Luck of the Draw (Xanth) (38 page)

She hesitated. “I did not mean to tease you. You have done me another huge favor. If you wish to—to proceed now, I will cooperate. We both know it’s merely an act, not a commitment. I will pretend you are Piper.”

“No, I don’t want that!”

“You’re lying,” she said fondly. “Thank you.” She got out of his bed and went to her own in the darkness.

He had indeed been lying. She had made him desire her fiercely. But he really appreciated her withdrawal. How would he have lived with himself if he had yielded to the moment and done it with a twenty-four-year-old girl who loved another man?

“I hope this helps you appreciate that there may be mysteries yet,” she said from her bed. “The Demons have crafted a truly devious course for us all.”

“There may indeed be further mysteries,” he agreed. But what surprises could possibly remain? Why did he fear that there was something he should have figured out, and hadn’t? Something vital.

They settled down to sleep. In one more day it would be over, one way or another.

*   *   *

“I wish all of you well,” Mindy said as she served them breakfast. “It has been great knowing you.”

“You also,” Piper said. “You made the details easy.”

“Thank you.”

There was a similar crowd in the stadium. Bryce was surprised that Princess Harmony was not there. Maybe she would make an appearance when the moment was right.

They took the seats that Mindy indicated in the front row before the platform. Bryce knew that he should not be nervous, but he was. He suspected the same was true for the other Suitors. Mindy hovered near, perhaps relieved that her service here was almost done. Maybe she missed Caprice Castle.

King Ivy took the stage, along with two of the triplet princesses. They looked painfully like Harmony, but Bryce was not in love with them. “The Princess Harmony will appear soon,” she said. “You will make your presentations to me.”

The king paused, gazing at the six Suitors. “Arsenal,” she said. “Stand and speak your piece.”

Arsenal stood. “My gift for the Princess Harmony is the Sword,” he said, drawing it and holding it aloft. “With this she can defend herself against any man or creature. It is feather light to the wielder, but full force to the target.” He demonstrated by balancing it on his little finger without effort, then grasping the hilt and cleaving a stone in twain.

“Thank you,” Ivy said. “I’m sure the princess is impressed. Be seated.” She paused. “Demon Pose.”

Pose stood. “My gift is the Ring of Power. With this on her hand, the princess could move a mountain if she chose.” He smiled briefly. “No mountain here, but maybe this boulder will do.” He walked to it, put his arms around it, and lifted it high. “Virtually unlimited force. She will be able to accomplish great constructions.”

“That might someday be convenient,” King Ivy agreed. “Be seated.” She focused on the next. “Lucky.”

Lucky stood. “I have a marvelous magic Dress that will make the princess even prettier than she already is.” He held it up.

“Harmony would look pretty in anything,” Ivy said. “Let’s see it demonstrated.” She looked around. “Mindy, try it on.”

Mindy came forward and took the Dress. “Please don’t make me change in public.”

“Melody, Rhythm,” Ivy said. “Provide her an illusion screen.”

The two princesses hummed and beat a little drum. An opaque circular curtain appeared around Mindy.

In a moment and a half Mindy called, “Okay.”

The curtain vanished. There stood Mindy in the Dress. She looked astonishingly lovely, even though Bryce had seen her in it before. Maybe she was further enhanced by the weight she had lost during the Quest.

“You’re adorable, dear,” Ivy said. “It is effective magic. Now give it back.”

Mindy frowned as if reluctant. The curtain surrounded her again, and in two more moments she was back in her own dress, looking relatively plain. The demonstration was done.

“Anna Molly.”

Anna stood. “I proffer the Queen Bee, courtesy of my brother. She is telepathic, and so responds to thoughts. Her hive can provide protection, reconnaissance, some transport, and food.”

A small swarm of bees appeared, carrying a dripping honeycomb. The king took it and tasted it. “Delicious.” The bees buzzed away, leaving the comb.

“And you can comb your hair with it, when you have eaten the honey,” Anna said with three-fifths of a smile. The king echoed the smile with another two-fifths, completing it. Then everyone smiled.

“Piper,” Ivy said.

Piper stood. “I present the hypnotic Gem that can pacify any monster. The princess will be safe from any monster, including me.”

There was general laughter. Most of the audience thought he was joking.

“That is good to know,” Ivy said. “Bryce Mundane.”

Bryce stood. “I regret that I did not succeed in capturing the magic Monocle that enables a person to fathom the mind-set of anyone it focuses on.”

“You failed?” the king asked sharply. “Do you care to explain?”

“No.”

There was a murmur of chagrin. It seemed he had committed a breach of manners.

“Please,” Mindy said. “May I speak?”

Ivy considered briefly, then decided to be tolerant. “You may, briefly.”

“Bryce lost the Monocle because I was being attacked by dragons. He saved me instead. He is trying to spare me a deserved rebuke for interfering with his Quest.”

The king eyed Bryce. “What is this servant girl to you, that you sacrificed your mission for her?”

“No Object, however magical, is worth the loss of a human life. I would have done the same for any other person.”

The king nodded. “You showed more honor in your failure than others might have in their successes. Make your presentation.”

This was the chance Bryce had hoped for. “The Monocle would surely be a useful tool, especially when dealing with possibly hostile or deceptive leading figures. But the princess doesn’t need it. What she will be better served by is to develop her own observational and intellectual skills. The judgment to assess any situation, and decide objectively what course to follow. That will enable her to be the best king she can be, when the time comes.”

Ivy nodded. “Judgment. I agree. This is worthy advice. Be seated.”

Bryce sat. Was he really being allowed to present advice rather than a magic gift?

“Now it is time for the Princess Harmony to choose, completing this occasion,” the king said. “Harmony?”

Mindy came forward. As she walked, she shifted, until she halted before the king. “Here, Mother,” she said, and turned to face the audience.

It was Harmony.

The jaws of the Suitors dropped, including Bryce’s. The princess had been with them all along! What had they said about her, what embarrassing secrets had they revealed, thinking themselves secure from her presence?

Harmony smiled. “I apologize for deceiving you. It was my purpose to get to know all of you Suitors in an informal setting, so as to have a better basis for my decision. I could have watched you via the Tapestry, but that seemed too distant. I have been advised that the small details of routine interpersonal interaction can in time become more important than the more obvious things. So I chose a more personal way.”

It was slowly sinking in. It was Princess Harmony whom Bryce had saved from the dragons! How could he not have recognized her? Now he remembered little hints, such as the way bad words were bleeped out, indicating the presence of a person under age eighteen. The Night Stallion speaking of the deviousness of the smartest princess. Trojan had known. And Gwenny Goblin, Queen of Goblin Mountain: she knew Harmony too, and had kept her secret.

Harmony seemed to read his thought. “There was a spell to prevent any of you from fathoming my identity. Otherwise you surely would have caught on. There was also magic protecting me from actual harm. Those dragons would not really have torn me apart.”

He had thrown away his chance to get the Monocle for nothing? Bryce could not accept that.

“I thank all of you for your gifts,” Princess Harmony continued. “They will be added to the Castle Roogna armory for me to use when the occasion warrants. All of you are worthy Suitors, and I might have married any of you, but I have settled on one. The others will be released from the love spell and allowed to get on with their own lives hereafter.”

She paused, gathering her thoughts. Then she addressed Lucky. “Lucky, I gave you a charm to help focus your luck, and you used it well when we needed to escape the goblin women. Your gift of the magic Dress is worthy. But I think I do not want to depend overly much on luck or aesthetic appeal to govern properly. I thank you for your participation, and am releasing you.”

Lucky’s jaw dropped a second time. “I don’t love you!”

“You are no longer spelled,” she agreed.

Lucky relaxed, seeming pleased to be released.

Harmony turned to Pose. “I appreciate the Ring of Power, but I hope to govern more by reconciliation than brute force. I would also have to be wary of your private objective.”

“Yes,” Pose agreed. “You would become subject to my will.”

“I doubt it,” Harmony said. “You would obey my will.”

“I would?”

She leaned down and kissed him. A little anvil appeared over his head, with a sledgehammer smashing down on it. The anvil fragmented.

“I would,” Pose said, amazed, and sank into unconsciousness. He was a demon, but it seemed was vulnerable to a mortal kiss. Some things transcended demon nature.

“She’s no patsy,” Anna murmured to Bryce.

Bryce nodded. Indeed she was not. He had wondered whether there would be more surprises; now they were coming rapidly.

Harmony turned to Arsenal. “Perhaps someday I will use the Sword,” she said. “It is certainly a worthy gift. But you are too gruff and imperious for my taste; our union would soon fray. I am releasing you.”

Arsenal nodded, accepting the verdict.

The princess turned to Piper. “I was delighted by the way you used my gift to you, enchanting us all with your music. I have also learned to appreciate your monster qualities. You are a worthy person, and I might live with you and come to love you in time. But I have a confession.”

Piper wasn’t the only one to look at her with surprise.

“Those gifts—all of them—had an ulterior purpose,” Harmony continued. “They enabled me to observe each of you at any time. But as it turned out, I was able to learn much directly, by sharing your company as the group of you sought the Objects. I saw that you had come to love another woman despite the spell on you. I saw how gladly you rejoined her after she completed her Quest. I would not care to break that up. You are released.”

“Thank you, Princess,” Piper said, seeming truly grateful.

Now Harmony turned to Anna. “You too are worthy, having performed remarkably despite being under unkind duress. I think I can’t say the same for your brother, who it seems lacked the interest to show up for this occasion.” She looked hard at Anna. “Do you care to explain that, Anna? Because I am not going to marry you, regardless of your merit.”

There was stifled laughter in the audience.

Anna, flushing, took a deep breath. “I cannot.”

“Remember what I said about the tokens I gave each of you. I overheard your reverse dialogue with Bryce, and understood it. Were I to choose you, it will be revealed. I hope you will forgive me for keeping that secret. I hope to keep you as a friend, rather than marrying your brother. You are released.”

So Harmony knew Anna’s secret, and was keeping it.

“Thank you,” Anna breathed, tears flowing down her face. “You are generous.” She surely would be Harmony’s friend, and not just because of that secret. The two had gotten along well during the Quest.

“No I am not,” Harmony said. “Because my decision was preempted some time ago. You see, I fell in love myself.”

She turned to Bryce. “Anna was right: I love you, Bryce, and I find your advice on judgment to be as worthy as any magical gift you could have brought me. You made by far the most effective use of the gift I gave you, of all the Suitors. And you did save my life, as far as you knew.”

Bryce spread his hands, uncertain what to say.

“Bryce, I respect you and I love you. Now I can say it as myself.” As she said those words, she seemed phenomenally sincere and beautiful. “Will you marry me?”

Just like that!

What could he do but answer? “No.”

There was a concerted gasp. The entire stadium seemed to freeze in place. This time he had really done it.

Harmony did not seem completely surprised. “Why not?”

“You are too young for me. I am quintuple your age.”

“So you are,” she agreed. “But you have been permanently youthened to five years over my age. You have the chance to start over, and do it right.”

“I do,” he agreed guardedly.

“Do you love me?”

“Yes.” Because of the spell he was under.

“Then I ask you again: will you marry me?”

He hated this. But he had to do what he had to do, though his heart break. “No.”

Harmony scanned the audience. “Magician Humfrey.”

The Good Magician stood. “Yes, Princess.”

“I have chosen, but he has denied me. Does this acquit the Demon’s Quest?”

“I believe it does,” Humfrey said, surprised. “The point was for you to choose. Technically he does not have to accept.”

“Thank you.”

Harmony glanced at King Ivy. “Mother?”

King Ivy returned to center stage. “You little minx!” she said fondly. “You knew he would turn you down despite the love enchantment!”

And there it was. Princess Harmony had known exactly what she was doing.

“Now I am free, am I not?” Harmony said. “To make my own choice, in my own time, free of Demon direction.”

“I believe you are,” Ivy agreed, smiling with a new respect for her smart but willful daughter.

Her two sisters applauded as Harmony went to join them. The three stood together, like the very similar triplets they were.

“But what do the Demons think?” Ivy asked, somewhat nervously.

A dragon with the head of a donkey appeared on the stage: a dragon ass. Beside him was a beautiful woman.