The palace compound was almost a city within itself. Locked away from the rest of Soma behind tall white stone walls, the buildings were all built in similar opulent styles. They were separated into courtyards, each one used for different purposes. The magnolia courtyard held the buildings used for the engineers of the city, and they were painted in the sky blue of the clan. The cherry courtyard was where the hired chefs lived and where the food was prepared and stored. It carried on from there, little sections where the people who worked in the palace compound could carry out their work in efficiency.
Cole stared at it all with eyes threatening to burst from her skull as Pim led her down the pathways that wound through them. Sparkstone lanterns lit up every square inch of the compound, and Sparkstones tied to wires threaded across the open air walkways, looking like stars come to earth. It truly did feel like walking through the sun, and Cole could scarcely believe such a place existed.
Men and women walked through the compound, unbothered by the late hour, trailing the smells of delicate flowers and earthy woods as they laughed and conversed. The men sported their fashionably short hair under leather hats with wide brims, and the women pinked their cheeks with rose water to look as if they were ever blushing in the presence of their handsome companions.
Soft string music floated through the air seemingly from nowhere, and the scent of fresh bread and flowers made the stuffy air of the summer night feel bearable. Cole had never experienced anything like this, and she felt like she had stepped back into Avallen. These were not humans walking around her in the colors of orchids and blood, but instead faeries and mystical beings that did not belong in the wretched city that Cole knew.
Pim led her to the bamboo courtyard, where all the buildings were painted a fresh spring green. This was the royal courtyard, and where the actual palace stood. It was near the wall, a towering building made of white stone, visible from the river down in the city. Its massive walls were lit with Sparkstone sconces so that it seemed to glow, and its banners embroidered with the royal crest were clearly visible.
"We'll head into the servants' quarters to meet with Mistress first," Pim said, skirting away from the palace and heading to a row of buildings painted with the spring green and which lay low and long a few hundred feet away.
Inside the low building, the grandeur faded to a level that wouldn't be out of place in a servant's quarters. While everything was neat and in good repair, there was no longer bright colors and embroidery and garden-like scents. Each room had a purpose, and men and women dressed in similar robes bustled in and out as their jobs dictated. No one paid much attention to Cole and Pim beyond brief curious glances at Cole and her filthy and strange appearance. Otherwise, they ignored the two as they walked through the hallways and in to another building where rows of beds, stacked two tall, filled the large open room. At the end, another room was sectioned off with a wall and door, and this was where Pim took Cole.
He knocked, and a woman's voice bid them to enter. Pim let Cole in to the warm room, where the smell of cedar wood floated softly in the air. A desk sat right in front of the door, with the bed and lounging chairs set further into the room. At the desk, an old woman sat peering at papers through a beryl stone. She was small and made of soft wrinkles that folded with grace and wisdom on her face and hands. Her eyes, cloudy blue, traced the magnified words through the beryl stone, and she waited until she had finished her sentence before she glanced up.
"I take it that we have Cole Glassad before us," the woman said, and waved them to stand in front of her as she flipped her papers over and rested her hands on top.
"Yes, I found her just where you said, Mistress," Pim said, smiling and gesturing at Cole as if she was some amazing prize that anyone would be proud to look at. Instead, she felt dirty and horribly underdressed in her male clothing. Mistress wore her plain woolen shift with the dignity of a queen, and it made Cole shift uncomfortably in her trousers and tunic.
"I am Gwyndolyn Promis, the mistress of the household," the old woman said, apparently addressing Cole now. "I oversee all the staff in the palace and report to the king's advisors. You will be reporting to Mr. Pim, who reports to me."
"I'm sorry," Cole said, "but I'm not even sure what I'll be doing here."
"You are to be a chambermaid in Prince Bastian's room. Your job will be to clean the room and make sure his hearths are properly maintained. You may also be required to keep in his company, along with the other maids, while he visits and entertains, should he need anything."
"I'm still not sure how I even was considered for this-"
Mistress held up a hand to silence Cole. "It is very late and I cannot spend much time chatting. More and more guests are showing up in preparation for our prince's birthday, which means that our work has doubled. Now that you have arrived, I'd like for you to make your way to bed and be prepared to rise at dawn to follow the other girls to the prince's room."
"Yes, but-" Cole began, but again she was silenced by the old woman's hand.
"Mr. Pim will provide you with a nightgown and your uniform for tomorrow. I will have one of the girls rise early to wake you so that you can have a quick wash before entering the prince's chambers." With that, she pushed her chair out from under the desk and stood. She was only came to Cole's elbow, though Cole was quite tall, but she seemed as if she was ready to command King Thijs' army if she needed to. She gestured toward the door while she walked to her hearth and began to bank the fire for the night. "Please head to your bed now and get as much rest as you can. It will be a long day tomorrow."
Cole stood stubbornly still as Pim tried to guide her out the door. When Mistress noticed that she wasn't moving, she looked up and patiently folded her hands in front of her.
"What would you like to say to me?" the old woman asked.
"Can we speak in private?" Cole asked, glancing at Pim. She felt ready to burst. This woman had to be connected to Tanwyn. She had to be part of the plan, otherwise how else would Cole have become a chamber maid to the prince himself? Mistress had to know Tanwyn, and if she knew the faerie than she might have more information to give Cole. Perhaps she knew more of the plan, or maybe she knew where her mother was being kept. In fact, even just an acknowledgement that Tanwyn existed at all would be enough for Cole.
In response to Cole's burning curiosity, Mistress returned a cold silence. She gave away no hints that she was on Cole's side, or that she knew what Cole secretly wanted to scream from the rooftops. There was no curiosity or complicity on the old woman's face. Only a stoney mask that gave nothing away.
"You may speak to me tomorrow, after your responsibilities have been taken care of," she finally said. "For now, I am retiring and ask you to do the same."
Pim yanked on Cole's arm, giving her wide eyes and hastily mouthed pleas. She resisted at first, glaring at Mistress as if that might somehow make her spill what she knew about the handsome faerie that had crashed into Cole's life. But Mistress ignored her, walking to her bed and carefully folding down the blankets in preparation.
Finally, Cole turned and walked with Pim to the door. She felt angry and betrayed, though she didn't quite know why. If Mistress knew who Tanwyn was, she wasn't obligated to speak to Cole until the plan was to be put into action. And who knew when that would be. But still, Cole wanted desperately to speak about the situation with someone. Someone who knew.
Pim took her through the room, where girls were now crawling into their beds with groans and brief goodnights. No one lingered over anything, and swiftly took care of all their preparations for bed. No one said anything to Cole, too busy dousing their Sparkstone lamps and fading into sleep as easily as pulling on a nightgown. Soon the room was filled with gentle breathing and soft snoring, and Cole was left with Pim at a double-stacked bed.
He pointed at the top bed, where a plain woolen shift in a heather gray was folded across the pillow. Next to it, an ivory nightgown was laid out ready for her.
"Your stockings and boots are under the bed," Pim whispered. "Your hair... well, I suppose that's no worry for you. But please take care to wash up tomorrow morning, and then find a girl with the same color dress as you. She'll be assigned to the same area as you, and can show you what to do."
Cole nodded, standing on her tiptoes to pick up the nightgown and look it over. It was clean and fresh, and though stiff and rough, it was light enough for the summer nights. Cole couldn't even remember the last time she'd had an actual nightgown for sleeping.
Pim patted her back. "Welcome to the Sunburst," he said, his voice gentle and low. "I hope you will come to see it as your home. Good luck. Good night."
As he turned to pick his way through the silent and dark room, Cole slid off her dirty mining clothes and into the nightgown. It felt like a costume, something that the Cole from long ago would have worn. But that Cole had long since stopped feeling real, and had become just another bedtime story.
Like her mother.
Cole climbed up to her bed, falling into the soft mattress and pillow with a sense of half-disbelief. How had she ended up here? Could her mother really be somewhere nearby? Could she really follow the faerie plan and end up with that bedtime story life again? She had no idea. And thinking about it made her eyes sting and her head hurt.
So, instead, she closed her eyes and let herself drift into sleep.