A Dangerous Dance [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Three

ALTHEA'S LEG GAVE OUT AS SHE was walking down to breakfast. With a cry, she went down and caught herself with her hands.

"Thea!" Cried Lenora, before Evelina, Holly, and Kadence all crowded around her with worry.

It was as though it had decided to stop working, sending shooting pain through Althea's body. She had thought she'd be fine, even after the tiring dancing of last night, but it was obvious that she wasn't. Tears of shame threatened to spill as she thought of the conversation with Blythe just a few hours ago. Althea bit the inside of her cheek again, forcing the tears away.

More girls appeared, until Althea was all but surrounded by sisters clambering about her.

"Kadence, fetch Dr. Cormac before she protests." Althea managed to overhear Cassidy muttering to Kadence.

"You will not." Althea immediately protested, to which Cassidy rolled her eyes, "I'm fine, I promise. Really. Dr. Cormac isn't needed, especially today."

As much as she dreaded the thought, Lord Etherson was arriving today and the girls had to greet him when he came.

Dahlia had put up a huge fuss this morning as the girls had gotten ready when she saw that Althea had chosen to wear a simple gray dress, practical in every way. Dahlia considered herself an expert in fashion, and because she had been so concerned about Althea's appearance, Althea had let her pick out a dress for her to wear out of pity.

That was how Althea had ended up wearing a pinstriped pattern, the stripes making her eyes look more violet than blue, with crinoline and corset and all. Althea, who had always been a practical person, felt constricted and confined, but it made Dahlia happy, so she didn't protest. Secretly, she longed for the trousers and frock coat of the Army, which was all for practicality.

"Al—"

"Don't 'Al' me, Bly, I'm fine." Natalie watched with wide eyes at the tense stare-down between the two sisters. All of the girls watched with bated breath as identical blue eyes faced off, neither prepared to back off.

Althea and Blythe had only ever argued once, and that had been where they were sixteen. Blythe had never wanted Althea to enlist in the first place, a sentiment shared by King Nathanael. The twins hadn't talked for three days after that, along with most of the older girls. None of them had wanted her to go.

She hadn't been able to explain it to them. Althea had watched her mother give birth to Ophelia, sweet, innocent Ophelia, and waste more of her life away. She had been so angry that her mother would bring another baby into a world where that baby would never be free. And then, Althea had decided, determined, that she would get away. The Army had been her guilty escape and for two years, she had been free.

It wasn't like that anymore, of course, Althea was right back in the same place she had started, worse off than she began with. The only difference was that she had taken her mother's place.

Blythe sighed unhappily, but jerked her head in defeated consent.

Althea was older by seven minutes. Those minutes meant so many things; she would be Crowned and would assume the throne when her father passed or stepped down, she bore the full weight of her mother's mistakes, she was responsible for running the household, she was also responsible for all fifteen of her sisters, and she made the decisions for all of them. Her word was as final as their father's.

"At least let us help you to breakfast." Evelina, who had helped Althea up, said. Althea didn't protest.

She hobbled down the stairs, trying to hide her grimaces of pain, and all the way to the room where they took meals with important guests and usually Locklyn. Althea had always been convinced that Locklyn actually slept in his office; she hadn't seen him actually leave the palace before, unless he was going to Parliament meetings.