by Arby Robbins
At precisely 6:00 p.m., the Royal String Orchestra concluded its piece, and the queen nodded to her husband, Wally. He stood up from his chair.
The crowd below hushed, and all eyes turned toward him.
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I please have your attention?” Wally’s voice rang out, enhanced by the perfectly architected acoustics of the hall. “Her Majesty and I would like to thank you for your attendance here this evening and would like to hereby officially announce the engagement of our daughter, the queen-in-waiting, Miss Conroe Williamson, to Sir Wilford Wincraft.” He extended his hand, directing the attention of the crowd to the second tier below.
Conroe and Will came through the rear doorway of the second platform and walked out to the front, waving to the crowd.
The people applauded.
Wally said, “The happy couple will be united at six o’clock in the Royal Sacred Church this Friday night, which, not coincidentally, is the eve of Conroe’s eighteenth birthday. It will be a very special occasion indeed. Yes, this is late notice, and we do apologize, but we certainly hope that you and your families will attend.”
The crowd cheered.
“Then on Saturday night at six o’clock,” Wally continued, “Conroe will be crowned Queen of the Kingdom of Ampla, and Her Majesty, Queen Connie, will become the Queen Mother. I, of course, will still be plain old Wally.”
People laughed.
“Again, thank you for coming,” Wally said, “and we hope you will take time to offer your congratulatory remarks to the happy couple. Now, let us eat, drink, and be merry.”
More cheers erupted.
The Royal String Orchestra began to play another Mozart composition.
Conroe and Will walked, hand in hand, up the seven stairs to the queen. Conroe curtsied, and Will bowed.
The queen smiled. “So, it’s a wonderful night for you two lovebirds.”
They looked at each other.
Conroe spoke first. “Yes, of course, Mother.”
Will said, “We’re very happy. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Conroe turned to Will. “You’ll be calling her ‘Mother’ very soon, and I’ll be Your Majesty.” She laughed.
The queen was not amused. “Conroe, I’d like to speak to you in private.”
Will said, “If it pleases Your Majesty, I will go down and visit with our guests.”
“Yes, of course,” the queen replied.
Will bowed to her and began his trek down the stairs.
The queen said to Conroe, “You see—I told you. Will is a lovely young man.”
“Yes, he is.”
“And you’re okay with it?”
“What choice do I have, Mother?”
“Conroe, I gave you sufficient time to find a man of your own choosing, but you could not ever make up your mind, so I was forced to do it for you.”
“It wasn’t that I couldn’t make up my mind. It was that something always went wrong before I even had a chance to fall in love.”
“I know, dear. But you were out of time, and I could not let you give up your right to the throne.”
“I understand. I’m trying to make the best of it, Mother.” She gazed down at the floor level and spotted Will, who was at the punch table talking to well-wishers. “He is a wonderful man.”
25
Opal Edelsburg attended the celebration accompanied by her son, Frederick. He was a tall, handsome young man, the only cousin to Conroe Williamson. As children, he and Conroe had often played together in the castle or out in the Royal Courtyard. They were the best of friends—until the relationship between their mothers deteriorated beyond repair.
This was Frederick’s first visit to the castle in eight years. He had grown up in the OutCastle with his mother, learning to hate the queen and her family.
He swaggered across the hall toward the punch table, aware of the lustful stares of a dozen eligible girls, and walked up to Will Wincraft. “I think it’s about time we met. I’m Frederick Edelsburg, Conroe’s cousin.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Frederick.”
They shook hands.
“I’m sure my cousin has had some ugly things to say about me,” Frederick said.
“Not at all,” Will replied.
“Then she must not have told you anything about me.”
Will smiled. “I’m sorry—but, yes, that’s true. She really hasn’t mentioned you at all.”
“It’s just as well,” Frederick said. “I’m afraid I used to be rather a stinker. I pulled some dirty tricks on your fiancé.”
“Oh, really? Like what?”
“I’d rather just forget the past. Let’s start fresh.”
“Okay. Fair enough.”
“I just want to say that Conroe is quite a girl, and she deserves the very best.”
“I agree—although I may not be the best,” Will said, “but I try hard.”
“That’s all a woman can ask, my friend. It’s all a woman can ask. So, best wishes, and I hope you two have a wonderful life together.”
“Thanks, Frederick.”
Frederick gave Will a hug.
Will turned to talk with other guests while Frederick picked up two glasses of punch and carried them to the back corner of the hall where his mother was standing.
Opal refused the glass of punch from her son. “I never would have believed you would fail me, Frederick—but you have, just like your father did. He could never please me. But I had high hopes for you. I always thought you would do better.”
“So, are you planning to have me eliminated, Mother, like you did my father?”
Opal took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “It’s over, and my sister has won—again. This castle should have been mine, but now she is going to live here until the day she dies.”
“You mean it should have been our castle—right, Mother?”
“You promised me you would prevent Conroe from ever finding true love.”
“And that’s exactly what I’ve done,” Frederick said. “You don’t honestly believe she’s in love with Will Wincraft, do you?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore whether she’s in love or not. She’s going to marry him anyway—just so she can become queen.”
“No, she’s not, Mother. Look—I’ve destroyed all of Conroe’s previous relationships, and I’ll ruin this one as well. She’s not going to marry Will Wincraft because he is going to back out.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Frederick. Why would he do that? He’d have to be a fool. No man in his right mind would give up the chance to be married to the queen and live in this castle?”
“Wait and see,” he said with a treacherous smile.
“Hmm.” Opal took the glass of punch from Frederick as she studied his face. “I do love it when you get that look in your eyes.”
26
After the party, Conroe and Geneva went to Conroe’s bedroom.
“So you’re really gonna marry Will?” Geneva asked.
“I have no choice,” Conroe replied.
“But you’re going to be miserable. You don’t love him.”
“I’ve got to be practical, Geneva. It’s too late to find someone else and fall in love with them. Will is a nice guy, and I’m confident that he’ll do everything in his power to make me happy.”
“Does he love you?”
“Why are you asking me?” Conroe answered. “I don’t know. I just met him.”
“And you never even considered what his feelings were for you?”
“How could I? There’s no time for that. And what does it matter anyway? I’ve got to marry him or I can’t become queen.”
“It’s too bad that things didn’t work out with Crane.” Geneva sighed. “You truly love him. That, I know for sure.”
“Loved him. That’s over now.”
“Liar.”
“Don’t call me a liar,” Conroe protested.
“Why not? That’s what you are—you’re a liar. Crane is the one you love. Why h
ave you given up on him?”
“Because it’s hopeless! When he found out that I’d tricked him and that he wasn’t really dreaming, he just couldn’t handle it. I can’t fix that.”
“I think you could,” Geneva said.
“Wait a minute. You told me a while back that you liked Will—it was before Mother chose him for me. That’s what this is about, isn’t it? You’re in love with Will—and that’s why you don’t want me to marry him. Have you two been secretly dating?”
“No, of course not,” Geneva replied. “I would have told you about that.”
“But you do like him, don’t you? You would like to date him.”
“Yes, I do like him very much, but that doesn’t have anything to do with what’s best for you.”
“Oh, I think it does,” Conroe said. “And I think it’s time for you to go home.”
“I thought you wanted me to spend the night. We were gonna have a night of girl talk—like we used to—before you became obsessed with the time travel computer.”
“I don’t need any girl talk that’s trying to talk me out of marrying Will. It’s done, it’s settled. End of story.”
“But—”
“Go home, Geneva.”
27
Will Wincraft lay in bed tossing and turning, thinking about how much his life was about to change. He closed his eyes and tried to relax.
A deep voice ordered, “Will Wincraft, wake up.”
Will’s eyes popped open. The moonlit outline of a tall intruder towered over his bed. “Who are you?”
“You will not marry my daughter.”
“Sire, is that really you? What has happened? Is Conroe okay?”
“I don’t want questions from you, boy! I simply want an answer. I am ordering you to break off the engagement. And you must not tell anyone about my visit here tonight. Do you understand?”
“What does Conroe have to say about this? And what about the queen?”
His voice tightened. “You’re not listening. It doesn’t matter what Conroe wants or even what the queen wants. You will not marry my daughter. Agreed?”
“No. I’m sorry, sire—I do not wish to be disrespectful to you, but unless Conroe herself says she does not wish to marry me, I will go through with the wedding.”
“Then you leave me no choice.”
Will heard the familiar sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard and tried to get away.
The tip of the sword caught the side of Will’s thigh, piercing it. He rolled off the other side of the bed, falling onto the floor, expecting Wally Williamson to come around and finish him off.
But he never came. Apparently, this was just a warning.
What was he to do now? If he did not call off the engagement by morning, perhaps he would be dead by the afternoon. Why did Wally Williamson hate him so much? What had he ever done to deserve such treatment?
He had to speak with Conroe, and it couldn’t wait until morning.
28
Geneva had spent four days and nights monitoring Conroe’s adventures, drinking tea to help her stay awake, napping only occasionally while Conroe was asleep. Though she had a full night in her own bed, she couldn’t sleep at all because of the fight they’d had. She was only trying to keep her best friend from making a decision she was going to regret for the rest of her life. Once Conroe married, that was it. By law, there could be no divorce for the queen.
She did feel somewhat guilty about Will, though, and what she had said to Conroe. Yes, in truth, she did want him for herself—or at least she wanted a chance with him. She had never let him know how she felt about him, and if he had been aware of her feelings, things might have worked out between them, or maybe they wouldn’t have, but now she would never know.
Conroe had to meet the deadline—she had to ascend the throne. Everybody understood that. It was settled.
Geneva heard a commotion in the hallway outside her bedroom door. It burst open, and Conroe walked in.
“I’m sorry about what I said, Geneva. You were right.”
Geneva sat up. “Right about what?”
“I love Crane, and if I don’t go after him, if I don’t at least do everything I can to convince him to come here and marry me, I’ll always regret it.”
“Good. So when are you going back?”
“Right now.”
“Okay, just let me throw on some clothes, and—”
“There’s no time for that, Geneva. Just come in your night clothes.”
“Well, you took the time to get dressed. Why can’t I?”
“Because I’m going to the year 2012, and you’re gonna stay in my bedroom and make sure I can get back here with Crane.”
“Right.” She grabbed her robe and ran out the door with Conroe.
29
Geneva turned on the time travel computer. “Did you notice the battery level?”
“No.”
“It’s down to fifteen percent.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“If this battery dies while you’re—”
Conroe interrupted, “You’ll figure out some way to keep it running.”
“With what—lamp oil? A wood burning stove? I don’t think so.”
“Well, if we can’t do anything about it, why waste time talking about it?”
“Because what if it goes out while you’re in Crane’s world? Or worse—while you’re en route. You could be halfway through the tunnel and…nothing. I don’t know exactly what would happen, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be good. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all.”
“I’m going, Geneva. Everything will be fine. Send me to Crane’s room.”
“Okay. Here goes.”
Conroe’s body dematerialized.
30
Conroe materialized at the foot of Crane’s bed. It was too dark for her to see him.
“Crane?” She walked around to the side of the bed and sat down. “Crane, please don’t be angry with me.” She reached over to touch him. “Crane?”
He was not there.
“Who’s talking in there?” Nurse Olive opened the door. “Is that you, Conroe? You are in big trouble, missy.”
“He’s gone.”
Nurse Olive turned on the lights.
Conroe stood up. “I came in here to check on Crane because I was worried about him.”
“Well, he’s not here anymore,” Nurse Olive said.
“I can see that.”
“He’s not in Philly anymore. He came to the office earlier tonight claiming he had a headache. But while the orderly was getting some aspirin for him, he escaped. Went right out the front door. Some bozo forgot to lock it.”
“Where did he go?”
“How should I know? Once a kid leaves this facility, he’s no longer my concern. But you, my dear, are very much my concern, and you are headed for Solitary.” She grabbed Conroe by the arm.
Conroe pulled back from her. “You know what? I don’t have time for this.”
“Oh, I think you’ll find you have plenty of time when you’re sitting in Solitary for, let’s say, three days.” She clasped Conroe’s arm and led her out of the room.
“Geneva!” Conroe yelled.
“Who’s Geneva?” Nurse Olive lost her grip on Conroe’s arm, and her momentum caused her to fall forward. “Don’t mess with me.” She spun around. “Where are you? How would you like five days in Solitary? Ten days?”
31
Conroe materialized on the side of the road in front of Philly, under a street lamp.
“Thanks, Geneva.”
There was only one place she could think of where Crane would have gone: Galveston. He had talked about getting a job there at a restaurant called Dave’s Diner. Dave was a good friend of Crane’s last foster family, and he had promised to hire Crane if he was ever living in Galveston and needed a job.
“Geneva, I need to go to Galveston, but I know you can’t send me there because it’s outside the perimeter. So, just get me as cl
ose as you can.”
32
Geneva was sitting at the time travel computer watching Conroe when she heard a pebble hit the window. Then other.
She went to the window and opened it.
Will Wincraft was standing in the grass below with a handful of stones.
“What are you doing, Will?”
“I need to talk to Conroe.”
“Right now? In the middle of the night?”
“Yes. It’s urgent!”
“How did you get through the gate? Did the guard let you in?”
“I’d rather not say. Could you please let me in so I can talk to Conroe?”
She couldn’t tell him that Conroe was not there—that she was traveling to another time to get the boy she really wanted to marry. “Meet me at the servant’s entrance—in the back.”
“Okay.”
Geneva closed the window and went downstairs to the servant’s entrance and opened the door. “This is crazy, Will. What’s the big emergency?”
“May I come in?”
Geneva let him in.
Once he stepped inside, into the light of her lantern, she could see the red cloth wrapped around his leg. On second look, she realized it was a white cloth soaked in blood. “What happened to you?”
“It’s nothing. Where’s Conroe?”
“I’m sorry, Will. I’m not at liberty to say why Conroe can’t come down right now.”
“I am her fiancé—surely you can tell me.”
“I really can’t. But I will pass along anything you have to say to her.”
Will faltered, nearly collapsing.
Geneva grabbed a wooden chair and put it behind him. “Sit down.”
“Thanks.”