by A. J. Bell
His Majesty was waiting for me, patiently seated at the breakfast table. Neither Vince nor Sir Daniel were around – only a handful of servants waiting on the Prince’s needs.
As I sat down, I noticed two things: no wine, not on the table or on any tray held by the servants or in the Prince’s glass; and two small bowls of Aligretto, one close to the Prince and the other one close to me, which brought a little smile to my face. His eyes lit up like the eyes of a child at Christmas when I asked, “No wine, Your Highness?”
“No wine,” he confirmed.
I smiled again. “Thanks,” I whispered, looking at the Aligretto. The food was once again fabulous – the abundance of breads, the eggs, the blends of colorful fruits, and the sweetness of hand-squeezed juice. I ate enough to feed an army.
“Everything is ready, Your Majesty,” Sir Daniel announced, coming into the room.
The Prince clapped his hands together, and the servants in the room picked up after us. I wanted to help them but the Prince disapproved. His Majesty offered me his arm, and we walked to the main door of the castle.
I saw Vince standing by the door, speaking to a very interested young maiden; really, more like dazzling her. “Are you leaving?” I asked.
I barely knew him, but I felt like I would miss him dearly. He had stood up for me, and I would never forget that. Plus, there was something about him that gave me the feeling of loss.
“After two weeks of being lost, my father needs to know that I am fine, or a war could arise when they search for me. After all, I am the Prince of the Gypsies. We will show you what hospitality truly is, if you show your face in our city – no offense meant.” Vince was beaten down, yet still dared His Majesty to imprison him again. “Besides, His Majesty has a message for my father that I myself must deliver.”
I walked to him and kissed his cheek. “Goodbye. I hope to see you again soon,” I whispered.
He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a drawstring black velvet bag.
“You’re meant to have this,” he said. “The Ethro is yours. Keep it safe.” He placed the chain around my neck, and then kissed my forehead like the old lady back in the Haunted Forest. “E wita esaindo,” he whispered. Then, he mounted the horse given to him by Prince Victor’s servants, and I watched him go.
After a couple weeks in the Royal City, His Majesty decided that it was time for Elle to see the entire city. We rode through town, accompanied by Sir Daniel and a few other soldiers. He showed me the market place where we tried all sorts of foods. I noticed the people were eager to please the Prince in everything he requested. They seemed to like him – a good sign of a great ruler.
People came out from everywhere with gifts for His Majesty and myself. I kept trying to tell them that they could keep their gifts, but I was not very convincing.
His Majesty was really enjoying being there, especially when kids came out and got close to him. They would tease him then run away. After a while, I noticed that all the people who came in contact with His Highness received something in return. With every handshake, he would let go of a few coins, even to those who did not give him anything. He followed the same pattern throughout our visit.
We stopped right in front of a very old-looking house, when the door opened, answered by an astonished young boy who went back inside yelling for his father to come. The man came to the door and humbled himself to the ground before the Prince, who put his hand on the man’s shoulder and then motioned towards me.
“I am in need of your services,” His Majesty said. He lifted up my skirt high enough to show the old boots I was wearing. I was embarrassed and blushing, because I didn’t think he’d even notice that I wasn’t wearing the shoes he had given me, but I was wrong.
“This is Timothy,” said the Prince. “Best boot and shoemaker in all the Everlands. I assure you that once you wear a pair of his masterpieces, you will never want to go without them again.”
Timothy, the Prince, and I went into the back room where his shop was located. Leather straps were hanging everywhere. Nails, hammers, big scissors, knives and all sort of tools were hanging on the wall or lying on the tables. There was also some fabric in rolls leaning against a wall. I sat down close to these, and Timothy removed my boots carefully. While the Prince watched, Timothy cautiously traced each foot on a piece of fabric with a coal pencil. I watched as the man worked. Once he had the drawings of the bottom of my feet, he took the fabric in his hands and started cutting away.
“May I see your necklace, My Lady?” he said unexpectedly. I reluctantly handed The Ethro over to him. He grabbed a piece of parchment and put it on top of it; then he rubbed a small piece of coal over it until The Ethro image was copied onto the paper. He wanted to incorporate the same rose from the pendant into the boots, which delighted me.
“They will be ready the day after tomorrow, Your Majesty,” Timothy said. Both of them agreed on Timothy making the delivery of the boots, once they finished settling the matter with a hand shake. The only other stop we made on our way back to the castle was to a blacksmith shop so that I could get some other supplies that I needed to finish the Prince’s armor. The blacksmith seemed surprised about my knowledge of the tools he possessed. Little did he know, I was a blacksmith too.
During the next couple of weeks, His Majesty showed me around the palace. He took me to the stables and the cook’s garden. There was no need for him to show me where the prison was, since I knew it from the inside out. He also showed me the fields of grain.
“They are still green, but soon they will be golden when the time to harvest arrives,” he said.
He showed me where my very own blacksmith shop was located. We passed by the training grounds for the new soldiers, and we ended every tour with a visit to the Queen’s gardens, my favorite place. They were right outside my chambers. I could enjoy the view of them from my balcony. During the day, the hummingbirds would hover from flower to flower partaking of their sweetness; during the night, the scent of the flowers flowed through the curtains as they were caressed by the wind, filling the room with nature’s aroma. The gardens were indeed peaceful and beautiful.
We dismounted our horses and started to walk on the path through the gardens. In the center was a small gazebo surrounded by water with four little arched bridges, allowing passage to and from the gazebo. It gave the impression the gazebo was floating in the water. Multicolored fish swam all around.
We sat down in silence, taking in the beauty of the place. His Majesty, who normally would not stop talking, yielded to the quiet every time.
“I never met my mother,” His Majesty said, staring into the distance. Sadness weighed every word. “She died when I was born. She held me in her arms for a few seconds before she passed away. Father says she designed these very gardens – paths, flowers, gazebo… all of it. She would spend countless hours here. He says her voice, singing lullabies to me in her womb, filled the gardens every day, along with the voice of her best friend, Lady Karianna.” He paused to see my reaction. I wondered if this Karianna was the same one Valdo had mentioned before. “Karianna helped Mother to plant each one of these plants. Now that they are both gone, these gardens remain as a testimony of their love for living things… I wish I had known my mother.”
As I stood up, I extended my hand to him, which he took, and then he joined me at the little fence that surrounded the gazebo.
“I am sure she can still see you, and she’s very proud of the man you have become,” I said.
He looked at me as if he was trying to solve a puzzle. “A few weeks ago, you did not think so,” he said.
I lowered my gaze. “A few weeks ago, I did not know His Majesty had a heart,” I said, placing my right hand on his chest. “I believed His Majesty to be hollow. My Lord has proved me wrong, and I couldn’t be happier to be mistaken.”
He lifted up my chin with his hand until my eyes met his. His other hand was wrapped around my back and softly pulled me towards him. His eyes were so unbeli
evably green and his gaze so never-ending, I could have stared at them for hours. I was wrong when I had said to him that there was no choice for a peasant girl against the weight of his Crown. The choice was gone once I looked into his eyes; everything about him was worth loving.
The whole world stopped the moment his lips came in contact with mine. Soft and slowly, he continued to kiss me, until my thoughts were completely lost, like a sailor in the middle of a sea. All I could do was to embrace the moment and enjoy the way his lips parted mine and the smell of sweet Aligretto on his breath.
The enchantment broke suddenly when a lady of about forty-years-of-age cleared her throat so loudly that it could not have been dismissed. She wore a hideous purple dress with too many embellishments of jewels and bows on it. Even for a peasant, it was tasteless. Besides its hideous style, it was too small on her chest for her breast size, so her two ample endowments were spilling over the bodice. What an awful sight! It was hard to forget, although I certainly wanted to.
“Don’t mind me,” she said to the Prince. “I just needed some fresh air.” She studied me in silence for a moment. “Dear Victor, why do you have to be so careless? Someone could have seen your display with this peasant. Why can’t you just keep your adventures in the bedroom? Just take her into your chambers and be done with her. I am pretty sure this peasant, like many before her, will willingly give you what you want,” she said, looking at me with disgust.
“Enough!” said the Prince. He took me by the hand and pulled me away from the garden and away from the woman before I could say anything in my defense. He walked me to my bedroom, and without a word, he went away with a darkened expression. I did not understand why he did not say a thing to her. It was obvious they disliked each other, and she had insulted him as well as me.
I waited for Alice and Marian, the servants across the hallway, to do their normal duties to help me get ready before going down for dinner, but they were nowhere to be seen. I chose a gown myself and began to get ready. I hadn’t given a thought to where my beautiful gowns had come from, but they were his mother’s gowns, the gowns of Queen Kyrah, being worn by a simple peasant.
The woman from the garden planted a bad seed in me. I started to wonder if she was right when she said that what the Prince wanted from me was to be done in a bed. Was that the reason why he kissed me? Why he had given me so much? Was he playing a game that I was foolishly falling for?
A knock on the door brought me back to reality. One of the young maidens who had accompanied the woman in the garden was standing at my door. “You are summoned to the throne room. Do make haste!” she said nervously.
I followed her immediately, wondering why the Prince wanted to see me in the throne room. It felt wrong.
As soon as I stepped in, I realized I was in trouble. In front of me was Prince Victor’s stepmother, the Queen of the Everlands – Queen Umah, “The Ugly,” as peasants called her behind her back. I had never seen her before today, but I knew who she was once I stood before her in the throne room. She wore the same hideous purple gown from the garden, but she had topped her attire with a grotesque gold crown that made her look even more terrible. In reality, she wasn’t an ugly woman, but the fact that her face showed no signs of ever smiling didn’t help her beauty shine through. I bowed to the ground as it was expected of peasants.
“Lower!” she commanded. My arms and my knees were resting on the ground. “At last, you show some respect,” she said.
“Your Majesty,” I said humbly, “your maiden said you wished to see me.” I waited for her answer without looking up. It seemed like years before she spoke, but then I wished she hadn’t.
“Wrong! I do not wish to see you. As a matter of fact, I order you to go away. Feel free to take whatever the Prince has paid you for your bedroom services. The jewels, the gowns, whatever he gave you, and leave. He’s done with you.” I thought she was done, but she continued. “Victor isn’t able to control his lust. Thankfully, he has me to fix his messes. Not one more word will you speak to the Prince! I forbid you to get close to him, and if you disobey me, you shall pay for your offense against me with your life. I am the Queen, and my ruling cannot be overridden. Are we clear?”
I nodded in clear understanding of her threat. She turned around and started to head towards the door. Then she turned back towards me again before I even had a chance to get up off the floor, as if she had forgotten something very important.
“One more thing, dear.” She stood by my side. I kept my face down, staring at the hem of her gown. She lifted up her right foot and stepped on the back of my neck until my face touched the floor. “Never forget your place. A lesser being like you should only kiss the ground where royalty steps, never the lips of those who rule over you.” Her maidens followed closely behind her while I remained with my face on the floor, confused, disappointed, and angry. Never had I been humiliated like that.
The Queen had ordered me to be gone or I would be put to death. No real choice was left for me. She was the reason why there were so many people in the provinces starving; she was the reason why people hated the Royal Family.
Since she had made it clear that I couldn’t stay any longer, I needed to go back to Stoneburg without the Prince finding out. Those were her orders. I did not see another solution other than to bring John back. I ran to my chambers. Alice and Marian were working on my bed as I walked in.
“Go!” I yelled. “Leave me alone!” They were surprised by my attitude, since I had never been so harsh with them. They were, after all, doing their job; yet, they obeyed me and left. I put John’s clothes on, braided my hair, and put my cap on tight. I opened the door and took a little peek. My maids were waiting outside the room, so I could not go that way.
It was dark outside, with only a few torches lit in the hallways and on the small streets of the Royal City. I climbed down a ladder of ivy that had grown next to the balcony of my room. I avoided passing through the main doors of the castle. I had no intentions to be the stepstool of the Queen again. She obviously didn’t need much of a reason to hang me, but she would soon have one because I was on my way to the stables with the full intention of stealing a royal horse. That would be a good reason to hang anybody, but I wouldn’t wait around in the palace to find out.
On my way out, I stopped by the blacksmith shop, where I carefully loaded the remaining Clouds and the unfinished armor into a couple of sacks. I thought I was being quiet.
“Going somewhere?” asked Sir Daniel, coming out into the light with a clever smile on his face, as if he had been waiting all along to catch me doing something sneaky.
“I am going back to Stoneburg. I shall finish the armor there and send it back with Sir Richard in time for the Prince’s birthday.” I hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions, but Daniel wouldn’t stop.
“Does the Prince know about your private audience with the Queen?” One of the ladies-in-waiting for Her Majesty happened to be Sir Daniel’s little sister, and she had told him everything the Queen had done and said. I felt humiliated again as I rubbed the back of my neck, remembering the pain of her heel pressing on my skin. He put his hands on my shoulders.
“Chin up!” he said. “She doesn’t know about John, so you can stay.”
“I can’t stay,” I told him, though it felt like I was betraying the Prince’s trust by running away.
“He will not like it, but he will understand once I tell him,” he said, as if reading my mind. “Take my horse. It’s one of the fastest horses in here. If you get in trouble with the Gypsies again, you might be able to outrun them.”
He helped me to mount the horse. I took out The Ethro from inside my shirt and let it hang on my chest. He took it between his fingers. “Protection! Right! Good luck,” he said as he slapped his horse from behind to make it go.
Chapter 6
It was a three-day journey to Stoneburg, but I had been riding for less than a full day when I became aware that I was being followed. I saw at least five rider
s in the woods. The Ethro hung from my neck, but who knew if the Gypsies following me were familiar with what it meant or if they even cared about its meaning. I picked up the pace, leaving them behind in a cloud of dust. Within the next mile, however, I came to a screeching halt as four hooded figures stood out in the darkness ahead of me. My hand grasped Heaven’s hilt, but before I pulled it out of its sheath, I heard a familiar voice.
“I didn’t think he’d let you go so soon,” said Vince, dismounting his horse and walking towards me. He didn’t recognize my face, but recognized The Ethro.
“Let me go?” I repeated. “I stopped being his prisoner after the first day,” I said.
He chuckled at my response and helped me down from my horse, although I needed no help. “Then why, I wonder, did you not stay?” Obviously, the fact that I was traveling completely in the dark by myself gave me away.
“The Queen was not pleased with my presence in the palace and requested me to leave without delay.”
He raised an eyebrow, as if questioning my wording in the last sentence. “Like I said, I didn’t think he would let you go. He could easily impose his will over her. If he is to be the ruler of the Everlands, he needs to show some authority,” he said mockingly.
I came out in the Prince’s defense. Prince Victor had to accept the Queen’s will. She said it herself; she couldn’t be overruled.
“That is not entirely true,” Vince said. I did not understand much about hierarchy in the Everlands, but according to Vince, the power was actually passed through birthright, and not by marriage. Prince Victor’s authority was superior to the Queen’s. I understood why she warned me not to speak to the Prince; he could have chosen to let me stay.
“I did not tell His Majesty of the Queen’s orders. I left without the Prince knowing.”
He brushed his fingers through my horse’s fine mane. “This is a very nice horse. Did you steal it?” he asked teasingly.
