A Merric's Tale

by Margs Murray

  As I walked the room, I suddenly noticed something I’d missed. All the royals and their spouses had the same death date. Every single one.

  Chapter 13

  Ice

  “Knock-knock.” Manon stood at my door. “I am here to keep you company.”

  I was staring blankly at a mountain of food when she came in. It had been a little over a day since Doc’s news about my family and the Tennabris, and how Mom and I, and any future children I had, would be prey to the disease. Not even to mention the weird fact that besides Grandpa, every single family member had the same death day as their spouse. What did that even mean? Was there this terrible tradition in this family that the husband or wife offed themselves as a funeral sacrifice? If not, did they all die of broken hearts? What would happen to my parents? Would I lose both of them on the same day too?

  Each question made me feel worse. So, I was happy to see Manon. “You hungry?”

  Manon grimaced. “I do not eat breakfast.”

  This pile of food could feed a small army. Even though I had asked Enzo to stop giving people my leftovers, I had my suspicions the practice had continued.

  Manon sat next to me. “Your name is getting very large among the dignitaries. I heard some demanding Enzo add a ball to your royal schedule. Your Claudette is jealous.”

  “Jealous? Of me? Why?” There wasn’t any possible reason my cousin could be jealous.

  Manon shrugged her shoulders. “You are the new thing. Virtually as good as a royal wedding. There hasn’t been this much buzz since Bianca’s coronation. No, this is bigger. The people want to meet you, and this is before the Merrics and their PR firm have announced you to the greater public. It is incredible. The gifts you shall receive.” Her eyes widened as she peered past me to my pile of gifts. “My goodness, you still have not opened your gifts. But later. First, you need to get changed. Doctor’s orders; come.”

  Manon went to my closet, and I wondered why she was there to help me and not my stylists. I followed Manon into my wardrobe. “What’s going on?”

  Manon opened and shut several drawers. No luck. She went to the other side of the closet and opened some more drawers. “You are modest, oui? Yes. So you need your bathing suit.”

  I nodded toward the third drawer. I knew precisely where the suit was; I didn’t have to look. I guessed with a hundred percent accuracy the location of every single piece of clothing, which was odd but what wasn’t at that point. “It’s in there, but I don’t really feel like a morning swim.”

  “Not for swimming, no. For your treatment. Put this on.” Manon handed me a silver one-piece.

  “Treatment? For what?” If there was a treatment that involved me wearing a bathing suit around, I wasn’t so sure I was interested in it.

  “You will enjoy it, I promise.”

  Manon left me standing alone in the closet. I shimmied into the suit and slipped on a large white robe to cover up. When I joined her out in the room, a very muscular (and hot!) man had joined her. Both were wearing parkas. I had missed something.

  “What’s going on?”

  The man spoke to Manon in a different language. She nodded and laughed.

  “Come.” She took my arm. “Gudvin doesn’t speak English. Anyway, he is here to give you a massage. All Merrics run hot, and this is to keep your temperature down.”

  “Uh, I don’t need to be cooled down.” Gudvin opened the door for us. A blast of icy air hit my face, and I shivered. “What’s the temperature?”

  Manon took my arm and tugged me forward. “Trust me, you do need this. It’s unhealthy how warm the Merrics can get.”

  The Tennabris. This was to cool off my family when they were suffering from the illness.

  Gudvin waited for me to get on the massage table. “Can I at least keep on my robe or something?”

  “Don’t be so modest. Most Merrics don’t even bother with the suit,” Manon said, and my face went red, followed by my chest and arms. The thought of being in there in my birthday suit made me want to yak. Yuck. It didn’t help that the only Merric I knew she knew well was my uncle, and that was far too gross to consider.

  I hung up my robe. Motivated to get out of the freezer, I decided to get this over with. I crawled onto the table, thankful I had shaved my legs yesterday. “Okay. Make it fast.”

  I think Manon translated what I said to Gudvin, but couldn’t be sure because he laughed when she finished. I saw Gudvin squirt something into his hands. Please be warming oil. My skin was already throbbing from the cold. Oh, please. I screamed as soon as he touched my skin. The oil he used was colder than the surrounding room.

  “Anspent,” he said to Manon.

  “He said you are tense.”

  “Thanks.” He didn’t have to tell me. The air I exhaled created a fog around my face. “How long will I be stuck here?”

  Manon zipped her coat up and put on a pair of white fur mittens. “Twenty minutes.”

  Another five minutes might kill me, let alone twenty. “So is there a reason we are here, besides torture?”

  “Torture? Relax, Waverly. Gudvin knows a great deal about tension and the Merrics. We are not here to torture you. I’m here to tell you about an interesting conversation I had last night.” Manon rubbed her mittened hands together. “You captivated Freddie Frederickson at the opera. He is single, did you know, and into beautiful ladies with intense gray eyes. He is very handsome and sweet, but I have been careless. I need to ask if you are single.”

  My teeth chattered as I answered. “I didn’t want to date anyone from my hometown, and they didn’t feel that way about me either. So single, most definitely single.”

  “That must be impossible; you are the find of a century,” she said, and I smiled despite the cold and embarrassing situation because it sounded like something Sasha might say. Sasha had sworn that the whole dating thing would be different in college.

  Manon continued, her lips turning pale from the cold. “Wait until your first ball; men will long to be a name on your dance card.”

  I longed to be out of that frozen room. Gudvin moved from rubbing my back to my arms. It might have been pleasant without the cold, but in the room, his hands were like icicles. I needed to distract myself if I were to make it. “So, what were you saying?”

  “Freddie is very handsome, but this you know. He would like to visit you,” she said, and I wanted to remind her I wasn’t staying, but Freddie’s interest was a compliment. Too bad it wasn’t the ordinary man, and my thoughts wandered to the nondescript man who had calmed my nerves like some magic breath of air. My cheeks went blush.

  Manon saw it. “I cannot tell if the pink is from the cold or something else, so you must tell me. Did he catch your eye, or was it someone else? Now, Waverly, if a man caught your eye, you will need to let me know.”

  “No one, really.” And he hadn’t. He wasn’t anything. He was just some guy in the audience. Nothing big at all.

  “Ah, I see. You are not good at lying, but there is someone.” She came in closer. “I will find him. I promise you.”

  “No, really.” As I said this, Gudvin placed an icy stone down the center of my back. I bit my lip, so I wouldn’t swear. “Is this a punishment or something?”

  Manon shook her head in confusion. “You dislike this? Every Merric I’ve met looks forward to their treatments. When I see Bollie in his cold spa, he is so relieved and happy.”

  She lingered on the word happy for a beat too long. And Bollie? Who called Bollard Bollie? This bothered me in a lot of ways. Bollard was at least in his seventies, and Manon was young and friendly. I did not like the idea of a person like Bollard dating Manon, but between her staying here and the earrings, I had more than ample reason to believe something was going on. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

  “I am an open book for you.”

  “Are you dating my uncle?”

  “Well.” Manon’s cheeks went bright pink this time. “He is a lover of all fine things, and I will leav
e it at that.”

  I took it as a yes. I wanted to smile at her, but it was gross, and by that point, my teeth were chattering—loudly! I decided not to ask any follow-up questions and to only ask things I really wanted to know.

  Manon rubbed her arms up and down.

  “How much time do I have left?” I was already losing feeling in my toes and fingers.

  “Fifteen, I believe.”

  I’d die of hypothermia long before then. Gudvin placed another stone on my lower back, and I’d had enough. “Nope. I’m done.”

  I jumped up from the table; the stones clanging to the floor. I partially walked, partially stumbled back to my bathroom and straight into the shower. Hot water ran over my body for at least ten minutes before my teeth stopped chattering together.

  ~*~

  Doc sat next to my bed. “I am sorry. This is a standard treatment for the Merrics. Every single one of them needs the cold spa,” he explained.

  I cared for Doc even if he had tried to turn me into a popsicle.

  Doc ran the cubox by my face. He read the results. “You’ve baffled me. I’m officially perplexed.”

  I offered a weak laugh. “Not a mystery. Getting a massage in a freezer while being covered in frozen stones, and in nothing but your swimsuit, makes people cold.”

  Doc put his hand to my forehead. “True for most people but not Merrics. I meant it to help ward off the Tennabris.”

  “Doc, I don’t know if I can handle twenty minutes of that, even if I need it.”

  “Two hours a week.” Doc shook his head. “Two hours a week at twenty minutes a day.”

  “I can’t do that.” I tucked the blankets even closer to my body. “I’ve never been so cold in my life. Two hours a week, Doc? I’m still cold from that.”

  “The treatment is meant to linger in the body. It may take you some time to regulate to a warmer temperature. I am sorry. What a puzzle! The Merrics need the cold but not you. You’re a curious member in your family. Unusual.”

  “I don’t think it’s that unusual. My grandma runs hot, but we never once thought about throwing her the freezer.”

  Doc had a good chuckle. “When you put it that way.”

  “So, will we be doing it again?”

  “No. I will cancel all future cold treatments for the time. In fact, I believe you may never need them.”

  At least I wouldn’t have to be frozen every day, but it concerned me if it was the treatment to ward off the illness. “Does this mean I’ll get the Tennabris?”

  Doc smiled the way doctors do when they have no clue what to tell you. I’d seen that look enough times at Grandma’s appointments. “You are your own person, Waverly. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  Don’t worry about it? Most of my family had died of the Tennabris, a disease I would most likely inherit. I hugged my knees tight. I had to figure this all out somehow.

  “I can see you’re still worried.”

  “Doc, can I be honest with you?”

  He nodded. He was my doctor, and he was my link to Grandma’s illness, so I continued, “I think Bollard used some kind of tech on me to get me here, and I am still mad and confused and unhappy. Grandma is the only thing making any of this okay. If I can help her, this will have all been worth it, but if the Merric’s haven’t already done it, what chance do I have of helping her? She had faith I would but—” I stopped myself short, deciding to tell no one about my quest to find the necklace and the words.

  He reflected and appeared torn on how to respond at first. He took my hand. “You put too much pressure on yourself with your grandma.”

  “Doc, I don’t understand. If this world has cures for so many things, why no cure for the Tennabris?”

  “It’s not from lack of trying. Some things are a mystery,” Doc explained, but it wasn’t good enough.

  “But there has to be an answer.”

  Doc let go of my hand. “You really love her, don’t you?”

  I nodded. “She’s my grandma and one of my best friends.”

  “Then anything is possible.”

  Chapter 14

  What the What?

  Emerald necklaces lay across a black velvet cloth on a table. The emeralds were of varying sizes and shapes, some ovals, some squares, some octagons, and they were set in various precious metals: platinum, white gold, silver. Some used diamonds to make the chain. Some had long emerald teardrops that fell low on the chest. Other emerald necklaces collared the clavicle, highlighting the bone.

  I held my hand up to each necklace, judging the unique cuts and beautiful colors. One green was close, but the cuts clashed. Fifty necklaces and no luck. I should have known it wouldn‘t be easy.

  Enzo’s chest was still puffed out, albeit a little less full. “First try would have been a miracle, so this is fine. I will find plenty more. Again, this is fine.”

  “It is.” Manon offered me a smile and took my arm. Together we walked towards a small sitting room. She wore a yellow bohemian style gown which clashed with my light blue art deco dress.

  “And it is not the end of my surprises either. Our guests are sure to have arrived.”

  “Lady Poppy?” I hoped. When I saw her next, I planned on asking her all about my grandmother.

  “No,” Enzo said, leading the way out of the drawing room. “I’m confused on why you want to meet with her. She’s full of nonsense.”

  “I’d still like to meet with her.” There was more to her story, and I wanted to know it. Although, I had to admit, I didn’t quite understand why anyone would fake hearing issues or mental illness. The pretend condition invited the people around Lady Poppy to talk badly about her right in her presence. Personally, I’d rather not hear what people said about me.

  Together, we entered the small sitting room, and a cheer greeted me. My eyes struggled to put together what I saw, and it took a dumbfounding minute of double takes to understand my audience.

  Standing in front of a couch were Mr. Hincho, Mr. Naugle, and Mr. Wilbur.

  They bowed. “Your Highness.”

  I ran to them, and they picked me up into a bear hug. The happiness I felt from seeing loved ones from home overwhelmed me. I wasn’t alone anymore. This was like being home. My three teachers, our family friends, were right here.

  But the happiness faded as I questioned why my father’s best friends were in this strange land.

  “Wait, what is going on?” I stepped back and noticed their strange uniforms. “What are you doing here?”

  All three of my teachers turned to the corner of the room. “What should we tell her?”

  It was then I saw Dryden and Rudolf.

  “The truth,” Dryden suggested, and he pointed to an empty chair. “Waverly, please.”

  Manon and Enzo joined Rudolf leaning against the wall. I sat in the chair, Dryden sat in another, while the three sat opposite me across a small coffee table. These men who taught me math and sewing, who had joined us for Thanksgiving dinner, and who chaperoned prom were sitting in the foreign land of the Merric’s.

  “You work for my uncle, don’t you?” As slow as I might be, at this point it didn’t take a genius. In my old life, this would have been crazy thinking, but considering the last few weeks, it made sense.

  Mr. Hincho shook his head. “We work for you.”

  My eyes narrowed. I had nothing to do with the employment of these men. “Me? What are you talking about?”

  Mr. Wilbur cleared his throat. “We’re your guards, the Libratiers. It’s our job to keep an eye on you.”

  “Keep an eye on me? I don’t understand. Why would you need to keep an eye on me?” The men gave each other knowing looks, and my confusion grew into anger. “You spied on me. Gathered intel, was that it?” That’s how Bollard knew so much about me. These three men had been keeping notes. How to set up my closet because one of the three went snooping one night after dinner. Pilings; well, they heard my mom complain, or they watched us eat through the kitchen window b
ecause I never once did that in front of company. They didn’t work for me; they were just spinning it that way. These men, my dad’s trusted friends, were spies for the Merrics. No, these men weren’t my dad’s friends. Friends don’t work for your mysterious uncle. This also explained why they played along so well with Grandma. No. They weren’t playing her, they were playing my parents.

  I was steaming mad. I stood up to leave.

  Mr. Naugle stood up too and said, “Please let us explain.”

  “Look, I seem like a fool—goodness knows my whole family must’ve seemed a little dense—but I can put two and two together. Bollard hired you. You weren’t even Dad’s friend, were you? I mean, you spent Christmas with us.”

  “Yes, we were Matthew’s friend,” Mr. Wilbur said. “We liked your father; your dad is great.”

  “These men work for you as bodyguards.” Dryden pointed to my seat. “Please stay so we may discuss this.”

  I stood, hands on my hips. “Bodyguards! In Barton, New York? Ha! You don’t need bodyguards in Barton. I’ve had enough surprises and half-truths. I want to talk to my uncle!” I demanded, because this was too much. He’d hired men to pretend to be my teachers and befriend our family in order to spy on us, and he had a lot of explaining to do.

  “Please, Waverly. Just listen. Sit please and listen.” Rudolf carried a straight-back chair to the table for Manon. She took my hand and said in my ear, “I am here for you, and so is Enzo.”

  I pulled my hand away from her. I liked Manon and Enzo, but I wasn’t under any false illusions. They both worked for Bollard; that had been apparent since I met them. These men? I loved these men like family, and here I found out they were employees sent to watch me.

  I was heading for the door when Dryden called, “Do you believe for a moment that the second in line for the throne should be unprotected?”