An Inconvenient Princess

by Melanie Cellier

  “No,” I reluctantly assured her. “It’s not that. He’s extremely good looking. He’s a prince, after all,” I hastened to add. “They generally are.”

  “Oh, good.” She smiled, and my heart sank. Exactly what I had feared. Was I supposed to support the courtship in some way? Should I say something encouraging to her?

  I decided being chaperone was contribution enough and turned the conversation to the billows of white clouds which filled the sky above us. The tactic easily worked, and we were soon all engaged in playing the childish game of finding shapes in the white puffs. Arthur had discovered the day before that Rapunzel was a hilarious companion at the activity. Neither of us could see most of the things she suggested, and she often went into peals of laughter at our suggestions. She wouldn’t even believe us half the time when we attempted to describe the true shape of various objects and animals.

  When we both assured her that a snail most certainly had a shell, she laughed so hard she nearly fell off the horse. “A character in one of my books had snails in her garden that were always eating her plants. I thought they were small and furry with four legs.”

  Arthur and I looked at each other. “Nope,” he said. “That sounds like a rabbit.”

  “No!” That sent her into fresh paroxysms. “But rabbits are so big!”

  “Big?” I laughed. “Rabbits aren’t big.”

  “But people hunt and eat them. I always thought they were like small horses. But with long ears.”

  “Well, deer are sort of like small horses,” I said, “and people hunt and eat them, too. But they have small ears. And rabbits are small.” I tried to show her with my hands, and she went off into another giggling fit.

  I shrugged at Arthur. “I guess it’s a lot for her to take in.”

  When the village of Talbot came into view, she sobered, her eyes turning into saucers at the sight of the houses clustered together. “It’s just like I imagined,” she said. “And also nothing like I imagined.”

  She fell into silence, and I wondered what was going on in her head. I had grown up in the capital city of Torina and couldn’t imagine being awed by this tiny hamlet.

  Arthur led us straight to a small workshop. I assumed we would be able to source both a water skin and boots from the tanner inside, but since the village turned out to be a little larger than I had imagined, I decided we should look for some plainer clothes for Rapunzel while we were here as well. Everyone we passed stopped to stare at us, and I was growing more tense with every step.

  Arthur soon struck up an easy conversation with the tanner, and I sidled a little closer to listen. He skillfully led the topic around Rapunzel and her tower without ever actually mentioning either of them. When he talked about the hunting around the village and mentioned traveling northeast, the man seemed to tense slightly. I knew from the flick of Arthur’s eyes in my direction that he had noted it as well.

  He let the topic drop, steering the conversation to newcomers. “You can’t get a lot of us, all the way out here!” he exclaimed cheerfully, and the man immediately began to boast of the many travelers he had served in the past twelvemonth.

  “I don’t suppose a girl’s come through who looks exactly like me?” I asked. “But with blue eyes?”

  He turned his full attention to me for the first time, staring at my face with lowering brows. “No,” he eventually said brusquely, turning back toward his work. “Can’t say I remember one.”

  But his shoulders had tightened in just the same way as earlier, and Arthur raised an eyebrow at me behind the man’s back. I pursed my lips, trying to decide if it was worth pressing the matter further. After a moment, I decided we might have better luck with someone else and gave a slight shake of my head.

  Arthur quickly concluded the transaction, leaving with a new water skin and a pair of boots that had apparently belonged to the man’s niece before she had married a trader and moved away.

  “Claimed they weren’t fine enough for her to take with her,” he said, and we hastened to assure him that we couldn’t imagine why—we were greatly pleased to buy such excellent products. He relaxed again at our words and farewelled us with relative friendliness. But I didn’t like the lines that had lingered around his eyes since Arthur had mentioned traveling northeast, or the way he wouldn’t quite meet our gazes.

  When we stepped back out into the clear air, I looked around and my heart sank.

  “Where’s Rapunzel?”

  “Where’s my horse?”

  Arthur and I stared at each other in dismay.

  “She promised she would stay right here and mind her! Where could she have gone?”

  “You don’t think someone took her?” asked Arthur in an undertone, his hand straying toward his sword hilt.

  “Surely not.” But even I could hear the hesitation in my voice. “Not in the middle of the village in broad daylight.”

  I looked up and down the street, hoping to see a flash of pink, or a stray hoof. Several people strode past, regarding us curiously, but none of them wore satin.

  Just when I was starting to truly panic, however, she wandered into view, Aster following obediently behind. My muscles relaxed and then tensed again as frustration took over. I rushed toward her.

  “Where have you been? You said you would stay right there!”

  “Oh, sorry!” She looked between us. “Were you worried? I didn’t even think. I smelled the most delicious smell and had to follow my nose.”

  A small dollop of something purple on her hands drew my eye. An eerily familiar sense of foreboding washed over me. I was far too familiar with the signs of mischief—and of the trouble that generally followed it.

  “What’s that?” I pointed at the tell-tale remnants.

  Her eyes lit up. “Oh! It was the most delicious thing! Brown and flaky and hot but sweet and gooey inside.”

  “A pie,” said Arthur. “I think she just had her first pie.”

  “Yes, but where did she get it?” I turned to look at her. “Rapunzel, you don’t have any coins, do you?”

  Arthur looked at her, too, his expression slowly turning to dismay.

  “Over there.” She pointed behind her down a small lane. “It was just sitting there.”

  “Oh dear,” said Arthur, but I could tell from his tone that he found the situation funny.

  “When you say sitting there…was it on a window ledge?” I asked.

  Rapunzel frowned. “Yes, I suppose it was, now that you mention it. It smelled so amazing, I just had to try it. And once I had a bite, I couldn’t stop.”

  I took a deep breath. “Rapunzel, you stole that pie.”

  “What?” She sounded horrified. “No, I didn’t. It was just sitting there, for anyone.”

  “No, it was cooling on someone else’s window ledge. You can’t just take someone else’s pie.”

  “Thief!” yelled a voice from down the lane, and I groaned, stepping in front of the princess.

  I could hear the sound of hurrying feet and began to dig around for a coin. I calculated what a pie would be worth and then doubled the figure in my mind. From the sound of the strident cry, I doubted the wronged woman would be easily satisfied.

  One glance at her confirmed the impression. She looked enraged, and immediately spotted us, easily standing out as strangers.

  “Over there!” She pointed at us. “Thieves!”

  Chapter 6

  I stepped forward and gave a small bow. “Many apologies, madam. I can assure you, we are not thieves. There has simply been a misunderstanding. Please allow us to compensate you for the pie in question.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Compensate me? That pie was for the mayor, and it was the last elderberries of the season. Planning to magically produce some more are you?”

  I gasped and covered my mouth. “How truly appalling. What an awful accident to happen. Naturally it is a significant loss for the mayor. Allow me to increase my apologies—and my compensation.” She unbent a little, as I had suspected
she would. A village of this size almost certainly didn’t have a mayor, and her exaggeration suggested she was willing to be compensated and wished to drive up the price. Reluctantly, my fingers found another coin.

  The woman continued to sputter protestations, calling for dire revenge against Rapunzel, and we had soon gathered a crowd. In the end, I had to give her four times the worth of the pie. It galled me to hand over the coins, seeing the glint in her eye as I did so, but I kept remembering the strange behavior of the tanner. I didn’t like being the center of so much attention.

  Arthur attempted to protest the final sum, but I shook my head at him as subtly as possible and, thankfully, he picked up the hint and subsided. As soon as the payment changed hands, I turned and hustled my small party out of the village. It wasn’t worth hanging around to question anyone else after the hubbub we had caused. All I wanted was to get away from the village and the people who still clustered around us.

  As we passed the workshop of the tanner, I saw him watching us from the doorway, a calculating expression on his face. Without conscious decision, my feet sped up.

  Rapunzel seemed greatly subdued by the entire experience and didn’t say a word until we were well clear of the village. At which point she burst into tears.

  “I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I didn’t know. I saw it, and it smelled so good.”

  “It’s all right.” I patted her shoulder. “I know you didn’t mean any harm. But maybe in the next village, you should stick close to us.”

  She nodded her agreement, tears still leaking down her face.

  “That was extortion back there,” said Arthur. “I can’t believe what she made you pay!”

  I shook my head. “I wasn’t paying for the pie. I was paying to extract us from the situation, and I thought we came off pretty well, in the end.”

  He shook his head at me. “You were very diplomatic. I’m sure I couldn’t have said half the things you did with a straight face.”

  I smiled wryly. “I have a lot of experience placating angry people. I’ve convinced irate shopkeepers their disturbed wares were enhanced rather than damaged, persuaded other families of merchants that our family has so much influence we don’t need to worry about damage to our reputation from pranks, and I’ve flattered more nobles with ruffled feathers into good humor than I could count.”

  “Let me guess.” He grinned. “Anneliese.”

  His smile confirmed my earlier impression. They would like each other, if we ever managed to catch up to her.

  “That tanner knew something, I’m sure of it,” I said, thoughts of my sister bringing the man to the front of my mind. “About the fairy and about Anneliese. Which makes me highly uncomfortable.”

  “They most likely weren’t connected,” said Arthur quickly, but I noticed his statement didn’t actually disagree with anything I’d said.

  “The fairy?” asked Rapunzel, suddenly paying attention. “My fairy?”

  I remembered that I hadn’t told her about my concerns before going in. Perhaps I should have done so, and she might not have wandered away. I bit my lip. I didn’t have any experience leading a group, so here I was, already making mistakes.

  “We don’t know,” said Arthur, answering her question. “He wouldn’t say anything.” The prince shrugged. “It was just an impression.”

  She looked between us with wide eyes. “She isn’t going to lock me up again, is she?”

  I shook my head. “I would never let that happen. I’d even call Mortimer before I’d let her take you away.”

  “Oh, Penny!” Rapunzel threw her arms around my neck and burst into fresh floods of tears.

  Arthur looked comically alarmed and busied himself filling Rapunzel’s new water skin. I resisted laughing at him in case Rapunzel thought it was directed at her.

  We all wanted to put some distance between us and Talbot, so we were soon on our way. But we had taken longer in the village than I had realized, and the sun had already started making its way down through the sky.

  The new boots seemed to help at first, but Rapunzel was soon limping anyway, and I had to call an early halt again. Arthur offered to put her up on Aster, but she refused, throwing wary glances at the horse. I would need to have a talk to her about trying again and giving her muscles a chance to adjust. At this rate, we’d never catch up with anyone.

  Rapunzel still seemed weepy, however, and I knew her sore feet weren’t her fault, so I decided to postpone the conversation for the moment. Instead, I let Arthur entertain her with an amusing story about his childhood in the Farthendellan court while I set up camp.

  I realized that with all the excitement in Talbot we had left without purchasing new clothes for Rapunzel or extra food. We would simply have to make it to the next village on the supplies we had. And hope for better luck there.

  Only I wasn’t sure which village we should aim for next. If no one would talk to us about Anneliese, we were wandering around blind. And who knew what trouble she was in while we blundered from place to place?

  Half way through our evening meal, I sat up and peered into the dim of twilight around us. I had heard something. I was sure of it. Doubly so since Arthur had also sat up and was staring in the same direction.

  I was looking at the prince when a man appeared in the corner of my eye, just inside the circle of our firelight. Arthur moved so quickly I could barely follow the movement, his sword drawn and pointing at the newcomer’s neck before I could even scramble to my feet.

  I gave him a warning look and then turned to the man. He looked vaguely familiar.

  “Welcome,” I said. “I apologize for my overzealous friend here. Do you seek warmth by our fire? We have food to share if you are hungry.”

  “I’m no traveler,” the man said, his eyes not leaving Arthur. “And I mean you no harm. I followed you from Talbot because I hear you’re after information.”

  I placed a hand on Arthur’s arm, lightly squeezing it, and his muscle jumped beneath my fingers. It was the first time we had touched since he caught me falling from the tower, but I tried not to let my focus slip from our visitor.

  Slowly he lowered his sword, although he didn’t put it away. The man breathed more easily, stepping back slightly.

  “I heard you seek information on a girl. A girl who looks just as you do, but for the eyes.”

  I tensed. “It is kind of you to travel so far to find us. Very kind.” I stressed the last phrase.

  His eyes flicked to me. “I also heard you have coins to spare.”

  Ah. Now I could place him. I’d seen him in the crowd that surrounded us as I bartered with the pie woman.

  “I might be able to find a coin in way of thanks for your time and effort. If you have information of interest, that is, of course.”

  “Only one coin for information of your sister?”

  I clenched my teeth. “It is possible I might be able to find one or two more.”

  The man eyed me, as if trying to decide whether to push further. “Those are strange eyes you have,” he said, unexpectedly. “Are they fairies’ work?”

  I glanced over at Arthur. What answer did the man want? And what would be the consequences if I gave the wrong one?

  “What do you know of fairies?” It seemed safer to answer with a question of my own.

  The man shrugged. “Their ways are strange. And not to be meddled with.” His eyes traveled briefly to Rapunzel, who gave a small whimper. She had otherwise remained completely silent, perhaps trying to make up for her actions in the village.

  I weighed the man with my eyes. “What fool would wish to meddle with fairies?”

  “A foolish one,” he said. “But then the world is full of fools.”

  “I am not one.”

  “I thought not.” He smiled. “You handled Widow Marley like a charm.”

  I grinned back at him. “Not the mayor’s wife, then? What a shocking surprise.”

  He let out a quick laugh before his eyes strayed back to Arthur’s s
word blade, and he sobered. “You may look like that sister of yours, but I was starting to think you weren’t like her at all. But I see now you’ve a little of her mischief in you.”

  “Oh ho!” The laugh in Arthur’s voice didn’t affect his steady grip on the sword. “What trouble has the legendary Anneliese been up to in Talbot?”

  “Not trouble precisely,” he said. “But she asked a great many questions. And somehow she got wind of a crazy notion.” His eyes flicked again to Rapunzel. “About a girl living all alone in a tower.” His gaze traveled between us all. “A fairy story, you understand, nothing more.”

  “Don’t tell me,” I said. “She believed this fairy story.”

  He nodded. “Had some notion of rescuing the girl. She asked about it to anyone who would listen, though wiser heads suggested restraint.”

  I sighed. Anneliese didn’t know the meaning of restraint.

  “Everyone in the village knows that some fairy stories are better left untold.”

  Had I imagined it, or had he stressed the word fairy?

  “What happened to Anneliese?” I asked, the breath catching in my throat as I waited for his answer.

  “Those of us who liked her—me among them, of course,” he hastened to assure me, “eventually convinced her to head down south. We told her that only a prince or an enchanted knight could make such a rescue, so she set off toward Marblehill in search of one.” He shrugged apologetically at me. “It was the best we could come up with.”

  I swayed slightly. The warm support of Arthur’s hand appeared in the middle of my back, steadying me. I took a deep breath. I had feared worse news, so I should be relieved. But I found it hard to believe that Anneliese would have meekly gone searching for a prince. She would have wanted to rescue Rapunzel herself. And if she’d doubled back for the tower and run afoul of Gothel…

  “What do you know of this fairy story?” I asked the man, knowing I was pushing it, but desperate for more information.

  “Nothing more than that it is one best not told,” he said, and I could see from his face that we would get no more out of him.