Sienna and The Heart Of Aislei

Chapter 31: The Missing Princess

Okay so I've really been struggling to wrap this story up. I keep thinking and rethinking and now I am thinking I should just write. So I apologize if this seems rushed or just not up to par with my previous work. I'm just gonna write up an ending, get some feedback and edit what I need to later.

Sound good?

Okay. Here we go.

Spots danced in my vision and my stomach churned from the magic. Zeph had teleported us somewhere on the grounds outside.

"The nerve of that human! Swatting at me as if I were some rat!" Zeph huffed.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the bright daylight and groaned. "Where are we?"

"Oh. We are close to where that Duchess is. I had spied her coming out. She and her entourage looked like they were preparing to play some kind of game."

I walked over to where Zeph pointed and peered up over some bushes. Over yonder, the duchess and some other fancy folks were beginning a game of croquet. Most were wearing full face masks. Luckily, the duchess held hers in her hand. "Perfect. Zeph, Tallis said he was heading toward the kitchens."

"Of course he was."

"Go find him and bring him here please. And thank you. I don't see a reason I can't just approach Lady Marthaway now."

The gnome halted me. "Have you looked in a mirror, Princess? I can think of a couple of reasons."

Ignoring his rather rude comment, I hurriedly made my way across the playing field. Before I made it all the way to her, the steward stopped me. "Girl, have you taken leave of your senses? You are infringing upon her Ladyship's entertainment!"

"I am a princess of Alderias," I said going for a Ruby tone. "And I demand an audience with your Lady."

"Oh. I see. What a gimmick! But if you were going to commit to a role, darlin', you should've chosen a different costume." He sighed and rolled his eyes in a very flamboyant manner unbecoming of a steward. In fact, his curling mustache and heart-shaped fake beauty mark were entirely inappropriate for his station. He offered his elbow and I instinctively took it. "I suppose you are pretty enough even with that crap on your face. Come."

He steered me not to the Duchess's circle but to a group of men in masks: a pig, a wolf, and a tiger. I whispered to him in haste, "I need to speak with the duchess!"

"You will do what you're being paid to do. You're late! In your profession, it is not a good thing in any event. You should be thankful I did not turn you away. If you have any concerns about your payment or terms of contract, I am her liaison and shall speak on her behalf, darlin'."

"But--"

"Good day to you worthy gentlemen. May I present for your viewing pleasures, a rare commodity indeed, one of the famous beauties of our fair kingdom, a princess of Alderias!" He gently pushed me forward and into the leering eyes behind the masks.

The man with the tiger mask remarked, "What sort of princess would dress as a servant? Surely not one of our own."

"I had to in order to not cause attention to myself. I snuck in here actually," I answered, taking off my wig causing my long, tangled hair to fall in undisciplined tresses. I cleared my throat. The man in the mask had spoken with an aristocratic air and formal language suggesting I was in a company of gentlemen. Perhaps I can ask them for help. "I apologize for my state of dress..."

Though they are the ones in ridiculous masks.

"Ooooo, we have a princess in disguise! What a treat," the man in the wolf mask said amused and the other two chuckled with him. I did not see what was funny about anything I said. "Say, which princess are you? Are we supposed to guess?"