The Wide-Awake Princess Page 17

  Clarence’s knuckles were white from gripping the reins when he kicked the sides of his horse and took off at a gallop.

  “Ouch!” said Annie as Clarence disappeared down the road. “I guess you two really don’t get along.”

  “We never have,” Liam replied. “But I blame my mother more than anyone.” He sighed and shifted in his seat. “Clarence was my parents’ firstborn and Mother thought he was very special. When he was about to be christened, Mother nagged the local fairies into giving him every gift she could think of relating to good looks and social graces. When I was born, the fairies resented her earlier demands so much that most of them stayed away from my christening. Unlike most princes, I don’t have a magically enhanced appearance, I’m not the best dancer in the kingdom, and I couldn’t write poetry if my life depended on it. By the way, I very much liked the poem you recited for Andreas’s contest.”

  Annie grinned. “Thank you. There was no magic involved in that, either.”

  “I know, which is why it was so great. Anyway, Clarence was handsome and gifted, while I was ordinary, at least according to my mother. She reminded me of this every time I failed to meet her expectations, which was most of the time. I was happiest when Mother ignored me, and I spent more time with my father than most princes spend with theirs. He taught me how to shoot an arrow and wield a sword before I reached the age of nine. Father decided that I should learn all the manly arts; if he couldn’t teach me something himself, he found someone who could.”

  “Your father seems like a very nice man,” said Annie.

  “He is nice, and that’s something no one can say about my mother. She likes to manipulate people, although she’s never been able to control my father. Clarence was a different story, however. He’s been under her thumb his whole life. I’d almost feel sorry for him, except I think he enjoys it so much. Being her favorite son meant that he got whatever he wanted and could pick on me without fear of retaliation. They’re two of a kind, and it’s not a kind I like. Mother has goals for Clarence that exceed simply ruling Dorinocco.”

  Annie nodded. “I saw how excited she became when she thought he could marry Gwennie and rule Treecrest as well. But it’s not unusual for parents to have big dreams for their children.”

  “It’s not the dreaming that’s a problem,” said Liam. “It’s how people go about achieving the dreams that concerns me.”

  “So why didn’t you tell your father about Clarence and your mother when you saw him?”

  Liam sighed. “I probably should have, but I thought I could deal with this myself. He looks so frail now... I want to make his life easier when I can. If I had my way, he’d never have to learn about any of this, but he’s probably already ferreted out most of the details now that he knows something is going on. Look, there’s Clarence. I suppose it was too much to hope that he would go on without us. He’s probably going to tell us that he wants to stop for the night, even though there are hours of daylight left.”

  “Do you have any idea where you want to stay the night?”

  “I do indeed. We’ll stop when I can’t stand Clarence’s whining anymore.”

  “Pretty soon then, huh?” Annie said.

  Liam laughed and shook his head. “You’d be surprised how much I’ve learned to put up with.”

  A few hours later they set up camp in a copse of trees just off the main road. Together, Annie and Liam watered the horses at a nearby stream and built a camp-fire from fallen twigs. Before they could ask him to help, Clarence announced that he was going to look for berries and wandered off. He came back just as Liam was serving the food the cook had packed, then sat by himself to eat. When he finished eating, he took his bedroll and disappeared among the trees.

  “Your brother isn’t very social, is he?” said Annie as she helped Liam clean up after supper.

  “Not when he’s around me. He knows I’m not as easily impressed as the courtiers who follow him like lap-dogs, so he doesn’t bother trying.”

  Annie glanced at the woods in the direction Clarence had gone. “He knows about me, doesn’t he? I saw the way he looks at me, and he avoids touching me altogether. He nearly tripped over his own feet backing away from me when I tried to hand him his plate earlier.”

  Liam nodded without looking at her. “He knows.”

  “Your mother does, too, I bet. Did you notice that none of them asked why my parents were asleep or why I wasn’t asleep as well? Word must have gotten out already. Listen, I want to go wash up before it’s too dark to see. I’ll be right back so we can talk.”

  “You’d better take a torch with you,” Liam suggested. “There might be snakes in the brush.”

  “Good thinking,” said Annie, taking the one he offered. She held the torch high as she made her way to the stream, and was glad she had it when she returned. It was darker then, with clouds scudding across the night sky, blocking the light of the waning moon.

  She was passing the tethered horses on her way back to the campsite when she noticed something white on the ground. Curious, she bent down and picked up a folded piece of parchment. Holding the torch with one hand, she unfolded the parchment with the other. Something shiny fell out, landing at her feet. Once again Annie bent down, and this time she picked up a pin. “How odd,” she murmured, and turned her attention back to the parchment. It was the note that Queen Lenore had handed to Clarence.

  As a rule, Annie didn’t read other people’s letters, but this time curiosity got the better of her and she held the note up to the light of the torch.

  My Dearest Clarence—

  If the kiss doesn’t work, wake the princess in whatever way you can. Slap her, jab her with a pin (which I’ve enclosed), pull her hair, bite her lip … Do what you need to, but get her to open her eyes, even if it’s for only a second. They never said she had to stay awake. If Liam and that girl Annie deny that you are Gwendolyn’s true love, we can always claim that they went back on their word and get the neighboring kingdoms behind us. Don’t worry, my darling boy. You’ll get that throne yet!

  Love, Mother

  Annie was horrified. To think that someone would want to cheat like that, and to do it by stabbing her sister with a pin! With a flick of her fingers, Annie dropped the pin and ground it into the dirt with the toe of her shoe. She glanced back at the note. The words that the queen had written were bad enough, but there was something about the handwriting... Annie gasped and crushed the note in her hand. She’d recognized the handwriting with its curlicues and flourishes—it was the same as the writing on the note that had come with the tiny jeweled spinning wheel on which her sister had pricked her finger.

  Liam looked up from his seat beside the campfire as Annie came storming back. Her hand shook as she thrust the note in his face, saying, “Your mother was the one who sent the jeweled spinning wheel! She’s the one who made my sister fall asleep. It was your family’s fault that my family is in this mess! You want to take over our kingdom! That’s why you got a job in my parents’ castle. You were there to spy on us!”

  Liam shook his head. “I had no part in my mother’s plan. I learned about her intentions after she had already set everything in motion. I got the job as a guard so I could stop her. I was trying to protect your family!”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because it’s the truth,” he said, reaching for her hand. “I’ve been trying to keep you safe all along and you know it. From the moment I realized that you’d escaped from the castle, I’ve done everything I could to protect you. I want you to find the prince who can wake your sister. I want your entire family to wake up!”

  Suddenly Annie no longer had the energy to argue. She sank down onto the log beside Liam and rested her head in her hands. “Tell me about the plot you mentioned.”

  “I overheard my mother talking to Clarence one day. She had hired an old witch to take a spinning wheel to the castle to send Gwendolyn into a deep sleep. Father’s leg was paining him more than usual and he’d shut
himself away in his chamber, so I decided that it was up to me to stop them. I went to Treecrest to find the witch, hoping I could handle it without anyone else learning what they had done. I was relieved when you got rid of her, and I thought the danger was over, otherwise I never would have gone on the captain of the guard’s errand. I wasn’t gone long, but when I came back and found the wall of roses, I knew that I’d heard only part of my mother’s plan. I didn’t know about the other spinning wheel until you told me about it.”

  “You mean that errand was real? You didn’t make it up so you could leave before my sister pricked her finger?”

  “It was very real. I already told you, I don’t like lying!”

  “I’m sorry,” Annie said, her lips so stiff that it was hard to speak. “Please continue.”

  “There’s not much else to tell. I tried to get into the castle, but the roses were everywhere. I stayed around hoping I’d find a secret way in. My parents’ castle has at least two, so I thought yours might as well. I made three circuits around the castle and even checked for underwater entrances on the river side. I was in the woods starting another circuit when I found some of my mother’s men. I watched them until I knew they couldn’t get in, either. Then I saw your footprints and tracked you to the woods where I found you.”

  “So Clarence knows about your mother’s plan?”

  “As far as I know, he was in on it from the beginning.”

  Annie had decided to trust Liam before. It was even harder to trust him now, but part of her still wanted to. “So what do we do?”

  Liam relaxed, almost as if his entire body had been tense until he knew that she believed him. “We do exactly what we’re already doing. I took you to see Clarence and my mother when I did for a couple of reasons. When I found those men who kidnapped you, I recognized them as some who worked for my mother. She had you kidnapped and locked in the tower to keep you out of the way while she took over Treecrest. I wanted her to back off, so I thought it was time we went to see her. Mother and Clarence needed to know about the other princes. Clarence wouldn’t dare try to take over the kingdom by trickery with so many royals there. I wanted him to stop what he was planning long enough that we could reach the castle without his men waylaying us.

  “They won’t have their soldiers try anything now since they’re both convinced that Clarence is going to wake Gwendolyn and win her hand. My mother has to know that Clarence’s marriage to your sister would be a much better way to take over the kingdom. Fighting costs lives and money. It might also lead to the destruction of linder trees. If Clarence were to wake Gwendolyn, at least he would have gotten control through honest means, but I doubt very much that that will happen. If someone else kisses her and your family wakes up, Clarence will have to call his men back. Once he returns home, Father’s going to be furious. He’s tried to maintain peaceful relations with the neighboring kingdoms for his entire reign, and despite what Mother and Clarence seem to think, my father is still in charge.”

  “But what if my family doesn’t wake up?”

  “Am I right in assuming that anyone who isn’t touching you will fall asleep?” said Liam. When Annie nodded, he continued, saying, “Then we leave Clarence to sleep along with everyone else in the castle, and keep looking until we find Gwendolyn’s true love. Don’t worry, if this doesn’t work, we’re not giving up.”

  “Thank you!” Annie said, her words so heartfelt that tears made her eyes glisten.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” said Liam. “We have a lot to do tomorrow and no guarantee that any of it will come out right.”

  Suddenly there was crashing in the forest and two figures emerged from behind a tree. Liam leaped to his feet and reached for his crossbow, but Annie just leaned forward for a better look. “Is that you, Beldegard?” she called. “What are you doing with Clarence?”

  The bear prince lumbered closer, dragging Clarence by the collar. When he reached the light of the campfire, Beldegard pinned the prince to the ground with one massive paw and spit out the collar with a loud ptew! “I found this dreg of humanity lurking behind a tree, listening in on your conversation. Do you want me to eat him for you, or what?”

  “Get your paws off me, you flea-bitten bear rug! I’m Prince Clarence of Dorinocco and I have every right to be here. I’m traveling with my brother and the princess.”

  “But you didn’t have any right to listen in on a private conversation,” said Liam. “How long were you there?”

  “Long enough to hear that you plan to leave me in the castle, asleep! Wait until Mother hears this!”

  “And I thought my family has problems!” said Beldegard. “I take it you wouldn’t want your mother to hear about that nap you have planned for sneaky boy here?”

  “It would be better if she didn’t,” said Liam.

  “Then I’ll see to it that he doesn’t go anywhere. I owe you one, Princess. I found those children you told me about and I took them to the widow’s cottage. That’s when I saw the woman I’d intended to marry kissing another man.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that!” said Annie.

  “Yeah, and I was sorry to see it, but I’m glad I found out now instead of after the wedding. I wouldn’t want to marry someone who didn’t love me, now would I?”

  “Why would a girl want to marry a bear?” asked Clarence.

  The bear cuffed him across the head, making Clarence duck when the bear raised his paw again. “I’m an enchanted prince, you dunderhead!” roared Beldegard. “Didn’t you notice that I can talk?”

  “Now that you mention it...”

  “We’re on our way to Treecrest,” said Annie. “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”

  “We are inviting princes, after all,” said Liam.

  “I might as well,” said the bear prince. “I lost track of that dwarf days ago and haven’t seen him since.” Raising his paw, he gestured to Annie and Liam. “You two go ahead and get some sleep. I don’t need much sleep this time of year, so I’ll keep an eye on this fella... Hey you, come back here!”

  Clarence had taken advantage of Beldegard’s raised paw to roll out of reach and stand up. In only three steps, the bear prince had knocked him down again. “I’d go to sleep, too, if I were you,” he growled into Clarence’s ear. “I said I wasn’t sleepy, but I never said I wasn’t hungry! Say good night to your brother and the princess.”

  “Good night, everyone,” Clarence hurried to say.

  “Excellent,” said Beldegard. “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

  CHAPTER 16

  FOR ALL THE TRAVELING Annie had done, she thought that the last few miles to Treecrest were the longest. Since Beldegard had taken on the job of watching over Clarence, Annie and Liam no longer had to keep track of him. The bear prince had to stay well back from Clarence, however, because even the smallest glimpse or the faintest whiff of his bearish scent terrified the horses. Clarence had tried to get away only once. Although Annie hadn’t seen what happened, she heard Beldegard roar, the horse scream, then silence. Clarence disappeared for a few minutes, but when he returned he looked chastened and not at all eager to try again.

  Annie had expected the princes to be waiting by the castle gate, but she never expected so many people to be there. A group of villagers greeted her first, tossing flowers in her path when they saw that it was indeed their own beloved princess. She saw soldiers then, a few who had been out on patrol when Gwendolyn fell asleep, some who had been on leave to visit their families, and a few she didn’t recognize, but Liam said they were wearing the colors of the princes who were supposed to be there. Regardless of their allegiance, however, they all saluted the brave princess who had gone on a quest to save her family and her kingdom.

  She saw the princes next. Digby was there, half-drunk and declaring that he was the only one with the right to kiss the princess. His hands and face were scratched as if he’d tried to pass through the roses. Andreas greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a bouquet of the
roses that guarded the castle. Cozwald waved hello with one hand and held the hand of the little girl Clara with the other. Tomas was there as well, standing beside his father, Emilio. Annie hugged the children and greeted each of the princes with enthusiasm; she was grateful that they were there, but all the while she was hoping that they were enough, that one of them really would prove to be Gwendolyn’s true love.

  “Are you ready, Princess?” asked Andreas when the princes had gathered around her.

  Annie took a deep breath and glanced at all the expectant faces. “No time like the present,” she said, and reached for Liam’s hand. “I’m going to take you in all at once. You should stay awake as long as you keep in touch with each other and with me.”

  “She means you hold hands,” growled Beldegard, shoving Clarence toward the other princes.

  Although Digby and Clarence complained, the rest of the princes hurried to get in line and take each other’s hands. When Digby saw that he would be last, he ran to the front of the line and shoved Liam aside. Taking Annie’s hand, he looked down at her and smiled. “Thought you’d pull a fast one, didn’t you? You’ve never liked me and I’ve never liked you, but we both know that I’m the one to marry your sister. Hurry up and take me in there. I want to get this over and done.”

  Annie gritted her teeth and looked away. If there was one prince she wished she could ban from the castle, it would be Digby.

  “I’d be nicer to Princess Annabelle if I were you,” Liam said in a soft voice. Annie glanced back and was surprised to see him examining a knife as if to check its sharpness. “She means a lot to me, if you know what I mean.”

  “Yes. Yes, I suppose I do,” Digby said, his voice coming out higher than normal. Clearing his throat he added, “And your name is...?”

  “I’m Prince Liam and I’m a friend of Princess Annabelle’s. Anyone who doesn’t treat her nicely has to answer to me.”

  “Oh, and um... to me as well,” murmured Digby. Annie saw that he didn’t look quite as handsome as he had before he took her hand. He looked older and more careworn, with his nose red from drinking and his hair turning limp and a dull shade of brown. His bloodshot eyes seemed to draw closer together even as she watched.