Sleeping Beauty, the One Who Took the Really Long Nap (13 page)

I laughed. “Forgive us, Sara. Your Highnesses, allow me to introduce my lady-in-waiting and best friend, Sara. She has only recently awoken as well.”

Sara had not shorn her hair (thankfully, since it would not regenerate overnight like mine would) but she had smeared her face convincingly enough. She even blackened out a tooth. Fortunately Sara did not ask any questions of the Prince's parents, only throwing me a look of daggers every now and again.

From where I stood, I could see a tall young man in a knight's garb striding toward us. The Prince had his back to the man, but Sara saw him. Her jaw dropped. The man looked enough like our old squire Clive to be his brother.

A deep voice rang out, “Is that my long-lost friend, the Prince? The one who is very poor at correspondence?”

The Prince's face lit up. He whirled around. “Jonathan!” They clasped hands. “I thought I would never see you again.”

“I arrived as fast as I could,” Jonathan said. He glanced
over at me and raised an eyebrow. “But it looks like you do not need my help any longer.”

“Come, my Queen,” the Prince's father said, taking his wife by the elbow. “Let us give the young people their privacy.”

Once they headed down the hall, Sara stepped behind us and began furiously wiping the dirt off her cheeks.

“Old friend,” the Prince said, “allow me to introduce Princess Rose. She has stolen my heart and I hope she never gives it back.”

I blushed under my soot as the young knight bowed. “I do not always look like this,” I whispered.

But Jonathan was no longer looking at me. He had turned his full attention to Sara, who had stepped out from the shadows. I elbowed her and drew my finger across my teeth. She got the hint and ran her tongue across her teeth to loosen the soot.

The Prince made the introductions. Sara said, “Forgive my staring, but you look exactly like someone I used to know.”

“Who would that be, my lady?”

“A squire who served under Princess Rose's father. His name was Clive. Honestly, you could be his double.”

“I had a grandfather named Clive,” Jonathan said, never taking his eyes from Sara's.

Sara's face fell. She said, “I suppose you don't know how to make ink, either.”

“Egg whites, soot, and honey,” Jonathan replied without a pause.

Sara's face lit up again. The Prince laughed. “There is not much Jonathan does not know.”

“Would you like to go for a stroll in the garden?” Jonathan asked Sara.

Sara nodded. Jonathan held out his arm and Sara linked hers inside it. To me she said, “I trust you won't further destroy your appearance before my return?”

“On my honor,” I said. Satisfied, they left without another word.

“Wow,” the Prince said as we watched them go.

“I know!” I replied.

He turned to me, his face shining. “We have the whole world to explore. Where would you like to go?”

I thought for a moment. “Wait here, all right? I want to check something.”

He nodded, and I hurried down the hall, past the eyes of the unfamiliar staff, and took the tall steps two at a time. Once I got to the top, I ran down the hall toward where my room had been in my own castle. Here there was another door next to mine, where at home there had only been a blank wall. I cautiously pushed open the first door and
breathed a sigh of relief. My whole room was here, with all my clothes, and all my memories. I closed the door and moved onto the next one. I pushed it open and peered inside. The room itself was identical to mine, except it was the Prince's for certain. I could see his traveling cloak slung over the chair. I smiled to myself. The fairy had taken care of everything. I hurried back downstairs. The Prince was just coming out from the cellar.

“The oddest thing,” he said. “I was suddenly curious to see if the blanket we had used for warmth in the cellar was still there.”

“Was it?” I asked, my curiosity piqued.

He shook his head. “It was not. But something else was in its place, hidden by decades of cobwebs.” He reached behind him to reveal a small wooden crate with faded red pigment on the top. “Let us go into the library and I shall show it to you.”

I followed him in there. It was just like our library, except with fewer objects of art, and the rug on the floor was much less colorful. I was pleased to see my painting that the fairy had “fixed” was quite faded as well. He rested the box on a small table and said, “I believe this is yours.”

“Mine? I have never seen it before.” I peered at it and wiped the thick dust off the top. A picture of a red rose appeared. I eagerly pushed the top open and looked inside.
There, tied with a red ribbon, lay dozens, no
hundreds
, of letters. My heart literally stopped beating for a moment as I stared. I recognized Mama's hand and Papa's, too. I even recognized the neat printing of Sara's sister, Amelia. I untied the ribbon and let my fingers run through the letters, unable to believe it. They must have written these over the course of their whole lives. I thought I might faint from the joy of it. What an incredible gift they gave me.

“They must have hidden the box in the nook because they knew you used to hide there,” the Prince said. “Imagine — they have been in the castle my whole life and I never knew it.”

“Thank you for finding them,” I said, tears streaming down my cheeks.

He blushed. “You would have found them eventually.”

“Perhaps not,” I replied. “I have nothing to hide from now.”

He brushed some soot away from my cheek and kissed the spot. “I thought you should know,” he said softly, “I have finally come up with my name.”

“Wonderful,” I replied. “Do tell. No wait, is it Boris?”

He shook his head.

“Rupert?”

“Nope.”

“Montgomery?”

He got down on one knee and took my hand in both of his. “No, it is not Montgomery or Zorro or Quince or any name you have ever heard. I should like my name to be only one thing — Princess Rose's Husband. What do you think?”

I felt a tingle in my toes. Having my parents' letters with us made it feel like they were giving us their blessings. “Princess Rose's Husband,” I repeated, laying my hand on his shoulder and smiling wider than I've ever smiled before. “I think it has a lovely ring to it. And just think, you would be the only man in all the realm to have that name.”

“Forever after,” he said.

“Forever after,” I agreed.

And life was good. Very, very good.