Born to Rule (5 page)

“Why would anyone steal an unfinished tapestry?” Princess Kristen asked.

Yes, thought Alicia. Why would anyone steal an unfinished tapestry, unless they did not want the rest of the story to be finished and therefore known? This was a true mystery. Alicia’s mind wandered as she continued stitching.

When the needlepoint hour had ended, the princesses of the South Turret found themselves together in one of the many winding corridors of the castle. Princess Myrella tagged along with the group shyly. Except for Alicia, everyone was jabbering about how they thought camp was supposed to be fun but so far the most fun part had been the spectacular desserts of the night before.

“What happened to archery?” asked Kristen.

“Any pony riding?” asked Gundersnap.

“And swimming!” Myrella said. “They might think I am just a fraction of a princess in size, but I bet that I can beat any princess in this camp in a swimming race.”

“You can?” Kristen asked.

“I think so.”

“Great. Let’s make a bet.” They paused on the steps to seal their bet with the traditional Royal Princess Oath for competitions. Touching their everyday tiaras, they both recited the words.

“Cross my crown and hope to die

If in this contest I deny

My rightful place as first in sport,

And may the loser grow a wart!”

It was a nonsensical little ditty. No one had ever died by losing this kind of competition, nor had anyone grown a wart. But it was still fun and considered good sportsmanship to say the pledge.

“You know,” said Alicia thoughtfully, “this needlepoint thing is not as boring as you all seem to think.”

“Why not?” asked Kristen.

“Because it’s a mystery.” The other three princesses’ eyes brightened as Alicia went on. “We could solve it. A tapestry cannot simply disappear into thin air. This is a big castle. It must be here somewhere.”

“But vhere should vee begin looking?” Princess Gundersnap said.

“And how?” asked Princess Myrella.

“And we must keep it a secret,” said Kristen. “We don’t want everyone looking for it.”

“Yes,” said Alicia. Then she turned to Princess Myrella. “Princess Myrella, you must not breathe a word of this to your turretmates.”

“Oh, don’t worry. They hardly speak to me,” the small princess said sadly.

“They don’t? Vhy not?” Gundersnap asked.

“I don’t know. I’m small, easily overlooked. And they are very snooty, for the most part. They think I come from a swamp. That’s what they call the Marsh Kingdoms. Princess Zelenka asked to see my feet. She said she had heard a rumor that they were webbed. And Princess Millicent is just so boastful because her father invaded the Fresnian Islands.”

“Acht!”
Princess Gundersnap made a scalding sound in the back of her throat. “Those islands are notting. Empress Mummy wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot cannon. No natural resources, bugs all over the place, half an island gets washed away every year. Notting to brag about, believe me.”

“Who’s your fourth turretmate?”

Myrella made a terrible face. “She is the worst of all. Princess Morwenna. All she does is pray. She does not permit laughter in her presence. And her favorite saint is Saint Rumwald.”

“Rumwald!” exclaimed Alicia. “The baby saint?”

Myrella nodded.

“That is the saddest saint in Christendom,” Kristen said. “He died when he was just three days old.”

“So you can see,” Myrella continued, “I wouldn’t exactly be telling these turretmates much. And then they are all Crimsons, and I am a Purple.”

“How did that happen?” Alicia asked. “I thought turretmates were all members of the same team.”

“Maybe if you’re one-third a princess, they think you’re not quite Purple or Crimson, just some color in between,” Myrella said sadly.

“Maybe you could change turrets,” Kristen said.

“It’s against the rules,” Gundersnap said. “Rule three, section two, article one says, ‘No princess is permitted to request a turret change during a session. A request may be made for the next session, but it is rarely granted.’”

“You’ve read all the rules?” Alicia asked.

“And memorized them. Empress Mummy will be quizzing me on them in her letters.”

“Rules are made to be broken!” Kristen said. “Look, Myrella. You’re little—a one-third princess—but look at the upside. That’s a special circumstance. It means you should be able to fit in anywhere.”

“Well, I guess it’s worth a try,” said Myrella. “It’s very nice of you. I’d much rather have you as turretmates than them.”

“I’ll get right on it,” said Gundersnap. “Draft a proposal.”

The other three princesses blinked at one another. Princess Gundersnap was all business. There was no denying that.

“And I,” Alicia said, “shall put on my thinking tiara to figure out where this tapestry might be.”

“You have a thinking tiara?” Myrella asked.

“Yes, pure silver, but quite plain with no diamonds. Lightweight, fits any hairstyle, simple but elegant, no distractions. I can concentrate quite well in it. It’s been in the family for years.”

“Not from Batwhistle, the pawnbrokers?” asked Myrella.

“No. All our tiaras are heirlooms. It’s really the best way, Mum says.”

“Very practical,” said Gundersnap. “I would no more wear another family’s tiara than swap underclothes with them.”

“Eeeew!” All four princesses wrinkled up their noses in disgust, and then they all burst out laughing.

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Chapter 6

PRAYERS AND WHISPERS

When the three princesses returned to the South Turret that night, Gilly Zand the other maids were waiting for them with their freshly pressed nightclothes. They also handed each girl a scroll with the activities list for the next day.

Alicia unrolled hers and glanced at it with a frown. “A swim test?” she said. “What’s that?”

“Swim test, weather permitting,” Gilly corrected. She looked out the window at the swirling snow.

“But I don’t know how to swim,” Alicia said.

“
Nocht,
me neither. Can’t swim,” Princess Gundersnap added.

“Don’t know how to swim?” Princess Kristen looked up from her activity scroll. “Amazing! I could swim before I could walk. All children in the Realm of Rolm know how to swim.”

“Then you shall probably be put in the advanced group that goes to the lake outside the castle walls and not the moat,” Gilly told her.

“Moat?” Princess Alicia said in alarm. “Is it clean? Sanitary? I don’t want to come down with anything.”

“What about crocodiles? We have crocodiles in our moat at home,” Princess Gundersnap said.

“Oh, how horrible,” Alicia said. Another one of the empress’s ideas, no doubt! she added silently.

“Don’t worry, milady,” reassured Gilly gently. “We have no crocodiles, and we have the cleanest waters in all the kingdom.”

“Makeup!” Kristen suddenly roared, looking at the list. “What’s this about makeup? I don’t wear makeup! What would I need with rouge?” Indeed, the Princess of the Isles of the Salt Tears seemed rather violently pink in the cheeks.

“If I may be permitted, Princess Kristen, I think you will find the Duchess of Bagglesnort very informative,” Gilly said. “She is considered a great beauty, and her knowledge of cosmetics is quite profound.”

“How profound can makeup be?” Kristen scowled.

Alicia and Gundersnap looked at each other and began to giggle.

Gilly herself suppressed a smile, but she knew she simply could not laugh in front of the princesses. It would be grounds for dismissal if she were discovered laughing at the expense of one of the counselors, especially the Duchess of Bagglesnort, who was a very mean-spirited lady. If Gilly were to laugh and it got back to the duchess, she would not be acting like a proper lady’s maid and would have to pack her belongings and hit the road.

“Well, it’s time for your nightly prayers and then to bed, miladies,” she said. “Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day at camp. You’ll need all your energy.”

“For makeup?” Kristen muttered under her breath.

“For swimming?” Alicia said anxiously.

“Well, possibly for chasing after songbirds in the Forest of Chimes—if it is an autumn day,” Gilly told them.

Each princess bade the others good night and then knelt in prayer by her bedside.

Kristen prayed for an iceboat, “especially, dear Lord, if winter stays.”

Alicia prayed that it would continue to be winter for just a little while, so she would not have to take her swim test. “Oh, dear Lord. I’m a little bit homesick. I miss Mum and Pop so much, and I really don’t want to swim in a moat. It sounds so…so…icky.”

And Gundersnap prayed for a dwarf and a pony. “Please, dear God, make Gortle’s headaches go away and his poor bent legs not pain him. And make Mummy not call on him to dance and tumble for the amusement of the court. Watch out for dear Gortle, God, and for my dear pony, Menschmik.” And then she had another thought. “Oh, and P.S., dear Lord, may I not drown in the moat.”

As the last candle was snuffed out, a lovely sound swelled through the castle. It was the Royal Camp Choir accompanied by their songbirds. As the third-year girls made their way through the long corridors and twisting passages of Camp Princess, they sang the sweet and slightly mournful song known as “The Princess Taps.”

“Day is done, gone the sun

From the hills, from the lake,

From the sky

And towers high.

The stars in heaven’s gown

Bright as jewels in thy crown.

But rest ye now, Princesses royal.

Dream of thrones

But keep ye loyal

To your people

And your kingdoms
,

Safe they keep

While you sleep
.”

Alicia couldn’t fall asleep, so she decided to read another letter or two from
Love Letters of a Forgotten Princess
. Yes, these were the letters of an aching heart, she thought as she lit her special reading candle. Would anybody ever ache for her as the princess ached for her true love? Or would she ever feel such a yearning for a true love?

Her own parents had a very happy marriage, but it wasn’t this romantic, Alicia thought wistfully. She didn’t wish her mum and pop pain, but just a little achy romance would be awfully interesting. Not heartbreak-achy, not like the poor needlepoint counselor who died of a broken heart before the tapestry was finished. That would be like so, well, over the top.

She remembered that she wanted to put on her thinking tiara and figure out what was with this tapestry. She scrambled out of bed and got the tiara from its velvet box. Then she climbed back under the covers and, with her thinking tiara firmly in place, Alicia thought about where the ancient tapestry might be hidden. She wracked her brain, but nothing came. Instead, the open page of her book caught her eye. It was one of her favorite letters.