Princess in Disguise Read Free

get dressed and calm her mother’s nerves.
    Her mother had been agitated since the day Annie and Liam returned from helping Snow White and announced that they planned to marry right away. Queen Karolina had just finished putting on a wedding for her older daughter, Gwendolyn, and hadn’t expected Annie’s announcement quite so soon. When Liam said that he wanted to marry Annie that week, the queen announced that no daughter of hers was going to get married in anything but the most beautiful ceremony, and that would take at least two months. They were able to talk her down to one, but that had only been after much wheedling, begging, and threats of elopement. Everyone in the castle had worked overtime to get things ready, but Annie’s gown hadn’t been finished when she went to bed the night before.
    Annie and Liam had thought long and hard about their invitation list, and had finally decided that they had to invite all the witches and fairies in the kingdom if they wanted to stay on cordial terms with them. Although there weren’t very many witches in Treecrest, there were lots of fairies. None had arrived yet, but Annie was sure that they planned to make a big entrance, arriving together just before the wedding. More worrisome, however, was that Liam’s father had yet to arrive. They had invited him as soon as theyset the date and had welcomed a messenger bearing a reply soon after. He had promised to come, but there was still no sign of the elderly king. Annie wondered if she should once again offer to postpone the wedding, an offer she had already made to Liam the day before. He had turned her down then, saying that he expected his father to show up any minute.
    â€œThere you are!” Lady Clare exclaimed as she rushed down the corridor to take Annie by the arm. “Your mother has been waiting for you!”
    Annie let the woman lead her into the queen’s chamber. Although it was a large room, it seemed small with all the ladies-in-waiting there along with the two seamstresses who were still fussing over the gowns they had made for Annie and her mother.
    Queen Karolina turned away from her mirror to glare at Annie. “It’s about time! Where have you been?”
    â€œI came straight here,” Annie replied. “Did Liam’s father arrive yet?”
    â€œNo, but I’m sure he’s on his way. The ceremony isn’t due to start for another three hours,” said the queen.
    â€œWhat if he doesn’t get here in time? Maybe we should postpone it until—”
    â€œYou will do no such thing!” her mother cried. “You bullied me into having the wedding today and you’re not going to change it now. I’ve worked my fingers to the bone trying to make this perfect. Nothing is going to make us postpone this wedding!”
    Annie could tell that her mother was annoyed with her, but she was too worried to give up. “He should be here by now. What if something has gone wrong?”
    The queen sighed as if it was all too much. “If something had gone wrong and he wasn’t able to come, he would have sent word. Now please, go look at your dress. Mabel and Inga just finished it.”
    The two seamstresses bobbed their heads, beaming at Annie, but she could see the shadows under their eyes and knew they had been up all night. Her mother wasn’t the only one who had put a lot of work into the wedding. Maybe it wouldn’t be fair to any of them if she postponed it now.
    Lady Clare had already crossed the room to where the seamstresses hovered over the gown. “It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed. “Oh, dear, there’s a loose thread.”
    The moment Lady Clare touched the thread, Annie heard twanging as if someone had struck a harsh chord on a lute. “No, don’t!” Annie cried out, but the magic she’d heard had already done its work. At the touch of the woman’s hand, every thread in the gown came