Part Three

Back in her room Sae was in a daze. What cruelty was this? If the act of completing tasks wasn't dreadful enough in winning the hand of the prince, now she didn't even know who the prince was. Who would be her husband? What if she loathed him? Who could possibly be Prince Sevastian, if Prince Sevastian wasn't Prince Sevastian? And how could he only be a Sevastian? None of it made sense.

Her lady's maids went about preparing a hot bath for her in silence. None of them were looking at her. The awkward atmosphere was unnerving.

"Oh, enough of this!" Sae broke the tension. "Look, Prince Se—I mean, the gentleman masquerading as Prince Sevastian has already revealed the truth to me. You three must stop avoiding me as if you have anything to be guilty about."

Phélie was the first to break. Throwing herself at Sae, she hugged her mistress and proclaimed, "Oh Sae! How I've wanted to tell you everything!"

"Then tell me," Sae sighed, hugging her back.

Beda coughed into her hand and Alesia said, "But we can't Sae. This is your final task, and you cannot receive help from anyone. You have to figure it out yourself, and all we can do is sit around and be useless to you."

"I see. Well, I wouldn't call you useless; you've been the greatest friends I've ever had. You've kept me distracted when I would have fretted otherwise, and you've taken good care of me as my maids. I suppose you could at least tell me if you are in fact maids, and not masquerading as anything else? Perhaps previous princesses who have failed these tasks?"

They all laughed. "At least that much we can tell you Sae," Beda answered. "We were all born maids to serve this palace and we'll most likely die as such. There are no masks here."

Sae nodded. "No, it seemed unlikely. The King mentioned sons and servants, maids and monarchs, which is why I thought…but perhaps it really is just the princes."

"Well Sae," Alesia said in a very low voice, "you didn't hear this from me, but I would stick with everything good King Basil told you."

Her ladies-in-waiting said nothing more on the subject and Sae ventured no more. She had been given something, and was now eager to meet the Queen that evening.

o-o-o

Sae arrived at the throne room promptly at six. For all her impatience she was not early. The Queen, Prince Sevastian, Prince Fabian, as well as The Royal Advisor were already gathered and wanting only her presence.

"Ah Lady Sae, you have come." The Queen said upon her arrival. "Please approach."

Sae stepped forward to where the lush royal blue carpet ended, a few feet away from the steps which led up to the Queen's throne, her sons sitting on either side.

'I would congratulate you," she began faintly, "but I think you are clever Lady Sae, clever enough to realize there is a ruse in these palace walls."

Sae didn't even blink. "Yes your majesty, there is a seventh task. The king disclosed as much to me when I paid my formal visit to him."

"Yes, you are quite right." Queen Ryona's pale lips crumpled in a smile. "However, this is a task you will not be prepared for; it is a task you have been involved in since you first set foot on the palace grounds. You alone must figure out what is going on; no one shall help. The Royal Advisor will not be relaying any details as in previous tasks. You have ten days Sae, ten days from today to figure it out. Pass this, and you win your place as Prince Sevastian's bride."

Without missing a beat, the young maiden countered, "Yes, only who is Prince Sevastian, I wonder. I would hate to complete task seven only to find I am marrying someone I am incompatible with."

Ryona had the unnatural air of someone being taken aback. "Then you have figured out that much already? In that case, the task is half done, isn't it?"

"So, the final task is figuring out who the real Prince is?"

Instead of answering her, the Queen smiled. "Good luck Sae, you may go now."

The following days proved to confuse Sae, not enlighten her. Resolving to vanquish the seventh task, Sae began to keep a sharp eye on the happenings of the palace. She heard and saw many things that made no sense. Condor, she found, was in the habit of meeting Prince Sevastian daily in the stables, and they conversed in low earnest voices, until they jumped at the realization that Sae was standing not a few feet away. She offered the excuse that she was there for her morning ride. Their anxious dispositions led her to believe they were talking of her and the seventh task, and she yearned to hear their words, but the few lucky snatches she caught only perplexed her more. She distinctly heard words like "push together", "opportunity", and "falling". She couldn't put them into context.

The fake Prince Sevastian was as nice to her as ever; he smiled at her greatly and encouraged her to try her best, and to follow her heart as much as her mind. Sae found herself enjoying morning rides with him, even though he was an imposter who had deceived her. He was no longer the man she was aiming to marry and she felt relieved, for there was no desire kindled within her for him.

In her exploration to find the real Prince Sevastian, Sae's initial suspicion fell on Sir Lisario. He had claimed to be a relative and had the trait hair and eyes of the Fu Naru royals. Sae had meant to observe him, catch him slip in his act, however as often as she used to run into him, now that she was on the lookout he was impossible to find. It was as if he had vanished since the sixth task, covering up his trail. Sae enquired after the knights in general to both the fake Sevastian and the Queen. They both answered that the knights had not left the castle for any quests; they must all be busy training if she hadn't seen them recently. Sae did see other knights occasionally. Lisario alone was the missing piece from the knight puzzle.

On one of her searches for Lisario, Sae encountered the palace brats Con and Wit causing mischief down one of the halls. Seeing them sparked something in her memory. They had once, during their obnoxious games, bowed to Gallagher the head servant and called him "your highness." He had gone very red and told them to hold their tongues. The thought that followed made Sae shudder in distaste, but she felt it her duty to solve the task and so stopped the children to enquire about their motives on that occasion.

The brats, as usual, were not in favour of answering her. Instead Cornelia stuck her tongue out at Sae, and Whitmark began to blow spit raspberries from his mouth.

"You'll never figure it out!" Con smirked and on cue they began to chant, "You won't you wont you won't!"

It seemed the pests wouldn't be of help to her, so Sae sought elsewhere. Back in her room she asked her lady's maids about the old head servant.

"What of him, Sae?" Alesia frowned. "He broke his back not long ago, so his son Gallagher took over."

"Yes, I've been informed of that. What I meant to ask about was his eye colour."

Her maids all stared at her, trying to fathom Sae's purpose for asking such a question. After a long pause Alesia answered, "I suppose they're blue when I think of it."

"Blue, are they?" Sae's own eyes lit up. "Funny, since Gallagher's eyes are hazel, just like the hazel Fu Naru royalty is well known for."

They could not keep a straight face. Phélie and Alesia burst into laughter, while Beda's face contorted into utter disproval and slight disgust.

"Oh Sae," Phélie managed, between sharp breathes. "Gallagher the Scrawny, Gallagher the Grumpy, rude, insignificant Gallagher, as the Prince—Oh! It's just too much."

Their laughter hurt her feelings. She was trying her best to make connections, and while they were forbidden from directly helping her in any way, they didn't have to mock her guesses. Though it did help, indirectly, in any case.

"Please don't be cross," Beda, the only one not laughing, said calmly. "I can see you are upset by our reaction Sae, but you must understand…he has hazel eyes yes, but so do other servants. It doesn't attest to anything."

"For sure Sae," Alesia added, her fit of laughter dying. "Gallagher is the last person fit to rule anything. He is the most disagreeable little runt, but we shan't laugh at you any longer. Phélie?"

Covering her smile, Phélie nodded earnestly. "Try again Sae. You can get it right if you keep trying!"

"Yes, get it right on my own, no one to aid me. Anyone could be Prince Sevastian then. Maybe he doesn't even exist. I'm growing tired of this ruse."

"Why not take this opportunity to clear your mind with a nice long bath?" Beda offered, and her suggestion was accepted.

That night at dinner the Queen probed Sae to make her guess and Sae admitted she hadn't formed an answer. The Queen reminded her that, with almost seven days passed, she had three remaining to complete the seventh task. Sae confessed that without the help of the Royal Advisor, she was unsure on how to proceed.

"You see, this time Roderick hasn't sent a servant to call me to his study, which he had done in previous tasks. I know it's because he is not allowed to help me, but I'm still unclear about the particular rules for this one."

"I will answer any questions you have, Lady Sae. I am your best hope because I am the one in control. I know what can be told to you."

"I just wish to know, if I err, am I not allowed another guess?"

'You get but one guess and one chance to be future Queen."

Later in the evening Sae received a visit from Mayah. Feeling wronged and emotionally sore by the turns of events, Sae marked the elder maid as her target for ranting. The good natured Mayah took it all in stride, smiling lightly as if she thought it amusing.

"This whole ordeal is just so frustrating. I feel as though I should leave, since no one has been honest with me. You'll all get on just fine without me here, and there'll be a new, unlucky girl to torment with tasks and illusions."

"Oh, we'll go on without you, but none of us will remain the same."

This touched Sae, and she felt her frustration dissolve for the moment. "I have a lot to ponder over. I just wish I had some guidance in this. I wish they would let Roderick help me even a little bit. I haven't even seen him lately, or Sir Lisario for that matter."

"Ah, well The Royal Advisor has been advised to keep his distance lest you try and probe him for guidance. Besides…he is busy with his uncle's matters."

Though it was ungracious, the mention of Roderick's relatives sparked Sae to ask, "Oh, and do you know what the matters are?"

Mayah smiled. "His uncle, Baron Bertrand, writes to him and his young siblings, Cornelia and Whitmark twice a month to make sure they are doing well. It is a lot to ask of a young man to become almost a father to his little brother and sister, but the Royal Advisor does his best, and the Baron makes sure to offer all his support wherever needed, though he lives so far away. This time however, I suspect the Baron writes for other reasons."

When Mayah wouldn't elaborate Sae supposed she would be stretching etiquette to ask again, so she bit back her curiosity and instead remarked. "Well, tomorrow is my eighth day in this task. I suppose I should sleep now."

"That would be wise, my dear." Mayah winked, standing up from her seat. "Get some good rest. You'll feel better in the morning."

o-o-o

When she woke up the following morning Sae prepared herself for another day of investigation. Her dinner with the Queen the night before awakened her to the urgency of the looming clock.

After her maids assisted her with bathing and dressing, Sae made her daily trip down to the stables, expecting to catch Condor and the fake Prince Sevastian in one of their tête-à-têtes. They were obviously conversing about Sae, and it perturbed her greatly that the two men whom she'd established close friendships with at the palace were chatting behind her back. Today she was surprised to find Condor alone, grooming the horses.

"Don't tell me the fake Sevastian has gone off on an early ride without me?" She asked upon encountering him.

He shook his head lightly. "Sevastian—err, the fake one, as you call him, will not be joining you today for the ride."

"Well of course I call him the fake Sevastian. I can no longer call him Prince Sevastian, and though he tells me he is a Sevastian, there is also a Prince here by that name. But I digress; why cannot he join me this morning Condor?"

"He's sending the Royal Advisor off this morning."

All at once the air around Sae solidified into stone. Her voice was not her own when she asked, "sending him off where?"

Condor looked uncomfortable, but he went on. "Well, the Royal Advisor's uncle wrote to him and asked for his presence. It's quite a long trip from here. So the Royal Advisor asked for leave and Prince Sevastian is tending to his departure. The carriage is most likely gone now."

"But I don't understand," her voice verged on hysterics. "What could be so important that he needs to run to his uncle's county!" What could be so important for him to desert her during her final task?

"Family matters I imagine," Condor said blankly, then added in a lower voice. "I did come across Sevastian earlier this morning. After telling me he wouldn't be riding, he did mention something about the letter pertaining to a possible match favoured by the Baron."

"A match?!" Her heart felt like it was coming undone at the seams. "You mean his uncle has called him to meet a prospective bride?"

Condor shrugged, not meeting her eye. "That's what it sounded like, but Sae, don't take my word for—" His words were lost on her.

She had already started running back to the Palace.

Suddenly the tasks didn't matter. Winning the prince for a husband and the chance to be queen were nothing to her. How could she be happy when she was in love with the Royal Advisor? Condor supposed that the carriage had already left, but she had to try.

Sae was out of breath as she dashed through the palace halls, frightening half the servants she met on the way. She didn't care.

It took a lifetime to get from the stables to the front entrance of the palace, and even then she knew she still had some ways to go. Past the main foyer, past the three sets of entrance doors leading to the outside, then the two dozen limestone steps, she still had to make it to the gates a hundred metres away, where carriages stopped to meet their passengers. While Sevastian was nowhere to be seen, having gone inside already, she did see the large peach carriage with elaborate gold embellishments waiting patiently, invitingly at the gates, and pausing for a moment's air she continued towards it, down the dust road.

She made it halfway there before the innocent driver, unaware of her plight, tugged at his reigns and the horses began to pull the carriage away.

"No!"

Her throaty cry was full of anguish, though the carriage ignored her and continued to fade away into the distance. She knew she was utterly defeated, but Sae refused to give up. She had been cursed by the very love she had always disregarded, but by God she would not let it abandon her now. Madness overtook her. She began running again, chasing after an impossibly faster carriage.

"Come back!" She screamed, her choked breath coming out in sobs. "Please!"

Her legs lagged but she would not let them rest. She willed them to take another step, and another, and another. Suddenly, strange arms grabbed her from behind, pulling her back to her senses.

"What do you think you'll accomplish by doing that?" A voice questioned in her ear.

"Let go! I have to stop him!" She thrashed, turning around to face her captor.

Roderick kept his arms steady around her, catching her widened gaze with earnest eyes. He was not a man to often smile, but at that moment his serious expression was rendered softer by the slight tilt of his mouth.

"R-Roderick? Why are you…but…then who's that in the carriage?"

"It's the other Sevastian of course." He said calmly.

"But that's not…" Suddenly it dawned on her. "You're one of the princes?!"

"Haven't you figured it out Sae?"

"You're Prince Sevastian!" She accused furiously, pushing him away. "All this time, you've been the one tricking me…I confessed my feelings to you and you still played this grotesque game! You've given me so much heartache, and for what? You've been the Prince all along."

"Please Sae, let me explain. This was not my intention; this was not my idea, nor my notion of how to court ladies."

Sae wouldn't listen. Wiping away her tears, she charged "All this time you've known how I felt, you all knew I fell in love with the right prince, the right man, and you all kept me in this loop."

"I know, I know Sae." He tried to soothe, reaching for her again, but she flinched from his hands.

"How could you try and comfort me now after—! I thought you were the Royal Advisor, bound by duty to the royal family, and that was your honourable reason for not accepting my feelings. I thought you were leaving this morning…the pain I felt when Condor told me that, the pain I'm feeling now, it's just too much! You aren't an honourable servant; you're just a lousy prince hiding behind a mask, playing with my affections because of some sport set up by her majesty."

"Please Sae, give me a chance. You are right of course. This ruse was despicable, unfair, and a very, very bad idea of my mother. She had good intentions though."

"Good intentions!" Sae repeated scathingly.

"Yes, good intentions," he went on. "There was a time before, years and years ago when I was still half a child, my brother even younger, when families began pushing their daughters on us, sweet young girls who were instructed to act like they were in love with us, to pretend they would make perfect little wives, though they were barely old enough to be ones. My brother and I grew to shrink from every ball, every occasion where such girls would be invited and encouraged to chase us. My mother began to disprove of this as well. Superficial persons perturbed her."

"Of all the nerve" Sae countered indignantly. "With all due respect to her majesty, this was her plan and yet she's the one who dislikes superficiality?"

The Prince shrugged. "I know it sounds hypocritical. Her thinking was, if they can do this to us, let us use their own medicine against them. She wanted to find me a good wife and a good queen, but she knew that in order to do that, she would need to get to know the girl herself. All these artificial ladies being presented before us would not do for her. Better, she thought, to have them come one at a time, stay for a couple of months under the pretension of proving themselves worthy of being queen, and in that time she could see what kind of girls they were, what they were made of. My mother chose you as the one from the first month you came, but she needed to make sure you fell in love with the right man, not because he was the one presented as the prince, but because you felt naturally drawn to him—to me. She felt she was doing me a favour, by making sure I got a wife who cared for me."

"If she really thought I was the one, why continue this ruse to the end? Why make me try and guess who you are? I confessed my love to you so long ago Rod—I mean, Sevastian."

"My full name is Prince Roderick Sevastian Montagne. Most of the nobility have heard of me as Prince Sevastian, but Roderick is my first name. Sir Lisario is also Lisario Sevastian, and the Royal Advisor is Sevastian Bertrand. Our parents thought it cute, to all share a name."

"And confusing as sin."

"That too," he said dryly. "Sae, you did confess your love to me. And nothing but absolute respect for my mother could have stopped me from telling you everything then. I made a promise to her, but when you confessed to me I was both euphoric for your love yet in misery because my mouth must be sealed. That evening I went to my mother and told her I was tired of it, ready to tell you everything, that I wanted it to be done. But mother likes her games. More than that though, I think she wanted you to prove yourself entirely. She wanted to see you win the whole thing, to be the great woman she knew you to be. She didn't want to take away your glory of finishing the tasks. And perhaps she just wanted to make sure you really were in love with me, and weren't just infatuated. I cannot account for her behaviour perfectly; you will have to ask her that yourself."

"You will account for your own though," Sae demanded. "You knew I was in love with you, yet you hung on to this pretension of being a Royal Advisor doing his duty. Why didn't you tell me? You have respect for you mother's wishes I understand, but are you such a little boy, doing everything his mother tells him to do?"

The comment struck a cord in Prince Roderick, but he refused to react. Instead he looked away from her, admitting, "Perhaps you are right, and I am accustomed to obliging my mother like a loving son, maybe even a childish son. I wanted to tell you then, but my mother had advised me otherwise; she wasn't sure if you loved me so wholly, Sae. There have been women, women who did not know I was the Prince, who have tried to make a pass at me and it has bothered me every time, for I knew they were just trying indirectly to get closer to the royal family. If they can't have the prince, why not settle for the cousin to the royal family? He's high up in the line of succession for the kingdom."

When Sae did not dispute that, he went on, "I had faith in my mother's plan. It had saved me from marrying six girls before you Sae; six girls who did not love me in the least and were only after the crown. You started out that way as well, of course. The difference was that you were a worthy woman, proving yourself an able ruler; that, and you actually liked me."

"You have excuses for everything, don't you?" Sae stubbornly retorted after a moment of fuming contemplation. "We could stand here all morning arguing about this, but the point is you led me on and muddled me terribly. The ends do not justify the means, your Princeliness, and you certainly were not justified in putting me through all this. I don't think I have anything left to say to you. I'm tired of these tasks…and I'm going home."

"Sae please, after everything, still—"

"Yes still. I still want to leave. Don't try and detain me again Prince Sevastian. I've got no carriage to chase, but I want my own carriage home by the end of the day or I'm writing to my father to come and get me himself."

Roderick looked at her forlornly, as if wishing to exude the words that would make her stay. Instead he said, "Alright, I will speak to my mother and arrange preparations for you to leave tonight. We won't keep you prisoner here if you wish to leave."

"No, I'm sure you still have some limits." She remarked coldly, walking past him and towards the palace doors.

"Truly Sae, I am sorry. Forgive me." The words were uttered under his breath. She didn't hear them.

So the situation, Roderick gathered, was hopeless.