Gavrila didn't visit me again that day, or the next day either, but on the third day I received a very unexpected caller.

In the middle of assessing my spoon handling skills, one of the three maids who attended to me jumped up. She padded over to the main door. It opened to reveal a soft, short blonde in a gorgeous dark red evening gown, which ended at her knee in the Baracosian fashions. She clutched two large books to her chest and smiled a little timidly at me before stepping in.

She smiled again for a second, before sitting on a chair which the maid placed for her. Gently, the girl set the books down by my knee and took the pad up from my bedside table, scratching a message down onto it.

I'm Henrietta. It's lovely to finally meet you.

My eyes shot back up to the timid girl before me. "You're Henrietta? The princess?" But Gavrila had been saying how awful she was. How could this girl be any semblance of a controlling maniac.

She nodded daintily. As she moved, I noticed that a slight pregnancy bump attested to her claim. Henrietta picked up one of the books, holding it out for me to take. It was heavy, but I managed to rest it on my lap, looking down at the title.

Sign language and it's uses.

I looked back up with a grin to see that she had written another message for me. The handwriting was hasty but brutally linear.

I thought we could try and learn it together. It's much more efficient.

One thing the book said was that you can have "sign names". From how you look or something you say a lot.

Henrietta was waiting for me when I looked back up. She spoke slowly, "I thought mine could be," then she drew her hand in a line across her shoulders and collarbone. It surprised me that I'd understood her so well; her soft pink lips were easier to follow than Gavrila's had been. Henrietta seemed to take my analysis for confusion and went on to gesture to her dress, which had a neckline in the same style as her "sign name". Smiling in agreement, I nodded. "- thought yours," the princess spoke again, gesturing heavily. Then she did a similar motion, but from her chin back to her ear, going across the jawline.

I laughed when I realised it was because of my new hair.

Together, we spent much of that afternoon perusing the two books. They had illustrated diagrams of different signs with the words they represented underneath. What was perhaps the most useful was the chapter on "fingerspelling". It showed a different shape using both of the hands, each representing a letter. The princess and I practiced the alphabet over and over without speaking.

Just as we were about to try spelling secret messages with the newly acquired signs, the door banged open. Henrietta jumped up as Gavrila stepped tiredly into the room, pushing a hand across his face. He said something to Henrietta which made her shoulders slump and her arms cross.

Henrietta leaned forward slightly as though to ridicule her husband, who threw one arm up in irritation, pointedly ignoring her as he took her seat by my bed. Behind his back, the little blonde raised up her hands, slowly spelling bye before leaving quietly.

The Prince harrumphed and reached for my pad, scribbling irritability on it.

Sorry you had to put up with her. If I'd known she was in here then I'd have come to save you.

I rolled my eyes, chucking the pad away. "I like Henrietta. She's nice."

Then the prince rolled his eyes in return.

She's skiving off work is what she is. I had to put up with the Debutantes all day because no one knew where she was.

I arched an eyebrow as I read. "Why are all the Debutantes still here? The season is over isn't it?" I shuddered at the thought of Holly and Serena still wandering the halls.

The Queen thought that now the nobles are home from the war, we should have a Baracosian style season to get them matched up. Apparently that means H or I always have to be in attendance.

His petulant scowl made me laugh, though a ghost made the laugh feel uncertain. I didn't want to be alone with him; I wanted to be home.

"When will you let me go home?" I murmured, my fingers rolling the sheets up gradually.

The prince kissed my forehead, his beard tickling my skin. "-et better fir-" He spoke, then went back to the pad again.

Would you like to try going for a walk again tomorrow? The maids tell me you're getting stronger.

Forcing my face into a thoughtful shape, I tried to come up with an excuse. Whilst I would love to try leaving this room, I didn't want to go with him.

"Let me go out with Henrietta first." I said eventually, praying he wouldn't lash out. "She's easier to lip read and it would be hard to write and look after me at the same time."

Gavrila frowned, taking my hand in his. I kept it there, if only because it would look bad for me to snatch it back.

She's dangerous. You should go careful around her.

He handed me the pad with a serious glance. When I rolled my eyes he squeezed my hand a little tighter, as though that would persuade me to abandon her friendship entirely.

"I'm tired." I lied smoothly when his hand kept holding onto mine for too long. "Let me sleep."

Gavrila nodded solemnly, kissing my forehead yet again. He had done it so much in such a short space of time that I had begun to despise the action. As he got up, he said something to the maid. She nodded quickly, bobbing a deep curtsey, then held the door open for him.

I lay awake for hours, perusing Henrietta's books further.