by Anna Santos
“They do their best to make me happy. What do you do?” the prince asked with a frown.
“I make your favorite desserts and try to talk to you during dinner. I wait around the palace to see if you want to talk to me or spend time with me. I can’t do anything more than that since you’d rather be alone than spend time with the fairies and me.”
The prince got up. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
Claire shrugged. “More chocolate cake for us.”
The prince glared at her.
Ming let her tiny presence be noticed. “Sit down and finish your dinner,” she ordered. “I’m still your godmother, and you will obey me tonight.”
The prince sat down and played with his food. “I don’t like peas.”
“Vegetables are costly. More expensive than meat since they are all imported from other kingdoms. The poor would be happy to eat your peas if they had them,” Claire informed him.
The prince ate his peas without protesting or looking up again.
Claire watched him in silence. Once he was done, she said, “I’ll make you your favorite sweet bread tomorrow if that makes you happy.”
No reply.
Claire put her fork down. “Are you going to stop being so childish about this?”
“I’m not childish.”
“Then answer me when I talk to you.”
“I don’t know what to say,” he mumbled.
“Yes, no, okay, I’ll think about it, maybe, do as you want,” Claire enumerated. “It’s not that hard.”
The prince relaxed against his chair, and his perfect lips moved. “Do as you please.”
Claire grinned. “Then, I’ll make you dessert.”
A moment of silence, and he answered, “Okay.”
Claire resumed her eating.
“What might you want to talk about with me?” the prince questioned.
“Aren’t you the slightest bit curious about me?”
“No.”
She frowned. “Okay. What about what’s happening in your kingdom?”
“The Regent sends me a weekly report.”
“I doubt he tells you everything.”
“He tells me what I need to know.”
Claire sipped on her water. “A chariot arrived today from the village with goods and news. Mom said—”
“I have no wish to know news about what’s happening with your family.”
“Well, you should, because they are counting on you and me to make their lives easier. I live with my parents in a simple hut—”
“Are you going to keep prattling on?” Prince Williams cut her off. “No matter. I’m finished.”
He left his side of the table and walked to the exit.
Claire got up. “But the dessert…”
He didn’t even bother to turn around. The door closed behind him.
“You tried your best.” Ming flew up and landed on her shoulder.
“It wasn’t good enough.” Claire sighed. “Is there a way for anyone to get through to him? So many have failed so far. Was he this unpleasant with the other girls, or is it just me?”
“He seems to lose his temper faster with you,” Kara, the blue fairy, replied.
“That’s terrible to know,” Claire said. “He hates me. I shouldn’t be here. I lose my temper too fast when I should be nicer to him.”
Ming patted her shoulder. “He just confessed he likes your desserts and misses them. Take that as a win and stop doubting yourself. It’s not your fault that he’s an insensible idiot who can’t see how nice and friendly you are.”
“He’s cursed. I can’t blame him for being cold to me. His personality is different, and he probably doesn’t do it on purpose when he’s rude and unthoughtful.”
Kara folded her arms. “Are you defending him?”
Ming sighed. “William gave up a while ago. He’s been harder to reach. Being annoyed by you is hardly a negative. At least, he’s feeling something.” She tapped Claire’s head. “You need to try again tomorrow. We’ll make another dessert and no peas this time.”
Claire smiled at Ming’s attempt to cheer her up. “William is lucky having you by his side.”
“We promised his mother to take care of him until he found someone to love with all his heart and soul,” Ming shared. “She was our friend, like you. We miss her, and I’m sure William also misses his parents. He’s all alone in this huge palace.”
“Maybe he’d spend more time with you if I wasn’t here. Do you think he resents me for being friends with you?” Claire asked.
“William never liked to play with us,” Ming replied.
“Only when he was a little boy,” Kara added.
“Yes.” Tasha smiled. “When he was young, he was a cute and affectionate kid. The curse transformed him into someone else. Someone we have a hard time recognizing.”
“Stop,” Kara protested. “You’re making me sad. I miss old William. Let’s eat cake. Chocolate makes everything seem better.”
Claire giggled. “We can go to the kitchen, practice our play, and then eat cake and drink tea.”
Kara nodded in approval. “If we are good enough, we can invite other fairies to be our audience.”
Claire clapped her hands. “More fairies! Do they have different colors like you?”
“Some may have,” Ming answered. “But we are the prettiest of them all.”
“Without question.” Claire laughed.
Chapter 11
“Back, evil pirate!” Claire held a broom like a sword. “I will not allow you to make the princess walk the plank. For a girl so fair and kind does not deserve to become food for the vicious sharks below.”
“Save me, brave knight!” Ming played her role of a princess hostage perfectly.
Tasha, the green fairy, flew in a circle, playing the silent but mean pirate captain. Their latest choreography in the kitchen was Claire’s favorite. The late parties helped take her mind off all her failed attempts to get the prince’s attention.
“Throw the princess to the sharks!” the blue fairy, playing the pirate crew, declared.
“What are you doing?” a voice asked out of the blue.
Silence fell as Claire and the fairies looked at the prince. He stood by the door with his eyebrows raised, and his arms folded.
“Acting out a story we created.” Claire spoke up and rushed to his side. “Do you want to watch?” She reached for his arm but stopped when the fairies chittered as if in a panic.
The prince looked down at his arms and then at her.
“What are you doing here this late?” Claire asked him.
“I wanted more sweet bread. Did you eat it all?”
Claire shook her head. “We were planning to eat it after the play.” She offered him her hand. “Come and sit down. I’ll serve you tea and bread. You can be our audience and critique our performance.”
The prince refused her hand and brushed past her, stopping by the kitchen table where he took a seat.
The fairies flew around, placing a cup, filling it with water and some leaves, putting honey in his tea, and bringing a plate of sweet bread for him to eat.
Meanwhile, Claire resumed her place on the improvised stage and decided to ignore the fact that his presence made her nervous.
“Do you need anything else, sweet William?” Ming asked tenderly.
“No, Godmother. Just continue with the story.” He stirred his tea. “I want to know what happened next.”
The play resumed, and the prince watched them perform until the end.
Claire rushed to his side and sat on the chair next to his. “What did you think of our play?”
William raised his eyes to meet hers. “Not bad for amateurs.”
“Do you think the fairies will like it?”
“More fairies? Did my godmothers invite their friends to come here?”
Claire nodded.
“You’ll need to practice more if you have such a tough audience,” the prince suggested.
&
nbsp; “Do you think they will hate it? Did you hate it? Were we too loud and silly?”
“It was fun. Ming plays a dramatic princess and you a reckless hero.” He watched the fairies cleaning up the mess they made. “The pirate could use more lines, though. He’s not very menacing. You should ask the butler to be the captain. He’s menacing enough.”
Claire laughed. “You’re right. He would be perfect.”
When she looked at the prince, his eyes were on her, and she felt her cheeks warm up under his scrutiny. “What?”
“You need sword lessons. Your fighting abilities aren’t convincing enough.”
Claire leaned closer. “Are you going to teach me?”
The prince’s face became stern, and his eyes lost the amused glint he had before. He got up and scrubbed his hands against his coat. “It’s late. I should go to bed.” He turned around but didn’t walk away. “Can I watch you practice again tomorrow?”
“Of course.”
“You can use the dining room for that. I can help with the decorations and the props.”
“We’d love that!”
The prince glanced at her. “It’s a date then. See you tomorrow.”
With those words, he left.
Disoriented, Claire turned left and right, unsure of what he meant by calling it a date. At least, he was opening up to the idea of spending time with her. Watching the plays might bring joy to his heart. Maybe she had found a way to make him happy. He had smiled while he was watching them perform. She hadn’t imagined that.
Turning to the fairies, Claire clapped her hands. “Listen up, troupe! Tomorrow, we need to be more organized and perform better. We need better lines and funnier moments. Understood?”
The fairies stopped what they were doing and answered at the same time. “Aye aye, Captain!”
Chapter 12
For the next few nights, Claire and the fairies happily play-acted stories for the prince after dinner, enjoying every second of having an audience. Even the butler gave a nod of approval.
Prince William smiled as the fairies and Claire battled and pretended to destroy the evildoers who plagued the fantasy world they’d created.
At dinner that night, Prince William was more talkative. “Where do you come up with these ideas for the shows?”
“When I was younger, Mother told me stories of pirates and evil witches who kidnapped children and were jealous of beautiful princesses. She liked to tell me bedtime stories. I didn’t mind when she repeated them and often asked her to tell me the ones I loved the most. Once I grew up and learned to read, I went to the town’s library to request books. Mother likes me to read them to her while she’s embroidering.” She sighed. “Now that she’s sick, I don’t have time to read stories because I need to help with all the chores at home. Dad doesn’t have a lot of free time, either. He works in the mines, and he’s doing double-shifts to keep up with the demand for more minerals.” Her eyes aimed at him. “Sorry, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about the struggles of the commoners.”
The prince’s face didn’t change, which showed that her words had no effect on him.
“Are you surprised I know how to read?” she dared to ask.
“Should I be?”
Claire looked at her plate. “Apparently not.”
“I like the sound of your laughter when you are playing with the fairies. It doesn’t sound fake,” the prince shared.
Claire raised her eyes to meet his. Her heart melted a bit with the effect his words had on her. “What else do you like?”
“I like that you believe that evil is always defeated by good.”
“It’s a naïve concept, I’m fully aware of that.”
The prince tilted his head to the right. “Sometimes, trying to do what’s right can cause harm to others.”
“Was that why you were cursed?”
His eyelids fluttered. “Beauty can be a curse. I’m sure you’re aware of that, too.”
It was Claire’s turn to tilt her head and squint. “Are you saying you find me pretty?”
“To some, you might be. I was just saying that you were sent here because someone thought you were beautiful enough to seduce me.”
His words left a bad taste in her mouth, and she picked up her fork and stabbed a potato. “I’m sure, I’m here because the nobles didn’t want to sacrifice one of their daughters, and the Regent didn’t want to send his pretty and spoiled daughter.” She gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I tend to say things without thinking.”
“I appreciate your honesty. Though, I’m glad you were sent instead of her.”
Claire clenched her jaw, unsure if that was a compliment or a meaningless statement. Even so, she asked, “Why is that?”
His eyes fixated on her face. “I’m not sure. There’s something different about you. Maybe it’s because you aren’t trying to play games with me to make me fall in love and make you my queen.”
Claire snorted and grabbed the glass of water to take a sip. “I’m pretty sure my plain self doesn’t meet the requirements of your royal taste. You made things clear when we first met. You aren’t searching for a queen. I’m not looking to be a queen. We are on the same page.”
The prince fluttered his eyelashes as he always did when he seemed to be confused about something. Claire didn’t know him well, but that was about all the emotion he displayed. Besides the occasional smile that made him look almost human.
The prince used the napkin to clean his mouth and drank water. “Can we go back to talking about your family? You are friendlier when we talk about them.”
Claire frowned and tapped her fingers on the table. “How about we talk about your family? I want to know things about you.”
“My family is dead,” he said with a straight face. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Don’t you have memories of them?”
He nodded. “Painful ones that no longer affect me as they used to. I guess having a cold heart has some benefits.”
“What about happy ones?”
“Like the ones you have of your mother telling you stories?”
“Yes. Did your mother tell you stories?”
The prince zoned out for a while before he turned his gaze to her. “She did.”
Claire raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t. “What type of stories did you enjoy growing up?”
“Knight stories.” Prince William sighed. “Mother read them to me when I was a child. She had the most beautiful stories about fairies and warriors who roamed the world, fighting evil.”
“I would love to leave our kingdom. It’s not possible, as you know. Still, seeing other lands with green pastures, huge trees, and all sorts of flowers would be wonderful.”
“It’s not like I want to stay cursed,” the prince shared. “I tried— Maybe I’m not good enough for someone to love me.”
Claire blinked as she took in his cold demeanor. Memories of their first meeting rushed to her mind. She had been heartless in her own way when she believed that he was going to kill Deborah.
“Don’t you think I’m despicable because it’s my fault that the whole kingdom is plagued by an endless winter?” he questioned.
Claire wasn’t sure how to answer. “Now that I spend time with you, I’m not sure I was fair when I…”
“Yes?”
“When I judged you without knowing you.”
“I’m guilty of that, too. I assumed you were here to become my queen like the ones before you.”
Claire closed her fist over the table as she tried to keep her mouth shut. As always, she wasn’t able to restrain herself. “It takes more than physical beauty and a few politely shared words to make one fall in love. I’m not talking about passion or desire. I’m no expert. I don’t think I was ever in love with anyone. Unless we can count fictional characters in books I’ve read.” She focused on her closed hand. “I guess it’s because we know what’s inside their heads, and we can relate to their thou
ghts and actions. I’m not sure why. In real life, it’s harder to connect with people.”
“I thought I was in love before. But is it true love when the other person doesn’t feel the same?”
Claire hid her hands under the table and shrugged. “The only true love I’ve known is my parents’ love for me. I also love them with all my heart and soul. I’m not sure if I can love someone more than I love them.”
Prince William lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ve never seen someone love as much as my parents loved each other. Children are an extension of their parents’ love, but it’s a different type of love. You’re still too young to understand it. Books can’t teach you everything. Some things you have to experience for yourself.”
“Like leaving to see the world with our own eyes?” Claire questioned him.
The prince nodded. “It must be hard to spend time with me when I’m the one between you and your dream.”
Claire held his gaze. “It’s not your fault. You were cursed. It’s the witch’s fault.”
Ming clapped her hands. “Dessert, who wants dessert?”
Claire blinked with the sudden sound and looked at her plate. She wasn’t hungry and had lost track of time while talking with the prince.
“Claire has barely touched her food,” the prince noted.
“You barely ate as well,” Kara said, landing on the prince’s shoulder.
“Claire and I are having a lovely conversation. We’ll eat dessert later.”
Tasha, the green fairy, landed on the table and took small steps to reach the prince’s glass and secure her back against it. “What if we played some music, and you taught Claire how to dance? She’s a disaster, and we are too small to lead her.”
“Dancing?” the prince questioned.
Tasha raised her hand and studied her nails. “Do you still remember how it’s done?”
“Of course.”
She leaned forward and grinned at him. “Then finish your dinner, so we can light up the ballroom and play some music.”
The prince shook his head and showed them his hands. “I’m not wearing gloves.”
Ming flew to his side and waved her hand. Gold dust surrounded his hands, and a pair of silky white gloves covered them.
