The Princess and the Warlock

Chapitre Cinq

Shortly after we made our agreement, Kaius quickly retired himself. "I've got things I need to take care of," he'd told me. "But feel free to take a self-guided tour of Gossington. Aimee will help you. Make sure you don't go waking up the dead or anything drastic."

It quickly became aware to me who Aimee was—she practically appeared when he'd spoken her name. And appeared is the correct word. She wasn't there one second, and then a blink later she was, feet floating off of the ground, face a pale, pale shade of purple. She looked a lot like Anna, except her face wasn't in a permanent frown—it was a relaxed, cool expression, dull eyes focusing on everywhere at once. "She'll keep you company."

But much company she turned out to be. Aimee, for all I knew, had no tongue. She made no noise, not even when she walked. As I meandered outside of the bedroom, black candlestick grasped tightly in my hand, I felt more alone than I had surrounded by millions of bodies in the palace.

The fine rugs and carpets in the hallway felt like silk underneath my bare toes, which were sore from collapsing in the street. There was gold lining the sides of the walls, ascending all the way up to intertwine like gilded branches on the ceiling. I was in such a beautifully decorated place, but the styles felt ancient, with dated drapery and paintings. There was one in the hallway by the bedroom with a landscape so elegantly crafted, I could see the passion in the strokes.

"Master Kaius collects paintings." Aimee's voice was a whisper in the hallway, so soft that I almost didn't hear it. "He says there is a sort of magic in people's muses."

I turned to her, holding the light closer to her face. It only managed to dull her figure out more. "We don't have many landscapes in the palace," I told her. "Just family portraits."

Aimee did not respond.

I walked further, tracing my fingertips along the gold on the walls, like veins in an arm. We stepped up to another flight of stairs, and I continued upwards. "Have you been here long, Aimee? With Kaius?"

Aimee floated along behind me, her words nonexistent.

Not much of a talker, that one. But I allowed the silence to fill my brain, to think while I walked.

Prince Grimond would no doubt have told Father already of my abduction, of how I practically handed myself over to the last warlock in our kingdom. No doubt he either dropped the contract of the proposal, or they were rallying the troops to try to rescue me.

I wasn't sure which one I wanted.

Though Kaius' hospitality was much needed, it didn't feel nearly as great as I thought it would. Being free. I had imagined traipsing through the Wildwood, escaping reality and the decisions laid out before me, to be a magical turning point. I'd never have to look back. But now that I was free, it felt wrong. It felt childish, cowardly.

It didn't feel like me, like what a princess should do.

I scratched at my head, my knotted hair creating an itch on my scalp. I hated myself for feeling like a coward, when my cowardice was what my heart desired.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up so much, miss."

I jerked at the sound of her voice. Though quiet, it interrupted my silence. "And why shouldn't I, Aimee? I am hiding here, aren't I? Like a child."

"From your emotions, I can see that you felt it was your last option."

I turned to look at her. "What, you can feel my emotions, too?"

Aimee's face was still. "I have a direct link to Master Kaius. What he knows, I know."

"Are you like an extension of him?" I asked, feeling a furrow in my brow. A figment of his imagination, maybe? Something he thought to life?

"Merely part of his magical imagination. He created me to being."

I rubbed the side of my neck, feeling my ratty hair tickling my skin. "I understand," I said, but I wasn't sure that I did. "Is his room right through here? I'd like to speak to him."

"Master Kaius has requested to be alone."

That should be against the rules, if we had made some. Requesting time alone when we're supposed to be becoming friends shouldn't be allowed. "Please, it will only take a moment."

"Master Kaius has requested to be alone," she repeated, but more emphatically this time. It was the most emotion I'd heard in her voice. Aimee took a step closer, eyes seeming to scan over my face. "Shall we go back to your room so I can plait your hair, miss? It isn't very pretty."

We were standing in the middle of the hallway, and there was a door at the end of the hall. I wondered if that was where Kaius was, or just a different room she was trying to hide from me. Either way, I relented, taking a step back. "Will I see Kaius at dinner?"

"No, miss," she replied, hovering closer to my arm. She didn't touch me—I wondered if she genuinely could—but I could feel the cold radiating from her. "He'll be sending dinner to your room. But you'll see him in the morning."

"All right," I breathed out, turning around. "Take me back, please, Aimee."