Page 36 of Framed in Florals (The Emerald Realm 3)

I took the simple shoes from her and turned them over in my hands a few times.This is odd…The girl I danced with last night was clearly barefooted, but these slippers showed signs of recent use. The soles were slightly worn and the toes had specks of dirt on them, but the rest of the shoe looked brand new. They were clearly used for only one night, but if that was the case… how had Kalina worn them?

My heart grew heavy as a suspicion struck me.Had Daisy been lying? What if Kalina Aristi was another innocent, and the real Daisy was trying to push off the blame? There was no doubt these shoes had been worn, so if the real Kalina had worn shoes to the ball, then who hadn’t?My brain twisted into furrowed thought as the uneven pieces sloppily crashed together. Everything else had made sense up until this point… I turned the shoes over in my hand one final time, searching for any clue to aid me. As I turned my attention to the interior of the slipper, my eyes zeroed in on a small stain.

“Blood?” I spoke my thought out loud as I noticed the dark red stains in the heels, and toes of both shoes. “There are blood stains in these shoes, likely from blisters. Did Miss Kalina not receive the correct measurements when these were purchased?” I looked between the women, who all shared the same lost expression.

“It would seem so,” the mother said with light-hearted surprise. “Kalina never told me that her shoes fit improperly, so I’m afraid I couldn’t tell you for certain.” She let out a small laugh that sounded more nervous than casual.

Something is off…I looked between the three ladies and noticed that the younger daughter, Brielle, seemed particularly pale. My mind flashed back to her slow walk from the manor. I turned my eyes to her. “Miss Brielle, would you mind removing your shoes for a moment?”

The girl’s face instantly flushed red. “I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but wouldn’t that be a bit indecent for me to stand before you without shoes?” Her words trembled a bit, and I noticed her mother’s dazzling smile clench.

“There’s no need to fear informality.” I smiled reassuringly. “My men are not the type to spread gossip, and it is a direct order from your prince. I simply need to silence a suspicion of mine.”

Brielle looked nervously over to her mother, who looked pale now as well. Brielle leaned down to remove her shoes, but her mother slid smoothly in front of her. “Your Highness, don’t you feel this is all a bit... over cautious. I can easily prove to you that Kalina was your father’s killer. If you’ll just follow me to the garden, then I’ll—”

“Step aside,” I commanded in a steel voice. She flinched back at my sudden directness, then reluctantly moved aside from her daughter. When she stepped away, my eyes fell to Brielle’s now exposed feet. Her toes and heels were both bound in linen bandages, in the exact places the bloodstains had been located in the shoes.

My anger boiled as the lie unfurled before me. “These aren’t Kalina shoes, are they?” I growled, raising the offending slippers. All my previous propriety had now completely dissolved. I didn’t have time for pointless ruses.

“No, Your Highness, they were hers!” Brielle squeaked defensively. “I merely borrowed them, but I didn’t realize they would be so tight on me.” She looked down at her blistered feet.

“Then why did you bring them to me?” I seethed impatiently. “For what foolish reason did you decide to waste my time? Why not bring me a pair of her actual shoes when I requested them?” My eyes darted between the blustering women, and even their mother looked lost for an explanation. I was about to lose my temper with the deceitful family when a voice from behind them gained my attention.

“It’s because she doesn’t have any, Your Highness,” an older woman projected from the side of the house. She stood by another well-aged woman and a young boy, who all appeared rather invested in the goings-on

The woman bowed. “My name is Yvette. My companions and I would be happy to tell you everything that the mistress has neglected to share.”

My eyes widened when she spoke her name. Yvette was the name of one of the gardeners Kalina had referred to in her note.That must mean that the woman and boy beside her must be Beatrice and Chester.Could Daisy have known the names of the gardening staff if she wasn’t truly Kalina Aristi?A feeling of relief brushed through me as I concluded that Kalina must have been telling the truth about her identity after all.

Yvette boldly stared down her mistress, earning herself a fuming glare from the distressed woman.

“This doesn’t concern any garden trolls. Return to your work immediately, and we will discuss the penalty for your outburst later,” the mistress scolded back toward her servants.

I stepped forward to stop her, but the second older woman, Beatrice I assume, beat me to it. “Now ya listen ‘ere ya over-powdered hag!” Beatrice hustled forward, jeering a shovel in the woman’s direction. Madam Aristi took a startled step backward and flashed me an imperiled look. I calmly ignored her frightened eyes, and instead tuned into the shouts of the shovel-armed woman. “Kalina has put up with enough of yer garbage, and I ain’t about to let ya shoo off another person she cares about!” My heart leapt at the woman’s words.Did she just say that Kalina cares for me?My thoughts were disrupted by a shriek from Madam Aristi as Beatrice forced her into a run to escape from her jousted shovel. “I shoulda done this years ago!” The gardener cackled a little sadistically.

The sight was so amusing, that part of me wanted to see what came next, but I wasn’t here to be entertained. I signaled for the guard to restrain the older woman, and they did so with ease. Once my men had a firm grip on her, she politely complied to her containment, but continued to chuckle at the sight of her frazzled mistress. Madam Aristi turned beet-red with anger, but before she could make any further moves, I signaled the guard to contain her as well.

“You are being detained for lying to the crown prince in regards to a matter of utmost severity,” I said firmly to the ragged woman. “And you,” I turned to the grinning Beatrice, “you and your companions will tell me everything you know, and I will also need you to direct me to Kalina’s dress. Can you do that?” I looked over to where the other gardeners stood, and they approached me with relieved expressions.

Beatrice’s smile broadened. “With pleasure, Your Highness.”

The entire story took most of the afternoon to tell. The gardeners left out no details when it came to Kalina’s mistreatment and Sapphira’s misuse of the crown’s support funds. My emotions flicked between anger and heart-wrenching sorrow as I slowly learned about Kalina Aristi’s tragic life. She had lost both of her parents and was left with a merciless stepfamily who robbed her of everything. My throat tightened with a constricted scream as Chester passed me a handful of cracked leather pieces.

“These were her only shoes,” the boy said softly. “She bought them herself, but the mistress destroyed them. So, to answer your earlier question, Kalina went to the ball barefooted.”

I stared brokenly at the ruined leather and nodded mutely. “I know. She didn’t wear shoes the first time we met, either.” My voice came out quiet, hot anger burning my tongue. “I knew it was quirky, but I never imagined…”

“No one outside this house knew. Sapphira made darn well certain of that,” Beatrice spat.

“Most of the staff was threatened to stay quiet,” Yvette added. “We need our jobs just like anyone else does, so many of them even agreed to spy on Kalina for her. They all felt awful for it, but what else were they meant to do?”

“Thank you for bringing these events to my attention,” I said coolly. “I guarantee that these crimes will be addressed and appropriately punished, but for now, I need to confirm that Kalina had no involvement in the king’s murder.” My heart seized as the thought of my father’s absence resurfaced. “I understand that Kalina was in a bad situation, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t seek help from the wrong places. In her letter, she mentioned that her innocence could be proven by her dress. Do you know where it is?”

The three gardeners nodded in unison, and Chester bounced energetically. “I can show you right away!” the boy exclaimed. “Follow me, Your Highness!” Without turning back, the boy sprinted off across the grounds, and I was forced to jog behind him with the older women and the guard at my heels. When he finally stopped, he pointed toward a hollow opening in the base of a tree.

“Goodness, Chester,” Beatrice huffed, “ya gotta warn us old folk before ya go runnin’ off.”

The boy merely shrugged off the woman’s scold as I took a closer look at the tree. Wadded up against the roots, was the unmistakable lavender satin that had beautifully graced Kalina last night. The guard watched me curiously as I pulled the dress out from the tree and splayed it out against the ground. The dress was extremely heavy with the weight of the flowers, but most of the blooms were fully wilted and even beginning to dry along the edges of the petals. Once the dress was sprawled out against the ground, I began to inspect it with a closer eye.

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