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Cloudy headed, I awoke the next morning banging my skull unceremoniously off of the unfamiliar headboard behind me. Still not opening my eyes, I reached out to touch it. It was not the familiar softly sanded oak. It had a thick varnish to it and I saw as I opened my eyes that it was a rich… mahogany?
The previous day’s events came back to me in a rush. I was not at Perron, Erik was not here and neither was Ben, and I was in an unfamiliar room in the palace of Mekiya. I shook my head, feeling my ratted curls flop against my shoulders. Oh, and I was the first female Winglet Lemaire had ever known. It was simply too much to even attempt to handle. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and stumbled across the floor to the wash basin. There was no towel and the water was ice cold. I plunged my head in, gasping. There. Now at least I could think with some semblance of clarity.
I looked into the mirror that was hanging upon my wall. With my bewildered expression and dripping, tangled hair, I looked rather like a half-drowned cat. I heard a knock on the door and whipped my head around violently searching for a robe. I had already caused enough of a stir. Receiving someone into my chambers wearing nothing but a shift certainly would not help my standing. I settled for a blanket that was upon the windowseat.
Blustering and cursing, I made my way to the door. I opened it gingerly and saw the smiling face of Emery pulling what looked like a very large cart of belongings. I grinned as she took in my soaked hair and improvised attire.
“Mornin’, Lady Winglet. I ‘ave yer clothes and other trifles ‘ere. Erik rode ‘ere at dawn to make sure you ‘ad ‘em. Bless ‘is soul. You ‘ave a good father, yes you do,” she smiled broadly and pulled the cart into the room as I pushed from the other side. Erik had filled five heavy trunks full to bursting with everything I need or wanted. I set to pulling them one by one off the cart, and then much to Emery’s amazment, lifting them onto the bed. I opened the one that I knew contained what I valued most.
As I opened the latch, the smell of rich, exquisite leather permeated the room. I lavished my hands across the covers of my favorite books and set about to stacking them in a neat pile next to my night stand. I then lifted the many sheets of vellum and several quills as well as ink powder and the crystal inkwell Ben had given me for my eighth birthday. I placed them reverently upon the tiny desk in the corner of my room and turned back to Emery.
“Well, now that everything important has been taken care of, I suppose I shall see to the rest,” I grinned and then wrinkled my nose coyly.
Emery chuckled and said, “Best be puttin’ these fine gowns away before they wrinkle.” I moved to help her and she clucked and swatted my hands away. “I will deal with all your finery. You get bathed and put your under things on,” she paused. “The prince wants to see you for breakfast.” I dropped the chemises I had been folding.
“Why on earth does he want to see me? I practically dishonored the entirety of Lemaire yesterday. Well… it was as much Sunflight’s fault as my own, but still.”
Good morning, sister. I heard my dragon’s eerie little voice echo in my mind. I laughed merrily. Hello little dear, are you well today? I could hear a hint of sarcasm in her response. Quite well thank you, until someone decided to blame me for a deed for which I cannot be held accountable. I smiled wryly. Why you little trollop! You started the whole business. I was just a normal girl of nobility until you came along. Her voice grew more serious. You were never normal, Sonya. Not upon your birth, and certainly not now. I could feel my eyes grow wide. Not normal? Whatever do you mean by that statement? I could feel the cloudiness in her head close in. I cannot explain now, but you shall come to know in time. When the time is right.
Emery shocked me back to the present by asking me what I should wear to meet Prince Aubrey. I stared at her dumbfounded. Sure, I loved elegant clothing and jewels, but I had not the slightest idea what would be proper for such a singular meeting. I gazed helplessly at Emery and she gave me a sympathetic smile. In the time it had taken me to put away my books, she had placed every other article of clothing and bit of frippery in its proper place.
“You should wear pink. A young lady always looks lovely in pink. I’ll put pearls in yer hair and twist it up. You’ll look like a princess,” she said, oozing excitement in her every word.
“So I shall look like a confectioner’s piece? Marzipan and all?” I spoke with a dry, sarcastic air and slipped a pair of stays over my head.
“No need for tone Lady Winglet.” She pulled the stays back over my head and picked a stiffly boned corset. She slipped it over my head and pulled the laces tightly. Black dots came into my vision and my head positively swam.
“Emery!” I gasped. “I am meeting the prince for breakfast, as in, I am to consume food. If I take two bites of a pastry in this state, one will surely come out again!” I sat upon the chaise, indignant. Emery laughed at the picture I made. I was no more than a pretty, frustrated, and insolent child. I knew this immediately and my pride would not let her continue to silently laugh at me.
She slipped the pale pink dress over my head without another word, and then firmly yanked my hair upon my head, weaving a strand of pearls through it as she went. Emery then attacked my face with powder, eyelash pigment, and lip rouge. When the barrage was finished, I peered curiously in the mirror. My waist was tinier than Nettie had ever managed to draw it and my face was beauty beyond reckoning as a result of Emery’s skillful hand with cosmetics. My hair was a wonder; the gleaming tendrils fell softly down my back accented by the delicate cream of the pearls. The pale rose dress brought out the flush in my cheeks and gave me a high, clear color of which I was rather fond.
I turned to Emery with a sweeping hug and laughed gaily. “Yer a treasure, Lady Winglet. Much more of a treat to dress than any of those stuffy duchesses,” she said it flippantly, but I could tell she meant it. Emery walked to the door. “Will you be needin’ anythin’ else?”
“Yes… could you call me Sonya? Lady Winglet makes me sound like a pretentious old fool,” I watched carefully for her reaction, concerned that I had breeched some unknown protocol.
She only smiled and shutting the door said, “Sonya it is.”
Huffing and puffing, I made my way to the Prince’s chambers, cursing the sadist who had invented corsets. I stopped, adjusting the bodice so it did not press my stomach quite so forcefully into my spine. The guards at the door eyed me apprehensively and I smiled. That they still thought me a witch was obvious. All of Lemaire did. I smiled as I thought of the little dragon who had turned my life and the lives of my country men upside down. The guards moved forward infinitesimally. My smile turned into an expression of noble seriousness and I spoke forcefully “Allow me passage. I am an honored guest of His Highness, Prince Aubrey of Lemaire, as well as a Lady of the noble house of Perron.”

“Then by all means, pass,” he said mockingly. I glared at him. “My lady,” he finished, a wry smile upon his lips.
“There. That was not exceedingly difficult, was it?” I smiled, gleaming ferocity in my eyes.
“You will truly make a warrior,” he smiled and bowed. I stood up straight and proud. My first test of courage was over and I had passed with flying colors. The guard opened the door and I came face to face with the prince of the realm. The boy, who with his stroke of measured justice, changed my existence and that of all of Lemaire.