A Captive of Wing and Feather A Retelling of Swan Lake - Melanie Cellier Page 0,37
“You know whatever it is, you can tell me, right? We’ve been friends for years now. I even went to the Keep for you!”
And how could I resist that? I sighed. “Gabe thinks Leander might be concerned about my brother because my brother is Prince Dominic of Palinar.”
“King Dominic now, actually,” Gabe cut in.
I winced at the reminder.
“King Dominic…” Audrey barely seemed able to squeeze the words out, for once actually robbed of speech. “But that would make you…”
She stared at me.
“A princess, yes,” I said with another sigh.
“You’re a princess!?!”
I winced at Audrey’s shout, so close to my ear.
“She is, indeed,” Gabe said. “The missing Princess Adelaide, no less. We’ve known each other since we were small children.” He frowned. “You know, come to think of it, I’m surprised none of you ever considered the possibility. She must have turned up just after the curse fell, and it’s not like she changed her name.”
“I was thirteen,” I said. “I had other things on my mind than creating a false identity.”
“I didn’t mean it as a criticism,” Gabe said with a smile. “It made my job easier in the end.”
“I don’t think many people in the village even know my name is Adelaide,” I added. “Most of them just call me Lady. And I’m not sure if word of a missing princess ever reached the haven. Brylee is fairly insular—and the haven even more so.”
“I’m sure I would have remembered news of a missing princess named Adelaide who disappeared at the same time as our Lady turned up,” Audrey said, apparently having regained her voice.
She fixed me with a betrayed look. “You’re a princess, and you never told me? How could you not tell me? I thought we were best friends!” An even more horrified look came over her face. “You didn’t tell Wren and Cora and not me, did you?”
“Of course not.” I said. “I haven’t told anyone. And I still don’t intend to tell anyone, so keep it to yourself, please.”
“A princess. You’re an actual princess…and I’m the only one who knows.” Her voice sounded a little dreamy.
“Apparently I don’t count,” Gabe said under his breath to me.
“Of course you don’t,” I murmured back. “You don’t live at the haven, and you’re a man. A prince, in fact.”
“The worst crime of all,” he said gravely.
I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help chuckling.
“Did you grow up in a palace?” Audrey asked, clutching at my arms. “And go to balls? I bet you did. And I bet your palace was bigger than that stuffy old Keep.”
“A great deal bigger,” Gabe said. “The Palinaran capital—and its palace in particular—is famed for its grandeur.”
“And I much prefer the haven,” I said, injecting some reality into the dream-filled fantasy that seemed to have overtaken Audrey. “Plus I was only thirteen when I left. Not exactly the age for balls.”
“Why did you leave?” Audrey asked. “If I’d grown up in a palace, I would never have left.”
Gabe said nothing, but I recognized the curious glint in his eye. He was as interested in the answer as Audrey. Apparently my brother had failed to tell him the full story of how he ended up cursed. What a surprise.
“I wasn’t given a choice,” I said shortly, “but I was more than happy to leave. And that’s all I intend to say on the matter.”
I stood up. “I think that’s enough talking for tonight. You both need to get back to your beds before anyone starts asking questions, and I need to get some rest. In the morning, we’ll meet back here and Audrey can show us this hidden tunnel.”
I expected one of them to protest, at least, but neither did. I asked Shadow to guide them back through the darkness, and she took off into the air. I might not have my swan language, but she knew me too well to need specific words for such a simple request.
I watched them leave, their unintelligible murmurs drifting back to me. Loneliness tried to claw around my heart, but I made myself turn away toward my pallet.
They arrived together late the next morning without help from my swans. So one, at least, of them had memorized the path.
“Good morning, Your Highness,” Audrey said, sweeping into a deep and extremely wobbly curtsy. “How were your slumbers?” She threw a playful look at Gabe. “Did I do that right?”
“Perfectly,” he assured her.
I raised an eyebrow, and he quickly amended his words to, “With perfect enthusiasm, at any rate.”