Dancing with Deception

Dancing with Deception (11)

Chapter 11

The morning dawned clear and hot, with a hazy steam rising up from the grounds as the last dewy drops of morning mist were sizzled away. Not a single cloud smeared the sky and I sighed in resignation at the promise of an unpleasant day—for more reasons than the weather.

Thinking grimly of the challenge ahead I donned my lightest set of brown practice clothes before twisting my hair up into a tight knot, forgoing the bright ribbons I’d taken to wearing in the last weeks. The last thing I needed was to be spotted in the forest by a stray flash of color.

I rolled the sleeves of my tunic up to the elbows in anticipation of the heat and splashed my face with the icy water in our washbasin, removing the last traces of sleep from my eyes. The water felt cold against my skin, but I knew I’d be glad for it when I stepped outside.

I took a quick glance around the room, looking to see if I’d forgotten anything useful. Ella had already dashed out of the room in a flurry of nerves, hoping to track down a spare waterskin.

My pack stood ready by the door and I snatched it up before making my way towards the grounds. The moment I stepped out of the castle a dense heat settled around my shoulders like a blanket, instantly bringing a sheen of sweat to my forehead.

A cluster of girls stood to the side of the practice shed and I directed my steps towards them. Standing in the midst of them all was Clara, who held a pot of an oily black pigment that smelled faintly of tar. I raised my eyebrows questioningly at her as one by one girls stepped forward to dip two fingers into the pot and drew two streaks across their cheeks with it.

“A friend of my father brought it back from Lorain, apparently the court ladies there use it to line their eyes,” She said, expressing her opinion of the practice with a roll of the eyes. “I thought it could be better put to use now,” She said, gesturing around at our assembled classmates.

All wore a determined expression, and the matching stripes of black lent a sort of feral beauty to the gathering. With a grin I stepped up to do the same, already feeling a sense of victory in the air.

Today, there was no division between us, whatever animosity we held among us was reserved strictly for our opponents. If nothing else came of this day at least the boys would know they hadn’t dispirited us with their taunting.

Ella ran up moments later, breathless and flushed. “I thought I was going to be late,” She gasped out, bending over to catch her breath.

“You’re just in time,” Clara said with a wicked grin, painting two lines across Ella’s bewildered face.

“Shall we head down then?”

We all looked around in surprise at the voice of the Queen. For once, her arrival had gone unnoticed, and she stood amongst us with an amused smile pulling up her lips.

For a moment I felt foolish, like a toddler with my face smeared in mud, but in the next moment the Queen had taken two strides towards Clara and gestured to still open pot in her hands.