Picture for a Frame

Chapter 7: Is it Too Late to Return the Cake?

Several local peasants and dragons from the village were assisting in preparing the main hall for the wedding. A number of the dragons were flying around hanging the last rows of bunting over head, while the peasants were just moving the King's marriage proclamation podium into place.

Loungealot, standing off to the side near the wall, appeared to be sweating slightly as he shuffled his papers, muttering their contents to himself.

"I say, Sir, I would think you're the one getting married today!" said Sir Galahot as he strode up to him.

"Confound it! Be quiet Galahot! I'm trying to memorize my best man speech....I've come up with some hilarious lines and I'll blame you if I forget to include any of them!" Barked Sir Loungealot.

A small crowd of the rest of the knights had gathered around along with Cinder and Clinker.

"Ach, is that so, Loungealot? Maybe you'd be willing to let us hear a wee few of them ahead of time?" Burnevere said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Well....why not? They're so good, I can't hold them in any longer anyway!" Loungealot cleared his throat. "Ehem! 'When I first met Flicker, I knew he was a prince of a guy....now he's just going to be a Prince!'".

The silence was deafening.

"Go on...finish the joke...don't keep us in suspense! He's going to be a Prince....and?" Sir Blaze said.

"Um....I think that was the joke, laddy." Burnevere said somewhat uncomfortably.

Cinder and Clinker shook their heads. "And people are always saying that we're terrible!" Clinker commented.

Just then, trumpets sounded, calling everyone's attention to the room's entrance.

There stood Princess Draxia. She looked resplendent in her white wedding gown and veil. As she advanced into the room, she walked with an air of regal distinction and confidence as her dress's wedding train dragged behind her. In her hands she clutched a beautiful bouquet of white and pink flowers.

All the knights except Sir Loungealot took their assigned seats in the nearby benches.

As she made her way to the row between the benches leading up to the King's podium, Princess Flame strode up to her.

"Exactly how much did that lovely dress set back our castle's seamstress? I can't imagine it would have been cheap under such a tight deadline." she said, looking at the dress in annoyance and crossing her arms.

"Oh, don't worry yourself, Flame...I've made sure she bills me personally for it. Anyway, you should concede that I've won by now....can't we be friends again?" Draxia replied.

"As long as you are pursuing this sham of a wedding, Draxia, you're not being anyone's friend...not mine, and certainly not Flicker's! He told me all about how you tricked him into taking that picture!" Flame replied with anger.

"Well, if that's the way you feel about it, why did you bother coming up to talk to me? What do we have to talk about exactly?" Draxia replied coolly.

"I'm offering you one last chance to march up to my father and tell him the truth about all this!" Flame said with some exasperation.

Draxia was seen to smirk beneath her face veil at the comment. "Now, Flame, why on Earth would I do that?" she said with smugness.

"Because if you don't, this wedding is going to fall apart more quickly than Count Geoffery's castle! So, if you want to avoid being publicly shamed as a fraud, and possibly reduced in rank, then you will confess now!" Flame said with quiet intensity.