"Is it done, or are there still alterations needed?" It was best to know before I got my hopes up too much and thought this was the finished thing.
"It's mostly done, Your Highness, but you have a fitting on Friday to make any changes you need and to make sure it fits perfectly. I think your friend has one at the same time," she offered.
Oh. That was good. I needed some time with Rhi, I hadn't talked to her enough in the past few days. "Thank you."
The maid stepped back. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Highness?"
I was about to dismiss her when a thought came to mind. "Yes. I have a note I'd like delivered to one of the guests. Would that be possible?"
"Of course. Do you have it ready?"
"Just a moment." I rushed over to my dressing table and picked up one of the pens I kept scattered about.
It only took me a moment to scribble the note. I folded it over and handed it to her. Perhaps I should have sealed it too, but it didn't say anything particularly interesting. The maid probably wouldn't even look.
"Can you take this to Topher, please?" I asked, handing it to her. "He's one of Adam's guests." It was safest to tell her that in case she didn't know who he was. That was possible. He hadn't been at the palace all that long. Then again, he'd been spending a lot of time with me, so perhaps the staff had learned his name.
"Of course, Your Highness." She tucked the note into her pocket and dipped into an elegant curtsy that a lot of noblewomen would have envied.
"I'll deliver it right now, Princess." She curtsied again, then left the room.
As soon as the door clicked behind her, I retook my place on the bed and took a few steadying breaths. Perhaps, I should have gotten dressed first, but I was too focused on what I wanted to see to be able to concentrate on something so trivial.
This time, I was going to try and see when Mother would wake up. If I did that, then I'd be able to give Father some good news. I was certain he'd appreciate it with how worried he'd been over the past week or so.
I took another breath and closed my eyes.
Mother's face formed in my mind, and I tried to think of it the way it was when she was awake and uncursed. It was difficult to focus on when I knew she was lying down the corridor, not responding to the world at all.
When will she wake up? When will she wake up? The statement whizzed around my mind, and I might even have been saying the words out loud. I had no way of knowing, considering that all of my attention was on the phrase.
My vision started to shift, even in the darkness, and excitement built up within me. Was I going to see the answer? I hoped so.
A room came into focus. I looked around, trying to make sense of what I was seeing even before it fully came into focus. Even through the haze, I vaguely recognized the room I was in. That was good. It was probably Mother's bedchamber. That would make the most sense.
The vision snapped into place, and disappointment welled up within me.
I was in the underground room. I waited for a moment, looking around to see who was in the room and if they were doing anything of interest.
Unfortunately, they didn't seem to be. None of them were talking to one another. Instead, they were glancing around, as if they were expecting something to happen.
I let the vision slip. This wasn't what I wanted to see, and they weren't doing anything of interest to warrant my staying
After it had gone, I settled and took a few minutes to compose myself again.
Mother. Mother. Mother. A question hadn't worked before, so perhaps one word would now. It wasn't like the magic could mistake anyone in the underground room for my mother. At least, I hoped it wouldn't. It seemed unlikely given that they all seemed to be about my age. But, stranger things had happened, and I didn't know anything about my real parentage. Perhaps it was time I asked Father about it.
Just as I was about to ponder more on the subject, my vision blurred again. Good.
As soon as everything was in focus, I cursed inwardly. I was back in the underground cavern. And even worse, nothing had changed. I let the vision slip again. The only positive in this was that I knew I was capable of seeing the future when I wanted to. But it seemed like I wasn't able to control what I was seeing, which wasn't so good.
Except, that wasn't right. I'd been able to concentrate on my Fright Festival costume and see what was happening there. It was just the more complicated things that seemed to be a problem.
No matter. I'd simply keep trying until I saw what I was looking for.
I let myself drift into another vision. The same thing happened. The underground room. The people shuffling around nervously. But nothing new.
I tried a few more times but didn't manage to see anything different.
Frustrated, I got up from the bed and walked over to the small table. The moment I was on my feet, a woozy feeling washed over me. I pressed a hand to my temple, hoping to ward it off. Was this a result of trying too hard to see something about Mother's future? I hoped not. I wanted to try again later.
"What have you been doing, Kelis? You're a mess," the mirror announced.
I groaned. Somehow, I'd managed to forget it was in the room. That was quite a feat, considering I hadn't left the room since the night before.
"I look fine," I grumbled.
"Ha. Have you seen yourself? You could pack half your closet in the bags under
