When Sigrid finally woke up, it was 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon. She had slept for so long that she missed lunch and nobody had woken her up. She yawned and sat up slowly, stretching her arms.
"Your highness, you are awake." Lanai’s voice came from behind her.
Sigrid sensed the people in the room before she saw them. Her maids were standing behind, Alistair was perched on the window. Veylin was behind the curtain, hiding in the shadow.
"We will bring your lunch straight away unless there is something you need to do first." Lanai said.
Bella came and wiped Sigrid’s face with a warm towel. Another maid started massaging her shoulders. Mrs. Elsworth switched on the television and urged someone to bring some drinking water and calming tea. Everyone was doing something to please her or make her comfortable.
Mauve and Christie walked into the room, having received a text from Lanai, informing her that the crown princess was awake.
She had been far, she was just outside on the balcony, discussing magic theories with Christie and all the places on the world that they wanted to visit.
"You are awake, your highness." Mauve spoke up eagerly. "You have managed to sleep for four hours. How exhausted were you?"
"Very exhausted, I would imagine." Sigrid replied. "I think I fell asleep immediately after returning from Fairfax manor. Have you two been there?"
"Oh yes." Mauve sat down next to Sigrid. "We went together and we were both in time to hear Lady Underwood singing, Near to me, great Lord."
Christie pulled up a chair and sat opposite the table on which drinks were being set down by servants. "I do not understand why anybody allowed her to sing or who told her that she was an expert when it came to high notes. I swear that I saw a horse running into a pond just to keep from listening to her screeching. And it was screeching, not singing."
The women laughed.
"We left when the vicar arrived." Mauve reached for a glass of frozen lemonade. "He was asking Lord Derrick about the late Lady Jane. I guess he was fishing for nice things to say about her at the funeral tomorrow. I heard him saying that she was spirited."
"That she was." Sigrid nodded.
Christie’s hand covered her mouth for a moment and she laughed. "Spirited is what they say about someone when they lack nice things to say about them."
"Obviously, they cannot say that she was nice." Sigrid muttered.
Her words were still heard by her ladies-in-waiting.
Mrs. Elsworth cleared her throat, reminding them not to say bad things about the dead.
"And all the stories about her involve a verbal fight, a physical fight or a glass of wine..." Mauve could hardly finish her words, she broke off into giggles.
Mauve eyed Mrs. Elsworth with apologetic eyes that said "I am sorry but it cannot be helped."
Christie saw the grimace on the older woman’s face and she shook her head. "We apologize Mrs. Elsworth but it cannot be helped. There are no nice stories to tell about Lady Jane Fairfax."
"She once gave a beggar a gold coin." Mrs. Elsworth said, after clearing her throat once.
Her words stunned the women.
"Wow, that is wonderful." Mauve tapped her hand against her class in a clapping gesture.
But Mrs. Elsworth was not finished and her next words silenced the women for a moment. "She did send her servant girls to take back the gold coin and replace it with copper."
After ten seconds, the women burst into cackles. Even the servants had smiles on their faces. By the end of the day, this little story will have reached beyond the walls of the royal castle.
"What have I missed?" Elarin strolled into the room boldly, removing the gloves on her hands. "I have just returned from the Fairfax manor, you will not believe the commotion that is there right now. Half of the people in the capital have seen Emmah. I heard a woman claim that Emmah was hiding in her bathwater yesterday and she poured her out accidentally."
Mauve broke into laughter that was not lady like, earning herself a glare from Mrs. Elsworth.
"I am sorry, it is funny and stupid."
Elowin’s maid brought her a chair that was placed between Christie and Mauve. Then, she poured her a glass of cold juice as the sun was particularly hot.
"Oh it gets worse." She said after taking a sip of the juice. "A farmer that came all the way from Starfell is claiming that Emmah is in his field, disguised as a scarecrow."
"Unbelievable." Christie chuckled.
Elarin held out her hand. "Oh, but I am not finished. Even mages are involved now. One claimed that Emmah turned herself into a bird. He swears that he witnessed it with his very eyes. But the bird flew away so he has no idea where it went. However, if he is given the money, he will travel around the world hunting for the bird for as long as it takes."
"He just wants free travel money." Sigrid said.
"I thought the same." Elarin shrugged.
Servants started bringing in food. Not just for Sigrid but all four women.
"Oh, even children were there to claim the gold. A little boy I saw had a drawing of stick figures inside of a bird in the sky. Nobody knew what to make of it because the boy is mute and only three and a half years old. His mother could not even explain what he son had drawn." Elarin added.
While wiping her hands again with a warm towel so that she could dig into the mini turkey burger which had taken the royal chefs four hours to perfect, Sigrid said, "The little boy may actually be the most credible eyewitness that they have. Emmah is not in Nemoris anymore, she got on a ship to Medoris as soon as she left the hospital. I suspect that she plans to sell the ring she stole from the Windrider’s to gain a new life under a new identity."
"Curse it!" Mauve slapped the couch. "We spent all this time trapping her and she still got away. How lucky does someone have to be to escape every trap set for her?"
Sigrid licked her lips, bringing the burger close to her mouth. "I am afraid that she has run out of luck. If she was still lucky, Lady Jane would have died in some kind of freak accident. Emmah would not have had to murder her in person. But, no matter where she goes, we are going to hunt her down. So, prepare yourselves ladies, next week, we will be taking a trip to Medoris."