The Very Large Princess (4 page)

“‘
Twas full of ginger,”
jested Prince Jack, the King’s youngest brother. “A hot sauce for a
cold maiden.”

A servant brought a cloth, and Theresa
dabbed at her gown for a moment, then left the table. The company
thought she meant to change her soiled gown, but she turned her
steps not to the bedchamber that she shared with her cousin, Bess,
but to a much larger chamber in the East wing of the
palace.

The armory was quiet and
seldom-frequented. Indeed, many courtiers did not even know of it.
Although the kingdom had been peaceful for many years, its borders
were vigilantly guarded, and a group of blacksmiths had been
charged with maintaining the arsenal of weapons that now surrounded
Theresa. She could have described in detail the function of each
tool or piece of armor in the chamber, for she and Mark had made a
study of such matters, but she did not consider these objects now,
and only wondered how much time would pass ere she was discovered
and interrupted by some member of her family.

“I too shall go to Sautegna,” she
thought. “As soon as ever I may. I shall study mathematics, mayhap,
and optics (‘tis a new science), and philosophy of course. I shall
journey next summer, if Father grants me leave.”

She brushed past a longsword that hung
precariously from a nail, and sat down on a wooden stool, next to a
suit of armor. Beside the stool was a large bronze casket, ornately
carved and painted. She lifted its lid and retrieved a tome
entitled “On Parity and Prosperity.” Sighing contentedly, she began
to read.

~~~~

Nine months passed. Summer gave way to
autumn, autumn to winter, and winter to spring. On the first warm
day of May, a flock of wrynecks, winging from tropical climes,
dropped down upon the royal orchard and dislodged the native
wildfowl from their holes. ‘Twas an affront that was repeated every
year, but only the gardener knew of it.

Theresa was in the armory, attempting
to write a letter to Mark. She had placed a writing slope atop the
casket, and positioned her wooden stool to face it. The parchment
lay ready before her, and the quill was full of ink, but she
hesitated, not knowing what to set down.

Mark’s last letter, received some
three months past, had been addressed to his father and mother, and
had seemed unlike him. He had spoken not of his studies, but of
friends and companions, new fashions in dress, the paltry meals
that were served at his lodgings, the better fare to be had at a
nearby tavern, and, disturbingly, of a sword fight between some
boisterous students and the town rabble. He had closed with a plea
that a purse of gold be sent to him as soon as may be, for, he
said, his expenses were heavier than had been
anticipated.

“Good Cousin, I pray this finds thee
well,” Theresa wrote, and then bethought her of a project that was
currently engaging much of her time. She was working with one of
the Court blacksmiths to transmute various metals into lodestars.
Though as yet they had succeeded only with iron, an account of
their trials might be of interest to Mark.

She bent her quill to paper and began
describing this work. Ere she had written more than two lines, a
serving lad entered the armory, and bade her come forthwith to the
Great Hall. The lad was in a state of excitement, but Theresa paid
him little heed, and after vowing that she would come presently,
turned again to her missive.

Ten minutes passed, and then a sudden
cough broke the silence of the large chamber. The Princess raised
her head and saw two noblemen standing by the open door. Both were
tall and elegantly attired. The dark one wore a velvet cloak of
deep purple and a black velvet chapeau with an ostrich plume. The
fair one was clad all in forest-green, from his satin mantle to his
tapered breeches. Foreigners both, by the look of them, and yet
there was ought about the man in green that seemed
familiar….

The complete version of “The
Princess in the Armory” is available at all major online book
retailers.