Chapter 10

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Once our romantic interlude concluded, I suddenly found myself embarassed—Monique and Goza were still there, completely forgotten but waiting good naturedly on me. My next order of business was clear: to introduce Edward to my friends.

"Guilbert," I said, remembering to use his penname this time, "these are my two friends that I told you about—this is Monique, and this is Goza."

"A pleasure, of course," he greeted them with a bow. "Any friend of Anna's must be a friend of mine."

Goza smiled cheerily and shook his hand warmly, happy to finally meet the tallented harpist who also happened to be my beau. He extended his hand to Monique, but she didn't move. She wasn't ridged, but I got the impression that Edward somehow made her uncomfortable. They exchanged a look of surprise and he gasped.

"You're Damciani," he realized.

"Yes…" Monique answered slowly, almost warily.

"Why not at the academy in Damcyan?" he asked, attempting to make friendly conversation. She didn't answer; she began fidgeting, twiddling her fingers, and wouldn't look right at his face. He got the hint that she didn't want to talk to him and he turned back to me, taking me in his arms once more.

"I'd love to stay longer," he said sadly, "but I can't. They'll be missing me soon."

"You're not supposed to be here, are you," I guessed.

"I couldn't wait to see you," he insisted. "Not after all these months, now when you're so close."

"It's just as well," I sighed. "If someone saw you here, we could all get in serious trouble."

"And I'd hate to keep you from your lessons," he added. "Can you get away sometime?"

"At night, after dinner," I answered. "After first semester, students can roam the city until 10 o'clock at night."

"Then it's a date?"

We would meet in the same courtyard after dinner that night, and would spend those next four hours with the rest of the troupe, who I also missed very much; and I had yet to thank Maestro Roland and Metis for telling Mama about Sparrow's Wing. Our plans were made quickly and Edward departed—but not before stealing one more kiss, of course.

As we walked back inside, the bells for class were beginning to toll—a 15 minute warning. The three of us hurried back to our room to collect our belongings.

"He's very handsome," Goza mentioned. "And very sweet to you—that's what's improtant."

"I know. Oh, it's just so good to see his face again. I can't believe how much I've missed him and all the others."

"The kiss was really sweet."

"It was our first."

"Aw! Isn't that romantic, Monique?

"…"

"Monique? Are you okay?"

The flirtatious, hopeless romantic was dead silent, still wringing her hands nervously. Her dark skin was a shade paler, as if she were sick, and she couldn't seem to look me in the eye for more than a few seconds at a time.

"I'm fine," she insisted.

What a horrible lie. But she didn't want to talk about it until we returned to our room.

"Hey, Goza? Can you leave the room for a moment?" she asked.

"Why?" Goza asked suspciously.

"I just nee dto talk to Anna alone for minute. It won't take long; it's really important."

Goza looked concerned, but she took her things and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, Monique sat down on the bed and sighed deeply.

"Anna, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

"Moniuqe, what's the matter? You can tell me," I insisted, sitting down beside her.

"It's about Guilbert…"

I made me just a little nervous to hear her say that. Was it possible that, upon seeing him up close, she had fallen in love with him too?

"Anna, do you know that Guilbert isn't his real name?"

"…Of course I do. How do you—"

"His name is Edward—Edward Christian von Moir."

Now I was even more nervous than before. Edward hadn't told me his surname; "for my own safety", he had insisted. Perhaps Monique really did know him from her childhood? Surely that must be why…

"Anna… Edward isn't just a minstrel. He's… a prince."

"…..What?"

"Yes: Edward is the dauphin—the crown prince of Damcyan."

I felt faint. All this time, all the letters, the kiss… And my Edward was the prince of an entire kingdom?

After a moment of feeling betrayed and a little used, my rational side kicked in. Of course he would have hidden his true true identity from me. He was a very powerful person in the middle of the wilderness: the perfect target for anyone in the mood for a kidnapping and ransom. The fewer people knowing who and where he was, the better.

Being connected to him suddenly made me vulnerable. By keeping me uninformed, he was trying to protect me. And it was none of my business anyway. When the prince of a nation packs a few things and sets off to become a bard, there must be a reason. Perhaps Edward was looking for something more than merely to learn bard magic. Perhaps his family was just was crazy as mine, and the troupe provided the same escape to him that Sparrow's Wing Academy did for me. But whatever the reason, he didn't have to tell me unless he wanted to, because it was his beeswax, not mine.

But it made me very, very curious.

All this flew through my head in a matter of seconds, and Monique remained silent, waiting ever patiently for me to process the news.

"I recognized him imediately in the courtyard," she said. "Up on stage, dressed like a clown, I never would have known it was him. I never would have guessed… Why?"

"Don't you know where he's been?" I asked.

"We all knew that the prince was abroad—traveling, their majesties told us; traveling the world, learning it's knowledge, meeting its people. They never told us that he was training to be a bard with a troupe of gypsies."

She sounded mildly disgusted with the idea, but many people don't like the idea of gypsies.

"The troupe is quite nice," I insisted.

"That doesn't matter. I thought prince Edward would be out doing something more… I don't know… dignified."

"It's a delicate and interesting craft he's learning, and he does it quite well. He loves music."

"In Damcyan, all royal children are inbued with a love of music. What makes him so special as to leave his duites to our kingdom to go play around in the wild?"

Monique's demand was valid enough. Edward was a prince, after all; he had responsiblities to his kingdom, and he had been away from Damcyan for a long time. How many Damcyani people knew where he really was? The idea of him traveling and studying certainly was more easily excused than the idea of him playing in a gypsy band.

"Anna," she continued, "you know what will happen if he continues to court you? If he asks you to marry him? Do you realize what that would mean?"

Oh. That was a new idea.

"…I would be the queen…"

"Or at least a princess, as long as he remains a prince. But yes, that's the general idea. And he really likes you. Anna," she said, taking my hands in her shaking ones, "he wants you to be his wife: our queen, the mother of our furture kings."

The idea was so broad. I thought of just being a queen was fairly simple; the idea of bearing the next generation of Damcyan's royalty was so deep, so profound. Monique didn't seem to know how to feel about this. She took this idea very seriously, that much was certain—one day, her best friend could be her queen. That was pretty cool, but also kind of awkward.

"…What should we do?" I asked.

"We must keep this to ourselves. Just knowing who and where the prince is puts us both in danger. You must guard this secret with your life."

"Nothing could be easier."

"Not even Goza."

"I know," I agreed sadly.

"And you have to talk to him about this. He protected you by not telling you who he was; it's only fair that you let him know that he can't protect you in that way any longer."

That made sense. It would be strange and perhaps a little tense, but she was right: Edward's sheild was broken, and he needed to know so that he could find a new one.

Th school day dragged by slowly. I didn't know what to think anymore—Edward was finally here, and part of me didn't want to see him at all. Another part of me was nervous. What would I say? How was I supposed to tell him that his well-played bluff had been called? How would he react to that? Would he want anything to do with me after tonight?

I had never felt so insecure before. I tried never to let people manipulate my feelings—often I failed, but more often I prevailed. But Edward was different. My heart hung on what he would say to me tonight; if he dismissed me, for any reaosn, I just knew that I would be dead by morning.

Though, in retrospect, I'm not sure why I was so nervous. I had absolutely no reaon to be—Edward would never have dimissed me in a million eons. But still, it felt like I had uncovered an eath-shattering secret. A secret which, in my rather frazzled reasoning, maybe should be punished by death.

When I came into the courtyard that night, Edward was already waiting there for me. I almost turned around and ran away, but he saw me before I could run. When he saw me he smiled, oblivious to the fact that I was no longer oblivious.

"Anna! You're here!" he exclaimed, overjoyed that I had arrived. Standing on the other side of the yard, he extended his hand and came forward several steps, expecting me to meet him at the middle. But all I could do was stand in the doorway, looking back at him blaknly. The joy on his face vanished, replaced with slight concern.

"Anna? Is something wrong?" he asked.

I looked away, staring straight down at the cobbled floor. I just couldn't bear to look at him anymore; but I heard him advance toward me quickly. In a matter of seconds he was standing before me, reaching for my hands.

"What's the matter? Dear one, please look at me," he pleaded. When I hesitated, he caressed my face and gently tilted my head back up until he could see my eyes again. I felt tears stinging my eyes, and I was still as dumb as stone.

"Have I done something?" he asked.

"No, no!" I insisted, my voice returned at last. "You've done nothing wrong. I need to tell you…"

"Tell me what? What's happened?"

I took a deep breath. "…Edward, Monique recognized you. She knows who you are."

"Oh…" he sighed. "She knew… And she told you? That I'm a…"

"A prince?"

Now he lowered his eyes. "…Yes. It's true."

A breif silence passed.

"I've decieved you, Anna. I'm so sorry. I felt that you would be safer not knowing; I was only trying to protect you."

"I know, I know," I answered. "I understand."

"I've wanted to tell you so baldy in my letters; I always thought that you deserved to know, but—"

"It's your own business. If you felt it was better not to tell me, then maybe it was best after all. Anyway, I never asked."

"Are you angry with me? For deceiving you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. I forgive you."

He sighed, overwhelmingly relieved; I hadn'r realized how tense he had gotten.

"I suppose you have a few questions?" he guessed.

"If you don't mind answering just a few."

He nodded his head. "I'll explain everything. Come; the troupe is ying to see you."

He led me out of the courtyard and down the street, away from the school and itnto the crowds of people still filling the city. In a city as big as Baron, night is just as good a time to be out working as the day, and the nightlife was huming all around us. No one bothered to look our way—we were, for all intents and purposes, alone.

"So," I asked, "what are you doing here, exactly? With the troupe and all?"

"I'm studying."

"But why bard magic? Monique said that everyone in Damcyan is under the imrpession that you're studying in great schools all over the world."

"Oh, that; I see."

"She also mentioned that the royalty love music, though."

"Oh yes, it's true. We take our musical education very seriously," Edward agreed. "But me… I don't know. They said that I had a gift. There are other children in the royal house—not my siblings, but cousins, and other relations—and they all play a variety of instruments. But all our teachers said there was something special about me. They used to say that I was a prodigy."

"Really?"

"I don't think it's true. And anyway, I never cared if I had some special gift that the other children didn't—I love music. Music is like my very blood; I just can't live without it. Of course, you're like the oxygen that keeps my blood flowing. I can't live without you either."

Golden. I had nothing to respond with but the broad, bashful smile his comment coaxed out.

"Of course, when my teachers proclaimed me to be a prodigy, they insisted that I be sent off to learn from only the finest masters in the world," Edward continued. "My parents considered, interviewed different people around the world that the teachers suggested to them, talked with me about it. And in the end, we decided that it just wasn't right for me. Learning from those ridged, ancient old men—it would be taking the thing that I loved and taking all the art and beauty out of it, reducing it to nothing but math—a thing."

"I sort of feel the same way about how my father was teaching me magic," I added. "He always had to take the fun out of it. To him, it was always just another way to preserve his legacy—it was something that had to be done, darn it. There wasn't enough time for it to be enjoyable."

"Exactly. It just had to be learned and spat back out again on command by a teacher who can't remember why he cares, right?"

"Wow. It's like you've known me my whole life. So, after all that, how on earth did you end up with the troupe?"

"They came through Damcyan one year. I took just one look at the kind of work they did and I thought, 'That's what I want to do. That's perfect.' Luckily, Mama and Papa are understanding and supportive. They allowed it—pretty happily too, now that I had figured out what to do with my talent. Though my old teachers certainly didn't approve.

"Of course, it put the people more at ease to think that I had really gone to study with a certified master. It's remained a well-kept secret among the nobility."

"So I uderstand from Monique. Is it dangerous?"

"Not really; we're never in one place for very long. Actually, the political beauty of this setup is that there's nowhere I could be safer. I'm the crown prince of Damcyan, the only child of the king and queen. There are plenty of people who are more than willing to get me out of the picture to make way for their own children."

"That's terrible!"

"I know. It's a pretty hostile environment. When I was a kid it was fun; the other children I studied with were my friends, playmates—one or two of them possibly candidates for my wife." He rolled his eyes at this. None of them had a chance now.

"But since I've grown up, it seems like they've become more like rivals. It's like one day we all looked up and realized that we were supposed to be comptitors. Some of us are still kind and friendly with one another; others, not so much."

"It must be frustrating. But with you so far away—and never in the same place for more than a few hours—it's not like they can find you."

"Mansions in forgein lands are horrible hidding places for royalty. If a king wants to hide, his best bet is to work in a fish market for a few weeks. There aren't many rich men who willing to do this; they consider it degrading. I am not one of them."

"You're clever, and wise, then."

"Thank you, Anna."

"So, you returned home earlier this year. How did it go?"

"Well… It's different, that's for sure. And the competition has gotten more heated; every time I return, I find that the heat in the palace has risen just a few degrees. By the time I take the throne, it's going to be cooler out in the desert in the middle of August than in the palace. But then, what do you expect from the kingdom that guards the Fire crystal?"

Oh yes, I had nearly forgotten. Damcyan was one of the four priviledged kingdoms to protect the Crystals of Light. Mysidia, in the middle of the ocean, housed the Water crystal; in the northeast, Fabul guarded the Wind crystal; lastly, in the mountains to the northeast, Troia kept the Earth crystal. I had never really thought about the Crystals until just then, and I realized that Edward had a great extra burden to carry. To be in charge of something as volitile as one of the Crystals? And the Fire crystal, no less.

All his allusions in the past to fire suddenly made a lot more sense to me. He probably subconsciously found my affinity for Fire spells incredibly attractive, even though he was a retiring person.

"Do you want to be the king?" I asked.

"Actually, I sort of can't wait. To tell you the truth, Anna, I don't think I've ever felt more prepared. When I was a child, the idea of ruling a country daunted me. I had no idea how I was supposed to do it all, especially when my father did it so well. It frightened me a little, actually. But all my traveling, it's brought me in touch with the world. I've seen its problems, met its people, learned its wisdom. My studies with this little band of traveling players has prepared me more for my future role as king than an entire lifetime lived in a palace."

"But what about your traveling?"

Edward sighed sadly. "Some good things have to end. But often that means the beginning of another good thing. I just wish that my time with the troupe could last a little longer… Anna, I'm turning 18 this year. I've been with the troupe since I was eight years old. We all discussed this when we visited my family. This is my last year with them."

I gasped. "No!"

"It's true."

"But what about your magic?"

"It's learned well enough. Besides, all I need it a harp, and I'll have music wherever I go. I don't need to be a traveling minstrel to have a use for music."

"What will you do after you've left?"

"Stick around Damcyan. It's been 10 years since I've lived in my own kingdom. I need to see what needs to be done, what my people need, what I can do for them. But with everything that I've learned from maestro Roland and the others, I can finally do all thses things well. I'm no longer afraid—now that I've conquored that fear, there's really no time to plateau. I have to keep moving forward with that."

"That's really deep."

"It happens, when you spend the better part of your life living with players. Do you have any summer plans?"

"Well, I've been considering taking summer school," I answered. "It robs me of a summer of opportunites, but I can graduate faster, and it looks good on a resumé. And anyway, they give us generous breaks during the summer."

"You must come and meet my parents," he said solidly. "I've already told them so much about you; they're dying to meet you. And your parents."

I laughed. "You want me to drag Tellah Faraxhae into a fine palace, filled with snobby superior nobles, and make him throw a temper tantrum and have a heart attack? Let's face, love, we both know that's what will happen."

"Your father would enjoy my father's company. They're both learned men of a certain age, and both in need of intelligent and colorful company. You're not the only one with an accentric father."

"Are they really anything alike?"

"Well, not really. But, knowing the two of them apart, I'd like to see what happens when you leave them alone in a library with a bottle of brandy."

I laughed again, harder this time. "I can't imagine what Daddy would do if he found out who you really are. I'm not sure whether he would give us his blessing or beat you to death. You know, he still doesn't know that you're courting me."

"A well-kept secret of your own?"

"Thanks to Mama. And yes, I'd love to come meet your family."

"My parents have extanded you an invitation to spend the whole summer with us, if you like. I can't tell you how overjoyed my mother would be if you agreed."

"Perhaps summer school can wait, then; there will be other summers for it, after all. You've met my parents—I owe yours the courtesy of meeting them, at least."

"So it's a yes?"

"Let me write my mother first and ask if it's okay. I know my own parents are dyign to see me as well. I haven't been home since winter holiday."

"Tell them to come too."

"I will. I do still worry about my father, but Mama can handle him. And she'd love to meet your family too."

"You always have our invitation. Always."

And it was a good thing, too. In days to come, Damcyan and it's kind-hearted, loving royalty would become one of my last refuges and, eventually, my final resting place.

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Author's Notes…

Wow! Another chapter! Not bad. :)

Well, I have no idea if I'll be able to update again in a few days or a few months. In the meantime, we'll just keep the passage of time moving right along. Anna's time at Sparrow's Wing is going to last much longer than I had anticipated…