I see, well that is definitely not something a Princess would do. Neither is calling two men to her private chambers. The servants may talk." Zachariah warned her.

"I had to talk to the two of you. The Prince has invited me to this ball he is having tonight, he wants me to join him."

"I have heard about this. It's the talk of the Kingdom at the moment." Ethan informed them.

"You have to accept." Zachariah said bluntly.

"But do we have time? You said we still have a long way to go and only a month to do it in."

"It's true yes we do have a long way to do but we can spare one night. We already have two of the jewels and you only arrived yesterday morning. We have plenty of time, beside it would look strange for you to turn down this offer and head home straight away. Especially after coming here to supposedly show the support of your Kingdom."