“Indeed! That is clear, someone else would have had to tell you! I could puzzle that out on my own! And like the featherhead you are apt to be, you’ve completely forgotten who told you. But clearly someone else told you!”
“Yes,” said Tulip in the tiniest of voices, trying desperately not to let her lip quiver as he went on.
“Never mind! I see you’ve not changed for dinner yet! Well, we can’t keep Mrs. Potts waiting. What you’re wearing will just have to do! Come! I’ll escort you into the dining room, even if you’re not fit for the grand affair planned in your honor.”
Tulip’s heart sank and her face turned scarlet. She had, in fact, changed for dinner and made herself up considerably well—at least, she thought so. She was wearing one of her finest gowns and had thought she looked quite beautiful before she started down the stairway. She made a special effort to look flawless in light of what had happened upon her arrival. Now she wanted nothing more than to run away from this place and never come back again, but she was trapped. Trapped with this terrible prince! She didn’t care how rich he was, or how massive his kingdom or influence; she couldn’t stand the idea of being married to such a bully. How would she get out of it? She didn’t know what to do. She decided to stay quiet on the matter until she could talk to Nanny.
After dinner Tulip asked the Prince if he’d like to go on a walk, and he agreed. He was being sullen and quiet but not cross, so for that, at least, she was thankful. They walked around the lake, which was frozen this time of year but still breathtakingly beautiful.
“Could you show me the observatory, sweetheart? The sky is very clear and I should like to see the view you’ve spoken of so frequently.”
“If you’d like.”
They walked the long stone spiral staircase until they reached the top floor of the observatory. Even without the telescope, the view was spellbinding. Tulip could see the entire sky through the glass domed ceiling. She felt as if the stars were winking back at her for how joyfully she looked upon them.
It seemed they were not the only ones who had decided it was a good night to stargaze. Someone was already looking through the telescope when they reached the top of the stairs.
“Hello! Who’s there?”
The observer didn’t answer.
“I said, who’s there?”
Tulip was frightened, especially after the Prince motioned her to get behind him for protection—but as the Prince got closer to the intruder, he realized it wasn’t a person at all, but a statue.
“What’s this?” He was nonplussed. There had never been a statue up here before, and how on earth had someone gotten it up here without some sort of elaborate apparatus? There was no way something that heavy could have been brought up the stairs without his knowing.
Tulip started to giggle in nervous relief.
“Oh my! It’s just a statue! I feel silly for being so startled!”
But the Prince still had a look of confusion on his face while she prattled on.
“But it does look kind of creepy, doesn’t it? It almost looked like it was giving us a side glance when we walked in! And how odd a pose for a statue, leaning over looking into the telescope! It obstructs our ability to look through it completely! I’m sure this wasn’t your idea, dear! Honestly, I don’t think I like it. I can’t tell if it’s meant to be a man or a woman. Male or female, though, it does look horrified, don’t you think? Like something terrible came upon it and turned it into stone?”
The Prince hardly heard what she was rambling; his mind was suddenly violated by terrible disembodied voices from the past.
Your castle and its grounds shall also be cursed, then, and everyone within will be forced to share your burden. Nothing but horrors will surround you, from when you look into a mirror to when you sit in your beloved rose garden.
The Prince shuddered at the sound of the witch’s voice ringing in his ears. Was he cursed after all? First the drastic change in his appearance and now this strange event?
His servants trapped within stone? He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be trapped like that. He wondered if the person trapped could hear their conversation. If the person was aware he had been entrapped in stone. The thought sent shivers up the Prince’s spine.
“Darling, you look peaky! What’s the matter?” Princess Tulip asked.
The Prince’s heart was racing, his chest felt heavy, and it was hard for him to breathe. He suddenly realized everything the sisters had said was
coming true.
“Tulip! Do you love me? I mean, truly love me?”
When she looked at him, he looked like a lost little boy and not the spiteful bully he’d been to her as of late.
“I do, my love! Why do you ask?”
He grabbed her hand and held it tightly.
“But would you love me if I were somehow disfigured?”