Page 92 of Destined Dawn

She shakes her head adamantly. “I really can’t. Chocolate is in short supply.”

“Chocolate?” I say, shocked. “In short supply? But there are plenty of bars in the box.”

“Yes, we have given you the palace’s supply.”

“All of it?”

She nods.

“Why?”

“You are the princess,” she explains.

“Oh,” I say, my cheeks heating. “Well, I’d like you to take a bar anyway.”

“Please, no,” she mumbles, “it could cause me problems.”

“Problems?”

I stare down at the half-eaten chocolate bar in one hand and the unwrapped bar in the other. I don’t understand how chocolate could cause her problems but I remember how the chickens would turn on one another when we gave them rare treats like blackberries. I place both bars back in the box, the chocolate in my mouth tasting a little more bitter now.

“Maybe this place isn’t so wonderful after all if you have to be a princess to land your hands on chocolate,” I joke.

Charmaine looks at me blankly

“Would you like me to run a bath for you, Your Royal Highness?” she asks, pointing to the marble tub with its golden taps.

“No, jeez, no, I can run one myself!” I shake my head, feeling embarrassed. I’m used to people treating me like dirt. This sudden turnaround is making my head spin.

“Would you like me to tell your father that you are indisposed this morning?”

“Would you?” I say, rubbing at my belly. “I just want to float in a hot bath for about an hour until the cramps are over.”

“They are the worst,” Charmaine says, a sympathy on her face.

“Yep,” I confirm. “Why is there no spell to help with those?”

“Oh, I know of one that helps a little,” her gaze falls away, “I can’t perform it for you myself. My magic is a little low right now. But yours … yours is fine?”

“Yes, I used an awful lot of it up yesterday, but it’s regenerated again now.”

“Regenerated?” she repeats slowly, examining my face.

“Erm, yes,” I reply, confused. “Will you teach me the spell?” I sit down on one of the padded bathroom stools, grimacing as another cramp rips through my stomach.

“Okay,” she says, “my mom taught me this one. It’s a family specialty.” She smiles slightly. “Rest your hand against your belly and let your magic sink below the skin. Then utter these words.” She whispers some words in the language of the West – a language I don’t know. However, I manage to repeat the words closely enough that a warmth radiates from my hand and into my belly, soothing the cramps.

“Oh, stars, that feels good. Thank you so much.”

“It is my honor to be of service,” she tells me, bowing. It makes me even more uncomfortable. It doesn’t seem right that a woman just like me should be bowing and calling me Your Highness.

The door opens a crack and Pip comes scuttling in, trotting up to me and looking up with his I-need-some-love eyes. I scoop him up, landing a kiss on the crown of his head and place him on my lap.

“We used to raise pigs back home,” Charmaine says. “I never saw one so small before.”

“He’s a runt.”

“My father used to drown the runts.” Pip growls and a little light sparks in the girl’s eyes. “I always thought they were cute.”