Chapter Text
Jesper paced in the small inn room and glanced out the window at the castle. After dreaming of an opportunity like this, it had practically fallen into their laps. This was finally their chance to get free of this life. Not that life in the capital was terrible, once he found some people he could rely on. He and Inej did all right for themselves, and at least it was better than admitting to his da how he let his life fall apart once he left home.
But one big job to come away with enough money to break free and make new lives? That was what he wanted. It would be a second chance, and he wouldn’t waste this one.
He glanced out the window again. A few carriages were already arriving at the castle. His fingers tapped nervously against his leg as he considered what they were about to do.
Breaking into the royal treasury was something everyone dreamed of. The young queen was always decked out in jewels, and the king certainly made no secret of his wealth. Even a few of those jewels would be worth a fortune.
Once they had the jewels, they’d leave the kingdom on the first ship out. Then he’d use his half of the profit to start up a comfortable life—was it too much to hope for a career as a full-time gambler? That was sort of how he got into this position in the first place. Maybe he’d actually be industrious and have a farm like his da or something.
First things first, though. They had to get the jewels.
The biggest thing that stood in the way of robbing the treasure was the matter of getting into the castle itself. Security was tight; even Inej wasn’t stealthy enough to make it past all the guards. That meant tonight was their best chance.
Prince Wylan was turning eighteen, and a grand ball was to be held to find a suitable match for him. Princes and princesses from across the land had been invited to the castle, so that the prince could make his choice from those assembled. For a single night, the castle doors would be open to the visiting suitors.
The door opened, and Jesper turned as Inej walked in.
“All set.” She handed him a small envelope. “It’s identical to the real ones.”
He opened it and pulled out a small card. Beautiful golden letters invited Prince Jesper of Noyvi Zem to attend the ball.
“Once we’re inside,” she said, “I’ll make sure you’re officially on the register, as well. If anyone asks, Noyvi Zem is a small island kingdom.”
Jesper frowned. “Can’t I have a bigger kingdom?”
She folded her arms. “Do you really think the king wouldn’t realize he’s never heard of Noyvi Zem if it was a major power?”
“Fine, fine…”
It made sense, but it rankled a bit. For the first time in his life, he got to pose as royalty, except he had to be the prince of some tiny no-name country. Something about that felt wrong. If he was going to be a prince for a night, he wanted to play it up for all it was worth. But the main goal was to get inside the castle with Inej as his bodyguard, so that she could slip away to enter the treasury while he played his role in the ballroom.
“I’ll go get ready,” Inej said. “The rest is up to you.”
He winked. “It’s as good as done.”
She left, and Jesper looked around the empty room. “All right, let’s do this!”
Even with the castle doors open for one night, most people in their position wouldn’t have a prayer of sneaking in, but Jesper had one last advantage as a result of falling from grace. He was one of the few people roughing it in the capital’s slums whose fairy guardian hadn’t been lost to him through tragedy or murder, like Inej’s had. Her magic would be their key to victory.
The air in front of him sparkled, and Nina appeared in a burst of light, her resplendent blue dress a contrast to the pout on her face. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, expecting me to do half the work when I don’t even get to go to the party.”
Jesper groaned. “We’ve been through this. The elites never invite their fairy guardians to socialize with them.”
“No, they just pull them out to do party tricks and get rid of them if they don’t like them.”
“I don’t like the king any better than you do,” Jesper said. “That’s why we’re going to rob him blind and have our own party, and it’ll be better than anything he could ever come up with.”
Nina brightened. “Is that a promise?”
“It’s a promise.”
“Good.” She paused. “But that’s not enough.”
Of course. Of course it wasn’t.
Growing up, Jesper knew everyone was blessed with their own fairy guardian to watch over them and help them out in times of need. Listening to the fairy tales, he imagined his would be a wise older man or woman with years of experience to help guide him along the right path.
So he was quite surprised when she turned out to be a girl about his own age with nearly the same penchant for getting into trouble.
She claimed she was assigned to him because they were kindred spirits, or something like that, but half the time he wondered if she just that she saw he had the potential to be fun and picked him before someone else could get him on the straight and narrow. Certainly Nina never stopped him from having fun… although if he was honest, there were times when he might have gone too far and wound up in even worse trouble if she hadn’t been there to reign him in.
And it seemed she wasn’t going to let a royal party pass her by without getting something out of it herself.
He sighed. “Fine, what do you want?”
“There’s a guard at the castle gate,” she said. “He’s very tall and has blond hair. I want his name.”
Jesper stared at her. “Do I want to know why?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Jesper Fahey, aren’t you a little old to need that explained to you?”
“Will it even work between a fairy guardian and a human?”
“Sure,” she said. “Nothing says we can’t hook up with mortals.”
He rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll see what I can find out about him.”
She clapped her hands together. “You do love me!”
“Yeah, yeah.” He held out his arms. “Now will you make me a prince?”
“One set of princely robes, coming right up!” She lifted her hands, then grinned. “And don’t act like you’re so innocent.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sparkles surrounded Jesper as she began to work her magic. “Oh, you know. Your partner-in-crime will be stealing the jewels, leaving you free to steal something else.”
Jesper folded his arms across the bright green shirt that was rapidly transforming into silk. “Are you suggesting I’ll go after Prince Wylan?”
“You totally are.”
“No way. I’m not interested in a prince.”
“Uh-huh,” she said. “That’s why Inej is the only one sneaking into the treasury.”
“She’s stealthier than I am! Besides, they’d notice if I went missing from the ballroom.”
“Mmhmm.”
Jesper glared at her. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but Wylan is a prince. And if King Jan is any indication, Wylan would probably turn up his nose if he had even the slightest inkling of who I really am.”
Nina hummed again, but didn’t say anything.
“And the penalty for fooling around with the prince is probably way higher than what even I want to risk right now.”
“Oh fine.” She lowered her arms. “Anyway, what do you think?”
Jesper walked to the mirror to examine Nina’s work. His clothes were just as colorful as before, but now in silk and velvet. Gold buttons fastened his shirt, and jeweled rings adorned his fingers. She’d also provided him with a mask for over his eyes, in glittering shades of green.
He turned slowly to get the full impression. The colors looked good against his dark skin, and the fine material befitted a prince. He would blend in well with the others attending the ball.
Maybe a little too well.
“Can you give me a cape?” he asked.
“A cape?”
“Yeah. A cape.”
Nina rolled her eyes and lifted her wand.
A shimmering green cape edged in gold formed around Jesper’s shoulders and settled down against his back. He lifted it and then twirled to watch it billow out around him. Now that was impressive.
“Good,” he said. “I can make a suitable impression like this.”
“I may only be your fairy guardian,” Nina said, “but I thought the point was not to attract too much attention.”
“Ah, correction.” Jesper lifted one finger. “Inej can’t draw attention. I’m just our ticket inside; I can attract as much attention as I want. And if I’m going to be a prince of a kingdom no one has heard of, I want to at least be a dazzling one.”
“Just be careful you don’t dazzle the prince,” she said with a sly smile.
Jesper snorted. “One dance to keep up appearances is all I care for, thanks.”
“Even so, don’t forget that this enchantment will only last until midnight. You need to get out of there before the stroke of midnight, because once the clock finishes chiming, the enchantment will end.”
That would be quite a sight, too.
Imagining the looks on those people’s faces if a “prince” suddenly turned into a common thief right in front of their eyes made him smirk. Prince Wylan would probably be horrified, too, stuck-up jerk that he most likely was. It would almost be worth doing for the amusement, except that then the whole plan would be in shambles.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t forget.”
#
Jesper’s carriage waited for him alongside all of the other carriages from visiting royalty, although his would turn back into a stolen apple cart after midnight. Inej stood alongside it dressed like a proper royal guard, too.
He had been poised to object to the carriage being too plain, since Nina had to be persuaded into giving him a cape, but to his surprise, it did look fancy. Not to the point of being ostentatious, but flamboyant enough to fit the appearance of the dazzling island prince he intended to present himself as.
“You all ready to go?” he asked.
Inej nodded. “No one will look twice at me.”
Jesper laughed. “Then let’s be on our way.”
They got into the carriage, and it trundled into motion. He looked just the same as the other visiting princes, all hoping Prince Wylan would choose them after dancing together at the ball.
They could have him. Jesper was only there because he had a job to do.