A Dangerous Dance [BOOK ONE]

Chapter Seventeen

ALTHEA REFUSED TO LOOK AT BLAKE for the entire evening.

She sat at her window, wrapped up in a shawl, watching as a late snowfall fell gently from the sky. January was right around the corner, bringing in the new year. And hertwenty-first birthday. The day she would be crowned, claiming her as the legal heir to the throne of High Marland.

Blake seemed to realize that she still needed space and stayed far away, choosing to play cards with Holly, Evelina, and Cassidy.

Althea still didn't understand his motive. What did he gain by doing this? She knew how it was going to end, she always knew how it'd end.

Time ticked on, drawing closer and closer to ten o' clock. Althea flicked her eyes over to Blake every once and a while, waiting for when the sleeping spell would overtake him like it did with the maids and Lady Andrea.

However, he didn't seem to be getting drowsy the closer it got to ten. Althea began to worry and she saw the same emotion reflected in her sisters eyes.

What if he didn't fall asleep? What would they do? They had to leave at at a quarter to eleven to make it to the ball on time. Althea entertained the idea of Blake not falling asleep at all and following them to the wretched place. But she knew it was only wishful thinking.

Blythe, looking worried, went over to Althea, clinging to her shawl, "Al, he isn't asleep yet." She kept her voice down, afraid to raise concerns with Blake.

Althea nodded, "I know. It isn't quite ten yet, let's wait and see."

They watched Blake for the last five minutes of nine o' clock, trying to make it subtle. Even the younger girls started to notice he was still awake when normally, he would be very much asleep. They started to get antsy, knowing something was wrong, but they couldn't quite comprehend it.

Twenty minutes past and finally, finally, Blake left the waking world for the deep, enchanted sleep of the spell. Althea sighed in relief.

"Do you think he's really asleep?" Asked Jacqueline, looking between the sleeping man and her eldest sister.

Althea stood from her perch and limped over to where he was asleep, head lolling to the side. She had to admit, it didn't look like a comfortable sleeping position. But his breathing was deep and even and his eyes twitched behind his eyelids. She waved her hand in front of his face, not expecting a response and not getting one.

"He's gone." She confirmed, "Hurry, we've lost enough time as it is."

While her sisters filed into their bed chamber, Althea retrieved a quilt and gently tucked it under Blake, brushing his hair back from his forehead. He looked very peaceful asleep, much younger than he was.

"I am sorry it had to come to this." She murmured to his sleeping form, "And I wish it wasn't you. But I'm afraid you're a part of this mess now."

She turned away from him before her sisters could see her. She would suffer endless teasing if any of them saw, especially from Dahlia and Iris.

Althea left the sitting room, hurrying to help her sisters dress quickly for the ball, unaware that Blake was, in fact, wide awake and far from sleeping.

He waited for a painfully long time, his neck stiff and uncomfortable, but he wanted to make sure none of the princesses would end up coming back into the sitting room. Once he was sure, he straightened himself out and pulled out the silver cloak. 

Blake flung the billowy, shimmering fabric over his shoulders, letting it cover his entire body, then clicked the clasp shut. He didn't feel much different, but he knew that he was now invisible to the outside world.

He checked to make sure the little bundle of dried herbs was still pinned under the collar of his shirt, then left behind the sitting room. When he entered the princesses' rooms, he noticed all of them gathered around a large wardrobe, dressed in ball gowns. A rush of... something went through him.

This was it. He would finally understand their secret, finally learn what held them captive. And he intended to fix it.

Althea stood at the front, in a beautiful blue and gold ball gown, her hair carefully pinned up. Blake saw anger and resentment written clearly on her face as she spoke, "Are we ready?"

None of the other princesses replied. Althea heaved a sigh and focused her attention the wardrobe, lifting her finger to trace out a pattern along the carving in the wood. Where her finger touched, silver light appeared. When she finished, Blake watched as she opened the doors to darkness.

Curious, he watched as Althea stepped into the darkness. A silver light appeared beneath her feet, but Blake couldn't see what created the light from his position at the back of the group of princesses.

Althea disappeared completely into the wardrobe, then the rest of the girls followed after her. Blake made sure to keep pace with them, walking just behind Cassidy with Phoebe.

He had never seen this sort of magic. It felt wrong and sour. Not the way it was supposed to be.

Blake considered himself lucky to have grown up in the family he had. It was a well-kept secret that his grandmother had practiced magic. And magical items, such as the cloak, had been passed down generation after generation. He didn't consider himself an expert when it came to magic, but he was knowledgeable enough to get by.

Such as the little bundle of herbs he was wearing. His grandmother had drilled it into him from a young age what herbs protected against enchantment and spells. He was infinitely thankful for the information now, during such a dire time.

Inside the wardrobe was a shinning silver staircase, spiraling down into darkness. Blake couldn't believe that they did this awful journey every night.

They went down for quite a long time, until Blake was sure the stairs would never end, but then he saw the end in sight. The girls gathered into a small group, Dahlia leading the way with a lantern, and began to walk a distance through a gloomy darkness. There was nothing else around.

In the far distance, steadily getting closer, was a tall, silver archway with an opened gate. When they drew closer, Blake stopped and watched as the princesses filed through.

That was far enough for one night. If he knew anything about dark magic, which this was so obviously controlled by, it was that protective measures were surely taken to ensure that the princesses wouldn't try to escape. He didn't want to push his luck any further tonight.

He was one step closer to figuring this out. One step closer to saving the princesses.