Page 77 of Down from the Tower

I will be a better mother anyway. I already have two beautiful daughters, and they deserve so much more than scrubbing and waiting on spoiled princesses that won’t ever value life the way we do. I just haven’t had my chance yet, but soon he will see.

Cindy did a fine job getting into the castle, and once I dispatched her and set her up, Midas made quick work of turning my stepdaughter to gold. Now that’s one less girl I have to worry about, and with the Queen’s labor coming any day now, these flowers are a necessity.

I’m saving the Kingdom of Tressa by doing this. Be proud of me, my girls, because soon we will rule the Kingdom at Midas’ side.

The Tremaines will not be silenced. My sweet Midas sees my worth, and soon he will know I’m more than a pretty hole. I won’t have the stretch marks of birth, the burdens of carrying two children through a pregnancy, and while Dorah toils in her room resting, the King will have me to fill those lonesome nights. I’ll be a royal in my own right soon enough, and my girls will have everything they ever needed.

It serves my stepdaughter right for always making us look like oafs. Clothes that she didn’t hem right, shoes that cut our feet, it’s no wonder Midas hated her as a maid. When he took me as a mistress, I was at least able to elevate my girls above the stables.

I blamed Cindy for that nasty spill Dorah took down the steps. Those twins survived the fall though, and I can’t get away with a trick like that again. I’ll have to bide my time.

I have the King’s interest in bed, and soon I’ll have the attention of his brain. When I’m made Queen of Tressa, no one will look down on me ever again.

I read the note four times, Zarev returning with something to eat sometime during the third. I see each word, understand the meaning, but they don’t make any sense.

I’ve never heard of Cindy, and as far as I knew Anastasia and Priscilla lost their mother to some tragic accident when I was very young. I know my father isn’t exactly loyal to Dorah, and she isn’t loyal to him, but a mistress while his wife was pregnant…

My lip curls. As if I need another reason to hate the Golden King more.

And what’s this nonsense about twins? I’ve never had a sibling, and I would remember if there was someone like me parading around the halls. I haven’t even heard a whisper of someone with my power outside of Tressa. So that part is surely a lie of Lady Tremaine’s.

Zarev doesn’t say anything, and I assume he can see what I’m reading. Tossing aside the first letter, I tear into the second. Much like the first, this one lacks a year, and I’m starting to hate that about Mystica.

June 30

I tricked the gardener! She saw me as the pitiful reject I pretended to be, and when she turned her back I picked the flowers just as my King instructed. I even got one down to the roots so we can plant one and keep the gift going. They were in the spot those Flowerborne mentioned, just growing along with the rest of the flowers like they aren’t anything special. Such a pity that is.

Midas is such a brilliant man. He knows how to twist his magic into a gift and grant that to his children. The healer at the castle predicts two little ones, and with so much trauma, surely Dorah will die in childbirth. She’s just a harpy, and they’re known for dying when they have children. At least, that’s the rumor my mother always shared with me.

I’ve hidden in the woods for three days. Getting the flowers wasn’t as hard as I figured. I kicked the crippled gardener -

That’s the letter. The entire letter. I flip it over to see if I’m mistaken, but there’s nothing else to read. Her cruel words hang in my head, and slowly I glance back at Zarev.

He keeps mentioning a gardener… and didn’t he recently tell me Legs are missing her legs?

“Did Legs ever meet a woman called Lady Tremaine?”

He glances up, looking at me like I’ve lost it. “I don’t know who Legs knows. We don’t really know each other that well. Lots of people try to steal from her garden; there’s supposed to be magical plants in there. Most of the thieves get eaten by the flowers, so it’s not a big concern for Legs'.”

He says it with a straight face, and I’m alarmed to realize he’s being truthful. Legs sounds like she is capable of taking care of herself, no issue.

I look back down at the notes. If I want to know what Tremaine stole, I’ll have to go see this magical gardener. Hopefully it isn’t too long ago for her to remember.

Digging around, I open the third and final letter. There’s a torn page at the front, and I think this is the last bit from the second one. Maybe Dahlia put them in the envelopes wrong, or Lady Tremaine did at some point. It picks up right where the last cut off.

… and ran from the gardens. She took pity on me because I ran into some wildlings on the outskirts of Camelot, but it was the perfect distraction to sneak about. She never suspected my purpose, and didn’t have time to question why I needed them.

For the Golden King, I will give anything. His children will be close to perfection, the blight that is Dorah the only issue I can foresee. Her less than perfect lineage would be the only competition to otherwise perfect children.

My breath catches in my throat, reading about a conspiracy I’ve never known. Flipping to the final page, I scan the letter, barely remembering to breathe.

August 26

Dorah still sits on the throne. I did everything that the King asked of me, yet he’s still with her. Even after childbirth! I know she can’t be as good as me, do things as well as me when she’s constantly complaining about her recovery.

I had my girls only sixteen months apart. Two at once? She won’t have to endure it again. Twins are a blessing.

He’s not letting me care for them. He doesn’t even allow me to sleep in his chambers right now! He needs to cast his magic on them so they can breathe in the gift and carry on his golden legacy. That doesn’t include Dorah! I despise him for traveling to lands so far away and returning with a bride.

---