Twice Upon a Time (37 page)

Queen Sofia walked through the portrait gallery in the palace in Sardinia.

The painting by Cinda had been hung there, and she looked at it every day when she walked past on her way to breakfast. She always found some new detail to be impressed by.

It really is an extraordinary work
, she mused, stepping back to take it in.

It’s supposed to be a portrait of Ludo, but really it’s Gus that
Cinda has captured
, the queen thought. The tilt of his head, the way he had that slightly distant look to his face that people thought was arrogance but was really just him thinking. And as she stepped closer again, she saw the tiny freckle on his cheek.

They must have thought she was going senile. She laughed as she left the gallery and stepped into the breakfast room. Of course she knew what they’d done, but what could she do? Confront them and have them hate her forever? She wasn’t a monster, and this solution seemed to cover all bases.

It really is a perfect solution
, she mused as she ate her grapefruit. It even allowed her to make up for some of the mistakes she’d made with Ludo in the past.

He had always been too carefree, too brave and too passionate. Reliable Gus with the serious face and careful demeanour was supposed to be the better choice for king but now she saw he was a dreamer, that he was only ever acting the role, never embracing it fully.

But Ludo was born to be king. He loved the country with his whole heart. Yes, he was impulsive, but Valentina would calm him down and he would listen to her, because he loved her – Sofia could tell by the way he looked at Valentina. It was the way her husband used to look at her when he was alive.

She heard Alma knock at the door.

‘Yes?’ she asked, brushing away her sadness at the thought of her husband and replacing it with her usual mask.

‘Ludo and Lucinda are just back from New Zealand,’ she said. ‘And Ludo emailed me to say they have brought her mother and stepfather with them.’

The queen stood up, surprised but resolute. Family was family. She nodded at Alma. ‘Then they must stay here,’ she said regally.

It will be nice to have company again
, she thought and she started mentally preparing a schedule for her guests.

The queen hummed as she walked past the painting again and she chuckled a little to herself when she thought of what they did.

She would never tell them, but she was proud of them for writing their own fairytale.

Twice Upon a Time
published in 2014 by
Hardie Grant Egmont
Ground Floor, Building 1, 658 Church Street
Richmond, Victoria 3121, Australia
www.hardiegrantegmont.com.au

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A CiP record for this title is available from the National Library of Australia.

Text copyright © 2014 Kate Forster
Illustration and design copyright © 2014 Hardie Grant Egmont

eISBN: 9781743581308

Cover design by Stephanie Mystek
Typesetting and text design by Ektavo

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