The Rules of Ever After (9 page)

“And if I refuse?”

“Then you will see what true misery is in this castle’s dungeons, until you change your mind.” Cauchemar slammed the door behind her with a loud thud.

Katerina dropped onto the stool to face the mirror again. Gaz­ing blankly at her reflection, she grabbed a silver brush from the tabletop and began to slowly drag it through her tangled hair. “Oh, Peter. Find me, please.” Looking up into the dark rafters of the room, she called out, “Mother? Help?”

D
aniel stood in the hallway before the king’s
bedchamber door and shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. He knew he needed to enter and offer his support, but wasn’t sure Prince Phillip would want to see him. While he was certain Phillip and he had made a connection while chatting in that absurdly tall bed, Daniel was utterly confused by Phillip’s sudden suggestion of marriage, the fantastic tales of the scribe and the madness that ensued with Phillip’s stepmother. Perhaps somehow his presence in the bed had ignited the whole mess. For all he knew, Phillip could very well run into his embrace, ignore him completely, or even order him out of the kingdom. A guard stood on either side of the door and Daniel approached them cautiously, eying the glittering swords hanging on each man’s hip.

“Excuse me,” he said; his voice quivered slightly.

The guard on the left shifted his eyes to Daniel and stared.

“Um, is Prince Phillip inside?” Daniel regretted the question as soon as he asked. Everyone knew the other prince had not left his father’s side in the two days since the events in the testing chamber.

The man grunted in response.

“Do you think I could—”

“Doctor’s in now,” the other guard said and stepped in front of the door.

“Oh,” Daniel lowered his head and stared at his feet. “I’ll just wait over here.”

As he turned to cross the hallway, Daniel heard the door open. An old man in gray robes with a large golden chain around his neck stepped into the hall. His long beard fell almost to his knees, and he shuffled forward with a slight hunch in his back. He paused in front of Daniel and lifted his head. The man’s eyes were ringed red from tears.

“Doctor, how is he?”

“No change. Still staring blindly into nothingness. There is nothing I can do. Frogberry juice and boar’s fur are no match for magic. My books tell me nothing about handling this.”

“I see,” Daniel muttered. “But I meant the prince.”

“Ah.” The old man sighed and turned to walk away. “No change there either. If he doesn’t eat soon, I fear we will lose the whole royal line in one week. Such a tragedy.”

“Surely you can make him—”

“My boy,” said the old man, who then paused and looked back over his shoulder, “grief is its own special illness. It simply must run its course. It would take a medicine far stronger than mine to change that.”

“But he has to eat. Maybe I can convince him.”

Throwing his hands up, the old man muttered, “You’re welcome to try. Maybe you have a stronger magic than I have.” As the old man shuffled away down the hall, Daniel thought he heard the old man say something else.

“I’m sorry? What was that?”

“I said, you’re the only person he has asked about, anyway. Boys,” he said to the guards, “let the man in.”

The two guards stepped away from the door. Daniel stepped forward and pushed the door open.

“Phillip?” Daniel called into the darkened bedroom. “Are you in here? May I come in?” He peered around the door to look into the room. It was dark except for the light from a large fire roaring in the fireplace. Heavy velvet curtains hung over the windows, and plush carpets covered the floor. A canopied bed sat in the center of the room; Phillip sat on the edge of the bed holding his father’s hand. The king lay with one arm frozen outstretched as when Cauchemar had flung her spell at him. The king’s eyes were wide open, and his mouth stood agape. Tears streamed down Phillip’s face as he stared into his father’s eyes. He still wore the same blue doublet and white breeches he had been wearing when Cauchemar hit King Henry with the blast of light, though the knees of the breeches were stained from kneeling at the king’s bedside. The dark circles under Phillip’s eyes and the sallow tone of his skin led Daniel to believe Phillip had not slept or eaten in days.

“Yes, come in,” Phillip mumbled, without taking his eyes from his father.

“Any change?”

“No. He’s still in whatever state that awful witch put him in. The doctor was no help. He built a fire thinking it might thaw him out. Ridiculous.”

Daniel waited in the doorway and crossed his arms behind his back. He shuffled his foot along a crack in the stone floor and held his breath.

“Don’t linger in doorways. It’s rude.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure if I should come to see you or whether I should’ve stayed here. But I couldn’t leave without trying to… without saying…”

“You’re leaving?” Phillip said, and glanced in Daniel’s direction with disappointment in his eyes.

“Well I assumed you would want… I mean I thought I should at least… well, I don’t know what I thought I was going to do but I… I feel this is all my fault. If I hadn’t crawled into that bed then none of this would’ve happened.”

Phillip shook his head and then looked back at his father. “This isn’t your fault. She had it in for me and my father all along. You heard what Peter said about her plans. If anything, you helped reveal her true colors.”

“Still, she wouldn’t have frozen him if it weren’t for me messing up your marriage.”

“My marriage. Ha.” Phillip scoffed. “It’s not you, Daniel. Messing up my supposed marriages was all me. I forgot my role. A king always puts the needs of his kingdom before himself. I was selfish. I should’ve just married one of those girls and got on with my life. I tried to break the rules. And this,” he continued, gesturing toward his father, “is my punishment.”

“This is a madwoman’s lunacy, Phillip, not punishment. You did nothing wrong. And what rules? You’re going to be king and you get to make the rules.”

“Not now,” Phillip said with a shrug. “Now my future is as frozen as my father.”

“Hey,” Daniel said as he approached the bed and touched Phillip’s shoulder, “we’ll fix this. He’ll be okay.”

Phillip jerked his shoulder away and dropped his father’s hand. “We?
You
are leaving.”

“Not yet.” Daniel sat beside the other prince. “Look, at least she didn’t kill him or anyone else.”

“There’s a little part of me that wishes she had killed me.”

“Phillip, don’t say that.”

“No,” Phillip said with a sob, as he dropped his head onto the bed beside his father’s still hand. “This just proves I’m not meant to be king. My father is… was…
is
a king. He would know what to do. He would solve this and protect everyone. All I did was make everything worse.”

“No. No.” Daniel cooed and turned Phillip’s upper body until they were face to face. Daniel cupped his hand under Phillip’s chin and lifted his face. “Listen to me, this can be fixed. You’re his son, so anything that is in him is somewhere in you, too. You’ve just got to find it. You can solve this. But first you need to eat something.”

“Please leave me alone,” Phillip begged and jerked his head away. “I just want to keep watch over him until something happens. It’s all I know to do.”

“Phillip, don’t believe all those stories your scribe told you. Magic is not defeated by waiting for someone to come rescue you from it. You have to fight it.” Daniel paused and took a breath before reaching out to take Phillip’s hand again. “I sat around for two years waiting for someone to come along and fix my problems. No one came, and nothing changed. Then I realized that maybe the person I was waiting for was
me.
So I went out to find my own answers.”

“I’m not you. I don’t even know where to begin.” Phillip sat back on the edge of the bed.

“You begin the way everyone does,” Daniel explained, “one foot in front of the other.”

“I’ve barely been out of this castle. I don’t know what’s out there.”

“Well, you’re in luck. You know someone who does.”

“What? Who?” Phillip cocked his head and stared at Daniel in confusion.

“Me!” Daniel winked and pointed to his chest. “I know what’s out there. I’ve been wandering all over the kingdoms for months now. I’ve studied the maps and the histories. I know how to fight and how to survive.” Daniel stood up. “I’ll come with you,” he continued. “I’ll help you find her, and we’ll bring her down together. We
will
fix this.”

Daniel could almost see the wheels turn in Phillip’s head as he considered Daniel’s offer. He looked over at his father, then back down at his feet before glancing up to Daniel with a look of tentative hope. “Why would you do that?”

Daniel pondered the question for a moment, unsure of the answer himself. The pain in Phillip’s face touched Daniel’s heart and made him want to bring back the mischievous, laughing man he had met just two nights before. This was not his problem, and he had his own concerns to deal with, but looking at Phillip’s terrified face, he knew he wanted to help. He knew he had to.

“I’m not being completely selfless. I’m still going to be looking for my own answers. But I can help you look, too.” Daniel held his hand out to Phillip. “Come with me. Let’s go get you some food and make a plan.”

“You’re just saying this to get me to eat.”

“No. As I said, I feel responsible. If I hadn’t gotten in that bed—”

“But you did.” Phillip mumbled before turning to look at Daniel with his eyes wide. “And you passed the test. I thought for sure you were the answer—”

“The test? I still don’t understand about this test.”

“Yes. You were the first to spend the night in the bed and be kept awake by the pea under the mattresses. Okay, maybe some of the others could have passed if I hadn’t—”

“Phillip? You think a pea kept me awake?” Daniel stepped back and knitted his brows; he had clearly missed some element of that awful night’s events. Though he was glad to see some sign of activity from Phillip, Daniel was thoroughly confused. “Why was there a pea under—”

“Yes. You passed the test. Maybe it is a sign!” Phillip stood and turned to Daniel; excitement spread across his face. “Maybe you
are
here to help me.”

“Phillip, I don’t think you understand—”

“What’s to understand? You told me yourself you hadn’t slept a wink.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t the pea,” Daniel explained, his mind racing to figure out what Phillip was talking about “It was—”

“Your Highness?” James’s voice called from the doorway, inter­rupting Daniel.

“Yes?” Daniel and Phillip answered in unison.

“Um, sorry. Just
my
Highness, I mean,” James said with a slight bow of his head as he stepped into the room. “I’m not used to two of you. It’s so strange having two of you. I mean, I was just telling that man Peter—”

“James, what is it?” Daniel asked, his irritation showing.

“Sorry,” James stammered with a blush. “I was just coming to report that the local guards and I have searched the entire castle and the surrounding area. She’s not here.”

“Well, she has to be somewhere,” Daniel said.

“Obviously,” Phillip mumbled.

“Phillip, let’s go find her,” Daniel implored, as he turned back to the prince and reached out his hand. “Let’s get some food in you, pack up some provisions and go find her.”

“I don’t know.” Phillip plopped back down on the edge of his father’s bed. “Would it be smart or safe for me to go wandering around the kingdoms? What if she comes after me again?”

“Well,” James said, as he pushed his shoulders back and grasped the hilt of the sword on his belt, “not to brag or anything, but you would have
the
bravest knight in the kingdoms to guard you.”

“And you’ll be there, right?” Phillip asked Daniel, with a look of hope. “I mean since the pea kept you awake it must be a sign, right? You’re meant to help me.”

“A pea?” James said, knitting his brows in confusion. Looking to Daniel he said “He thinks a pea kept you awake? Does he not know about—”

“I was just about to explain that. Phillip,” Daniel said, as he took Phillip’s hands into his own and stared into his eyes, “I think you misunderstood. I was awake because—”

“Your Highness?” a voice called from the doorway.

“Yes?” Daniel and Phillip answered in unison, both turning to see Peter standing in the doorway.

“Oh, I didn’t realize anyone else was—I meant Prince Phillip.” Peter stepped into the room and stopped, staring at the two princes holding hands in the middle of the room. He wrinkled his brow and cocked his head. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Peter! Oh, Peter.” Phillip dropped Daniel’s hands and stepped over to his friend. He grabbed Peter by the shoulders and pulled him to his chest. He leaned back to look into the other man’s eyes and said, “I am so glad you came back. I have missed you ever since that woman made you leave, and yet again your stories have saved my life. Thank you so much for coming back, but my father…” He pointed toward his father and wailed, “Look at him. What am I going to do? Sir James and the castle guards have searched everywhere and cannot find that awful woman. He hasn’t moved in days, and nothing the doctors do seems to help. Do any of your stories tell what we should do?”

“Prince Phillip, of course I came running back the moment I knew you were in danger. We’re fortunate Katerina was smart enough to make me stay and hear Cauchemar’s plans.” Peter squeezed Phillip’s shoulders. “You are my family. You know I would do anything for you. You and your mother are the only reasons I had the life I had; even more, you are why I know how to read and write. But, unfortunately, even my stories don’t cover this.” Peter looked over at the king’s frozen face and frowned. “
This
is too much for words.”

“As I feared,” Phillip said and sighed. He stepped back toward the king’s bed and pulled the heavy, blue blanket up over his father’s body. He stared at his father’s look of horror before turning back to Peter. “At least you’re here to stay with me and help me guard him.”

“Well, that is why I came in here.” Peter looked imploringly into Phillip’s eyes. “I can’t stay here with you. I want your permission to go find her.”

“You
want
to go find her?” Phillip asked. “And do what? She has powerful magic. You have nothing but words.”

“I don’t care.” Peter brushed away the comment with his hand. “I have something stronger than words. I love Kitty. She took Kitty, and I have to find her. Love is stronger than magic.”