A Tale of Two Princesses (20 page)

     "Special, sir?"

     "Flowers. Wild flowers."

     "Flowers?"

     "Yes, she loves flowers. And she must be so tired of the same flowers in the courtyard. I'll pick her wild flowers. She'll be delighted! Banyan?"

     "Yes, your highness?" he said from behind the bar.

     "Are there flowers around here, wild flowers?"

     "Yes, sir, everywhere."

     "Excellent! Could you give me a tour? I'll pay of course."

     "Well, I don't rightly know where, exactly, but how about I send Sienna out to pick them for you? She wanders the countryside now and then, wasting her time about with flowers. Er, not that I think you're wasting your time, sir. I only mean I've seen her coming home with flowers."

     "Yes, she'll do fine. But I'd rather go with her and pick them out myself."

     "If it pleases you, sir. Her services are only one hundred silver coins," Banyan said.

     Court glared. "I see your niece's rate is fixed despite the job."

     "Man's gotta make a living, sir."

     "Pay him, Wellington."

     "Yes, sir."

     "Where is your niece?" Court asked.

     "In the kitchen I think. A moment, sir." Banyan poked his head through the door, speaking to Mrs. Crockery. Then he came back. "She's out in the stables, sir. Want me to fetch her?"

     "That's all right, Banyan. I'll collect her. I'll need my horse anyway."

     "Sir," Wellington said, "shall I escort you?"

     "I don't think so, Wellington. It's a short errand. Speak to the men about going into town to inquire about the dragon. And do send a couple of them out to scout the area about the forest, but they are not to enter."

     "Yes, sir."

     Court left the tavern and headed across the grass toward the big barn in the distance, pulling open the door and slipping inside. He could hear someone talking farther on. The voice was somehow familiar, tugging at the back of his mind.

     "...biggest horsey I've ever seen. I bet you get to go all over on one adventure after another. And you're owned by a prince too. That's exciting for you, huh?"

     Court followed the sound, passing his men's horses, all penned. His was on the end. This stall must not have closed right, because a rope held it together. The stable girl, with her short, blondish, brown hair was brushing Striker, running the bristles down his mane and over his neck. She had to stand on a stool to manage the task, humming as she worked.

     "You're so, so pretty," she went on. "I bet all the girl horseys just love you." The horse nickered. "Don't tell my uncle, but I'll give you extra oats and hay because you're such a big boy. I'll try to sneak you an apple too."

     "He says thank you," Court said.

     Sienna spun around, stumbling off her stool. She bowed at the waist, keeping her head down. "Forgive me, your highness. I didn't hear you."

     "That's all right. I'm glad you're taking such good care of Striker." He untied the rope, opening the gate. Sienna stepped back, well out of his way, moving into the corner. Court came in, patting Striker's neck. "Good morning, Striker." Then he looked at Sienna. "You must be good with horses."

     "I suppose, your highness."

     "Your name is Sienna, isn't it?"

     "Yes, sir," she said.

     "I hope you don't mind, but I paid your uncle for your services for an hour of your time."

     Sienna's head shot up, her eyes flying open. "What?"

     "Oh, my God," Court said, realizing how it sounded. "No, not that. I, forgive me, miss. I asked him for a guide through the plains. I want to pick some wild flowers, and he said you would know where best to find them."

     "Oh! I see," she said, looking back down.

     "Forgive me again, but if you do have the time, I could use some help."

     "I'll do whatever you tell me," she said.

     "Thank you," he said. "It shouldn't take long. I don't mean to interrupt you while you're working."

     "It's no problem, sir."

     "All right then."

     He tugged on Striker's reins, leading him out of the barn. Then he leapt onto the horse's back, securing his place on the saddle. Sienna moved ahead.

     "This way, sir," she said softly.

     "Whoa, wait," he said, trotting after her. "I didn't mean you had to walk. You can ride on back with me."

     She looked up. "I...I shouldn't, sir."

     "Come now, I won't let Striker throw you." He held out his hand.

     She gulped, but then she took it and he pulled her up. She made sure to sit aside it, rather than astride, her legs dangling off Striker's flank. Court seemed to smile to himself. Then Sienna wrapped her arms around his waist, just to hold on as the horse began to trot.

     "So, which direction?" he asked.

     She lifted her hand, pointing. "Do you see those trees up there, past the rocks? There's lots of flowers there."

     "Great," he said, trotting on. "You know, Sienna—may I call you Sienna?"

     "Yes, sir, whatever you'd like."

     "Sienna, I wanted to apologize to you again for last night."

     "Sir?"

     "When I called you a boy, I didn't mean to suggest you were not feminine. I simply saw your short hair and assumed, as so many women have long hair, that you must have been a young boy, but allow me to say, in the light of day, you are clearly feminine."

     "It's okay, sir. I didn't really mind, because that dragon tried to eat me, so I wasn't much thinking about it."

     "Yes, quite right. Are you recovered from the ordeal?"

     "Yes, sir. Thanks again for saving me. It was really nice of you. And I'm sorry you got hurt and your friends died."

     "It's all right. It's a knight's duty to protect the innocent."

     "And, um, thanks for, for, you know, last night, when you...you know."

     "It's a knight's duty to protect the innocent," he repeated.

     "You're the kindest man I've ever met," she whispered.

     "That's nice of you to say."

     "And your horse is really pretty," she said.

     "Thank you," Court said. "He was a race horse in his younger years. Though if you tell him he's middle aged, he'll run hard just to prove he's still got it."

     She giggled. "I bet he goes fast."

     "Yes, very. I would show you, but I wouldn't want you to fall."

     "I'll be okay," she said. "Can we go fast? I'll hold on tight. I've always wanted to ride fast on a horse."

     "You haven't ridden a horse before?"

     "Just once, really, only once, and only for a moment."

     "All right. Hold tight then."

     She held tight, pressing her face up against his back as she had done last night. Striker took off as his master ordered him to. Sienna held her breath. Court yelled, "yah!" and Striker neighed and the wind whipped around them. Sienna looked over Court's shoulder, laughing.

     "He's amazing!"

     "He hasn't even hit his stride yet! Come on, Striker! You wouldn't have won any trophies at this pace!"

     Striker sprinted even faster. Court was standing on the stirrups, leaning over the stallion's neck to drive him. Sienna was holding on with all her might. And then Striker shot past the trees, treading through a patch of flowers. Court tugged on his reins, turning him and trotting back.

     "How was that?" Court asked.

     "Amazing!" she said. "Can we do it again on the way back?"

     "Sure," he said, jumping down. Sienna was going to jump down too, but before she could, Court reached up and grabbed her hips. She was breathless as he lifted her off her feet, setting her down.

     "Thanks," she whispered, looking up at him.

     "Sure," he said, catching her green eyes. He stared into them for a moment, his eyes narrowing. Sienna could see the gears in his mind turning. She quickly dropped her head, hurrying toward the flowers.

     "Here they are, your highness."

     "Ah, I see," he said, coming to her side. "They're beautiful."

     "Yeah." She plucked a long, pink rose, removing the thorns, bringing it to her nose. "Mmm. Here, smell this one."

     He took the flower and smelled it. "Very nice." He held it back.

     "You keep it."

     He paused, squinting at her. "You know, Sienna, there is something...familiar about you."

     Sienna gulped, turning her back. "What do you mean?"

     "I don't know," he said, sniffing the flower again. "I feel like we've met before. Have we? Have I perhaps seen you in a crowd or, I'm not sure, somewhere about?"

     "No, I don't think so. I couldn't imagine where. Maybe I just remind you of someone you met a long time ago."

     "Perhaps," he said. "Well, let's see what other flowers we can gather for the princess."

     Sienna stumbled, spinning around. "What?"

     "Oh, yes, didn't I say? I'm seeing Princess Celeste today, and she adores flowers. I'm hoping she'll love wild flowers even more."

     "You're getting her flowers? That's so nice of you. She's...so lucky."

     He smiled, plucking a red rose and adding it to the pink. "Maybe something purple. She commented how much she likes purple flowers."

     "She does," Sienna whispered, turning and leading him. "There are lilacs over here." She leaned in when she came closer, smelling.

     Court leaned around her, plucking and sniffing. "These smell great."

     "Yeah," she said. "Look, these too."

     She uprooted a few tulips and held them out to him.

     "She'll love those," he said, the bouquet taking shape in his hand.

     Sienna began biting her lower lip. "Come on. I'll show you the most beautiful flower around."

     She hurried away, slipping between a few trees and squeezing between a pair of bushes. Court had to catch up, finding her in front of a tall boulder, even taller than him, surrounded by trees on all sides. At the top of the rock was a dip where a single flower was growing. It had a mix of orange and red and purple on the petals.

     "I planted it up there myself," Sienna said. "It was my mother's. I like to think of this as her memorial. See, it doesn't do well with too much sunlight, and there's just enough here with the trees to give it some shade. Somehow, it keeps coming back every year. I water it when it doesn't rain enough though."

     "Wow," he said. "It's beautiful."

     "Yeah."

     "I'm sorry about your mother."

     "Me too. The dragon carried her away five years ago."

     "What? Oh, I see. Your uncle mentioned his sister was lost. I didn't realize that was your mother. I'm sorry, again."

     "It's all right. You can have the flower if you want."

     "No, I couldn't. It's too important."

     "I don't mind. I want you to have it. It'll grow back. And I owe the princess so much. She let me come and work in the kitchens for a few days, and if she hadn't, well, it would have been horrible. If this flower will make her happy, I'd love to give it to her."

     "All right."

     Court had to stretch up on his toes to pick the flower. He wondered how Sienna had ever placed it there. It must have been an ordeal. He came away with it, adding it to his bouquet, the star amongst the rest.

     "We'd better get back," Court said.

     "Yes, sir," she said.

     They returned to Striker, finding him grazing, and then mounted him. Court rode back at full gallop. Sienna giggled and cheered the whole way home.

     "Thank you again for all your help," Court said as he let her down.

     "Sure," she said, looking up at him. "It's the least I can do after all you've done for me."

     "Just the same, here you are." He reached into his pocket, taking out a single gold coin. Sienna rarely saw gold coins, as they were worth so much more than silver.

     "That's okay," she said. "You don't have to do that."

     "No, please. Tipping is required for extra service."

     "No, thank you, your highness. I couldn't take anything from you."

     "Please, Sienna, you're offending me. I only keep them in my pocket to tip, and I so rarely have a chance to hand them out. Go on."

     Sienna took a small step forward, reaching up to take it from him, their fingers touching for a moment. She looked down at the coin and then her head shot back up. "It has your name on it!"

     "Oh, yes." He chuckled. "The picture is supposed to be me, but it doesn't much do me justice, does it?"

     She looked at the picture. It really didn't look like him. It was just the side of someone's head with his name under it, though the fact that it was his coin made it priceless to her. "Thank you so much, sir. If you ever need anything else, I hope you'll call on me."

     "I'll do that."

     "And please give the princess my best."

     "I'll do that too," he said. "Take care, Sienna."

     "You too, sir," she said, bowing again. She pocketed the coin, determined never to let her uncle see it, and then passed into the kitchen, finding Mrs. Crockery hard at work.

     "There you are," Mrs. Crockery said. "Lazing about in the mountains with the prince? How high and mighty you must feel!"

     "I was only doing as I was told," Sienna whispered.

     "Well, I'll tell you what to do. You get up stairs and you clean those rooms while the guests are out. I've been doing your job for the last three days, and I'm none to pleased to be put out, you see! Now, up you get!"

     "Yes, ma'am."

     Sienna moved to the door, but then Banyan passed through, stopping in place, looking down at her. He folded his arms. She had not spoken to him last night after everything that had happened. She had gone straight to her stall and to bed.

     "Uncle?"

     "It's bad for business when the patrons start killing each other."

     "I'm sorry."

     "It's always an apology with you. You just say sorry and expect it to fix everything."