Calm and Calamity

Chapter 54

Day: 667

Days Left: 4813

Lives Saved: 3

Pearl, Daina, and Lili reluctantly entered the house. Though they resided there too, they always referred to the building as Princess Alfreda's house, and Princess Alfreda referred to it as the 'shack' due to its diminutive size compared to the royal castle that she had lived in before her imprisonment.

It seemed that whilst Pearl and Daina were in the giant sandwyrm tunnel, the house had been decorated. In the lounge, lit candles and wisps in lanterns were scattered around, casting the room into a soft kaleidoscope of colours reflected onto the silk and satin fabrics that were draped onto every surface.

Near the centre of the room sat the fire demon in a cushioned chair. She greeted her three servants with a fiery glare, her eyes flaring with white fire that could be seen even with her veil covering her face. Standing at either side of Princess Alfreda's chair was Oscar and Calanthe sharing the same concerned and apprehensive expression towards Pearl and Daina.

After closing the door behind her, Lili knelt before the princess and cast a sideways glance at Pearl and Daina, who, after a moment of pause, did the same, keeping their head bowed low, averting their eyes from the deathly and burning stare of their employer.

Princess Alfreda straightened her back in her seat and raised her head; the bells and jewellery hanging from her horns tinkled as she did. "Well," she began, snapping her paper fan open, the sound almost like the crack of a whip. "Care to explain your absence?"

Pearl swallowed, then replied, "we were aiding the mission to recover the marionette Jessica's missing limbs from the giant sandwyrm tunnel."

"Is that so?" The fire demon sighed and wafted her paper fan in boredom. "Do you know how long you were gone for?"

Pearl and Daina shook their heads solemnly.

"You were gone for five hours." Princess Alfreda glowered at Pearl and Daina. "Without a word. We had not the simplest idea where either of you went; you could have been in danger for all we knew."

"Our greatest apologies, Your Highness," said Pearl, her tone not as bitter as before nor as tense. She did not imagine that the princess' priorities were their safety and well-being. Rather, the princess was worried about her own safety and well-being without two of her servants or human shields.

"And it appears that you were in danger." The fire demon's eyes flared even hotter as they noticed Pearl's hand wrapped in bandages. "How is your hand? What happened to it? Is the injury severe?"

Pearl hesitated. "I got bitten by the giant sandwyrm whilst in my mask form." She flexed her fingers slightly then cradled her hand to her chest as it flinched in pain from moving. "With the aid of the magical salve that Harmony has, it should hopefully heal within a week or so." The old seamstress bit down on her lip, regretting saying the word 'hopefully' as the princess valued certainty over everything.

The fire demon's eyes narrowed, and she paused in wafting her paper fan. "'Within a week or so', you hope?"

Daina glanced at Pearl with sympathetic concern, her body shrinking inwards.

"So..." Princess Alfreda leaned back in her chair, cocking her chin as she glared down at the kneeling Pearl. "Will you still be able to make me my garments with only one good hand?"

The tension and aggrievement from before returned to Pearl, but now ten-fold. She knew that the spoilt princess didn't really care about her wellbeing but rather her ability to sew her new clothes. Pearl bowed her head even lower to hide the forming scowl on her face.