Switched (15 page)

“No, it was not.” Elora gave her a plastic smile and cast a very small but very distinct glare at my dress. Until just that second it had felt like the most beautiful thing I had ever worn. “The tailor is set to come over tomorrow.”

“That is cutting it a bit short for Saturday, isn’t it?” Aurora questioned, and I could see Elora bristling just below the surface of her perfect smile.

“Not at all,” Elora explained with an overly soothing tone, almost as if she were talking to a small child or a Pomeranian. “I am using Fredrique Von Ellsin, the same one that designed Willa’s gown. He works very quickly, and his gowns are always impeccable.”

“My gown was divine,” Willa interjected.

“Ah, yes,” Aurora allowed herself to look impressed. “We have him on reserve for when our daughter comes home next spring. He’s much harder to get then, since that is the busy season for when the children return.”

There was something vaguely condescending in her voice, as if we had done something tacky by me arriving here when I did. Elora kept on smiling, letting Aurora to continue politely sticking barbs in everything she said.

“That is one major benefit at having the Princess come home in the fall,” Aurora continued, her words only getting more patronizing as she spoke. “Everything will be so much easier to book. When Tove came home last season, it was so difficult to get everything just right. I suppose you’ll have everything you want right on hand. That should make for a stunning ball.”

Several things were setting off alarms in my head. First, they were talking about both me and Tove as if we weren’t even there, although he didn’t seem to notice or care about anything going on around him.

Secondly, they were talking about something going on Saturday that I apparently needed a specially designed dress for, and yet nobody had bothered to mention it to me. Then again, this shouldn’t surprise me. Nobody told me anything.

“I haven’t had the luxury of making plans a year in advance the way most people do, since the Princess came home most unexpectedly.” Elora’s sweet smile dripped with venom, and Aurora smiled back at her and pretended not to notice.

“I can certainly lend you a hand. I just did Tove’s, and as I said, I’m already preparing for our daughter’s,” Aurora offered.

“That would be delightful.” Elora took a long drink of her wine.

Dinner continued along that way. Elora and Aurora making conversation that tried to mask how much they detested each other. Noah didn’t say much, but at least he managed not to look awkward or bored.

Willa and I ended up watching Tove quite a bit, but for entirely different reasons. She stared at him with unabashed lust, although I couldn’t figure out what he’d done to deserve that, other than being attractive. I kept watching because I was certain he was moving things without touching them.

Unlike the Stroms, the Kroners didn’t linger around after dinner. I assumed that was because Elora actually liked Garrett and Willa.

Elora, Finn, and I walked the Kroners to the door, with Finn coming along only to open the doors for them. When saying their goodbyes, Aurora and Noah bowed before us, making me feel quite ridiculous. There was absolutely no reason why anyone should bow to me.

To my astonishment, Tove gently took my hand in his, kissing it softly when he bowed. When he stood up, his eyes met mine, and very seriously he said, “I look forward to seeing you again, Princess.”

“And I, you.” I was so pleased that I had said something that sounded completely perfect for the moment that I smiled much too wide, I’m sure.

After they departed into the night, oxygen seemed to return to the house, and Elora let out an irritated sigh. Finn rested his forehead against the door for a moment before turning back around to face us. I felt much better knowing that everyone else had found the evening exhausting.

“Oh, that woman.” Elora rubbed her temples and shook her head, then pointed at me. “
You
. You do not bow to anyone, ever. Especially not that woman. I know you thrilled her endlessly, and she’s going to be telling everyone about the little dimwitted Princess who didn’t know enough not to bow before a Marksinna.” I looked at the floor, feeling any sense of pride vanish. “You don’t even bow before me, is that clear?”

“Yes,” I said.

“You are the Princess.
Nobody
is higher than you. Have you got that?” Elora snapped, and I nodded. “Then you need to start acting like it. You need to command the room! They came here to see you, to gauge your power, and you need to show them! They need to have confidence that you will be able to lead them all when I am gone!”

I kept my eyes locked on the floor, even though I knew that probably offended her, but I was afraid that I would cry if I looked at her yelling at me.

“You sit there like some beautiful, useless jewel, and that’s exactly what she wants.” She sighed disgustedly again. “Oh, and the way you gaped at that boy…”

After that, she abruptly stopped. She shook her head, as if she were too weary to continue, then turned and walked back to the sitting parlor. I swallowed back my feelings, and Finn gently touched my arm, smiling at me.

“You did just fine,” he assured me quietly. “She’s upset with Aurora Kroner, not you.”

“It sure sounded like she was upset with me,” I muttered under my breath.

“Don’t let her get to you.” He squeezed my arm, sending warming tingles through me, and I couldn’t help but return his smile. “Come on. We need to get back to the guests.”

In the sitting parlor, Garrett and Willa waited for us, but the entire atmosphere had changed to one of a more relaxed tone. Finn even loosened his tie. The outburst seemed to have calmed Elora completely, and she lounged on the chair next to Garrett. He seemed to capture a disproportionate amount of her attention, but I didn’t mind.

A whole other side of Finn emerged. He sat next to me, his leg crossed over his knee, making charming small talk with them. He was still gracious and respectful, but he chatted easily. I bit my tongue, afraid to say the wrong thing, but he definitely entertained Garret and Willa, and even Elora looked pleased.

Garrett and Elora started talking politics, which I didn’t really follow, and Finn became more engaged in the conversation. Elora had to appoint a new Chancellor in six months, but I didn’t even know what that was, and I thought asking would only make me look foolish.

As the night progressed, Elora had to excuse herself because of a migraine. Garrett and Finn offered their condolences and help, but neither of them seemed that surprised or concerned. They continued with that whole Chancellor business again, and Willa had grown too bored. She said she needed fresh air and invited me to join her.

We went down to the far end of the hall to a small alcove of a room with nearly invisible glass doors. It led out to the balcony that ran from one corner of the house to the other, lined with a thick black railing up to my chest.

I froze, remembering the painting I had seen in Elora’s room. It was this marble balcony I had been laying on, my hand outstretched at nothing, my face contorted in horror. I looked down at my dress, but it didn’t feel right. This one was lovely, but the dress in the picture had shimmered. Broken glass had littered the ground also, and I didn’t see any.

“Are you coming?” Willa glanced back at me.

“Uh, yeah,” I nodded, and taking a deep breath, I followed her out.

Willa went over to the corner farthest away and leaned on the railing. Out here, the view was even more intimidating. The balcony literally hung over a hundred foot drop. Below us were only the tree tops of maples, oaks, and evergreens. The secret garden remained hidden out of sight.

Farther down, I could see the tops of houses, and way down at the bottom of the bluff, the turbulent river ran past us. A breeze blew over us, sending a cold chill down my bare arms, and Willa sighed.

“Oh knock it off!” Willa grumbled, and at first, I thought she was talking to me, confusing me.

She lifted her hand, waving her fingers lightly in the air, and almost instantly, her hair that had been blowing back in the breeze settled on her shoulders. The wind had died away.

“Did you do that?” I asked, trying not to sound as awed as I felt.

“Yeah. That’s the only thing I can do. Lame, isn’t it?” Willa complained and wrinkled her nose.

“No, actually, I think it’s pretty cool,” I admitted.

She controlled the wind! Wind was an unstoppable force, and she just wiggled her fingers, and it stopped. I thought it was magic.

“I kept hoping I’d get a
real
ability someday, but my mother only had command over the clouds, so at least I did better than that,” Willa shrugged. “You’ll see when your abilities start coming in. Everybody hopes for telekinesis or at least some persuasion, but most of us are stuck with basic use of the elements, if we’re lucky. The abilities aren’t what they used to be, I guess.”

“Before you came here, did you know you were something?” I asked, looking back over my shoulder at her. She had her back on the railing, and she leaned back over it, letting her hair hang down towards the ground.

“Oh, yeah. I always knew I was better than everyone else.” Her eyes fluttered close and she wagged her fingers again, stirring up a light breeze to flow through her hair. “What about you?”

“Um… kind of.” Different, yes. Better, not at all.

“You’re younger than most of us are, though,” Willa commented. “You’re still in school, aren’t you?”

“I was.” Nobody had made any mention of school since I got here, and I had no idea what their intentions were for the remainder of my education.

“School sucks anyway.” Willa stood up straight and looked at me solemnly. “So why did they get you early, anyway? Is it because of the Vittra?”

“What do you mean?” I asked nervously.

I knew what she meant, but I wanted to see what she knew of it. Nobody seemed that keen on talking about the Vittra, and Finn hadn’t even mentioned their attack since I’d come here. Inside the compound, I assumed I was safe, but I didn’t know if they still wanted me.

“I’ve just heard stories that the Vittra have been prowling around lately, trying to catch Trylle changelings,” Willa said casually. “I figured you’d be a top priority cause you’re the Princess, and that’s kind of a big deal here.”

She looked thoughtfully at her bare toes and mused, “I wonder if I’d be top priority. My dad’s not a King or anything like that, but we are kind of royalty. What’s lower than a Queen? Is that a Duchess or something?”

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. I knew nothing of monarchy and titles, which was ironic considering that I was now integral to a monarchy.

“Yeah, I think I’m like that.” Willa narrowed her eyes in concentration. “My official title is Marksinna, and my dad is a Markis. We’re not the only ones, though. There are maybe six or seven other families in Förening alone with the same title. The Kroners were next in line for the crown if you didn’t come back. They’re real powerful, and that Tove is a real catch.”

While he was attractive, nothing had impressed me about Tove other than his telekinesis. Still, it felt weird knowing that they were vying for my spot, and we had just eaten dinner with them.

“I don’t have to worry that much about it, though.” Willa yawned loudly. “Sorry. Boredom makes me sleepy. Maybe we should go inside.”

It was getting cold, so I was happy to oblige. Willa lay on the couch as soon as we went back in and all but fell asleep, so Garrett excused himself shortly after. He went to say goodbye to Elora, and then helped Willa out to the car.

The butler had gone about cleaning everything else up, so Finn suggested that we head up to our respective rooms. The night had been surprisingly tiring, so I was eager to comply.

 “What’s going on?” I asked after the Stroms left. It was the first chance all evening I’d really been able to talk to him. “What is this ball or party or whatever that’s happening on Saturday?”

“It’s something like a debutante ball, except that boys go through it too,” Finn explained as we climbed the stairs.

Dully, I remembered how grand I had felt coming down the stairs a few hours earlier. For the first time, I had felt almost like a Princess, and now I felt like a child playing dress up. Aurora had seen through my fancy trappings (which she didn’t even find that fancy) and realized that I wasn’t special.

“I don’t even know what a debutante ball is,” I sighed. I knew nothing of high society.

“It’s a coming out party, your presentation to the world,” Finn elaborated. “Changelings aren’t raised here. The community doesn’t know them. So when they come back, they are given a small amount of time to acclimate, and then they are introduced to society. Every changeling has one, but most are very small. Since you are the Princess, you will have guests from all over the Trylle community. It is quite an ordeal.”

“I am not ready for that at all,” I groaned.

“You will be,” Finn assured me.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to my bedroom as I fretted and worried about this upcoming party. It hadn’t been that long ago that I had gone to my very first dance, and now I was expected to be the center of a formal ball.

I could never pull that off. Tonight had only been a semi-formal dinner, and I hadn’t performed well at that.

“I trust you’ll sleep well this evening,” Finn said when I started to open the bedroom door.

“You need to come in with me,” I reminded him, then pointed to my dress. “I can’t unzip this thing on my own.”

“Of course.”

Finn followed me into the darkened room and flipped on the lights. The glass wall worked as a mirror thanks to the black night. In my reflection, I still thought I looked nice, and then I realized that’s probably why I had to have other people pick out my clothes. My judgment was too flawed. I turned away from it, and waited for Finn to unzip me.

“I really botched things tonight, didn’t I?” I asked sadly.

“No, of course not,” Finn insisted.

His hand pressed warm on my back, and I felt the dress loosen around me as he pulled the zipper down. I wrapped my arms around me to keep it up, then turned back to look at him. Some part of me was distinctly aware that we were only a few inches from each other, my dress was barely on, and his dark eyes were fixed on me.