Stay (5 page)

A large staircase fanned out into the center
of the room, and I followed Bree up the stairs and to the left down
a long hallway. She stopped in front of a white door that was
ornately trimmed in gold.

“This is going to be your room.” She said as
she opened the door and walked inside.

I followed her in and my mouth gaped open at
the gorgeous interior. There was a large white four poster bed that
was draped in beautiful flowing white netting. The bedding and
pillows were also white and they were trimmed in a delicate eyelet
lace. The comforter looked especially cozy, like big white clouds
of fluff.

I definitely could not wait to sleep in that
glorious bed, especially after the last few nights that I had.

The walls were painted a beautiful blue, like
the color of the sky. Ornate French doors led out onto a large
marble balcony that overlooked the city. I turned to see Bree
emerge from a large walk-in closet carrying a long flowing coral
colored gown.

“Come on lets get you into the tub.” She said
as she walked through yet another door and into a beautiful private
bath with a large tub built into the wall.

Once again, everything appeared to be made of
shiny white marble. The only difference is that in my bathroom
everything was trimmed in pink. There were fuzzy pink carpets
scattered about the floor, pink towels, and even a vase a fragrant
pink roses on the counter of the long sink.

Bree ran the water and filled the tub with
bubbles that smelled like fresh lilacs and then she turned to me.
“Well come on, climb in.”

“You are not leaving?” I asked as I hugged my
arms across my ragged t-shirt.

“No Callie, my job is to take care of you.”
She huffed. “If you insist on being shy, I will turn my back until
you can get undressed and into the tub.” She turned to face the
wall.

Okay, so apparently she was not going budge
on this so I quickly slipped out of my torn and tattered pajamas
and slid into the water. The bath felt heavenly after being in the
cold dank tunnels for nearly two days. I think it was days, or
maybe it was nights. I was losing track of the time here without
being able to see the sun.

Bree turned around and gathered up my
discarded garments. “I am sending these out to be burned.” She said
as she tossed them into a small trash bin.

I laid back in the bath and felt the warmth
of the water washing away all of my stress and fatigue, but only
for a moment. As soon as I got comfortable, Bree came over to the
tub. She took my arm and began to scrub me from head to toe.

“Bree!” I tried to protest, but she just
shook her head and gave me a stern look.

“I have to be sure that you are perfectly
clean or I have to answer to the queen, so just sit back and let me
do my job Callie!” She was starting to sound exasperated.

Believe me when I say that Bree took her job
very seriously. I was beginning to wonder if I would have any skin
left at all by the time that she was through with me.

When she was satisfied that my skin was
squeaky clean, she moved on to thoroughly shampooing my hair. She
clipped and trimmed my fingernails and then my toe nails too.

She helped me to dry off, completely
disregarding my protests. When she was finally finished, I had my
long blonde hair arranged around my head in ringlets, and just a
touch of pretty make up on my face that made my skin seem to
shimmer. She applied dark mascara that made my soft brown eyes
stand out against my glowing tan skin.

She helped me slip into the gown that she had
picked out and slid a pair of matching little slippers onto my feet
that reminded me of when I was a little girl in ballet class. That
memory hit me hard. How could I have been in ballet class as a
little girl when I was supposed to have lived here?

“There,” she said snapping me out of my
reverie. She gave me a once over and nodded her final approval.
“Now you are presentable enough to go and meet the queen.”

“Right now?” I had no idea that I would have
to meet her so soon. My palms started to sweat and I could barely
contain my nerves.

“Callie, pull yourself together!” Bree
hissed.

“I am trying.” I grumbled.

Bree grabbed me by the hand and led me from
my room. We walked back down the stairs and past the sitting area,
into a formal dining room.

The walls were painted in an elaborate gold
design. Large framed paintings of sunny meadows and other landscape
scenes were meticulously placed about the walls. A long crystal
chandelier hung suspended from the ceiling by a thick gold
chain.

There was a long table that must have seated
at least twenty people. It was made of a dark wood that had been
polished until it shined like glass. In the center of the table was
an enormous flower arrangement that had to be at least four feet
long and three feet high. It was loaded with colorful spring
flowers and roses of nearly every shade imaginable.

Sitting at the far end of the table was a
tall slender woman, with sharp blue eyes and a sharp nose to match.
Her coal black hair was pulled up in a tight twist. She attempted
to smile at me but her smile never quite made the upward curve.

“Your highness.” Bree said with a bow. “I
present to you Miss Calliope Rose.”

I did sort of a half bow, half curtsey kind
of thing. I had no idea what the appropriate gesture should be. The
queen signaled for me sit down into one of the cushioned high back
chairs at the table. Once I was seated, Bree disappeared and I was
left sitting there alone with the queen eyeing me up like I was
some sort of criminal.

“Miss Rose, how delighted we are to have you
here.” The queen said with much sarcasm and an icy glare.

“T-thank you,” I stammered. Why was she
acting so cold if she is the one who sent for me to begin with?
This whole thing just was not making any sense.

“I take it your parents are doing well?” She
asked, but still with a smirk on her face.

“Yes, they are fine, thank you.” I said. “How
do you know my parents?”

“We are old friends.” She said as she waved
off my question as if it was of no importance.

A man dressed in a dark suit brought two
bowls of creamy looking soup on a tray and set one bowl in front of
each of us. I waited until the queen tasted hers and then my
stomach could not stand it any longer and I started to eat mine
too. It was delicious and I savored every bite until the man
returned and collected our bowls.

We went on that way through several more
courses. The next dish that came out was a salad of mixed leafy
greens and cucumbers. Then a plate filled with roasted chicken and
vegetables. At least I hoped that it was chicken. I wondered where
they got all of the food and flowers. I had not seen any farms, and
without sunlight how would anything grow? Very strange.

We mostly ate in silence. Occasionally, I
would look up to see the queen glaring at me. I would always look
away again quickly. She was really beginning to rattle my
nerves.

Halfway through the dessert, which put me in
mind of a rich and yummy key lime pie, the queen turned and looked
at me sternly. “I hope that you do not think that you are going to
just come sauntering back into Petrona and take over my rein,
because prophecy or no prophecy, I am still the queen.”

I dropped my fork and looked up to meet her
eyes. “I did not ask to come here. You sent for me. You sent Brokk
to search for me and you had him snatch me from my home in the
middle of the night to bring me here. If you did not want me here,
then why didn’t you just leave me where I was?”

“The people of Petrona were starting to get
restless.” She explained as she lifted her chin. “They started
asking for Queen Faylinn and talking about all of the stuff that
the foolish old woman told your mother. I brought you here to show
my subjects that I am willing to listen to their requests. So that
they may be appeased, but you will not get in my way, is that
understood?”

I nodded. I had no idea what to say. I wanted
to tell her exactly what I thought that she could do with herself,
but then I thought better of it.

“You will be presented to the people of
Petrona. There will be a ball in your honor, and you will make a
few visits to town here and there, for appearances only. You will
not speak unless spoken to, and you will keep those conversations
to a minimum. Other than that, I do not want you anywhere in sight.
Theirs or mine. Is that clear?”

I just stared at her in shock.

“I said is that clear?” She growled and I
flinched.

“Y-yes, your majesty. I understand.” I
managed to get out.

“Good.” She replied. “Now get out of here. I
do not want to see you again unless I call for you.” She rolled her
eyes slightly and turned away.

I stood up from the table on very shaky legs
and Bree hurried in to get me. We barely made out into the sitting
area before I started to cry. I could not help it. They stress of
the last few days just came crashing down on my shoulders.

“Come on.” Bree urged. “We need to get you to
your room before she hears you.”

Bree rushed me up the stairs and into my
room. I fell onto the bed, buried my face into the comforter, and
sobbed as she shut and locked the door.

“Callie, everything is going to be okay. You
will just do what she asks and we will try to keep you out of sight
when she is around.”

I turned to face her and sat up. “I did not
ask to come here Bree! I did not want any of this! Now I am just
supposed to forget about my life and my family to sit here locked
away in this room until she wants to use me as her little puppet!
It is just not fair! I will not do it! I am leaving as soon as I
can find Brokk and get him to take home.” I sobbed.

“Callie.” Bree said gently. “Brokk is a guard
for the queen. If he goes against her wishes, she will kill
him.”

I definitely was not looking to get anyone
killed, especially Brokk. There was something about him that I just
could not wrap my mind around. I looked down at the deep blue stone
that hung from my finger. It reminded me of his eyes and I found
myself wishing that I were with him right then.

I knew that I had to stay, especially if the
queen would hurt Brokk. I would do what I had to in order to
protect him. Despite the whole kidnapping thing, he had always been
very sweet to me and I could not deny the feelings that I was
having for him.

“I just don’t know what else to do.” I
said.

“You just do what she asks until we can
figure something else out.” Bree said.

Chapter 5

The next week was spent in my room,
literally. I even ate in my room. The only time that I left my room
was to stand out on the balcony and watch the busy people go about
their daily lives in the city. When I was out on the balcony, I
always found myself searching the faces on the street for Brokk. I
could not believe that I had been here for this long and he had not
made any effort to see me.

I know that taking care of me was just part
of his job, but I could have sworn that we had more of a connection
than that. Why else would he have given me his mother’s ring. It
just did not make any sense.

Maybe I had driven him away with all of my
whining about going home. Whatever was happening, all that I know
is that it has left me feeling very hollow and alone.

Bree turned out to be my only contact with
the outside world. She came in bright and early every morning with
my breakfast. She helped me to dress and bathe, and she stopped
back in periodically throughout the day to bring me meals or to
check up on me.

I spent most of my day reading or napping.
The only problem with that is that I was awake during most of the
night. That is when the loneliness and despair really set in. I
could hardly bare it sometimes.

I tried to leave a few times. Only to find
that I was locked inside of my room, of course. I was not even
allowed to go to the kitchen or sitting area. I was a prisoner in
every sense of the word.

I worried about what my parents must have
been thinking and feeling. I felt sure that they were upset. They
probably had an idea of where I was, but I bet they are wondering
if that is a good thing or not.

I had truly expected them to have come for me
by now. The thought of them not looking for me caused me even more
heartache. How could they just let me go like that and not even
come to check on me?

This morning was no different than all of the
rest. Bree came in as she did every morning. She breezed through
the door carrying a tray of food. Waffles, fruit, toast, and juice
was my breakfast for the day. She flittered about my closet
selecting my clothes as I nibbled a piece of toast. “Why do you
even bother?” I asked. “I am not going anywhere, so who cares what
I am wearing?”

She looked at me and frowned. “Today you are
going to town to get fitted for some formal clothes. Therefore, yes
I do care about what you are wearing. You need to be clean and
ready to go in about an hour.”

I had not been able to visit the city since
my arrival, so that was pretty exciting news. “You mean that she is
letting me out of my cage?” I asked sarcastically.

“Only long enough for me to run a few errands
and for you to visit the seamstress, oh and you have to be in
disguise.” Bree replied.

“I have to wear a disguise?” I asked
exasperated.

“Yes, but it should not be that bad. You will
just have to wear one of my uniforms and we will tuck your hair up
into a tight bun. Oh and you can wear these glasses.” She said as
she handed me an old pair of black framed glasses.

“They are my grandmother’s but she just uses
them for reading. Hopefully, nobody will pay much attention to you
since they will think that you are just a servant or
something.”