IV
"Four calling birds," I told the Queen who was, apparently, waiting for me the next morning outside the bedroom that had somehow become my own personal aviary. "To go with my three French hens, two turtledoves, and my partridge in a pear tree."
Huh. That sounded like it should be a song. Probably because of the sleep deprivation.
I grasped the Queen's hands. "You've got to talk to Rapunzel, Your Highness. I appreciate what she's doing—whatever it is—but—"
"I've talked to Rapunzel." The Queen squeezed my hands in return, but in a way that wasn't at all reassuring since her green eyes were gleaming in the same way Rapunzel's had when she told me she had a plan. "There are no more birds." I started to sigh, but then she added, "Not till days six and seven."
"Days six and seven?"
The Queen pulled her hands from mine and turned to go, but I called after her. "How many days are there? And what's on day five?"
Her only response was to hum a tune that sounded vaguely familiar.