by Joyce Lavene
But that was then. This was now.
“Chase will always choose me over you.” She smiled smugly. “Go have a look in the mirror. You can’t compete with me.”
“Lucky for me, Chase isn’t impressed by all those gilded edges. You being a princess doesn’t mean anything to him. Pack it up. He won’t be in the castle with you for long.”
“He lives in the castle. Where else would he be?”
“He’s going to live in the Dungeon when he becomes Bailiff.” I hadn’t meant to go that far with it. She’d goaded me into it.
We both saw Chase coming back with three ices. I was finished talking to Isabelle anyway, and ready to question Merlin. He probably had nothing to do with the fairy’s murder, but this was a different place. Maybe Merlin was different too.
Just as Chase reached us, Isabelle sighed and dropped to the ground in an elegant movement that made her silk dress flow out around her.
Chase handed me the ices and knelt beside her. “Isabelle? Are you okay?”
She put her hand on his arm. “It’s so hot. I’m just feeling a little faint. Could you carry me back to the castle?”
“Of course.” He glanced up at me. “Go talk to Merlin and let me know what he says. I’ll meet you at the dressing room after I take Isabelle to her chambers. Thanks, Jessie.”
So there I was with three raspberry ices and Chase gallantly carrying Isabelle toward the castle. She smiled at me as she put her arms around his neck.
“Well she’s annoying, isn’t she?” Starshine appeared.
“I’ll say. Things were going so well with me and Chase.” I handed her a raspberry ice. It was too heavy for her. She had to dump part of it out until it was light enough for her to carry. “I think I might’ve tipped my hand a little too soon.”
“You think so? You mean boasting to the princess that you plan to take her man away?”
“Yeah. I guess so.”
“Loose lips and all. Where are you headed now?”
“To see Merlin, the Village wizard. Do you know him?”
She had a pink mustache from the raspberry ice. “Not all magic users know one another, dear. I haven’t met him.”
I smiled and handed her a napkin. “Sorry. Besides I don’t think Merlin has any real magic. He’s really just the crazy, corporate type.”
As far as I could tell, not one person had noticed the small fairy next to me as I walked between Galileo’s Podium and across the cobblestones past the Merry Mynstrel’s Stage to Merlin’s Apothecary.
Merlin was sitting on a bench outside his shop full of stuffed birds, colored powders, and liquids. And of course, Horace, the disgusting, molting moose head at the door. I handed him the drippy third raspberry ice. He took it from me with a smile.
“I’d like to ask you a few questions about the evening the fairy was killed.” I sat beside him.
“For a free ice, you get a free question.”
“A few people noticed that you were around the Good Luck Fountain right before the fairy was killed. Did you see anything?”
“I don’t recall.” His purple starred robe blew around in the light breeze showing his bare legs.
I looked away quickly before I saw anything else beneath his robe. He had a bad habit of flashing women as he went by.
“You don’t recall being there or you don’t recall seeing the fairy?”
He stared at me with his piercing gray eyes. “I don’t recall you being the Village Bailiff, young woman. Have you been appointed without my knowledge?”
“No.” I glanced away to watch two men fighting with swords on the cobblestones. “I’m just helping.”
“I recently spoke to Detective Almond and your ex-boyfriend who does indeed happen to be the Bailiff. I don’t think anything has changed since then.”
“You said one question for one free ice,” I reminded him. “You’ve already eaten most of the ice. What about an answer to my question?”
“All right. I honor my deals.” He adjusted his pointy purple hat on his grizzled head. “I was around the fountain. I saw the fairy in question. I didn’t see anyone kill her, or I probably would have stopped it. Is that all?”
He was putting me off, as he probably put off Detective Almond and Canyon. But I knew his secret and didn’t hesitate to use it.
“You look much different in a business suit,” I told him. “I often wonder why you live here when the CEO of Adventure Land could live anywhere.”
“What?” His face lost its sly look. “How do you know about that?”
“It’s enough that I know,” I reminded him. “Now, did you see a tall, older man with long brown hair when the fairy was killed? He was probably dressed in red and black armor.”
“You’re trying my patience,” he ground out.
“And you’re making me angry. That poor fairy is dead, and there might be another death if her killer isn’t stopped. Have you thought of that? The police could close the Village.”
“You don’t fool around, do you? Maybe you should be the Bailiff. I get the feeling your ex isn’t exactly happy in his work.”
I saw this as my opportunity to pitch Chase as Bailiff. I could tell Merlin was surprised at the idea, but he heard me out anyway.
“How does the queen’s favorite feel about becoming the next Bailiff?” he wondered.
“I don’t know. He’d be good at it, and he has better qualifications than Canyon. Not to mention that people tend to be more afraid of Chase than of Canyon.”
“I’ll take it under advisement—but only if Chase is interested.”
“Interested in what?” Chase was close enough to hear the last part of our conversation as he walked up behind me. “What are you telling him, Jessie?”
Merlin laughed. “I think she sees you as our new Bailiff, Sir Knight. How dost thou feel about that appointment?”
Chase took my arm. “Excuse me, Sir Wizard. We are late for the joust. We’ll take this up at some future time.”
“Why don’t you finish questioning Merlin?” I suggested as he propelled me down the cobblestones. “I think he might have something important to say.”
“I don’t want to be Bailiff,” Chase said. “I’m happy being a knight. Quit trying to make people think of me as something that I’m not. I’m only doing this so the police can figure out who really killed Apple Blossom without arresting me for it.”
“Okay. You just seem like such a natural at it.” I smiled to make my words seem more positive.
“I’m not. Lay off, Jessie, or you’ll have to find new employment. I hear they’re looking for a new pretzel vendor.”
I shuddered. Everyone knew the pretzel job was hard. The Village hardly ever had enough pretzel vendors. I wasn’t sure if it was because they had to balance twenty pretzels on a stick as they called out to potential buyers or if it was because they had to buy any pretzels they dropped. Either way, I didn’t want the job.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you do something you don’t want to do.”
He let go of my arm. “All my life, people have wanted me to be things I didn’t want to be. My parents were the worst. Can you see me as a financial mastermind? I’m happy being a knight. Or at least I will be again when people don’t think I killed a fairy.”
My heart melted when he explained himself to me.
I knew all about his parents and his crazy brother. I knew he was happy at the Village, which made me happy. Besides, my fairy godmother didn’t say anything about him being Bailiff. He just had to fall in love with me again and help solve the fairy murder. No point in getting too ambitious.
“No, I can’t see you swimming with the Wall Street sharks.” My fingers burned to push aside a stray lock of his long hair. “I’m glad you’re happy. I’m sure everything will work out if we can find the killer.”
We were at the gate for the jousting event. Lord Dunstable nodded to us as we headed toward the dressing room.
“There’s just one more thing,” Chase said in a calmer voice. “I
don’t want you to panic, but I promised Isabelle I’d find another squire. She’s crazy jealous of you. I’ve never known anyone as insecure as she is. I’ll talk to the personnel director after the joust. I promise you won’t have to sell pretzels.”
“But the murder…” I argued as we went inside to get him ready for the joust.
He looked at me with a gentle gaze. “I’m sorry. This is the best I can do. Get my breast plate. We have to get moving, or I’ll have to forfeit.”
That was true. It had happened to a few other knights. Never to Chase, but he’d never been in this situation before.
I helped him dress, and we went out together. He got his horse as I got his standard to advance on the field.
This was a bigger event—the Queen’s Joust—which always had the best attendance. The queen and her huge group of followers would be in the grandstand, and she would offer her favor to Chase since he jousted in her honor. I could hear the crowd chanting his name as they waited for him to appear on the field.
“Ready?” he asked as he came toward me on horseback.
“Ready.” How was I ever going to make Chase love me again? This was a bad time to think about it but I couldn’t help it when I saw him there, so handsome and sweet.
“Trust me, dear.” Starshine was buzzing beside me. “I won’t let you down.”
Chase’s horse started his regal entrance to the field. I moved with him, holding his standard high. The crowd began screaming when they saw him.
“Oh look!” Queen Olivia called out, a tiny microphone attached to her neckline so she could be heard above the roaring crowd. “It is my champion. They never yell so loudly for anyone else. And who can blame them. Welcome, Sir Chase! Your presence always means a good knight!”
People were stomping their feet on the wood bleachers. Women were calling Chase’s name. I moved with the standard to his station and prepared for his joust.
“Today, my champion will face the ominous mystery jouster,” the queen continued her narrative. “He won’t prevail against my champion, but I look forward to seeing him receive the thrashing he deserves.”
The crowd agreed with their loud Huzzahs! Chase held his sword high as he paraded with around the Field of Honor. And that was when I noticed the mystery jouster.
He was wearing red and black armor and a helm that disguised his identity. I’d never seen that armor on the field before. It felt like a sign—he could be the fairy’s killer.
The crowd booed as the mystery knight took his lap around the field. They were supposed to hate him and want the queen’s champion to take the day. It seemed that they had been well coached by the cheerleaders in front of each section.
Except that the left section was supposed to cheer for the mystery knight.
I handed Chase his helm as I took his sword and then gave him a lance. He smiled at me before he put down the visor and advanced on his opponent. I watched him approach the knight, wishing I could see under that helm so I knew the identity of the mystery knight.
The knight never spoke, never gave anything away about himself.
They ran at each other twice, neither one able to unseat the other. They seemed well matched. The mystery knight was confident but not reckless. He held his lance in a steady hand, almost as good as Chase.
“My champion seems distracted,” Queen Olivia called out above the noise of the crowd between jousts. “Oh wait. Fie on me. I forgot to give Sir Chase my favor. Oh, Chase!” She sang out. “Come, good sir. Receive my fortune upon your joust.”
Chase had no choice but to ride to the Queen’s side in the grandstand. She kissed a white handkerchief and sent it flying to him with red lipstick on it. Unfortunately, her aim was off and it missed Chase’s lance.
It was my job to retrieve it. I ran to get it out of the sand and give it to him.
At the sound of a horse galloping toward us, I looked up to see the mystery knight. He wasn’t waiting for the official start of the next joust. His lance was lowered to reach Chase’s midsection where he was most vulnerable. I handed Chase the handkerchief and pointed out the impatient knight. He nodded and turned his horse to face his opponent.
What I didn’t count on was the rubber battle axe that suddenly appeared in the mystery knight’s hand. It was an illegal move during the joust, but sometimes the riders would toss in a trick or two to get the audience’s attention.
The battle axe would have bounced off Chase’s armor followed by a lot of booing and hissing from the audience. Everyone loved dirty tricks like these even if they were cheering for the favorite. It kept the joust interesting.
As I moved out of the way of the horses and the battle, I realized that the hard rubber axe was at a different trajectory than I had imagined. It was far too low for Chase. It might have hit his horse, but it seemed to be coming toward me.
There was nowhere to hide. I started to drop to the dirt rather than take a sharp blow to the head. Though it wouldn’t hurt someone wearing armor, the hard rubber was painful to unprotected skin.
But the battle axe seemed to have a mind of its own. Before I could reach the ground, it struck its target—me.
Chapter Eleven
Lucky for me the axe wasn’t real. It wouldn’t split my head open. But the rubber was heavy, and it hurt like crazy, stunning me for a moment.
Chase jumped down from his horse, flinging off his helm and gloves. His lance was in the dirt.
“Someone call 911,” he yelled as he knelt beside me.
“Goodness me!” The queen continued to narrate what was happening. “It appears the squire has been injured. I do hope the joust will continue.”
To make matters worse, our coastal weather kicked in, and it started raining again. I couldn’t get up on my own. I wasn’t seriously hurt, but I was dazed. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.
Starshine was laughing and doing some kind of happy dance as the rain drenched her. Her tiny face was turned toward the sky.
“What are you so happy about?” I asked her. “Did you do that on purpose? You could’ve killed me.”
“Just wait for it,” she sang out gleefully. “You’re going to love the results.”
“She’s talking out of her head,” Chase said to the medic who was always on standby during jousts. “But we can’t leave her here in the rain. I’ll take her to my dressing room. Alert the ambulance when it gets here.”
“Of course, Sir Knight,” the young man replied.
“Take it easy, Jessie.” Chase lifted me in his arms and started walking toward his dressing room. “You’ll be fine.”
“I’m fine now,” I told him. “No head injury. No broken bones. No ambulance. Isn’t that Village policy for employees?”
“You’re not fine, unless you were saying that I did this to you on purpose.” He scrutinized my face. “You were talking out of your head.”
“Well you said you wanted to get rid of me.” I grinned. “But I know you didn’t mean this way. I was talking to the Mystery Knight. Who was he anyway?”
“I don’t know.” He pushed open the door to his dressing room. “But he’s sloppy, throwing something like that without any kind of warning.”
“I’ve seen it dozens of times. I think people forget this isn’t a real competition.”
He put me down on the lumpy, broken sofa and stood back to stare at me. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re going to have a black and blue mark on your forehead. That rubber is hard when it hits you with no protection.”
I sat up a little too quickly and was immediately dizzy. “Really. I’m fine. It hurts but nothing life threatening.”
There was a quick knock at the door before the medic opened it. “The Main Gate says it’s too hard to get the ambulance through the crowd. They suggest we bring her down there if we really think it’s necessary.”
“It’s not.” I wobbled to my feet, but was able to stand without help. “Tell them to send it back. Thanks.”
He glanced at Chase, who n
odded after a moment. The medic disappeared to alert the Main Gate and the ambulance.
“All right. If you think you’re not hurt,” he said to me. “Let’s at least find you somewhere comfortable to lie down.”
It was extremely odd that Tony came rushing in at that moment. He had a crazy expression on his face as though he’d been slapped in the head with a rubber battle axe instead of me.
“Jessie? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Were you watching the joust?” Tony usually doesn’t hang out at the Field of Honor. Too much like work for him.
“No.” He put his hand to his forehead. “The last thing I remember, I was talking to a pretty girl in a yellow gown by the Lady Fountain. Next thing I knew, I was here. At least that’s what it feels like. I think I need to lie down.”
“Not here,” I discouraged. Maybe my fairy godmother had set this up so Chase and I would have some quiet time together. I wasn’t going to mess that up after she had the axe hit me.
“Well I can’t go to my place,” he blurted. “There was a flood this morning—broken water pipe. I’m not sure where either of us is going to sleep tonight. Have you completely split with the Bailiff? Maybe we could both sleep there.”
“No!” Chase said abruptly. “I’m taking Jessie to the castle. You can sleep here tonight, Tony, if you like.”
“Thanks.” Tony stared at me with a question in his eyes. “Are you and Jessie—?”
“We’re not.” I wished he’d shut up. “Don’t worry about me. Why don’t you go find the woman in yellow?”
“Okay. Good plan.” He shook Chase’s hand. “Thanks for taking care of her.”
Chase mumbled something as he shook Tony’s hand and then turned to me. “Are you ready?”
“I don’t want to go to the castle. I know the joust is off. Let’s go back to the scene of the crime and ask more questions. Maybe we can find the killer today. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
My voice sounded desperate and strange. My head still hurt, but I didn’t want to waste any time in the castle because of it. Chase and I needed to find the killer. I wanted to go back to my Village more than anything. I wanted to sleep in his arms that night, in our bed, in our Dungeon.