by E. D. Baker
“You’ve had enough wine, Cole,” snapped his wife.
“How many fiddlers do you have?” he asked, shouting to the band.
The members all looked toward each other, wondering how to answer. “I play the lute,” Olot replied, bowing to the king.
“That’s too bad,” said King Cole. “I like groups with lots of fiddlers. Maybe I should get some court musicians. Three fiddlers would be good. Not enough music around here.”
“When you play your little instruments, play something lively,” the queen told the band. “I like lively music.”
“For heaven’s sake, Mother, just let them play whatever they have planned,” said Rupert.
Princess Lillian’s parents’ gray hair and stern faces made them seem older than King Cole or Queen Aleris. When Zephyr began to tune up, everyone except King Doegolf and Queen Irene looked interested in what was going on; they looked as if they would rather be anywhere but there.
“Is that what they’re going to play?” King Cole yelled as he plucked a glass of wine from a tray. “They aren’t very good, are they?”
“They’re just warming up, Father,” Rupert shouted over the noise.
“I thought they already practiced,” the queen said as Olot gave the signal to get ready to play. “Why do they need to warm up?”
When Olot paused and looked toward Rupert, the prince nodded and said, “Please begin when you’re ready.”
“‘June Bug Jamboree,’” Olot told them, changing the order of the songs to make Queen Aleris happy. Everyone in the band looked nervous when the ogre gave the signal, but they relaxed as soon as they began to play.
“June Bug Jamboree” always got the fans clapping and swatting at imaginary june bugs, and this was no exception. Even Lillian’s sour-faced parents were smiling by the end. The band played “Storm-Chased Maid” next, followed by “Heat Lightning” and “Owl Goes A-Hunting.” Cory and Cheeble had fun when they played “Thunder’s Clap” together, and the audience seemed to enjoy it, but “Morning Mist” was the fan favorite once again.
When the last note of “Morning Mist” had faded away, the audience stood up and clapped so loudly that the windows shook in their frames. Cory glanced at the people on the dais and saw tears streaming down Queen Irene’s wrinkled cheeks while her husband looked dumbstruck. King Cole was staring into his wineglass, looking thoughtful, and Queen Aleris had a faraway look in her eyes. On the other hand, Rupert was leaning toward Lillian, whispering something in her ear. When he sat back, he looked pleased with himself, while her cheeks were flushed and she looked distressed.
“Play another!” someone shouted.
As the clapping grew louder, Olot mouthed, “‘Silver Moon’” to the band.
The audience seemed to hold their breath as the music flowed around them. When it was over, Zephyr had to play two more songs before they were allowed to leave the hall.
After being assured that the servants would bring her drums, Cory followed the other members of the band back to the room where they’d rehearsed. She expected Olot to tell them that they’d done a good job and could relax for the evening before playing again the next day. Instead he announced that they would have to rehearse again.
“Why?” Cory asked. “I thought we played really well.” She had planned to take Goldilocks to find Rupert after the performance, not spend the evening closed in the rehearsal room.
“We played the songs we rehearsed over and over again very well,” said Olot. “But we weren’t expecting to have to perform twice. We should play other songs tomorrow after the wedding, and we need to rehearse them first.”
“How long do you think this will take?” asked Cory.
“As long as it needs to,” Olot replied. “I’m having our supper brought here, so it won’t take long to eat, then we’ll keep practicing until it’s time to go to bed. We played well today, but I want us to play even better tomorrow. Any other questions?”
Cory shook her head. If she wasn’t going to be able to get away that night, she’d just have to find a way to do what she needed to the next morning. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could find the groom at breakfast.
CHAPTER
15
Cory had always known that her best friend was a morning person, but she didn’t know that Daisy could be this cheerful. When she heard Daisy singing as she got dressed, Cory stuck her head under the pillow, hoping to block it out. There was no ignoring Daisy, however, when she shook Cory a few minutes later and said, “Rise and shine, sleepyhead. It’s time to get up!”
Cory groaned and sat up when Daisy dragged the covers off her. “What time is it?” she asked as Daisy skipped to Goldilocks’s bed and woke her the same way.
“Time to go eat breakfast!” Daisy cried, dancing out of the way when Goldilocks grumbled and swatted at her. “Get up, you two! We’re going to a royal wedding this very morning! Aren’t you excited?”
“Thrilled to pieces,” Cory said as her feet hit the floor. “I’d be a lot more thrilled if Olot hadn’t made us practice until three in the morning.”
“I don’t care about the wedding,” said Goldilocks. “Let me sleep in and you can tell me all about it later.”
“You know you want to be there!” said Daisy. “Just yesterday you told me how excited you were. Get out of bed, lazybones!”
“Yesterday I’d gotten more than four hours of sleep. Leave me alone!” Goldilocks cried, trying to pull her blankets out of Daisy’s hands.
While the two of them argued, Cory washed up and changed back into the green dress. The night before, Chancy had made each of the girls clips to hold back their hair, so Cory fussed with her new clip while Goldilocks grudgingly got out of bed and started washing. When they were all ready, they started down the stairs, heading for the great hall.
When they entered the hall, they saw that only a few tables had been set aside for breakfast at the end of the room closest to the kitchen. The rest of the hall had been decorated with banners and all the tables and benches had been pushed to the outside walls. Although the breakfast tables looked crowded, people seemed eager to make room for the members of Zephyr. Squeezed in between fans, they ate their breakfast while answering questions about their music, how they came up with songs, how long they practiced, and all sorts of questions that had nothing to do with their music. Cory got two proposals of marriage and heard Daisy get at least that many, one of them from Jarid. Goldilocks was seated at another table, and the men there were all vying for her attention.
Even while being bombarded with questions, Cory kept watch for Rupert. As soon as he came into the room, she was going to take Goldilocks to see him and shoot them both with arrows. Unfortunately, people came and left, but Rupert was not one of them.
Cory and her friends sat at the table long after they’d finished eating, talking to the people around them. They were still there when servants came to clean off the tables and move them out of the way.
When they got up to leave, Cory turned to the woman who had been sitting beside her. “I didn’t see Rupert or Lillian come down for breakfast. Won’t they eat before the wedding?”
“They ate in their rooms today,” another woman answered. “I saw three people carrying trays to Rupert’s room. There was so much food, I bet his groomsmen ate with him.”
“That makes sense,” Cory said, wishing she’d thought to ask earlier.
She wasn’t sure what to do now. She had wanted to shoot them long before this, but the opportunity had never presented itself. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she didn’t make Rupert and Goldilocks fall in love, but it would be her fault if they were never truly happy.
“Come with me,” she told her friends, and maneuvered the three of them through the crowd forming outside the great hall.
They were waiting when a door near the dais opened to let them in. Cory didn’t mind that the important guests were allowed to enter first, because she had no intention of letting herself get blocked in so she couldn’t move. Instead
she made her friends stay with her by the door. They wouldn’t be able to see what was going on very well, but they were out of the way and no one else wanted to stand there. Daisy finally left to join Jarid, but Goldilocks stayed where she was, and that was all Cory needed. No one made them move, so they were still there half an hour later, when the ceremony began.
Cory was sorry that she had to do it this way, but she felt as if she didn’t have any choice. Rupert was standing with his groomsmen in the front, and Lillian had just started walking down the aisle when Cory raised her hands and summoned her bow. A silver bow with a golden string immediately appeared in one hand, while a soft, white leather quiver appeared in the other. Although she strode to the front of the room notching a silver arrow, no one tried to stop her. Time itself had stopped for everyone but her at the exact moment she demanded the bow. No one moved or even appeared to breathe as she crossed to stand in front of Rupert. Glancing at the arrow, she noticed that it said “Rupert Xavier Cole” on the shaft.
Cory had done this so many times that she didn’t hesitate now. Taking aim at Rupert, she shot him in the chest with the arrow, and paused to watch the shimmer of gold puff from his embroidered jacket. Leaving him where he stood, she went back to Goldilocks and pulled another arrow from the quiver. This one was labeled “Goldilocks Cynthia Piper.”
Cory watched the puff of gold expand until it covered both Rupert and Goldilocks in a shimmering glow. Cory’s bow and quiver disappeared as a bright light suffused the couple, lingering for a moment until it suddenly melted away and time began to move again.
Although they were standing on opposite sides of the great hall, Rupert and Goldilocks began to walk at the same time.
“I can’t marry Lillian,” Rupert shouted at his parents as he strode across the hall. “I love another.”
“Don’t try to stop me,” Goldilocks told Cory, brushing past her.
Everyone stood, stunned, as they tried to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t until Rupert and Goldilocks rushed into each other’s arms and kissed that his mother began to scream, Lillian’s mother fainted, and her father turned beet red. King Cole took a flagon from a waiting servant and chugged the contents before sitting down abruptly.
Rupert and Goldilocks didn’t seem to notice anyone but each other. After they’d kissed for a while, they pulled apart long enough to gaze into each other’s eyes before kissing again.
“Stop that right this instant!” Rupert’s mother screamed.
Servants ran to revive Queen Irene as her husband realized that she was lying on the floor.
The commotion finally seemed to get through to Rupert, because he looked up, saw what was taking place on the dais, and turned to face Lillian, who was standing transfixed in the aisle. “I’m sorry, Lillian, but I cannot marry you. I love . . . What is your name again?” he asked the girl in his arms.
“Goldilocks,” she whispered, her eyes never leaving his face.
“I love Goldilocks and she is the one I will marry,” Rupert concluded.
Cory slipped down the wall until she could get a glimpse of Lillian. The princess was staring at Rupert and Goldilocks with her mouth opening and closing like a fish’s. Suddenly, she turned and fled the hall with her bridesmaids running after her.
Cory had done what she felt she needed to do, but that didn’t make her feel any less sorry for Lillian. She had liked the girl well enough, but that hadn’t had anything to do with her job as a Cupid. Without planning to, Cory pictured Lillian in her mind and thought about her match. The image of a young man appeared. It took her a moment to recognize him as Rupert’s friend who had pulled Lillian away when the baby dragons were fighting.
“Oh, great,” Cory muttered. “Now I suppose I have to look for him.”
People were still milling around in the great hall, talking about what they had seen, when Olot summoned the members of Zephyr to the room where they had rehearsed. “Today’s performance has been canceled,” he announced to the gathered band members. “The carriage that brought us here won’t be available to take us back until tomorrow. You can do whatever you want for the rest of the day. I intend to take a nap.” He yawned so broadly that Cory could see his tonsils and long, pointy teeth.
“There’s nothing to do here now,” Skippy complained.
“I’m sure you’ll find something,” said Olot.
The day before, everyone had been excited about the wedding and looking forward to the party afterward. Now the atmosphere was glum and uncertain as no one really knew what was going to happen next.
Left on her own, Cory was free to look for the young man in her vision. She returned to the great hall, hoping to find him there. Because she didn’t know his name, she wasn’t able to ask about him, so she walked around, looking at young men’s faces. She was still looking when she ran into Jarid.
“Do you know where Prince Rupert’s friends are?” asked Cory. “I don’t see any of them here.”
“They left as soon as the wedding was canceled. Rupert disappeared with Goldilocks and wasn’t going to hang out with them, so they had no reason to be here. Why do you ask? Did one of them catch your eye?”
“No!” Cory told him. “At least not in the way you’d think,” she muttered as she walked away.
Cory was leaving the hall when she heard bits and pieces of gossip.
The king and queen were in their private chambers arguing in voices so loud that they could be heard two rooms away.
Prince Rupert and Goldilocks had gone for a long walk on the castle wall and no one had seen them since.
Lillian’s parents had left the island right after the aborted wedding, but Lillian was still there. She had crossed on the ferry, and was unable to leave because the axle on her carriage was broken. It was being repaired, but wouldn’t be ready until the next day, so she was back in the rooms she’d been in before, and refused to come out. No one except her attendants saw her now, and they weren’t talking.
Unable to find Lillian’s match, Cory was just as much at loose ends as everyone else. She spent the rest of the morning in the gardens, but didn’t climb to the top of the wall as she would have liked for fear of running into Goldilocks and Rupert. She didn’t know what to say to Goldilocks, and had even less to say to Rupert, who had become defensive about his newfound love.
Everyone ate an enormous midday meal because the cooks had prepared so much food for the feast after the wedding. Cory borrowed a book from Perky, which she spent the afternoon reading, and ate more of the same wedding food for supper that night. Anticipating an early departure the next morning, all the members of Zephyr went to bed early. It was just Cory and Daisy in the room, however. Goldilocks had yet to show up.
Worried about how she would find Lillian’s match, Cory thought she’d have trouble falling asleep. Instead, she drifted off within minutes of climbing into bed and began to dream almost immediately. In her dream, she was back in the carriage with her bandmates, talking and having a good time, when the highwayman stopped them. Cory stepped outside, and watched the leader of the highwaymen emerge from the woods. His face was covered with a mask, although she could still make out his eyes and chin. There was a cleft in it just like . . . Suddenly, the mask was gone and she could see his entire face. It was the young man she’d seen in the vision of Lillian. The leader of the highwaymen was Lillian’s soul mate.
Cory awoke, wondering if a new ability had just shown itself. It would be helpful if every time she fell asleep wondering who a match might be, she’d have a dream telling her who it was. Of course, that might work only if she’d met the person, and he was in disguise, but even that was a big step. Regardless, she was convinced that her dream had shown her the truth.
And that brought up another problem. The man had stolen from her and her friends. He was a thief! Did she really have to help him? Then again, Goldilocks was a thief and Cory had helped her, despite her initial reservations. If Cory was going to be the best Cupid she could be, could she really
pick and choose whom she was going to help? Besides, nobody was ever just one thing. Maybe, aside from stealing jewelry, he was a really good person. But he took her bracelet! How good could he be? Then again, if he was Lillian’s true love, the only way she could help the princess was to help him. She was so confused!
And then there was the question of how to find him, if she was going to help them. She supposed that she could start describing the highwayman to people and hope that she gave a good enough description for someone to recognize him. He was one of Rupert’s friends and a lot of people should know his real identity. But that brought up another problem; she couldn’t come up with a plausible reason for doing it. She certainly wasn’t going to report that he was the highwayman right before she matched him to the princess!
The questions just kept coming, but none of them had easy answers. Cory wrestled with the idea of matching Lillian with this man and how to go about it until she was fully awake and her mind was roiling. The one thing she did know was that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep anytime soon.
Tired of lying there, staring at the moonlight coming through the window while she wondered what to do, she slipped out of bed and reached for the clothes on the trunk. Before going to bed, she had laid out the clothes she was going to wear for the ride home, and they were easy to find in the near dark. Moving as quietly as she could, she tiptoed out of the room and eased the door shut so she wouldn’t wake Daisy.
Although it was still relatively early, the corridors seemed to be deserted. She’d thought that she might go to the great hall and see if there was someone to talk to until she grew sleepy, but the only people there were a few men trying to sleep on benches against the wall and a group of men and women who looked at her as if she were an intruder. Cory turned and went the other way. On a whim, she tried an exterior door and was surprised to find it unlocked. As she opened the door and felt the cool night air on her face, it occurred to her that they probably didn’t need to have locked doors and lots of guards on an island that was so hard to reach.
