Page 65 of The Abandoned Princess

“But I’m about to turn twelve,” Ben quickly added. “And Dani only just turned eleven.”

“We’re all aware you’re nearly a year older than her.” Arabella rolled her eyes. “But it doesn’t change the fact that we listen to her when she’s with us because she’s the one who always gets us out of trouble while you just get us into it!”

I wasn’t even trying to hide my grin now. Listening to them talk to each other was like seeing myself at their age if only I’d been surrounded by like-minded cousins. Basically they were my childhood dream.

“I’m still waiting for an answer to my question, Your Highness,” Danielle said, looking at Xander. “And perhaps you could explain why my guards can’t see you while you’re at it.”

“You just believed your cousin when she told you about that?” I asked curiously.

“Of course,” Danielle said calmly. “My cousins might sometimes involve themselves in foolish escapades they haven’t fully thought through, but they would never lie to me.”

“Of course we wouldn’t!” Ben glared at me as if I had outright accused him of lying. “Especially not with something that might actually be important.”

“I’m back because I’ve been put under an enchantment,” Xander said. “I believe the person who enchanted me has ill intentions toward Northhelm, so I’m here in an attempt to both stop her and release us from the enchantment.”

Danielle’s eyes flashed over Lori and me at his use of the word us, and I had the slightly uncomfortable feeling of being quickly weighed and measured. What would this unusual princess think when I told her my identity? Had she heard of the missing princess? Would she believe me?

“I don’t suppose you’re Princess Margaret?” Danielle asked after she’d finished examining Lori and returned her attention to me.

“I prefer Daisy,” I said automatically before sputtering to a stop and staring at her. “Wait, how did you know who I am?”

She shrugged. “It was a fairly simple deduction. Prince Xander, who is searching Northhelm for a mysteriously vanished princess, shows up with a girl of the right age who just happens to be trapped under an enchantment of invisibility. Naturally, I assumed you must be the missing Daisy.”

“When you put it like that, it does seem quite simple,” I said, feeling a little dazed.

“I can see you’re Aurora’s daughter.” Lori sounded impressed.

Her words made all four of the children tense, so I supplied a one-word explanation.

“Celine.”

The original trio’s eyes all lit up, and they exchanged excited looks.

“Have you seen Auntie Celine’s fireballs?” Andrew asked.

“Did she make a wind to drive your boat along?” Ben added before I’d had time to answer the first question.

“Do you have your own godmother?” Arabella chimed in. “And if so, do you think she’d give us the gift of fire? Our godmother keeps saying no.” She looked greatly downcast at this state of affairs.

I looked between them all and burst out laughing. “I’m utterly sure that no godmother would give all three of you fire power.”

“Of course they would not,” Danielle said briskly. “The question we need to be asking is why we can see you if you’re supposed to be invisible.”

“It’s because of your age,” I said. “I was only thirteen myself when I was enchanted, and for some reason that twisted the enchantment and made it so that anyone under the age of thirteen can still see and hear me like normal. But to anyone older, I’m not here. They can’t see me, they can’t hear me, I can’t interact properly with any object in their sight. They can’t even see something I write on a piece of paper and leave behind. I’m completely cut off from them. And since the other two got added to my enchantment, it follows the same rules for them.”

“How fascinating,” Danielle said. “What about someone who could see you and then turns thirteen?”

“On their thirteenth birthday, I suddenly turn invisible,” I said, remembering Jayda and the other village youth with a pang.

“That village in the north!” Danielle looked at Xander. “So Daisy really was the girl in the tower then?”

He nodded. “One of the village girls took me to see her tower and was able to assist me in making contact with Daisy. Unfortunately, instead of freeing her, it merely absorbed me into the enchantment as well.”

I flushed at the memory of what that contact had been. At the time I had been more shocked and indignant than anything else, but I would have a very different reaction if Xander ever tried to kiss me again.

“And I was in the enchantment nearly from the start,” Lori said. “I accompanied Daisy from Trione.”

“Yes,” Danielle said absently. “The missing maid. We’ve been looking for you too.”

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