The next morning, for the first time in quite a while, I woke up late. Ever since I’d first been changed I’d become used to my new daily schedule, and I was usually up at the same time as Sylvie, or even before her; that day, however, she had to shake me for quite a long time to awaken me.

Truth to be told, I didn’t want to get up. I wanted to sleep in. I wanted to just stay in bed, and forget about everything. But if I didn’t get up, the other maids would have to pick up the slack and do my share of work, too; besides, I’d already skipped tidying up the ballroom the previous evening – not willingly, but still – and I didn’t want to let everyone down.

I blearily opened my eyes, sat up in bed, and groaned.

“How are you feeling, Erica?” Sylvie asked, her voice full of concern.

“Terrible,” I answered truthfully. “Last night was just…”

“I know,” she nodded. “And I’m sorry you have to go through all this.” Then she seemed to hesitate for a moment, and added, “You know you can always count on me. On us. For anything.”

I sighed in response. “Thank you, Sylvie. Really. But honestly… What can you and the other maids do about this?” I shook my head. “You’d only get yourselves in trouble, and I can’t allow you to be punished for my sake.”

Sylvie just looked at me for a few moments, then replied, “Alright. But we’ll be here when you need us.”

I paused. Those words seemed familiar somehow, like I’d heard them before. Where…?

I was shaken from my thoughts by a knock on the door; Sylvie walked to it and opened it, to reveal Andrej standing behind it.

“Commander,” she nodded.

“Hello, Sylvie,” he replied. Then he turned his eyes on me. “Hello, Erica. How are you doing?”

I smiled a weak smile up at him. “I’ve been better, Commander.”

“I understand,” he said. “You know, maybe if I speak to the Prince Regent… Maybe if I say something to him, he will--”

“Don’t,” I said, cutting him off. “You know what he’s like. Even if he knew he’s wrong – especially if he knew he’s wrong – he would only redouble his efforts to humiliate me. And you would get caught up in it, too.” I looked at him in the eyes, with a piercing stare. “And remember, he’s our liege. We’re sworn to obey his orders.”

Andrej held my gaze for a few seconds, then slowly, deliberately nodded.

There was a moment of silence, then I asked, “So, what brings you here so early in the morning, Commander?”

He sighed. “I know you’ve been through so much lately, Erica, and I’m sorry. But Prince Izaak requires your presence, as soon as possible.” He paused. “I wanted to be the one to come tell you this, I know the palace guards can be… Brusque.”

“Alright, let’s get this over with,” I replied, getting up from my bed. “Would you mind waiting outside for a few minutes while I get dressed?”

Andrej nodded again, and left the room without another word, pulling the door shut behind him.

“Do you have any idea what Izaak wants from you now?” Sylvie asked while I slipped off my night dress.

“No clue,” I answered, pulling my underwear up on my legs to my crotch, and fastening my brassiere behind my back. “Maybe he wants to gloat about yesterday evening. But don’t worry,” I continued, seeing Sylvie giving me a concerned glance, “Like last night, I won’t give him any satisfaction.”

Sylvie nodded as I put on my maid’s dress – the usual one, the nicer one I’d worn the previous evening had had its shoulders cut off and would need fixing. Then she helped me brush my long hair and put it into a bun.

“See you later, Sylvie,” I said opening the bedroom door.

“See you later, Erica,” she replied. “I’ll save you some breakfast, don’t be too long.”

I smiled. “I’ll try not to.”

Trailing behind Andrej we made our way to the noble wing, to a small room just off the royal family’s quarters, where we found Izaak having a lavish breakfast: chicken, vegetables, and a selection of desserts, prepared by the royal kitchens. I curtsied, and I frowned at the same time; I was sure a good part of the food on his table had been taken – stolen – from the common people.

“Ah, Erica, welcome! Did you sleep well?” Izaak said in a mocking tone of voice.

“Quite well, my lord. Thank you,” I replied.

The prince frowned in turn, but didn’t press the issue. Then, when Andrej made to leave, he said, “No, stay, commander. I have something you both need to hear.”

Andrej and I exchanged puzzled glances, but he complied. Izaak got up from his chair, washed his hands in a bowl of water, and dried them on a napkin. Then he addressed us again.

“As you certainly know, tomorrow is Founding Day,” he began. Andrej and I both nodded. “And as usual, the current ruler of Harburg has to make a speech to the people. Unfortunately,” he continued, shaking his head, “my father the king is too ill to make an appearance, so it falls to me to… Entertain the rabble.”

None of this was news. Why was he telling us this?

“And so, I’ve decided that you both will have to stand by my side while I make my speech,” the prince finished.

Andrej and I both looked at him, bewildered. Why? For what reason would he want us to be there?

Izaak saw our stares. “You look like you have questions. You may ask them,” he said.

We both hesitated, and then I let Andrej take the lead. “Why, my lord?” he asked. “This is highly unusual, by tradition only the king is on the palace balcony when he makes the speech.”

“Tradition is just tradition because no one ever bothered to do otherwise,” the prince replied, waving his hand dismissively.

“Still. I would understand why you would want me there: I’m Commander of the Royal Knights, after all. But… Why Erica?” Andrej continued. “She no longer has any role in the court, and she’s a commoner. Why should she be there on the balcony with you?”

Izaak gave Andrej a piercing stare. “Because people have started talking, both in the city and here in the palace. My sources say that many people object to how I’ve treated Erica. But I don’t think she’s among them. I don’t think she has anything to complain about.” He shifted his gaze from Andrej to me. “Do you?” he asked.

I do, you bastard, I thought. But I clearly couldn’t say that out loud, so I replied, “I don’t, my lord.”

Izaak nodded. “See? So her presence by my side will show to everyone that she has come to terms with what happened, that they have nothing to be upset about.”

I see. So that’s what that it was about: he was worried the people were starting to realise he’d done me a great injustice, and that they were starting to see me as a symbol of his tyranny; and he wanted me to say otherwise, to prove to everyone I still supported him.

But maybe I could avoid it?

I curtsied, and said: “My lord, I respectfully must decline the invitation; I have several duties to attend to tomorrow afternoon, which unfortunately cannot be delayed, so I won’t be able to be present when you make your speech.”

Andrej boggled at me, and with good reason: this was the boldest thing I’d said to Izaak… Well, since my transformation. Even if I’d dressed it up nicely, with a lot of flowery words, what my answer meant was clear: I do not want to do this.

Izaak’s eyes narrowed. “I see,” he replied. “Well, unfortunately for you, it was not an invitation. I am not requesting your presence, I’m ordering you to attend, and to stand by my side.”

I almost grimaced, but didn’t let any emotion show on my face. “By your command,” I replied.

“And do dress nicely; the clothes you were wearing last night will do,” he said. Then, after a moment’s pause, he continued, “Well then, see you tomorrow afternoon. I’ll send Commander Andrej to fetch you.”

It was clearly a dismissal, so I curtsied again, and left the room with Andrej, who let out a deep breath after the door closed behind us.

“Gods, Erica,” he said. “You almost gave me a heart attack. You simply must stop antagonising the prince this way.”

I nodded. “I know,” I replied, as we started down the corridor, “But these small acts of rebellion are all I can do against him.”

Andrej stopped walking. I went on for a few more steps, then turned to look at him; he was staring at the floor.

“Commander?” I asked.

“You know…” he began, then stopped. He gulped, hesitated a few moments, then spoke again: “You know you don’t have to obey him. You could refuse.”

I looked at him for a couple seconds, then sighed. “Commander, we talked about this. What did I say this morning?”

He looked up and locked eyes with me. “But--” he began.

“What did I say?” I repeated, my voice hardening slightly.

Andrej held my gaze for a moment, then replied, “He’s our liege, and we’re sworn to obey him.”

I nodded. “Precisely. And I do not want to hear any more talk like that from you.”

His eyes widened slightly. “What is it?” I asked, seeing his expression.

He hesitated, but then shook his head. “Nothing, it’s just… That tone of voice. You used to use it all the time. Before.”

I understood what he meant.

“I miss it,” he whispered. “I miss you. I miss my best friend.”

I didn’t know what to say in response to that. In the end I simply said, “I miss it, too.”

Which was the truth. Though I didn’t miss my old body, not as much as I thought I would, I did miss everything that came with it: my position as a noble and as commander of the Royal Knights, and above all the friendship and camaraderie I shared with them, especially with Andrej.

But there was no helping it; I would just have to make the best of it.

After saying goodbye to Andrej I went to breakfast; then I spent the whole day working. But I was still a bit out of it – both because of what had happened to me the previous evening, I just found it hard to put it out of my mind, and because I couldn’t help but think about Founding Day, when I would be basically put on display for everyone to see.

The following morning I went to the marketplace; once again, I volunteered, and my friends let me go – they probably thought I needed to distract myself.

The whole city was celebrating, and with good reason: it was the morning of Founding Day, the national holiday, which honoured the founding of the Kingdom of Harburg, three hundreds years earlier. For once, everyone seemed to have forgotten the drought, the near-famine, the hardships the common people were going through; for this one day, everyone was happy.

Basking in the sparkling and exciting atmosphere, I stopped by my friend Adrian’s stall for a chat. Once he saw me he immediately asked me if I was alright, in a really concerned voice.

“Why do you ask that?” I said.

“We’ve heard about what happened two days ago,” he replied. When he saw my expression he continued, “Oh, don’t be so surprised, news travels fast, especially about something this big.”

“I see.”

“So… Are you alright?” Adrian repeated.

I looked at him for a few moments, then shook my head. “I don’t know. I will be, I think.”

“Well, as long as Prince Izaak doesn’t pull any more tricks like that on you,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Ah… About that,” I said. “The prince wants me to make an appearance later today, when he’ll make his speech from the palace’s balcony.”

Adrian seemed to hesitate. “Can’t you refuse?” he asked.

“I’ve tried, but no dice,” I answered, shaking my head again. “Izaak’s mind is set on having me there, by his side.”

“Okay,” Adrian said carefully. “That’s… Alright.”

I looked at him with curiosity. “What’s wrong, Adrian? You seem worried.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing,” he said. “Really, don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

I smiled. “Okay then.” Whatever it was that had him worried, he clearly didn’t want to tell me – either because it didn’t concern me, or for some other reason.

We chatted for a few more minutes, before I had to leave to go about my errands; as I was walking away, however, he called me back. “Just one last thing, Erica,” he said.

“Yes?”

“Remember to duck.”

“Duck? What--”

“That’s all the warning I can give,” Adrian interrupted me; his expression clearly said he wouldn’t answer any questions about what he’d said.

“…Alright,” I replied, and walked away.

When I returned to the royal palace I had lunch, and then spent the early afternoon mending my dress, with Sylvie’s assistance.

“This should do it,” she said, smiling and holding up the dress to inspect it. The shoulders had been sewn back together, and the stitches were barely noticeable. She’d done most of the work, granted, but I was feeling confident I could handle the next time I needed to fix something – for one, I still needed to adjust my maid’s dresses to fix my new shape: we’d decided to wait until Verdun was done changing me, so we wouldn’t need to make constant alterations to make the clothes fit right.

I quickly undressed, and slipped on the dress we’d just repaired; this one fit me quite nicely. I put my hair in a bun, and inspected myself in the mirror. Exactly like I thought: it had been a while since I’d looked at my family’s portraits – I wondered where they’d ended up, they’d been left in the quarters reserved for the commander of the Royal Knights after I’d been demoted – but I was sure I was the spitting image of my late mother Helena. She’d died when I was six, and she was more or less the age I was, so the family resemblance made sense.

And I’d finished getting changed not a moment too soon: I heard a knock at the door, which proved to be Andrej, sent by Prince Izaak as he’d said he would; he was wearing his gilded breastplate, the same one he’d been wearing at the ball, and he’d obviously carefully polished it – I could almost see my reflection in the metal. I smiled. “Commander,” I greeted him, doing a small curtsy.

“You look really nice, Erica,” he said in reply, smiling back.

“Thank you.”

There was a moment of silence, and then he asked, “Ready to go?”

“No, but what choice do I have?” I answered.

He nodded. “Right. Let’s be off, then.”

“Hold on a second,” Sylvie interjected. She moved over to her chest and retrieved a small leather pouch from it, which she opened; inside was a tiny glass jar.

“I’d been saving this for a special occasion, but you can have some,” she said, opening it and dabbing her finger in it – it seemed to contain a red paste. “Don’t move.”

Taking care, she ran her finger over my lips. “There,” she smiled, and dragged me over to the mirror. “Take a look.”

The rouge was barely noticeable on my lips, no one would’ve guessed I was wearing it if they didn’t look really closely; but somehow it transformed my face, making it look more serious. More mature. More dignified.

“Now you’re ready,” Sylvie said with a grin. “Go knock ‘em out.”

Suddenly I was overtaken by emotion, and I threw my arms around her, hugging her tight. “Thank you,” I said. “For everything.” She was a bit startled, but returned the hug.

Andrej and I made our way to the noble wing of the palace, to where a pair of tall glass double doors opened on a balcony, which overlooked the plaza in front of the palace itself; I could see the square was already packed with people, who were waiting for the Prince Regent to make his appearance. As for Izaak, he was standing in front of the door, flanked by four palace guards – apparently he’d foregone the protection of the Royal Knights, because none of them (except for Andrej) were present. He was wearing a white tunic, studded with medals he hadn’t earned – they were his ancestors’ – and bordered in scarlet, and a small silver crown; he barely glanced at us when we approached, he was clearly nervous.

“I’ll go first,” he said, without bothering to greet us. “You two wait thirty seconds, then come out. And always keep three steps behind me.”

Andrej and I nodded, the palace guards pulled open the double doors, and Izaak stepped out on the balcony. The crowd was quite noisy, and didn’t calm down when he made his appearance and stepped up to the railing, looking down on the common people; if anything, the noise became louder.

After counting to thirty, Andrej and I nodded to each other, and stepped out too. Slow and dignified, one foot after the other, back straight, head held high; we walked carefully and deliberately until we were standing three steps behind Izaak, as he’d commanded, then stopped.

This time, the crowd fell silent: it was highly unusual for someone to be on the balcony with the ruler of Harburg as he made his speech, and I could see people pointing at me and Andrej – especially at me – and exchanging whispers; I could only guess as to what they were talking about.

Izaak took the moment of silence as his chance to speak up. “Citizens of Harburg!” he said loudly. “My people! It is a great honour to be here on this auspicious day. Unfortunately my father the king could not be here today, as he is still recovering from his illness, but he sends me to deliver his greetings in his stead.”

His words were careful and deliberate; he’d probably practised his speech over and over again.

“I know the past months have been hard; the gods haven’t blessed us with a good rain in far too long,” he continued. “However, on this day of celebration, I know I can ask you to hold on for a while still. We Harburgians are strong, resilient people; I am sure that before long--”

“Shut up!” shouted a voice from the silent plaza. It seemed a bit familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it before.

Izaak froze. His eyes scanned the crowd. He cleared his voice, and started again. “I am sure that before long--”

“I said shut up!” the voice shouted again. “You coward! You hide yourself behind the walls of the palace, you steal our food, and you have parties while we go hungry! And you have the guts to come here and speak platitudes? How dare you!”

The crowd parted slightly around the speaker, and my eyes widened in surprise: It was the steel-eyed old man who’d run into me in the street a few weeks prior. He was standing beside an… Object, which was covered by a rough canvas sheet; I wondered what it was, I could not tell from the shape.

“How dare you!” Izaak shot back, indignantly. “I have done everything I could for you rabble!”

There was a murmuring from the crowd at those words.

“And besides,” the Prince Regent continued, “Even if we took some things from you, we gave something in exchange!”

“Cabbages!” the man shouted. “And rotten, at that!”

Someone else in the crowd said “Yeah!”, which was echoed by more voices. This wasn’t good; Izaak was losing control of the situation. If he could just keep a cool head, maybe--

“Well if you don’t like them you can always give them back!” the prince screamed.

“Why, you only had to ask!” the man replied loudly. “Here are your cabbages, tyrant!”

He flung the covering aside, and I could get a clear look at the item that was below it. I recognised what it was right away: a small, makeshift catapult. The man pulled on a rope, and the tiny war machine spun and flung its load into the air.

I suddenly remembered Adrian’s warning, and I ducked; at the same time Andrej shouted “My lord, look out!” and launched himself at Izaak, knocking him to the ground and covering him with his armoured body.

Either the man had good aim with a catapult, or he’d practised, or he’d been really lucky; in any case, a half-dozen rotten cabbages splattered all over Andrej, the prince, and I, covering us in a slimy residue which gave off a foul stench.

The crowd cheered.

I pulled myself up and looked at Izaak, lying bewildered on the floor of the balcony; the silver crown had been knocked from his head, and his tunic was soiled. He slapped away the hand Andrej offered him and he slowly, unsteadily, climbed to his feet, marched over to the edge of the balcony, and started to hurl insults at the jeering people assembled below, calling for the guards to seize the man who was responsible for this. He looked really funny.

And that’s when I made a mistake: I laughed.

It wasn’t even a proper laugh. I just felt my lips draw back into a smile, and I let out a stifled chuckle, which I suppressed immediately by putting my hand to my mouth.

Still, Izaak heard me. He wheeled around to look at me, saw I was still grinning, and his eyes widened in anger, while his face went red.

“What the hell are you laughing at!” he shouted. He flung his arm around and slapped me right in the face, throwing me to the ground once more.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd and a brief moment of silence, then the shouting resumed, even louder this time.

I looked up at Izaak; his eyes were wild, I’d never seen him like that. He looked like he was going mad with rage.

“Commander Andrej, seize her and bring her along!” he ordered, and strode off the balcony.

Andrej gave me a conflicted glance, but he still grabbed my arm – firmly but not roughly – and pulled me off my feet, then started after Izaak.

As we followed him, flanked by the same four palace guards who’d been inside as he made his speech, I looked around and realised where we were going: we were in the old wing, clearly headed to Verdun’s laboratory.

When we reached the wizard’s cave the Prince Regent flung open the door. “Verdun!” he bellowed. “Verdun, where are you!”

“Here, my lord,” came the answer; the mage sprung to his feet from a chair, he’d clearly been reading a book before we’d arrived, I could see an old, leather-bound tome on the table in front of him. “What--”

“This whore has laughed at me!” Izaak shouted, pointing at me. “Do it. Do it now!”

Verdun seemed to hesitate, but thought better than to protest. He quickly brewed his usual elixir, which I drank, and had me stand in the middle of the room once again, while he and everyone else stood near the wall.

As always, I was prepared. When Verdun put his palms against the floor, starting the process, I ran through swordsmanship forms in my mind, to avoid thinking about the pain; it was still extremely painful, but I was ready for it, and I was left standing there, giving Verdun and Izaak a look of challenge.

I wasn’t prepared for what came next, however.

“Again,” the prince said.

Verdun turned his head to look at Izaak. “My lord?”

“Again,” he repeated, more forcefully this time.

Verdun hesitated for a moment, then repeated his arcane words and gestures and knelt to the floor once more.

If the pain had been extreme before, now it was excruciating; I tried to distract myself by thinking about something else again, but it was no use: I let out a groan as the light washed over me, and sunk to one knee after the process was done.

Izaak didn’t even pause. “Again,” he said.

“My lord, it could kill her!” Verdun protested.

“I said again,” the prince sneered.

Verdun stared at him for a couple seconds, then replied: “By your command.”

I saw Andrej turn his head to avoid looking at me; then came the pain once again. I don’t have any words to describe how it felt; it was as if every bone in my body was made of glass, which was shattering in a million shards, stabbing my flesh from the inside out.

I screamed. I screamed loudly, and I screamed for what felt an eternity.

In the end the light faded, and I collapsed to the floor in a half faint; I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. However, I could distantly hear Izaak and Verdun’s voices.

“Again.”

“No, my lord.”

“You dare--”

“My lord, listen to me. It’s a miracle she survived the last one; if I do it again, it will kill her.”

A pause.

“Fine. Commander Andrej, bring her back to her room. Guards! Send for Healer Gallowan!”

I felt big, strong arms, lifting me carefully from the floor, and cradling me gently; and then I felt movement, as if I was being carried somewhere.

And then I blacked out.