chapter 07

Cold. It’s very cold in dungeons. Damp as well. I bet the dampness contributes to the cold. They wouldn’t care enough to heat dungeons, would they? Criminals don’t deserve any humane luxuries, right? It’s not like it’d get cold enough to cause any harm. Winters were pretty light in that part of the kingdom. Was I even a criminal?

I rested my forehead against the bars as I stood by the steel gate of my stone cell. I was trying to think of what exactly was so serious that Prince had threatened to execute me for. Once the guards dragged me to where my cell was insight, I became aware that what was happening, was really happening and so I began to attempt to resist. However, Maraulen, who had walked down with us, assured me that I wouldn’t be executed but I would have to be held briefly while she and “the council” decided what was to be done about the situation. She then confiscated my vial of Royal Honey. Bother.

So apparently I was in jail because of something to do with the Royal Honey. Maraulen had warned me before, but why was it so serious? Something had to have been going on that I didn’t understand. Why were the Indians so concerned about the bees and why was everyone concerned with Royal Honey?

Tremarch said he collected honey for the king, yet everyone seems to want nothing to do with Royal Honey. Was there some kind of conspiracy going on? Was I unwittingly involved in it? But then why am I being punished by other people who are involved in the same conspiracy? Because I was revealing the secret Royal Honey! Of Course! But wait, this is about honey, isn’t it? It’s just honey! This is all far too ridiculous!

Gah! I beat my head against the bars of the gate, slowly inhaled a breathe of the heavy, musty air, then turned around to face the wall. A small block cut out of its top allowed a pale blue light to flow into the cell. It was barely large enough to look through, so there was no chance of anybody escaping through it. An old wooden bench was spread along the same wall.

On the other side of the cell, a man sat spread out on the bench. He was asleep with his long hair covering his face, but he was obviously snoring. He rested with his head set back against the wall and he’d chew on his hair in between breaths.

He was probably just some homeless drunk. I didn’t know why we had to share a cell, there were a couple more available and I was pretty sure we were the only two inmates there. I would expect there to be more of a crowd here, but maybe this isn’t the only prison in the city.

Although I felt relieved to hear I wasn’t going to be executed, the uncertainty of my fate was a feeling that was creeping eerily upon me. Maybe this castle really was too crazy of a place to stay. Heck, I doubted they would let me stay, since I’d been to prison. Royalty usually doesn’t want to associate with criminals, “keeping appearances” and all that. However from what I’d seen of the royalty around there, appearances didn’t seem to be a top concern.

I bet Tremarch’s offer still stood, if I could get out of there by noon the next day I could go and live with him! Would that happen? They weren’t going to execute me, but no one said anything about letting me go!

I should figure out how to get out of here.

I scanned the room. Bars, walls, micro-window, bench, drunk… not much to work with. The prison looked like a typical old dungeon, maybe there was a hole in one of the walls I could open up, or maybe the hinges on the gate would be rusted. I looked around but nothing was popping up in my favor. The gate was strong and the walls were secure. I guessed I’d just have to wait for someone to bring me food or something and break out then. The guy on the bench looked like he’d been there for a while and he didn’t seem to be starving.

Uh-oh. He was waking up. The man arched his back and rubbed the back of his head, yawning his own wake up call. I slunk against the cell’s bars wearily while the man pulled the strands of hair out of his mouth and glanced around the cell.

“Mindy?!”
Mindy?
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“That is you, Mindy! I didn’t think I’d see you again!” The man sat up attentively and shone a toothy smile at me.
My goodness. It was him.
“Hi there… Kal. Fancy meeting you here.”

Unbelievably, it was that annoying soldier boy I traveled with before getting lost in Tremarch’s forest, Kalipherous Mennus. It takes a special kind of person to force you to remember a name like that and Kal was that person. I had learned to recognize him chiefly by his ridiculously bright orange hair, but in the dungeon, the faint light had painted his hair more of a dark blue and I didn’t recognize him.

“Certainly! What are you doing in a dungeon?! I’m very surprised, I wouldn’t expect you to turn up in a place like this!” Kal exclaimed chipperly.
“It’s more surprising that you’re here!” I snapped at him. Though I’m sure few people wouldn’t be surprised in this situation.
“I suppose it is!” he hummed through his smile. “I came to the castle to inform the king that I was going to end the war but apparently some of the townsfolk had already put in complaints about me, so they put me in here!”

I’m sure he told every person he came across that he was “going to end the war”. He’s been saying that since I first met him. Those were the first words he even said to me! Seeing how there hadn’t been a real war in decades, I’m sure the comment would have confused quite a few people. Not that I understood what he meant, either. Kal was a soldier, he had the armour and sword, obviously they had been confiscated while he was in prison, but hearing him say that there was a war going on in the kingdom, it would probably be a bit alarming.

“So, why are you here?” Kal asked again.
“I’m not exactly sure,” I replied, turning back to look through the bars of the gate. “Something to do with the king being a maniac, most likely.”
“Ahhh,” he moaned affirmatively. With my hands stretched through gaps between the bars, attempting to reach out and grab a piece of familiar freedom, I looked back at him,
“You know of the king?”
“Of course!” Kal suddenly turned serious and tilted his head down. “He’s the reason for this terrible war! He’s the one I’ve got to put a stop to!”
“What do you mean ‘put a stop to’?” I questioned.
“Beheading, probably.”

Let me out of here! This guy really is a maniac!
I flailed my arms and one of my legs on the other side of the bars.

“We should probably get out of here, hey?” He stated casually, glancing around the room as though he was preparing to say goodbye to a house he had been visiting.
“Huh? Do you know how to get out of here, Kal?” I pulled myself back through the bars and turned towards him. Kal stood up, stretched some more, then joined me at the cell gate.
“Nope.” I sighed disappointed. Admittedly I had some dwindling hopes that he might know how to escape. “But they usually let us out by dinner time!”
“What? How long have you been here, Kal?”
“A week probably.”
“And they let you out every day?”
“Yup!”
“And you keep getting locked in here every day?!” I jumped towards Kal and wedged him between me and the gate. Kal was more than a head taller than me, so I’m sure I wasn’t much of a threat, but I had to express how much he annoyed me some how!
“Well, there’s a lot of guards to go through to get to the king!” Kal defended himself while gesturing innocently.

What’s wrong with this place?!
Someone comes to kill the king, so they just take away his sword and stick him in the corner for the day? Maybe they secretly wanted him to do away with the king, so they could get some stability back in their lives. That almost made me feel sorry for Prince.

Kal chuckled nervously as I sighed and stepped back for some thinking room. Kal really was a doofus, but he really did help me out when I was out on my own. I had spent as much time with Kal as I had with Tremarch, however his personality and one track mind had kept us from developing much of a relationship. Which, in retrospect, I’m grateful for. He’s a real handsome guy and all, but obviously someone who’s attempting assassination to end an imaginary war has to be bad company.

chapter 06

The repetition of opening and closing the over sized doors was giving me quite a headache. It’s no wonder the king schemed so much to get out of this job, it was only about half an hour in but the endless quibbles of the peasants made it seem like an eternity.

Most of the complaints were about the legal tenderizing of gumdrops which I learned was a recent change. Apparently when Prince was still a prince, he was quite spoiled by his fun-loving father. They regularly had theme days where all of the castle staff, soldiers included, were forced to wear animal ear and tail attachments, or whatever other strange costume idea the prince could come up with, with their standard uniforms. Also, apparently the prince was big into magic tricks. So nearly every night there was a party which featured a new magician of some sort and various servants were made to fall victim to the prince’s own practicing of the art. However, the thing was, with the king, all of Prince’s desires were contained within the castle, now that the previous king had passed on, Prince was free to manipulate the kingdom as he pleased.

Of course there was some resistance, but thanks to Prince’s royal adviser, Dragged, whom thinks that any kind of exercising of authority is beneficial to a young king, no one could complain very loudly for very long. After a couple royal guards were exiled to a tropical island which sole inhabitants were a palm tree and a rather large colony of fire ants, the rest of the castle forces quickly obliged to the young kings demands and enforced them upon the rest of the kingdom.

Luckily the kingdom is very spaced out and includes a wide range of conflicting cultures, so in reality, the king’s influence didn’t fall much farther than the city where the castle was in. This also explains why people like me who originate from small villages on the outskirts of the kingdom don’t know much about what goes on near the capital region. Anyway, Maraulen did her best to keep both the king and his adviser in check, but as Prince’s personal caretaker she had a wide range of responsibilities throughout the castle and no one else had the authority to keep the two permanently under surveillance.

Well, it was an educational half hour to say the least. I frequently required Maraulen’s advice in just convincing the people to go back go their lives and not complain about the frivolous things. After all, it’s not like Prince’s ideas were terribly cruel, they were just terribly ridiculous. Fortunately, due to the wide range of cultures who pass through the capitol, a ban couldn’t be placed on other currencies. So most people were satisfied once they heard that they could ignore gumdrops and head to the bank for real gold. They’d just have to do more conversions come tax time.

In addition to quickly becoming intolerable, with the exit of the fish-man the job had become quite boring. Apparently all the interesting people were travelers who didn’t have time to come to the castle and complain about the weirdness going on in the city. Rivoulin was the rare foreign celebrity appearance which I thought, and honestly hoped, would not happen twice on the same day. However, rotten odds seem to have no effect on me.

The latest person to enter the court came with a trio of supporters. They all had tanned, sun-kissed skin and long black hair decorated with various beads and clips. All four stood solemnly, wearing various animal skins and even parts.

One, which was half the size of the others, had heavy fur boots with bird talons sewn onto the front, the claws hanging over his toes. There was also a tall girl who wore a dress of reptile skins wrapped tight to her body. They were dry and made crinkling and rustling noises the rare time she moved. The third was a very big, strong looking man who was shirtless and showed off a thick necklace which hugged his collar. It had tied to it various kinds of long teeth which extended down most of his torso and a couple of smaller ones which jutted off behind his head. The last, whom the three seemed to gravitate to, was the largest and was dressed in a long leather robe. Upon his head, like a hat, he wore the face of a boar and long tinted red, peacock-like feathers extended from it, flowing down his back.

“It’s the Indians.” Maraulen leaned over and whispered to me. Prince was leaning against her shoulder, nearly falling asleep.
“You mean natives.” I corrected.
“What? No,” Maraulen said with a confused look. “We were here first, the Indians migrated up from the south of the river. Now they farm ostriches in the prairies to the east.”
Gah! I told mom and dad homeschooling was useless!
“We have beheld a great disturbance,” the big guy with the headdress started. “We must speak to the true king, not this girl.”

The young king was pretty famous, so most people recognized right away that I wasn’t the official wearer of the crown. Most didn’t mind though, this was the right castle and the crown was legit, so what was there to complain about?

“It’s alright, Chief,” Maraulen called as she supported Prince’s resting head with her palms and popped out from behind the thrones. “By order of the king, this girl is legitimate royalty, for now. And the king and I are behind here anyway.” The chief gave a stern nod of approval. He and Maraulen seem to be familiar with each other.

“A great rain cloud was seen flying in fear of the forest,” the small indian stepped forward and said meagerly.
“We seeked out the cloud and found that it did not contain rain. It was filled with Black Widow Wasps,” the strong man with the teeth barked. I heard Prince stir behind me, things must of finally been becoming more interesting for him.

My own interest perked up a bit more as well. Obviously this was the same swarm which Tremarch destroyed the hive of in his forest. I wondered what concern the Indians had for it. Then again, they were pretty dangerous animals, I doubted anybody would feel good about them flying loose.

“The forest is under your jurisdiction, is it not?” Chief continued, “did you not know the bees were dwelling there?”
I hesitated as I thought about what the chief could of meant by this. The Indian woman finally stepped forward with a swift rustle from her dress.
“We could not be in good moral conscience if we did not come and check to make sure that no Royal Honey was gathered.”
“But of course we gathered it,” I finally interrupted. “Tremarch and I collected it ourselves!” I proudly held up the little container that was dangling by its leather cord beneath my shirt.

The group of Indians collectively released a disturbed gasp. I scowled and chewed the corner of my bottom lip, thinking about the situation, then I became aware of the icy coldness growing behind me. I cautiously turned around in my seat to look back. Maraulen was twitching oddly with bitter expression on her face while a wicked grin was spread across Prince’s.

“We must consult the great skyfish for further instruction.” The lady stated as the Indians recollected themselves and turned towards the doors and exited the room.

Something had gone wrong, but I didn’t quite understand why. A very cold quiet had filled the room and the line of soldiers all seemed to stare at me. Prince had stepped out from behind the thrones and calmly retrieved his crown from my head.

My hour’s not up yet!

Once the crown was firmly placed back on the king’s head, he hissed through his teeth in a vicious smile,
“Execute her!”
“What? Why?! Maraulen?” I turned toward Maraulen and her bitter expression fell into an expression of pity. She braced her forehead with a clasped hand and just shook her head.
“I told you you couldn’t flash that thing around.”
I stood dumbfounded as a small group of soldiers came, picked me up by my arms, and dragged me away.

chapter 05

Despite receiving the ultimate opportunity to be ruler of a kingdom, the fact that the previous king set me up to take his job left me concerned with what I was getting myself into. Meeting Tremarch again calmed my worries for a bit but with the new arrival who was seeking to meet with me, a new dilemma had arisen.

What… is… that thing?!

Before me stood the body of a relatively thin man. A thin man who wore no clothes. That wasn’t the biggest issue though. Although this man wore no clothes, I wouldn’t say he was naked because, really, he had nothing to hide. The most nudity on him was his belly button sitting in the middle of his pale little protruding tummy. This still wasn’t the strangest thing about this man. As I said he had the body of a thin man, his head however, was also a complete body, the complete body of a catfish.

The catfish sat on top of his neck with his fins dangling on either side of it and his long tail hung over his man-back. Over the corners of his mouth drooped his catfish whiskers, like a mustache, and he watched me with large circular eyeballs that were spread far apart on either side of his face. His mouth and gills gapped open as he sucked in as much thin air as he could and droplets of water struck the floor in front of him.

Through clenched teeth I directed a concerned look towards Maraulen. Maraulen acknowledged my concern by compressing one of her cheeks with her mouth and shrugging her shoulders.
“He’s an Ickthyoian! From the River Kingdom!” She hissed through the back of my chair. That really didn’t tell me anything other than that this wasn’t some kind of fish monster wandered into our halls to look for scraps. Though if that was the case, I’m sure he’d stay outside where the insects were. I took another look at the odd specimen before me. He was dripping all over the floor! But wait, that wasn’t true, the water droplets were only landing in front of him and they were dripping off his face. This fish-man was crying.

“Oh! M’lady!” the fish-man exclaimed with a strange up and down tone which sounded like he was talking in bubbles. Not “through” bubbles, “in” bubbles. Each of his words strangely resembled an audible bubble and they even seemed to burst with a slight pop at the end. “I lamented for so long! Now that I’ve seen that you are indeed royalty, I have summoned the courage to address you!” The fish-man wiped his tears with his human arm and continued to stand there, gaping for air. He seemed to be addressing me personally, not simply as a queen, and that worried me. “My lady,” he continued, throwing his arms to the side then dramatically collapsing down to one knee in a bow. “My name is Rivoulin the 6th. Please tell me yours.”
“Esmeralda.” I quickly stated.
“I thought your name was Emily!” Prince scoffed from behind Maraulen’s grip.
“I don’t want him to know my name!” I hissed back at him.
“Ah, Esmeralda! Such a wonderful name that speaks of beauty and truth!” Rivoulin flattered as he bounced off his knee then rested one of his hands upon his fish brow and gazed towards the ceiling. I grimaced and tried to make like I wasn’t paying attention to him, but that was difficult since his dramatic movements and obnoxious gasping were growing increasingly worse every time he spoke. “Alas, I no longer have time for nonchalantness, I must get to the point! I have come for your hand, m’lady!” What horror! I suddenly felt like crying. “In accustom to my peoples traditions, I will give you the gift of the loyalty of my servants. You may use them as I use them!”
I don’t want to meet any more fish people!
“If you accept my love,” Rivoulin continued, flailing his arms above his head, “grant me the gift of a cup of water. For the journey from my home river was long and has dried me out to the point where I may not make it back without first intaking some kind of moisture!”
“No.” I stated loudly.
Someone who wiggles that much can’t possibly be dying.
“Get him some water!” Maraulen intervened, letting go of Prince and stepping out from behind the thrones. “The river dwellers seldom intermingle with those of the surface. We mustn’t risk being discourteous.” She glared at me and I sank back into my chair a little. One of the soldiers closest to the stage exited through the curtains and after a moment promptly returned being followed by a servant who carried upon a platter, a pitcher and a full cup of water. The soldier returned to his position in line while the servant made his way to Rivoulin, gave a bow, then handed him the cup of water. Rivoulin accepted the cup and raised it just below his fish head. He then extended his mouth forward and down, like a large straw, into the cup. His skin stretched until it was nearly transparent then he closed his eyes and commenced sucking the fluid out of the cup. Once the loud sucking sounds made it obvious that the cup was empty, Rivoulin retracted his lips and passed the cup back to the servant.
“Thank you,” he said. “I will now be able to return home safely. However, I need to receive a gift directly from the hands of my love before our feelings for each other may be seen as legitimate.”
“What feelings for each other?!” I finally rose off my chair and took a stand, speaking to the fish-man directly. “This is totally one sided! How can you even say you love me? I’m human if you haven’t noticed!”
“Though she does look like she’d make a good fishy face!” Prince teased and I shot him an angry glare. He quickly reacted to the sudden shift of attention by jumping to the top of the throne, grasping my face between his palms and squeezing my cheeks, making my lips smoosh together in a horrifyingly ridiculous expression!
“Wonderful!” Rivoulin shrieked and he fell on his side to the floor in ecstasy. My eyes flared wide as I swiveled around and booted the former king in the chin with a high kick!
“Emily Farrel!” Maraulen scolded as she ran over to Prince’s aid. I froze with my heel high in the air and an “oops” feeling overcame me. I didn’t have much time to acknowledge the feeling, however, since I was distracted by the subtle sound of something skidding across the floor. I had also noticed, that during my attack, something had fallen from one of the pockets in my blouse.

I glanced over my shoulder and looked at the strange brown and yellow shape swirling towards the feet of Rivoulin. It struck his bare toes and stopped. It was the broken branch tiara with the yellow berries which I had kept in my pocket since being at Tremarch’s house! Rivoulin, like some kind of theatrical dancer, bent down with one hand pointed towards the ground and the other towards the ceiling and delicately picked up the string of berries.
“Yellow delicious!” He exclaimed. “A delicacy adored by my people! Oh thank you, my queen! I have found you to be royalty equal to my stature and you have returned to me a gift of love! We have officially met all the requirements of my people! I will now return and discuss the arrangements of our wedding! Farewell my love!”
“Wait a minute!” I exclaimed. “You’re that face I saw in the river by Tremarch’s place, aren’t you! You’ve been stalking me since then?!” I hollered after Rivoulin as he waited for the room’s doors to be opened for him.
“Farewell, my love! And remember, as long as there is water nearby, you may summon my servants for whatever you may need!” Rivoulin waved without looking back and the doors closed behind him.

I collapsed to the throne and sighed.
“At the very least, I want to marry somebody who listens to me.”
“There, there, dear,” Maraulen consoled once again from behind the thrones. Prince sneered at me. I suppose my ill-scenario was good medicine for his bruised chin. The sound of a book page turning came from Dragged who still stood behind the curtain, ignoring the whole situation. I sighed again. “Send in the next person, please!” Maraulen called once more. The heavy doors dragged open and I thought about how I didn’t want to be queen anymore.

chapter 04

What kind of bet could I make with a brat like this?
“If you lose you have to give me a kiss!” the brat said with premature triumph in his voice. I jerked back a step from his chair.
Not even going to try to hide your intentions, eh?
“But I’ll be fair,” Prince continued. “If you win, I’ll let you be king for an hour!”
“Oh, lordy. Don’t.” Maraulen exclaimed in a suffering tone as she cupped her hands over her eyes and shook her head from side to side disapprovingly.
“You mean, queen.” I corrected Prince’s offer.
“Queen is second rate,” Prince scoffed. “Why would anybody want to be that?”
No respect for the feelings of women, I see.
“You can take my place, is what I mean!” Prince wiggled in his chair, getting excited.
“Oh no you don’t!” Maraulen intervened. “You’ve got a full schedule of kingly duties and I won’t have you dumping them on some peasant!” Maraulen paused her flailing to look at me, “no offense dear.” I was a little offended.
“On the contrary,” Dragged interrupted, raising his voice but not looking away from his book. “Accepting a gamble is a fine trait for a leader and king. I for one approve. With no risk there is no gain.”
“Maybe rising to a challenge is a good trait,” Maraulen said. “But certainly not creating unnecessary risks!”

As the two argued on, I pondered the benefits of being royalty. It was exactly what I was hoping for right? And I didn’t even have to do any manipulating! What’s the worse that could have happened? I’d have had to give that brat a peck on the cheek? If I won, it would only be for an hour, but who wouldn’t accept this kind of oppertunity?
“You’re on!” I raised a competitive fist to the king and we both exchanged evil grins. Maraulen just turned her back to us and sighed, defeated.
“Right!” Prince stated enthusiastically. “To prove that I know my people better than anyone, I bet the next person seeking an audience with me is a baker. A baker wondering what to do with the gross overabundance of sugar he has. He’ll make the suggestion of trading it for gold.” I blinked, surprised.

His bet was horribly detailed compared to what I was expecting! I couldn’t help but feel set up, that kind of person must come in here a lot! Still, I needed to give my answer! Who did I think was going to walk through those doors next?
“Answer before the door opens, or you forfeit.” Prince grinned slyly, with his eyes on the tall doors on the other end of the room. A pain of impatience shot behind my eyes and I winced in thought.
Who could it be? Another farmer? That’s very likely. Maybe it’ll be someone more exotic and rare, like a traveling magician or something? Arh! I should bet on something with higher odds! Could I also bet on a baker if I picked different details? What about a jeweler?
The hollow sound of a latch echoed across the room from the big doors. One of the soldiers from along the wall walked over to it and helped pull the doors open. Prince’s smile grew even fiercer across his wide head.
“A lumberjack.” I stated solemnly, unable to distract attention from the slowly opening doors. The doors were wide open and bright outside light streamed into the room, spilling long sharp shadows along the floor. I leaned far over Prince’s shoulder, straining to see the figure which stood dead center in the white light. The doors were closed and as the flowing light was cut off, the figure emerged as a short, hairy, old man.
“Tremarch!” I squealed, clasping my hands next to my cheek. I had won! I won the bet! I could be queen for an hour!
“Oh, Sally, dear!” Tremarch blinked then stated with a tone of suppressed surprise.
“Yee-ESS!!” A shout burst from the small king loud enough to suffocate the surprise from the rest of us. “It is the lumberjack!” He cheered as he pulled his crown off his head, stood up on his chair and plopped it onto mine. My victorious joy from a second ago was fast seeping away.
“This is what you wanted? You were never after a kiss?” I threw my fists down to my sides and exclaimed.
“Of course not. Kissing is icky!” the boy stated, climbing down from his throne. “I just wanted to get out of listening to the whiny peasants. Now I have a whole hour to play!”

Goodness. I should have known not to trust a child who used big words like ” abundance” and “forfeit”. It’s not natural. This meant that that kid had been planing this trick since he first laid eyes on me! He wasn’t interested in me, he was just looking for an excuse to use on one of his caretakers to allow him to abandon the throne!
I’ll have to remember that a child this conniving is not to be taken lightly!

“Oh no you don’t!” Maraulen clasped her heavy hands onto the boy’s shoulders before he had a chance to escape the room. “Maybe it is not within the concerns of this fellow here who runs this kingdom. Especially since he can’t even take his nose out of a book long enough to see who is wearing the crown, but as your personal caretaker I think it builds excellent character for you to at least witness the addressing of the people! And now that you’ve thrown away your authority to execute and threaten people, I’m sure the Royal Guards wouldn’t mind back up my decision!” The boy gulped.
I see Maraulen is also not to be taken lightly.

Tremarch fumbled with his hands while standing in the middle of the room, confused. I don’t think he could tell what was going on, since both Maraulen and Prince were wrestling behind the two large thrones. Though he probably had an idea since he saw me standing there with the crown on my head and the young king occasionally attempt to make a break for it.
“Umm. Your Majesty?” Tremarch called when he saw Prince’s head pop out from behind the main throne.
“Yes?” Prince called back, slightly muffled as Maraulen was attempting to restrain him so he wouldn’t try and run away.
“I brought the order of double the Royal Oak. Per yer request, M’majesty.” Tremarch tilted his head slightly to try and get a better view of his king.
“Ah! That’s good!” Prince called between snapping sounds. Apparently Maraulen was holding him too tight and he was trying to let her know by biting her arms. “Just store them as usual and you can be on your way!” Tremarch paused for a second then looked towards me and gave a nod.
“Wait!” I called out, extending a hand towards Tremarch before he turned to go. Tremarch stopped and looked at me. “Err,” I hesitated, trying to think of why I had actually stopped him. “Would you like to hang out here for a bit?” The rustling behind the thrones suddenly died down. That was a stupid thing to ask. Tremarch and I had already gave our good byes, there was no need to go through this again!
Tremarch smiled at me for a moment. “That’s a’right, dear. You just remember my offer and I’m sure we’ll see each other again, some day.” The door was heaved open and Tremarch disappeared back into the outside light.
That’s right. I reflected. Tremarch offered for me to live with him, since I didn’t know where I was ultimately going in this world. He’ll be leaving at noon tomorrow, if I decide to go down that route.
But I had already gotten myself to the castle! I doubt I would have needed to go back to Tremarch’s house!

“Send in the next in line!” Maraulen called out from behind the chairs. She stood behind prince and firmly gripped his arms in place. I jumped and quickly sat down on velvety cushion of the large throne. Apparently I really had to continue the king’s work!
“Is this really okay?” I hissed over my shoulder, quickly growing aware of my newly acquired position.
“Don’t turn yellow now, dear. You’ve earned the crown, like you obviously wanted, now accept the responsibility!” I inhaled quickly and gripped the arms of the chair with my finger nails. “Don’t you worry, dear,” Maraulen continued. “Just use common sense! If you need help, Dragged and I are still here.”

The tall wooden doors once again were dragged closed and there stood the next person, seeking the king’s attention.

chapter 03

I was beginning to feel bubbles rise in my chest and a smile was spreading across my face. It was as if I had won some kind of lottery! I hadn’t been in the city for much more than an hour or two and I had already found my way into the castle and was on my way to meet the king! When I first left home, I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t think things would have turned out so well! Well, at least not so quickly! I must have had some kind of good luck sprite with me! Or maybe one of my parents had a dark secret and I was actually the illegitimate child of one of them and some god or goddess of fortune. Unlikely. Impossible. But either way, I couldn’t help but feel an air of invincibility around me!

I wonder what kind of person this kid-king is. He’s probably some spoiled brat. Then again, he is the king. He can’t be so bad, right? Kings are supposed to be handsome! So, he’s probably pretty cute! If he likes me, maybe I can get some gold, or a place to stay in the castle. Kids are easy to manipulate after all, hee hee!

Maraulen and I continued to jog down the hallway then back down the staircase. Laying atop my extended forearms was a neatly folded bundle of black clothes. Maraulen and her unfaltering energy had took the lead again, which was a good thing since I didn’t know where we were going.

We went down the stairs until we hit the ground floor, then we turned and ran in the opposite direction of the courtyard door, which we originally entered the castle by. We made a turn deeper into the castle then another right turn down a half flight of stairs. A little while later, after the gap between Maraulen and I had tripled, we entered through a door which brought us onto somewhat of a narrow stage.

A highly decorated curtain separated us from the whole room but through the gap in the curtains I could see a long row of royal guards at attention along the far wall. Directly in the middle of the curtain gap was two exquisite golden chairs. Each chair was cushioned with velvet and embroidered in silver. The one closest to us had a higher back which made it difficult to see the other. Behind the chairs stood one elegant figure of a man in black and sitting in the chair nearest too us was the smaller, hunched figure of a boy.

He had to have been the boy-king. He had a rather small frame but his cheeks were surprisingly full with baby fat which made his head seem quite large, even for a child. Atop his messy black hair rested an elegant crown. Golden crosses jutted up from the base of the grown, studded in jewels, and a few silver hoops strung over the velvet inlay which covered the boy’s hair. Judging by the boy’s posture, it was giving him quite a cramp in the neck. Maraulen beckoned with her hand impatiently and I cautiously stepped forward. Peering between the curtains I noticed that the boy had an audience.

Isolated in the middle of the room was a grubby old man with a thick beard and string glasses wrapped around his head.
“…and that’s why we can’t grow only sugar cane. Even if you want more sweets in the markets, the chefs need more ingredients than just sugar! You understand, right? My Majesty?” With a nervous chuckle the man bowed graciously. The king seemed to ponder his words for a minute.

“Execute him.” The young boy’s girly voice rang out across the room. A shiver jumped up my back. Maraulen quickly approached and with a softly closed fist, whopped the boy in the back of the head while the guards along the walls seemed to look back and forth nervously.
“Is this how you run a kingdom when I’m not looking?,” the boy obviously hadn’t notice us come in and gave a surprised, horrified look. As if he had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar right before dinner. “It’s bad enough you’ve got the merchants trading with gum drops and marzipan! Don’t curse the rest of the townspeople with rotten teeth by making strange demands of the farmers.” She took a step out in front of the throne and addressed the farmer, “the crops will remain unchanged. There is no need for extra sugar. Thank you.” The farmer sighed a breath of relief, placed a straw hat lightly on the top of his head and exited the room through a set of tall wooden doors which structured the far wall. The boy with the crown let out an annoyed click of his tongue. Maraulen turned and shot him a dirty look. “And the rest of you,” she waved her finger at the wall of soldiers. “The livelihood of the kingdom is at stake if you let him pull this kind of stunt again!” There was a clapping of metal slaps as the guards dropped their attentive stands, rubbed the backs of their helmets and chuckled nervously.
They’re just brimming with competence, aren’t they?
“You!” Maraulen continued as she stomped toward the man who was standing behind the two thrones. “You have a head to know what kind of disaster this could have spelled! Yet you didn’t raise a lip against the boy’s madness!”

The man who was dressed in a sophisticated black suit with a long black cape lifted his eyes from the small book he held in his left hand and looked towards Maraulen. I hadn’t noticed, but once I looked at him, I could see that this man wasn’t quite human. His ears were long and thin, reaching high above his shoulder length grayish white hair. His eyes were large and glowed slightly with a green-tainted yellow. His nose was also thin and was pinched ever so slightly at the end. With his cape he definitely resembled a bat more than a man.
“It is not in my work order to judge the decisions of the young master. As far as I can see, he is doing a fine job at being a leader.”
“Leader of a community of humming birds, most certainly, but not the leader of a kingdom of people!” Maraulen retorted.

Maraulen exhaled loudly then gave herself some breathing room from the man.
“This way, please dear,” she waved at me. I stepped out from behind the king and walked over to her side. The young king seemed to become attentive once he noticed me emerge. I suddenly felt nervous.
Don’t get shy just because you’ve got the attention of royalty! He’s still just some dumb brat!
“This young maiden helped me adjust the suit for your upcoming birthday party. Well, go on! Introduce yourself, dear.” The boy seemed to get excited as he fidgeted in his chair. The man behind him simply returned his gaze to his book.
“My name is Emily Farrel!” I suddenly exclaimed and shot the folded fabric out in front of me.
Oh, lordy, this is a bad habbit!
“T-these are for you.” I handed him the suite and lowered my head, blushing.

The brat grinned widely, thinking I was blushing at him, but I was just embarrassed by how terribly stupid I had been to suddenly change my name in front of Maraulen! Obviously she was surprised and looked confused but she didn’t say anything about it. Maybe she just thought that she had misheard me the first time.
“Err, yes,” Maraulen said. “E-Emily… This is our king, Prince and his mentor, Dragged.” I nodded to each of them. Prince continued to grin while Dragged ignored me.
His name is Prince? Were the king and queen that unoriginal? Or maybe ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ were their names as well?
Maraulen turned to Prince, “now I expect you to wear the suit without any complaints and behave yourself! Otherwise we won’t be having a birthday party!”
“Yes ma’am!” Came a coy reply. Judging by Maraulen’s tone, such obedience was probably uncharacteristic of this child. Then again, maybe Maraulen is just harsh. No birthday party? That’s a pretty big threat to a child! Prince looked me in the eye and grinned greedily.
Ugh. I haven’t even done any thing and I’m already getting too much attention from him.
“We’ll talk more on this later! Right now, you need to continue addressing the concerns of the people! Send in the next in line!” Maraulen called to anybody who might be listening as she took me by the wrist and pulled me back behind the two thrones.

Maraulen dropped my hand and I found a comfortable stance behind the king where I could still see the floor but my presence wouldn’t have been a bother to anyone.
“Hey,” Prince’s high pitched sneer came from over his shoulder. “You wanna make a bet?”