Gwennie, on the other hand, looked exquisite in a gown that hugged her perfect figure from shoulders to waist, where it swirled down to the floor in a cascade of rose over an underskirt of silver. The fabric shimmered in the candlelight and would have been gorgeous on a stick, but on the most beautiful princess in all the kingdoms it was entrancing. The maid who had styled her hair had let it fall in soft, gleaming curls down her back. She had put neither powder nor rouge on Gwendolyn’s face because the princess didn’t need it. Her skin was flawless, her cheeks were flushed with a natural pink, and her eyes glittered with ever-increasing excitement.
With all the time that had been spent on her own preparations, Annie knew she looked the best she had in her entire life. Unfortunately, she also knew that entering the ballroom with Gwendolyn meant that no one would even notice her, let alone what she looked like. Because she was the older sister, Gwendolyn would go in first. Annie might as well be invisible when she walked down the stairs.
She was waiting for her sister to reach the landing at the top of the steps when Liam entered the corridor. He looked magnificent in the blue jacket with the silver piping of Dorinocco royalty, and his bearing was that of a king’s. Suddenly Annie understood why the ladies-in-waiting had chosen her ball gown. The blue was the same shade as Liam’s jacket.
Annie was certain that even Liam wouldn’t be able to resist Gwennie’s allure tonight, but he never glanced her way. Instead, he kept his eyes on Annie, and the look he gave her made her heart beat faster. As he took her hand to lead her to the stairs, Annie gazed into his eyes and realized how much he had come to mean to her. She had never felt so strongly about anyone before and she wondered if this might actually be love.
When Gwendolyn reached the top of the stairs, Annie heard a collective gasp as everyone in the ballroom saw her sister at once. Liam squeezed Annie’s hand and she smiled up at him. She no longer cared if every courtier in the castle ignored her. Liam was hers and he was all she wanted. Walking to the stairs hand in hand, she felt a warm glow inside of her that calmed her nerves and made her confident enough to go on.
Liam paused on the landing and gave Annie’s hand another reassuring squeeze. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered, sparking a ripple of happiness that started at her heart and washed through her. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but just then the herald announced their arrival in a loud and carrying voice.
When Liam turned to face the crowd below, Annie followed his example. A sea of strangers dressed in their brightly colored finest filled a room at least twice the size of the great hall at home. Turning back to Liam, she saw that his grin was genuine and it gave her the courage to descend the stairs, one slow step at a time. They were only partway down when she noticed that the crowd was moving as if currents carried them from one side of the room to the other, redistributing them by gender. Many of the men seemed to be drawn like cats to a dish of cream located near the foot of the stairs, while the women moved to get out of their way. Annie glanced down and saw what was drawing the men. Just as she suspected, Gwendolyn was the cream.
Annie and Liam had scarcely reached the bottom of the staircase when a young man took Gwendolyn by the arm and escorted her to the center of the room. From the glimpse Annie had caught of him, the young man appeared to be her cousin, Prince Ainsley. The floor around them cleared as the musicians at the far end of the room struck the first notes and Ainsley took Gwendolyn in his arms.
They were dancing one of the more modern dances like the one Annie had danced with Prince Andreas. Although it was a new dance, both Ainsley and Gwendolyn seemed to know it well, and they swirled across the center of the floor so gracefully that it was hard to look away. Annie did, however, noting that while the men were watching Gwendolyn with great longing, the women’s eyes looked angry or disappointed.
The first dance had ended when Liam pulled Annie into the center of the floor. As the music began again, other couples joined them and soon they were caught up in a swooping, spinning romp across the room. They passed Gwendolyn and Ainsley twice. The prince’s eyes were fixed on Gwendolyn’s face with such adoration that it made Annie uncomfortable, but her sister seemed more interested in watching the other dancers around them.
When the dance ended, Annie leaned close to Liam and said, “It’s time I start what I came here to do. I’m going to see if I can find that girl.”
“Fine,” said Liam, “but I’m going to claim you for another dance in a little while.”
“I certainly hope so!” said Annie, and slipped off into the crowd lining the sides of the room. She walked among them smiling and talking to the women and girls while making polite excuses when men asked her to dance. Although she couldn’t deny that she loved dancing with Liam, she was there to find the girl who could lead them to Moonbeam… and from there to that evil dwarf!
Everyone seemed friendly at first, welcoming her to Floradale and asking about Treecrest. Most of the girls seemed to be around her age, although some might have been a few years older. Annie decided that the women who were with them were mostly their mothers or aunts, and were there to encourage a match between the prince and their charges.
Everywhere she went, Annie bumped into people or brushed up against them in unobtrusive ways, watching to see if anything about them was altered by the disappearance of magic. A few girls changed slightly; one’s nose grew longer and another’s beautiful hair became lank and dull. Neither change was drastic enough to have warranted a fairy’s last-minute intervention, however.
As she walked among them, Annie couldn’t help but overhear snippets of conversations between people who didn’t realize that she was there. She learned that she was right about the older women. She also learned how much they resented Gwendolyn.
“If that princess hadn’t shown up, the prince would have been dancing with you right now!” one mother told her daughter.
“No one stands a chance with that princess here!” exclaimed another.
“Two princesses coming to the ball when we weren’t expecting any! Why did we even bother to come?”
“You’re both much prettier than the younger princess, but no one can compete with the older,” said a woman with her back to Annie. When her daughters shushed her and pointed, she turned and saw Annie. Acting as if she’d done nothing wrong, the woman curtsied so low that her black wig shifted on her head. “Hello, Your Highness,” she said. “Welcome to Floradale.”
“Thank you,” Annie said.
“My name is Lady Lenore Fauxliette, and these are my daughters, Lady Wilhemina and Lady Zelda.”
“She called us ‘ladies’!” the larger girl whispered to her sister in an overloud voice while jabbing her with her elbow. When her mother turned and glowered at her, the girl lost her smile and looked away. The other girl, as tall and thin as her mother, gave Annie a simpering smile.
“We’re delighted that you were able to grace us with your presence this evening,” Lady Lenore continued. “Unfortunately, it’s awfully hot in here and will be getting hotter as the night goes on. Perhaps you and your sister won’t be staying the entire evening?”
“I’m not sure how long we’ll be staying,” said Annie, trying to think of a way to leave the woman without being rude.
Lady Lenore was unable to hide her irritation when she said, “I see. Your sister seems to be enjoying her dance with our dear Prince Ainsley. She is aware that he is her cousin, isn’t she?”
“I know people who married their cousins,” said the larger girl, who was heavier, but had a nicer demeanor than her pinch-faced sister.
“Willie!” snapped her mother. “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to! I’m sure the princess doesn’t want to talk about such things.”
Annie had had enough. She wanted to make her excuses and leave, yet she hadn’t forgotten why she was there. It seemed highly unlikely that a fairy had used magic to help either of these girls get ready for the ball, but she might as well make sure.
“It wa
s lovely to meet you,” she said, and leaned forward to kiss Wilhemina on the cheek. When she stepped back, the girl looked surprised, as if she hadn’t expected Annie to talk to her, let alone kiss her. But then Wilhemina lurched forward to plant a forceful kiss on Annie’s cheek, surprising the princess with her vehemence. When the girl didn’t change in any way, Annie turned to Zelda and kissed her cheek as well. Nothing happened. It wasn’t until Lady Lenore looked as if she wanted a kiss that Annie said good-bye and walked away.
Annie was determined not to get caught up in another such conversation if she could help it, but suddenly two men were standing in front of her. “I am Lord Weatherby,” said a large man with loud, booming voice. “May I have the honor of—”
“I was just about to ask her, Weatherby,” said a smaller man with intense, dark eyes and thick, bushy eyebrows.
The two men were glowering at each other when a third stepped up, brushed them aside, and led Annie onto the dance floor without even asking. “I apologize, Your Highness, but I didn’t think you wanted to witness their argument. Those two argue over everything, and are too tedious for words. My name is Lord Camril and I am the best dancer at the ball, other than Prince Ainsley, of course.”
“I’m delighted to meet you, Lord Camril,” Annie said, wishing she could have escaped him as well as the other two men.
“So what do you think of our fair kingdom?” he asked as the music started and he led her into the first steps of the dance.
“The parts I’ve seen of it are lovely,” said Annie.
“And what parts have you seen?”
“We came through the Dark Forest in the south.”
Lord Camril looked confused. “Don’t you mean the Black Woods? They are lovely, but they’re located in Montrose to the west of here. I went there once to hunt wild boar with my uncle, who was a friend of the king. We never did see any boar, but we did meet a family of dwarves who owned a mine. The entire family worked in it. Wait, I do seem to recall another forest with a similar name to the south. It’s much smaller than the Black Woods, and not nearly as interesting. Look! There’s Weatherby dancing with the younger Simplin girl. He does look angry, doesn’t he?”
Before Annie could ask Lord Camril about the dwarves, the dance carried her away, handing her from one partner to another until she finally ended up with the nobleman again just before the dance was over. Seeing Liam waiting for Annie, Lord Camril bowed to her and was about to leave when Annie stopped him, saying, “Those dwarves—what else can you tell me about them?”
The nobleman shrugged and said, “Nothing really. It was a large family, all boys. It happened years ago. I remembered it because my barber said he was south of the city on his way home from visiting relatives last week when he saw a pair of dwarves.”
“Really?” said Annie. “And where were they going?”
“I really couldn’t say,” said Lord Camril. After giving her an odd look, he bowed again and disappeared into the crowd.
Three young men were approaching when Liam took her by the hand. “What was that about?” he asked as he led her off to another part of the dance floor.
“That man told me about some dwarves he’d met. He said that two dwarves were seen south of the city just last week.”
“It doesn’t mean they were the same two dwarves,” Liam told her. “There have to be others around as well. Blast, that woman is headed this way dragging her daughter behind her. Listen, Annie, I need you to rescue me. When you left, all the matchmaking mamas descended on me, hoping I’d fall in love with one of their daughters. I’ve danced with far too many of them already tonight, when the only person I want to dance with is you.”
“I would love to dance with you,” said Annie.
They were wending their way through the crowd when Annie heard one mother talking to another. “I’m thinking of taking Louisa home soon. There’s no point in staying when Prince Ainsley isn’t going to dance with anyone but that princess and we’re paying for that rented coachman and carriage by the hour.”
“I know what you mean. I was just telling Portia the same thing,” said the woman beside her.
“I can’t dance with you now,” Annie whispered to Liam. “I have to go talk to Gwennie.”
“Then I’ll go with you,” he said, and began to peer through the crowd at the couples on the dance floor. They found Ainsley and Gwendolyn by following everyone’s eyes to the beautiful couple moving as if they were floating in a room filled with plodders. When the dance ended, Annie and Liam made their way to where Gwendolyn was laughing at something the prince had said.
“Gwennie, I have to talk to you,” said Annie.
“But I was talking to Ainsley!” Gwendolyn said, still smiling up at the prince. It wasn’t until he turned a questioning gaze on Annie that Gwendolyn told him, “This is my sister, Princess Annabelle.”
“Ah, another cousin!” said the prince. “I’m delighted to meet you at long last.”
Annie was surprised when he took her hand in his and kissed the back of her fingers, showing her two things that she hadn’t known. First, that Ainsley hadn’t heard the rumors about how touching her diminished one’s magic, and secondly, that the prince would have been a pudgy young man with crooked teeth if magic hadn’t made him handsome.
“I’m happy we finally met as well,” said Annie. Pulling Liam forward, she stepped aside, saying, “And this is Prince Liam of Dorinocco. Why don’t you two get acquainted while I talk to Gwennie?
“You have to leave,” Annie said in her sister’s ear even as she pulled her aside. “Say you have a headache or something, and go up to your room.”
“But I don’t want to!” Gwendolyn said, looking shocked. “I feel fine and I’m having such fun! Oh, Annie, everyone has been so nice to me and Prince Ainsley has danced every dance with me, but I can tell that others want to because they keep coming up and…”
“You have to, Gwennie,” Annie told her. “Ainsley is spending all his time with you when he’s supposed to be dancing with these girls. If he doesn’t start dancing with them, they’re going to leave, then we’ll never know who the girl was and we won’t be able to find Moonbeam. Remember why we’re here. Remember Beldegard!”
At the sound of Beldegard’s name, Gwendolyn’s face flushed pink and she shook her head. “You’re right, Annie. I’m not here to enjoy myself. I’ll go to my room while you find the girl. But please try to find her soon so I can come back to the dance?”
“I’ll try,” Annie said with a laugh.
While Gwendolyn made her excuses to Prince Ainsley, Annie and Liam returned to the dance floor. She noticed that the prince looked disappointed when her sister left, but it wasn’t long before he was dancing with another young lady.
Suddenly the mood in the ballroom changed. The prince was available again; the young ladies had a chance after all. Expressions brightened, voices grew joyful, and no one left early. The dance floor became more crowded now as young men sought other partners, having given up on the idea of dancing with Gwendolyn.
After their dance, Annie and Liam separated again, Annie to mingle with the women, while Liam danced with yet another girl whose mother watched eagerly from the side. Once again Annie bumped into girls or brushed against their arms or touched them in the most inconspicuous way she could manage, but aside from the changes in their appearance that Annie had expected, nothing really happened.
Annie was sure the change had to be unusual. Daughters of the nobility and the wealthy were given magical gifts of physical beauty soon after they were born. None of them would have required help so close to the prince’s ball. Whoever Moonbeam had helped would have needed assistance of another sort.
By the time Liam asked her to dance again, Annie was frustrated and ready to give up. After touching nearly every girl in the ballroom with no luck, she was afraid that she would never find the one she wanted. “I don’t know what to do,” she told Liam as they tried to find a clear space on the dance floor. “I’ve
tested nearly every girl here.”
Liam shrugged. “I’d help you if I could but… Watch out! Ainsley isn’t looking where he’s going. His partner is about to…” Liam tried to maneuver Annie out of the way, but with nowhere to go she couldn’t avoid the prince’s partner as he twirled her around.
“Ow!” Annie cried as the girl bumped into her and stepped on her foot with a glass slipper.
“I’m so sorry!” the girl said, retracing her steps to check on Annie. “Are you all right?”
When Annie staggered as she tried to look at her foot, the girl put her hand on her arm to steady her. “Annie, look,” said Liam, and she raised her eyes.
The beautiful white gown the girl was wearing had begun to change. What had been silky white fabric embroidered with tiny silver stars became the stained and ragged gown of a servant girl from a less prosperous house. In place of glass slippers she wore scuffed brown shoes riddled with holes. The jeweled necklace at her throat turned into a dandelion chain. All the silver stars holding her hair on top of her head turned into pieces of mica that dropped to the floor, allowing her hair to fall loose around her shoulders. Somehow, even though her clothes were tattered and worn, she remained one of the prettiest girls there.
“Oh, no!” the girl exclaimed when she glanced down. “Moonbeam told me this wouldn’t happen until midnight! I can’t… I don’t… I have to go!”
With a cry of anguish, the lovely young girl fled to the stairs, where she stumbled on the first step, losing one of her shoes. Everyone was watching as she ran up the stairs. When she’d disappeared through the door, the buzz of gossip began.
Annie and Liam followed Prince Ainsley to the stairs and watched as he picked up the shoe. He nearly dropped it when it turned back into the delicate glass slipper.
“Who was that girl?” asked Annie.