Closed Doors and Broken Mirrors

by S R Nulton

  Craftis laughed. “I’d say so! What none of us realized was that Blue Beard had begun to make plans to attack several of their eastern city states. He wanted a clear shot to the Great Desert for some reason and thought that going through the mountain would be more convenient than going around or over it.”

  “Well, they can help Snow spread the word then.”

  I blinked a stared at her in confusion. “What? Spread what word?”

  “The fact that your father is gone and that you will be taking the throne. The country needs someone to rally behind or it will tear itself apart. You told me so in every letter you sent. And with the last of his spell gone, their pent up aggression will be at an all-time high.”

  That made me grimace. I remembered quite well what Fessrel had been like when we got there. I didn’t want that happening again.

  “What do you suggest, Mama?”

  She smiled at me beatifically. “We’ll send the dwarves to spread the news first. Everyone remembers that you keep their company, so it won’t be as alarming. If we send them in twos than they can stay relatively safe and still cover a huge swath of the country. A smaller guard will remain with you and James as you travel. It will take a few weeks for you to get to the palace but that will give the people plenty of time to get a coronation put together.”

  I stared at her in awe. “You’ve been planning this for a while now, haven’t you?”

  She laughed lightly, the sound chasing away the last of the shadows in her eyes, for a little while at least. “Oh, my little light. I’ve been planning this since the first day I met you.”

  ~

  It turned out that Mama had a plan of the most effective way to meet my people as well. She’d sketched out a route that would allow the largest number of citizens to meet me before I returned to the capital. She also made sure that the other villages in the area knew I would be close so they could come visit if they chose to. It was actually a very effective way of doing things. We started in the north and worked our way south west until we could wind our way into Fessrel for the coronation.

  Well, actually, we’d get there a little early so that I could approve the final details and greet the representatives from our allies.

  Most of the trip consisted of calming people’s fears. They’d mellowed some, now that they knew the king was gone, but they still needed to know that their new ruler wouldn’t be more of the same. Since I’d been to almost every town in the area, I was able to help them settle down. Well, after explaining that I wasn’t really dead.

  That will never stop being an awkward conversation.

  Honestly, the people I met were thrilled that I was taking over. They all hated the idea that some smarmy nobleman from the city would take over, mostly because they didn’t know just how much those nobles had dealt with over the years. The smarmy ones were the first that my father killed. Either way, they were more than happy to see me take up the mantle because I had actually met with them and seen their living conditions. They weren’t anonymous to me. I’d spent months in the country finding out what made them tick. They had already seen that I cared about them. That was half the battle.

  Seeing James traveling with me helped a lot as well. He didn’t speak for me, he never had, but he did support me when necessary. We were a unified front and it showed them that I wasn’t going to be a puppet queen. It also reminded people that I had support from our neighbors, neighbors who would step up and give me advice as I learned my new role. He was perfectly happy being used to reassure people and seemed to actually enjoy being around the working class. Part of that was because they didn’t have a hidden agenda, but part of that was how blunt most of my citizens were. We traded a lot with Lettelach and the farmers had picked up some of their cultural quirks. It’s hard to dislike someone who is so glaringly honest but trying not to be rude.

  He suffered all of their questions with grace and good humor I would have accused him of not possessing at the start of our acquaintance. He made me proud.

  And this was all without telling them of our engagement. I didn’t want to overwhelm them with too much information. Besides, even I knew it would look suspicious if I was suddenly engaged. It would look too political. We decided together that the engagement would be announced at my coronation, when the country had gotten used to seeing the two of us together and I was already queen.

  James did have one request, though. He wanted to pick up a few guests for the coronation ceremony from the Alenian border. But he wouldn’t tell me who they were! The more I pried, the less he said and the more amused he got, which was beginning to frustrate me. Actually, scratch that. It was annoying me.

  “Please! I just want to know who we’re meeting. It’s not that big a deal!” I whined pathetically.

  He just laughed at me. “We’re nearly there. You can wait a few more minutes. Just be patient.”

  That made me glare at him. “Are you serious right now? I’m half-terrified that we’re meeting with your parents and you tell me to be patient?”

  “What makes you think it’s my parents?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, you seem really excited and Mama said we were expecting another representative from Alenia because you don’t really count anymore. The whole fiancé thing, I guess.”

  He smirked at me. “Do you know that you act very childish whenever you finish talking to a crowd? It’s like you’re trying to get rid of the formality by going in the opposite direction. I find it adorable.”

  My mouth pinched and I glared at him. “I do not! Wait, stop trying to distract me!”

  Someone laughed and my head jerked so I could see who it was. Two people sat in front of us on horses and one of them looked rather familiar. The one who laughed, actually. He was tall, good looking, and his dark hair was charmingly tousled.

  What really drew my attention, though, were his startling crystal blue eyes. The same shade as James’.

  “Let me guess, Crown Prince Christopher of Alenia?” I drawled. When he nodded, still grinning at me, I turned to James and punched him in the arm.

  “Hey! What was that for?” he complained, though he didn’t sound very convincing. He was far too cheerful to be actually injured.

  “You surprised me with your family and decided that it would be a smart idea to introduce them to me by arguing with me. You’re lucky that you give good hugs or I’d trade you in for someone with a better sense of humor.”

  This sent his older brother off into laughter again and gave me a chance to look over his companion. She was a pretty little thing with big blue eyes and chestnut colored hair. Also, she looked far too innocent during the whole debacle so she was either exceedingly stupid or very clever and good at hiding her expressions. I was inclined toward the latter, seeing as how she was the future queen of Alenia.

  “Princess Cinderella, I presume?”

  She smiled at me and began to gush. “Yes! I’m so pleased to meet you. James hasn’t said hardly a word about you, but we knew you were something special because he didn’t complain about spending time with you. Well, not after the first letter, from what the queen says. But it’s so exciting! I can’t wait to see your coronation dress!”

  I blinked for a moment. I glanced at the brothers, both keeping a carefully blank expression on their faces, before I started cracking up. “Wow, you are good at that! How much practice have you had?”

  Cinderella’s innocent look vanished and she smirked. “Oh, I’ve been using a variation of that one for years now. It’s become a bit more ridiculous since I’ve been forced to interact with the spoiled nobleman’s daughters. How did you know?”

  James snorted but stopped when I hit him again before responding to her. “Sorry, it was pretty obvious to me. No one is going to make an airhead the future queen, not unless she’s a blood relative of the current one. And James hates people who act like you just did but he’s never complained about you.”

  Cinderella smiled at me and declared, “We’re going
to get along just fine. Now we better be off. You have a coronation to prepare for!”

  ~

  By the time we reached Fessrel, I felt quite comfortable with both Chris and Cindy. They had an interesting start to their relationship too, although it didn’t involve a murderous relative. Just a lost piece of footwear. Cindy’s stepsister on the other hand… well, I felt quite glad that I hadn’t met my father’s parents. If they were even half as bad as Joy’s grandmother then I doubt I would have survived so long.

  Chris was the typical older brother, from what I understood. He and James were close enough to be best friends, but that didn’t stop him from teasing his little brother whenever possible. It was nice to see that the family was close enough that they could ruffle James’ feathers.

  It was also interesting to see how close he was with his sister-in-law. James was always gentle and kind toward her, even when she was snarky with him. It was nice to know that he was being honest when he told me he enjoyed fighting with me. It seemed that he refused to argue with anyone else that way.

  Entering the capital was quite the event. Without meaning to, we’d created an impromptu parade down the streets. And, let me tell you, that means a lot of waving. Everyone was just so excited! It made me feel completely unequal to their expectations and I wasn’t sure what more I could do but smile.

  James didn’t leave my side, though. Not even when it was time to address the crowd from the town square where we started the riot. He knew I needed more support there than I did anywhere else.

  Not that it was a long speech. After I thanked everyone for coming out and getting the preparation for my coronation started, we headed straight into the palace. Well, I say ‘palace’, but it was just a large manor home with some extensive and beautifully maintained gardens. It appeared my father had not only faked his way into the title of king but also made his own castle. Ironically, it actually endeared the citizens to me more. It wasn’t an imposing building, nor was it the fanciest in town. In fact, it looked quite dowdy compared with the building that had been there only weeks before.

  It did set the tone for my reign though. I wasn’t going to be lofty queen who didn’t understand reality. Instead, I would be a queen who lived in a relatively humble home and worked directly with her subjects.

  Meeting with the representatives from each nation was quite interesting as well. I already knew Crown Prince River of Lettelach but I finally got to meet Queens Grace and Thyme of Shessat. Apparently they were using the visit as an excuse to visit family and leave their husbands with all the work.

  “They’ve been using the babies as an excuse to avoid inconvenient situations for far to long,” Grace told me over tea.

  Thyme snorted. “Please, you do the same thing and you know it. You just wanted a break and a chance to try out some new speed enchantments on your ship.”

  Grace just grinned in response and handed one of her twins a glowing rattle to play with. Oddly enough, it had a salamander carved into the handle and the little creature seemed to move around.

  It must be handy to be an Enchantress, I thought.

  River seemed to be excited about seeing the two of them as well.

  “Your brothers keep sending me notes asking why I haven’t invited you to visit yet,” he told Thyme as he gently rocked her baby. He had several younger cousins and apparently enjoyed dealing with babies.

  Thyme laughed. “Of course they did. Let me guess, it was Tom, right? I can’t see the others doing it but he would go and get everyone in town to sign the letter in support.”

  River grinned. “He did. He also went to two other villages in the area. It was impressive.”

  The Fey had already sent their ambassador in the form of Craftis, but Mindep sent their regrets with Grace.

  “The prince is terribly busy right now dealing with Crechel and the family he would normally send is a bit busy tracking down a wayward sister. She apparently disappeared just after things got settled with the Wraiths and they are looking everywhere for her. I’m sure one of them will find their way here sooner or later. Or you can chat with King Tiertanal via mirror. I believe he is looking forward to chatting with you. He has great sympathy for anyone affected by Rancune.”

  I frowned but nodded. “How did he know?”

  “Rumplestiltskin told him,” Cindy began. “Well, his grandson did. We were visiting him a month or so ago with my stepsister and her fiancé. Part of the trip was used to discuss the influence Rancune has had recently. The popular opinion is she got too bold and there is a pushback from people because of that but Rumplestiltskin doesn’t think so.”

  “Popular but not quite right, I’ll warrant.” Grace continued to play with her children but glanced up when she realized that she had everyone’s attention. “Well, there is a pushback, but it seems much more deliberate. Like someone is planning it. Of course, it’s not very obvious so we’ll just have to wait for more evidence. But this is too heavy for a coronation eve eve.”

  “Coronation eve eve?” Cindy lifted one elegantly arched brow. “Really, Aunt Grace?”

  “Quiet you. It’s two days before, therefore ‘eve eve’. It makes sense. But more importantly, is everything ready for the coronation, Snow? And where have those Alenian princes disappeared to? They just up and left as soon as we started talking!”

  I snorted. “James wanted to talk to Chris privately about something and Chris is a bit afraid of babies. Apparently he’s still scarred from dealing with his younger siblings. Either that or he’s a coward.” Cindy started giggling like a loon, making me wonder if the two royals wouldn’t have their own bundle of joy in short order. I pushed the thought aside and continued. “The plans are going swimmingly, though. Mama will be here tomorrow morning and the nobles are handling most everything. They were really grateful to be rid of my father, apparently, and are taking it upon themselves to outfit me like a queen.”

  “Huh, a coronation ceremony run entirely as a grass-roots operation. This should be interesting.”

  “Yes, it very much will.”

  CHAPTER 15: OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

  CAILLTE LYNN

  It was a bit poetic that I had to get used to the castle once again. My life changed when I woke up in a strange place because of an evil man and it restarted in essentially the same fashion. Granted, the castle was now a manor and much easier to explore, but the symmetry was just too perfect for me to ignore.

  “I think that everything that was real just got squished together,” I said, wonder in my voice as I looked at one of the guest rooms. It was currently packed with three beds, twelve draperies, and any number of side tables and dust-catchers lay haphazardly around the room. “I had no idea that any of this was real.”

  Dallin leaned against the doorjamb and smirked. “It’s not nearly as surprising as the dining room, you have to admit. I don’t think anyone believed that was real.”

  I shuddered just thinking about it. “Yes. I’m wondering just how many years of taxes went into creating that golden monstrosity. Well, at least Snow will be able to finance whatever changes she wants. Although, it may drive the price of gold down for a bit or cause inflation. Hmmm… ruling is more complicated that most people think, isn’t it?”

  “But that’s why neither of us tried to wrest the job from your daughter. Far too much work.” He backed up and we continued our tour of the manor. “It’s quite pretty, really. A bit outdated in a number of ways, but not too terribly. And the log walls make much more sense.”

  I blinked. “You know, now that you mention it, they do! A manor made out of logs makes much more sense than a log castle. But clearing the clutter will be quite a task. I’ll probably have to hire a few people. Too much heavy lifting for just the two of us. And far to many rooms. But we could probably pay the workers with cutlery from the dining room. Do you think they’d accept a gold fork in place of coin? Or would it be worth an entire plate?”

  He snickered. “Oh, I think it depends not the fork and the pl
ate. Are they for dessert or dinner? There is quite a difference in size. Or perhaps a serving fork? But then it would go with a platter, not a plate, so that won’t work either.”

  Our silly discussion was interrupted by a ding.

  Someone must be calling via mirror. He’s gotten very good at changing the tone to tell me what it’s for.

  We headed for the library and found Spinner waiting for me on the other side of the mirror.

  “Hello, my dear. How are things going?”

  I smiled. “Very well, actually. Except having to climb on things to get into rooms. It’s a bit inconvenient really. There’s no room for anything. Do you know anyone who needs furnishings for a house with twenty-four bedrooms, five parlors, and a few offices? Or an expert in magic who can examine all the enchanted objects we found secreted away in the basement? There must be three rooms full of enchanted shields and weapons and another two with just jewelry!”

  “For the objects, yes. I’ll talk to you about it at the wedding. As for the the furniture, no I can’t say I do, but I have a feeling you’ll put what you have to use. I understand that your daughter is traveling the country? It’s a good plan. I’m glad that things are working out. I had another reason for calling on you though.”

  Dallin shifted a bit. “Should I be here for this or would you like some privacy?”

  I frowned and turned to look at him. Does he know what this is about?

  “No,” Spinner told him. “I think you’ll want to hear this too. Now, Caillte, how are you doing? I know that you’ve had a… let’s call it a trying decade-and-a-half. What you’ve been through isn’t easy to deal with, and that is overlooking the fact that you had to watch your husband die.”

  “Actually, it’s a bit worse if you consider that I inadvertently killed him,” I ventured, keeping my voice neutral.