The Stepsister Scheme

of the day I’ll smell like troll pants soup.
    Footsteps in the hallway made her look up, though she dutifully continued to stir the laundry. The door opened to reveal Charlotte’s none-too-steady silhouette. “Danielle?”
    Danielle’s breath caught. Only a day had passed since her rats poisoned Stacia’s blade. Could the poison have worked so soon? “I’m here.”
    Charlotte crooked one finger, beckoning.
    Danielle abandoned the laundry and stepped into the hall. Most of the oil lanterns were shuttered, but there was still enough light to see the way Charlotte stared at Danielle’s stomach. Throughout the day, her apron had mostly concealed the effects of the darklings’ touch, but Danielle had taken it off and rolled up her sleeves to do the laundry.
    “Stacia really did it,” Charlotte said. She reached out, brushing her fingers over the brown bloodstains on Danielle’s shirt. Danielle shivered, remembering Stacia’s touch, and that of the darklings. She had spent most of the day terrified that they would return to try again, but apparently Stacia hadn’t yet recovered.
    Charlotte turned and walked down the hallway. “Come with me.”
    Danielle followed. The two darklings played near Stacia’s door. The door was open, the room beyond dark and empty.
    The darklings had captured a small, yellow-striped snake. One had driven a nail through the snake’s tail, pinning it to the floor. The other was chortling and jabbing the snake with a burning stick. When the fire on the stick died, he climbed the wall and stuck the end into one of the oil lamps to relight it.
    Don’t fight them, Danielle pleaded as she passed. Don’t let their torments arouse you. They’re children. They’ll grow bored and move on. She doubted the snake would listen. Its pain and panic were too strong.
    Charlotte led Danielle into her room, shutting the door behind them. “Sit down.”
    Danielle took a seat on the floor. Charlotte tugged the chain to open the lanterns. Danielle squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light.
    As always, Danielle’s gaze went to her sword, mounted over Charlotte’s bed on two wooden pegs. She could still see spots of blood on the hilt where the wood had cut Stacia’s palm, back in the cave.
    “Do you know where your precious prince was tonight?” Charlotte asked.
    Danielle shook her head. “Is Armand all right?”
    Charlotte twisted her hands in the bedcovers, and for a moment Danielle thought she was going to scream. “We dined with the Duchess, and your prince could barely keep his hands off of her. Stacia and Brahkop were even worse. None of them even looked at me.”
    “I don’t understand,” said Danielle. “He loved Stacia . The spell she cast—”
    “Stacia doesn’t need him anymore,” Charlotte snapped. “The filthy troll was more than happy to have his wife back again. He and Stacia mixed a new potion, turning the prince’s affections toward the Duchess. He’s to be a gift for her.”
    Leaving Charlotte alone and useless. The Duchess would take a human prince as her consort, payment for her hospitality. She wondered how long Stacia and Rose had planned this.
    Charlotte bent down, retrieving a small clay pot from beneath the bed. She removed the lid and handed the pot to Danielle. “Drink.”
    Danielle brought the pot to her lips. The smell was foul, like a tea made from compost. She gagged.
    Charlotte snatched the pot. “Don’t spill it! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to brew this?”
    “What is it?” Danielle asked.
    “A brew of tansy and pennyroyal. I spent most of yesterday in the Duchess’ library, reading one dusty old book after another. I had to send Lefty to steal the ingredients.”
    Danielle was still tired, and she didn’t immediately recognize that “Lefty” had to be the one-armed darkling. Then her mind seized on the rest of Charlotte’s words.
    Her weariness vanished. She had once overheard a pair of women in the streets discussing herbs that could drive an unwanted child from the body. Tansy and pennyroyal were two of the most potent.
    Her muscles tightened, and her hand shook as she reached out to take the pot from Charlotte’s hand.
    “Isn’t this better than letting Rose have him?” Charlotte asked.
    “Charlotte, why? There has to be another way,” Danielle said, seizing the chance to speak. Every moment she could talk was another moment she kept the poison from her mouth.
    “Did you know that once a love spell has been broken,