Once upon a time, there were two neighboring kingdoms who couldn't agree on the division of a beautiful lake that sat on the exact border between them. Luckily, they were both peaceful, and rather than waste time and resources fighting a puerile war, they built a cozy summer palace on the edge of the lake, and it was there that their courts adjourned each summer, to bask in the sunshine and the clear water. It was there that Queen Annelise of Highmere arrived one summer with a bulging belly, and the next year, Queen Marion followed suit. Jack and Fiona met for the first time when they were too young to remember each other. In fact, the first summer either of them recollected spending together was the summer Fiona spent beating Jack over the head with a sword, even though Jack did have a concussion by the end of it and shouldn't have remembered a thing. But he insisted he did and Fiona had long since given up arguing with him.
Once upon a time, there was a girl and a boy. And the girl was not a proper princess, and the boy was the only living Shadowcatcher, after the death of his grandfather. And the girl played with swords, and the boy played at cards, and they each managed to make each other miserable in the endearing way that all best friends do.
Once upon a time, there was a prince and a princess.
Once upon a time, there was a girl and a prince.
Once upon a time, there was a tower, or a pumpkin, or a nest of giants in the nearest mountain range.
Once upon a time, there was a glove that didn't fit. Or a shoe. Or a bed.
Once upon a time, there was an evil stepmother.
Once upon a time, once upon a time, once upon a time.
They were married, and they all lived happily ever after.
“Dammit,” Fiona cried and flung another book at the wall.
The maid tiptoeing timidly into the room shrieked and cowered with her arms over her head.
“I was throwing it the opposite direction,” Fiona complained. “Grow a spine.”
The maid squeaked, but lowered her arms. “It's time to dress for dinner,” she whispered.
“I am perfectly capable of dressing myself,” Fiona said. Then she bellowed and leapt across the room, hands outstretched for the maid. “Don't blow out that candle!”
The maid screamed and dropped to the parquet floor.
Fiona rocked to a halt against an overstuffed armchair. “Why were you blowing out that candle?” she cried.
“Because the sun hasn't even set yet,” the maid wailed, her voice muffled by the arms that were once more over her head. “It's a waste of candle wax. Your mother--”
“My mother,” Fiona said darkly, “would probably prefer to discover Jack in my private chambers with me.”
“Your mother, milady? Jack, milady?”
“Please, stand up,” Fiona said, exasperated. “I'm not going to hurt you. I just didn't want you to blow that out. It's keeping the shadows back. All of them are.”
The maid cringed to her feet, eyes darting at the candles that covered every surface in the room, above and below, in every nook and cranny. The room glowed like the interior of a storm lantern. There was barely a shadow to be found.
“Is this because of the Shadowcatcher?” she asked Fiona.
“I'm kind of avoiding him, yeah,” Fiona said. “And he's never going to let me hear the end of it at dinner. But the last thing I want right now is for Jack to walk out of a shadow, because gods only know what he might have to say to me, and minimum contact with the enemy has always been my favorite strategy.”
“I thought you and Prince Jack were friends, milady.”
“You are slow,” Fiona said. “Look, it's none of your gossipy business, anyway. I want to wear my green dress tonight.”
“It won't match your hair,” the maid said.
“Did it sound like that was a suggestion? Fine, I'll wear the yellow.”
“The yellow has such a low neckline,” the maid whispered, properly scandalized like any good woman in the kingdom ought to be.
“All the better to be seen in,” Fiona said smugly. “Yellow it is.”
I love the "Once Upon a Time" section! I really like how Fiona's character is shaping up, but she sounds like a handful for Jack!
ReplyDelete