My next stop would be the prince's palace. I supposed I had to find out
about him, although I almost didn't want to. I didn't want to set him up
with Cinderella, I didn't want to be that cruel. But I had a job to do, and
moreover, if I got Cinderella married off, that would free the stepfamily
of her. But the poor prince...
I went to the castle right after I finished talking to Mrs. Pearl. The
sooner this job was done, the better. Being a fairy godmother wasn't
exactly what I had expected.
I arrived at the gilded front gates. "Why on earth do they gild the FRONT GATES?" I muttered to myself. It's a wonderful idea, at least if you want every single person who lives within a mile to come over at night and chip bits of gold off of them. Though perhaps they wouldn't, there should be guards somewhere. But no. I looked around them, expecting to see something of security. But there was no one. How odd.
"Invisaleo!" I muttered, waving my wand over myself. I vanished. No, my wand was still there, hanging in midair. I tapped it a couple of times, and it disappeared. I flew over the gates and onto the sweeping lawns. The palace was immense and shining, the walls a rich cream color. The windows had gilded panes and sills, and the front doors were light brown wood, carvings around the edges. I couldn't see the design --- I was too far away. I was about to start flying around the castle to look in the windows when I heard laughter coming from the back lawns. I flew around to where it was coming from.
There was a lawn party or something of the sort going on back here. There were about 20 or so people, laughing and chatting around white tables. The women were in sweeping pastel gowns, the men in lightly colored outfits. One of the men, who could only be the prince, was wearing a white suit with a golden scabbard at his waist, and gold tasseled pads on his shoulders. He was very handsome, with shining golden hair and bright blue eyes that could be seen from the distance I was at, which is to say about 25 feet.
He was talking to an old man in a lavender suit, with silver braid down the front and on the collar and cuffs. His hair, which was surprisingly thick for his age, was a shining silver. These people seemed to like their hair and trimming to match.
I flew closer to eavesdrop on their conversation. "That is one huge advantage to being a fairy godmother" I thought. "Nobody objects too loudly if you're nosy."
The old man was speaking in a wheezy voice, that somehow remained somewhere between being the voice of someone very distinguished and the voice of an arrogant stuffed shirt.
"Your Highness" he said. "Surely you understand the importance... your kingdom depends... you must have heirs... I mean, after all..." he trailed off.
"I understand fully that I must have heirs. And I understand that I must marry someone to produce those heirs." the prince said in a pompous voice. It was very fitting to his gaudy appearance. "However, I cannot marry just anyone. It must be either a princess, or the fairest lady in my country!" he declared.
"Sire, you must marry one of royalty, not just the fairest lady in your land." the old man protested.
"I shall make her a princess." the prince said impatiently, brushing a speck of imaginary dust off his gleaming uniform.
"Very well." sighed the old man resignedly. "But you must find her soon! You are almost twenty-two, you'll need a wife before you get much older. I would suggest that you at least have a chosen bride by the end of the year." he nodded wisely.
"They sound as if they're discussing a business affair." I thought, feeling a little miffed. Then I realized that for me, this WAS a business affair. I shook my head slightly and flew closer.
"So how do you plan on finding this perfect princess?" the old man asked.
"Ferdinand, I have no idea." said the prince airily. "Might I ask you to come up with a suggestion?"
"You may indeed, though I cannot promise you I will come up with a worthwhile suggestion. I am your counselor, not a matchmaker."
"I understand. You may wish to look into a magical match-making society, I believe there is a very good one a couple hours drive from here. You could send a messenger dove to it, and see if they can help us."
"I will, sir."
Their conversation lagged off to the care of the palace's horses, and I slipped away. Maybe they wouldn't need to contact that matchmaking agency -- - I could help with this one.
I flew around the palace, looking for an open door or window. I found a kitchen door open, and tried to slip through to the main castle without being noticed. It was difficult --- the kitchen was full to bursting with cooks, scullery maids, kitchen boys, and other servants who seemed to have no job to do in there other than get underfoot. I flew to the ceiling, which was rather low, and tried not to bump into anyone, and not let my skirts fall into anybody's face. Why I had chosen to wear the flowing, fluffy dress I had on, I had no idea, but it was not working to my advantage.
I somehow managed to get to the end of the room without anyone noticing, and had little trouble getting through the door that led into a large serving hall, as it was always swinging open and shut. I was safely in the serving hall, which was thankfully less crowded than the kitchen. However, there still were people in the hall, waiting to serve whoever was in the small little dining room. There was a door which appeared to lead to the entrance hall, but I couldn't open it without anyone noticing, and that might cause a disturbance which I hoped to avoid.
I flew over to the what I hoped was the entrance hall door, and hovered near the top, hoping someone would come and open it soon. Scientists at Godmother Researcher International had been attempting to create an Anti-Solidifier for years, but no luck so far. So I couldn't go through this door, and though people were continually coming through the kitchen door, none seemed to want to go into the main entrance. I hovered for about fifteen minutes or so, then slowly dropped towards the ground. I didn't want to put too much wear on my wings.
Finally, after another half hour, a small boy came running through the kitchen door, sped towards me, and threw himself at the door handle.
"Geoffrey!" snapped a skinny young man in a blue suit. He was standing my the dining room entrance, holding a small gold platter heaped with something that resembled an expensive pastry.
"Huh?" asked the boy, spinning around, the door half open, his hand still on the handle.
"Geoffrey, where are you going?" the man demanded. I resisted an urge to laugh at the pompous expression that had spread across his face.
"I'm taking this to the new horse." the boy --- Geoffrey --- said, looking annoyed. "You know, the one Sir Whats-his-face brought back from that quest or something of his to the market."
"Geoffrey, that is an inexcusable lack of respect! Sir Whats-his-name, indeed! Sir PEATERR!!!"
"Yeah, the one who can't spell." answered the boy, a little too innocently. "He's not great shakes at riding a horse either... and his arithmetic skills! Really, I could do better! I DO do better." he added smugly. "And my name is Geff, Sam." Geff gave the man a skeptical look. "And you should know that. You've been my brother for ten years."
"I know your name, and that name is Geoffrey!" said Geff's brother, sounding annoyed. "And my name is SAMUEL!"
"Oh, sorry." said Geff. I didn't think he really meant it. "Anyways, bye." He made to leave.
"Excuse me, young man!" said Samuel arrogantly. "Have you asked PERMISSION to leave your work station?"
Geff looked at Samuel as if he were a chicken demanding equal rights. "Um, Sam, I don't work here, I'm an errands boy. And no one in the kitchen need any help, so I'm free to go wherever I want. And our dearest mother knows where I'm going to, and she didn't raise any hullabaloo over it." Geff gave a great big sigh. "So, if you're finished with the 'big-brotherly concern', I'll be on my way."
He swung open the door and darted through, before his brother could say a thing. And I, amazingly, managed to get through without doing anything of lasting damage to that ridiculous skirt of mine.
I arrived at the gilded front gates. "Why on earth do they gild the FRONT GATES?" I muttered to myself. It's a wonderful idea, at least if you want every single person who lives within a mile to come over at night and chip bits of gold off of them. Though perhaps they wouldn't, there should be guards somewhere. But no. I looked around them, expecting to see something of security. But there was no one. How odd.
"Invisaleo!" I muttered, waving my wand over myself. I vanished. No, my wand was still there, hanging in midair. I tapped it a couple of times, and it disappeared. I flew over the gates and onto the sweeping lawns. The palace was immense and shining, the walls a rich cream color. The windows had gilded panes and sills, and the front doors were light brown wood, carvings around the edges. I couldn't see the design --- I was too far away. I was about to start flying around the castle to look in the windows when I heard laughter coming from the back lawns. I flew around to where it was coming from.
There was a lawn party or something of the sort going on back here. There were about 20 or so people, laughing and chatting around white tables. The women were in sweeping pastel gowns, the men in lightly colored outfits. One of the men, who could only be the prince, was wearing a white suit with a golden scabbard at his waist, and gold tasseled pads on his shoulders. He was very handsome, with shining golden hair and bright blue eyes that could be seen from the distance I was at, which is to say about 25 feet.
He was talking to an old man in a lavender suit, with silver braid down the front and on the collar and cuffs. His hair, which was surprisingly thick for his age, was a shining silver. These people seemed to like their hair and trimming to match.
I flew closer to eavesdrop on their conversation. "That is one huge advantage to being a fairy godmother" I thought. "Nobody objects too loudly if you're nosy."
The old man was speaking in a wheezy voice, that somehow remained somewhere between being the voice of someone very distinguished and the voice of an arrogant stuffed shirt.
"Your Highness" he said. "Surely you understand the importance... your kingdom depends... you must have heirs... I mean, after all..." he trailed off.
"I understand fully that I must have heirs. And I understand that I must marry someone to produce those heirs." the prince said in a pompous voice. It was very fitting to his gaudy appearance. "However, I cannot marry just anyone. It must be either a princess, or the fairest lady in my country!" he declared.
"Sire, you must marry one of royalty, not just the fairest lady in your land." the old man protested.
"I shall make her a princess." the prince said impatiently, brushing a speck of imaginary dust off his gleaming uniform.
"Very well." sighed the old man resignedly. "But you must find her soon! You are almost twenty-two, you'll need a wife before you get much older. I would suggest that you at least have a chosen bride by the end of the year." he nodded wisely.
"They sound as if they're discussing a business affair." I thought, feeling a little miffed. Then I realized that for me, this WAS a business affair. I shook my head slightly and flew closer.
"So how do you plan on finding this perfect princess?" the old man asked.
"Ferdinand, I have no idea." said the prince airily. "Might I ask you to come up with a suggestion?"
"You may indeed, though I cannot promise you I will come up with a worthwhile suggestion. I am your counselor, not a matchmaker."
"I understand. You may wish to look into a magical match-making society, I believe there is a very good one a couple hours drive from here. You could send a messenger dove to it, and see if they can help us."
"I will, sir."
Their conversation lagged off to the care of the palace's horses, and I slipped away. Maybe they wouldn't need to contact that matchmaking agency -- - I could help with this one.
I flew around the palace, looking for an open door or window. I found a kitchen door open, and tried to slip through to the main castle without being noticed. It was difficult --- the kitchen was full to bursting with cooks, scullery maids, kitchen boys, and other servants who seemed to have no job to do in there other than get underfoot. I flew to the ceiling, which was rather low, and tried not to bump into anyone, and not let my skirts fall into anybody's face. Why I had chosen to wear the flowing, fluffy dress I had on, I had no idea, but it was not working to my advantage.
I somehow managed to get to the end of the room without anyone noticing, and had little trouble getting through the door that led into a large serving hall, as it was always swinging open and shut. I was safely in the serving hall, which was thankfully less crowded than the kitchen. However, there still were people in the hall, waiting to serve whoever was in the small little dining room. There was a door which appeared to lead to the entrance hall, but I couldn't open it without anyone noticing, and that might cause a disturbance which I hoped to avoid.
I flew over to the what I hoped was the entrance hall door, and hovered near the top, hoping someone would come and open it soon. Scientists at Godmother Researcher International had been attempting to create an Anti-Solidifier for years, but no luck so far. So I couldn't go through this door, and though people were continually coming through the kitchen door, none seemed to want to go into the main entrance. I hovered for about fifteen minutes or so, then slowly dropped towards the ground. I didn't want to put too much wear on my wings.
Finally, after another half hour, a small boy came running through the kitchen door, sped towards me, and threw himself at the door handle.
"Geoffrey!" snapped a skinny young man in a blue suit. He was standing my the dining room entrance, holding a small gold platter heaped with something that resembled an expensive pastry.
"Huh?" asked the boy, spinning around, the door half open, his hand still on the handle.
"Geoffrey, where are you going?" the man demanded. I resisted an urge to laugh at the pompous expression that had spread across his face.
"I'm taking this to the new horse." the boy --- Geoffrey --- said, looking annoyed. "You know, the one Sir Whats-his-face brought back from that quest or something of his to the market."
"Geoffrey, that is an inexcusable lack of respect! Sir Whats-his-name, indeed! Sir PEATERR!!!"
"Yeah, the one who can't spell." answered the boy, a little too innocently. "He's not great shakes at riding a horse either... and his arithmetic skills! Really, I could do better! I DO do better." he added smugly. "And my name is Geff, Sam." Geff gave the man a skeptical look. "And you should know that. You've been my brother for ten years."
"I know your name, and that name is Geoffrey!" said Geff's brother, sounding annoyed. "And my name is SAMUEL!"
"Oh, sorry." said Geff. I didn't think he really meant it. "Anyways, bye." He made to leave.
"Excuse me, young man!" said Samuel arrogantly. "Have you asked PERMISSION to leave your work station?"
Geff looked at Samuel as if he were a chicken demanding equal rights. "Um, Sam, I don't work here, I'm an errands boy. And no one in the kitchen need any help, so I'm free to go wherever I want. And our dearest mother knows where I'm going to, and she didn't raise any hullabaloo over it." Geff gave a great big sigh. "So, if you're finished with the 'big-brotherly concern', I'll be on my way."
He swung open the door and darted through, before his brother could say a thing. And I, amazingly, managed to get through without doing anything of lasting damage to that ridiculous skirt of mine.