Chapter Five: A Family, Reunited

"All right, everyone who thought they'd never eat again, either at this table or in this life, dig in," Graham said.

That night, the entire royal family of Daventry sat down to dinner together for the first time in years.

As promised, the castle kitchens prepared a simple - but delicious - three-course meal for four.

And the entire family sat clustered around one end of the long dining room table.

"Alexander, take some more of the roasted potatoes, you look half-starved," Valanice urged. "And have some of the stewed apples."

"Don't fill up too much," Graham said, spearing another piece of meat from the serving platter. "I heard a few rumors that there's plum tart with custard for dessert."

As the meal went on, the family began talking.

It was almost as if the long separations over the past several years had never happened.

Rosella started off with a more in-depth story about Tamir, from battling the troll for the magic fruit, riding the unicorn and evading the ogres, to dodging zombies in the manor graveyard and finally defeating Lolotte. "She cursed me from her death bed, vowing that she would have her revenge some day," Rosella said with relish.

She talked a little bit about her farewell with Edgar in front of Genesta's castle. But she decided to tread carefully with the details on that. "He was a good friend," she said thoughtfully. "I'd liked to have gotten to know him better. Where he came from."

"Well, maybe you'll find that out someday," Graham said. Sensing that Rosella wanted to change the subject, he asked, "So, tell me what you did with the seeds from the magic fruit?"

"I told the castle botanists what the swamp behind the mountains in Tamir was like. And they gave me some pots in a warm corner of the greenhouse." She paused. "I don't know if they'll sprout. Maybe the soil here is too different. But I'm going to try."

"Very good," Valanice said. "Do you remember the old story about the king and the tree seedling?"

"The king's advisors said it would take 100 years for the seedling to grow to full strength," Rosella said. "And the king said, 'Let's plant it right now, without delay.'"

"Precisely." Valanice nodded and took another bite of food.

"I'm going to try to get some of the sprouts back to Genesta. Maybe she can plant a new tree in her garden. It'd sure be easier than trying to get past that troll again," Rosella continued.

Alexander had mostly been listening quietly to all of this. But after some coaxing from the others, he began telling the family about his sea voyage from Llewdor to Daventry. The rest of the family listened, wide-eyed, as Alexander started with meeting the pirates in the tavern. He told the story, hesitantly at first, but soon he was practically waving his arms as he described scurrying up the hold ladder and trying to avoid the pirates.

"And then I poured the sleeping powder out on the deck, and I cried out, 'Slumber, Henceforth!'" Alexander said. "And they all keeled over right then and there!" He paused to take a quick sip from his goblet. "And then I jumped off the ship, swam to shore, found their treasure, and…well, you know the rest."

"They must be cursing you by now!" Rosella laughed. She looked over to Graham. "Your turn!"

"Well, now, let's see." Graham tilted back in his chair. "I brought home a chest of treasure too, but I had to climb a beanstalk to get it. I've crossed paths with a few witches, and I'm here to talk about it. I've wandered through my share of haunted houses and encountered quite a few ghosts and ghouls. And while I haven't turned into an eagle yet, I have flown across Daventry with some help from a condor."

"What about you, Qu-" Alexander caught himself. "Mother?"

"Well," Valanice said. "I haven't quite had the same first-hand adventuring experiences that the rest of you have had. Though having to deal with Hagatha…now that I think about it, that was an adventure unto itself," she said. She reached for Graham's hand and squeezed it. "And it brought your father into my life, and you two as well."

The reminiscences were interrupted by the arrival of the plum tart and the custard for dessert.

"I propose a toast." Graham lifted his goblet. "To a family, and to a kingdom."

"To home, and love," Valanice said.

"To no more evil wizards," Alexander said.

"And to a break from dragons, trolls, and curses for a little while," Rosella finished.

xKQx

There were two chairs arranged in the solarium a few days later. Mervyn had his magical box set up on a brass tripod. Next to it was an easel with a giant piece of silvery gray parchment.

Graham and Valanice sat down in the chairs, with Alexander and Rosella standing behind them.

Mervyn crouched down under a black cloth behind the box. "All right, everyone, hold still. One…two…three…"

There was a loud click.

"Uh-oh…"

And then the box exploded in a loud shower of purple sparks and smoke.

"Good heavens, man, is it supposed to do that?" Graham coughed, waving his adventurer's cap in front of his face.

"I'm terribly sorry, Your Majesty, it's supposed to have all the malfunctions worked out - wait! Behold!"

On the canvas, the images of the royal family started to appear, in perfect detail.

The family gathered around, gazing in awe at the picture.

Until…

"We'll have to do it over. I blinked," Rosella said.

There were groans and grumbling as everyone took their places again. The process had to be repeated a few more times.

But eventually, the new portrait was taken to everyone's satisfaction, framed, and hung up in the portrait gallery.

A family. Together again at last.

xKQx

And that's that, at least for now! Reviews welcome!