Baski rushed into the dressing room and stared at Sally. A different Sally.
One look at the girl and Baski already knew what she planned to do, and her heart broke.
“No, no, Sally, you can’t,” she said as she took steps deeper into the dressing room.
But Sally’s mind was made up. “I can. I will.”
“You want to take her place?” Baski whispered dreadfully.
Sally was dressed in the same clothing as Danika. She had a blonde wig on her head, just like Danika’s hair. The two women were almost the same height and build, and in a mask, no one would know the difference.
“Oh, Creator, you really want to take her place!” Baski gasped.
Sally nodded, staring at herself in the mirror. She looked… different. Wearing such elegant clothes, she looked sophisticated.
“If they find out, you’ll be in trouble, Sally. They will execute you for this!”
Sally stared at the older woman with a sad smile on her face. “That’s why I sent for you, Madam Baski. I know you can help me; they’ll never find out if you help me.”
“God, Sally, it’s too dangerous!” Baski shook her head. “And I don’t want you to do this, do you hear me!? No, I won’t allow this!”
Sally wiped the tears from her cheek. She walked closer and took Baski’s hand into hers, squeezing it in reassuringly, even as her own hands trembled badly.“My princess can’t live like that, Madam Baski. Those kings hate her. She’ll never survive what they’ll do to her. She wasn’t born like us. She’s no slave; she’s my princess! They’ll break her to pieces; she can never survive that.” Tears streaked down her made-up face.
“And you think will you survive it?” Baski countered softly.
The answer she got was more tears.
It made Baski’s eyes water. She squeezed Sally’s hands. “You won’t, Sally. You think just because of the…things you had to do to get us food that you can survive being the object of hateful violence of five powerful kings? You can’t survive that! I’m Remeta’s mother, and I know this with every bone in my body. You can’t do this, Sally, do you hear me!?” Baski said heatedly, shaking Sally’s arms.
Silence. Sally could only weep even as a little smile touched the corners of her mouth.“Please answer this question for me, Madam Baski. If it was King Lucien in there, and you had the power to save him, would you save him or not?” she whispered.
Baski allowed the question to wash over her. Then she lowered her head, her heart heavy. They both knew the answer to that question.
“And what about Sir Chad?” Sally continued in a whisper. “If it was King Lucien in such trouble, wouldn’t he do everything within his power to save the king—including dying for him?”
“Oh, Sally.”
“And what about Sir Declan?” she whispered tearfully.
Baski clutched her heavy heart at the mention of him.
“He died in Mombana—for his king,” Sally supplied. “And all of you would do it over and over and over again for him with a smile on your face, because that’s how much you love and want to protect King Lucien.”
Baski wiped the tears that kept coming from her eyes. She studied Sally’s face carefully, this girl who had her heart—and the heart of every other person in Salem.“King Lucien was worth it, Sally. He is still worth it,” she whispered at last. “Your princess…is she worth this sacrifice?”
“Oh yes, Madam Baski. She’s worth it and so much more.”
“If she finds out about this, it will break her, Sally. What is worse than going through torture is watching someone you care about go through it…for you. You can ask King Lucien about it; he knew it better than anybody. She will never forgive herself.”
Sally stared at the royal bangle again. “Better me than her. This will destroy her dignity. Her very being. She’d never walk with her head high again. She’d look at herself and see dirt. Garbage. She’d be seen as a true slave. That is being broken for royalty, Madam Baski.”
Silence met her words.
Finally, Baski stepped back, trying to regain her composure. “Then I’ll help you. I’ll get Danika out, and I’ll keep her out so you can go in.”
“Thank you so much, Madam Baski,” she whispered sincerely. “Take her far away from the courtroom. I don’t want her to see or hear. It’ll hurt her a lot, and she might try to stop everything.”
Baski shook her head in sadness, but at the same time, she felt a new respect for this young woman. “You, Sally, are the bravest and most loyal young woman I’ve ever known. You’re not meant to be a slave. Your heart is too pure to have been in this dark world of ours.”
Baski’s curiosity got the better of her, so she asked, “How did you make it this far? All this light and happiness and brightness of yours… how did you keep them for so long?”
Sally swiveled her head to the door. “It’s all because of that woman inside that den of lions, Madam Baski.”
“The princess?”
She nodded. “It’s all because of her.”
Baski looked away. “Has she been unmasked?”
“Yes. I hear the shouts from here,” Sally answered.
“Then now is your chance.” Baski walked closer and helped Sally put on the mask and padlocked it behind her head.
Sally walked to the table and lifted the bangle, then slid it into her left wrist.
“You almost walk like her.” Baski’s voice held reverence.
Sally beamed at her through the tears. “I’ve been with her for so long, Madam Baski. I know her, my princess.”
Baski bit her lips worriedly. “A lot of slaves have died behind the doors of the royal court. You might never walk out of that door alive, Sally.”
Sally smiled through her tears. “I know, Madam Baski. It doesn’t matter because I’ve been living on borrowed time, anyway.”