Page 59 of Disenchanted
“That is quite all right, my dear. But time is wasting,” he said. “We need to return to the enterprise at hand.”
I blinked in astonishment, thinking he truly had fallen into a strange humor. Perhaps he was merely tense about the success of our plot. That thought did nothing to ease my own anxieties. He strode over to the bed and began pulling covers off the bandboxes, revealing a gossamer pelisse, an ivory fan, and a pair of long white gloves. As I struggled into them, I was surprised to see Mal donning a pair of much shorter ones. I realized why when he drew forth an object from the smallest box. He held up a small glass ball.
“Here is the imitation orb that you will switch for the real one.”
He handed it to me, and I cradled it in the palm of my glove.
“It’s much smaller and lighter than I expected it would be,” I said.
“It is an exact replica of the real one or as close as I could make it. Now do we need to go over the plan again, the route you will take through the palace to get down to the king’s private treasure room?”
I shook my head. “We have been over it so many times, I feel like I have been walking those corridors in my sleep. If you are sure the information you have given me is correct?”
“It is. I told you that my contact in the palace was a very clever young footman. He might have been able to help me get the orb except that—” Mal broke off, busying himself by closing the boxes.
“Except what?” I prompted.
“His spying activities aroused suspicion and he had to flee for his life.”
When I groaned, Mal added hastily, “Nothing like that is going to happen to you. Once you have the orbs switched, no one will even notice the real one has gone missing. If eventually someone does, it still will not matter because nothing can be traced back to either of us. Your aura is unregistered, thanks to your father. I wish my grandfather had been as wise, but I have taken great care not to touch the fake orb. Now tuck that thing away in your hidden pocket.”
Delphine had done such a clever job of disguising the pocket in the folds of the silk, I had to grope along the skirt of my gown to find it. I found it on the left side and slipped the false orb inside. It was so light I could hardly detect it was there, but I still expelled an uneasy sigh.
“Stop fretting,” Mal said. “This plan really is beautifully simple. It will all go as smooth as silk.”
“Oh, don’t say that. Do you have any idea how easily silk unravels?”
“The only difficult and dangerous part of this scheme is getting you in and out of the treasure chamber unseen and as I promised I have something that will help with that.” With a mysterious smile, Mal tore the lid from the last box. “You thought the dress was enchanting, but now let me show you the real magic.”
With a triumphant flourish, Mal produced the strangest looking pair of shoes I had ever seen.
“Your dancing slippers, milady,” he said, presenting them to me with a deep bow.
I crept closer to inspect them. The shoes had a bit more of a heel than I was accustomed to, but that was not the disconcerting aspect. The slippers were completely transparent, appearing spun from fine crystal.
Cautiously, I tapped my fingernail against the heel. It pinged. “Mal, are these actually made of—”
“Glass.” He beamed at me. “Are they not extraordinary?”
“They certainly are quite beautiful, but is there any reason my shoes could not have been made of a nice soft, comfortable kid?”
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to enchant leather?”
“And you are claiming that these shoes are—”
“Magic, yes. Didn’t I say so? Guess what they can do.”
“Give me blisters on my heels the size of the orb?”
“No! These shoes will” —Mal paused for dramatic effect— “render you invisible.”
“Oh.” I cocked one eyebrow, unable to conceal my skepticism. “Truly?”
Mal heaved a vexed sigh. I could tell my reaction was not the awe that he had hoped for. “Yes, all you must do is slip the glass slippers on, click your toes together three times and you will completely vanish. When you want to reappear, just take off the shoes and the magic will end until the next time you donthe slippers and click your toes again. The important thing to remember is that although you will be completely invisible, you will still be corporeal, so you will need to take care not to bump into anyone or brush up against… and I can tell from the look on your face you don’t believe a word I am saying.”
“Slippers made of glass possessing the power to turn you invisible? Even you must realize how mad that sounds.” I hated to disappoint Mal or hurt his feelings by reminding him that the last bit of magic he had tried to perform resulted in him becoming completely bald. Invisibility shoes struck me as being an impossible feat for a man who could not even produce a successful hair-growth potion.
Mal thrust the shoes at me. “I will prove to you the shoes are magic. Just try them on.”
