rewarded with only the very briefest glimpse
of the Porcelain Princess?
It dawned on her
that she hadn’t thought of how she would manage to arrange an
audience with the Princess, let alone the Illuminator.
What if they
didn’t want to see her?
What if they
were too busy?
Even though she
was smaller than most of the people standing around her, she could
see the high, white walls surrounding the palace rising above the
heads of the edges of the crowd. In many places the wall was
plastered with posters announcing their show, particularly around
the tall white gate pillars, where they had been pasted over other,
older posters.
The crowd sighed
again. And the gates began to slowly open.
*
Chapter
17
The crowd
obediently parted as the white carriage made its way through
them.
How had the
Princess managed to get down from the balcony and into the carriage
in such a short space of time? Carey wondered. She didn’t think it
was possible, yet, realising the carriage was heading in her
direction, Carey moved aside with everyone else to clear the way
for it, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Princess as it made
its way past her.
But the carriage
was empty.
She wasn’t the
only one to be disappointed by this. There were many exclamations
of surprise, giving Carey the impression that this was all very
unusual.
There were even
more astonished gasps as the carriage suddenly stopped in the
middle of the crowd.
The door
opened.
A set of
glitteringly white steps dropped down from the bottom of the
doorway, the last step hanging just slightly above the
floor.
‘ Well, go on then, my dear.’
Carey felt a
gentle push in her back. She looked back over her shoulder. A woman
was smiling down at her.
‘ What?’ Carey said, confused. ‘I’m sorry; what do you
mean?’
The other people
standing around her were also smiling knowingly at her.
‘ Well, obviously, it must be waiting for you Carey!’ a man
said confidently.
Carey turned
back to look at the carriage once more. Yes, it had stopped
directly opposite her. And the door was right in front of
her.
But all this was
just a coincidence, surely?
‘ No,
no; it can’t be me,’ she insisted nervously. ‘I mean, why me? There must be some mistake!’
‘ This
is what you wanted, isn’t it?’ someone close by said.
‘ It’s
your chance to see the Illuminator.’
‘ Go
on girl!’ someone else kindly urged as she received another gentle
push in her back.
She stepped,
almost stumbled forward, expecting the door to humiliatingly close
before her as she approached it. But the door remained open, the
steps remained in place.
She warily
placed a foot on the lowest of the steps, expecting the step to
suddenly withdraw from beneath her at any second.
Nothing
happened.
She stepped up
onto the next step.
She leaned
forward into the carriage’s wondrously upholstered
interior.
As she stepped
inside, the steps were swiftly raised behind her, and the door
silently closed. As soon as she was comfortably seated, the horses
began to elegantly and smoothly turn the carriage
around.
The crowds
parted once more for the carriage. Seeing Carey inside, they waved
and cheered as if it were the Princess herself making her way
through them.
As she wasn’t
sure what else she should do, Carey cheerfully waved
back.
*
Even as her
white carriage slowly approached the open gates, Carey could see
the black carriage waiting inside the walls. The black horses
impatiently pawed the ground, eager to set out on their own task,
even though there must still be quite a time to pass before they’d
be allowed to leave. Perhaps they were always on call, Carey
reasoned, as no one was really sure when they would be next
needed.
The gates swung
silently to behind her as the carriage entered the palace
courtyard.
Suddenly she
felt very alone. There were no signs of any human activity. Even
the cheering of the crowd had abruptly come to an end as the gates
had
of the Porcelain Princess?
It dawned on her
that she hadn’t thought of how she would manage to arrange an
audience with the Princess, let alone the Illuminator.
What if they
didn’t want to see her?
What if they
were too busy?
Even though she
was smaller than most of the people standing around her, she could
see the high, white walls surrounding the palace rising above the
heads of the edges of the crowd. In many places the wall was
plastered with posters announcing their show, particularly around
the tall white gate pillars, where they had been pasted over other,
older posters.
The crowd sighed
again. And the gates began to slowly open.
*
Chapter
17
The crowd
obediently parted as the white carriage made its way through
them.
How had the
Princess managed to get down from the balcony and into the carriage
in such a short space of time? Carey wondered. She didn’t think it
was possible, yet, realising the carriage was heading in her
direction, Carey moved aside with everyone else to clear the way
for it, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Princess as it made
its way past her.
But the carriage
was empty.
She wasn’t the
only one to be disappointed by this. There were many exclamations
of surprise, giving Carey the impression that this was all very
unusual.
There were even
more astonished gasps as the carriage suddenly stopped in the
middle of the crowd.
The door
opened.
A set of
glitteringly white steps dropped down from the bottom of the
doorway, the last step hanging just slightly above the
floor.
‘ Well, go on then, my dear.’
Carey felt a
gentle push in her back. She looked back over her shoulder. A woman
was smiling down at her.
‘ What?’ Carey said, confused. ‘I’m sorry; what do you
mean?’
The other people
standing around her were also smiling knowingly at her.
‘ Well, obviously, it must be waiting for you Carey!’ a man
said confidently.
Carey turned
back to look at the carriage once more. Yes, it had stopped
directly opposite her. And the door was right in front of
her.
But all this was
just a coincidence, surely?
‘ No,
no; it can’t be me,’ she insisted nervously. ‘I mean, why me? There must be some mistake!’
‘ This
is what you wanted, isn’t it?’ someone close by said.
‘ It’s
your chance to see the Illuminator.’
‘ Go
on girl!’ someone else kindly urged as she received another gentle
push in her back.
She stepped,
almost stumbled forward, expecting the door to humiliatingly close
before her as she approached it. But the door remained open, the
steps remained in place.
She warily
placed a foot on the lowest of the steps, expecting the step to
suddenly withdraw from beneath her at any second.
Nothing
happened.
She stepped up
onto the next step.
She leaned
forward into the carriage’s wondrously upholstered
interior.
As she stepped
inside, the steps were swiftly raised behind her, and the door
silently closed. As soon as she was comfortably seated, the horses
began to elegantly and smoothly turn the carriage
around.
The crowds
parted once more for the carriage. Seeing Carey inside, they waved
and cheered as if it were the Princess herself making her way
through them.
As she wasn’t
sure what else she should do, Carey cheerfully waved
back.
*
Even as her
white carriage slowly approached the open gates, Carey could see
the black carriage waiting inside the walls. The black horses
impatiently pawed the ground, eager to set out on their own task,
even though there must still be quite a time to pass before they’d
be allowed to leave. Perhaps they were always on call, Carey
reasoned, as no one was really sure when they would be next
needed.
The gates swung
silently to behind her as the carriage entered the palace
courtyard.
Suddenly she
felt very alone. There were no signs of any human activity. Even
the cheering of the crowd had abruptly come to an end as the gates
had
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