by John Moore
“That was a hell of a curse,” said Queen Ruby. “Her power must be substantial.”
“Not necessarily,” said Mandelbaum. “The spell she cast was crudely handled. She drained all the power from that fairy wood to maintain it. I suspect she only meant to leave it up a short time, but found she didn’t know how to remove it. When the magic of the woods was used up, the fairies had to leave.”
“But she hasn’t left her scheming ways behind. Now she turns up here and she’s trying to gain influence in the court through Prince Charming. She’s power mad. Well, I’ll fix her wagon.” Aurora suddenly dropped her fork. “Oh, my! Oh, no!”
“What’s wrong?”
“What if she’s still after me? After twenty years, she suddenly shows up on my wedding day again?”
“It’s just coincidence,” said Ann. “Charming has been searching for that girl for three months, before he even heard of you.”
“Well, I’m not taking any chances. I’m going to ask Garrison to order the Prince to stay away from that girl. She’s not his type anyway.”
Mandelbaum looked amused. Ann shrugged. “I doubt if Charming takes orders like that. More likely you’ll just push him into her arms.”
“Hmmph. I don’t see how you can be so calm. I thought you liked Prince Charming. How can you bear to see him hanging all over that… slut?”
“Excuse me,” interjected Mandelbaum. “Not to be unkind, Princess, but are you really in a position to cast aspersions on another girl’s moral character? I ask merely for information.”
“That’s different,” said Aurora stiffly. “I was engaged.”
“That’s right,” said Ann, coming to the defense of her new best friend. “It’s okay for a boy and a girl to do it if they’re engaged.”
“It most certainly is not,” said Queen Ruby. “Ann, I don’t know where you got such an idea.”
“Well, maybe it’s not okay, but it’s not exactly as bad as it would have been if they were not engaged. You know what I mean.”
“Young lady, I can see that we’re going to have to have a serious talk.”
“Oh, fine! I suppose you’ve been the very picture of chastity.”
“Mandelbaum and I are just good friends.”
“Well, I’m not waiting around to see what happens,” said Aurora. She threw down her napkin. “I’m going to tell those two gold diggers that I know just what they’re up to and I’m going to make sure the Prince knows it also. I owe him that much, at least.” She leaned forward to Ann. “And you don’t fool me, Little Princess, with that oh-so-casual attitude. You’ve been cutting that piece of fish on your plate till the pieces are the size of sesame seeds and you haven’t taken a single bite.”
Ann looked at her plate and lifted her fork to her mouth. She put it down again without tasting from it and put her arm around the blond girl’s shoulders. “Aurora,” she murmured in her ear, “if you really care about Prince Charming and if you’re really my friend, the best thing you can do is to get married as quickly and quietly as possible.”
Aurora looked at her quizzically.
“Just trust me on this,” said Ann. “Forget about this fairy godmother. It was twenty years ago. Leave it alone.”
Aurora hesitated, then made up her mind. “You don’t know this woman the way I do.” She rose and made her way down the long table. “Count Norville, may I have a word with you in private?”
“Certainly, Princess.”
“Oh, no need to be so secretive, dearie,” said Esmerelda. “I’m sure I can guess what sort of little case history you plan to relate. I’m equally sure that a true gentleman will give me the opportunity to set the record straight.”
“I don’t see why not,” said Norville, looking confusedly from one to the other.
“Straight!” said Aurora. “What a novel concept for you. Anything that you’re involved in will be about as straight as a corkscrew. You and that little tramp you hired to seduce the Prince.”
Esmerelda’s eyes flashed but she kept her voice level. “Feeling a little cranky this evening, aren’t we, Blondie. Perhaps those cramps will subside once you’ve fully developed. In the meantime, why don’t you lie down and take a nap? A nice long nap. I could arrange it for you.”
Aurora was shaking with suppressed rage. She spoke through clenched teeth. “Just try it, Butch. The Illyrian court has magicians that can fry you up like a piece of bacon and send your powers up the chimney like a puff of smoke. If they detect so much as a hint of spellcraft, they’ll burn you to a crisp. And they can neutralize anything you put on Charming, so you can forget your little schemes.”
“The spell that Cynthia casts on men has nothing to do with magic,” said Esmerelda. “Perhaps you’ll understand when you grow up.”
“Speaking of Cynthia, where did she get to?” asked Norville. They looked down the table. Cynthia and the Prince had quietly slipped out, leaving two empty chairs and untouched desserts.
“I believe they mentioned going out for a breath of air,” said Esmerelda sweetly. “I shouldn’t worry about Cynthia, Count. I’m sure Prince Charming will take good care of her.”
THE CASTLE ILLYRIA WAS BIG. It sat on a gentle hill rising a hundred feet or so above the city of Illyria, surrounded by shops and homes, barges and warehouses, schools and playing fields, inns and churches, bars and breweries, stables, counting houses, bakeries, cafes, and theatres, all that made up the largest metropolis in the twenty kingdoms. The city, in turn, sat very nearly at the geographical center of the country of Illyria, with rather good cobblestoned roads stretching off in all directions.
But it was the castle itself that, upon approaching the city, caught the traveler’s eye. Monstrously huge, of gray and black stone, much of it brand new, parts of it dating back six centuries, it not only housed the royal family but provided the chambers and courts for the royal government, offices for the vast numbers of civil servants required to run a country the size of Illyria, accommodations for visiting nobility, extensive quarters for servants and maintenance workers, and it housed a garrison of armed soldiers who served as guards and peace-keepers. At one time there had no doubt been some architectural consistency to the structure of the castle, some sort of rhyme or reason to the layout of rooms and hallways. But centuries of addition and remodeling had left it riddled with blind hallways, back staircases, and secret rooms that were not intended to be secret but were so far from the mainstream of traffic that they had fallen from public consciousness.
“Well, this is nice,” said Cynthia, as they entered such a room. “How quaint.”
“Isn’t it neat?” said Charming. “Queen Belinda set aside this room to look out over the city and write her poems. When they built the new south tower a hundred and forty years ago, all she got was a view of a blank wall, so she found someplace else to write. This is still just the way she furnished it, though.”
“Somehow I guessed you didn’t pick out the lace and velvet yourself. Did she write good poems? Were they written for a lover?”
“She wrote them for her children. They’re okay, I guess, if you like poetry. Legend has it that she gave a volume to her youngest son, who stuck it in his breast pocket when he rode off to battle. He took an arrow full in the chest, but the book stopped the arrow so that it barely scratched the skin.”
“So the poetry saved his life.”
“Nope. The scratch got septic and he died anyway. Fortunes of war.”
“Mmmmm,” said Cynthia hesitantly. Her godmother’s scripted patter had not prepared her for a conversational gambit like this. She decided to strike out on her own. “I suppose we could draw a lesson from that story.”
“Carry thicker books?”
“Don’t put too much faith in good fortune. I suspect the young soldier had a good day in battle along with his narrow escape from death and he began to feel like he was invincible. He got overconfident and he neglected to put ointment on his scratch. He could have taken advantage of his luck, but ins
tead he just let it run out.”
“Uh huh.”
Cynthia sat down on a love seat and spread her skirt around her. Black silk stockings gleamed on her calves. Charming sat down next to her, as she knew he would. “Now suppose a girl were to go to a ball. Not a Princess, but an ordinary common girl, were to go to a ball and meet a wonderful boy. That would be good fortune. Suppose this boy were to invite her for dinner. That’s a good sign. It shows he’s capitalizing on his good fortune. Now, I would say, this girl has got her opportunity, and she, too, has to take advantage of it. It’s up to her to make sure this boy isn’t disappointed. Don’t you think I’m right?”
“Well, that depends. How would this uncommon, extraordinary girl make sure this boy would not be disappointed?”
“By giving him what he wants.”
Charming ran a finger around the inside of his collar, which suddenly felt a whole lot tighter and a whole lot hotter. Cynthia cast her eyes down demurely, batted her lashes a few times, and then slowly raised them again to Charming’s face. Her pupils were wide and the green irises sparkled with hidden mischief. Her full, pink lips curved upward in a half smile. A tiny drop of perspiration formed in the hollow of her throat and gently slid down between her breasts. From the way she was dressed, and way she leaned toward him, Charming could watch that drop go a long way down.
The candles on the table burned down to a dim glow. The room was silent except for the breathing of two people, Cynthia’s breath coming abnormally fast and shallow; Charming’s breath coming abnormally deep and slow. Slowly, Cynthia shifted her legs so her left thigh was pressed against Charming’s. Softly, she began to rub it back and forth.
Carefully, Charming reached out with his right hand and touched the shoulder strap of her black silk dress. Slowly, he tugged it down off her shoulder. Cynthia made no objection. She placed a hand on his chest, gently twisting a button. Charming continued to pull down, until the black silk was pooled around her waist. In the flickering candlelight her breasts gleamed, full, high, and round, the nipples dark and erect. With great effort, the Prince pulled his eyes up to Cynthia’s face. Her eyes were half closed, her lips wet and parted, her cheeks flushed. Charming placed a hand on the small of her back and drew her toward him. Her bare breasts pressed into the thin white silk of his shirt and she made no effort to resist him. As if mesmerized, she turned her mouth up to his.
“Cynthia?”
The voice outside the door was high, shrill, and fraught with tension. Cynthia froze like a rabbit caught in the moonlight. The voice repeated itself, this time accompanied by a pounding on the door. “Cynthia, open this door immediately!”
“It’s my Godmother.”
The Prince sagged back into the love seat. “There seems to be a recurring pattern in my life.”
Cynthia pulled her dress up and unlocked the door. Esmerelda and Queen Ruby stood outside, Ruby holding Mandelbaum’s mirror under her arm. Cynthia grabbed her Godmother’s shoulder and dragged her inside, whispering hoarsely, “What are you doing? I had him right on the hook.”
Esmerelda cast a scornful look at Charming. “Change of plans. Get your clothes on, kid. We’re leaving.”
“But… but…”
“I’ll explain later. Forget this so-called Prince. We’re going home.” She turned on her heel and marched down the hall and down the stairs. Cynthia turned and cast a puzzled look at Charming, then followed her. Charming hastily buttoned up his shirt and ran after them both. Ruby took up the rear with an amused smile.
Downstairs, the servants already had Esmerelda’s and Cynthia’s cloaks ready. They were putting them on as Charming came down the stairs. Esmerelda ignored him. “Queen Ruby,” she said, “It was a great pleasure to make your acquaintance. I do thank you for your help.”
“The pleasure was all mine.”
“Esmerelda,” said Charming desperately. “Let me assure you that my intentions toward Cynthia are purely honorable and stem from the highest possible motivations. I admit that perhaps I was too forward tonight, but I honestly meant no harm and I do wish to see your goddaughter again.”
Esmerelda gave him an icy look and grabbed the mirror from Ruby. “Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who’s the fairest in the land?” The mirror clouded and cleared to reveal the image of Ann. Esmerelda tossed it to Charming who caught it with one hand. “Even your mirror is broken,” she sneered and marched straight out the door.
Charming found a chair and sat down. He put his head in his hands. “What the heck was that all about?”
“Oh,” said Ruby lightly. “I expect she was just upset to learn that you’re not really the crown prince of Illyria.”
IT OCCURRED TO PRINCE CHARMING that perhaps he was undergoing divine punishment for his sins. This argument would have held more weight if he had actually gotten to sin with Cynthia. Since their affair was not, in fact, consummated, he dismissed the higher powers from his consciousness and found instead a more immediate focus for his wrath. This happened to be Queen Ruby.
“You interfering idiot!” he yelled.
“My, my,” murmured Ruby. “That just isn’t a very charming thing to say at all.”
“I had her right where I wanted her. She was on the couch, already stripped to the waist, just about to kiss me. It was a sure thing.”
“Oh, yes. What a smoothie you are, Charming. What an effort it must have been to overcome the inhibitions of such a shy and modestly clothed child.”
“For three months I’ve been searching for that girl and just when I finally get her alone, you have to go and tip off her godmother where we are. That’s disgusting, using those magic mirrors to spy on people. It’s an invasion of privacy. Then to make matters worse, you go and tell her I’m not really a prince. Now what the hell is that supposed to mean? Are you crazy?”
“Ah, you were listening. Dear boy, I really had no intention of spoiling your fun. If you want to behave like an animal with some little chippy, far be it for me to interfere; though I really should not let Ann associate with a man of such low character. No, no, I merely mentioned to Esmerelda, simply by way of passing conversation, that the Princess Aurora and King Garrison were quietly married tonight.”
Charming eyed her narrowly. “That’s it?”
“That is it.”
“And she yanked Cynthia out of here for that?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t get it. I suppose you’re going to tell me that she had dreams of being the power behind the throne when I made Cynthia my queen? That she set up this whole romance as part of some manipulative scheme for social and political advancement?”
Ruby looked surprised. “Apparently I have underestimated your sophistication. Yes, of course that’s what the two of them were doing.”
“Well, so what? Half the princesses in the twenty kingdoms have advisors working on an expedient marriage for them. That’s something you live with when you’re manor born. Why should Cynthia be any different? Besides, why should having a queen make a difference to Esmerelda? I’m not going to be king for years yet. She should have figured Dad might remarry someday.”
“Are you not forgetting that Aurora is carrying a child?”
“Yeah, so what? As the first-born son I’m still next in line for the throne.”
“But this child will be twenty years old when delivered. Three years older than you are.”
“First born,” said Charming patiently. “Date of conception has nothing to do with it. I was born first.”
Ruby pulled up a chair and sat down, crossing her legs. She was wearing her high black boots again, the ones with the spiked heels, and the highly polished leather gleamed in the lamplight. She stroked the leather with a long fingernail. “But you are illegitimate.”
Charming, still full of frustrated energy, had been pacing up and down while they talked. Now he stopped and stared at Ruby, suspiciously, as though he expected her to reveal that all this was merely a huge joke. “Say what?”
�
�Garrison and Aurora were married twenty years ago. The sleeping spell didn’t kick in until after the wedding. That means that the King’s marriage to your mother was not legal since he was still married to Aurora. Since he was never married to your mother, you, I’m afraid, are an illegitimate child and Aurora’s son is the first legitimate heir to the throne of Illyria.”
“Oh, for goodness sake,” Charming said heavily. “You ruined my date with Cynthia just for that?” He kicked at a chair. “I’ve got news for you, Queen Ruby. My father and Aurora didn’t… uh, they weren’t, um…”
“Yes, go on.”
“Never mind.”
“I suppose you’re going to tell me some nonsense about how Aurora and Garrison weren’t really married before the spell took effect, that you and she just concocted that story to save her from the shame and public ostracism that our society bestows upon women who engage in that sort of intimacy outside of wedlock, that you swore to keep her secret, not realizing that the father of her child was your father also?”
Charming wasn’t looking at her. He studied a pair of crossed broadswords that hung on the wall. In the polished steel, he saw the face of a young man who was mired in a swamp of uncertainty. Still with his back to Ruby he said, “Suppose, merely as conjecture, that I was to claim something like that?”
Ruby leaned her head back and laughed lightly. “Oh, Charming, you are so cute. That overdeveloped sense of honor forces you to keep your promise to Aurora even as your own life is destroyed. That prevents you from admitting the truth to me, even when you know that both girls and dear Mandelbaum have let me in on the secret. What a singular childhood you must have had, to be instilled with such integrity. I should have slept with you when I had the chance. At least you would have gotten something out of this deal, poor dear.”
If there was anything that angered Charming more than the idea that he was being tricked, it was the notion that he was being pitied. He turned on his heel and fixed Ruby with a narrow glare. “Maybe I don’t have so much integrity as you think.”