THE SILVER BUTTERFLY

By Igi

Chapter One: My Birthday

"Esmerelda, dear, don't fret around so much! Keep your shoulders straight! And don't sulk like that, it really doesn't suit you, you know."

I groaned inwardly as Her Most Brilliant, Beautiful, but Simple-Minded Majesty pestered me for the hundredth time that day. Well if you had to put up with two hours of sitting in the same posture, you wouldn't be too happy, either.

I would have preferred to stand on my head, or cook dinner for the trolls, or even polish the countless trophies in Cinderella's trophy room. You know the thing: "Best Dancer", "Best Hairdo", "Most Punctual", "Best Footwear," and of course, "Unique Talent for Losing Glass Slippers." And yet I digress.

I was having my portrait painted, and the most dull and boring portrait you or I ever heard of, too. Not only was I wearing a dress, but a horrid, cramping, sweet, pretty, pink dress, to boot. I had only this to be thankful for: I didn't have to wear curly white wig, that would have been unbearable.

"Straighten up, child!"

I was a princess. My full name was Esmerelda Elfreda Eloise, Daughter of the Throne. I was sixteen years old, ready to marry, and in possession of such a stepmother that even Cinderella herself would be proud of.

"Smile a little, Esmerelda! You don't want the princes who look at your portrait to think you were a sour little lemon, now, do you!"

I felt like a sour little lemon.

"Dear, Esmerelda, my darling little dumpling! Do oblige me and smile, you wouldn't want me to get angry, would you?"

I grinned. Queen Micedonia never got angry, the worst she was capable of was a nervous fit. When I was little, this oft-repeated phrase used to scare me into obedience; now it was amusing me into it.

"There! See how nice you look. Master," she said, turning to the painter, "capture that smile – I will pay you well."

I felt like the Mona Lisa, and continued grinning. She did mean well, after all.

Master von Amsterdam now bowed. "The painting is finished, your majesty. Perhaps Her Highness Princess Esmerelda would care to take a look?"

I breathed a sigh of relief, and shot out of my seat before you could say "Robinson Crusoe".

The Master's smile faded off his face as I darted right past him without so much as looking at his painting. I was free at last, how could he expect me to want to see how he had made me look like one of my old porcelain dolls, "sitting pretty." No, I had other plans: find my brother, and go into the forest to meet up with the boys.

I jerked to a halt just outside the open gallery doors on seeing the three male figures who were stationed in front of one of the numerous portraits that lined the gallery. I recognised my brother, along with two officials.

"I told you, I don't want to get married!"

"Your Highness must consider – the condition of your father is serious. He may die at any moment. Then where would we be."

"My father is in no more danger of dying than I am. The whole kingdom knows he's an incorrigible hypochondriac."

This was true. He kept to his bed most of the time, showing himself rarely even at the dinner table.

"But Your Highness must consider –"

"My Highness right now has some urgent business to attend to. Gentlemen – good day."

My brother's firm step could soon be heard, pacing briskly towards me. He was a tall, handsome fellow with rich auburn hair with a slight tendency to wave, and as good a sense of humour as you'll find anywhere. He was eighteen.

"Well? Are you ready?" he asked me.

"I have to get changed first."

"Oh? The Daughter of the Throne doesn't want to make her dressie dirty, now, does she?" He mimicked.

I laughed. "You know it's not like that. If I showed up like this I'd get a thrashing."

"You just don't want the boys to see how pretty you really are."

"Redmond!"

He chuckled, slapping me on the back. "Meet you by the pond."

"The pond it is."

"I'll be waiting."

I left him standing in the hallway, and hurried off to my bedchamber. It was a large, luxurious room, hung with a luscious dark green drapery, very fronds of green-and-gold swathed in elegance. I liked my room; it was comfortable, and not too gaudy. I reached into my pinewood chest for my clothes.

After pulling them out, I slipped out of my dress and unlaced my corset with relief, then slid into my cosy tunic and trousers. I swept my brown cloak over my shoulders, and, fastening it with a pewter brooch, completed the look of a medieval peasant. True, we were in the 18th century, but these were the only peasant's clothes I could find in the attic the very first time I went into the forest with my brother. Besides, fashions do not change so much in the lower classes. At any rate, nobody had ever noticed.

I ran down a few staircases, and tripped into the garden with a feeling of joy and rejuvenation. It was time.

The said pond was at the far west of the gardens, and a considerable walk. And yet, by the time I got there, Redmond still wasn't there. He was late. Well, it had happened before. I amused myself by skipping stones across the surface of the pond. At least ten minutes passed, and he still hadn't come.

I was beginning to get anxious. You'd think I shouldn't be, I mean a prince can hardly get in any danger. But what if the prime minister had bounded him in ropes or something because he refused to choose a bride? I waited a few more minutes.

At the end of the last minute, there was a call from one of the west balconies of the palace. "Elf!"

Everybody who knew me called me Elf for short; everybody except the queen, of course. I searched with my eyes for the place the voice had come from. They settled on the figure of my brother. "I can't come today, Elf," he called.

"Why not?" I exclaimed.

"Stepmama is making me do my studies. You know I have an essay due tomorrow."

"Oh," I said, looking at the ground. "All right," I called, lifting my eyes and voice.

"You'd better go," continued my brother, "the gang will be waiting."

"I'll be right off. See you at the ball!" I waved as my brother disappeared indoors. I started running towards the woods. I scaled the garden wall as usual, and then continued my passage. In ten minutes I was in the forest. I paused to catch my breath and take it all in.

The beautiful fresh air, the thousands of giant pine trees, the birdsong – the freedom. These were the things I loved about the place. There were no restrictions, you could just run and run and run for the sheer joy of it. Everything was wild and unspoilt. I took a deep breath. I was where I belonged.

Just then came a bright "cooee?"

That was a signal.

"Cooee!" I called in reply. I began running in the direction of the sound.

The calls continued getting louder until I reached a large, moss-covered boulder, next to an even larger, even more mossy cave. This was our meeting place.

A head popped up from behind the boulder, and then another head, and another, and soon all five boys were assembled in front of me.

"You're late," said Jimmy, the eldest.

"I was waiting for Red a long time, and then he ended up not coming at all," I explained.

"Oh really?" Jimmy raised his eyebrows.

"Yes: really." I was getting a little annoyed. Not that I could expect him, or any of them, to know it was my birthday; it was just the way he treated my authority.

"Well, now that we're all here," began Jimmy.

"…All except Red," put in Tom, one of the younger boys.

"We may as well start!" Jimmy folded his arms, grinning. "Tom, pass the foils, will you…?"

Tom pulled the foils out of the secret hideaway and handed them over.

Jimmy distributed them among us, putting down the spare one that was my brother's.

"Ready…steady…take a deep breath…go!"

And the sound of chinking metal was launched into the air.

I was paired up with Jimmy. I did a double take on him, which got me into a good position. I was just about to get a hit when a carriage rolled by on the nearby road.

We all froze on the spot, staring as it stopped just there. The coachman jumped down and opened the door. He extended his hand, and helped a tall, red-haired young lady get out. I say red-haired, but it was obviously just a curly wig, which, however, was no surprise as wigs were the fashion then. She was wearing a cream-coloured lacy dress, and lashings of makeup.

As she surveyed us I felt she was taking everything in, from the shabbiness of our clothes to the good quality of our foils.

She gave a little giggly laugh. "What manners! Don't you recognise a person of high birth?" She shook her head disdainfully. "Bow to royalty, boors!"

Tom snickered. Jimmy gave him a withering look and then bowed. "Pardone moi, mademoiselle," he said in perfect French, "we were too – stunned – by your radiant and exquisite beauty."

That was a lie. She had no looks at all; even I had more.

"Aww," she said affectedly, "how sweet of you." She stretched out her gloved hand, and Jimmy went and kissed it dutifully.

We decided to put down our foils.

"I am…the Princess Allelle of Allellia," she said in a sing-song voice, "and come for the ball tonight. Pray – which way is the palace?" Rather strange question, that, considering there was only one, long road.

"Continue along this road, and you'll get to the palace gates."

"Oh, I was beginning to think we'd never get there! Is it far from here?

"Not two mile, ma'am."

"And Prince Redmond – is he in?"

Jimmy turned to me. "Elf, is he at home or has he gone hunting or something?"

"Er, no, he said he had to attend to his studies; that is, yes, he's home."

"But would he he able to see me immediately?" demanded Her Highness.

"I doubt it," I replied, wondering what on earth she was getting at.

She turned to the coachman. "Drive on," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

I stared blankly at her.

"You shall now entertain me until the prince will be able to see me," she explained. "But first," she turned to Jimmy, "tell me…what is the prince like?"

"A very fine fencer, ma'am," Jimmy replied, looking amused.

"And is he handsome?"

"Oh, he is a very Prince Charming, Your Highness!"

"I intend to dance with him tonight," she said in a coquettish way.

"Oh you can't count on it," piped up Tom, "he is very selective in his choice of partners. He'd never dance with a goose!"

"How dare you insult me, little boy!" she screeched, closing in on him with a murderous look in her eyes.

Luckily for Tom, who was stepping backwards as fast as he could, Jimmy put his foot out and tripped her up.

"How dare you! Ill-mannered ruffians!" she squealed from the ground.

"You old hag," laughed Jimmy, putting his foot on her back to hold her down. He nodded at Tom, who passed him his foil. "Any last words, hmm?" Jimmy did a flourish with the foil.

"Jimmy!" I remonstrated, horrified, "Is this a way to treat guests?"

"Stay out of it, Elf," warned Jimmy. He turned back to the princess. "Any last words, Your Highness?

She breathed heavily with effort as she turned her head up towards me. "Elf…Happy Birthday," she gasped, and then dropped, like lead, back to the ground.

"WHAT!" I exclaimed, shocked.

Jimmy took his foot off her, grinning. I fell on my knees and shook her. She got off the ground. I blinked. "Wait a minute…"

"Tom," she said, clicking her fingers with difficulty in her gloves.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Go and fetch the stuff."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon afterwards, Tom came back with an armful of things. Two of the boys spread the blanket, and the other three set the plates. Finally, Tom disappeared again and came back holding a three-layer cake.

I couldn't believe it, I just stared.

"Sit down, Elf," said the princess gently. I plonked down, but soon had to stand up again as Jimmy came over to me.

"Happy Birthday, Elf!" he grinned, shaking hands with me. "Hope this will be a good year for you!"

"Thanks," I said, amazed.

Next came Tom. "Happy Birthday, Elf," he said, giving my hand a good workout. "Why do you always have to be two years older than me?"

The other three also wished me Happy Birthday, and then the princess came over.

She shook hands with me silently, and was just about to go when a familiar voice said, "Surely you can do more than shake hands with a brother?"

My eyes started out of their sockets. I was dreaming, this just couldn't be…

"Redmond!" I jumped up and gave him a throttling hug, laughing till there were tears in my eyes.

"Happy birthday, Elf," he said softly.

I got out of his clasp, and grinned, looking at him. "What a crazy idea!"

"It worked, though, didn't it?"

I collapsed laughing. "It sure did."

Laughter is contagious. Soon we were all helpless on the ground. Indeed, it was a birthday I would never forget. There was a ball that night, a masquerade ball, the only sort I can and do enjoy, but before that something of a curious nature occurred which I will have to tell you first. At any rate, I was not done with surprises yet.