An Inconvenient Princess

by Melanie Cellier

  “Be quiet, Simon,” said one of the women. “You caused enough trouble last time she was here.”

  “Yeah,” called another. “Keep him away, or he’ll be helping her escape again.”

  I looked at the boy a second time. He was grinning at me hugely, unbothered by their criticisms. One of his front teeth was missing, and even in this group, his clothes were more than ordinarily ill-fitting. But the dirt on his face did nothing to hide his cheerful good-humor, and I was inclined to like anyone who had helped my sister.

  “Whatcha get caught again for Liesa?” he asked me. “Didn’cha find your knight?”

  Several people grabbed him by the arms and pulled him to the back of the group. But none of them hurt him, and I noted that although he had apparently helped Anneliese escape, he didn’t seem to have been treated too harshly by the group. I decided to take a risk.

  “You asked about my eyes, Simon,” I said loudly, talking to him through the barrier of people. “The fairy already caught me. She changed them with her magic. So, there’s no point keeping me. Someone else has already claimed the gold.”

  A rustle of dissatisfaction spread through the group.

  “That’d be about right,” said one, turning to leave. “I’ve got more important things for my time if there’s no reward to be had.”

  Her departure gave an opening and Simon darted forward again.

  “See, Simon.” Another woman swatted at him as he slipped past. “She was caught anyway, as we said she would be, parading around like that and advertising her rank. And someone else got to profit by it.” The woman spat on the ground in disgust before stalking away.

  Slowly the crowd around me dispersed further, until only a small knot remained.

  “Can we trust her?” asked Murray. “What if she’s lying?”

  I tried not to hold my breath or do anything that might look suspicious.

  “Well…her eyes are different. And they don’t look natural.” The optimistic one sounded dispirited for the first time.

  I relaxed enough to look around. We were in a small valley, the edges ringed in trees. It was the opposite of the cave I had been picturing, and I shook my head. If it had been left to me, we never would have found them. Perhaps their years in the mine had made them long for open air.

  Small makeshift dwellings, mostly consisting of heavy canvas, had been erected in a somewhat ramshackle manner, most around the edges where they could make use of the trees. Several small vegetable gardens looked surprisingly established and small children ran around freely, several using the distraction of my arrival as an opportunity to chase a large number of chickens. I turned back to Murray.

  “Why?” I asked before I thought about it. “Why would you choose an outlaw life like this?”

  He stared at me for a long moment. “We told you last time. They wanted us to move. Spread ourselves around the kingdom wherever we could find work. But we belong together. And we belong here on the land our fathers walked before us.”

  I bit my lip. “But you can’t keep living like this forever. What happens when someone gets sick? Do you have a doctor?” I looked around at the small group remaining, but most of them looked away, unwilling to meet my eyes.

  I focused again on Murray. “Send a small group to meet with the earl. He’s a fair and reasonable man. He’ll listen to you. Make your peace with him and let him help you find a way to make an honest living.”

  “You already suggested that last time,” said Simon, popping up beside me. “They didn’t try it then, and they won’t try it now. “

  So, Anneliese had made the same argument. My mouth quirked into a tiny smile. We were twins, after all. But she had never been as good at changing people’s minds as me. I thought hard, determined to do everything I could to help the Concordians to a better life. For the sake of their children, if nothing else.

  “When I was at the earl’s manor, they said you wanted to stay in your village. That nothing would convince you to move. That you wanted to remain in the homes of your fathers. And yet here you are.” I gestured around me. “You call this the land of your fathers, but they worked in the mines, didn’t they? Not the woods. You’ve already left your homes.”

  Several of them looked at me with furrowed brows, so I continued. “It sounds to me like what you really care about is staying together, as a community. The earl can’t make the mine produce again, he can’t make jobs where none exist. But if you’re willing to compromise, if you tell him what you truly want is to stay together, and that you’re willing to give up your homes and move in exchange for that, maybe he can find you a place to build a new life for yourselves.”

  No one said anything, and I didn’t want to push them any further. I was still officially their prisoner, and I needed to get out of these woods and find my friends. They would have to make their own decision about what to do with my advice.

  I shrugged. “When you realize I’m right, the earl will still be there.” I made my voice as callous as possible, making one last effort to shock them into taking my words seriously. “But the more you steal in the meantime, the more restitution you’ll have to make when that day comes.”

  Something sparked in some of the eyes around me, and it gave me hope that they had heard me. I turned to walk away, forcing myself to move with a confidence I didn’t feel.

  “Hey!” called one of the voices. “We can’t just let her go. She’ll tell the earl where to find us.”

  I spun around. “How many months has it been since you last saw me?” I put my hands on my hips and glared at them all. “Well?”

  “More than two,” said Simon cheerfully when no one else answered. I smiled at him gratefully, glad for the information.

  “Have the guards descended on you in that time?” I looked around the group, meeting each person’s eyes.

  “Just go.” Surprisingly it was Murray who spoke. “I should have known it wouldn’t be worth the bother of carting you all the way here. Now my back will be out for a week.”

  I quirked an eyebrow at him and turned away without speaking. I drew the line at apologizing for being kidnapped.

  I walked quickly into the trees, not wanting to risk them changing their minds. But I knew with each step I took that I might be heading in the wrong direction. I hadn’t been able to see enough from the bottom of the wagon to know my way now. Still, I at least wanted to put some distance between myself and their little community.

  Within a couple of minutes, I heard what I had feared—footsteps behind me. I sped up, but my pursuer did likewise. I changed tack, stopping abruptly and swinging around, unwilling to be taken from behind again.

  My pursuer stopped, too, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I needn’t have worried. No one stood behind me but the small boy, Simon.

  “Liesa, this time you have to take me with you.”

  I raised both eyebrows. “Do I?”

  “Please?” He looked up at me with the largest eyes I had ever seen. I could feel my defenses crumbling even while I suspected the effect was entirely calculated.

  “I’m not Liesa.”

  He leaned in and squinted his eyes. “You look like her. Except for the eyes, of course. Wait!” He straightened up. “Does that mean you weren’t really captured by the fairy?”

  I shook my head. “Liesa may have been for all I know, but I haven’t. I was born like this.” I held out my hand. “I’m her twin, Penny.”

  He shook it enthusiastically. “Pleased to meet you, Penny. But how did you end up here, of all places? It seems like an awfully big coincidence.”

  “Not a coincidence, at all. We’ve been tracking Liesa, looking for her. I think she might be in trouble.”

  “Well, then, you have to take me,” he said, his voice earnest. “I’m great at getting out of trouble. You heard what they said. I helped her get out when she was here.”

  I regarded him sternly. “You’re great at getting out of trouble, hey? Would that be because you’re so good at getting i
nto it in the first place?”

  He looked sheepish, but I couldn’t maintain my serious expression, and at the first hint of a smile, he was grinning again.

  “Rescuing Liesa would be an adventure. And I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure.”

  I sighed. “You know I can’t really take you with me. What about your parents?”

  “I don’t have any.” He said it so matter-of-factly, I wasn’t sure how to respond. “My father left before I was born, and my mother died soon after. Everyone took turns looking after me, but apparently I’m more trouble than I’m worth.” His good-humor hadn’t abated, and I marveled that he could be so cheery about his situation.

  “Plus, I told Jimmy that I was going with you, and he’ll tell his mother, for sure. So, they’ll all know soon enough. ‘Good riddance’ most of them will think, I dare say.”

  “I’m…I’m sure they’ll…”

  “Oh, I’m not worried.” He swung his arms in an excess of energy. “They just don’t know how to dream big, that’s their problem.”

  “I take it you don’t have that problem?” I asked wryly.

  “Nope!” He bounced on the spot. “So, are we going then?”

  I looked at him reluctantly. If his story was true, then I should have no qualms taking him with me. He would have a better future almost anywhere over his current home.

  I sighed. “If you can show me the way to Concord, I’ll at least ask my traveling companions if you can accompany us.”

  “Woohoo!” He ran ahead of me.

  “No guarantees,” I called after him, hurrying to catch up.

  He didn’t slow down. “Don’t worry. I’m excellent at winning people over. They’ll let me come.”

  I followed him slightly more sedately with a sinking feeling that he was almost certainly right.

  In the end, we didn’t have to go all the way back to Concord. We met Arthur and Rapunzel standing at the edge of the trees, both of my boots in Arthur’s hands. As soon as I appeared, he dropped them and strode forward, scooping me off my feet and holding me close.

  “You’re alive! You’re all right!”

  Feeling his arms around me made the remaining stress from my recent capture drain away, and I found myself shaking. He gripped me tighter.

  “Is that your lover, Penny?” asked a small, curious voice behind us.

  Arthur dropped me instantly, and I stepped back, flushing. His face darkened, too, and we both looked carefully away from each other.

  I frowned at Simon. “Of course he isn’t.”

  I took a deep breath. This would be the real test of the young boy, but we wouldn’t be able to hide our identities if he was to travel with us.

  “This is Prince Arthur of Farthendale. And this is Princess Rapunzel of the tower without doors.”

  His eyes grew round as he stared between them. “A prince and a princess? Wooeee!” His gaze stopped on Rapunzel. “And you’re the real tower princess? So Liesa was telling the truth! I wasn’t quite sure whether to believe her.”

  “But you helped her anyway?” I asked.

  He grinned. “I liked her. She was fun.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I really shouldn’t be surprised the two of you got on so well.”

  “Penny?” asked Rapunzel. “What happened to you? You just disappeared.”

  “We were worried,” said Arthur, his eyes serious as they studied my face.

  “I was kidnapped.”

  “Kidnapped?” They both looked around wildly as if expecting a band of kidnappers to leap from the trees.

  “I’d like to get moving.” I still wasn’t entirely convinced the ex-miners weren’t going to change their minds about letting me go. “I’ll tell you the whole story when we’re on the road.”

  I looked at Simon. “I don’t suppose you know where Anneliese went?”

  “Sure,” said Simon. “She was looking for a knight, so she decided to go down south to Anura. Apparently her sister’s a princess, even if she isn’t. It was all very confusing.”

  So, Anneliese had headed for Elisette. She obviously hadn’t made it, or Elisette would have told Martin, and he would have included it in his letter. Unless he had, and it had been one of the bits I couldn’t decipher.

  I sighed. “South, then. Let’s get moving. Oh, and this is Simon. He’s coming with us.”

  My two companions looked equally taken aback, but to my surprise, neither of them made any protest. We began to walk, and I quickly told them what had happened.

  Rapunzel looked terrified. “So, she’s looking for me. Gothel.” She tripped and almost fell, too distracted to watch her feet.

  I steadied her. “I don’t think it’s that simple. The Concordians thought Anneliese was the princess from the tower, but Gothel can’t have done so. Remember this was long before you escaped. She may have merely wanted to punish Anneliese for assuming your identity. Or perhaps to question her and find out what she knew.”

  Rapunzel seemed reassured by this, but Arthur’s grim expression when he met my eyes told me he hadn’t forgotten the tanner in Talbot or the strange behavior of the Sarrens River. And I hadn’t said anything about the comment I had overheard about the reward being recently increased. We would do well to stay alert.

  Wanting to change the topic, I filled them in on the state in which I had found the old miners.

  “Oh, poor things,” said Rapunzel with quick sympathy.

  Arthur was less inclined to be so forgiving. “If they’re so innocent, they wouldn’t be kidnapping helpless girls.” He glowered at the ground.

  “I’m not exactly helpless,” I pointed out, although I couldn’t help but be gratified by his anger. “I got myself out of the situation on my own, didn’t I?”

  A smile crept back over his face. “Well, you can’t expect me to be happy about that. If you won’t play damsel-in-distress, how am I supposed to rescue you?”

  I shook my head. “Let’s focus on rescuing Anneliese. If she hasn’t rescued herself before we get there, that is. None of the girls in my family are good at sitting around and waiting to be rescued.”

  “Who wants to sit around?” asked Simon, appearing at my elbow. “Sounds boring.” He seemed to have a never ending well of energy, running ahead of us and circling back. I hoped bringing him with us hadn’t been a mistake.

  We traveled south for several days, stopping at each small village to ask after Anneliese. In two or three we received word of her, but she hadn’t stopped in any of them for any length of time, always moving on, always southward.

  In the first village, I bought a new set of clothes for Simon, and his gratitude was so endearing I didn’t snap at him for a full half day. But the boy was so infuriating, you couldn’t help becoming enraged with him eventually. And then so endearing, you couldn’t stay angry for long.

  He was fascinated by Rapunzel’s situation and spent hours asking her about things she’d never seen and done. I worried it would make her sad, but she seemed to find Simon amusing, and the two of them were always laughing together.

  Only once did she seem upset by a topic he raised, her eyes growing distant and sad as she recalled her occasional illness, all alone in her isolated tower with no one to care for her, or even to know of her misery.

  We all showered her with hugs until she smiled again, and the conversation moved on. But it lingered in my mind, and I found it hard to shake. I might be the youngest and least significant of my siblings, but I had never wanted for nurses when I fell ill. With so many older sisters, there had always been enough to go round, even when several of us were sick. And no one had ever hesitated to do their bit in the sick room. Sophie and Anneliese could get even the most miserable patient to smile. And they had frequently done so even when sick themselves.

  It was a stark contrast to poor Rapunzel’s childhood.

  The sun was starting to set on our fourth day, when I spotted a lone farmhouse set a short way back from the road. I pointed it out to the others.

&nb
sp; “After we’ve asked them about Anneliese,” I said, “we should check if they’ll let us sleep in their barn for the night.”

  Simon ran around me in excitement. “With the cows? And the horses? Woohoo!”

  “You won’t be so excited when you get in there and find out how it smells,” muttered Arthur, and I snorted in amusement.

  He glanced at me, a twinkle in his eyes, and I shook my head. “Come on, let’s go, before it gets any darker.”

  A pleasant looking young man answered the door, calling for his wife to come and greet their guests. When he turned back and got a good look at me, his eyes widened, and I knew he had seen my sister. His wife arrived, hurrying from the back of the house, wiping her hands on her apron as she came.

  “Will they be staying for dinner, Thomas?”

  She arrived at his shoulder, took one look at me and screamed, before bursting into tears.

  Chapter 14

  The farmer—Thomas—immediately put his arm around her and began to guide her back into the house, murmuring reassurances. We all stood frozen in the doorway until he turned half way down the hall and gestured for us to come in.

  For a moment, we remained still, exchanging confused looks. Even Simon for once hung back, his expression horrified. Apparently, he could handle adventures as long as they didn’t involve crying females. But eventually I shrugged and led us all forward into the house.

  Rapunzel herded Simon in and closed the door behind us, and we all tentatively followed the now vanished farmers. I looked around our little group and had to suppress a laugh. I couldn’t work out who looked more out of place and uncomfortable.

  At the end of the hallway, we found the couple in a large kitchen. The bright rays of the sunset streamed in through large windows burnishing everything with an orange glow. Although we had clearly interrupted preparations for the evening meal, the kitchen retained an orderly, clean feel.

  A large, worn wooden table stood as the centerpiece of the room, and Thomas had deposited his wife in one of the chairs around it. The bright, checked cushions matched the curtains, and I wondered if the crying woman had made them.