A Royal Ruse

Chapter 20

Birds of a Feather

I just hate that I'm not going to meet him." Zita folded her arms in a sulk.

The princess had just been informed that the king and queen were going to be spending the day at Haddon's University to attend an event celebrating Boahdahn, Zita's new literary obsession. The library was honoring him by inscribing his verses along the panels of their doorway.

The unveiling of the inscriptions happened to coincide with a meeting with the Farmworkers Guild, so naturally the monarchs decided to delegate the less desirable task to Zita and their sons.

"I know and he's an amazing orator as well. Hearing him read his poetry is unparalleled." Oziakel cooed.

"Verses are meant to be spoken. Oh, just to think I could have been listening to Boahdahn recite Faithful Oath. But alas, nothing in my life is fair. Instead, I have to spend a day listening to farmers vomit out facts about wheat and pretend to be interested."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic. Today is going to be that bad. I actually look forward to meeting with the Farmworker's Guild. They always have the best food." His eyes sparkled with excitement.

The young prince turned to his brother. "Ade, tell her about the pies last year."

Oziakel's enthusiasm was as infectious as the flu. One would expect it to affect his brother in some way. It did not.

The prince replied, with an attitude as skunky as ever, "the pies were good."

"They weren't just good. He enjoyed the apple and cardamom pie so much that he ordered a dozen of them to be delivered to the palace. He had pie for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. "

"My goodness. Not even I could stomach that much dessert." Zita couldn't fathom such a sour person having such a sweet tooth. But she had recently discovered Adair was a barrel of contradictions.

She looked at him askew. The princess hadn't spoken to Prince Adair since their outing to the Naval Base. After much thought, she had come to the conclusion that only a two-faced person could switch so effortlessly between charming and rancid. His list of undesirable traits ran far too long for Zita to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Let's not talk about my eating habits."

Oziakel happily acquiesced. "The anniversary of our father's coronation is coming up next on the Jubilee agenda. There's going to be a ball."

"Harita told me that there's a special theme each year."

Oziakel's head bobbed in confirmation. "Last year's theme was 'Folklore'. I dressed up as Giron. Have you heard the story?"

The princess shook her head.

"The Legend of Giron is about this greedy and cruel merchant, Giron, who came upon an ostrich egg in an enchanted forest. He stole it and became rich beyond his wildest dreams. But as soon as the ostrich egg hatched everything started going awry. He lost everything and I believe the tale ended with him dying of dysentery."

"I tried to get Adair to dress up as the ostrich." Oziakel nudged his brother's arm in another lighthearted attempt to get him to participate in the conversation.

"You should have had him dress up as the dysentery," Zita barely mumbled.

"What's that?" Oziakel leaned in.

Zita shook her head dismissively. Adair turned to look out of the window just in case it wasn't clear enough how little he cared for this conversation.

"Anyways, this year's theme is 'Birds of Paradise'. I've already caught a glimpse of some of the decorations. It's going to be spectacular."

"Who comes up with these themes?"