The King's Mechanic

by Katharina Gerlach

  “Ordering a king around, eh?” Although his features couldn't change, his voice sounded amused.

  Luna blushed. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—”

  “I like it. Would you call me Vincente, please?”

  Stunned, Luna stared at the mechanical king. Had she heard right? The court would be furious if a lowly mechanic like her called the king by his first name, but she couldn't decline without hurting his feelings. She didn't want to know what happened in that case. Swallowing hard, she nodded and said, “I'll fetch some cables.”

  Like a flash, she left the apartment and hurried down to the Royal Mechanic's workroom — come to think of it, it was hers now, or wasn't it? She'd have to ask the king.

  “Vincente,” she whispered. The name felt strange but good, rolling from her tongue. She slipped through the small door into the workroom and pulled a lever beside the door. A flap in the roof opened, admitting daylight. Silently she thanked the builders of the room that they had stuck to the customary layout. “Now, where will I find enough cable?”

  She looked around. To her big surprise, the remains of the monster had been brought here. They lay in front of the raised platform like a heap of scrap metal. It should hold enough iron and brass wires to construct a completely new charger, she thought. Tentatively she approached the twisted metal heap. Brass pipes, pieces of iron plates and pieces of rubber were all that remained of the monster.

  If only the king — Vincente — hadn't gone that fast. If only he had listened to her or to his advisors — other than Gustavo, that is. Luna trailed her fingers along the twisted tube of the fork. Nothing would have happened, or at least the accident wouldn't have been that bad. Irritated, she glared at the oil on her fingers. It took her a moment to find a cloth to wipe them, when inspiration struck. She stood stock-still while her brain worked.

  Maybe someone did sabotage the monster after all. But could she prove it? Luna hurried back to the pile of junk and began to work her way through it methodically. It took her ages to sort and straighten the metal, but she made good progress. At the same time, she extracted brass and iron wiring. After an hour she straightened with the result of her search in her hand. The iron tube to the fork's hydraulic system had been cut. There were clearly traces of a saw etched in the silvery surface of the metal. Someone had sawed through it just enough that the hydraulic system would lose oil slowly until it no longer worked. After that, the slightest bump in the road was bound to trigger an accident. But who would do such a thing? Maybe Gustavo? But he'd ridden the monster himself. No one would be that crazy. And he'd never been out of sight long enough to do it while they were on the road. As much as she disliked the man, she had to admit he couldn't have done it. Maybe it had been the Royal Mechanic, but what reason could he have had?

  Nevertheless, it had been sabotage. Luna could barely believe it. What if the sapphire had also been cracked on purpose? Was someone trying to get rid of the king and his friend? She wrapped the iron tube in a cloth, slipped it into her pocket, picked up the wires, and left the workroom.

  She found the king in his bedroom and told him about the sabotage. His jaw dropped and he stared at her, lost for words. It took him a while to recover.

  “But why? My advisors tell me I'm well-liked in court and in my lands.”

  “I do not know, but I suggest we move the charger to a place where no one can find it, once it's repaired.”

  “That might be a wise idea.”

  Despite his calm words, Luna could somehow read the king's inner turmoil from his face as if it had been of flesh and blood. She left him to come to terms with the situation and began dismantling the orb. Ever since she had seen the sapphires, she had known what the new charger should look like.

  A servant entered and bowed. “The Spokesman wishes to see you, Your Majesty.”

  The king left the bedroom, which pleased Luna just fine. During the next hour, she untangled the mess of filters, cables and tubes that had been squeezed into the orb. Through the half closed door, she could hear the king bemoan his fate. By the sound of it, Gustavo failed to cheer him up. In the end, the king's friend left and the king returned to Luna to watch her create settings for the sapphires. It took her another hour. The longer the king had to wait, the more nervous he became. As midday approached, he began to pace.

  “How much longer will it take? I'm feeling the energy drain out of me.”

  “I might need another half hour, but most of the work is done.” Luna placed the glass orb, the cables, filters, sapphires and her tools into the table cloth, picked up the bundle, and stepped through the French doors. “Are you coming?”

  With the king in tow, she walked along the path Gustavo had taken her the previous night. Soon, they reached the pavilion where he had tried to seduce her. As she remembered correctly, it was covered in roses. Just as she climbed one of the pillars with the bundle tied to her waist, the countdown began once more. There wasn't a minute to lose.

  As fast as she could, Luna fastened the sapphires in their new settings as close to the top of the climbing roses as she could. Next, she attached the tubes and the cables. She wound them around the roses’ stems, careful not to prick her fingers. On the ground, she reattached the tubes and most cables to the filters, pushed them back into the orb, and set it down right beside the roots. The countdown had come down to ten minutes already. She waved the king over. As he approached, she connected the last cable and the orb lit up. Greedily the king pulled off his gloves, knelt, and grabbed it. The light vanished, sucked up by his mechanical body.

  Luna sighed with relief. Now all she needed to do was to wait until the king was fully recharged. Then she'd install a switch, so the orb wouldn't be glowing all the time. Covered with a mud-colored cushion, the charger should be nearly invisible for anyone passing by. Oh dear, I forgot the cushion, she thought. With the king's permission, she walked away to fetch one of the ugly brown cushions from a sofa in his suite. On the way back, she accidentally took a wrong turn and ended in front of a pavilion resembling the one where she had left the king. Here, the arches were bricked up, and one wall held a door. To her surprise, a guard stood in front of it. She strolled closer, trying to look like she had to be here.

  The guard stopped her. “No one's allowed in. King's orders.”

  “Did you get it from his Majesty personally?” She cocked her head, trying to look enticing.

  “None of your business.”

  “I was sent to bring a cushion for the prisoner.” She showed it as proof, but the guard only shook his head. She tried again. “Who's in there?”

  He frowned and put his hand on the hilt of the sword at his side. “Go away.”

  Reluctantly, Luna turned and walked away. Instinctively she knew that this was the place where Gustavo hid her little brother. But the guard's claim that the king gave the order confused her a little. She hurried back to the correct pavilion and arrived just as the mechanical voice announced, “Recharge successful. Charge sufficient for twenty-seven hours.”

  The king waited until she had covered the orb with the cushion and some earth before he took her hands. A bolt of lightning shot through her arms, and she ripped her hands away.

  “Sorry. I meant to thank you, not hurt you.” The king shoved his hands back into his gloves, staring at his feet. “I just wish I could repay you for your help. You've saved my life three times already.”

  “That's what a good mechanic is for.” Luna grinned. “But you could help me with something.”

  She led him to the second pavilion and told him her suspicion. He listened intently without interrupting her, which surprised her a lot. Maybe he wasn't half as immature as she had thought.

  “That's quite an accusation,” he said when she finished talking. “Let's see if we can find some proof for it.” Before they turned the last corner, he pulled his veil from a pocket in his jacket and put it over his head. He winked at her.

  “My subjects won't recognize me without it,” he whispere
d.

  The guard's eyes opened wide when the king approached him. He bowed so deep, his back popped.

  “Open the door,” the king said.

  The guard hurried to comply. Luna shot past him into the semi-darkness of the pavilion. Mondo was lying on a straw mattress on the ground, sleeping. Tracks of tears in the dirt of his face showed how unhappy he must have been. Luna crouched beside him and stroked his hair. He flinched. She shook him. He flinched again but didn't wake. Gustavo must have drugged him. Oh, how she longed to put her fist right into that man's face! She picked Mondo up, rose, and turned to the guard. “I will take him with me. Now.”

  “I will get into trouble if the boy goes missing.”

  “We could lock you up instead,” the king suggested. “I would never lock up an innocent boy in a garden pavilion.”

  “The Spokesman swore he was acting on your order, Sir. Please do not punish me.” The guard stood as straight as he could.

  The king's voice purred like a cat's. “Report back to your commander. If he doesn't believe you, tell him to see me after lunch.”

  At the mentioning of something to eat, Luna's stomach growled. She blushed, but the king didn't remark on the sound.

  “I want you to stay in my suite for now,” he said to her on the way back to the castle. “I will get the rooms beside mine prepared for you and your brother. That way, I have you close when I need you.”

  Luna's heart swelled with gratitude. If Gustavo tried something fishy again, the king would only be a call away. It didn't guarantee that the Spokesman would leave her alone, but he'd surely treat her with more caution.

  Back in the king's bedroom she put Mondo on the sofa. This was a good place to sleep off the drug, and when he woke, she'd be close at hand. Soon a servant brought soup, bread, meat and fruit. He set it down on a small table beside the fireplace and left. Only then did the king remove his veil.

  “You know, I've been wondering who would want me dead,” he said after she finished eating. There was still enough left that Mondo could fill his always-hungry belly upon waking.

  “It's a feeling in my guts.” The king sighed. “The Royal Mechanic would never have allowed me to ride his machine if he had thought it dangerous. He loved Gustavo and me as if we were his sons.”

  His feeling fit in well with Luna's finds, still they didn't really prove much. She decided to approach the subject carefully. “Well … not many people had access to the monster,” she said.

  “The monster?”

  Luna put her hands in front of her mouth. “Sorry. I named the two-wheeled vehicle thus because of the noise it made.”

  The king laughed. It was a warm sound that made her whole body tingle.

  “A fitting name it is,” he said after calming down. “When I think back, there were only the Royal Mechanic's trainees, two boys close to your age.”

  “You're not that much older, surely.”

  “Sometimes it feels like centuries.” He sighed. “But back on topic. The people who had access were Gustavo and me, the Royal Mechanic and his two trainees, my squire … by the way, I haven't seen him in quite a while.”

  The squire — yes, Luna remembered him. And she remembered something her mother had once said. “Is it true that the king can only be served by a member of the royal family?”

  He nodded. “Justin's my cousin three times removed.”

  “Where in the line of succession does that put him?”

  “You think he would…?” The king's eyes widened. “I can't believe it. He'd have to murder his elder brother and his mother too.”

  “Maybe you should check if they have been attacked recently.” Luna didn't like to think that the soft-cheeked boy could possibly be guilty of high treason, but they couldn't rule it out. “What about your advisor?”

  “Gustavo?”

  “No. The old guy who kept Gustavo from becoming Ruler of the Realm.”

  “He doesn't even know the whereabouts of the workroom.”

  They sat in silence side by side, contemplating the options. Finally, Luna sighed and said, “The Royal Mechanic's absence is quite suspect. Either he sabotaged the monster and is hiding now, or he saw something and has been kidnapped.”

  “So, our best bet is to find the Royal Mechanic.” The king nodded.

  A knock at the door interrupted them, and the aged advisor entered. He bowed.

  “I came to inquire what we shall do with your body, Sir. We cannot give it a royal burial since no one knows it died. But we're loath to bury it without proper ceremony either. After all, it's the body of our king.”

  “Give me a day to think about it, will you?”

  “Very well. The cellars are cold enough that it'll keep a few more days.” The advisor bowed again. “Please do not forget the embassy from Northern Meerdia.”

  “I will be there on time.” When the advisor had left, the king sighed. “Sometimes, I wish I were nothing but a normal person. This job turns me into a machine — literally.”

  “You're doing a great job. I watched you handle all those requests at the audience, and was quite surprised to see how well you coped.” Luna smiled at the mechanical king.

  His face swiveled around. The white and pale blue glass balls holding minute cameras that served as his eyes caught her gaze. A tension hung in the air that hadn't been there a second ago. Luna felt as if he could see right to the center of her heart, discovering secrets she didn't know herself yet. Her heartbeat accelerated. It would probably have been wiser not to pay him a compliment. After an eternity that couldn't have been more than a few seconds, the king broke eye contact.

  “We've got two hours to find the Royal Mechanic before I have to see the ambassador. Let's make the best of it.” He rose and held out his hand. When she hesitated and glanced at the door to his bedroom, he said, “We'll ask Nursie to look after your brother. She took a fancy to him.”

  A few minutes later they were walking along a corridor at the topmost level of the castle and looked into every single chamber, from the servants’ quarters to store rooms. The king had covered his head again, and no one dared to question his curiosity. Luna noticed that several servants were quite pleased with his visit, as if he'd paid them a special compliment.

  They worked their way from top to bottom, discovering countless unused rooms, kept in good order for guests. Once they stumbled over a pair making out in an airing cupboard. Laughing, they hurried away from the enraged shouting. Luna doubled up until her sides hurt. The king too had to stop to allow his breathing apparatus to expel the excess of fumes that the quickening of his steam engine heart had produced.

  “I'm sure they don't know the Royal Mechanic's whereabouts,” he said. There was an undertone of amusement in his voice that set Luna off again. She laughed until tears shot into her eyes. Oh dear, if everyone knew how funny the king could be, he'd never get a day's peace. Now she understood why Gustavo liked spending time with the outwardly so serious and boring monarch. Thinking of the Spokesman ended her laughing fit. She pushed the thought aside.

  “Let's get on with it. Time's running out.”

  The king marched onward. “He's either very good at hiding, or he left the castle already.”

  Luna shrugged. “Or someone locked him up in a place we haven't looked yet.”

  When they finished searching the parts of the castle the king wasn't familiar with, he turned to her. “It's time for me to go. The ambassador and his retinue would be sorely tested if they had to wait for me. But it's been a most pleasant afternoon. Actually, it's been the first pleasant afternoon in quite a while.” He took her hand, bowed and gently pressed his cold lips against her warm flesh. “I wish I could truly feel your skin on my lips. It'd make my day.”

  A shiver went through Luna and her throat constricted. Was it possible that the king liked her? Her heart accelerated and she longed to reach out and stroke his metallic cheek, but she didn't dare. She smiled as best she could and cleared her throat.

  “I wi
ll keep looking for a while longer,” she said.

  “If you don't find him, we can try again once the official meeting is over. I've got some free time then. By the way, I'd be most pleased if you'd consider coming to the banquet with me tonight.” He bowed one last time and walked away.

  Luna watched him leave. He turned three times to wave back at her before a bend in the corridor took him out of sight. Luna listened to his receding footsteps. Then she went to the kitchen to fetch herself a little snack. She needed all the stamina she could muster to search the rest of the gigantic castle.

  When she asked politely, a kitchen maid fetched a plate of fruit. Luna chose the only fruit she recognized, an apple, and thanked her.

  “No need to thank me. You're entitled to it ever since he made you Royal Mechanic.” She put the plate down on a narrow table near the door. “By the way, could you have a look at our boiler? It's been broken for a week already and my arms are getting longer from carrying so much water. You can't imagine how much water needs to be heated manually to wash all those dishes. The scullery maids and I have been on overtime ever since the boiler broke.”

  Luna meant to decline, then realized that the kitchen would make good hiding place. The king surely didn't visit it often, and there was enough food around.

  “Can I have a look around when I'm done?” she asked. “I've never been to the castle's kitchen before.

  The maid agreed to show her around, but insisted she had to keep out of the cooks’ sight. She then proceeded to tell her castle gossip. Enjoying the maid's cheerful babbling, Luna examined the boiler and ate her apple. A pipe had broken, triggering the shutdown of a safety valve. It was an easy fix.

  “Wow, you're even faster than the old Royal Mechanic.” The awe in the maid's eyes made Luna blush.

  “Would you recognize the Royal Mechanic?”

  “Sure. He's been down here often, always inventing some new stuff for the cooks.” The girl grabbed her hand. “Come on, I'll show you the store rooms first. They're gigantic. I bet you could feed the whole town for at least a week with the stuff stored there.”