Switched (24 page)

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“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 any 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 the Willa’s gown. He works very quickly, and his gowns are always immaculate.”

“Yes, my gown was divine,” Willa interjected politely.

“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 in then, since that is the busy season for when the children return.” There was something vaguely condescending in her voice, if we had done something tacky by me arriving here when I did. “That is one major benefit at having the Princess come home in the fall. 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 me like I wasn’t even there, and even Tove to a lesser extent, but 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 cared to mention this to me.

Then again, this shouldn’t surprise me. Nobody told me anything.

“I haven’t had the luxury of making provisions a year in advance the way most people do, since the Princess came home most unexpectedly.” Elora’s sweet smile was dripping 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 helpfully.

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

Dinner continued along that way. Elora and Aurora making polite conversation that tried to mask how much they detested each other. Noah 174

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, because I was certain he was moving things without touching them.

Unlike the Strom’s, the Kroner’s didn’t linger around after dinner. I assumed that was because Elora actually liked Garrett and Willa. Elora, Finn, and I walked the Kroner’s to the door, with Finn being the one to actually open the door for them. When saying their goodbyes, Aurora and Noah bowed before Elora and me, 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.” That came right off the top of my head, and I was so pleased that I had said something that sounded completely perfect for the moment.

After they departed into the night, oxygen seemed to return to the house, and Elora let out an irritated sigh. Finn actually 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 at the way I made it through the night vanish. I had apparently embarrassed Elora wholly. “You don’t even bow before me, is that clear?”

“Yes,” I muttered.

“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 sit there like a wallflower when you need to command the room! They came here to see you, to gauge your power, and you need to show them! You have got to 175

blow everyone away! 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 her small tirade, she abruptly stopped. We immediately went to the sitting parlor, where Garrett and Willa were waiting for us, but the entire atmosphere had changed to one of a more relaxed tone. Finn even loosened his tie. Elora lounged on the chair next to Garrett, and he seemed to captivate a disproportionate amount of her attention.

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 and not all that talkative, but he always seemed to add something the conversation. I bit my tongue, afraid to say the wrong thing, but Garrett and Willa were definitely entertained by him, and even Elora looked pleased.

Garrett and Elora talked some kind of politics, which I didn’t really follow, and Finn added things when appropriate. Willa looked completely bored by the conversation, and I just concentrated on not saying anything else stupid.

Elora apparently 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 by this occurrence. They continued on with that whole Chancellor business again, and Willa couldn’t take it anymore. She said she needed fresh air and invited me to join her.

Down at the far end of the hall, there was a small alcove of a room with nearly invisible glass doors. It led out to a lovely balcony that ran from one corner of the house to the other. The balcony was lined with a thick black 176

railing that went up to my chest. Willa went over to the corner farthest away from everyone and leaned on it.

From out here, the view was even more intimidating. The balcony was literally hanging over a hundred foot drop. Below us, there was nothing but the tree tops of maples, oaks, and evergreens. Farther down, I could see the tops of houses, and way down at the bottom of the bluff, the turbulent river pumped 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. She was more scantily clad than I was, and I didn’t understand how she wouldn’t be cold. She lifted her hand, waving her fingers lightly in the air, and almost instantly, her hair that had been blown 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.

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“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’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 a 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. We’re not the only ones, though. There’s 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 really impressed me about Tove other than his telekinesis, but I wouldn’t refer to him as a catch. Still, it felt weird knowing that they were 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 ready to head in. 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. Finn offered to be of assistance, but Garrett refused. The butler had gone about cleaning everything else up, so Finn suggested that we head up to our 178

respective rooms. The night had been surprisingly tiring, so I was eager to comply.

“What’s going on?” I asked after the Strom’s 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 myself.

“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. Every changeling has one, but most are very small. Since you are the Princess, you will be having a very large one. There will be 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. There was no way that I could 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.”

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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. “You did exactly what I told you. If anyone ruined things, it was me. But the night wasn’t ruined. Elora is just sensitive about them.”

“Why? Why does she let them get to her so much?” I wondered. “She’s the Queen.”

“Monarchs have been overthrown before,” Finn answered calmly. “If you seemed unfit for the position, they could contest it, and they would be next in line to take the title.” All the color drained from face. There was suddenly way too much pressure on me to perform. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” His expression saddened again, and he added quietly, “Elora has a plan to appease them.”

“What is it?” I pressed. Instead of answering, his eyes got far away and his expression blanked. His brow furrowed, and then he nodded.

“I am sorry. You’re going to have to excuse me. Elora requires assistance in getting to her room.”

“You’re helping Elora?” I stumbled over the question, unable to hide my shock.

Somehow, it seemed it vaguely inappropriate that Finn would be helping her to her room. Maybe it was because she had just asked him inside his head, and I couldn’t get read on what exactly was the nature of their 180