The Rules of Ever After (15 page)

“Well,” Daniel broke the silence, “let’s go find the others and get on our way. Not going to solve these problems sitting here giggling.”

Phillip rushed past Daniel into the hallway, not noticing the other prince lean his head against the doorframe. “Yes,” Phillip mumbled, “I should go find Gwen.” He raced down the hall­way, unsure if the loud thuds in his ears were his footsteps on the cobble­stones or the heart pounding in his chest.

“N
inety
-one,” Daniel counted, as his horse stepped
off the wide wooden bridge onto the rocky soil on the other side of the wide, rushing river.
When did I start counting again? I don’t remember counting anything since I first met Phillip in that ridiculous bed.
Of course, it was the cobblestones.
The previous day in the abandoned throne room of Gwen’s castle, he had been overtaken by a sudden desire to kiss Phillip. Hoping to suppress the feeling, he had walked away from Phillip to lean his head against a doorframe. He heaved a deep sigh.
No. Two princes can’t marry. Two princes. Two. Two,
Three, Four…
Suddenly he was counting the cobblestones and trying to steady his breathing. Now he had just counted each step his horse had taken on the bridge across the river.

“Ninety-one whats?” Gwen asked as her horse stepped off the bridge beside him. Her question pulled Daniel out of his thoughts.

“Did I say that out loud?” Daniel asked, with a bit of red coming into his cheeks.

“Yes. Ninety-one whats?”

“Steps. Across the bridge. I count steps. Long story.” Daniel turned to watch the rest of the traveling party cross the bridge. “Are we in Upper Lipponia now?”

“Yes,” Gwendolyn said. “That was the Rupert River we just crossed and it is the border between Dealonia and Upper Lipponia. Look how rocky it is here. Upper Lipponia is nothing but rocks and dirt. Daddy always said the people here are as harsh as their landscape and have as many rocks in their head as they do on the ground. Lower Lipponia is the prettier half with happier people. It has grassy hills and sheep, and the people live an easy life. Also, those are the Pearl Mountains in the distance. They separate the two halves of Lipponia.”

“Why would they call them that?” Phillip asked as he led his horse to the river to drink. “Pearls aren’t in mountains. They’re in the sea.”

“Well, it’s getting too dark to see them right now, but when the sun hits them they are the milky color of a pearl. They are really quite beautiful. The locals call them The Teeth.”

“I get it,” Peter said. “Teeth are like pearls?”

“Well, I guess, but it has more to do with the fact that they run right down the middle of Lipponia.”

“I don’t get it,” James said, as he scratched his blond head.

“The locals call the two kingdoms Upper and Lower Lip. So, The Teeth are between them. There is a passage through the mountains that they call The Tongue.”

“That’s actually clever,” Peter said and laughed. “How do you know all this?”

“I’m a princess of Dealonia,” Gwen said with a shrug. “Well, I was. I had to learn all about my neighbors in case I beat Robert to the throne. Plus, I studied all kinds of history and geography when I thought that might be what Phillip’s princess-test would be.”

“Look, Gwen, I’ve already apologized for that. It was Cauche­mar’s decision, not mine, to do that pea test. Can we stop for a bit? My backside is killing me from all this riding, and I think the horses could use a break.”

“I could use a leg stretch too,” Daniel said and swung off his horse. “James, can you make a fire? It’s going to be dark soon, so we might as well make camp for the night.”

“Sure. Gwen, you want to help me find some firewood?”

“How exciting! Can we tell stories? My maids always said the best part of sitting around the fire was telling stories.”

As James and Gwendolyn set off into the surrounding scrub looking for firewood, Daniel could hear James saying, “No need to fear mountain lions, my dear. I will protect you.”

“If she meets a mountain lion,” Peter said, unpacking blankets from his saddlebags, “I feel sorry for the creature. She’ll talk his ears off.”

After the fire had been built and a meal cooked, the group sat in a circle and listened to Gwen’s performance of “The Tragic Tale of the Lips.” Daniel glanced out of the corner of his eye to admire Philip’s body as he stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Stretching tightened the doublet against his firm chest and pulled the sleeves snug on his toned arms. As Daniel watched the heat of the fire and the weight of the day’s travels push down Phillip’s eyelids, he saw Phillip shift to lie on his side and rest his head on Daniel’s thigh. “Is it okay if I do this?”

“You’re not mad at me anymore?” Daniel teased.

“Uh-uh,” Phillip muttered. “You mad at me?”

“No, Prince Sleepy,” Daniel said as he reached down and brushed a stray lock of hair from Phillip’s brow. “It’s fine. I won’t be sleeping, remember? I’ll keep watch.”

Phillip smiled at the prince and shifted his attention back to Gwen across the fire. Daniel sighed as he looked at Phillip’s features in the flickering firelight. The boy’s blue eyes sparkled with laughter as he watched Gwen’s performance. Daniel looked at Gwen and played with a lock of Phillip’s hair. He laughed as Gwen strutted back and forth with her chest puffed out.

“And King Rupert the Fourth was very proud that his wife would be giving him not one child, but two. The queen complained daily that it felt as if the two babies were waging war on one another in her belly.” Gwen grabbed at her abdomen and howled as if in pain, making the boys laugh. “When the day of the blessed event occurred, Rupert called the very old woman who had been his own nanny to help with the delivery of the children.” Gwen changed her posture into the stooped frame of an old woman and hobbled back and forth.

“But the old woman had grown nearly blind. The birthday fairies felt particularly devious that year, for they had the boys come out one right after the other.” The girl squatted, put her hands on her knees and began panting and screaming in a pantomime of childbirth. As the boys clapped and hooted, she shifted back into the posture of the old woman. “Nanny grabbed each boy as he was born and set him on a table behind her before turning back to check on the good queen. When she turned back around, the two babies were wrestling each other all over the table top. The old woman could not tell which boy had been the one to come out first!”

“That can’t be true!” Daniel laughed as he rested his hand casually on Phillip’s upper arm.

“Even I couldn’t come up with a story this strange,” Peter said with a laugh. “What happened next?”

“So, no one knew for sure which boy was supposed to be next in line. Old Rupert thought he would just wait and see if he would receive a sign.”

“And?”

“Nope, no sign. The two boys continued to fight each other daily all through their childhood.” Gwendolyn bounced and punched the air in front of her face. “When Rupert the Fifth and Fred­erick the Third turned eighteen, they began to fight for the throne. Eventually, their father threw up his hands and divided the kingdom, east to west, right across the middle. So now we have Upper Lipponia and Lower Lipponia.”

“Upper Lip and Lower Lip!” James cried out as the group applauded. “I get it now!”

“Anyway,” Gwen said as she dropped onto her blanket between James and Peter, “Old Rupert was worried that the two boys would wage war with each other to gain control of both halves, so he declared that the first to have a male heir would reunite the kingdoms.”

“Let me guess…” Daniel said, as he rubbed his fingers up and down Phillip’s upper arm.

“Yes, both men had daughters. Marina and Bianca.”

“Okay, aren’t all these rules kind of stupid?” Peter said. “I guess in a story maybe, but in real life?”

“Well, Old Rupert finally said that the first girl to marry a prince and bring him back to the kingdoms would reunite them.”

“I’ve met them both,” Phillip said and shifted his head slightly on Daniel’s thigh, his hair tickling Daniel’s skin through his tights. “They both tried to marry me.”

“And we all know how that turned out,” Gwen said with a roll of her eyes. “Now stop interrupting me.”

“I think I heard something behind those rocks,” Peter said as he slowly lifted up on his elbows.

“Peter, hush. I know you want to be the storyteller, but let me finish.”

“Highnesses—”

“Since neither girl passed Phillip’s test, no one knows for sure who should rule the kingdoms?” James asked.

“Why not just let them both have their kingdoms?” Phillip mumbled as his eyes drooped. “Why do they have to marry some man to do that? Why do any of us have to get married?”

“Phillip, don’t you want to marry?” Gwen sighed as she lay down on her blanket. “Don’t you want someone to love you?”

Daniel felt the pleasant weight of Phillip’s head leave his thigh as the other prince sat up. “I think I heard something too, Peter.”

“Now you’re just changing the subject. Don’t—” Suddenly a pair of leather-gloved hands grabbed Gwen from behind and dragged her away from the fire. As Daniel jumped up, another pair of hands grabbed him from behind and wrestled him back to the ground. Daniel looked over to see Phillip being lifted by a burly man in a knight’s garments. A large ram’s head was emblazoned on the man’s chest. “Unhand us!” Daniel yelled, as he struggled against the heavy weight of the man pressing on his back. “Do you have any idea who we are? We are royalty!”

“Oh, pardon me,” the man on his back growled sarcastically. “Boys! Be sure you curtsy before you tie them up.” The man pulled Daniel’s arms behind his back. “King Rupert kindly requests your presence in his dungeons. I’ll let you respond in person.”

“Ooof,” Daniel grunted as he landed on the cold stone floor of the tower where the guard had tossed him. As the guards shoved his companions through the door, Daniel had to quickly roll to the side to keep from being crushed. “Careful!” he yelled at the men, as his friends landed in a jumbled pile beside him.

Phillip crossed the cell just as the guard slammed the iron-barred door shut in his face. He shoved his face between the bars and yelled into the hallway beyond, “Where is King Rupert? I demand to speak to King Rupert!”

“No need to shout, boy. It’s rude,” a tall man with thick gray hair said, as he stepped out of the darkness of the hallway. The man wore a long black tunic with a deep purple overcoat and a large silver crown that looked like a pair of ram’s horns curling down around his ears. “I’m right here.”

“Do you have any idea who I am?” Phillip demanded, as he shook the bars of the door. “You have no right to imprison me like this!”

“I know perfectly well who you are. You’re the boy who ruined my daughter’s reputation and all my plans. Your presence in my kingdom can only be seen as an invasion of my lands, since you are most assuredly here without an invitation. I’m within every right I have as king to imprison a man who is clearly here to take over my lands and commit unspeakable acts against my people.”

“Unspeakable acts? That’s ridiculous. I’m merely here to seek your aid and warn you of a great danger. There may be a woman hiding somewhere within your borders who has made it clear her goals are to conquer every kingdom in Clarameer and rule the realm as her own. My stepmother, Cauchemar, has disappeared, and I can only assume she is hiding and plotting against us all. She had plans to murder my father and me both in cold blood.”

King Rupert shook his head and made a tut-tutting sound with his tongue. “Pity.”

“Yes. It’s true,” Daniel added, as he stepped behind Phillip at the door. “I’m Prince Daniel of Sylvania and I can vouch for the truth of Phillip’s words. I was there when Cauchemar made an attempt on Phillip’s life.”

“I’m aware of who you are and that little girl with you too. I see the
Inquisitor
and I know what you’ve been up to, larking about the kingdoms while Marina and I suffer here. I’m afraid you misunderstood me,” King Rupert said with a snide grin. “I meant it is a pity she failed. She could have saved me the bother of having to kill you myself.”

“Kill me?” Phillip yelled. He took a step back and bumped into Daniel’s chest. “Because I didn’t marry your daughter? This is crazy!”

“It’s not just that you didn’t marry Marina.” Rupert spat his words at the prince as he leaned his face between the bars. “You ruined all my plans. You see, my imbecile brother refuses to cede his half of the kingdom to me, even though I know I am firstborn and the rightful ruler of these kingdoms. His stubborn insistence on remaining on the throne has made it necessary for me to come up with some, shall we say,
alternative
methods of removing him from that throne. I need an army to march down The Tongue and take what is rightfully mine.”

“Bellemer is a peaceful land. I have no army to give you.”

“True,” Rupert said, as he moved back from the cell door, “but you have riches. And riches can buy many a soldier’s allegiance. I had hoped Marina’s marriage to you would bring me the funds that Upper Lipponia lacks. However, you weren’t content just to not marry her. No! You had to convince all of the kingdoms that she is not a real princess. Now no king will marry her, and my opportunities for funds have died. I’m afraid you will have to die now, too.”

Daniel stepped beside Phillip and shoved his hands through the bars at the king. Pointing his finger at the king’s face he yelled, “Killing us will seal your fate. You will have the wrath of Bellemer, Dealonia and Sylvania raining down on your house!”