“Come here.” The buggane held out her arms. “You’re cold and I’m not. We’ll scheme together while you catch your breath. It’s always cold in the troll kingdom.”
She didn’t want to get any closer to that wet dog smell, but she was very cold. Elva ground her teeth together and snuggled into the fur of the buggane. It was a small price to pay for the warmth that immediately surrounded her.
“Out with it now,” Elva said.
“I might have been wandering among the trolls, finding out what I could find out.”
“Why?”
“I thought you might need a little help. The faerie princesses in all the stories had some kind of sidekick.”
And the buggane thought she was going to be that sidekick. As much as Elva hated the idea of being in some kind of story, she’d admit it was very helpful to have someone else around.
She nodded. “Well, thank you then. If you have an idea, I’m fresh out of them, so I’d certainly be interested in hearing what you have to say.”
“Word in the kingdom is that the trolls are having a ball.”
“A ball?” Elva lifted a brow and craned her neck to look up at the buggane. “Why?”
“Apparently, the dwarf has gotten into the heads of the royals. They have decided that only a royal wedding would have a ball extravagant enough to make the Seelie Court jealous. They want to have a dance with gowns and all the trappings of normal wedding celebrations.”
“Goodness.” Elva couldn’t imagine what that was going to look like. Trolls in ballgowns? What was the world coming to?’
“That’s about what I said, and what the rest of the kingdom is likely saying. Trolls are as likely to enjoy something like that as a buggane.” The creature shuddered. “It’s a disgusting practice. I don’t know how you Seelie faeries do it.”
“Sometimes it’s fun.” She remembered her first ball. How terrified she’d been and how awful it was. The men wanted to dance with her and only her. Elva had been the prettiest and most eligible girl there. Of course, all the other women didn’t like that. They’d made the evening a living hell for her.
“I think you need to go to that ball,” the buggane forcefully said.
“Why?”
“Balls are always where the prince and princess meet. That’s where he’ll see you and fall in love all over again. He’ll remember why he wanted to marry you and not the troll princess.”
No, she wasn’t going to listen to that. “Donnacha doesn’t want to marry me or the troll princess.”
“Of course, he wants to marry you. Who wouldn’t?”
Her mother had said the same thing when Elva had been looking for a husband. Elva struggled out of the buggane’s arms and tried to catch her breath. Anxiety loomed over her like a great shadow. “This is a bad idea. Waltzing into that place is only going to start a fight.”
“Not if they don’t know who you are.” The buggane pulled a sack closer to her, one Elva hadn’t realized she’d carried up the hill. “After all, a disguise is also a part of every good story.”
Elva watched as the buggane pulled out a glorious swath of smoky gray fabric. Tiny diamonds twinkled like stars throughout the entire thing. It was beautiful in the way the night sky was beautiful. Dangerous, vast, and untouchable.
“Where did you get that?” she asked, reaching out to stroke the beautiful silk.
“I have friends.” The buggane’s chest puffed up with pride. “But I think you need to wear this.”
“They’ll never let me in if I’m wearing this.”
“They don’t have to. You have a cloak. Hide everything, look like a hunchbacked troll wandering in. All you have to do is get an invitation.”
“Who’s going to give me an invitation?” Elva said with a laugh, letting her hand drop from the beautiful fabric.
“Well, you bribed your way into the dungeon.” The buggane grinned. “Bribe your way into the ball.”
18
Elva tugged at the edge of her cloak, making sure it covered everything. This was the worst plan she’d ever gone along with. Why had the buggane suggested this? Wandering into the ball, celebrating the wedding of Donnacha and the troll princess, when she was the only person who planned on stopping said wedding?
They were going to find her, and then they were going to destroy her with a single well-placed sword. She’d been far too confident in her abilities and sorely underestimated the number of trolls here. However, this might be her only chance to talk with Donnacha. He might have ideas on how to escape, and that was the first step toward saving him.
She stepped into the garden where she’d first seen the troll princess. It was highly likely the creature would be here again. The buggane said she spent quite a lot of time in the gardens of the castle. Not because she liked gardening or even appreciated the beauty. Apparently, the troll princess liked to step on blooming flowers.
Strange creatures, these trolls. But the buggane had been certain that even now, when the ball was beginning, the troll princess would make her way out here. Just to make herself feel better before it all started.
Elva stuck to the shadows, watching the back door of the castle until it opened up and the troll princess stumbled out. Was she drunk already? It appeared so.
She was covered in little more than a few scraps of glittery fabric. Elva had no idea what it was made of, but it showed far too much of her body. Really, it was just two circles over her flat chest where nipples might be, and a tiny loincloth that shifted a little too much when she moved.
Was this what she thought a wedding dress looked like? The garishly colored fabric wasn’t quite bride material. Maybe this was just the unfinished beginning of the final dress. At least, Elva hoped the strange pieces of fabric were just undergarments..
The princess
