The wing where granny used to live was a scary place since she went to heaven. Grandpa went to heaven as well, but that was long ago, before Donna was born. When she was as old as four she used to play around mummy’s home except in there, but now she was already five and it was fine. The windows were always closed and many of their rooms were dark. Perfect for hide and seek.

Needles was lazy and fat, and she always found him first. But Blackey was difficult. He was good at hiding, so Donna spent the entire morning searching amongst the dusty furniture for him. It always took her that much time. That day, Blackey was in a very bad mood, and when Donna grabbed him from under the old harpsichord, he bit her finger. That was not fun.

She screamed, and he ran to the other wing, to the rooms daddy used to work. That was a place she didn’t want to go. That part was the scary one now. It was not all the strange metal toys daddy used to make. That scared mummy and her sisters but Donna was always happy to see him work on them, and even play with the metal puppets when daddy was not sick with the wine. It was daddy’s friend who scared Donna greatly.

He was a leper, daddy said. A person with a disease who needed a lot of help. He was always covered in blankets and bandages and his face was always hidden under one of the masks the city people used for the solstice celebrations. Donna used to love those masks, but since she first saw him, she began to have many nightmares about it, and about the eyes behind them.

Remembering that, she tiptoed inside Daddy’s office, checking every corner, afraid to find daddy’s friend hiding in the shadowy corners as he used to do. It was empty, luckily. But daddy’s voice was in the other room. The one he used to receive people.

Donna sneaked inside using the left door, the one they always left half open, and crawled to the window curtain on the right. It was her special entry. Daddy never noticed. From behind her secret hideout, she observed as a group of strange-looking people was also walking inside the room. They were indeed very, very strange. Their eyes were narrow, and the skin was as white as they never went out to sunbathe. The people of Mestra, were they lived, liked to use the sun to tan their skins. They said it was healthy and who had pale skin was sick. Maybe those strange visitors were sick, Donna thought. After all, many of Daddy's clients who didn't come for his watches were. Those sick people were also all rich, she noticed, because they were wearing a lot of gold and silk, like the red merchants from very far away.

“It is a great honour for us to meet the Watchmaker of Mestra,” said a small, thin man with many rings and a funny bun over his head.

“The honour is mine. Please forgive the mess of my workshop. I was not expecting a royal visit.” Daddy was nervous. Donna could tell.

“No need to apologise, Master Maker. Our Princess is pleased with what she sees,” said the funny man, waving his hand at the woman at his side. She was sitting on a big chair with long poles at the side and with four strong big men standing behind each of them. Donna saw once how servants carried important ladies in big chairs like that, because they were too tired or too lazy to walk. This Lady, did not look tired or lazy. But maybe she was, because when she talked, she just whispered to the skinny man, so softly nobody else could hear.

“Princess Lim is willing to pay a hundred thousand golden suns for it.”

The Princess nodded and her lips were tight like she was going to smile, but was too shy to do it. Donna couldn’t be more excited to see, for the first time in her life, a real princess. She was very graceful and elegant and perhaps, she was the most gorgeous woman Donna had ever seen. Prettier than mummy, even prettier than Karisa or even aunty Sabrina.

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“Is your Majesty aware of the dangers of the procedures?”

“She understands, and she is determined to endure any pain of your doing, any humiliation of modesty and any hardships of recovery for as long as it’s necessary. If the Watchmaker’s magic can get her walking again, we will pay happily. We will comply silently.”

Daddy covered his mouth like when he was thinking about a problem and couldn’t find the correct solution. He checked papers on his work table for a while before he spoke again. “I’d have to study all these excellent reports from your physicians very carefully so my doing should not excessively harm your Majesty. And I’ll speak to my assistant, who is a lady of extreme competence. Therefore, royal modesty will remain as undisturbed as possible. As for the recovery, that will take months and hard work. Nothing I can do about that.”

The Princess whispered again, and the skinny man agreed with dad. They looked very pleased.

“Then I’ll send one of my people to the Governor’s palace with all the details as soon as possible,“ Daddy said, standing up. The rest of the funny strange men stood as well, but the Princess was too important, so the four strong men lifted her chair up and moved her away slowly. They all bowed, looking down, like if Daddy was a king of a sort, and all left in silence.

Donna was planning to surprise Daddy like every time he was in a good mood, not when he was sick of wine because he didn’t like surprises then. But now was not a good time either, because he was worried. He moved up and down the room when he was worried. So Donna came out of her hideout to be seen easily. Daddy didn’t notice her at first, but when she came closer, he rubbed her hair and she loved it. It was a happy moment she enjoyed very few times, and it spoiled with the squeak of the leper’s chair.

Donna saw the mask coming from behind a curtain and hid behind daddy’s leg. The leper pushed the chair with limps covered in thick bandages. The wheels squeaked again. It was a sound Donna hated, like his voice.

The leper rested the two lumps that had once been arms on two bundles that had once been legs and spoke with that hoarse voice that resounded horribly behind his clay face. “So, what’s gonna be, David?”

“Without you I can do nothing for her, you know that.”

“I have done the last calculations. With that money, I can build the sphere.”

“My hands are not that steady anymore, dear.” Daddy said, dropping onto one of the stools. Donna rushed to hide behind the table before the leper noticed she was there.

“Get me the simple pincers to start with. It’s time I get a new set of extremities. I’m tired of this chair. As soon as I put myself up again, I'll fix your princess.”

Donna didn’t know the leper could help daddy make new toys, and she didn’t know either he was planning to fix himself. But if that meant he was going to stop looking scary, she was happy about it.

"And don't forget the face, dear. That mask scares my little kitten.”

The leper turned towards the door from where the visitors left and remained quiet for a long time. “Yes. I'll make a new whole me. And it needs to be different: a new look that puts me out of Herjard's reach.”

Dad uncorked the bottle of wine. The red drink made him sad and sick, but he always told Donna that he needed it, because it was the only remedy he had to cure painful memories. He raised the cup and cheered. "For my two favourite princesses, who are going to start walking again!"

Then he drank his medicine without stopping for a breath.