Peas and Princesses

by Aleese Hughes

  I stood still, trying to process what was happening. “Maybe I’ll just sleep in my shift tonight.”

  “As you wish,” she said, grabbing my hand and leading me to my bed. She began to pull the sheets and quilts over my body, just as a lady-in-waiting would. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her slide a hand under the mattress for a second.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “Oh, I was just tucking in a loose corner.” She smiled down at me. “You know, I’ve always wanted a daughter.”

  The smile was warm, but then I noticed something… in her eyes, the same hint of amusement and glee King Leopold had in his eyes when he ordered Joseph’s execution.

  “What did you do?”

  “Shhh…” she whispered.

  And then I fell asleep.

  Chapter 27

  I woke up with my face on a hard, cold floor. I jumped up, surprised, and surveyed my surroundings. It seemed that I was in… a cell.

  “Princess!”

  I whirled my head around and saw Minerva in a cell next to mine. She was holding the metal bars adjoining the two, knuckles white from gripping them so tight.

  “You’ve been asleep for so long! Nothing was waking you!”

  I groaned, rubbing at a kink in my neck.

  “She’s awake,” I heard a man’s voice say. I turned my head in the direction of the voice.

  “Hey!” I shouted. “What’s going on?” Squinting my eyes in the dim lighting, I could see the figure of a guard sitting casually in a chair down the hallway.

  “Answer me!” I said. No reply. “Minerva, do you know what happened? Why have we been arrested? Do they…” I lowered my voice, “know?”

  She shrugged, tears spilling down her cheeks. I had never seen her such a mess.“I have no idea. Shortly after the Queen asked me to leave you two alone, I went back to the party, and not ten minutes went by before I was hauled away by a couple of soldiers.”

  “The Queen!” I remembered. “She did something to me…”

  The sound of footsteps came from the stairway, and Minerva and I looked eagerly in that direction, hoping for some possible answers. It was the Prince.

  “Alexander!” I cried, quickly moving to the front of my cell and grabbing the bars. He didn’t look at me, not even for a second. My heart sank to my stomach. “Alexander?”

  He stood in front of me, eyes glued to the floor. His fists were clenched.

  “We know you’re not Princess Amelia,” he said.

  Minerva gasped. “How?” she exclaimed.

  “Mother says she has sufficient evidence from some leaks in Mardasia,” he said. Then he looked to Minerva. “Your outburst further proves it.”

  I shook my head, lip trembling. “Alexander, you have to believe me. I was forced—”

  “Was it all I lie?” he shouted at me, eyes finally locking with mine. I jumped at the abruptness. “Everything? The fun we had, the stories we shared, our… our love?” He shifted his gaze to the floor again, shoving his clenched fists into his pockets.

  “No!” I said. “Well, some of it was, but if you just let me explain…” I shot a glance at Minerva, but she did nothing to stop me. “Alexander, they forced me to do this. They’ve threatened me, and my sister.”

  “Why am I supposed to believe you?” he paced around, red in the face, and hit his fist against the wall.

  I stared at him in pain, and my heart ached for him. And in that moment, I realized what he truly meant to me.

  “Because I love you,” I whispered. And I meant it this time. I loved his quirkiness, his kindness, his sense of humor…

  Alexander sank to the floor and placed his face in his hands.

  “It’s true,” Minerva spoke up.

  We both turned to her, surprised. “The King, he threatened her, and I went along with it. The real Princess Amelia ran away, and we trained Milly here to replace her. When Milly tried to run away herself, the King killed her accomplice and threatened to do the same to her sister, who still lies in prison.” Minerva looked to the floor, ashamed.

  Alexander looked up at the ceiling and let out a long breath. “I don’t know what to believe,” he said, torment bleeding from his voice.

  I rested my forehead against the bar, ignoring the cold. After a few minutes of silence, Alexander rose from the floor and turned to leave.

  “Where are you going?” I croaked, holding back tears.

  He froze in his path, but did not turn around. “I need to think,” he said, then proceeded to leave.

  I began to sob. My heart was at its breaking point. I curled up into a ball and allowed the despair to wash over me like a flood.

  “I’m sorry, Milly,” Minerva whispered.

  Chapter 28

  It was the dead of night, and I knew this scene all too well. Minerva and I sat, arms tied behind our backs, in front of Queen Andromeda as she sat regally in her throne. Her lips looked the color of blood against her ivory skin, and her eyes were squinted at us with displeasure. Alexander stood next to the throne, eyes at his feet and wringing his hands. My heart ached to see him that way.

  “I would like to know just what your plan was,” the Queen hissed at us.

  I made eye contact with her, my lip trembling. “I don’t know. My job was to keep up the farce to protect my sister.” My voice croaked uncontrollably.

  The Queen nodded to the guard behind me, the one who had been guarding mine and Minerva’s cells for the last few hours, and he struck my cheek. I didn’t even cry out.

  “The Prince already informed me of that ridiculous story you claim!” Andromeda shouted, pounding her fist on the cushioned armrest of her throne. “I will give you one more chance, and you better tell the truth this time!”

  I looked to Minerva for help, but she didn’t provide any. She was pale as a sheet and shook violently.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I whispered. “I never wanted this to happen. I never wanted to be here.”

  The guard struck me again, and this time I did cry out, my face already stinging from the last hit. Alexander made eye contact with me, a tear glistening on his cheek. I plead to him with my eyes.

  “Mother,” he said, “if they are telling the truth, they may be of use to us.”

  The Queen shot a glance at her son, then turned back to Minerva and me.

  “What?” she spat.

  Alexander nodded. “Obviously, King Leopold is a part of whatever plan this is, and I assume you would like for him to pay.”

  The Queen sat back, thoughtful. “There may be some merit to what you are saying, son.”

  We sat in a terrible silence as she pondered. Heavy thoughts ran through my head over and over again… My life seemed to always be in the hands of an angry, dictatorial monarch— no matter where I went.

  “I’m going to strike a deal with the two of you.”

  Andromeda’s words made me jump from the long silence.

  “The only ones who know of your lies are in this room: myself, the Prince, and Ronald.” The Queen nodded towards the guard standing behind us. “I will provide you with your lives if you cooperate.”

  Minerva nodded eagerly. “Anything, Your Majesty.”

  I hesitated. “What do you want us to do?”

  Andromeda smiled, her eyes glinting with a morbid excitement. “We will pretend to go on with the wedding as planned. We will arrange an engagement tour of Polart and make our way to Mardasia, where the wedding is supposed to take place.”

  I tried to make eye contact with Alexander again to read his thoughts, but he kept his eyes on his mother.

  The Queen continued. “And if neither of you interfere, my own plans for your dear King and Mardasia will take place.” She raised an eyebrow at me, anticipating an interruption, but I stayed silent. “And your lives will be spared.”

  I stared out the large window in my bedchamber. Minerva was sleeping in her own room, exhausted by the ordeal. How did my life even get to this point? Sometimes I forgot how it
happened, but this new turn of events was my best shot. If I still pretended to be Princess Amelia and pretended to go along with the wedding, I could still potentially save not only myself, but Janice, as well. But there was one problem: I was sick of pretending.

  I rubbed my face with my hands. Too much, I thought. This is too much.

  I wanted to see Alexander, talk to him, see what he was thinking, but I had hurt him, and that by itself was enough to drive me insane.

  There was a sudden knock on my door, and I sighed. “Come in.”

  The young maid Clara pulled the door open and slipped through, timidly giving me a curtsy. “Princess, may I do some cleaning?”

  I waved at her to proceed and she moved to my mattress to change the bedding.

  “If I may, Your Highness, lots of us were worried about you yesterday. You weren’t seen until this morning. Are you alright?” She kept her eyes on her work, too shy to look me in the eyes.

  I smiled at her concern, then said what I was instructed to: “Lady Minerva and I decided to explore some of the Polart lands yesterday.”

  Clara seemed excited by that statement as she tore a sheet off the mattress. Before she could reply, however, something small flew out of the sheet and hit her in the eye, startling her.

  “What was that?” She exclaimed.

  I rushed over to find what had flown, curious.

  “Oh, Princess!” Clara said, horrified. “Don’t go crawling on the ground! I’ll find it!”

  But I had already located the object. “Is that a pea?” I said, holding it up so the maid could see.

  The girl paled. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness! I must not have cleaned well enough last time.”

  I brushed it off. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just a little pea. It doesn’t hurt anyone.”

  Chapter 29

  The “wedding” was two weeks away, and we were starting the engagement tour. We were supposed to travel through the bigger part of Polart to make some public appearances, and then we would be doing the same in the Mardasia, arriving at the capital Capthar in time for the wedding. I was both dreading and looking forward to this tour. Dreading because it would be two weeks full of more lies. Looking forward because I would get to be with Alexander. I desperately wanted to talk to him.

  I stood outside in a comfortable, yet elegant-looking travel dress, watching as various footmen and manservants packed up the party’s luggage. It would be Alexander, the Queen, Lady Minerva, and me in the party, including the Lord and lady-in-waiting specifically going to fulfill the needs of the Prince and the Queen. And many soldiers, of course. As per Polart custom, the Queen would ride with her lady-in-waiting in a carriage at the front of the line, and Alexander and I would ride in a carriage behind with our own appointed companions, mine being Minerva. The entourage of soldiers would ride behind and around both carriages as a means of protection.

  “I would’ve been excited for this,” Minerva said beside me, “but now I just want everything to be over.”

  “I know what you mean.” I looked at Minerva. She had been avoiding my eye contact all day and was much more jittery than normal— jumping at every little sound. Maybe she was just rattled by recent events.

  All of the servants quieted and bowed. I turned around to see the Queen and Prince Alexander descending the steps of the castle’s front entrance. I gave Alexander a smile, and he made eye contact with me. I saw the corners of his mouth lift a little in return. It wasn’t much, but it was an improvement.

  “Let’s start!” the Queen said. She snapped her fingers for a footman to open her carriage door and help her inside. The fact that we were travelling for nearly two weeks was not reason enough for her to wear anything more practical: her blue skirts surrounded her in piles and piles of heavy fabric. The footman nearly had to push at her dress to make room inside the carriage for the Queen’s travel companion.

  As a courtesy, Alexander came up to me and held out his arm for me to take. I did and allowed him to help me into our carriage, Minerva next and Alexander’s companion following behind.

  I sat myself comfortably onto the seats, which were so plush and soft that I sank an inch or two into them. Alexander took his seat next to me, and Minerva and the Lord across from us. My heart pounded at how close I sat to the Prince in the small compartment.

  As soon as we were all settled inside, we felt the carriage lurch as it started on the path.

  “Princess.” Alexander’s travel companion sitting next to Minerva got my attention. He was an extravagant-looking, older man with a curled mustache and long, dark bangs. He bowed his head in respect to me. “I am Lord Williiam. It is an honor to meet you.”

  I bowed my head in return. “Likewise.”

  “This’ll be so fun!” William exclaimed, bouncing up and down in his seat. Minerva eyed him, annoyed. He was definitely more… flamboyant than most men.

  The ride consisted of William’s many, many remarks about the countryside of Polart and “interesting” facts. No one else uttered a word. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.

  The first few stops were successful, but uneventful. We stopped in various-sized towns and were announced as the engaged Prince Alexander and Princess Amelia. The subjects of Polart were all so excited to see me. They’re admiring eyes and cheerful applause made me feel sick.

  At one stop I felt little hands pulling at my skirts. I whirled around to find a tiny girl, five or six, holding on to me, eyes wide in awe. It melted my heart. I crouched down to her level and moved the sweaty hair out of her face. She was dirty and poor, but a beautiful child.

  “Hello,” I said to her.

  She gasped and turned a bright red. “Hello,” she whispered timidly.

  “What’s your name?”

  She shuffled her feet, but had a big smile on her face. “Molly.” She giggled. “You a beautiful princess.”

  I found myself choking up. She was so innocent and looked up to me like a hero. “You are also a beautiful princess.” I winked at her.

  “Really?” She couldn’t say her “r”s very well.

  “Really.”

  Molly wrapped her arms around my neck, and I hugged her back. She ran off to tell her friends, I’m sure, and I stood up, brushing off my skirts.

  “That was very sweet,” Alexander whispered to me as we waved goodbye to the people at that particular stop.

  “It was kind of hard, too,” I replied. “I feel like I’m lying to everybody.”

  He watched my face, thoughtful.

  I desperately wanted to talk with him— alone, but that entire week of travel did not give me any opportunity like that. The day came where we were to travel to Mardasia to make public appearances in some of the places there. I needed to find a time to pull Alexander aside before the end of that next week. I didn’t know what would happen to me when Queen Andromeda’s plan, whatever it was, followed through.

  We sat in the carriage yet again, listening to William drone on and on.

  “I’ve never actually been to the Kingdom of Mardasia before,” he said, pressing his nose against the carriage window. “How far is it from here?”

  “We’re at the south edge of Polart right now. It’ll take two or three days.” Alexander lounged back in his seat and closed his eyes.

  “Did you know that Mardasia’s major export is metal?”

  “Yes, Lord William!” Minerva snapped at him. “The Princess and I live there!”

  “Oh…” William dejectedly shifted his gaze to his feet.

  It was awkwardly silent for a moment, but Alexander broke the silence with laughter. I joined in, then Minerva, and then even Lord William started to chuckle.

  “I’m sorry,” the Lord said. “I know I’m a bit of a talker.”

  “That’s alright, Lord William,” the Prince said, wiping a tear from his eye from laughing so hard.

  It had been a much needed laugh for all of us.

  The sudden halt of the carriage woke me from my nap. Looking out the wi
ndow, I saw that it was pitch black outside and assumed we were stopping to rest for the night. Our drivers, footmen, and soldiers, save the three who would be guarding our rooms in the inn, would be sleeping in the stables.

  Upon entering the inn, the same thing that happened every night occured. People stared and whispered excitedly: men drunk from too many ales grinned ear to ear, the hired musician stopped playing his tune, and other guests slowly flocked in our direction. The three soldiers appointed to guard and protect us in the inn that night gently kept the crowd at bay.

  We always stopped at the nicer inns during this trip, of course, but it didn’t stop us from having to cohort with many, many subjects. As Milly the commoner, I didn’t mind the people at all. But as the Princess, it got me too much attention.

  “Silence!” the Queen cried, raising a gloved hand in the air. “We are exhausted from the day’s journey, and we wish to retire. Lady Grisham, find the owner and procure us some rooms.”

  Andromeda gestured for her lady-in-waiting to follow her demands. After just a few seconds, the little woman came back with a robust, cheery man who hustled over to us, bowing over and over again.

  “Oh, Your Majesty!” he said to the Queen. “And Your Highnesses, Lord and Ladies. It is an honor to serve you!”

  His bald head glistened as he sweated from the excitement and nerves.

  “Thank you, Mr. Switch,” Lady Grisham said. “We would like three of your best rooms please.”

  Mr. Switch grinned. “We do have a few rooms that are more expensive than the others.”

  “How much?” The Queen asked, digging a coin purse out of her travel cloak.

  “Two silvers each room,” he said, licking his lips.

  The Queen pulled out a handful of gold coins from her bag. “Hmm…” she said. “No silver. Just keep all of this.”

  She handed him ten gold coins, and his eyes bugged out of his head.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty!” he exclaimed, bowing again.

  The Queen waved her hand, dismissing it. “Oh, bother. It’s just money.”