Page 14 of The Abandoned Princess

“You can’t count that! I’m older now!”

“Oh?” Charli asked mercilessly. “So much older that you wouldn’t dream of blaming Otis for stealing the cakes I sent for Daisy?”

“He really did take them!” Barnaby cried.

“Yes—because you volunteered the two of you to make the delivery and then told him we would never notice if all the nicest ones were missing.”

Barnaby glanced up the tower, finally looking guilty. “Sorry, Daisy.”

I rolled my eyes. “You should have just asked. I would have been happy to share. It’s not like I did anything to bake the cakes. Eulalie would never let me have anything as dangerous—or useful—as an oven up here.”

I ran a hand along my excessively long hair. “I can’t even cut my hair since I’m pretending not to have any sharp blades.”

“Don’t worry, Daisy,” Charli said quickly. “I know how much you love cakes. I can keep baking them for you even after I turn thirteen. I’ll get Anaya and Arlo to deliver them since Barnaby and Otis can’t be trusted.”

I managed to smile my thanks, although I hardly felt like smiling. When Eulalie stuck me in the abandoned tower and extended my enchantment to cover the building, I had been terrified of the loneliness stretching before me.

Charli’s arrival in the clearing had been like a burst of light in deepest darkness. She had brought the other village children soon enough, but even at eight years old, she had proved to be the most sensible of the lot. I had barely even felt the loss of her two older sisters after they’d each turned thirteen and been excluded by the enchantment.

Charli’s humorous quips, sharp mind, and excellent baking skills had been a lifeline. But soon she would be gone.

“Don’t you turn eighteen soon, though?” Barnaby asked. “I thought you were going to get out when you turned eighteen?”

I grimaced. The end date of Eulalie’s test period was approaching. I knew that much. She mentioned it sometimes when she visited. She always avoided talking specifics, but I knew from the timing what she meant.

And when I was feeling hopeful, I liked to imagine that once she was finished her test she would release me. I had built all my plans and strategies around trying to convince her to do so when the time came.

But there were other possibilities. Eulalie’s previous test subjects had met a different kind of end.

Not that their deaths had been linked to the completion of her tests. She had let drop enough information about them for me to know they never made it that far. They had become too dangerous for her to keep around. It was the reason I put so much effort into appearing harmless to my largely absent captor.

But Eulalie didn’t have to kill me when the test ended. She didn’t have to free me either. She could just leave me. Walk away after I turned eighteen and never look back. And I would never be free. Worse than that even. It was entirely likely that after I turned eighteen I would stop being seen by children. The adults she’d enchanted had been invisible to everyone except Eulalie herself.

If that happened, I would be trapped forever—alone except for one person. But how could I take comfort in the presence of Lori, my friend and protector, when she would be condemned to the same cage of invisibility as me? How could I be anything but sorry when I knew she had only become trapped because of me?

Lori had followed me—even when she couldn’t see me, she had followed the lone, fleeing traveler, convinced Eulalie knew something about my disappearance. And she had been touching the tower, hiding behind it, when Eulalie stretched her enchantment to cover the building. Lori’s loyalty had trapped her.

Lori had been here for five years just like me, but we had different roles in our careful charade. I played the submissive and weak captive who stayed dutifully in her cage. Lori stayed out of sight altogether. Even after all this time, Eulalie didn’t know she was part of the enchantment. The children didn’t even know—with the exception of Charli—so Lori couldn’t spend much time in the clearing.

Lori was the one who sustained me—the source of much of my food and practical necessities. Of course Eulalie had never bothered to question how I maintained myself on her sporadic gifts. She didn’t care about those sorts of details. Or perhaps she assumed the children were supplying me.

But even if no one else knew, I knew how much I owed to Lori. So I could take no comfort in the thought that if I was trapped in the enchantment forever, then at least I would be trapped with her. She didn’t deserve such repayment for her loyal service.

I drew a long breath. One way or another, the end date was approaching. My birthday was nearly here. And that meant Eulalie would soon be returning for one of her unpredictable visits.

I glared up at the blue spring sky. The specter of Eulalie’s presence was enough to sour even the brightest weather.

Charli shook her head, her expression exasperated. “Daisy doesn’t know what will happen when she turns eighteen. Not even her enchanter knows if she’ll still be able to see us then or not.”

“Probably not,” I said glumly, unable to drum up the necessary hope that was required to envision a different ending.

“I suppose you can’t come down today?” Charli asked.

I shook my head vigorously. “There’s no saying when Eulalie will show up. You know that. And now is more dangerous than ever, since she’s sure to be on her way back for my birthday.”

“You should lie in wait and conk her over the head the minute she appears.” Barnaby brandished a stick threateningly, probably imagining he looked like a noble knight.

He waved it too close to Charli’s face, and she snatched it out of his hand. “Are you trying to put my eye out?” She rolled her eyes. “Thank goodness Daisy is more sensible than you! If she kills her captor, the enchantment will never be lifted and she’ll be stuck like this forever!”

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