Hi all! enjoy the chapter, it'll be the last for a while. :( I know. I have a project I really need to get done, so although I've already started on the next chapter and we're drawing near the close of the book, I'm taking however much time off of this book so I can work on this other project. I'm kinda sorry. Kinda not. I like being on top of things, so I'll be glad to check this one off my list.
So, anyway, enjoy the chapter!
“So, Gabby,” said Will as nonchalantly as he could, “We’re ahead of schedule. Want to stop somewhere?”
Liberazione was plodding through the undergrowth again in what Gabby hoped was the way back to the trail they’d left earlier. “Um, what would we stop for?” She wasn’t really listening. She was looking for evidence that they’d passed this way before. It looked as though her horse was forging a new trail to…somewhere.
“Well, uh, we could eat a snack.”
That caught Gabby’s attention. “Again? Didn’t you just eat a little while ago?” Looking down at Will, she couldn’t tell where all this food went. His arms and legs were just as twiggy as they’d always been.
“Look, my stomach is really small and it can’t hold a lot, so I need to eat all the time, okay?” He grumbled a little more under his breath about how it wouldn’t be a problem if he were man-sized and had pockets of his own.
She looked around. There seemed to still be plenty of daylight left, even in the thick of the forest and she had no other obligations waiting at the palace. One item of business was all she had on her mind and, after all, it could wait.
“Okay. Once we get back to the path, we’ll stop.”
Will rubbed his webbed hands together. “Excellent.”
Surprisingly enough, only a few more minutes passed before they were once again on the path. Liberazione immediately turned back toward the city and began walking. “Wow,” Gabby said as she rubbed Liberazione’s neck. “You’re amazing, boy.”
As she leaned forward to stroke Liberazione, Gabby bent low over Will. The smell of her perfume was intoxicating—a mixture of lilac and roses—and a wisp of hair pulled loose by their jaunt in the wilderness, tickled the top of his head. It sent a jolt to his sternum and he almost lost his balance as his thoughts became fuzzy.
The vision of running with her through a golden meadow of wildflowers was interrupted by the sound of her voice.
“Will?”
The dream faded, but he could still hear the ringing tones of the angelic choir.
“Hello?”
Wait a second. That wasn’t an angelic choir. Those were drinking songs.
He snapped to attention, looking quickly around. Where there were drinking songs, there were men gathered; where there were gathered men, there would be fire.
“Will, did you hear my question?”
“Uh, no. What was it?” Where was the smoke? His eyes kept searching the trees.
“I was asking if here was a good place to stop.”
Aha. There was the smoke.
“Actually, how about we keep going just over that rise right there? I think someone has a fire going.”
“Um, I’m not sure,” she began.
“You could get warm,” he offered.
She looked undecided still.
“We could melt the cheese like the old woman said.”
Gabby looked down at him again with incredulity. “What?”
“Well, we could try melting the cheese we have on the bread like she suggested and see if it changes my life. Then we’ll know if she’s crazy or not.”
She laughed a long, cleansing laugh. “Will, you are just so—“ She trailed off before finishing her sentence, but nudged Liberazione to continue walking toward the smoke as she shook her head with a smile.
Curiosity tingled at his nose, the possibilities of that unfinished sentence were tantalizing. The word ‘handsome’ probably wasn’t it because she couldn’t possibly know that he was quite good looking—or at least the girls at court had said so.
A memory flashed through his mind of the ball just before his father became ill. He’d started to suspect—mostly through Lance’s jealous remarks—that not everything coming from the mouths of the girls around him was sincere. As a test, he told the same joke three times to every girl he danced with and not one of them had pointed out the repetition, though all of them had laughed heartily each time. The worst part was that it wasn’t even a good joke.
Now that he thought about it, he might not actually be as handsome as they said.
Yeah, ‘handsome’ definitely wasn’t the word Gabby was thinking.
‘Funny’ would be an acceptable choice, as would ‘attractive’ but he was afraid that ‘weird’ was just a little more likely and he hoped that the word wasn’t ‘grotesque’.
Sighing in resignation, he gave up the train of thought. He would drown his sorrows with some melted cheese that would apparently change his life. Based on the old woman’s refusal to help, he didn’t think it would change him back to a human, but he was hoping for something in the right direction. Maybe skin just a little less green and a full stomach would be a good start.
As they drew near the smoke, Gabby could see that there were five men in various stages of inebriation lolling about next to a roaring fire. Two of the men were sitting up only because they were propped against chopped logs. All of them were loudly shouting the words of a song she couldn’t quite understand because of their slurred speech.
“Are you sure you want to sit around this fire?” she asked Will.
He shrugged. “Why not? They look friendly enough.”
“If you say so,” she said. Then she led Liberazione into the middle of the men effectively getting their attention and the song died.
“Halloo,” said one of them with wild, dark hair. “Welcome to our liddle pardy,” he slurred.
“Welcome,” said one who didn’t seem to be as intoxicated, though he sloshed his drink a little as he gestured with his mug.
“Saaaay, you’re cute,” said a third, hiccupping a little as he looked up at Gabby. He patted the dirt next to him. “You can sit by me.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” said Will, jumping off the horse, “But I should warn you that I prefer women.”
The man studied Will for a second, then peered into his jug. “Whas in here Lorenzo? I think a frog jus’ started talkin’ to me.”
Lorenzo, the man that had been silently lounging until now answered, “It’s good stuff. That’s all. You’ve had too much.” He returned to brooding over his drink.
Gabby stared at all of them, then turned to Will, opening her mouth to protest, but then remembered that she’d just wandered into the forest to look for an old lady with magical powers and had actually found one. Sitting around a campfire with a bunch of sloshed men was not the craziest thing she’d done that day.
Instead, she closed her mouth and took Liberazione to a nearby tree where she loosely tied the reins to a branch. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t run off, but just needed him to stay nearby. After retrieving the bundle with the bread, cheese, and a knife, she sat down carefully on one of the log seats that had been vacated.
Meanwhile, the drinking and carousing had resumed. Will was kind-of getting into the spirit of things and although he didn’t know the words, he was making up his own.
The whole business of slicing cheese and bread was not new to her. It had been a favorite snack on the days when she and Claudio had snuck up to the tower. However, roasting it near the fire was another matter. She couldn’t put it in the dirt, but the fire was so hot that she couldn’t get close enough to set it on one of the stones surrounding the pit. After scouting around, she found some forked sticks the men had obviously been roasting food of their own on before abandoning nourishment for fermented grain. She carefully skewered the bread along its length so that the cheese could rest on top and melt.
“Saaaay,” said the third man. “Whas thad you’re doin’?”
Now the other men started noticing, then all broke into laughter, slapping each other on the back and punching each other’s arm.
“She’s pretty enough, but not much goin’ on upstairs!” slurred the first man.
“You don’ have to cook those!” said the fourth.
The rest of the comments were unintelligible to Gabby. It was just as well. She saw little need of defending her intelligence to a group of men whose own intelligence seemed to be on hiatus. Looking over at Will, she raised an eyebrow.
Will, however, didn’t appreciate the comments much, and shouted, “That’s enough, you drunken hooligans!”
It grew quiet, though Lorenzo did snort some beer out his nose before quieting down.
“You guys have just insulted one of the smartest women I’ve ever met. If any of you dares say another word like it, I’ll challenge you to a duel.”
None of the men seemed to grasp the ridiculousness of dueling with a frog without opposable thumbs, though Gabby smothered a grin at the mental image. Instead, they each hung their heads. The third man muttered, “Sorry,” before breaking into sobs and taking a few more gulps from his jug.
It was quiet for a little while and when Will thought they’d been penitent long enough, he broke the silence. “So, what’s this party for anyway?”
“War!” said the first man, raising his jug.
“War!” shouted the rest, raising their assortment of drinkware as well. Then they all took a few gulps in unison.
Gabby looked up from the cheese that was just beginning to ooze over the side of the bread, pulling it away from the flame.
“What about it?” asked Will.
The man strewn next to him, rolled his head over to stare at him. “Waddaya mean? It’s war!”
“Yeah!” shouted another.
Gabby took a small bite of the gooey cheese, careful not to burn her mouth, and began chewing slowly. Oh. This is fantastic. The cheese dripped down the sides of the bread and she caught it quickly with another bite.
“Here’s to our buried sons!” shouted the man lolling next to Gabby, raising his mug.
The man with messy black hair raised his without waiting for the other toast to finish, “Here’s to the graves waitin’ for us!”
They had all become somber again. Someone sniffled a little.
Despite Gabby’s mouth overflowing with bread and melting cheese, “Why are you going to die now?”
“Hey!” said Will, noticing for the first time that she was eating. He hopped over toward her. “What’s it like?”
Chagrined, Gabby held out the only bite she hadn’t yet eaten. Will took it, while she speared another slice of bread.
“Oh, suuuure,” Hiccupped the second man. He still wasn’t as drunk, but he was definitely sliding closer to the brink. “You’re enjoying your picnic while we’re contemplating death. You’re just as bad as the king.”
Gabby choked. “I-I’m so—“
“Don’t mind him,” said Lorenzo. “He lost more sons than any of us.”
The second man’s face turned scarlet and he leaped unsteadily to his feet. “You should mind me! I don’t know who you are, with your preddy liddle hands and fancy dress, but you don’t know anythin’ about what it’s like!” He was gesturing toward her with his sloshing mug.
Will stepped protectively in front of Gabby, but he was surprised when he heard her quietly ask, “What is it like?”
“Powerless! That’s what it’s like! Watchin’ your sons march off in a cloud of dust and never seeing them again!” He took another gulp and tears began sliding down his cheeks. “Then, the king decides that he needs more men and orders all of us to march off too, away from our lands, away from our wives, and the children we still have.”
He hurled his mug into the fire where it crashed and burning liquid splashed back at them. Turning back to face Gabby he said, “All because of the greediness of one man.” He wiped sloppily at his face, then slumped back to his seat, sobbing.
“Way to go, man,” said the fourth. “We don’t have any more cups.”
Gabby was speechless. She’d never thought about where the rest of the soldiers had come from, nor where her father was going to get more.
“Gedoverit,” said Lorenzo, his words slurring into one. “There’s nothin’ we can do about it.”
It stunned Gabby to hear her recent mantra coming from another’s mouth. The response sounded so harsh after the man’s outburst. He was right though, wasn’t he? There wasn’t anything anyone but her father could do.
A leaden ball crept into her stomach.
“When do you leave?” she asked.
The third man continued his loud crying and didn’t respond; another just shrugged.
Finally, Lorenzo spoke up, “When the Medici get here for all the wedding rites, they’ll bring the rest of the supplies and gold for the king.”
Her mouth tightened into a thin line. “I see,” she said, and Will knew that she finally did see the reason for the timing and her father’s particular choice for her husband. The Medici family was the wealthiest family in Italy.
Gabby and Will stepped away from the fire soon afterward and mounted Liberazione. They left the party in a tearful silence as they pointed themselves back toward the palace.
Will saw that Gabby’s lips were formed into a grim expression. That grilled cheese did not change anything for the better. He looked down at his arms. If anything, they were even more green than they had been earlier and were now painfully dry after sitting so near a fire for so long.
His mother had taught him to never call women names, but he was sorely tempted to call the little old lady some really choice words as they headed home.
Gabby was quiet all through the ride and even through dinner, but Will wasn’t sure if she was thinking or listening to the people around her. Sometimes he wondered if she was thinking about Claudio because she kept pulling his golden ball out of her pocket to study. Other times, she stared off into the distance. Then she would focus on the people sitting near her and listen to their conversation for a while.
He didn’t see what was so interesting about their conversations, though. Niccolo was telling jokes again and the only people who weren’t listening were talking about the queen’s departure that afternoon. Apparently she needed a change of air for her poor health.
As far as Will was concerned, neither topic was worth the attention Gabby paid them.
After dinner, Gabby found an assortment of garden tools deposited in her rooms, with Acantha wiping her grubby hands on her handkerchief. She was wearing a deep scowl that Will wished he could take credit for.
“Here are the items you asked for, Your Highness,” said Acantha.
Gabby’s eyes brightened a bit as she surveyed them. “Yes, thank you, Acantha.” Bending close, she began to pick through the pile of pots and tools.
The lady-in-waiting didn’t move except for the slow working of her jaw muscle as she glared at Princess Gabby’s back.
After a moment, Gabby turned around, “Yes, Acantha? Do you need something?”
“Why yes,” she said, the words pinched as they left her tight lips. “Now that you mention it, I am a little concerned about my, um, duties of late.”
“And what about them?” Gabby asked, straightening up to face her.
Acantha measured her words carefully before speaking again, “Since the frog has come to stay, I have noticed that you send me on many errands. Some are acceptable, but some,” she sniffed, her eyes roaming to the pile of moldy fairytale books and the dirty garden implements behind Gabby, “some are unacceptable for one of my station.”
“Hmm,” was all Gabby said for a moment. She was thinking about all the things she wished she could say, but shouldn’t—the retorts that would feel so satisfying as they left her lips, but leave her tongue with a bitter taste.
Meanwhile, Acantha awaited a response, clearly expecting submission or an apology. She folded her arms over her smudged bodice and continued to wait.
“Acantha,” Gabby said finally, “It was my understanding that you came into my service because you desired to help me, though I am not so naïve as to think you blind to the advantages of being so connected to the royal family.”
The princess looked away and began to study the large floral arrangement on a table next to her. “I also understand that my requests have changed somewhat of late and you may be right that Will has something to do with it.”
He wrinkled his brow. Really?
“However,” Gabby continued, plucking a large, creamy rose from the center of the vase, “If you no longer believe that the benefits of being intimately connected to the everyday life of the family that rules this province are worth the effort that is required of you, you may leave.”
Gabby brought the rose to her face and inhaled deeply before looking back at Acantha to see how she had received the potential dismissal.
The lady-in-waiting was clearly torn and quite surprised, and although Gabby had warned her of the possibility of being sacked over withholding letters, she’d never quite believed that Gabby had enough of a backbone to follow through. She glared down at Will, having made her choice. This was war.
“No, Your Highness,” she said sweetly, choking a little on her change of tone. “I did not mean to say that I wished to go. I merely wanted permission to ask a pageboy to help with the, um, dirtier tasks.”
Gabby saw Acantha’s glower at Will and was not fooled. Hopefully they would be able to transform him before the lady could do any real damage. The thought of Will leaving caused a pang of something she couldn’t quite define, but she brushed it aside. It was useless to dwell on whatever it was.
“Yes, you may,” Gabby answered.
Yeesh, thought Will. Acantha is scary. I’d better watch my back if I want to continue playing with her mind.
“And now I have a request for both of you that I hope is not too difficult,” said Gabby, changing the subject. “I would like for both of you to leave me here for an hour. I am in need of some solitude.”
At the prospect of being kicked out, Will thought gruffly about the grilled cheese that had failed to have any positive impact on his life so far. I only got one bite of it, too.
“Yes, Your Highness,” said Acantha reluctantly before bowing out of the room.
The door closed not-too-softly behind her.
“You, too, Will,” she said. “I’m sorry. I just need to be alone for a bit.”
He gave an exasperated sigh. “All right. See you in a bit, then.” Then he squeezed under the door and headed for the kitchens. They would have bread and cheese. More importantly, only the princess had the stomach to share food with him, so he would have the melted cheese and bread all to himself this time.
Alone in her rooms, Gabby sighed. The air leaving her lungs pulled away the film dampening her emotions and she felt the heavy sadness resting its weight on her chest.
It seemed fitting that there was only the clinking of hand tools against clay pots and the soft hiss of dirt as it was spooned into a new container. Of the assorted pots Acantha had brought, Gabby chose one with a deep blue glaze swirled with rich golden veins. All at once it reminded her of Claudio’s eyes, the way his golden curls bounced when he threw his head back in a laugh, and how his voice seemed to reflect the warmth of the sun.
Pulling the golden ball from her velvet pouch, she fitted her seal to the special place and twisted it open. The seeds were still inside, but she had carefully wrapped them in a wet cloth a few nights before, rewetting it every night before bed. The cool little bundle felt so light, almost without substance as she cradled it in her hand.
As upset as Acantha had been about getting dirty, this was the errand that soothed the rawness of Princess Gabriella’s wound. Even as she ran her fingers through the black earth, it rubbed salve onto the gaping Claudio-sized hole.
Gabby tucked the small seeds into beds of soil, gently patting them down. Then she grasped the handle of the watering pitcher and sprinkled them with the cool water.
As she surveyed her work, she reflected on her brother who’d given her the seeds for something beautiful, but she’d never been able to plant them until he was gone.
Gabriella bowed her head toward her little seeds and let the tears slide down her cheeks one last time.
So, like I said. Enjoy! The next installment might take a while. :)