Chapter Twelve

Royal Plots

Friedrich raced through the woods, his heart pounded eagerly. For two weeks now he had been in Marbaden, masquerading as a traveller and secretly collecting information on the Brothers Grimm. Thrilled by all of the details he had gathered he was hurrying back to his queen to complete his mission. She would be so proud of him and the great work he had done for her. He would please her with his news. Most importantly, he would be with her again. Being separated for this fortnight had been gruelling and he longed to simply feast his eyes on her unparalleled beauty once again.

The forest abruptly surrendered into the enormous clearing. Friedrich felt a broad smile cross his face as he gazed up at the tower. It was nothing compared to the enormous monolith it had once been, its tip could barely reaching the treetops. The crumbled debris of the former tower still littered the clearing, the crushed stones that they had been unable to use in the reconstruction. At the base of the tower was the small cottage where Friedrich stood guard at night while his lady slept. The sight that encouraged him the most, however, was the flickering light in the tower's sole window. His queen was still awake.

Friedrich stumbled forward into the cottage, dropping his thin pack unceremoniously on the floor. In the darkness, he walked over to the side of the cottage that rested against the tower's base. The stones made up this fourth wall and the cottage was tucked up neatly to it. Stopping just inches from the stone, Friedrich drew his flute from the pouch at his waist. Placing it against his lips, he played seven short notes. The moment the last one had sounded, the stone in front of him rippled and an archway formed, revealing a winding staircase.

Friedrich stashed the flute back in its pouch as he raced up the stairs, his heavy footsteps echoing far ahead of him. From above he could hear the soft hum of his queen's voice, luring him ever upward even after his legs began to burn with the effort. A gentle glow slowly appeared above him and he pushed himself harder, knowing that he was that much closer to reaching her. The flickering light of her candles grew stronger and finally he stumbled onto the landing.

The empty doorway revealed the round room beyond. The crudely reconstructed bed was visible at one edge of the frame while the gleaming throne could be seen against the other side. Directly in front of him, perfectly flush with the doorway, was the beautiful mirror that his queen had been trapped within when he'd found her. He could see his reflection, dishevelled and dirty from his frantic race through the forest, and he hastily combed his fingers through his hair and tried vainly to improve his appearance.

"Friedrich?" The melodic voice cooing from inside the room made the piper weak in the knees. He walked in, his eyes searching until they landed on the queen. She was perched on the windowsill and had paused in brushing her hair to look at him. A relieved smile covered her face. "Oh my prince, you have returned," she said happily.

"Yes, my queen," Friedrich said and he knelt down, bowing his head in respect. "I have returned with the information you requested."

"What a wonderful prince you are," she said, clasping her hands in front of her chest. "You are so good to me. What have you learned? Tell me everything."

"Of course, my queen," Friedrich said and began recounting everything that he had learned over the past fortnight. He told her of how the village hummed with the possibility that she was alive and yet hardly any of them would leave despite their fears. As he continued on this she grew suddenly irritable.

"Yes, yes, but what of the Brothers Grimm?" she asked waspishly. Then a fraction of a second later she flashed him an apologetic smile as if to reconcile this.

Friedrich paid no heed to her outburst, taking it in stride. It was his fault she had grown angry and he felt he deserved her wrath, whether it lasted a minute or a year. "My apologies, my queen," he said quickly. "I believe Wilhelm is quite mad. He accepts the company of no one, except occasionally a young woman. Jakob tries but Wilhelm forces him away. Just this night I watched Wilhelm throw Jakob from his house, screaming at him like a mad man."

The queen sighed in frustration. "I know of Wilhelm's madness," she said. "Did you learn nothing useful?"

"The woman Wilhelm allows to see him is rumoured to be a faerie," Friedrich blurted out, hoping to gain back her favour The queen's eyes widened in surprise and she leaned toward him attentively. Friedrich barrelled on, glad that he had finally said something to please her. "I have not heard the whole story of her, but although she looks to be a child she has claimed to be more than two decades. The villagers say she is the child of a faerie woman and the girl does not deny this story. It seems fantastic but I think it may be true. There is something about her that does not seem – human."

"A faerie?" the queen asked with rapt attention. She leaned back against the edge of the window, her expression thoughtful. "She could prove to be extremely useful. If I could capture her, her immortality…" She trailed off, the rest of her sentence only playing out in her head. After a few minutes she returned her attention to Friedrich. "What of Jakob? Does he have a lover? Anyone close to him?"

"A wife and child," Friedrich replied. "His wife is one of the young girls that were stolen away from you when you tried to regain your life those years ago, when those brothers hurt you."

"The child, of what age is she?" the queen asked, a distracted look on her face as she laid out plans in her head.

"I would not say more than three years," Friedrich said. "I do not know for sure. I could not get either of the brothers or Jakob's wife or the faerie girl to speak with me. They seemed very suspicious of me."

"Very young, that is perfect," the queen breathed, registering only his first sentence. There was a long period of silence as she continued plotting in her mind and then she turned her bright eyes on the eager boy. "You have served me wonderfully, my precious prince. We are so very close to our goal now."

"Only tell me what it is I must do for you, my queen," Friedrich said in a rush and he knelt at her feet.

The queen cooed and gestured at a chair opposite. "Come, sit with me, my prince, and I will tell you all of what we must do."