by John Moore
“Oh, I think you do. But then, does it really matter? You can tell the truth now, but only by admitting that you lied beforehand. Once you’ve established that you will lie, why should the people believe you are telling the truth now and not then? Your motive for lying to protect yourself is certainly stronger than your motive for lying to protect Aurora.”
Charming looked slightly worried, but his brow soon cleared. He rang for a servant. “Send for Prudhomme immediately!” The servant nodded and departed. “Look, Queen Ruby, I don’t want to get hard-line here, but you are a guest in this castle and I think you are taking a few too many liberties, running around spinning stories and breaking up a guy’s dates. As for Aurora’s premature wedding, okay, maybe I did screw up by not letting her take the heat. But I’m not going to be cross-examined by a bunch of lawyers over this. In the court of public opinion, I’m still Prince Charming, who has battled half the evil in this kingdom and most of the other kingdoms as well, and my people are not going to turn against me because of one white lie.”
“Mmmmmmm.” Ruby tapped a blood-red fingernail thoughtfully against a front tooth. “No king, however powerful, can hope to lead without the support of his people, my dear. And no prince, however secure his claim, can gain the throne without their support, also. You know this already. But public opinion, dear boy, is such a fickle thing. The people love romance. For the king to present them with a beautiful new queen, one who has lain in a magical trance for twenty years, oh, the people will eat that story up. It will be far more touching than yet another tale of how you slew yet another fiend somewhere. And then there’s the child itself, of course. How the people love a newborn baby, especially the women. And how much fun it will be for them to watch it grow up. So much more interesting than the life of a teenage boy.”
“Get real. If Dad says I’m heir to the throne, then I’m the heir. The people aren’t going to argue.”
Ruby smiled. It was not a friendly smile. It was a crocodile smile. It was the smile of a woman who took a malicious delight in being the bearer of bad news. It was, in fact, the sort of smile that made it easy to understand why Ruby had been referred to as the Wicked Queen.
“Well now,” she said. “Let’s consider just what the King will do. He’s what, forty or so years old? Comparatively young for a ruler. In the prime of life, really. Does he have any reason to start worrying about his heir at this early age? I would think just the opposite. That he might be worried about his popular son deciding to compete with him for the throne.”
“Dad knows me better than that.”
“He knows you so well he sends you out of the court at every opportunity so you won’t have the chance to develop liaisons or indulge in conspiracies.”
“He does not. That’s just stupid.”
“Is it? All rulers have to be a little paranoid. It’s the nature of the business. Even afraid of their own sons, perhaps. Enough to entertain the thought, not consciously perhaps, just in a tiny corner in the back of their minds, that perhaps they could breathe so much easier if the scion was killed in some dangerous mission undertaken for King and country.”
“Nonsense.”
“But to bear a son now, that’s a different story. His Highness would be in his sixties by the time the lad reached majority, a ripe time to start thinking about retirement anyway. Until then, the whole issue can be comfortably put on the back burner. Except, of course, for Aurora. I think you will agree that there is a woman who knows how to take advantage of a situation. She will, of course, use her influence in her own child’s favor. And I think it’s safe to say that she will have more, how shall I put it, access to the King than you will ever have.”
“Prudomme!” yelled the Prince.
The King’s personal secretary appeared in the doorway. His smile was as ingratiating as ever, but he rubbed his hands together nervously and furrows creased his high forehead. For some reason he seemed reluctant to enter the room, seeming to hang back in the entrance way as if seeking protection. “Er, yes, your Highness? May I be of service?”
“Access,” said Charming to Ruby. “We’ll see about access.” He turned back to Prudhomme. “Prudhomme, I would like to see my father at once.”
“Er,” said Prudhomme. He glanced into the hallway behind him. “I’m afraid the King is rather busy right now. Er, too busy to be disturbed.”
“Of course,” said Charming understandingly. “It’s his wedding night after all. How foolish of me.” He glanced at Ruby. “I meant that I wanted to see him first thing in the morning.”
“Um, he is very busy in the morning, also.”
“Any time tomorrow. It doesn’t have to be first thing. Whenever is convenient for him.”
Prudhomme twisted his hands together very tightly. His voice was almost a whisper. “The King will be very busy for at least the next three weeks. Maybe longer. I don’t know when I can get you in to see him.”
“What? Come on, Prudhomme. He always has time to see me. You know that.” Charming took a step forward. Four guards appeared from the shadows in the hall and blocked the doorway. The secretary scuttled behind them. “Prudhomme!” yelled the Prince. “What is going on here?”
The secretary looked out from between the guard’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, Sire.”
Charming was seething with anger but he kept his temper under control and his voice modulated. “Now see here, Prudhomme. Enough of this nonsense. I want to talk to Dad about this baby situation. I’m not going to cause any trouble. I just want to know where I stand.”
Prudhomme looked relieved. He hesitated, then stepped forward. “Well, all of this has been rather sudden, I suppose. Indeed, I’ve had some difficulty in accepting the idea myself. I can well imagine what an ordeal it must be for you.”
“Exactly,” agreed the Prince. “Just what idea are we talking about?”
“And may I say, Sire, that serving you during your tenure as Prince was most rewarding and, furthermore, that your mother, in my memory at least, will always have been the Queen.”
“My mother was the Queen!” yelled Charming. Prudhomme scuttled behind the guards again.
“Excuse me.” The tension was broken by the well-oiled voice of Count Norville. He swept his black cloak off his shoulders and strode purposefully into the room from the rear hallway. Behind him, Mandelbaum followed. From his fingers dangled a small crystal on a silver chain.
“I can see we’ve had some excitement generated. Well, let me assure you…” Norville suddenly switched conversational tracks. “Did our guests leave already?”
Ruby shrugged. “Cynthia had an appointment with her dressmaker. Something about a glass petticoat, I believe.”
“Oh?” Norville gave Charming a quizzical look. “Well, where was I? Ah yes, Charming. Well, young man, I can see you are upset by this sudden revelation of events, and quite understandably so. Let me assure you, my young friend, that we would not do something so serious as to deny you your birthright without a complete and accurate assessment of the facts. Indeed, as Minister of Information, it befalls upon me to lead the investigation of this matter. I can say with complete confidence that my report will contain nothing but the most rigorously confirmed and unvarnished truth.”
“Well, great,” said Charming with relief. “Because I can explain the whole thing. Now, I admit I was wrong to lie about…”
“Of course,” Norville interrupted. “Since King Garrison and and Queen Aurora are the only two surviving eyewitnesses, the investigation can be completed rather quickly. In fact, I would venture to say the whole thing is rather cut and dried. Goodness, who am I to doubt the word of the King, particularly when it was given under oath?”
“Damn it, Norville! If Dad and Aurora were already married, what the heck did they get married tonight for?”
“Renewed their vows. Couples do it all the time.”
“Mandelbaum! Tell them what happened on the ride back!” Mandelbaum’s fingers trembled slightly as he studied the t
iny crystal. He refused to meet Charming’s eyes. Ever so carefully he folded up the slim silver chain and put it away in an inner pocket, all the while looking at the floor, the ceiling, the paintings on the walls, everywhere but at Prince Charming. The entire room waited. Finally he said, slowly, “As an employee of the King, I have placed myself under his command. As a citizen of Illyria, I owe allegiance to its sovereign.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Mandelbaum. Thanks a whole lot.”
“Now then, Charming,” Norville fished into his pocket and pulled out a sheaf of notes. “Your father has compiled a list of some rather extra-special assignments that demand your immediate and personal attention. Coincidentally, all of these require that you travel outside of Illyria for an extended period. Not that you are being exiled in any way, you understand. Oh, no. Far from it. Your usual generous allowance will be forwarded to you and we expect you to remain in full contact through our diplomatic embassies…”
There was a brief flash of reflected light, a slight hiss of cleaved air, and the papers, sliced neatly in two, dropped from Norville’s hands. The Count took an involuntary step back, his eyes fixed on the steel in Charming’s fist. The guards near Prudhomme drew their swords and four more guards, stationed in the hall behind Norville, stepped quickly into the room.”
“Steady there, lad,” murmured the Wicked Queen.
Charming spun on one foot until the tip of the sword grazed Ruby’s throat. His face reflected the sort of uncomprehending shock generally experienced only by small animals that have been run over by carriage wheels. You!” he snarled. “You’re behind all this! Well, I’m not going to stand for it!”
Ruby covered a yawn with her hand and raised a single eyebrow. Slowly, she took the point of the sword between thumb and forefinger and pushed it to one side. Her eyes fixed on Charming’s, she stood up, raising herself to her full height plus high heels. Then she leaned over to Charming’s shoulder and hissed in his ear.
“Listen, you little simpleton, don’t blame me for your downfall. You should have seen this coming a mile away, if you hadn’t been playing your Prince Charming role so long you actually started to believe all that nonsense about honor and duty. Well, now you are getting a healthy lesson in pragmatism. And lesson number one is this, that ‘honor’ is just a word that clever rulers like your father use to manipulate dumb kids like you into doing what they want.”
“That’s enough!” snapped Charming. He put a hand on her chest and pushed her back down into the chair. He stepped back into the center of the room and swung his blade around defiantly, pointing first at Prudhomme, then Mandelbaum, and then Norville. “All right, I’m going. Away. To think, that’s all. You haven’t gotten rid of me that easy. Because I’ll be back. And when I return, you will all wish this evening had never happened.” The Prince thrust the sword into his belt, walked to the great double doors and brought his heel against them viciously. Both doors swung open with a mighty crash and Charming, without a backward glance, strode off into the night. It was a most dramatic exit, so dramatic in fact that the rest of the group stood quietly for almost two minutes, expecting something to happen that would spoil the theatre of the scene. But nothing did happen. The Prince was gone.
“Well,” said Prudhomme after several minutes. “That was certainly an unpleasant confrontation. You know, we don’t even know if the baby is going to be a boy.”
“Doesn’t matter,” said Norville. “By Illyrian custom the first born inherits the throne, whether a man or woman.”
“It’s a boy,” said Mandelbaum. He took the crystal out of his pocket, glanced at it, and put it back. “Still a boy.”
“Yes, well, with a proper mother around to give him moral guidance, we can hope that this new prince will grow into a decent young man.”
“I’ve always liked Charming,” said Prudhomme.
“Not that Charming didn’t have his good points, but his lack of respect for social mores was certainly dismaying. Particularly offensive was this unhealthy preoccupation he had with… um…” Norville glanced uneasily at Queen Ruby.
“With sex?” she prompted.
“Er, yes. Most dismaying. Anyone who could invite that Cynthia girl into the royal circle certainly needed a lesson in good taste. Although I must admit her godmother was extremely sensible.”
“I see. Mandelbaum, dear, I will return to you shortly. I must see how my sweet little stepdaughter is getting on.” Queen Ruby swept out of the room. In the hallway, a very worried Ann was waiting for her.
“Did he fall for it?”
“He fell for it indeed. The poor boy. He was very upset. And, of course, who could blame him?”
“Oh dear,” Ann twisted her hands. “I hope he isn’t too shocked. Being the Prince meant a lot to him. Perhaps I should have told him myself. Broken the news more gently.”
“Now, dear, this is not the time to get carried away by sentiment. You know how men tend to blame the bearer of bad news. We can’t have his anger directed at you. It would spoil everything. You told me that yourself.”
“Yes, I know. You’re right. It just pains me to see him so sad.”
“Well, you can go now and offer him comfort. And you had better leave quickly, before he gets too much of a start.”
“That doesn’t matter. I know where he’s going.”
“Back to Alacia?”
“Right. There are some survivors who might testify that the wedding never took place. They’ll be in Briar Rose.”
“But will he go for the grail?”
“I think so. He’s mad enough at you that he’ll try to find it again, just so you can’t have it.”
“Good. Still, you should try to catch up with him now. You don’t want to give the impression you’re pursuing him.”
“But I am pursuing him.”
“All the more reason not to appear so. Go now. I’ve packed you a bag.”
Ann nodded and started off. She stopped once and looked back. “You know, I always thought you were a bitch.”
Ruby smiled. “I am, dear, when I don’t get what I want. Now, I’m getting what I want. And I want you to get what you want, too.”
Ann nodded again. “Goodbye then.” And she left. Ruby watched her leave and smiled pensively.
She spent a few minutes primping her hair in a hall mirror before rejoining the men. “Oh, Mandelbaum, dear, I’m ready for that astronomy lesson now.”
AURORA SAT IN FRONT of her dressing-room mirror and brushed her long blond hair with a silver-backed hairbrush. She was feeling very pleased with herself. She looked at the ring on her finger, the real wedding ring, not the pretend one, and smiled. Wasn’t it funny how life worked out? To go to sleep one day as a princess, to awaken as a pauper and, a few days later, to become the Queen of Illyria. It was enough to make one think one was being guided by destiny or fate or kismet or that sort of thing.
In fact, even the last dreadful week was not without its advantages. Aurora was sure that if she had the time to sit down and really think about what happened to her, she would probably discover she had learned important lessons about humility, self-reliance, and that kind of stuff. And she was not one to let knowledge gained so harshly slip away. Oh, no. She would use the wisdom she had garnered to become a better Queen and help Garrison rule with compassion. And she would teach little Garrison what she had learned, too, once she figured out what it was, so that he wouldn’t grow up spoiled, but would be honest and true.
Like Prince Charming.
Well, it was too bad about Prince Charming, but he would get over it. Anyway, Aurora fully intended to make it up to him. For one thing, she liked him a whole lot. For another, she owed her life to him and Illyria owed a lot to him. The new Queen was not going to see such a brave young man simply brushed aside. At least not until little Garrison got much, much older.
A happy thought occurred to her, so simple and beautiful in its clarity that she hugged herself with pleasure. She would make Charming the Crown Prince of Alaci
a!
It was a perfect match! Charming would get a nice little country to rule over, not too much trouble, and close enough to come for visits. Alacia, her special homeland, would get a ruler who was brave and noble. What could be better?
Aurora was so delighted with herself for thinking of this that she put on her dressing gown and ran to tell it to Ann. The Little Princess was, alas, nowhere to be found, although she did meet Queen Ruby, who was on her way up to Mandelbaum’s tower with several small bags of herbs. Aurora admired the warm relationship Ruby seemed to have with her stepdaughter and decided to ask her opinion. “Queen Ruby, have you seen Prince Charming?”
“Why, no, dear. I believe he has left the country for a while. He was a bit upset about the wedding.”
“Er, yes, I can see that he would be.”
“I believe he said he was going to Alacia to think things over.”
“Alacia?” said Aurora. It was a little disconcerting to have her wonderful idea foreshadowed. “Why Alacia?”
Ruby shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Aurora furrowed her brow. It seemed a little strange that Prince Charming should decide to go to Alacia just when she was thinking of sending him there. He hadn’t seemed particularly interested in the place. Still, if he liked it that much, it merely confirmed her choice of him as ruler for it. “I see. Is Ann around?”
“I haven’t seen her all day,” Ruby said smoothly.
“Princess Ann?” said Norville, coming up behind them. “My reports say she rode off to Alacia last night.” He bowed. “Good morning, ladies.”
“Alacia? Really?” said Ruby.
“Oh, ho,” said Aurora. “So Ann is on her way to Alacia also. She’s chasing after Prince Charming. I knew she was just playing hard to get.”
Norville rubbed his temple. “There seems to be an uncommon interest in Alacia of late, your Highness. This morning I received a report that Madam Esmerelda and Miss Cynthia were both on their way to Alacia in a carriage.”