A Princess of Sorts

by Wilma van Wyngaarden

  A moment later she was out on the porch, blinking in the bright sun. She gasped and clutched tightly at Mako’s sleeve. “What is this? Who are all these people?”

  A thousand voices were raised in sudden cheers. Arms were raised, flags were flying, horses danced. Every face and all the eyes were staring at her.

  Mako said something into her ear.

  “What? What?”

  He spoke louder. “These are your people waiting to escort you to the castle, to be crowned.”

  “No! No!” she shrieked back, trying to be heard over the crowd’s roar. “Take me back inside! I won’t!”

  His arms were like iron. “Princess! Pretend to be queen!”

  She was rigid. Her teeth chattered in shock. She turned her head an inch or two and gave him a horrified stare. She got a narrow glance from his hazel eyes in return.

  “Do not let us down, Princess. You cannot stay here in the smithy – it is your destiny.”

  “Curse destiny!” Then she turned her head stiffly towards the road... the horses... the wagons... the people! So many people! Oh, dear Goddess. She let go of Mako’s sleeve and raised her hand to wave at the crowd, adding a smile that felt like a death grin. In response, she got another wave of cheers, twice as loud as the first. Mako gave her a nod of approval and encouragement.

  Beside her stood Coltic and the new Lady Sorrell, who had a white-knuckled grip on the swordstick. The ladies had thrown a fine traveling cloak around her shoulders.

  Coltic raised his arm for the crowd’s attention and the roar lessened. “Quiet! Quiet! Silence!” came the new shouts.

  “People of the Kingdom! I present to you the new Queen of Rellant, who will be crowned tomorrow at the castle! Princess Scylla, soon to be Queen Scylla!” A new round of cheers drowned him out for a few moments. Then he raised his hand again. “And our new chancellor of the realm, Mako Despritt... ah... De Espritt, that is!” There were more roars, cheering, applause, with flags waving. “Here...” he gestured toward Sorrell, who stood like a stone statue, a lovely one. “I present the heroic handmaid who saved the life of our queen... from this time on she is known as Lady Sorrell of the Hunt!” The crowd produced another cheer lasting several minutes. Sorrell inclined her head stiffly.

  “And now, as the captain of the Queen’s Guard, I invite all loyal subjects of the realm to accompany your queen to the castle for her coronation! Who is with us?”

  The roar was deafening. The princess felt as she was being bludgeoned by a thousand voices.

  “This cannot be real,” she informed Mako through lips that were fixed in a queenly smile.

  “What?”

  “This cannot be real!” she shouted.

  “It is what it is,” he mouthed back at her. Close to her ear, he said, “I am sorry, Princess, it was not possible to sneak you out the back door.”

  “You are cruel!” Then she bowed her head and waved again to the cheering congregation. “Onward!” she raised her voice. “I thank you all! Onward, loyal subjects! Let us prepare to leave!” She received another excited roar from the crowd. When the noise subsided a little, she added a full arm wave. This time the roar was deafening.

  “See what power you have!” Mako said into her ear when it was possible. “Did you not realize how many people have gathered in the village?”

  “Words could not describe! And how was I to know they would scream like that?”

  “It’s excitement. The queen gives them hope.”

  “Hope for what?”

  “Continuation... prosperity... stability...”

  “Hmmm.” She turned her head away from him and waved again towards the people. She waved towards the east and got a rousing cheer from them... waved towards the west and got a blast of excitement from that direction.

  “You can stop waving now,” Mako told her with some amusement. “Time to mount up and get moving.”

  After a few moments of pandemonium, the crowd began to shift. Several soldiers were carrying the queen’s baggage out of the smithy and towards a waiting wagon. People began to disperse, getting ready to set out on the journey. Sorrell’s description had been accurate – the dwellings in the village were very unimpressive. The smithy was the largest and the only one with a porch.

  Scylla’s eyes fell upon the mule that was waiting. It was mostly white.

  “Curse you, Mako,” she hissed. “Have you resurrected that horrible white pony?”

  “It’s not a pony, it’s a mule,” he pointed out in a more normal voice, now that the crowd was no longer cheering... and the princess was no longer close to full hysteria. “It’s actually a spotted mule, although most of the spots are under the saddle and on the other side.”

  The mule looked relaxed despite the recent pandemonium. Its ears flicked lazily, one foot was cocked, and its neatly belled tail swished gently.

  “I’ve forgotten what the belled tail indicates,” she said suspiciously.

  “One bell cut into the hair when the animal is broke to pack, another when it’s broke to pull, and a third bell when it’s broke to ride. This is an excellent mule, with very smooth gaits.”

  A young soldier was at the mule’s head. It wore a bridle with reins as well as a longer lead rope.

  “Do you feel ready to mount up?” Mako enquired with a certain amount of wariness. He made no move toward the animal until Scylla gave him an irritated nod of permission.

  “I suppose I should before you exhaust yourself and drop me.”

  Coltic beckoned to the soldier and he led the mule to the step. The princess allowed her uninjured foot to be placed in the stirrup and was hoisted by Mako and Coltic into the saddle, one on either side. She grasped the reins and took a firm grip on the saddle front.

  “I shall say a prayer to the Goddess. Many prayers,” she said. Not that her prayers had seemed to help while she was wandering through the forest... or had they? After all, she had survived the ordeal. Now she faced another ordeal, of spending several hours perched upon the back of a white mule. Even if Mako claimed it was spotted.

  Another animal was led up, this one a brown and white horse of medium height and sturdy build.

  “This one is yours, Lady Sorrell,” Coltic was saying. “This horse will win no beauty contest, but her jog is very smooth. At any rate, you’re a better... that is, you are more used to riding than the princess. Would you prefer to have your horse led, or rein the horse yourself?”

  “I will ride alongside the princess,” she replied. She was assisted to mount, and Coltic handed her the decorative swordstick and helped her to tie it onto the front of the saddle.

  Then Mako and Coltic’s horses were brought up and the two men mounted easily, taking to saddle as if it was second nature. Coltic took Scylla’s mule’s lead rope from the soldier and winked at her. “Let me know when you wish to ride on your own, Princess.”

  “I assure you, I will not! Lead on!”

  Several soldiers now surrounded the four of them in a tight group, with a looser circle of horses and riders as outriders. They moved off. Scylla looked back and saw Bart Smith still standing on the porch, watching their departure.

  She said, “Is Bart the smith not coming?”

  “No, he’s staying behind with some of the villagers... elders and women with babies who can’t travel. Someone needs to stay here in the village.”

  She raised her voice and gave him a full-arm wave. “Goodbye, Bart Smith! Thank you for your hospitality!” She got a low bow from him in return and a large grin. In the following days, months and years, when he told the story of how he and Chancellor Mako had revived the frail and suffering princess – “right in this very smithy!” – he always finished by saying, “The princess couldn’t match the looks of her handmaid Lady Sorrell... now there was a beauty! ... but she was a born queen!”

  | Chapter 6 |

  The company was falling in. Armed outriders led the troop of the Queen’s Guard that surrounded the chancellor, Captain Coltic, the princess and
Lady Sorrell, while another group took up the rear. A ragtag collection of armed men, villagers, farmers and other riders who planned to escort the royal procession back to the castle fell in behind, with wagons and carts readying to move off; and after that, anyone who cared to come along in the wake of the cavalcade. They hoisted their packs, prepared for the long march – some accompanied by children, dogs, and pack ponies.

  “How many people do you think so far?” Mako asked Coltic, his head turning and eyes gleaming.

  “More than a thousand?” he suggested. He too was scanning the crowds of soldiers, riders, wagons and those on foot – counting, assessing, watching. “Many have traveled to the village upon hearing about the princess... they’re from surrounding areas, other farms, and villages.”

  There was a mood of excitement. The sun was bright, the day was warming up nicely, and the people chattered and shouted as the column left the small village behind.

  The princess began to relax on the mule’s back. The sheepskin between her and the saddle offered some cushioning, and the mule had a long, calm stride.

  “How is your horse, Sorrell?”

  Sorrell, whose eyes continuously flicked between the soldiers, the forest lining the rough track of the road, and the princess herself, nodded to her without much enthusiasm. “All good so far.”

  “I wonder how far we are from the hunting compound,” Scylla said, looking nervously at the forest trees and bushes. Surrounded as she was by people and horses, and in full daylight, it was difficult to imagine that she had struggled through three long nights of being lost in the woods. It felt like a nightmare... how could it possibly have been real? But then the horror of the massacre of the royal family felt like a nightmare too. And it... apparently... had truly happened as well.

  Mako had heard her. “Several miles as the crow flies,” he said. “You wandered a long way. It was a long shot continuing the search for you. Another day or so and we might have given up.”

  Coltic nodded. “Darwyn and his men underestimated you... they hunted much closer to the compound. The forestry village offered us some lodgings, so we made it our headquarters.”

  “I think I will miss the smithy,” the princess said to Sorrell. “Maybe we can go back to stay there again.”

  Sorrell’s glance flickered towards her and she gave a slight shrug.

  “No,” said Mako, who had overheard.

  “Why not?”

  “It’s Bart Smith’s home. You cannot turn him out. His smithy services the forest harvesters and tree cutters.”

  “Well, buy it from him and he can build another. I might like to go back there. Maybe I will live there.”

  “No,” Mako said again. “It’s a very primitive village, very limited and really only for the woodcutters.”

  She raised her eyebrows.

  “And you and Lady Sorrell will not want to travel several hours on horseback on these rough roads every time there’s a state dinner or some other matter of importance.”

  “I rarely attend state dinners and other castle affairs,” she said. “You will see to those.”

  “Did the king not host many dinners?”

  “You know very well he did. He enjoyed dinners and... and entertaining company, and other matters of importance.” And he drank too much and too often, she thought. There had been a lot of carousing and very little attendance to matters of state.

  “As queen, you will find there are many dinners you should attend.”

  She sniffed. It was not something she cared to think about. In fact, there was a lot about being the queen that she didn’t care to think about.

  “And even if there weren’t, I will not regularly travel several hours on these roads to consult with you.”

  “It would not be efficient,” Coltic added. “From a management point of view.”

  “This mule is traveling along quite nicely,” she pointed out.

  “We’ve been traveling for a mere fifteen minutes,” Mako reminded her. “I hope you still feel as optimistic when we reach the main roads.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Two hours, maybe longer. Then there is at least a three-hour journey on the better roads, depending on the pace we can maintain. You may remember the roads leading to the hunting lodge as being much better, but this forest road skirts the edge of the forest in a much less traveled area.”

  “I will never go back to the lodge. I only went because the king insisted. He loved it. Now it’s ruined... horrible. Never,” she repeated.

  Sorrell’s expression had turned inward, her features wiped blank.

  “You won’t have to return,” said Coltic tightly. “Don’t fret about that. Perhaps the cursed place should be burned to the ground. I doubt anyone will want to use the hunting lodge again!”

  They traveled in silence for a while. Then Mako said, “I’ll ride up and speak to the Guard up at the front for a moment.” Coltic nodded and Mako urged his horse on to a faster clip and left them.

  The princess watched him in the distance. There was something about him that stood out ... some energy, a vitality... that drew all eyes, including hers.

  It emphasized her own frailty and uselessness. She said, “The chancellor will find me a poor type of queen, I’m sure. I am sadly lacking.”

  “Nonsense! The chancellor admires you greatly.”

  “Matters of state! I know very little, you know. No one planned that I would be queen. The king never discussed anything with me at all. And Queen Maris didn’t even like me.”

  “No one treated her as they should have,” Sorrell interjected in a harsh voice. “Not as a royal princess. It was shameful. How can she know what to do?”

  Coltic looked from one to the other. “It is a very difficult situation,” he admitted. “You will be queen, Princess. There is no one else... after the massacre of the royal family. Mako was a favorite of the king, however, and has intensive knowledge about the affairs of the kingdom. I can only advise that you consult with him to learn about the realm, its trade with other countries, the rents from the villages and farms, also our industries of sheep’s wool, spinning, weaving and felting, and of course the export of wood...”

  “Really!” she exclaimed, taken aback.

  “There could be improvements in education... I would like to see more training for our young people. Pronouncing Mako chancellor was brilliant, though... brilliant! And in your condition at the time! I bow to you, Princess, you could not have picked a better second in command.”

  “Hmmmph!” she snorted. “I wish to not be first in command.”

  In return, he could only offer an exaggerated shrug and a perplexed expression. “You cannot escape destiny. It is your Goddess-given destiny...! At least it is now, due to Darwyn’s treachery.”

  “Whatever was he thinking? I cannot imagine!”

  The horses and the mule jogged on. After a while, Mako returned, to indicate that he was riding off rearward to consult with other sections of the cavalcade.

  The princess was beginning to be bored. Sorrell rode along in silence, her eyes moving from soldier to soldier, from road to forest, from her horse to the princess on her mule. Coltic was also constantly alert but his natural gaiety surfaced as well, his eyes dancing and a smile never far off.

  Some children in rough wool tunics ran up along the side of the road and offered wildflowers for the princess. Coltic scooped up a pretty bouquet and handed it to her. For want of anything else to do, she stuck a few buttercups in the mule’s neat braids and held the rest in her hand.

  When Mako caught up alongside the mule a while later, his horse snorting from exertion, he smiled. “Flowers, Princess!”

  “The children gave them to me.”

  He nodded approvingly, his eyes agleam.

  “You love this all,” she accused him. “All of it!”

  He laughed. “It’s great weather for your march to the coronation! As you see, we’re collecting more people as we go. Magnificent!”
/>   She looked around. “Is that another village ahead?”

  He nodded. A scattering of people lined the road, and most looked ready to travel. She shook her head. “They don’t know what a poor sort of a queen they’re about to follow.”

  “Nonsense! I’ve been speaking to your household manager... Minda, that is,” he said, changing the subject while raising his arm to the cheering people. “She would like some information so she can start to plan. Directions can be sent ahead to the castle for preparations.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, she, of course, remembers the queen’s court well, along with most of the castle layout. She wonders whether you will prefer to occupy the late king’s quarters or the queen’s chambers?”

  Scylla could only stare at him, her mind grappling with this new problem.

  “I... I prefer my own rooms.”

  “Too small,” Sorrell offered unexpectedly.

  “Why?”

  “The queen would have more ladies in attendance and more... things. Also, she would hold audiences.”

  The princess was trying to picture the various rooms at the castle... the king’s quarters, and the suite of rooms occupied by Queen Maris and her attendants. She had not been in either suite of chambers for years, having lived reclusively in her own two small rooms and her gardens on the wall. Occasionally, because the king had demanded it, she had attended festive dinners in the Great Hall, but that was only a few times a year.

  “Audiences... Good Goddess,” she said faintly. “What on earth shall I do?”

  “Oh, and there is a judicial court day once a month too, where you will have to settle disputes,” Mako informed her.

  “Feel free to take over the settling of disputes, Chancellor!” she retorted acidly. “How would I know how to settle a dispute?”

  “Well, I will leave you to contemplate and will be back shortly!” He nodded to them and trotted off ahead toward the lead soldiers as they entered the village.

  ***

  As Scylla and her escort passed through the village, many riders, carts and wagons, and people on foot stood ready to join the procession. From the side of the roadway came waves, cheers and shouted well wishes.