Darius looked alarmed. “Majesty! I beg you! Shall I bring you proof of my innocence? In my bags—back in my room—there are contracts, deeds of sale, descriptions of the most common wares. Let me go fetch them—”
He made as if to dash for the door, but Harwin caught him by the collar of his jacket and hauled him roughly back. “I knew you could not be trusted to marry the princess,” Harwin growled. “I knew you were a charlatan and an opportunist. I would be glad to see you hanged for treason.”
My father’s rage was starting to subside as he saw a chance of salvaging this disastrous morning. He even managed a very unpleasant smile. “Yes, and you will be hanged,” he said silkily, “if you do not recant your testimony.”
Harwin jerked on Darius’s coat, practically choking him. “Throw yourself at the king’s feet and plead for your life, you commoner,” he said contemptuously. He dragged Darius up to the stage, while Darius continued to bleat that he was innocent, he was blameless, he had intended the king no harm—
His smile growing, my father leaned down and took Darius’s chin in his hand. “Now tell me,” he purred. “Who exactly was meeting with the representatives of Amlertay and Newmirot? Was it you? Or was it the queen?”
Darius lifted both hands in an unthinking gesture of lèse-majesté, and wrapped them around the king’s wrist. “My liege—”
“Who deserves punishment?” my father whispered.
Darius whispered back, “You do.”
And when the brief gold flash of sorcery evaporated, Darius was holding on to the forepaw of a small, furry black dog.
There were screams. Shouts. Swords drawn, doors thrown open. Soldiers rushed in; servants dashed up and down the hallways. The little black dog snapped and howled and scurried from one end of the dais to the other, snapping some more. He was a nasty little cur, his teeth bared in a permanent snarl; if Darius had been close enough to bite, no doubt the dog would have chomped hard on the magician’s arm.
But Darius had used more of that magic to whisk himself out the door, and he was nowhere to be found.
We were left with an exonerated queen, a trio of flabbergasted councilors, and one elated princess.
And her betrothed.
Epilogue
The Happy Ending
There were any number of loose ends to tie up, of course.
Milton and Norbert instantly had soldiers grab hold of Dannette, who showed no disposition to flee. Indeed, she offered to hold herself hostage to her brother’s eventual return.
“I will happily stay at the palace until my brother realizes the enormity of his crime,” she said. “I will be his living collateral.”
Perhaps only I noticed the smile that passed between her and Gisele as Dannette made this generous offer.
Harwin immediately displayed his practical nature. “We must find fitting accommodations for the king as long as he is in this incarnation,” he said as he and the councilors gathered to discuss a plan of action. “For surely the kennels will not do.”
“Won’t they?” I murmured, loud enough for only him to hear.
“And then we must proceed with a provisional installation of the princess,” Harwin added. “She must govern the kingdom until her father is restored to his proper state.”
“I will assume my duties with a heavy heart,” I said,
“but indeed, I must assume them before the day is out.”
Neville still looked stunned at the turn of events that had dashed all his hopes, but Norbert and Milton appeared quite willing to see me on the throne, at least for the time being.
“But who will the princess marry now?” Norbert said with a frown. “That fellow won the competition!”
“I will have to make do with the only other man who passed the tests my father devised so carefully to ensure my happiness,” I said soulfully. “Sir Harwin will be my husband. Very soon.”
Harwin’s father did not look in the least displeased. “Not a bad day’s work, then,” he said, earning a glare from Neville and a smile from Norbert.
“Not a bad day at all,” Norbert echoed.
I didn’t say so aloud, but I heartily agreed.
I was very busy, of course, in the intervening hours, but after lunch I did have time to slip away to the gardens, where Darius was awaiting me by prearrangement. Laughing, I ran up and flung myself into his arms.
“You were brilliant!” I exclaimed. “Magnificent! I cannot believe we were able to pull it off!”
He swung me around in one full circle, then set me on my feet. “And Gisele is safe?” he asked urgently. “And Dannette?”
“The councilors have apologized to Gisele and she is totally restored to her former position,” I said. “I have noted very solemnly that I will rely on her for guidance in the days ahead, and she has replied solemnly in turn that she will do anything she can to aid me. Dannette expressed great chagrin to learn her brother is such a rogue and she has offered to do whatever it takes to make up for your crime. I believe Norbert plans to have her confined to the palace, at least for the time being, but she seems to be quite pleased at her sentence.”
“Dannette never did like roving as much as I did,” Darius replied. “A settled home and a familiar hearth constitute her idea of bliss, whereas I find the very notion of staying in one place for more than a day or two—” He shivered and did not complete his sentence.
“The very notion sounds like death to you,” I said calmly. “Which is why I cannot marry you, much as I adore you.”
He peered at me anxiously. “I cannot marry anyone,” he admitted. “But I feel dreadful about it. I know I have let you down.”
“I’m going to marry Harwin,” I said. “The thought makes me quite happy, actually.”
Now he looked relieved. “He’s a very good fellow,” he said. “No one I would rather see you with! But it seems a little unfair. I won the competitions, after all, but I don’t get to marry the princess. I never even got a chance to kiss her.”
I tilted my face up. “There’s one last opportunity.”
He didn’t need to be invited twice, and he laid a most enthusiastic kiss upon my mouth. “Oh, now,” he said, lifting his head and giving me a devilish smile, “I liked that so much I might want to stay another day.”
I laughed and pushed him in the chest. “No, you must go before someone finds you. But you must come back, you know—in disguise, perhaps, but as often as you can bear it.”
“I will,” he promised. “And whenever I return, you will have to let me know if it is time to change your father back to a man.”
“Well, I will,” I said, “but I don’t think that day will come soon.”
Hekissedmeagain,touchedafingertomycheek,and spun away into a golden sparkle. When my eyes cleared, he was gone, and not even his shadow remained.
I sighed a moment, remembering his blond curls, his happy air, his good heart. And then I shook my head and remembered my true fiancé, with his steady soul, his deep affection, and a very good heart of his own.
We would be married soon—by week’s end, if I had my way, and I always did. But before then, there was so much else to take care of! I must settle my father in his new quarters, make sure Dannette was comfortably situated, confer with Gisele, meet with my advisors, and write a proclamation for my subjects. And there would be much to do after the wedding as well—learning about trades and tariffs, outlawing the ownership of fighting dogs, changing the laws of inheritance, and generally becoming the very best monarch I could be. Oh, and doing everything in my power to secure a lifetime of happiness—for me and for everyone I cared about.
And if I didn’t achieve that final goal, it damn well wouldn’t be for lack of trying.