‹ Prequel: The Pauper Princess
Status: Currently undergoing renovations.
The Game
One
“Ready?” She shrugs, clearly not committed to this plan. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“Fun for whom?” she asks, readjusting the pins in her hair again.
“Both of us.” I push her hands away and fix the pins for her, allowing one tendril of perfectly curled hair to fall out of the neat bun. She sighs again and glances at the looking glass. I study our reflections. Both of us have the same dark, nearly black hair, and our eyes are nearly the same shade of blue, though hers are just barely lighter. There are other differences, of course, but only someone who knew to look for them would be able to tell.
“We don’t look the same.” I take a step back and plop down on my bed.
“It doesn’t matter,” I sigh, “No one there will even notice.” Mehta carefully stands, smoothing down several layers of skirts and petticoats. I wrinkle my nose at the pink ruffles of fabric and hide a smile behind my hand. Mehta glares at me and carefully sits beside me, perching on the very edge of my bed.
“And what if someone does?” she asks, ignoring my amusement. Her hands settle on her lap and she bites her lip. After another few seconds she stands again and looks at her reflection in the larger looking glass beside my wardrobe. From this distance, the dress doesn’t look quite as tacky, but it’s definitely not something either of us would have chosen to wear. Seeing her in the distant mirror, though, it’s obvious that she does look almost exactly like me.
“They won’t, I promise.” This isn’t the first time I’ve had her dressed up as me, so I’m not sure why she’s so nervous. I’ve had her hang around the castle for hours at a time while I sneak out to do more interesting things. The only one who ever catches us switching places is my brother, and he won’t be back until tomorrow. No one will realize she’s taking my place. I’ve taught her all about being me, she’ll do fine tonight.
“Come on, then,” she finally says. “The sooner I go the sooner I can leave, right?” I nod once and she sighs, this time more dreamily than the others if I’m not mistaken.
“I just need an hour or two.” I smile as I stand and catch her hands before she can mess with her hair again. “Go, eat cakes, sip wine, socialize, and tomorrow I’ll bring you the three books you wanted.” Mehta glances down at the pounds of pale pink ribbons and ruffles disguised as a skirt.
“For this dress, you better bring five.”
“Fine,” I laugh, “I’ll bring five. And you have to promise to have at least a little bit of fun tonight.” She breathes one last longsuffering sigh, but I can clearly see her smile as she turns to leave.
“Fun for whom?” she asks, readjusting the pins in her hair again.
“Both of us.” I push her hands away and fix the pins for her, allowing one tendril of perfectly curled hair to fall out of the neat bun. She sighs again and glances at the looking glass. I study our reflections. Both of us have the same dark, nearly black hair, and our eyes are nearly the same shade of blue, though hers are just barely lighter. There are other differences, of course, but only someone who knew to look for them would be able to tell.
“We don’t look the same.” I take a step back and plop down on my bed.
“It doesn’t matter,” I sigh, “No one there will even notice.” Mehta carefully stands, smoothing down several layers of skirts and petticoats. I wrinkle my nose at the pink ruffles of fabric and hide a smile behind my hand. Mehta glares at me and carefully sits beside me, perching on the very edge of my bed.
“And what if someone does?” she asks, ignoring my amusement. Her hands settle on her lap and she bites her lip. After another few seconds she stands again and looks at her reflection in the larger looking glass beside my wardrobe. From this distance, the dress doesn’t look quite as tacky, but it’s definitely not something either of us would have chosen to wear. Seeing her in the distant mirror, though, it’s obvious that she does look almost exactly like me.
“They won’t, I promise.” This isn’t the first time I’ve had her dressed up as me, so I’m not sure why she’s so nervous. I’ve had her hang around the castle for hours at a time while I sneak out to do more interesting things. The only one who ever catches us switching places is my brother, and he won’t be back until tomorrow. No one will realize she’s taking my place. I’ve taught her all about being me, she’ll do fine tonight.
“Come on, then,” she finally says. “The sooner I go the sooner I can leave, right?” I nod once and she sighs, this time more dreamily than the others if I’m not mistaken.
“I just need an hour or two.” I smile as I stand and catch her hands before she can mess with her hair again. “Go, eat cakes, sip wine, socialize, and tomorrow I’ll bring you the three books you wanted.” Mehta glances down at the pounds of pale pink ribbons and ruffles disguised as a skirt.
“For this dress, you better bring five.”
“Fine,” I laugh, “I’ll bring five. And you have to promise to have at least a little bit of fun tonight.” She breathes one last longsuffering sigh, but I can clearly see her smile as she turns to leave.