Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 14

There were still a few minutes until the prince arrived by the time Cole met up with the other servant girls. Meegan was back now, and she gave Cole a strange look as she burst through the door.

"Where were you?" Meegan asked.

"Just out," Cole replied.

Meegan opened her mouth to say more, but by then Mistress had walked into the room and made all the girls snap to attention with wide eyes and nervously clenched hands.

"Good evening," Mistress said, her eyes not meeting anyone in the room. In fact, her entire being seemed ready to leave the room as soon as she stepped inside.

"Why have you come, Mistress? Do you need us to perform any special duties?" Meegan asked.

"I only came to tell you that the guests will be receiving light refreshments in the common hall, and that they wish to be abed by night prayers."

A muscle jerked in Meegan's jaw, but other than that slightest of movements, she showed no signs of being thrown by the orders. In fact, she bowed her head in submission. "We'll make sure that the alcohol and food are only enough to last until then."

"King Thijs wishes everyone to be well rested for court tomorrow, so we need to make sure that his wishes are honored," Mistress said, and before waiting for an answer she was already heading back to the door. Her eyes swept across the room, and Cole had the uncomfortable feeling that she was scanning for anything that might be out of place. The prince's room was so full of clutter that Cole wondered how anyone would know if anything was out of place, but somehow she just knew that Mistress would be able to pick out even a particle of dust on a ledge.

Thankfully, Mistress' eyes continued their arch across the room without catching on anything, and she reached out to open the door. Her stiff skirts rustled as she brushed back out into the hallway, but as she turned slightly to pull the door shut behind her, those searching eyes landed on Cole.

A shiver ran up Cole's spine as Mistress slowly pushed the door back open and stepped into the room. The other girls all froze, their eyes tracing the path of Mistress' to Cole standing awkwardly in her wrinkled shift and covered in sweat from her training session with Tanwyn.

Some expressions were smug at the confirmation that Cole shouldn't be amongst their ranks, others were scared and nervous, but all were frustratingly knowing. As if all the girls had sensed it was only a matter of time until Cole was going to be noticed. She didn't belong here, and it had to be a mistake by someone. A mistake that was surely going to be corrected by Mistress now that she saw just how out of place Cole looked next to the dove-like girls in their prince's ornate room.

As Mistress approached, Cole drew in a deep breath and held it. Mistress stopped a few feet in front of her, her steely eyes so steady that Cole had to fight the urge to look away.

"All the girls should head to the hall now to prepare, except this one," Mistress said. The words dropped into the room like a curse in a church. The other girls shuffled uncomfortably, looking down at the floor or up a the ceiling, anywhere but at Cole's burning cheeks.

"Can I ask why I'm not allowed to perform the duties you brought me in for?" Cole asked, hating the strain in her voice.

Mistress inhaled slightly, but her eyes moved away from Cole, and Cole realized that she was already heading out of the woman's list of priorities.

"I would like the new girl to prepare the prince's linens on his bed and to also fetch his nighttime tea from the kitchens and bring it up," Mistress said, walking back to the door. "All the rest of you are to perform your normal duties."

Cole opened her mouth to protest, but Mistress already stepped into the hall and disappeared around the corner with swift and determined steps. The other girls filtered out after her, their eyes cast downward and their steps steering as far from Cole as they could make it. No one said a single word to her, and when the last girl closed the door behind her, Cole couldn't even bring herself to move as the silence settled over her.

What was Mistress doing? Banning Cole to a room far away from where the prince currently was, and denying her the chance to become better at her duties in order to blend in more, seemed like it was the opposite of what Cole needed in order to fulfil her bargain. Was Mistress even really working with Tanwyn? If he wanted Cole to assassinate the prince, surely close proximity to the royal would be a prerequisite.

Heat building in her cheeks, Cole turned to face the prince's room. If she had to stay here, she might as well finish her chores and use the rest of the time to try and heighten her sense of magic.