Chapter 11
-oOo-
The prince sat back and read out loud the portion of his love poem to Princess Brier Rose that he had so far completed.
It is my honour to accept you as my betrothed here in this beautiful ballroom
How beautiful the choir will sing their happy tune
When at last we are wed in the merry month of June
How romantic it will be to step outside with you to gaze up at the moon
I long to hold you in my arms, the moment can never come too soon
Your grace and beauty has me suddenly behaving like a loon.
I want to jump and sing and dance like a baffoon.
I will swear my love to you on each and every day of our honeymoon..."
The valet who had been allocated to look after the prince stood quietly in a corner of the room listening, and cringing at the appalling piece of creative "riting.
"I need to finish this off somehow."
In his own mind the valet responded with Drown it? Stomp on it? Burn it! Yup, that's the one.
"The last line should clearly be the last line, it should have a note of finality to it. What thoughts do you have, good valet?"
"Oh...I agree Sir. It definitely needs something to finish it off."
"Perhaps something about my joy at the fact that she will be my Queen, but it has to rhyme, otherwise it is not a true poem. Hmmm...Honeymoon, honeymoon, let's see...Balloon, noon, spoon, afternoon...Ah, I have it!...I have achieved inspiration!"
-o-
The prince bent his head back to his task, smiling happily then looking over to the valet again.
"I think this will work very well as a last line...My darling I confess, you make my heart swell as though it were a giant balloon...There, now will Princess Brier Rose like it do you think?"
"Um...It...Erm...Well, it does indeed rhyme Sir, without any doubt."
"Good. Then it is finished. Would you like to see the gift I have brought for her? You seem able to judge well whether she will like a thing."
The valet was surprised and flattered that the prince would ask his opinion and he stood a little taller, warming to the man he was here to serve.
"I am happy to help Your Highness."
"Excellent."
The prince produced a long, deep red velvet jewellery box from inside his doublet. Opening the lid, he held it towards the valet for his inspection. Nestled in black satin was a choker style necklace and matching ear rings. The valet's eyebrows shot upwards and his eyes widened at the sight of the glittering treasure.
-o-
"Forgive me Your Highness but, are those...?"
The prince frowned.
"Diamonds and rubies? Why? Does the princess not like such trinkets? Have I made an error? When I asked, I was told females like such things, is that not the case?"
The valet's eyes were still fixed on the intricately patterned pieces of jewellery studded with the finest pure white diamonds and rubies with such depth of colour they surely must feel hot to the touch.
"Y...Yes. I mean, the princess will most certainly like your gift Highness. How could she not? I have never seen such delicate and yet complex pieces, they are simply breath taking. Princess Brier Rose will surely want to wear them immediately!"
The prince looked thoughtful, then smiled broadly at the valet.
"Then so she shall. Deliver these to her chambers with my regards and tell her I would very much like her to wear them for the banquet. Will you do that?"
The valet enthusiastically nodded yes.
"I shall carry them directly to Her Highness Your Highness."
-o-
Luckily for the prince, the valet was an honest man, a man of honour and, despite carrying a thing of such value it would buy him one of the finest ships there was, pay for a full crew, allow him to live a luxurious lifestyle and enable him to sail away from his wife, the man was true to his word. There was immense excitement in the princess' chambers once it was known a gift had been brought there, and the courier was refusing to hand it over to anyone else but the princess herself and refusing to state who the gift was from, until the princess decided whether to unwrap it or not. Being the staid gentleman that he was, the valet was taken aback by the sight of the princess appearing dressed in a fluffy white bathrobe, her feet adorned by kitten heeled slippers oozing white feathery stuff and silver glitter. Her golden tresses were wrapped up in a white towel piled up like a second head on top of her own. It didn't take her very long before she was tearing expertly through the wrapping, pausing to stare at the expensive looking velvet box and stroking it with one hand. It had to be from her parents, utterly had to be. Only people as wealthy as them could afford whatever delights would come in a box such as this.
"Go on Mistress...Open it."
With Lady Garritass' encouragement, Brier Rose slowly opened the lid a little and peeked inside.
-o-
The princess squealed, her pitch high enough to disturb the slumber of a number of palace dogs.
"Oh...My...Garters! Oh my garters!"
Lady Garritass hopped from foot to foot, quite forgetting herself in her own excitement.
"Well girl? What is it? Don't keep us all waiting!"
The princess either didn't hear or didn't care how her lady-in-waiting had just addressed her and she turned the box around so everyone could see it's contents. There was a collective gasp from her ladies, who all knew quality when they saw it. The valet puffed out his chest and cleared his throat, ready to deliver his message.
"His Royal Highness Prince Florimond of the Brightlands hopes his small gift pleases you and asks that you do the honour of wearing his gift at the banquet...Your Highness."
Brier Rose's eyes narrowed and she stared coldly at the instantly confused valet.
"I'm sorry...Whhoooo asks this?"
The valet suddenly felt like a man with a noose slung around his neck and who had spotted the executioner reaching for the drop lever.
"Um...If it pleases Your Highness...Um...Prince...Prince Florimond...Of the Brightlands. The, um, one to whom you are to be betro..."
-o-
The red velvet box and it's contents came flying directly towards the valet's face. He attempted to jerk his head to one side and out of the line of fire, the box however still managed a stinging clip to his ear in passing before hitting the floor and skidding helpfully towards the way out. So great was the princess' fury, her voice became little more than a biting hiss.
"Out...Get out...Getoutgetoutgetout. I will be betrothed to no one! Tell Prince Floppy-bonce I shall not be attending any banquet and he can wear that piece of trash himself. Out!"
Brier Rose's slipper followed the hapless valet out of the door.
Her ladies-in-waiting remained frozen to the spot, none of them daring to be the first to move or speak as the princess stood panting and staring at the open door through which the valet had scurried.
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The rise and fall of Brier Rose's chest began to slow as her breathing started to return to something like normal, her attention remained firmly on the doorway when, in a measured voice, she finally spoke to the huddled group of women.
"Those of you who have your own homes to go to...Leave now."
She had no need to repeat her instruction as, heads bowed, unwilling to catch her eye, three of her retinue hurriedly filed out, Mary Lou being the last to leave, quietly closed the door behind her. The princess turned to Lady Garritass, her eyes suddenly beginning to glisten with threatened tears.
"He lied to me...Papa lied to me! I don't want to marry just anyone! What about True Love?"
The princess began genuinely sobbing.
"Aw, my little one, hush, hush there."
Hugging the girl close to her, Lady Garrittas looked sternly over Brier Rose's head at the remaining women.
"All of you...Go to your rooms. Say nothing of this to anyone and remain in your rooms until tomorrow. Go on. And remember, our mistress was in good spirits when you left here. Anyone saying any different will answer to me...Understand?"
The chambers quickly emptied of all but the princess and her senior lady-in-waiting.
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Ensuring the door was locked, Lady Garritass ushered the heartbroken girl to a chair by the fireplace.
"Here, sit yourself down my little Rosebud, there, there now."
The princess sniffed noisily.
"I'll have to run away. Run away and never, ever come back, not until I've found True Love anyway...Will you help me?"
Lady Garritass sighed.
"I thought you might say that, my little Rosepetal."
-o-
There was little time to ready themselves further in the short time available to them before their appointment with the Keeper. Taking down his bed, Sam stole frequent glances at Dean while the man made them both a warming milk drink. He was incredulous at how calm Dean appeared. He knew trained soldiers who would be showing more nervousness than this gardener was. He wondered whether it was because Dean had no recall of previous quests or battles and, therefore, didn't know well enough to be anxious?
"How are you feeling, brother?"
Sam's sharp eyes caught the slight stiffening in Dean's back at the word brother.
"I'm fine."
"I can see that, and it worries me."
Dean turned, holding two pitch lined leather tankards filled with hot milk sweetened with honey, he gave Sam a puzzled look.
"But, that doesn't make any sense. You're worried because I'm alright? You've not given yourself brain damage drinking the rose feed while I slept, have you?"
Ignoring Dean's response, Sam pressed ahead.
"Most people setting out to challenge a witch would feel some degree of anxiety, even trained soldiers. It's alright to have some fear and doubt, it's normal. How you seem, well..."
"Well what? You think I'm abnormal?"
Sam frowned.
"You know that's not what I'm trying to say Dean."
There it was again, that momentary stiffening, in his shoulders this time.
"How can you know what I know?"
"Because I can. Because I believe Bobby. Because we are brothers, whether you like it or not. That's how."
-o-
The heat that was starting to bristle within Dean rapidly cooled and he sat down at his small, rough wood dining table, setting his tankard down but keeping hold of the handle, gazing in the direction of but not actually at the tankard for a brief moment. When he spoke, he kept his eyes averted from Sam.
"Fine...I might not be showing it on the outside, but I am worried. I'm worried about things way more important than some witch hunt. I'm worried the Keeper might be lying to us, about us being brothers, just so we'll take on this task. I don't want it to be a lie Sam, I don't. It would be like loosing you. And I am afraid...I'm afraid I could possibly loose you anyway while we're trying to keep the princess safe. Truth is, her safety isn't anything like as important to me as yours. But, the only thing I can do to keep you safe is keep her safe. Everything I thought of as my life has just gone crazy, because of one man who, for all I know, might actually be crazy! My head's a wreck, so I'm dealing as best I can, by pretending it isn't a big deal...Alright? Is that better?"
Sam said nothing. Moving across to Dean he heaved his brother upright and into a bear hug, reciprocated by Dean once his initial shock subsided.
"Everything will be fine, you and I together can keep Princess Prissy safe and we will wake up in a world where we are true brothers. I'm certain of it Dean."
"I believe you, so don't go spoiling everything by getting yourself killed, that's all I ask. Except, can we stop all this girly hugging now?"
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Chick xxx
