The Most Beautiful Eyes Ch. 04

"Almost too fine?" The princess caressed the opal with her thumb.

"Yes, Madam. I'm nearly frightened as I look at it. That's how fine it is."

"Then I should wear this at the Royal Court," the princess said as she put the necklace away. "This has been a wonderful day."

Some days passed on after this, including Muriel's birthday. She went to visit her family. They were benefiting decently from the money she had been sending them. Her father was beginning to repair the cracks in his business, but he was able to get a present for her. It was a pair of black satin ribbons. Muriel kissed her father's cheek and thanked him. She imagined that he had wanted to give her something much more expensive, but these gifts were perfectly wonderful.

"People have been asking about you," her father said. "You're already very popular."

"Hm? This is the first I've heard about it."

"Truly? Well, perhaps your mistress didn't want you to be bothered."

Letters, which meant invitations. Single men and doting mothers had been asking the princess if they could go to their events specifically to show Muriel off.

Princess Arya apparently ignored them, or even refused them, which wasn't technically rude, but it did poke Muriel's brain into a muddled state for a while.

When Muriel was back at the Vantrim Castle, she tied one of her new ribbons around her blonde doll's waist, making a sort of belt. She thought it looked nice.

Then she fiddled with the other ribbon, tugging on it, stretching it, as she wondered if the princess was secretly angry with her. But why? Muriel had been a loyal companion, hadn't she? She hadn't even hinted to anyone about their oh so dramatic secret. She hadn't done anything wrong.

Or maybe ... the princess was afraid of something?

***

There was piano music again on a cold morning. It nearly drove Muriel insane. She still couldn't understand the odd arrangement of notes. As she pretended to read with Princess Arya, she lightly nibbled on the inside of her cheek as she tried to understand the notes. Sadly, she wasn't very clever with playing music by ear. She was a visual learner. She knew that if she went to the nearest piano to imitate the song, she wouldn't be able to figure it out.

"My dear child seems energetic today," Princess Arya said as she turned a page in her book.

"That's fine news, Your Highness," Muriel said.

The princess smiled down into her book. It was an expectant smile. Exactly what she expected, Muriel didn't know.

When the day turned to night, and when Muriel was walking towards her bedchamber, she heard a man's voice behind her. "Miss?"

Muriel turned around and saw Doctor Bergson. He looked happy. He was holding a thin box with one hand. He approached and said very quietly, "His Highness has sent this to you." He held up a looped and knotted ribbon that was threaded through a small key. "And this. He wants you to be the only one to open the box."

"Is that so?" Muriel took the box and noticed there was a little lock.

"There should be a message inside," clarified the doctor. "He asked that you put a reply in the box and leave it in the hallway, on the side table on the left of your bedroom's door. He has a matching key so he can unlock it and read your message."

"Oh ... that's ... alright." Muriel put her fingers in the ribbon loop and took the key. "Thank you."

After a bow, the doctor turned around and walked away.

Muriel thought this was all very unusual, but her inquisitive nature sometimes overpowered her cautious side. She took the box and key into her bedchamber and locked the door.

Reading under candlelight wasn't healthy at all, but she didn't care. She unlocked the box and found a thinly rolled piece of paper. She read the message carefully. The handwriting was open but rather small. The visible pressure from the writer's pen was light.

"To Miss Devin: I hope you will forgive my lack of a proper introduction. I'm curious about a certain idea. You seem to be very adept with needles and threads. Would you please write down some advice concerning birds? I can never stitch an adequate bird. My work often seems flat and lifeless. Thank you very much. From His Royal Highness, Prince Vidar Petran, Earl of Matas."

Well that seemed innocent.

Muriel quickly wrote down a few tips, tricks, and quick instructions that she considered to be very useful. Then she put her response in the box, locked the box, and put it on the side table outside her room.

In the morning, the box was gone.

On the next night, before she reached her bedroom, the doctor returned the box to her, which meant that there was a new note for her to read. So, in her bedroom, Muriel read it.

"You have my gratitude, Miss Devin. Would you like to request something of me?"

Muriel found the brevity to be disappointing, but she replied to him. "Would you please tell me how you're able to play such complex piano music?"

And the next night, she received an answer.

"Practice."

Muriel was so miffed that she didn't give another message. The box was empty when she put it on the side table.

But she still received a message on the next night, and it had her chewing on her gloves.

"I wish we could have a conversation without horrifying consequences."

She couldn't decide on whether or not the man was a coward.

***

"The doctor confessed something to me," Princess Arya whispered to her during breakfast in a dining room.

A blob of Muriel's savory porridge fell right out of her spoon and splattered back into her bowl. The food in her mouth was swallowed with too much force.

"I wanted to be certain. So, I went to my son and asked him for the truth." The princess sounded lofty yet sober.

Muriel put her spoon in her bowl and her hands in her lap. She was too frightened to look at the princess' face. If she thought to ruin her, she could. There would be little Muriel could do about it.

"The poor, lonely boy. He'd like to have a chat with you. Perhaps you could arrange something with the doctor? With enough creativity, something could be managed?"

What?!

Muriel gaped up at the princess.

There was a mostly uncommunicative visage behind the face powder and rouge, mostly. Quietly shining through her brown eyes, there was something else, something ... something like ... when a child's about to beg a parent for a treat, only much sadder.

An alarming thought slapped itself into Muriel's astonished mind.

Assuming Princess Arya wanted her to speak to the prince, for whatever questionable reason, would Muriel have much of a choice in the matter?

***