Another Surprise for Fred

Then it came to him. "Wasn't that Princess Exotica?" he asked. "Surely she can't be working as a chambermaid?"

"She can be and she is," Reaibn replied. "I assure you that she's much happier now than she ever was as a princess."

"I must speak to her," Fred said. "If anyone should be on the throne in succession to King Emry, it is her."

"I assure you, Sir Fred, that she does not want the job. You can speak to her when we come back from the dungeon, if you insist."

With a sigh, Fred let Reaibn lead Astra and himself on towards the dungeon. As they walked, Astra raised a matter that had been on her mind: "Is there an Aqualarian embassy in Caemlyn?" She supposed she really ought to know without asking, but she had never taken much of an interest in matters of state, no matter how much her mother had tried to persuade her.

"I'm afraid not. When King Emry started claiming to be the rightful ruler of your fair land, the embassy was withdrawn."

"Any Aqualarian trade missions? Any of our merchants' caravans in the neighbourhood?"

"No, your Princessness."

She would just have to make her own way home, then, Astra decided. If Reaibn planned to marry her off to Fred in a week's time, then she would make sure that she would not still be in Caemlyn.

1. They reached the jailer's office, at the entrance to the dungeon. "We are here to talk to Bob the Barber," Reaibn told the man.
2. "If you were thinking of leaving," Reaibn went on, "then I should tell you that I have a letter from your mother, consenting to your marriage."
3. Astra found herself saying: "Can I be a chambermaid too?" Then she put her hand over her mouth, wondering what on Earth had made her say it.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree