The Magic Mirror of the Mermaid Queen - Delia Sherman [43]
Her whiskers quivered like butterfly wings. “How very exciting,” she said. “You’ll wear the silver dress, of course, and I’ll see if I can fix up Satchel a bit. You’ll be needing a carriage. And a cloak. Oh, and a ticket.” Her pink nose wrinkled. “I can’t magic up a ticket.”
“It’s all set,” I said. “This Lincoln Center changeling said he’d fix it up for me.”
The whiskers went into overdrive. “A mortal boy has invited you to the ballet? Oh, dear. Is this a Date?” I could hear the capital letter in her voice. “The Fairy Nurse told me about Dates. Is he going to make you pay him with a kiss?”
I went hot, then cold, then hot again. “It’s not a date,” I managed at last. “It’s a quest. Sheesh, Astris. He’s a friend. I wish I hadn’t said anything. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s probably against Rule Three.”
The whiskers went still. “Rule Three’s very convenient, isn’t it?” Astris fixed me with a ruby eye. “You’ll be careful, won’t you, pet? Oh, dear me. A Quest and a Date. Whatever next?”
When I came down the stairs in the Dress Silver as the Moon, Astris, Mr. Rat, all the mice wintering in the basement, and some of the bolder ghosts were waiting in the kitchen to see me off. Astris had spent the afternoon with the dress and a bottle of polish. It was pale gray now, and patches of it glittered in the lamplight like stars in a cloudy sky.
“Ooh,” said the ghosts, who were easily impressed.
“She walks in beauty, like the night,” murmured Mr. Rat, who liked poetry.
Astris handed me Satchel, spelled down to half its size and decorated with a silver bow. “You look very nice, pet,” she said. “Remember to pay the horse and the driver—Satchel will give you some cheese. Try not to get the cloak wet. And remember that the carriage won’t last past midnight.” She looked at my sneakered feet. “Oh, dear. Are you sure you don’t want me to change those into glass slippers for you?”
“They’re fine,” I said. “I’ll remember about the carriage. You’re a peach, Astris.”
She patted my skirt fondly and said she’d see me at midnight.
Pumpkins are thin on the ground in Central Park, so Astris had provided me with an apple cart. It had a shiny red body and round, bright green wheels and white velvet upholstery. Astris had recruited one of our mice and a (non-talking) rat and turned them into a cabbie and a dun-colored cab horse, both with buck teeth. The cabbie tucked my silver skirts inside the door, jumped into the driver’s seat, squeaked at the horse, and we were off.
In no time at all, we were through the Park and stuck in traffic in Columbus Circle. I saw horseless carriages and chariots pulled by everything from frogs to gigantic dogs, plus coaches made from every kind of fruit I could think of, including a pomegranate. There was even an old-fashioned witch’s sulky hitched to a pair of fire-breathing goats.
Then my rat-horse leapt into a gap between two carriages and the apple cart lurched forward, throwing me back against the white velvet seat.
Eventually, we pulled up to Lincoln Center and stopped. Everything—the plaza, the fountain, the three theaters—glittered with fairy lights and jeweled torches, as bright as Broadway but a lot more elegant. It was all I could do to wait for the cabbie to open the door and help me unpack myself from the apple cart. I did, however, remember to give him the cheese before I picked up my silver skirts and marched up the golden steps to the Plaza.
The crowd in the Plaza was dressed to kill. I saw lots of fur—both self-grown and borrowed—and velvet cloaks and lace and fairy dust. Folk with fingers or necks had decorated them lavishly with jewels. Many wore top hats, and not just the vampires, either. I was glad to see my dress fit right in.
Since Danskin had said he’d meet me in the lobby, I stationed myself by a door, where I’d be easy to find. A stream of elves, kitsune, afrits, air spirits of a hundred different nations poured past me. No Danskin.
Maybe I was early. I waited. The stream slowed to a trickle. Still no Danskin.
When I realized he wasn’t coming, I was furious. Also,