“Now, don’t go all funny on me. Promise you’ll listen until the end,” she says.
“That will depend on whether I like what you have to say.”
A part of me is excited she might have a way for me to get out of this arranged marriage, but another part of me is sceptical and wonders what on earth she is up to.
“What if I took your place? We could do a swap, and that way you can see if you like Prince Bryson first. If you don’t, then I can marry him instead. He would be none the wiser, and you could ... do whatever you want to.” Joceline’s words come out in a long stream.
I stare at her wide, bright eyes. My mouth drops open, but I can’t seem to form a response. Swap places?
“Are you crazy?” I finally say. “We look nothing alike. Our only similarity is the colour of our hair. Prince Bryson will know you’re not me.” And I’m a princess. Why would I want to be a servant?
“But I have a solution to that.” She raises her eyebrows and leans a little closer. “All we have to do is cast a spell.”
I let go of her hand and get to my feet, taking a few steps away before turning to face her again. “I’m not a spell caster. That’s my mother’s talent.”
“I can cast the spell.” Joceline stands as well, her face as sweet and composed as ever. “It shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve practised a little.”
“What? Since when are you a witch?” I stare at her open-mouthed.
Joceline shrugs. “Since that time we tried to fix the tear in your dress. Remember? When we went down to the lake, and you snagged it on a fallen branch.”
“But that spell didn’t work.”
“I tried again that night.” Joceline’s eyes are bright. “Mother already had so much mending to do. I didn’t want to give her more work.”
“How did I not know this? And why didn’t you tell me?” I put my hands on my hips.
“I didn’t think it was something the Queen would be pleased to hear.”
“Is that why you used to watch her so closely? You know, she probably would have loved to instruct you.”
I can’t believe she didn’t tell me. I thought we were friends.
“It doesn’t matter now.” Joceline waves her hand. “And this spell should be simple. We just have to both be in agreement. I’m confident I can pull this off.”
“Simple?” I frown. “Completely swapping places can’t be easy.”
“We won’t actually be each other,” Joceline replies. “I’ll just look like you, and you like me. It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
I stare at her for a few heartbeats, my pulse quickening at the thought of possibly being able to get out of this marriage. But a maidservant? I could make Joceline agree to not keep me on.
“Shouldn’t be?” I say.
Joceline shrugs. “All I need is some water, a personal object from both of us, and some blood.”
“And you think this will work?”
Joceline nods eagerly. “I do.”
“But, what if it doesn’t?” I ask.
“Well, I suspect if the spell doesn’t work, then nothing will happen. We’ll go to the castle, and you’ll marry Prince Bryson. But it will work.”
I’m not sure I feel as confident as Joceline sounds. I don’t want to marry the Prince, but I don’t want to be a servant either. Still, she has done nothing to hurt me, and she has always put my best interests before her own.
“We can change back whenever we want to?” I glance over my shoulder at the knights waiting ahead on the road. “If I decide I’d like to go through with my betrothal, we can switch back?”
“And Prince Bryson will be none the wiser.” Joceline clasps her hands in front of her and returns to her usual pose.
“Magic always comes with a price,” Falada says. He lifts his head and stares at me, munching a mouthful of grass.
“Nonsense. Ignore him,” Joceline says.
“Yes, ignore me. What would I know? I’m just a horse.” He goes back to his meal.
“Promise not to tell anyone of this conversation,” I say to Falada. “Not a word.”
Falada flicks his ears. “You’ve forgotten already. Just ... a ... horse.”
“A fairy horse, so promise me ...”
He raises his head again. “Very well. I suppose I promise.”
It’s probably the best I’ll get from him, so I don’t push it further. Falada isn’t the type of creature to be helpful to anyone but himself, so as long as I keep him out of the thick of things, everything should be fine.
“Your Highness, we’ll only do this if you would like my help in the matter,” Joceline says.
“You know how much I don’t want to get married.” I stare at her for a moment. “All right. Let’s see if your spell casting is any good. Worst-case scenario, I’ll marry the Prince.”
Joceline giggles. “I can think of far worse things than marrying a handsome prince.”
“So you keep telling me.”
“We must find somewhere we can be without Sir Caleb and Sir Darren looking on.” She peers around me at the knights.
I turn in their direction. “We’ll tell them we would like to bathe.”
Joceline giggles again. “They will give us some privacy if we tell them that.”
I go to Falada and take his reins, but when I try to mount him, he steps away and I tumble off, landing in the dirt. He tosses his head and walks towards the carriage.
“What did you do that for?” I call after him.
Joceline helps me to my feet. “He’s been in a mood since before we left.”
“Stupid horse.” I dust off my skirt.
Joceline leads Caleb’s horse, and we follow Falada.
“Is everything all right, Princess Aria?” Caleb asks when we reach the carriage.
Nothing is all right, I want to scream. I have a fairy horse with an attitude, I’m to marry a prince I’ve never met, and now, Joceline will make me look like her and turn me into a maidservant.
But instead of saying any of that, I smile my sweetest smile and nod. “Falada isn’t dealing well with leaving Auradale. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
The fairy horse stamps his hoof and tosses his head. “Can we get a move on?”
“Yes, we should keep going,” Darren says. “It would be nice to reach Rivergate Castle before nightfall.”
I glance at Joceline. “We would like to bathe before we continue.”
Darren frowns. “It’s a little chilly for that, Your Highness. I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”
“I ... have some business to attend to.” And even though toileting is not something I need to do right now, heat still rises into my cheeks because I’m not accustomed to discussing my needs with male members of my staff.
“Ah, yes.” He climbs back into the carriage seat. “We’ve been following a stream. I’m sure we can find a clearing to stop in.”
I take a deep breath and nod. With my head held high, I walk over to Falada and take his reins. “Do not throw me this time, I’m already embarrassed enough.”