So here it is, The Sunstone Slipper, Chapter One:
The wall is
crumbling here. Bits of stone and dust litter the ground around my
feet, and I'm still more than a few paces away.
I hesitate.
I haven't touched
the wall since Papa died. Not even once. Will feeling the rough stone
under my hands make his absence more true?
My feet move of
their own accord.
I forgot to wear my
patent overshoes to cover my silk slippers, and I can already hear
Mother's scolding in my head. You've
ruined them, Charlotte. They're absolutely ruined. We don't have the
resources to buy new slippers now that your father is gone. Why can't
you be more responsible? Why can't you be more like a real lady? Why
can't you be more like Laisey?
I can promise my
mother a hundred times that I will try harder, but it is never enough
to satisfy her expectations. I will never be like my sister, and
truly, I am glad of it.
Papa was glad of it,
too.
Papa loved doing
mathematical equations with me and sorting through puzzles together.
Papa loved bringing me to the wall with him, and he let me play
around the construction even when I was little. He taught me about
the stones and their properties, and he told me that they were
learning even more about the stones and would soon find a way to
properly bring magic back to our kingdom.
Papa loved me for
who I am, not who he wanted me to be.
I am here now,
standing face to face with the damaged wall. The sun is climbing from
behind the mountains, and it's hard to make out the difference
between the sunstones and the moonstones with the glare in my eyes. I
can't feel warmth or see light radiating from any of them. I suppose
this proves that the wall is technically intact and still working,
even though it's in the sad process of being slowly torn apart by
goblins.
I take a slow, deep
breath, close my eyes tightly, and feel my way to the top of the
wall. My movements send stones tumbling then cracking against the
rubble on the ground. Any moment I might fall crashing to the earth
with them, but I don't stop.
I crawl to where the
wall is more intact and wide enough that I can lie atop it without
fear of falling. My heart is beating fast, and I have to close my
eyes and pull air in deep to catch my breath.
"You do
realize, madame, that climbing the wall could earn you at least two
days in the stocks?"
I don't even bother
to sit up.
"If I'm
breaking any law,” I say, “you'll just have to run me through,
because I'm not coming down."
I open my eyes and
look over at Kade standing beside the wall. He is tall enough that
the top of his head is just below me.
"Rough day?"
he asks.
I grunt.
"We should just
begin each morning listing all the ways that I'm the most
disappointing daughter in all of Lunain. Then I could just…I don't
know…stop existing, I suppose. I'm certainly not doing it correctly
now."
"I'm sorry,
Char."
"And truly,
what does it even matter if I'm not fit to marry a duke or an earl or
somebody? Why can't she simply wait and see...?"
"Your mother
again?"
I nod.
"Well, you
could always marry me. Certainly she wouldn't be able to complain
about that."
Even though he is
joking, that would definitely be my mother's wish come true, but she
would most likely be so surprised at Kade's choice that she might die
from the shock. It would be a wonderful thing to be engaged already,
if only to stay home from all those balls Mother and Laisey are so
fond of.
"She always
finds something to complain about," I say.
Kade reaches to wipe
the tears from my face, smearing dusty mud across my cheek.
"I'm coming
up," he says, then gets a grip on the top stones.
"Don't knock it
over!"
He continues to
hoist himself up, scrambling a little bit to get a footing.
"Don't worry,"
he says, pulling his belly to the top. "The wall is stable
here."
He is swinging a leg
up when a voice calls out from the distance.
"You! Children!
Get away from there!" It is a wall guard, and he is running
toward us.
Kade snickers at the
use of the word children.
He is already taller than most men. Without fully reaching the top,
he hops back down again and reaches his arms to help me jump. I land
softly, thanks to his help. He gives me a quick hug before letting
go, and for a small moment, all is right with the world.
"No need to
worry," he tells the guard, walking away from me. "We're
surveying the damage in certain areas of the wall...for my father."
It takes a small
moment for the guard to recognize Kade, then he is on the ground,
kneeling.
"A thousand
apologies, Prince Kaderic. Didn't realize who you were. Thought you
might be two children playing. I was concerned for your safety."
"Thank you. Of
course," Kade says, motioning for the guard to stand. "No
harm done, and as you can see, we are just fine. And," he turns
to me, "Lady Charlotte is in a desperate hurry to get home."
He chuckles at my
confused expression.
"Your mother is
looking for you," he says. "They're expected to arrive any
minute."
I glare at him for
giving this news, but still, I start walking toward the palace. I
find that he's turned and heading the opposite direction.
"Wait! Aren't
you coming with me?"
Kade turns toward me
and gives a deep, dramatic bow. Then he looks up, still bent halfway
over, with a hand in the air.
"Absolutely
not," he says with a smile. "You can meet your new
step-father and step-sister all on your own."
* * *
I stare at the girl
as her carriage rattles up the drive. She is not beautiful as Mother
told me she would be; she is radiant. Her golden hair catches the
light from the afternoon sun, shining with a brilliance that cannot
be outdone by even the finest wig thatcher in the kingdom. The look
of excitement on her face as she catches the first view of her new
home spreads joy to the whole assembly. It makes my already knotted
stomach twist and tighten.
I never asked for
another sister. One is plenty enough for me.
I take a small step
back, and the shadow from the looming palace covers my face. I'm
tempted to keep stepping backward until I can disappear into the
foliage.
The carriage pulls
in front of us, sending up clouds of dust behind it.
He steps out first
and, of course, Mother glides up to meet him. Her new husband. My
father’s replacement. They kiss each other’s cheeks and I look
away for a moment to blink the wet from my eyes. Mother will scold me
for making mud on my cheeks after having scrubbed them clean just a
few moments ago. If only that dust would settle, I might be able to
cry in peace. And here I thought I was done with crying.
My step father is
short and trim. I suppose he could be considered handsome if you were
forty years old and trying to maintain your position in society. He
is smiling at my mother, and he takes her hand as they move away from
the carriage.
Next is the girl.
Brielle. They tell me she is only a few months older and that we will
be great friends. I don’t think I can be friends with someone who
lowers herself to the ground so gingerly after such a short carriage
ride. You would think she had walked the entire way herself the way
she reaches down to rub her feet before slipping them into the
patents a servant has set down for her. The servant laces the ribbons
over her shoes to hold them in.
My mother moves
forward again. She kisses the girl on the forehead.
“Welcome,
Brielle,” she says. “I’m so glad that you can finally meet your
new sisters, and they are so excited to meet you.”
Oh yes, we are so
excited. I force myself to smile.
Brielle had attended
the wedding while Laisey and I knew nothing about it until after it
had happened. Mother had gone to the country a grieving widow and
returned a bride. Then we had to wait almost a whole month for Helfer
and Brielle to move to the palace, even though Mother has gone back
and forth from our home to theirs multiple times.
“Come Laisey,
Charlotte. Now our family is complete.”
Complete again. We
were doing just fine until Papa died.
She motions for us
to step forward and I fight the urge to run in the opposite
direction. Running away wouldn’t erase reality. I have to meet my
stepsister, eventually. I might as well get it over with.
Taking a deep
breath, I move toward my mother and give a curtsy in Brielle’s
direction. She is taller than me in her patents. I notice that Laisey
is wearing hers as well. Maybe I am the one in the wrong; I just
never think to put them on before leaving the palace.
She is even prettier
up close. Truly, I hadn’t thought it possible. Laisey is eyeing her
suspiciously, for she is even more beautiful than Laisey could ever
hope to be. I look at the two of them, with their golden hair and
long, thick lashes. With hair the same color as the mud streaked
across my cheeks, I will never be able to compete. I guess that makes
me the goblin of the bunch - the ugliest stepsister of them all.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
I wouldn’t care if
only Mother didn’t put so much emphasis on it. Being beautiful is
only good for being something nice for other people to look at, but
Mother says that she who is the most beautiful can marry whomever she
pleases. She can rise in her social standing. She can be provided for
and want for nothing for all her life. I don’t know what Mother is
so worried about, though. My father’s position, and I suppose now
my stepfather’s position, puts us second only to the royal family.
We cannot rise any further in society unless one of us marries Kade.
It may very well happen if Laisey gets her way, but even though I
try, I just cannot imagine the two of them married. I think they
would drive each other mad.
I am about to curtsy
again and make my retreat when Mother orders Laisey and me to show
Brielle to her rooms. I want to say, "No. Absolutely not,"
like Kade said to me, but I've been taught better than that, and I am
not a prince who can do as he pleases.
"Kade has
promised to take me to the milliners this afternoon." Laisey is
all sweetness and smiles. "I do beg your pardon, Sister, but I
really must begin my preparations.”
Is she apologizing
to me? Or Brielle?
I see that Mother is
nodding her head, so I take a chance.
"Oh, the
milliners? I would love to go to the milliners. Please, Mother, may I
accompany Laisey and Kade instead?"
I smile.
Mother shakes her
head and starts snapping her fingers at servants, pointing to luggage
and crates and baskets.
"Really,
Charlotte, we must get Brielle settled comfortably." I know.
Someone's got to do it; might as well be me.
"Yes. Of
course. What was I thinking?"
I take Brielle's arm
and turn toward the door. There is a flurry of activity between the
carriage and our private door to the palace. We maneuver our way
through the chaos and follow a few servants who are carrying
Brielle's things to her room, stopping at the doorway to unlace
Brielle's patents. I help her, because all the servants are already
busy.
The shoes I uncover
after undoing the laces are made from the softest kid leather I have
ever felt. They are adorned with perfectly painted flowers that seem
to be freshly picked from the field and pressed to the slippers. I
don’t believe even the queen has slippers so fine.
She doesn't thank me
for helping. She simply steps quickly out of the patents, hiding her
beautiful shoes under her skirts, and starts walking slowly through
the corridor. Her eyes are wide, and she stops to peer out the
windows or to examine the tapestries covering the walls. At this
rate, Laisey will be back from the milliners and helped to bed before
Brielle even sees her new bedroom.
"Have you never
been in a palace before?" I ask. "Are you all right?"
She turns from the
tapestry, dropping the corner of it.
"Yes, just
fine, thank you."
All right. Let's
keep walking, then. I move forward.
"But what about
the goblins?" she asks. "Might they jump out and catch me?"
I stop. She can't be
serious.
"You're afraid
of goblins," I say.
She blushes, and I
congratulate myself.
"No, of course
not. I've just…with the wall losing its power and everything…can't
the goblins get into the city a lot easier?"
What does she mean,
the wall is losing its power? The wall has been protecting us for as
long as I can remember. My father helped build the wall. It's as
strong as it ever was - at least most of it is.
"The wall
doesn't protect us from goblins," I say. "It can only keep
magic out of the city. Goblins aren't any more magical than you or
I."
They have been known
to get in the palace, though. After all, they have tunnels underneath
the whole city, probably under the whole kingdom. It wouldn't be nice
to scare her, but I have to tell the truth.
"I've only seen
a few, and I've lived in the palace most my life. They only come out
at night, mostly to tear out the stones in the wall. We have guards
all along the wall, though, and sometimes they're able to catch the
ugly monsters. They hardly ever come to the palace, and when they do
they actually bother the royal family more than anyone else. I think
they're angry with the king."
Her eyes are wide.
"It's harmless
pranks,” I continue. “Your room isn't anywhere near the royal
wing of the palace. I don't think there are any secret tunnels in it.
Nothing to be concerned about. Really. I've only seen a couple."
I put a hand in the crook of her elbow and pat her shoulder with the
other, pushing us farther down the hallway. She is trembling. Maybe
I've said too much?
"Let me teach
you something my father told me," I say. "Truly, why
haven't you learned this before? Goblins hate rhyming and verse. I
don't know why. I'll teach you a song Papa taught to me. That way, if
you ever see a goblin in the palace, if any of them try to bother
you, you can sing, and it won't even come near you."
We reach her room
and I start to sing:
Ring! Dod! Bang!
Go the hammers'
clang!
Hit and turn and
bore!
Whizz and puff and
roar!
Thus we rive the
rocks,
Force the goblin
locks.
See the shining ore!
Brielle sits on the
bed and covers her ears.
"Oh, that's a
horrible song. I can believe you were taught to sing by your father,
for you do it just like a man. Please, don’t sing anymore!"
She is laughing at
me, and I feel my cheeks burn. There are more verses, but there is
no way I will share them now. I think of my father. He used to take
me to the mines before he died. I never went inside them; he said
they were too dangerous, but I would help him inspect the moonstone
pulled from the caves. When it began to get dark, we would sing silly
songs to keep the goblins from bothering us. Even as I grew older,
Papa would hold my hand and I would pretend to be scared of the silly
goblin shadows following us home. We would sing louder and louder
through the verses so that by the time we reached our family's wing
of the palace, we were laughing and yelling at the top of our lungs
and Mother would scold us for disturbing such a peaceful spring
evening.
"Yes. Of
course,” I say. “Never again."
There are two girls
unpacking a trunk of dresses and a woman inspecting the curtains that
frame the window.
"Well, this is
it," I say. "I'm just a few doors down, and Laisey is
across the corridor. Some nights we dine with the king and queen and
Kade - I mean, Prince Kaderic, but I believe Mother has ordered
supper for only our family tonight - our new family, with you and
your father, of course."
Brielle is moving
about the room, most likely looking for goblin holes. I wish I had
been allowed to go to the milliners with Laisey and Kade. I have to
get out. I give a short smile and a curtsy, then turn to leave.
"Charlotte,"
Brielle says before I can reach the door. "Thank you for your
help! Even though you're a dreadful singer, I'm sure you helped keep
the goblins away!"
