Read Travellers in Magic for Free Online Page B

king, being very near-sighted, hadn’t known that. So she had to stand through the ceremony horribly self-conscious, knowing that all around her people must be whispering, “The fairest in the land? She certainly doesn’t look it.”
    And the reception afterwards had been, if anything, even worse. “You’re very fortunate,” people told her, over and over again. “Very fortunate.” The princess had smiled and nodded, thinking, But what about him? Don’t they know how fortunate he is to have me? Because I do love him, more than any of these people ever would. And once she had said, “Yes, very fortunate,” and the woman she had been talking to laughed, and she had blushed a deep red, wondering if she had said the wrong thing.
    â€œIt’s your accent, dear,” the woman said. “We can barely understand you.”
    I can understand you just fine, the princess had wanted to say, but of course she had been hearing aristocratic speech, and following aristocratic orders, ever since she was a small child. “It’s very quaint,” another woman had said, clearly anxious to make her feel better, and then had said, “Oh, look, she’s blushing.”
    In the darkness of the coach she tugged at the bodice, trying to straighten it. She had only worn one other fancy gown in her life, and that one had fit so perfectly she had thought they all would be like that. “Is something wrong, dear?” the prince said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. “We’ll be there soon.”
    â€œOh no, nothing,” she said. How could she act this way, so ungrateful? As if she hadn’t just been given the most exciting day of her life? She smiled at him. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”
    An hour later the coach stopped. She had thought, when the prince had told her they were going to his country estate, that it would be a small house hidden among trees. Through the windows of the coach she could see an enormous building, to her eyes almost the size of the castle in the city. All the lights were blazing.
    The servants were ready to take the coach, to feed them if they wanted food, to undress them and take them up to bed. She lay in the large, canopied bed, waiting for him, feeling bereft. When he finally came to her she recognized the sensation: she wanted to cry.
    The prince took her very gently, stopping often to whisper reassurances. At times she almost wanted to laugh. Did he really think she knew nothing about what went on between a man and a woman? There had been nights, at home, when her stepsisters would talk of nothing else. Still, she couldn’t help feeling a tenderness towards him. He did love her, after all.
    He was gone when she woke the next morning. She remembered he had said something about fox-hunting the night before. She sat up, wondering what happened next. After a while she stood up, padding about the stone floor in her bare feet. One door she opened led to a closet filled with men’s clothing. The next door should be—Yes, it was. She took out a simple white dress, very much like the one she had worn to the ball, and put it on.
    One of the servants, a woman, looked in the door for a minute. The servant began to laugh. The princess could hear her running down the hall, laughing. After a few minutes another servant—much younger, about her age—came in the room.
    â€œGood morning, my lady,” the servant said.
    â€œHello,” the princess said nervously.
    â€œPlease come with me, my lady,” the servant said. She led her to an adjoining room. “Here. I’ll help you undress.”
    What’s that? the princess wanted to say, but she recognized a bath just in time. She had never seen one so large and so white. Did these people bathe every day then? She stepped out of the dress and the servant hung it up for her.
    When she got out of the bath the servant had another dress ready. Was the