Morning arrived with sparkling spring sunlight and birdsong. Rhiannon drew her covers more tightly around herself to hide from the rays streaming in through her window curtains. Surely travel could wait a little longer for a more decent hour.
Knock, knock, knock.
Rhiannon whined against the rap at the door and smothered herself with the pillow. There was a pause, and for a few blessed seconds, she thought her visitor had moved on. Not so.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Wonderful. Now it was more insistent. Maybe if she ignored it...
KnockKnockKnockKnockKnockKnock.
Alas, the knocking came louder and quicker. Rhiannon groped around for her dressing gown. “Please give me a moment,” she mumbled sleepily. The knocking ceased. For a moment, Rhiannon considered going back to sleep. Years of etiquette training cringed at the gall. With a grimace, she forced herself out of bed.
Waiting for her on the other side was Bellflower, looking as prim and proper as she had the night before despite the early hour of... Oh dear, what time was it? Rhiannon resisted the urge to scrub the sleep from her eyes. “Good morning, Miss Bellflower. Is something the matter?”
The silkie said not a word, nor did Rhiannon expect her to at this point. Instead, she took Rhiannon by the shoulders and steered her back into the bedroom toward the boudoir. Bellflower sat the princess down before the mirror and picked up an ivory-handled brush. After undoing Rhiannon’s braid, Bellflower went to work combing the brush through thick brown hair.
“You don’t have to do that,” Rhiannon protested.
The silkie smiled at their reflection with a determination that promised she wouldn’t stop.
Trying again with a different tactic, Rhiannon said, “I would hate to trouble you. I’m sure you have things you would rather be doing right now.”
Bellflower merely tilted her head in reply.
With Rhiannon’s hair untangled and smoothed, Bellflower set aside the brush and reached for a collection of hairpins. Methodically, and ignoring Rhiannon’s continued insistence not to go through the trouble, the fairy servant plaited the brown locks into elaborate braids. She then wove them into a coronet around Rhiannon’s head and affixed the braids with delicate pins in the shape of dragonflies and flowers.
When Bellflower finally released the princess’s hair, Rhiannon sighed with relief. However, as the silkie made her way to the closet, the princess’s eyes bulged.
“Wait! You need not—”
Rhiannon’s protest died on her lips as Bellflower threw open an armoire packed with dresses in an unbelievably vast array of styles and colors. The silkie hid a victorious smile as she pawed through the gowns in search of the perfect one. She stopped at a deep cerulean dress that glittered like starlight splashed across a night sky. Decorum dictated that such finery would only be suitable for parties, but Rhiannon couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Bellflower lifted it from the rack and held it up to Rhiannon. Like the dress from the previous evening, this one appeared to be in her exact size. The silkie nodded and placed it back in the closet. When she closed the door only to reopen it an instant later, the rest of the dresses had vanished. In their place, a selection crafted from that same cerulean-and-stars pattern had appeared. Each one of the lovely gowns was a different cut and style, varying from coronation formal to picnic casual. Rhiannon’s jaw dropped as Bellflower selected one more suitable for a quiet day in.
“Did Taliesin make this?” Bellflower shook her head. “Then who?”
The silkie waved her over to the mirrored dressing area to change.
“Was it the Dragon Witch?”
Again, Bellflower shook her head and gestured for Rhiannon to take off her nightgown. She carefully pulled it over her head so as not to ruin the fairy’s handiwork on her hair.
Only one other witch came to mind. “Lady Tabitha?” Rhiannon asked.
This earned a nod. Bellflower gestured for Rhiannon to step into the dress, and she obeyed.
“Why would Tabitha make something like this for Taliesin?” Rhiannon asked, genuinely confused. Bellflower shook her head again and gestured to Rhiannon. Taken aback, the princess pointed to her own nose. “It is for me?”
Bellflower nodded in reply.
Clearly, Tabitha had known Rhiannon’s identity and thus why she’d come here, but to think she would send something like this on ahead... Her face heated up as a thought struck her. “Did she say why she sent it?”
Bellflower tapped her chin thoughtfully. Snapping her fingers, she went back to the armoire and retrieved a note from a drawer—one that proclaimed the gift a wedding present. Rhiannon’s face grew even hotter, and she buried it in her hands. Unbothered, Bellflower finished lacing the back of the dress for her.
“She really did know this whole time,” Rhiannon muttered.
Bellflower patted her arm and gestured for her to sit. From the armoire the silkie retrieved two likely pairs of slippers to offer to Rhiannon. When the princess didn’t choose, the silkie shrugged and slid the velvet blue pair with silver star embroidery onto Rhiannon’s feet.
The silkie tapped her chin once more as she inspected her handiwork. She snapped her fingers again, and this time opened a drawer in the dressing table to reveal a collection of gold and silver accessories.
“Oh no! I couldn’t possibly—”
Bellflower placed a finger to Rhiannon’s lips to silence her. Then the servant chose a pair of simple silver teardrops to adorn their guest’s ears.
“This is too much,” Rhiannon said. Bellflower looked unconcerned as she fingered little pots containing a variety of paints and powders. This, at least, she could stop. “It’s too early for that,” the princess protested.
Disappointed, Bellflower pouted and hung her head. Too early or not, she had so looked forward to dressing up her charge both for her own enjoyment and to see just how much she could tease her employer. She put the makeup away and curtsied her understanding. Then, crossing the room, she held open the door for Rhiannon to lead the way.
Rhiannon had expected to find Taliesin at the breakfast table. Despite there being a place set for him among the resplendent feast, her host was nowhere to be found. The colorful tray of fresh fruit, a hearty pile of maple-smoked bacon, and a mound of scrambled eggs were too much for one person. When she saw the empty chair, Bellflower’s disappointed pout only deepened.
“I can fetch him,” Rhiannon offered.
Bellflower pondered the offer but a moment before acquiescing. She pointed up the stairs and hooked her hand to the left.
“Right. Turn at the top of the stairs. Thank you.”
Finding him wasn’t difficult. Upon turning down the hall, Rhiannon heard the soft plucking of strings and the plunking of a piano’s keys. Curious, she followed the sound to its source and peeked past the door left ajar.
Taliesin sat on the piano bench, tuning up what appeared to be a violin but for being the slightest bit larger. The notes, too, were deeper and richer. A viola, perhaps? So Taliesin’s talent extended to other instruments? Not that Rhiannon knew if playing a viola was any different from playing a violin. She knew next to nothing about stringed instruments, but the rich sound vibrating from its heart struck her as impressive.
Even more amazing was the sheer array of instruments lining the walls. The collection boasted everything from vibrant woodwinds to shining brass to a rather intimidating stringed bass. Rhiannon took a step forward, and her foot bumped an instrument case. She flinched at the quiet scuff, scolding herself for the interruption.
Taliesin didn’t seem the least bit bothered. He nodded his head in greeting before returning his attention to cleaning the strings and stowing away his instrument. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Not at all. Bellflower asked me to find you for breakfast.”
He glanced at the window. “Is it that time already? The sun hadn’t yet dawned when I got back from Garret’s.” He closed the case in his lap and stood. “I lose track while tuning my collection.”
“Can you really play all of these?”
“More or less. Like anything else, there are some I’m better at than others.” He offered his arm. “Shall we?”
As they made their way down to the dining room, Taliesin asked, “Do you play any instruments, Rhiannon?”
“Not really. I learned to play piano a long time ago, but I was never all that good.” Nor had she been given the opportunity to improve. Staying near the baby grand made her too easy for Brodrick to locate. Unwelcome interruptions ruined the peace of practice. Music just wasn’t that important when you lived to kill monsters, she supposed.
He pulled out the chair for her, as he had the night before. “I’m sure you played just fine. If you’d like, you’re welcome to use my piano whenever you wish. I have plenty of sheet music you can borrow as well.”
“Ah, no, I don’t think I could.”
“I think you could and should,” Taliesin insisted with a bright smile. “If you’d like, I can give you lessons. I’m a better violinist than pianist, but I’m no slouch either.”
“I...”
Bellflower caught Rhiannon’s eye from where she stood on the far side of the room and made an encouraging motion of the hands. Rhiannon twiddled her thumbs. “I suppose I could. If it’s all right with you, I mean. I would hate to interrupt your practice.”
“It would be no trouble at all, and maybe we can play together sometime.”