Glass Slippers [1st Draft]

29. The Opportunity Presents Itself

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

The Opportunity Presents Itself

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It had been almost two days since Clara last saw Frederick and with every passing hour, her nerves over the situation worsened. What had the king said to him? Did he convince Frederick to agree? Was Frederick avoiding her for that reason? All of those thoughts swirled around her head endlessly and she could barely keep her siblings from noticing her anxiousness.

Harriet seemed to have caught on and was constantly pestering Clara over the last day to tell her what was wrong, but Clara had denied it when asked. She didn't need to worry her sister by telling her about the encounter with Frederick and the King. In contrast, Amelia was a perfect angel, doing her best to help Clara with absolutely anything, seemingly more than happy just to sit quietly and give Clara her silent support.

Clara had never been more struck by how different her siblings truly were until that moment. She had always seen Harriet and Amelia as two peas in a pod, but now that they were away from Linette, she could see it was something else entirely. Amelia was quiet, sweet, and incredibly perceptive about what people were feeling, while Harriet had the subtlety of a sledgehammer when it came to talking to people about their worries, was louder than the bells from the palace church on Sunday mornings, and had a scowl to rival her stepmother's.

Her scowl had definitely been demonstrated a lot over the past few days, that was for sure. Clara couldn't help but notice that every time Leopold was in the room with them Harriet glared at him the entire time. Leopold, to his credit, didn't seem phased, instead smiling sadly at Harriet every time he caught her eye.

Thankfully, her brother was neither as quiet as Amelia or as loud as Harriet, but he certainly had been energetic over the past day. He had been given a clean bill of health by the doctors and had spent all of his time in the stables with Leopold, absolutely loving the chance to be near to so many different horses.

Clara heaved a sigh, smoothing out the skirts of her lavender dress as she furrowed her brow at her own reflection. Now that James was feeling so much better, Harriet had insisted on demonstrating her skills properly outside with Mark Greenfellow, one of the stable hands who had become what could only be described as her partner in crime.

Clara turned away from her reflection without a second glance, not wanting to keep Harriet and the rest of her siblings waiting. Harriet had been absolutely itching to show her family everything she had learned and so Clara didn't want to prolong it any longer.

On the one hand, she was very happy that Harriet had found something she loved, on the other, Clara wished it was just a little less. dangerous. Harriet was still a slight-figured wisp of a girl who stood at barely over five feet tall. The thought of her handling a sword and fighting other people who were also holding weapons made Clara's stomach clench, but she knew that she couldn't stop Harriet.

Harriet would never forgive her if Clara told her to stop training to be a knight, and Clara would never forgive herself if somehow her younger sister actually agreed to stop. She could never get in the way of Harriet's dreams when she knew they were so close, if only Harriet worked hard enough.

Clara walked briskly towards the part of the grounds that Harriet had insisted on practicing on, a little area of grass close to the stables. As she got closer to it, the sounds of children's laughter reached her ears and she couldn't hold back a smile.

Rounding the corner she saw Amelia, James, Harriet, and Mark Greenfellow all laughing and talking in the middle of the grassy patch, seeming to be perfectly comfortable with each other.