After much pondering, Frederica decided that the true story would be too
painful for the D'Honaires, whom
she had fond memories of from her five years as Fred. In fact, she
thought, they had
been far more loving parents to her as Fred than King Emry and Queen Sovay
had ever been
to Frederica.
Well, if Sovay believed that the dragon had taken her daughter, why not go along with that story? She would say that she had been held prisoner by the dragon for the last five years. Then Fred had managed to free her, but had been killed by the dragon in the process. The D'Honaires would find it much easier to accept that their son had died a hero's death than that he had never really existed. With the help of a map given her by Belboz, Frederica found her way out of the caves easily enough. If only she had had such a good map when she first gone underground, she reflected, her quest would have been a good deal easier. On the other hand, then she might never have encountered Belboz, and might have spent the rest of her life as Lord Fred. Only when she was out of the caves did it occur to her that, in her excitement, she had forgotten to ask Belboz for any supplies or more suitable clothing. Caemlyn was still many days distant, and the pink silk dress - whilst very pretty - wasn't the most practical of clothing for such a journey. Well, she would just have to make the best of it. As Sir Fred she had learnt a lot about living off the land, so she shouldn't starve. With no weapon to bring down a deer or even a rabbit, nor any way to cook anything she might catch, she would be restricted to a diet of berries and nuts, though.
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5/28/2001 1:02:59 PM
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