Desperate Times

A plan is hatching...

In spite of Fallin’s many worried warnings that Ellyra and Cypress’s shared disease must be communicable, Tam insisted on keeping a vigil next to Cypress’s bed. The amount of blood that Cypress lost that night worried Tam to the extreme, but Cypress, ever hopeful, refused to catch his strain of melancholy. Ellyra awoke several times during the night, as Tam could tell from her intermittent noises, but she never spoke, apparently too sick to do so. Cleven, for his part, paced restlessly down the corridor that housed the rooms of the professor and the invalids after bidding a hasty goodbye to his brother, who had been convinced to depart shortly after their hurried meal. Fallin, when he finally did manage to go to bed, slept fitfully, if at all, as Cleven could tell from the frequent tossings and turnings his sensitive ears picked up from the direction of his chamber. Cleven did not sleep much either, though his beastly form didn’t require much sleep to begin with, and he stayed awake listening to the curious whispers passing ghosts.

It was late the next morning, therefore, when Tamarisk staggered down the stairs to announce the news that Cypress had ceased coughing up blood, at least for that past two hours, and that his fever appeared to be diminishing. Cleven and Fallin accepted this news with a general air of enthusiasm, though all were far too exhausted to give it the excitement that it warranted. With much coaxing, Tam was convinced to go to bed and sleep for at least a few hours as long as Cleven would keep his ears open for any unusual or unpleasant noises issuing from the “pseudo quarantine room,” as Fallin called it, and ghosts would be sent through at intervals to check on the invalids’ status.

In the early afternoon Cleven was startled out of his light nap by a hammering at the main door so fierce that he vaguely wondered if his door would still be there to open when he got there. The door was, indeed, still standing and when he opened it Eliza swooped in, panting and wild eyed. “Can you get ghosts to take care of Dancer?” She gasped, waving her hand through the open door at the small, tawny pony she had ridden to get return to the castle.

After Cleven had made sure that her request was fulfilled, and after a glass of cool water, Eliza leapt to her feet.

“Where’s Lyra?” She demanded. “How is she? Thank you for telling me about her status here, but how did she get sick? Why is she here instead of back at the Manor? I don’t understand Cleven! I want to see her.”

“You ask very good questions Miss Eliza, but I’m afraid I can provide answers to none of them. We don’t know why Miss Ellyra is sick, but we think that whatever she’s got is contagious.”

“I don’t care.” Eliza responded stubbornly. “I want to see my friend and make sure she’s all right!”

“Miss Eliza, please!” Cleven implored. “The last thing we want is for another person to get sick! Master Tamarisk has already been overexposed in my opinion and it’s our duty to keep each other safe! I have ghosts in there taking care of both of them and Tamarisk was up all night last night sitting with them. Please trust me, Miss Eliza, we know that they’ll get better.”

 Eliza hesitated for a few moments upon hearing Cleven’s words, but in the end she could not be deterred. “Cleven, if Tam’s been in there for as long as he has and he’s not sick yet, then I’m willing to take my chances. Please understand, Ellyra is my best friend, just like Cypress

is Tam’s. I’d die if anything happened to her. Just let me see her for a few minutes and then I’ll come out. I promise.”

 

Cleven sighed heavily. “I must respect your choice, then. I know if anything like this happened to my brother I would be brokenhearted.” Cleven grimaced, a slightly terrifying expression on the face of the beast, but Eliza was used to it by now and she did not flinch. “Now I suppose I can really guess what he must feel like.”

Even in such a drastic moment, pity stirred Eliza’s heart and she reached out gingerly to stroke the soft fur on Cleven’s forearm. “It’s not your fault, Prince Cleven.” She reassured him softly. “This, too, shall pass.”

Cleven nodded. “I’m sure it will eventually. I just don’t know how much time I have before it does. But come, I’ll take you up to their room.”

Despite her distress, this comment piqued Eliza’s curiosity and she resolved to ask him about it later, at a more opportune time.

Ellyra was awake when Eliza knelt next to her bed. “E-eliza?” Ellyra asked brokenly, her already soft speech muted further by the illness.

“That’s me.” Eliza said, trying to sound cheerful but failing miserably. She placed a cool hand on her friend’s cheek and winced.

“Oh Ellyra, you’re burning up! What happened to you?”

“I don’t know.” Ellyra moaned. “M-maybe I wanted to b-be sick for Cy-cy-cypress so much that n-now I am.”

“That would be just like you, wouldn’t it?” Eliza responded, smiling despite herself. “Anytime I get sick you get it next, and always worse than me. But you’ll get through this. It can’t be too bad, right? Is Cypress any better?”

“Last… last n-night h-he was c-coughing.” Ellyra reported, coughing herself a few times as if to model this phenomenon. “I th-think there was b-blood.” She flinched, closing her eyes against the sliver of light that eked its way through the gap in the curtains.

“Blood?” Eliza repeated, her fear poking through more than ever now. “Oh God, Ellyra you can’t get as sick as that.”

“N-no it’s all right.” Ellyra insisted reassuringly. “It’s s-stopped. A-and Tam says h-his fever’s almost b-broken too.”

“That’s something, at least.” Eliza admitted. “Just don’t get any worse, okay Ellyra? You need to stay healthy so you can do this grand mission for the crown or whatever.”

The corners of Ellyra’s pale, almost bloodless lips twitched in an amused smile. “Th-this is my m-mission, Liza.” She informed her, for the first time savoring the delicious irony that she had been summoned from the very place she had been before to be told to go back there again.

“Your mission is to be sick unto death?” Eliza asked skeptically. “The king is a cruel man!”

“N-no!” Ellyra exclaimed, a hint of laughter in her weakened voice. “M-my mission i-is to be h-here in this c-castle watching C-cleven. A-and I’m n-not d-dying. St-stop your p-pessimism.”

“All right, so maybe you’re not dying. But why would the king what you here?” Eliza queried, puzzled.

Under the mound on blankets into which Tam and some ghosts had carefully nestled her, Ellyra’s narrow shoulders moved in a slight shrug. “I d-don’t know. S-something about… the F-fairy Queen s-saying I was n-necessary.”

“Weird.” Liza mused reflectively. “I’ll have to think about that.” She picked up the ceramic pot next to Ellyra’s bed and poured some steaming hot tea into the provided cup. She hadn’t noticed them when she had come in, but it was entirely possible that one of the silent and transient ghosts had brought it in and placed them there. “You should drink this, Lyra. I’m sure it’ll be good for you.”

Eliza helped her friend sit up and tipped some of the hot liquid down her throat.

“Mmm… it f-feel g-good on my throat.” Ellyra concluded after draining the cup over the next few minutes.

When Eliza set the cup down, she noticed the parchment letter stamped with the royal seal that was sitting on the edge of the bedside table. She picked it up and turned it over in her hands.

“Ellyra, what’s this? Did the king give you something?”

Ellyra groaned. “I f-forgot. Th-there’s this b-ball I’m s-supposed to go to. R-required. Th-that’s the invitation.”

“How are you supposed to go if you’re this sick?” Eliza demanded. “I’ll get Cleven or someone to write to the king for you.”

“Whatever y-you s-s-say Eliza.” Ellyra murmured sleepily, nestling into her pillows.

“You sleep well Ellyra.” Eliza said, realizing that the tea must’ve induced her sleepiness. “Hopefully you’ll feel better when you wake up.” She slipped from the room, the invitation still clasped tightly in her hand.

After browsing the letter several times she was sufficiently enraged enough to seek out Cleven. She found him in his study, accompanied by Tam and an old man whose face she vaguely remembered from a few nights before but whose name she did not know. Slamming the invitation down on Cleven’s desk, she caused everyone in the room to jump a little and look towards her.

“We’ve got to do something about this.” She told the assembly crisply. “It’s an invitation to Prince Zayric’s birthday ball and it says that it’s required that Ellyra and all other young ladies and gentlemen of a certain rank attend it. Ellyra’s too sick to go. We all know that. Who’s going to write to the king? I would, but he’d never listen to me if he’s anything like his eldest son. No offense meant, Cleven.”

“None taken.” Cleven responded genially. “and I agree that something must be done. Professor Fallin? What do you think?”

“I think that the king will not be pleased when he receives the news.” Fallin replied. “And I am Professor Avairy Fallin, by the way. Former tutor to the princes and current messenger for the king.”

Eliza attempted a clumsy, mimicked curtsy, which was laughable as she always wore boys’ breeches for her stable work. “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Professor Fallin. I’m Eliza Sherwood, stable hand an Ellyra’s best friend. But why do you think the king will be unhappy? Surely he can’t possibly think that Ellyra and Prince Zayric of all people…”

“The king is a cautious man.” Fallin warned Eliza. “And he’s very particular about his subjects obeying his orders, isn’t that right Prince Cleven?”

“All too true.” Cleven affirmed. “I don’t know if he’d ever do this to you, Miss Eliza, but sometimes he even summons the richer nobles to his palace to interrogate them and make sure they won’t make a bid for his crown. My father isn’t a tyrant but he’s just… wary. There have been whispers of revolution for years now, but the development with the Fairy Queen changed all that.”

“Wow, I guess you miss out on a lot when you’re not rich enough to afford history books and go to town every week.” Eliza muttered bitterly. “I had no idea. But if King Clemantias is really serious about Zayric finding a suitable wife, why not just invite every lady of age in the kingdom? Wouldn’t more people for Zayric to choose from mean he’s more likely to find someone that he actually likes?”

“If only the world worked that way.” Cleven sighed. “Social stature, as you well know from being a servant yourself, is very hard to change in our feudal system. My father insists that Zayric marry well, meaning within his circle of nobility. I’m lucky that I don’t have to conform to such a standard.”

“You don’t have to, but you should.” Fallin reminded him. “The whole court would consider it a scandal if you married, say, Miss Eliza here.”

“So basically just because I actually work for a living means that I have no chance of marrying well.” Eliza ranted angrily. “Isn’t that lovely.”

“It’s not a good system, Miss Eliza. I believe we all know that.” Cleven broke in gently, his narrow pupils focusing on her in sympathy. “But it would be very hard to change. This is the way it’s always been for us, and breaking out of the mold would result in a scandal, like it or not.”

“Well maybe it’s time that the system was changed.” Eliza asserted, stamping her foot defiantly.

Fallin smiled sadly, bringing an odd luminescence to his subtly wrinkled face. “I’ve been saying that same thing for years, Miss Eliza, but I’m afraid nothing will come of it if all we can do is talk and speculate. But come, we seem to have lost the original subject. What should be done about this ball crisis? I’m sure that Prince Zayric would be just as satisfied to have as few people in attendance as possible, but I doubt the king will see it that way.” He reached out and took the invitation, reading it over. “Hm. It’s a masquerade ball.” He read. “Present your invitation at the door… every young lady of noble stature in the kingdom is required to attend unless absent from the country…” his brow wrinkled in a frown. “And of course it doesn’t say anything about sickness or other inconveniences. It doesn’t mention any consequences either, though, so perhaps Clemantias is just bluffing. I suppose the finch I sent him yesterday will bring us news of his decision.”

Tam, silent up to this point, laughed outright. “A masquerade? That tradition hasn’t been done in ages, even in the fairy kingdom! Clemantias must think that if Zayric can’t critique the ladies’ faces he’ll be less apt to critique their personal failings.” Fallin looked up from the desk and examined Tam quietly with his eyes, but said nothing.

Eliza, oblivious to all of this, scoffed. “That’s clever. Maybe he’s right. It would be one less thing for Zayric to criticize and God knows he’s good at that.”

Cleven’s fur bristled a little, but he had to admit that Eliza was right. “He puts too much emphasis on social standing and not enough on the beauties of each lady’s personality. I believe I spoke with him on that topic yesterday but I can’t for the life of me remember what I said. It’s all a blur.” He paused and scratched his ear. “At any rate, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The only thing we can do now is wait for my father’s response and pray that Ellyra and Cypress recover quickly.”

 

The little party did not have long to wait. By nightfall Tasmine had appeared at their supper table, announcing that a letter had just arrived from the king. Cleven opened it hastily and the other three leaned close to hear what the note contained.

“Fallin,” Cleven read aloud, “After much contemplation we have decided that you may stay at the castle and act as a nursemaid to our helpful subject Ellyra. However, we expect that she will recover in time for Zayric’s birthday masquerade. If every lady in this kingdom could be exempted from important social events because of mere sniffles, half the kingdom would be absent. Regards, His Majesty King Clemantias.”

Eliza allowed perhaps five seconds of shocked silence to elapse before she exploded in fury. “What kind of response is that?” She demanded, fuming. “‘If every lady in the kingdom could be exempted because of mere sniffles.’ Honestly! As if this were a simple cold!”

“Well it won’t do any good to write back and protest.” Cleven pointed out glumly. “My father’s mind is definitely made up. If Professor Fallin writes back to try to explain the situation he’ll just get in trouble with the crown, and that would be bad for all of us.”

“Oh dear. But then what can we do?” Fallin looked calculatingly around the room, casting about for some other explanation.

“Well we can’t send her to the ball sick.” Tam said resolutely. “I still don’t think that what she’s got is contagious, but on the off chance that it is we shouldn’t expose all the fine ladies in the kingdom to her illness. Apart from which, she’d be totally miserable and I doubt that at this point she can even stand up, let alone socialize and dance well.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Tam.” Eliza returned gratefully. “I mean, maybe there will be a miracle cure and she’ll be better tomorrow, but at the rate Cypress is recovering I doubt that. Is his fever down, by the way?”

“Mostly. He’s still warm, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was before. And I haven’t seen a spot of blood on him since yesterday, so by all accounts he must be getting better.”

“Good. That means that Ellyra should start recovering soon too.”

“She should, but I warn you, Miss Eliza, she’s going to get worse before she gets better.” Tam told her. “But you’re right. God willing she will recover soon, but for now let’s assume that she won’t in time for the masquerade. We can’t reason with the king and we can’t get her exemption from attending, so what can we do?”

Silence filled the air for a few moments before Fallin’s dull brown eyes lit up with the fire of a new idea. “How old are you, Miss Eliza?”

“I will be twenty at the next full moon. Why?”

“And Ellyra? How old is she?”

“Less than a year younger than I. Not much. Why does it matter?”

“You’ll see in a moment. Stand up, if you please. Now turn for me… that’s it.”

Eliza, though quite puzzled, did as she was bid. “I don’t understand, Fallin. Where’s all this leading?”

“You almost the same age as Ellyra, you’ve got about the same body type,”

“I don’t!” Eliza protested. “I’m stockier. She’s willowy.”

“Yes, yes, yes, but that can be hidden with the right kind of dress. You’ve got nearly the same skin tone and hair color, except yours is longer…”

“D-dress?!” Eliza squeaked helplessly. “I don’t wear dresses! I don’t like them!”

Tam laughed jovially, catching on to the idea and treating it as if it were a joke. “Fallin! You’re not seriously considering sending Miss Eliza in Ellyra’s place are you?”

“What?! Send me? But Fallin I don’t know anything about being a lady! I can’t dance like one, I can’t speak like one and I certainly don’t dress like one…”

“But all of that can be taught to you. And you don’t have to become a lady for the rest of your life, you just have to play the part for an evening. You may not even have to dance, Miss Eliza. And I think we can put together a disguise that will be sufficient to fool anyone in that may come.”

Cleven looked between the professor and Eliza and spread his paws apart. “It’s the best idea we’ve got so far, Miss Eliza.” He admitted apologetically. “And I promise it won’t be too horrible. You could probably even avoid dancing if you wanted to. Someone has to go to that ball or there are going to be consequences for at least one person, if not all of us.”

Eliza chewed on her lower lip for a few seconds before responding. “I suppose I could, if it’s for Ellyra’s sake. But are you sure no one will recognize me? We’ll all be in deep trouble if the king somehow finds out about this little exchange.”

The three men looked her over critically; Tam even rose from his seat to walk around the lady and measure her against the image of Ellyra that he held in his mind’s eye.

“Positive.” Tam declared after a few moments of inspection. “You’ll have a mask to cover your face, of course, and that’s the biggest issue. You’re face is a little rounder than hers, I think, but the right type of mask should cover that up. As I recall your eyes are different, too, but I doubt anyone will be looking closely enough to tell that. We’ll have to get the right kind of dress, though. And perhaps find shoes that’ll make you look a little taller and cut your hair to the right length—”

“Cut my hair?” Eliza shrieked, distressed. “I love my hair! I haven’t cut it in ages! And besides, if I cut it and Ellyra’s family notices they may catch on!”

 

“They won’t catch on and you know it.” Tam told her chidingly. “I spent a whole afternoon with them and that was long enough for me to realize that they don’t give a fairy’s wing about their servants. And hair will grow back.” 

 

“Well yes, but…” Eliza whined softly and pulled the long ponytail of soft, brown-gold hair over her shoulder and stroked it affectionately. “It’s been growing for so long. It’s like a part of me.”

“We won’t cut your hair until we know we absolutely have to, all right?” Cleven assured her reasonably, rising from his place at the table. “In the mean time, though, we should begin teaching you how to be a court lady. I’ll get Marina and she can take your measurements for a dress. I’m sure between the three of us we can teach you enough about courtly manners for you to get through the night.”

“And yet none of you are actually court ladies.” Eliza muttered under her breath, but the remark was too garbled to be heard. “But what about my parents? I told them I’d be back tomorrow morning and they’re already livid since I’ve skipped out of so many chores.”

“Look, if need be I’ll go with you tomorrow.” Fallin said helpfully. “We just need to explain that Ellyra needs you. I’m not allowed to say where she is, exactly, but I believe it’s fair enough game to tell her that she’s very sick and in need of your help.”

“If my parents buy that it’ll be a miracle.” Eliza snorted, “But all right.”

“But now let’s make the most of the time we have!” Tam suggested gaily, some of his good humor returning in the face of this new challenge. “Cleven, if you could be so kind as to find Marina that would be very helpful. And tell her to take some measurements of Eliza’s face; tomorrow I’m going to go into town and purchase a mask. Oh, and if you would be so kind as to direct Fallin to the library, I’m sure there is one, so he can pore over a few books of etiquette that would be spectacular.”

“I thought we were going to think of other ideas too!” Eliza cried, alarmed as she watched Cleven hurry off to find his seamstress ghost, Fallin in tow.

“We will.” Tam told her soothingly. “But right now we have to make sure that if we have to have this plan to fall back on it’ll work properly. Now stand on this chair, when Marina gets here I’m sure she’ll need you elevated a little in order to take accurate measurements.”

Eliza slowly did as she was bid, though her mind buzzed with confusion. It’s for Ellyra. She told herself. I’m doing this for Ellyra. And for the next two hours Eliza stood by helplessly and watched as she was thrown deeper and deeper into what the three men insisted was a last resort plan that might not be so much a last resort as a desperate measure, and that, she was beginning to believe, might not be a very grand idea after all.

 

Author's Note

This is about the time where Liza starts to dominate the story. I'm not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. It's good in the sense that I like Liza and she's an interesting character (at least to me) but it's bad in the sense that Ellyra isn't getting any development and she's supposed to be rather major. I think.

Reviews

[Hannah!]

Aha! The plot thickens.

It's awfully hard for you to develop a character who's close to death in bed, so at least until she gets better, it makes perfect sense for the other characters to dominate the story. Eliza is more interesting anyway, if you ask me.

I love dress up games! I hope that Liza doesn't have to dance with Zayric. He's kind of a jerk, but all the same, I can't imagine him overlooking the difference--he's just spent a good deal of time with both Eliza and Ellyra, after all. Of course, considering the way that these things tend to work, Eliza and Zayric WILL dance together. Haha, I'm excited to see his reaction if he notices her.