My Best Friend Bore the Crown Prince but Wanted Male Models

1: 1

After months of resting through her pregnancy, my best friend the Queen finally delivered the crown prince, and then she was calling out to me for a taste of home:

Rosie, I want pumpkin bread~

I froze for a second, as if I hadn't heard right. What... what bread?

She cradled the little prince in her arms and winked at me.

"Pumpkin bread, of course. It's my absolute favorite, isn't it? Having a baby is exhausting, and I'm starving. Get me ten of them!"

Something in me went cold, and I frowned at the woman I'd known for so long.

Eight years ago the two of us crossed over into this era together. She became Queen; I became High Priestess.

In an age where people killed without blinking, we'd settled on a code between us

If either of us ran into real danger, we were to tell the other, "I want ten male models." No one else would ever understand it.

I studied that familiar face and felt the chill spread down my back.

If my best friend had already been killed.

Then who was this woman tugging at my sleeve?

...

"Come on, Rosie~ what are you spacing out for? Did my adorable pout finally get to you?"

Susie leaned against the headboard and gave me a one-eyed wink.

And just like that, I wavered again.

The wink really was a habit of hers; she'd relied on her looks to flirt with everyone since she was a little girl.

The spoiled, sweet lilt in her voice was exactly the same as always too.

But how could she blurt out a code that meant so much to us, right after giving birth?

Was she just teasing me?

I shook my head and told myself to stop imagining things.

Then I laughed softly and patted the back of her hand.

"All right, all right, you just had the little crown princewhat do you need male models for? Behave yourself."

But she frowned and pushed out her lower lip, clearly put out.

"I'm the Queen, for heaven's sake. I only want a little pumpkin bread..."

Before Susie could finish, a voice came from beyond the door, dignified and yet edged with joy.

"Eat! My Susie wore herself out bringing the crown prince into the world. She can have whatever she wants, pumpkin bread or anything else."

I turned toward the voice, and it was the King himself, Leigh Rowe.

I rose at once to pay my respects, but he only waved me off, his eyes full of love as he gathered Susie into his arms.

"Lady James, you're Susie's dearest friend. There are no outsiders here, so there's no need to stand on ceremony."

Nestled in the crook of Leigh Rowe's arm with the little prince, Susie laughed sweetly.

"All right, all right, I know the two of you love me most~ Rosie, I really do want pumpkin bread, so go and get it ready, would you?"

They fussed over the baby, and no one noticed that something was wrong with my face.

Under my wide sleeves, my hand clenched tight.

If the woman in front of me truly was Susannah Foxthe best friend who had crossed over here with me and weathered every hardship at my side.

Then how could she not know that male models were never any kind of food?

When we'd first arrived here, Susie used to complain all day long.

"Who wants to come into the palace and be a consort? Waiting around for a king I never even see. I want to go home and order male models! I want ten male models!"

I'd rapped her on the forehead, exasperated.

"Listen to you, my dear Consort Susie. It's a good thing no one here knows what a male model even isif anyone heard you say that, ten heads wouldn't be enough to lose!"

She'd rubbed her forehead where it hurt, stuck her tongue out at me, then suddenly winked with one eye and snapped her fingers.

"I've got it! From now on, that's our code. This place is full of dangersay the wrong thing and it could cost you your life."

"If either of us ever ends up in real danger, no matter what, we have to get out those six words: 'I want ten male models'!"

Back then I'd teased her, asking who on earth would use such a ridiculous line as a code, but she'd refused to back down and settled it just like that.

I never imagined I'd actually hear those six words come out of her mouth.

Soon I went to the royal kitchen and steamed ten golden buns, then carried them to Susie.

Her eyes lit up and she cried out, "So pretty~ It really is my favorite pumpkin bread."

Ignoring how the buns scalded her hands, she ate with obvious relish.

Cold sweat soaked through the back of my robe in an instant, and despair rose in my chest.

The buns were golden not because I'd used anything strangeI'd only put pumpkin in the dough.

The very pumpkin that made Susie gag the moment she tasted it, the one she used to swear was the worst-tasting thing in the whole world.

Watching her eat it, bite after happy bite.

My legs went weak and I stumbled where I stood.

The person in front of me could not possibly be Susannah Fox. Of that I was certain.

So where had my Susie gone?

2: 2

"Rosie, why are you sweating so much?"

I gripped the edge of the table, barely steady on my feet, as Susannah lifted a handkerchief to dab at my face.

I flinched away on instinct and wiped it myself with the back of my hand.

"It's probably... the steam from the buns just now, it was so hot. It's nothing. Do you like them?"

Susannah chewed, cheeks stuffed round, and nodded.

Leigh Rowe flicked the tip of her nose, doting.

"You're a mother now, and you still act like a child."

Then he took her slender wrist in his hand and bit into the half-eaten bun she was holding.

"Mm, they really are good. The Queen delivered the crown prince today, and Lady James steamed pumpkin bread with her own handsthat counts for something too!"

"Rewards! Rewards for everyone!"

At his word, endless gold and silver and jewels were carried in.

Leigh Rowe pressed a kiss to Susannah's forehead.

"I have some state matters to attend to. With Lady James here to keep you company, I can leave with an easy mind."

The vast Queen's Chambers were left to the two of us, sisters with our private things to say.

Susannah patted the bed beside her carelessly.

"He's finally gone. Rosie, come here, sit down and tell me whether the prince looks like me or like Leigh Rowe."

She called the king by his given name, as she had for all eight years.

But the moment I thought that the person in front of me might no longer be my Susannah, the hand I reached out trembled beyond my control.

"Rosie, what are you shaking for? I just had a baby, and you're this worked up? Pathetic."

She passed the child to me, a tiny bundle.

My eyes stung all at once. If this were truly Susannah's baby, would it have been just as sweet?

I dragged an ugly smile onto my mouth, fighting back tears that instead looked like a best friend weeping for joy.

"Susie, you finally got the son you've wanted to give Leigh Rowe all these years. I'm happy for you."

At that she nodded and sighed, musing aloud.

"I know. A son on the first try, so I won't have to suffer through it again. You have no idea how much it hurts to give birth!"

She chattered on beside my ear like a lark, full of little complaints.

But my thoughts drifted far away, my fingernails digging into flesh until they drew blood.

Susannah had never wanted a son.

The day after she was crowned Queen, she'd thrown the royal decree aside, indignant.

"Why must I give them a crown prince? I won't. Daughters are so lovely! This whole business of favoring sons over daughters has to go!"

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't bear a son at all. Even if I have a princess, I'll name her heir!"

Every frown and every smile of the woman before me was exactly Susannah's, yet she was absolutely not her.

But she could speak our male-model code phrase, which meant Susannah must have said it once and this woman had overheard it.

Where on earth was Susannah? Was she alive or dead?

That night I cast ten divinations for Susannah, one after another, and every one came back dire.

I sank to the floor, and then, all at once, I saw the clouds that had hung dark for days pull apart.

Of the twin sister-stars that had always stood for the two lives Susannah and I shared as one, one had gone utterly dim.

I sucked in a breath, shaken. Could Susannah really have been killed...

But who could she possibly have wronged?

A queen who contended with no one, a harem that held not even a single other consort.

Leigh Rowe loved her more than his own life. He could never have hurt her.

I held my head in my hands and thought. A living, breathing person can't be swapped out without leaving a crack somewhere.

I had to find her. Alive, I would see her face. Dead, I would see her body.

When exactly had things gone wrong?

Three months ago, seven months into her pregnancy, Susannah had said she felt unwell and needed to rest in the Queen's Chambers.

Since we came to this world, I had never been apart from her for so long.

Three whole months, until today, when she delivered the crown princethat was the first I had seen of her again.

Something had to have happened in between.

I drove my fist into the railing. I should have seen it long ago.

Susannah dreaded being alone. There was no way she would have shut herself inside the Queen's Chambers for three months.

3: 3

I gathered my robe to turn and go.

Then, after a moment's thought, I stopped.

Susannah and Leigh Rowe were devoted to each other. Even though she had shut herself away in the Queen's Chambers for three months, Leigh still came to see her almost every single day.

If Susannah had truly been swapped out for someone else, could Leigh really have failed to notice?

The longer I turned it over, the more wrong it felt. In these deep palace halls that swallowed people whole and spat out no bones, even the king himself could not be trusted.

If I rushed before the throne and declared his queen an impostor with no proof in hand, I was a dead woman.

So I set out at once to learn exactly who had been coming and going from Susannah's chambers these past three months.

And I found it.

Besides Leigh Rowe, the other frequent visitor was the royal physician, Dr. Whitney.

In the royal medical court, an attendant was about to carry off the tonic being sent to the Queen's Chambers.

And Dr. Whitney was furtively tipping some kind of powder into it.

I lunged forward and clamped down on his wrist, my voice sharp.

"Dean Whitney! What did you just put in the queen's medicine?"

"I'm wronged, my lady! I was only following His Majesty's orders. Her Majesty is delicate and can't stand bitterness, so I was adding a little sugar to the tonic, nothing more!"

He dropped to his knees, terrified, pleading. I looked closely at the leftover powder, and it was indeed sugar.

He clasped his hands and spoke in earnest.

"Lady James, you and Her Majesty are both the people I owe my life to. I would never do anything so ungrateful."

I watched him warily, but there was truth in what he said.

Five years ago, when he had erred while placing needles for the queen mother, if Susannah and I had not stepped in.

The grass on his grave would be waist-high by now.

Dr. Whitney would never harm Susannah.

I pressed the bridge of my nose and told him to get up, but he stayed kneeling.

He glanced left and right to make sure no one was near, then drew a slip of paper from his sleeve and held it out to me.

"Lady James, Her Majesty gave me this with her own hand two months ago, when I came to check the pulse of her pregnancy."

"She said you had to confirm what was inside it yourself."

My heart jolted. Susannah really had left me a clue!

The whole way back my hand went slick with sweat around that slip of paper. I wanted to run, but I was afraid of drawing eyes.

So I forced a calm face and walked quickly back to the Priestess Hall. Faster, faster.

What on earth had Susannah left me?

Had she written out all her suffering, everything they had done to her?

Was there some vast conspiracy hidden in this palace?

Who exactly was trying to destroy her?

I locked the door and opened the paper, ready to read whatever it was she needed to tell me.

And the instant it came clear, I froze.

On that scrap of paper, no bigger than a palm, was a single line.

Rosie, take care of Leigh Rowe for me

Her handwriting was messy, nothing like her usual delicate script.

You could tell she had written it in a great hurry.

But at a moment of such danger, she wanted me to take care of the king?

This silly girl, and this was all she had to say to me?

I clutched the paper, unable to believe it.

Impossible. Susannah was too clever for that. She would never leave me just this one line.

Telling me to take care of the king had to mean something more.

I made myself breathe deep and closed my eyes to think.

Susannah had been killed. Could it be that the next target was the king?

In an instant I ran for the Star-Watching Terrace, and sure enough, the North Star that stood for the throne flickered bright and dim by turns.

Their target was the king himself!

I stumbled back a step in shock, and the paper drifted close to the candle flame.

And at once another character rose to the surface!

4: 4

I leaned in close, and it really was a .

What did it mean? 3.14?

Was this the last clue Susannah had left me?

What was she trying to say? Pi?

How could there even be a mathematical constant in an age like this?

Afraid grief had blurred my sight, I rubbed my eyes and looked again. It was just a .

I kept feeling I'd seen the symbol somewhere else too.

Then it hit me. I remembered.

Back in school, on my sixteenth birthday, Susannah had handed me a note exactly like this, with nothing on it but a .

She'd winked, playing coy. Rosie~ this is your birthday present. You have to find it yourself~

That day I turned over nearly everything round in the whole school, right down to the round-mouthed trash cans.

When I truly couldn't find it and begged her, she finally took pity on me. :

Silly~ isn't a lake round too?

And sure enough, I found my birthday present in the grass by the lake.

Could this be her telling me the same thing, to go to the lake?

The moment the thought landed, I didn't hesitate. I bolted straight for the lake.

But I searched every inch of the palace's little lake and found nothing.

Susannah, what are you trying to tell me?

Where are you?

I sank down onto the ground, hollow, and in that moment I cursed myself. If I really couldn't find her, I wouldn't go on living either.

Then I froze where I sat.

There was one more lake in this palace, and it was inside her own Queen's Chambers.

I climbed over the wall and set off the guards.

The commotion brought Leigh Rowe and the fake Susannah.

Rosie?

Lady James, why are you scaling the wall of the Queen's Chambers in the dead of night?

The fake Susannah smiled to smooth it over and pulled me up from the ground. :

I'm guessing Rosie wanted to come see me. Look at you, insisting on climbing the wall. Startling me is fine, but you mustn't jostle the little prince~

The next instant I shoved the smiling woman away and dropped to my knees in front of Leigh Rowe. :

Your Majesty! I suspect I suspect the Queen's Chambers are harboring a traitor! Please send men to search at once!

With that I raised the golden token Leigh Rowe had granted me all those years ago.

He'd once said that whenever he saw this token, whatever I asked, he had to obey.

At the words his face changed sharply, and the fake Susannah only frowned in confusion. :

Rosie, what nonsense is this? How could there be a traitor in my chambers?

I was talking nonsense. But only this way could I get a pretext to search the Queen's Chambers.

Susannah was swapped out right here. I've checked every detail, and there's no way even a body could have been carried out.

Which means Susannah is still inside the Queen's Chambers.

Leigh Rowe was shaking with rage. :

How dare you, Rosamund James. Did I give you that token so you could make a scene? Leave now, and for the Queen's sake I'll let this go unpunished!

But I raised the token higher and repeated it, grave and firm. :

For Your Majesty's safety, please search at once. I stake my own head that there is a traitor inside the Queen's Chambers!

Faced with the token, Leigh Rowe had no move left. He could only send the royal guard to search the Queen's Chambers, inside and out.

Your Majesty, nothing suspicious in the main hall!

Your Majesty, nothing suspicious in the side hall!

Nothing suspicious in the bedchamber!

The guards searched every corner, and there was nothing suspicious anywhere.

The fake Susannah pointed at me, eyes brimming with tears. :

Rosamund James, you and I are as close as sisters. I never dreamed you'd frame me like this?

She feigned heartbreak, leaning into Leigh Rowe's arms to wipe her tears.

Leigh Rowe could never bear to see Susannah cry. A single tear cut him deeper than a knife.

I could hardly imagine what he'd do if he ever learned the real Susannah had already been murdered.

Seeing the fake Susannah so wronged, Leigh Rowe threw out his hand and shouted. :

Guards! Drag Rosamund James out of here for me

Before the words were out, a guard's cry came from the lakeside. :

Your Majesty! A corpse has been found by the lake. We're pulling it up now!