The Secret of the Seven Princesses

Sanctum Chapter 3

"See what?" Callia asked innocently, though Cliodne was sure she had seen her sister roll her eyes.

"The door!" Eurielle said. "It wasn't there, but then it-it was!" Everyone simply stared at Eurielle for a moment. "Well it wasn't..." she trailed off, trying to direct the attention away from herself.

The princesses looked among one another, trying to decide what their next action should be. Eurielle and Raia were watching Eralie, who was staring a little blankly at Petra, who in turn was eyeing the necklace around Callia's neck. Petra's hand began to reach towards the necklace, but she stopped herself before anyone other than Cliodne could see.

"Well, there's nothing to do except to go exploring," Thaleia announced, reaching for the ring to yank open the trapdoor. Cliodne's hand shot out, pushing down on it and forcing it to remain closed. Thaleia glared at her older sister, but in a rushed tone Cliodne addressed all her sisters.

"I'm not saying that we can't go down—" Thaleia's expression softened, "—but Valeria will be here soon to wish us goodnight, and how would we explain a random trapdoor in the middle of our floor with us nowhere to be found?"

"I do see your point," Thaleia agreed. As soon as the words left her mouth, there came a heavy knock on the door. All the princesses whipped around in panic, staring at the entrance to their chambers. As a second knock issued, they sprang into action.

"Just a minute!" Cliodne called out. "Thaleia, Eurielle, cover the trapdoor with the rug. Petra, Raia, and Callia, clean up the evidence. Eralie... just go brush your hair or something."

Everyone quickly did what they were told. Thaleia and Eurielle pulled the rug over the trapdoor, smoothing out the bumps and making sure that it was completely covered. Raia and Callia set about picking up the various props they had been using in the story, stashing the toothbrushes near the wash basin and the light blue sheets in a wardrobe. Petra rushed to her trunk to make sure it wasn't hurt, then retired to her bed to leave the rest of the work to her sisters. Eralie, who nearly always floated around in a dreamlike state, glided over to her bed, pulling the covers up to her waist and watching her sisters scurry about. All the girls ran to their respective beds, throwing back the covers and jumping in as if the floor was about to swallow them whole. Just as Cliodne reached her bed the door started to open and, right as she pulled her covers over herself, Valeria appeared in the room.

"Good evening, m'ladies," Valeria said cheerfully. There was a murmur of "good evenings" heard from the princesses, all of whom (except for Eralie) were slightly out of breath. Valeria walked over to the windows, checking to make sure they were locked and the curtains were drawn. Her job was to keep an eye on the princesses and she took it very seriously. Every night the middle-aged woman would come to the royal chambers to make sure that all was well with her charges.

"Now you ladies must get your rest," she demanded, walking to each of the princesses' beds and extinguishing their candles one by one. "You have a very full day tomorrow. Your father has hired a dress-maker all the way from Deturus to fashion your new ball gowns and it will be a very tiring day after you've been poked and prodded by pins all afternoon." Cliodne had to stifle a giggle when Valeria's back was turned; yes, it would simply be exhausting to stand still all day looking like some frosted party cake.

The chattering woman then proceeded to tuck each of the girls in, even Eralie, who, at twenty-two, was a bit too old to be getting tucked in. As she came to Cliodne's bed, the princess couldn't help but smile. Valeria was a kind woman who had watched over the girls all their lives. She was head of housekeeping in the castle, but after the death of their mother Gustave had requested that she watch after the princesses in addition to her other duties. Though she was not terribly aged, she had an old soul, which made her appear to be beyond her years. She had darkly tanned and leathered skin, a mark of having done much field work in her youth. There were deep worry lines in her forehead above her eyebrows that stood out even when she wasn't frowning, probably the work of chasing after seven growing girls. There were also noticeable laugh lines around her mouth and eyes from watching after the princesses. Whenever there was a scraped elbow or a trouble to be had, Valeria was there, and many a time Cliodne had rushed to her caretaker's arms for a reassuring hug.