Page 18 of Fit for a Prince (Fit For A Crown #1)
Chapter eighteen
I didn’t say much to Mara when I returned, nor did we talk at supper, or at breakfast the following morning. Oren’s absence was painfully loud amidst the silence, and we both felt the sting.
A new Ivalonian servant named Beckham was assigned to me two days later.
He was an older boy, maybe fourteen or fifteen, with sunken eyes that made him look well into his thirties.
He was reserved and polite, but there was no doubt he knew what had happened to the last servant who’d held his position.
He had sandy-blond hair and soft green eyes that stood out against the dark red uniform he wore. Mara had forced me back into bed while I let my ribs continue to heal, so I mostly watched him collect breakfast dishes and linens from a place among my pillows.
There was nothing wrong with him, but seeing him made me want to hurl. Every little task Beckham did should have been Oren’s. Watching someone else fulfill that role was like watching a puppet being dragged around the room
Still, I watched him, because something about him was off.
Beckham placed a fresh stack of wood by the fire while Mara heated a kettle, and as he stood up, I noticed the shine of something silver around his neck.
“Beckham?” I called the boy over, and he tensed when he heard his name. “What’s that around your neck?”
His face paled as his hand twitched toward his throat. “M-my neck?” he stammered as if I’d just asked him where he’d hidden a body. “N-nothing. It must have only been the light catching on a button, my lady.”
“But your buttons are wooden, not brass,” I said with a soft incline of my brow, causing even Mara to turn her attention to the boy.
“Um, yes, but...” He started sweating, his hand shooting to his collar as if he were being robbed of air. “It’s n-nothing.”
What was he so afraid of?
I brushed my thumb against my ring, feeling the softest tingle of magic in the enchanted band.
“Is it magic?” I whispered, and his eyes shrank to the size of pin-pricks .
“Magic?” Mara stiffened “But servants aren’t allowed to carry magic on them.”
“I-I—” Beckham was whiter than the snow flurries clustered in the windowsill’s corners. “It’s not—I mean—”
“Calm down.” I swung my legs off the side of the bed, ignoring the ache in my ribs as I approached the young man.
He was completely petrified, so I slowed my movements until I was barely inching toward him.
I turned my hand over to show him my golden ring, the magic shimmer reflecting in the firelight. “I carry magic too.”
His posture softened, and he took what might have been his first breath since I’d brought it up.
“They let you keep it?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper. “Or is it stuck, too?”
Stuck? Of course, that would explain his anxiety.
“Mine can’t be removed by anyone but me,” I explained in a tender voice. “But the guards believe it can be removed only by the person who placed it. They probably could too, but they’re...well, they’re no longer with us.”
I clutched the ring to my chest, my heart beating against the trapped love that bound the ring to my soul until I separated myself from it for good.
“I see. I’m sorry for your loss, my lady,” Beckham said with a solemn dip of his head.
He slipped his hand into his tunic, retrieving a long silver chain with a blue turquoise stone that was flat and round like a coin.
“I was gifted magic too, but I’m not able to remove it on my own.
I truly am not trying to break the rules; I’m simply stuck with this gift. ”
“I understand,” I said, my eyes studying the polished turquoise stone. It reminded me of a specific type of magic we used in Ivalon, but I wasn’t certain if my assumptions were correct. “Is there anyone else capable of removing it for you?”
“No.” He pressed his hand to the pendant. “They’re gone as well. I’ve heard rumors that the guards won’t hesitate to sever a limb to retrieve a magic bracelet or ring. If they discovered my chain...” He gulped, his hand brushing his throat with a shudder.
I wished I could have been surprised, but given how desperately Septimus wanted to find the Ivalonian vault, it made sense that he’d be on the hunt for magic. I was likely only permitted to keep my finger because the guard knew I was intended to be a trophy.
“Your secret is safe with us.” I looked at Mara and she nodded in agreement. “I promise.”
A visible sigh of relief swept over the boy as he tucked the pendant back into his shirt and adjusted his collar. “Thank you, my lady. I cannot tell you how much that means to me. ”
“We’ve all lost too much since coming here. The least we can do is look out for our own.” I placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze. “I will look out for you, Beckham. I refuse to lose anyone else.”
Not Mara. Not Beckham. No one else.
“Thank you,” Beckham said with a more relaxed smile. He patted the hidden chain under his shirt, glancing between it and me for a contemplative moment. “Now that you know about my magic, would it be all right if I used it on you? As a way to demonstrate my gratitude.”
“Use it?” I lifted my brows, my memory of the turquoise trinkets filtering back through my mind. “You mean it’s a—”
“A healing stone,” he said proudly. “It mostly protects me from ailments, but I can share its power in small doses. It should speed up your recovery if I steep the stone in your tea for a few minutes.”
“You can do that?” Mara gaped, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “I thought magic only came from metals.”
“Yes, it’s the metal chain that carries the magic, but certain stones can change the effect of the magic.
See?” He stepped over toward my teacup and pulled the stone back out of his tunic.
He cleaned off the pendant with a handkerchief, then lowered it into the piping liquid, counting quietly to ten before pulling it back out.
“Try this, my lady. It should at the very least lessen your pain.”
I accepted the drink cautiously, giving it a long sniff before deciding that it didn’t smell any different than my normal cup. Beckham’s giddy smile was all the convincing I needed to take a sip after that, and sure enough, the pain in my ribs immediately eased.
“Remarkable,” I said before taking another sip. “Thank you, Beckham. And please do keep that charm hidden. Something like that would certainly catch the king’s eye.”
“I will.” Beckham wiped off the stone and paused before slipping it back into his shirt. “Would you like me to make you another cup before I go? The magic is weak when transferred, so it will take a few doses to fully heal your injuries.”
“Not yet,” I said, then polished off the cup. The pain was still there, but standing was far more comfortable. “I don’t want my recovery to be too miraculous. The guards might ask questions.”
Beckham paled again, then hastily tucked the pendant back into his shirt. “Yes, good point.” He dabbed a drop of sweat from his brow. “I’ll be off then. Take care, my lady.”
He disappeared back through the servants’ door, leaving Mara and me alone with a fresh stack of firewood and an empty teacup.
“Did that really improve your pain?” Mara asked skeptically as she circled me. “You don’t look any different.”
“That’s probably a good thing.” I set the cup down, walking across the room with the most energy I’d felt in days. “If anyone asks, I’m writhing in pain at night despite putting on a brave face during the day.”
“Yes, my lady.” Mara nodded just as a knock shook the door. “Oh! Wait here!”
She put her hands up to stop me as if she expected me to chase after her. I was still in my night dress, so she likely didn’t want anyone to see that I wasn’t presentable yet.
Mara pulled open the door just enough that she could respond without anyone looking too far into the room, and all I could hear passed between them were the words “ten minutes.”
Mara stepped back from the door with the elegance and poise of a proper maid, then the moment it was closed, she practically sprinted to my side.
“You’ve been requested to visit the prince’s study!
” she squealed, racing past me to grab the dress I was supposed to put on this morning.
“We must hurry! They’re sending an escort for you. Quickly, put this on.”
She tossed the dress into my arms, then ambushed me from behind to start yanking apart the laces of my nightdress. I was glad one of us felt a sense of urgency, because I was still too busy trying to catch my breath.
It’s finally happening. I’m going to get my chance to prove myself to—
“Hold on. Which prince invited me?” I mumbled through a mouthful of fabric as Mara forced a gown over my head. My face popped out through the top, Mara’s sparkly eyes only a few inches from me.
“Prince Cedric!”