Obsidian Ridge - Jess Lebow [13]
A second patrol appeared in her view, marching just slightly behind the first. The moment they disappeared from her sight, she moved again, slipping around to the opposite side of the chimney. Lifting a small, stained glass skylight, Mariko silently lowered herself down into her private chamber.
The room was dark, except for the slight trickle of light through the skylight. Crossing to her dressing cabinet, Mariko stripped off the tight garments she had been wearing and tucked them neatly into a wooden box. Placing her hand on the lid, she closed her eyes and whispered the words that activated the rune permanently placed on its surface. In a blink the box vanished, and the princess closed the doors of the cabinet.
Knock-knock-knock.
"My lady," came Genevie's voice from the other side of her chamber door. "Are you awake? May I enter?"
Turning to her bed, Mariko unmade the blankets as best she could, crumpling and tossing them to the side. Then grabbing a simple gown from a hook in the cabinet, the princess hurriedly pulled it over her head.
"Yes, Genevie," she replied, trying to settle the rumpled fabric against her skin. "You may enter."
The door opened slightly, and the aging half-elf pressed herself through the narrow space. She closed it behind her as quickly as she could, as if she were trying to avoid letting anything in or out of the room.
In her right hand she carried a candelabrum, and the lit candles filled the chamber with an orange glow. Once inside, Genevie set about lighting the other candles in the room, slowly chasing away the nighttime shadows. When she finished, she set the candelabrum down on the heavy wooden table and turned to the princess.
She smiled. "Good morning, my lady. Sleep well?"
Princess Mariko rubbed her hands over her face and brushed her hair back, opening her mouth in a fake yawn. "Not so well," she replied. "I was a little restless last night." She sat down on the edge of her bed. "I didn't get much sleep."
The half-elf frowned. "Yes, not much at all." Stepping around the princess, Genevie shooed her off the bed, pulling up the wrinkled blankets and smoothing them down in an orderly fashion. "I've not seen you so restless in a long time."
The princess let out a long sigh. Time to play Good Princess, she thought.
"Yes," she said. "It's because I haven't felt this way in a long time."
Genevie stopped her tucking and folding. "Why, Princess." She put her hands on her hips and gave the younger woman a stern smile. "Am I to understand that you are lusting after this gentleman suitor of yours?"
Mariko giggled, continuing the "good princess" act. "You make it sound so…" She couldn't find the right word. "So wonderfully unladylike."
Genevie sat down on the bed, all but forgetting about her task of making it again. "So you saw him last night?"
The princess nodded.
"And what did he say?"
Mariko cocked her head. She rather enjoyed teasing the older half-elf. "Say?"
"You know," replied the half-elf without missing a beat, "did he tempt you with promises of his undying devotion?"
Mariko shook her head. "Don't be silly, Genevie. You and your romantic fantasies."
"No, really, what did he say? He must have said something… something to make you so restless."
The princess wandered over to her dressing cabinet and began examining the robes and gowns, looking for something appropriate to wear. "Well, he didn't recite me poetry or compare my beauty to that of the moon, if that's what you are asking."
"Oh come now," scolded Genevie. "Indulge an old woman with your stories of young love."
Mariko lifted a simple, elegant emerald- and sapphire-colored robe and held it against her body, contemplating it. "You make me sound like some preening blueblood who can't wait to be seen at the next royal ball."
"Oh goodness," said Genevie, "I doubt anyone would mistake you for that."
"Thank you." Lifting her dressing gown over her head, she slipped it off her shoulders and hung