A New Agenda

…WHAT?!

I SIT upright so quickly that she flinches.

“Really?!” I cried out, mostly in utter terror.

“Shh, Esmeline!” She says, clamping her hand over my mouth and pushing me back onto the bed.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true!” She tells me quickly, still sealing my mouth shut with her hand. “Prince Cassian and I spent the entire festival together, every time I went to the ball.”

“Mmph!!” I holler into her palm.

Every night? For the entire festival?! I almost passed out right then and there. I might as well say our goodbyes now. Forget the debt, how much does a coffin cost?

Seralind continues despite my horrified expression.

“He is unlike anyone I have ever met before. He is sincere and gentle. And…good. He even gave me the hair comb!”

Sincere? Gentle? That’s not how I imagined the Prince at all. I’d never met him in person in my previous life, but to me he was like a phantom.

“He asked what I liked to do. My favorite flowers, food, and whether I preferred sunrises or sunsets. He even asked about you, Esmeline.”

“Me?”

That was something I didn’t expect. I didn’t think he’d be interested in me.

“He asked if you liked sweets.” She said with a smile. “I said yes, of course.”

From Seralind’s perspective, he does seem quite nice. I didn’t know the Prince was capable of making Seralind feel like this, but truthfully I didn’t mind. She seemed to be in a significantly better mood talking about him than when she was earlier in the day.

Seralind’s expression switched from hopeful to slight embarrassment.

“Esmeline, I know I must be acting crazy, but please try to understand. I’ve never felt this way before, not at all. Most people look at me and see what I do. They see a…a dancer. They see someone who can make them happy. I think he was looking at me, truly at me, not who he wanted me to be for the night.” She continues, only gazing up at the ceiling.

That sounds like…real-life magic. Was the only thought that came to mind as I listened to my sister.

Whenever Seralind spoke of the prince in our past life, it was never out of complaint, but a strange sense of gratitude. She thought of him as our lifeline, a blessing we had to hold onto by enduring the hardships that came with it because it kept us alive.

But here, she spoke of him as though it was a light and filled her with butterflies. Not as a necessary burden, but as a man who has captured her heart.

Then, it dawned on me.

The one who’s been giving her money so she can pay Madame Whispet every night.

The reason why she’s been so excited to attend the ball, to the point of wearing uncomfortable shoes that don’t fit.

Why she has been so distant and bashful, daydreaming of nothing but the palace and the party.

It was because of him.

Seralind had fallen hopelessly in love with Prince Cassian.

I didn’t know what had changed. What had happened during the ball in her disguise that flipped everything upside down? Maybe I’m missing something that happened in the past life that I’ll never find out now. But I couldn’t think about that, and I’d have to make terms with it eventually.

At this point, I was barely listening to Seralind. And maybe she had forgotten she was speaking out loud.

“Esmeline, I hadn’t wanted anything more badly than this. I try hard not to want things, because I can’t. But I wish upon every star that one day, we can live the rest of my life with a man like him.”

The softness of her tone gripped my heart. Is that what she wished for? More than money, or ball gowns, or nighttime parties? Was it really just Prince Cassian?

“You must really like him,” I say softly. Seralind turns her head and smiles at me. The moonlight had made her peach-pink hair sparkle iridescently.

“I’m afraid I do.” She replies, without a hint of remorse.

***

I stayed up all night, long after Seralind had fallen asleep next to me, ruminating over my thoughts. The bitter truth that I came to was that we might never leave the dancer house.

I never knew Seralind had withheld herself from good things because she thought she couldn’t have them. It sounds like the Prince and the palace are everything she could have ever wanted, and yet she refused to pursue it.

Don’t you know that out of everyone, you should be the one worthy of happiness? I thought to myself.

I had no idea how we were to survive without Madame, even if we never ended up being sold off. Our debt was too high, and our options were too low.

I could start saving again, but in two years I had only been able to collect barely enough for one trip to the palace by carriage.

So unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to acquire any helpful income until I’m much older, especially since I have no valuable skills besides basic stitchwork. And developing it requires time and energy I don’t have while under Madame Whispet.

If we stayed here and I tried my first plan of never going to the palace, Seralind would only waste away here at the dancer house. I would never forgive myself if I locked my beloved sister into a future like that.

And the worst-case scenario would be that I would end up just like her, carrying both our mother’s and her debt once Seralind was unable to work anymore, being tossed around and devalued by horrible patrons and possessed by Madame Whispet.

That future was one I didn’t want to think about at all.

But at the palace, even in our first year, things were good. Sure, the staff were mean, but there were benefits and opportunities presented to us that we had simply not been taken advantage of.

Neither of us had to do hard labor, our clothes almost never had to be repaired, and our beds were softer than clouds. We weren’t ever left wondering if we’d had enough at the end of the week, or what our next meal would be. The education I received alone could have led us to other substantial things, even if we were kicked out of the palace.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, Prince Cassian was our only hope for a better future.

I knew it was choosing the pot over the kettle. But thankfully the kettle was still cold, and the fire hadn’t been turned on while the pot had been boiling us alive for years.

Therefore, my choice was clear.

I had to get Seralind and I into the palace.

***

First thing in the morning, I went around asking the dancers if they needed anything from the city. If I wanted to go without doing any one of my chores first, I at least needed an excuse.

Besides, surely I could do it when I got back. I wanted to be one of the first people at the stand that had been set up at the square for inquiries related to the Prince’s search.

It was my priority to reveal Seralind’s identity as soon as possible. Thalina had told me the sweet wine she liked from the bar had run out, and asked me to buy her more. With a few silver coins in hand, I headed out for the city square.

I had wondered why Seralind didn’t go to the square herself to expose who she really was, but it just meant that I once again needed to take matters into my own hands. The herald had said anyone with information should report it to the Imperial Guard, and so that’s what I intended to do.

All I wanted to do was to meet with Dame Ashton and tell her what Seralind had told me. The details of the night they shared together would surely prove that she’s the one the Prince is looking for, and he’ll have her summoned to the palace for interrogation.

Once he sees her in person, however, he won’t need to ask her any questions,

If being with the Prince is what Seralind wants, then surely I can think of a way to survive at the palace! I reason with myself as I head out. Now that my plan has shifted, plan B has become plan A.

We might still be at risk of being murdered at the palace, but at least then Seralind would have the chance at a happier future, away from pushy customers and the cruel Madame.

The fact that the thought crossed my mind at all seemed to shake me out of my trance.

Am I going crazy?

I never would have thought that I’d willingly be running into the mouth of the beast, especially with everything that I know now.

Seralind’s still body in the snow crept into my mind as the assassins had in the forest. I wanted to banish it from my mind, but it remained, like a haunting omen.

The only way I could was by recalling the image of the aggressive patron pushing my sister against the wall, her sobbing into our bed like a helpless little girl, and the blissful expression on her face when she talked about the prince.

What choice did I have? After hearing how Seralind spoke about the Prince—and herself—I couldn’t just stand by and watch her deny herself happiness, thinking it was a fleeting dream.

And I was the only one who knew it could become a reality.

I’ll find a way to protect her at the palace. I just need to get us away from Madame Whispet!