The White Sheep's Disguise ✓

Chapter 12

"Here we are." Theo's voice is all but amused as he pushes on the metal door handle, simple and rusted with age, and swings the door open. His palm presses flat to the planks of wood held together with metal brackets and plates.

I wince at the slice of squeaking hinges ringing out through the empty hallway of unused rooms and high, dusty windows. When was the last time someone resided here? Or am I living in the halls of ghosts' past?

Theo jerks his chin to the open doorway surrounded by grey stone—unattractively grey in the lower, and less visited areas of the palace. I step from one stone floor to the next, hardly a drop, and find myself face to face with one of the smallest rooms I've ever seen. Small enough that I wonder why this isn't labeled a closet.

The door doesn't swing open all the way for one simple reason. The cot on the other side, shoved into the corner of the room, is a blockade. But it makes for a decent door jamb. There isn't enough room for an armoire or even a full bed, but a small desk on the opposite wall—without a proper chair—is the only usable surface in the room.

"I understand it's not much," Theo says from the doorway. "These used to be the servant passageways until the queen decided they deserved better chambers." His chest rises and falls with a bored, drawn-out sigh. He speaks into it. "No one knows why, but now these rooms are used for short-term residents. As of now, you are the only guest applicable to one of these rooms."

The cot doesn't greet me with more than a white sheet pulled tightly against the wooden frame. No pillows, no blankets, not even a hint of warmth besides that blinding white fabric. And the desk—empty. The stool is much too short to reach the flat surface flanked by two drawers decorated with the swirls of snowflakes carved into the wood.

Someone, a past resident, took the blade of a knife to the top and carved a deep line from one end to the other. I frown at it.

At least the single wall sconce is close enough to the doorway that if anyone tries to intrude, they'll come face to face with a flaming torch. Then again, that leaves me without a viable weapon. Looking towards the desk drawers, I consider the possibility of a knife waiting for my grasp.

"This will do," I mumble, running my hand over the cut in the desk. Against my fingers, it wobbles.

"Since you have no other choice, I hope that is the case."

I glance over my shoulder, expecting for a smirk to symbolize that he was simply kidding, but his hard features don't penetrate joy of any kind. How could Gustus marry someone that seems so different from himself? Theo isn't nearly as bubbly or appreciative of someone that he doesn't know. Then again, a stranger in the palace raises red flags, and he has every right to be on his toes. Gustus is the one that needs to be more cautious.

To ease the tension clogging the small room, I say, "Thank you for showing me to my room. I imagine it is not in your interest to bother with petty matters."

"This room is only a few hallways from Cloak's chambers." He sidesteps my comment completely. "He isn't the easiest to deal with, but your trials shouldn't be too difficult after long. You'll understand; he either latches on or lets someone go. Judging by your deal with the queen, he'll do everything in his power to ensure you're not here for long."

That's a relief. I reach back to scratch at my scalp, my fingers knotting into the caramel mess on the back of my head. I grimace and thread my touch back out, tearing the loose strands away from my fingernails.

"Another thing," Theo comments as he watches me deal with my grossly incompetent conditions. "Gustus ordered me to inform you that you may use our bathing chamber whenever you please. After such a long journey, I imagine you're in the mood for a wash. If you prefer something closer and easier to reach—" a way of baiting me to another option "—there is a community bathing room down here in the old servant passageways. The faucet is tricky but easy to master once you get the hang of it."