Page 20 of Disenchanted
“Oh, yes.” Mal gave me his most charming and wolfish grin. “You must admit the ball will be the perfect distraction for you to slip into the treasury chamber and retrieve the orb.”
It was fortunate I was no longer holding my teacup, or I would have bounced it off Mal’s head, and I thought my aim was every bit as good as Granny Hawkridge’s. Instead, I gasped, “Have you completely lost your mind? That’s why you are so eager for me to attend the ball? You want to steal from the king?”
“It is not stealing. That orb was my grandfather’s, so by right, it belongs to me.”
“I doubt the king will see it that way when I am caught.”
“You won’t be caught. I have planned the whole thing out carefully, a way for you to slip easily past the guards and unlock the chamber. The orb is so small, you can easily hide it in your reticule.”
“Ladies don’t carry reticules to a ball,” I said.
“Then we’ll have a special pocket sewn into your ball gown. It will be easy, Ella. You will be in and out of there in five minutes.”
“And on my way to the Dismal Dungeons.”
“That won’t happen, I tell you. Do you think I would ever ask you to do anything that would put you in danger? I have devised an enchantment that will afford you extra protection.”
“Another one of your enchantments? I might as well choke myself and save the Lord High Garroter the bother.”
“Thank you very much.” Mal’s face suffused with annoyance. “You are as bad as my grandfather was. Neither of you have any faith in my magical abilities.”
“I wonder why that would be,” I said as another clump of Mal’s hair fell out and hit the table.
Mal swept it impatiently onto the floor. “Do you know, Ella, I thought you might show a spark of enthusiasm. You used to enjoy taking risks. You had such a sense of adventure—”
“Stop.” I groaned. “I am so tired of everyone pointing out that I am not the girl I once was, how I am not as romantic or as fun or daring as I used to be. Pardon me for growing up, but I have responsibilities now.”
“Your stepmother and stepsisters! Do you intend to saddle yourself with their care forever?”
“They are my family and I love them. I cannot do anything that would place them in danger. I do not expect you to understand. You are quite free to be as reckless as you please. You have no one.”
Mal fell silent. Then he said in a taut voice, “You are right. I have no family left, but I always thought I had you, Ella.”
“Oh, Mal, you do.” I reached across the table to take his hand. “You are my dearest friend, and I would do anything for you. Anything but this. Is retrieving that orb so very important to you? What does it do?”
“The orb can find something that has been lost. I am not even sure I would know how to use it, but it was my grandfather’s. That alone makes it important enough to me. I have very little left to remember him by. The royal government confiscatednearly everything he owned when he died and I for one am mighty sick of our cursed king seizing all that we have.”
A rare bitterness crept into Mal’s voice, and it made me uncomfortable. I had heard rumors there might be people wishing to depose the king. Whispers had circulated for years that only Queen Anthea’s son and daughter-in-law had died of the plague. Her grandson had survived. The old queen had feared for the infant’s life when King Cuthbert had invaded to claim the throne and so she had hidden the babe away. The legend claimed that one day a descendant of good Queen Anthea would appear to lead an uprising to save Arcady from the Helavalerians tyrannical rule. A foolish tale. If there was a missing heir, surely, he would have been discovered decades ago.
I could not believe that Mal, even as reckless as he was, would ever be part of such an insane plot, which could only end in disaster. It was considered treason to even criticize the king as angrily as Mal had done. King August was protected by his grand ducal wizard, Mercato, and it was said that the powerful magician had his spies everywhere.
I could not help glancing nervously over my shoulder. Mal and I were quite alone and there was no one to hear, but the witch’s cat lurking on a tree limb outside the window.
“I wish I could help you retrieve the orb, Mal,” I said. “Truly I do, but I am sorry. I just can’t—”
“Never mind,” he said, withdrawing his hand from mine. “There is no need to apologize. If you feel you cannot, then you cannot. I’ll find another way to get the orb.”
“But how?”
“You needn’t worry about that.”
I did worry. I knew that if Mal had made up his mind to have that orb, he would go to any dangerous lengths to get it. But Icould not allow him to use my fear for his safety to goad me into doing anything rash.
“I am sorry,” I repeated miserably. “I have never had to refuse any of your birthday favors before.”
Mal shrugged. “I daresay we have outgrown this childish nonsense of doing each other birthday favors. You should just bake me a little cake or knit me a pair of socks or something.”
“It will have to be the cake,” I said. “We broke the only knitting needles I ever owned, the time we used to play at jousting, remember?”
