Snow White (16 page)
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE Nolan turned to his mother, Queen Bethany of Hollene Court, and announced, “I have decided to do it!” He threw the missive from his intended, Princess Blythe McKenna, upon the small end table near the settee in the formal drawing room where his mother preferred to take her tea.
“You decided to do what, dear?” his mother asked as she sipped at her cup.
“I have decided to visit Blythe in disguise.” He sighed and sat down across from her in a green-and-white striped overstuffed chair. “I must meet her in person. I cannot ascertain from her letters what she is truly like. It is a great muddle, and it is time I decided once and for all if I will indeed offer my hand or not.”
“But you are already promised to each other!” She set her cup upon the saucer and placed them both on the end table. “What is this nonsense?”
“Mother, it is not nonsense. Betrothing me as an infant is not something I can accept, especially when I am quite unsure whether my bride-to-be is a spoiled child or a blessed saint.”
She gasped. “Nolan! Watch your tongue.” She never did enjoy his mention of saints as general cant.
Nolan sighed. “Forgive me. But there is something so self-possessed about her letters that quite causes me to scowl. I have got to sort this out for myself before any royal announcements are made. It is time I approached this differently, visited her as an uninvited guest, and saw how she would treat me.”
“My goodness!” The queen’s hand flew to her prominent bosom, the plum ruffles of her gown doing much to make her appear rounder and plumper than she actually was. “What do you plan to do, Nolan? Disguise yourself as a pauper or some such?” She looked truly scandalized.
He chuckled to himself. Perhaps it was the mischief-maker in him, or perhaps he enjoyed unsettling her feathers, but whatever the reason, he took pleasure in watching his mother’s reactions. At times they were simply invaluable. “No, not a pauper. I have decided to take it a step further than that.”
“How shall you disguise yourself, then?”
“Perhaps … as an animal?”
“I beg your pardon?” Her arms swung out, one violently upsetting the tea things upon the end table so they came crashing down upon the floor and shattering. One fragment skittered across the marble flooring to nudge his shiny boot. Normally his mother would be aghast at the mess and insist it be cleaned immediately. However, this time it was as if she did not know it had happened. “Why in all the great heavens would you decide to take on the form of some animal? You, Prince Nolan! One of the handsomest men who has ever walked the halls of this great court—you now wish to present yourself to your betrothed as an … an …” Her voice trickled off as she began to sway.
“Mother, do not swoon. It does not become you,” he said languidly as he slowly leaned forward, ready to assist if need be.
Bethany sat up. “I do not swoon! I have never swooned.”
“Just so.”
“But why must you appear as an animal? What will they think of us? Nolan, this cannot be right. You must consider a less ludicrous scheme.”
He laughed. “No. It is perfect—how else will I be able to learn what this girl is really like? If I come to her dashing and princely, she will no doubt be quite smitten, as they all are. But if I come to her as, say, a dog or something, she is bound to show her true character.”
“A dog! My son, a
dog
. I cannot bear it. I cannot even think such a thing. It is not the right animal at all!”
“Perhaps you are correct.” He thought about it for a few moments. “A dog might be a little too easy. Far too many people love dogs.”
“Well, it is good to know you are finally speaking some sense!”
“No, I must plan on something much more hideous.”
“More hideous? Nolan!”
He folded his arms. “Yes, something all girls detest and run screaming from.”
“You would not dare! This is all some hoax, is it not? You are merely jesting your mother, like you and Sariah did when you were children, constantly pulling those maddening pranks upon me. Tell me this is one of your larks. Tell me.”
“I am afraid not, Mother.” He stood and walked toward her.
“Then why? I do not understand,” she said. “What are your plans? Will you simply put on a costume, or—”
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “No. I will not wear a costume. I plan to ask the village herb woman to put a charm over me.”
“Nolan!”
“Not for long, perhaps thirty days or so. But I need to know for myself if she is indeed the woman of my dreams, or if my instincts are correct and she will prove to be more of a handful than I am willing to take on.”
“But you cannot back out of your betrothal now!” the queen exclaimed.
“I cannot back out of anything that I was not asked to be a part of. The design was yours and Queen Mary Elizabeth’s, not mine.” When she gasped once more, he quickly added, “I promise not to break anything off hastily. I will wait the full thirty days before doing so.”
“Nolan, you are out of your wits!”
“No, Mother, I feel for the first time in my life that I am finally doing something especially intelligent. If Princess Blythe can prove me wrong and is indeed the woman I desire, she will want for nothing in all the land. I intend to treat my wife with the utmost of courtesy and devote all my life to creating a magical existence with her. However, she must pass this small test first, because as spoiled as she seems to be, it is better to know that I would indeed be marrying a princess and not a harpy!”
“Nolan, I will never ever understand you as long as I live.”
“Good.” He grinned. “Then my work here is done.”
His mother paused before saying, “Do you mean to tell me that you shall turn yourself into an animal for thirty days?”
“Yes, precisely.”
“And you will look just like this animal.”
“Yes.”
“And poor Blythe McKenna has thirty days to treat you kindly, and then once she does, you will turn back into a prince and offer your hand to her?”
“Hmm … I do see some flaws there.” He sat back down upon the striped chair. “Perhaps if she does something sooner that would prove her kind heart—perhaps I would have the charm bring me back to my princely form earlier.”
Bethany shook her head as if he were completely foolish. “What would you have her do?”
All at once Nolan smiled. “I have it! Princess Blythe must kiss me!”
“Kiss an animal?” She fluttered her hand. “You are mad!”
“Oh, I hope so. This will only be entertaining if I do have some touch of madness in me.” He winked.
“My word.” She sighed. “What animal have you decided to become?”
“The most revolting, un-kiss-worthy creature I can think of.”
“And that is?”
“A frog.” He chuckled at her appalled face. “Yes, I shall be a frog prince.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JENNI JAMES IS THE busy mom of seven rambunctious children ranging from the ages of 2 to 16. When she isn’t chasing them around her house in sunny New Mexico, she is dreaming of new books to write. She loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted at:
[email protected]
, or written to: Jenni James PO Box 514, Farmington, NM 87499. Jenni has several clean books for teens already published and many more to come, including:
Faerie Tale Collection:
Beauty and the Beast
Sleeping Beauty
Cinderella
Rumplestiltskin
Hansel and Gretel
The Frog Prince
Snow White
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Jane Austen Diaries:
Pride & Popularity
Persuaded
Northanger Alibi
Emmalee
Mansfield Ranch
Prince Tennyson
Snow White
Jenni James © copyright 2013
All rights reserved as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
StoneHouse Ink 2013
StoneHouse Ink
Boise ID 83713
First eBook Edition: 2013
First Paperback Edition: 2013
Cover design by Phatpuppy Art
This book was professionally edited by Tristi Pinkston
http://www.tristipinkstonediting.blogspot.com
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to a real person, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published in the United States of America
