“This entire tower is hers. She lives on some of the floors and works on the others. My mother visits her frequently for advice. My sister spent some time apprenticing with her, but as smart and talented as she is, she could only progress so far in the magical arts. Her abilities lie elsewhere.” Prince Roald sighed. “She would have made an excellent prince. She is far more levelheaded than I am. Plus, she’s older. If she weren’t a girl, she’d already be ruling.”
“I’m sure you’ll be an excellent king, sire,” Henryk said. They had started up the stairs with verve and energy and now lagged, moving more sedately as they spoke.
“I’ll be adequate,” Prince Roald said. “Which is perhaps the best thing to recommend me to the position. I will not have such pride to think I can know and do all of it. I will need many advisors and assistants. And I will make sure my sister is by my side.” He shook his head. “If this curse is truly lifted, as soon as I officially become king, I am going to make a decree that daughters can be ruler. Rather a silly law.”
“You seem a much wiser ruler than you admit to, sire.”
Prince Roald stopped. He stared at Henryk. “I might be the first who’s had his eyes opened to certain things.”
The intensity of the prince’s gaze made Henryk’s mouth go dry. They were face-to-face now, with the prince one step above him, and the angle of looking up at his face made Henryk all the more sure that he thought Prince Roald a most handsome, beguiling man.
“That’s—” Henryk swallowed to try to unstick his mouth and throat. “Your eyes are—”
Prince Roald leaned in closer. “My eyes are what?”
“Most open,” Henryk finished. He had no idea what he meant. His brain was fixated on the nearness of the prince.
“Are they?” The prince came down a step so that he and Henryk were on the same level. He licked his lips and continued to stare at Henryk.
Henryk stared back.
The prince turned his head and looked up the stairs. “We’re almost there. I want to ensure the curse is broken. That’s the most important thing.”
They continued up the stairs. A minute later, they reached a door and the prince knocked at it.
“Please enter,” called out a female voice.
Prince Roald pushed the door open, and Henryk accompanied him inside. The room included a mix of tables and chairs, charts, bookshelves, strange glassware, and a basin of water on top of a table. Half of the room was heavily carpeted and the other half remained bare stone. Windows dotted the round walls all the way around, stopping at the door where the staircase began, and all across the ceiling. The prince had mentioned watching the skies, and he could certainly see how this room was a boon for that. The night sky and stars would fill the windows set through the canted roof.
Henryk instantly recognized the woman inside the room. Before Prince Roald could speak, Henryk stepped in front of him. “Grandmother,” he said. “You’re the one I met outside the palace. You’re the palace enchantress?”
The old woman grinned. “Indeed.”
“Where’s Sofia?” Prince Roald asked. He shook his head at Henryk. “This is not our sorceress.”
“Oh, but I am, my dear Roald.” The old woman held out her arms to Henryk. “My cloak if you please.”
Henryk released the toggle and swung the cloak from his shoulders. He laid it across her waiting arms. “My deepest gratitude for allowing me to borrow it.”
“I see you used it well.”
Prince Roald’s gaze swung back and forth between Henryk and the woman. “You know each other? What is this mischief?”
“All will be revealed in a moment. But first—” The old woman performed a graceful swaying motion and did something complicated with her fingers. A swirl of golden sparkles rose from the ground near her feet. The shimmering air thickened around her, bringing with it a wind that ruffled her clothes and lifted her hair before dissipating. In its wake, a beautiful woman remained. She was young and taller, with honey-brown hair and wise olive-colored eyes. “That’s done,” she said. “Useful to be old, and also useful to be young. Ah. Here come our other guests.”
Henryk turned and saw three women enter the room behind them. Princess Jacobina led the group, and he recognized the third woman immediately. She was his stepmother. “Clara?”
“Henryk?” Clara looked utterly bewildered.
The sorceress laughed.
“Sofia?” The second woman through the door faced the enchantress. “What’s happened?”
“My apologies, My Queen.” Sofia leaned forward into a bow. “The subterfuge was necessary on all accounts. The stars revealed to me a way forward, and I could not pass the chance to set things on the better path.”
Now Henryk knew who the second woman was. Queen Almarine. Princess Jacobina and her brother both resembled their mother. He looked at Clara and wondered how she’d come to be there at this moment. He could not even imagine what must have happened.
“You’d best explain.” The queen put her hands on her hips and an expectant expression on her face.
“First, I need to know if the spell is over,” interrupted Prince Roald. He stepped between his mother and Sofia. “My curse—is it broken?”
“Of course, it is, dear boy. You’ve met your true love.”
Prince Roald frowned and glanced to Clara. “I don’t even know her.”
“Look again.” Sofia held out an arm to Henryk.
“Me?” Henryk looked back and forth between Sofia and Prince Roald.
“Henryk?” gasped Clara from near the door.
Queen Almarine shot a look to Clara. “You know this man? How?”
“He’s my other stepson,” said Clara. “He’s studying to become a lawyer like his father.”
“What spell?” asked Princess Jacobina. In a room full of people being surprised, she was the only one with a calmness to her eyes.
Sofia held up a hand. “I will try to explain. Roald came to me with great concerns about becoming king. He explained that he needed to find his true love so that he could rule more successfully. He expressed concern that one of the local noble families might try to pawn off their daughters on him. Something about forging alliances.” Sofia directed a glance at the queen.
“I wouldn’t have allowed it,” Queen Almarine said.
“They were being persistent, Mother. Eventually, one of them might have managed to trap us in a corner,” Jacobina said. She shrugged at the others. “It’s true. Better to admit it.”
“I would never have allowed it,” Queen Almarine said with a glare directed at her daughter.
Prince Roald frowned. “But the spell went wrong. It sent me to the dancing pavilion every night. I was trapped in a nightmare. It was a curse.”
“No, dear boy, it did exactly what it was supposed to. It did take far longer than I anticipated, however. I am so sorry about that. But it brought your true love to you.”
“Back to that again,” said Prince Roald. “I only met him last night.”
Sofia laughed. “It was purposefully meant to bring him to you. Not make you fall instantly in love. You have to work at love. He’s here. You’re here. Spend some time together. I’m sure everything will move along very well.”
Prince Roald opened his mouth, looking like he would protest, and then stopped. “What you say does have a certain, terrible logic.” He looked to Henryk. “I do think you’re very nice. I would enjoy spending more time with you.”
“Um.” Henryk tried to take in everything that was happening. It felt like he was trapped within a whirlwind and everything kept speeding up. “I like you, too. We could get to know each other. That’d be good.”
“What pavilion?” demanded the queen. “He’s been going out dancing? But no one saw him leave the palace.”
“I left through a trap door in my bedroom,” Prince Roald said. “Every night, I went to an enchanted place. There was an island with a pavilion and an orchestra, and I danced until dawn. When I was exhauste
d and worn-out, I would return and collapse into bed. With the curse on me, I couldn’t speak a word of it to anyone.”
“I watched him last night and witnessed everything. It’s all true.” Henryk remembered the handkerchief and silver twig with leaf and acorn. He pulled the items from his pocket. “Here. Proof. I took these from a tree and from the breast pocket of the suit the prince wore while dancing.”
“No wonder you looked terrible and frail,” Jacobina said. Her eyes looked misty. “How awful.”
The twig and handkerchief were passed around. Queen Almarine studied the items and then flung her arms around her son. “Oh, Roald. I didn’t know.”
He patted her on the back as he hugged her in return. “I know, Mother. No one knew.”
The queen turned on Sofia. “Was it absolutely necessary to make him suffer? And us to worry?”
“I wish there had been another way, but magic is often fickle and sometimes cruel. I plotted the course as best I could. The spell followed the request of Prince Roald, and this was the form that it took.” Sofia bowed her head. “And I must offer my apologies again to you, My Queen. I had to grievously affect your own travels to have you out of the palace so that Henryk and Roald could meet. You would have turned Henryk out at once. Princess Jacobina is sometimes more pragmatic than even yourself. I could count on her to see Henryk’s value, particularly if I introduced him at the correct moment.”
“Affect my travels? But you sent me out to find a witch to ask for advice—” The queen put a hand to her mouth. “You didn’t.”
“Did you not think it strange that if you were the one to insult the witch on the road that you were the only one not transformed?” Sofia’s eyes glittered with humor.
Henryk did not at all believe that the sorceress was truly sorry for anything she’d done. She’d possessed a set of goals and had used her magic to reach them. Magicians of any sort had no qualms about manipulating those around them, even if supposedly they were the ones they professed to love or work for. No one had come to any lasting harm, although the prince had suffered discomfort. A year of extreme distress, which seemed impossible and possible at the same time. Princess Jacobina looked as if she had already put together the entire affair. She wore a smug, satisfied smile on her face.
Queen Almarine glanced to Clara, waved a hand between herself and Clara. “Was this part of the spell?”
“I only perform the introductions, My Queen. The rest I leave to your hearts and minds.” Sofia took the red cloak in her arms and laid it aside over the back of a chair. “I did have two things surprise me. That the two individuals that needed to be located knew each other and that neither had any interest whatsoever in coming anywhere near the palace.” She sighed and wiped at her forehead. “Remember that ball we threw last year? Complete disaster. Waste of time.”
“What about my true love, Sofia? It seems I’ve been left out.” Princess Jacobina held up the palms of her hands beseechingly, but her voice held much reserve.
Sofia turned her gaze to Jacobina. “My darling Jacobina. You know your own heart better than any other. Your true love is duty. Competent service and selflessness. You have no desire for true love as a person, and you are all the stronger for it. The spell could not touch you, my dear.”
Jacobina pursed her lips but did not protest. “You are shrewd. What happens next?”
Sofia waved a hand. “You all go to breakfast and leave me alone in my tower to get my work done.”
“For the moment, a most excellent suggestion. Although you and I will speak about this again.” Queen Almarine leveled a hard stare at Sofia. “After I have given this matter some thought.”
“I would expect nothing less from you, My Queen.” Sofia bowed her head.
Queen Almarine looked to Clara. “It seems we are meant to get to know each other better. I would like to learn more about your heart and mind.”
“As would I about you,” said Clara.
“Prince Roald?” asked Henryk. “Shall we also get some breakfast together?” He wanted to get away from this tower. Sofia was a brilliant sorceress, but her machinations cascaded over each other in such complicated directions that it seemed distinctly prudent to get away from her and hope she forgot about him. One great adventure was enough for a lifetime.
“Call me Roald. And I think yes. Let us go start the first day of our happily ever after.”
About Tray Ellis
Tray Ellis grew up across from an empty field, where she spun a lot of imaginary adventures, helping to prepare her for a lifetime of writing. When she isn’t writing, she stays active by hiking, cooking, stacking the odd cord of wood in the shed, baking, and being too busy to keep her home in any semblance of order. Currently, she tries to find a balance between the logical way she thinks and the flights of fancy she often daydreams about. Mostly, the daydreams are winning.
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Once Upon the Rainbow, Volume Two Page 33