AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Explains the door,” I mutter to myself.
“Shhhh,” Olivier hushes, already halfway up the stairwell in front of us.
“Right, shhhh,” I whisper and begin the climb behind him.
We climb to the second floor, walk down one hall and then another where he opens a door for me and closes it behind us.
“This will be your room. It has an ensuite.” He switches on the chandelier—yes, a chandelier in my bedroom—and I’m pretty sure I just got dropped into a fairytale.
“I’ll come for you first thing in the morning. Your mission begins tomorrow, so sleep well tonight,” he says, closing the door as he goes. “You’re going to need it.”
The door clicks shut.
“Ominous is his middle name,” I say to the closed door. But I’ll worry about the mission when the time comes tomorrow.
Tonight, I live like a princess.
The soft bed envelops me, and before I’ve even brushed my teeth, I feel myself drifting into a deep, succulent sleep.
* * *
I’m fighting dragons.
My princess hat catches flame just as I take down one of the mythical creatures. It turns into fairy dust, glimmering in the moonlight. Another approaches, breathing its fiery blast at me. I tear off my princess dress just in time, and I catch the horrid beast with my silver dagger. He transforms into fairy dust, which I sprinkle over my hair. Victory, I declare as a knock in the distance comes into my consciousness. Where is it coming from? I am in the land of dragons and fairies and flying pigs—there goes one now—and there is no door to be knocked upon.
Except that there is.
It’s the first day of my special project, and I am lying buck naked on this princess bed.
“Allo, allo,” a woman’s voice calls from the other side of the door. She says something else in French, but I don’t catch it, mostly because I can’t figure out what I’ve done with my clothes.
I pull aside the heavy curtains to see oranges and yellows flooding the sky. On the gravel courtyard below, Olivier stands with another man.
They look this way.
“ACK!” I scream and jump into bed, pulling the covers over me. Just in time, too, as the bedroom door flies open with a stout older woman rolling a cart.
“Bonjour, mademoiselle! Voici votre petit dejeuner. Ça va?”
“Yes, thank you. I mean, oui, merci. I’m fine. Merci.”
I keep the covers up to my chin and give her a little wave with my fingertips.
“D’accord…” she says, clearly confused by my odd behavior. “Bon appétit.” She slips out.
Step one, put on clothes, since clearly anyone could walk in here at any moment.
I’m pulling my shirt over my head when there’s another knock on the door—and it opens.
“Good morning, Natalie,” Olivier says.
“Hi,” I greet back. “Is there a way to lock this door, please?”
“You haven’t had your breakfast yet, and it’s nearly seven-thirty in the morning. I told you, we start early. Eat quickly. We will take coffee in the garden when you’re finished.”
“No, but really, the door…”
He’s gone and closed the door behind him before I can again insist on the need for privacy.
