(no subject)
Amy stays longer in the nursery than she planned to. (Amy always does.)
Eventually, though, she sets out to join Perry and Parker on their tour of Ambergeldar's first football field (with improvements).
She'll cut through the gardens, and she's almost to the door that leads into them when someone takes her arm, firmly, just above the elbow. Startled, Amy turns to find Lord Stefan, commander of the palace guard. "If Her Majesty would please come with me," he says, and Amy's guessing from the grip on her arm that no is not really an option.
"Lord Stefan, what's going on?" she asks.
"Not here," he says, quickly and quietly. And then, with a slight nod to the guard nearby, he says again, "If Her Majesty would come with me, please."
Amy lets him lead her up the back stairs (the ones she used to use when she was a kitchen maid), to Perry's study and then into a small windowless room beyond it. Perry calls it the War Room; it's easy to secure, hard to break into, a place from which the King and his advisers can deal with an invasion. Amy's been inside it maybe twice in her life.
"Stefan, what is going on?" she repeats.
"I'm afraid we don't know, Your Majesty."
"The children? Are they--?"
"Rosalind is getting them," Stefan says. Lady Rosalind is Amy's best friend and Stefan's wife. "I want you all here until we know more."
"Why don't you tell me what you do know?" Amy says, and only a fool would mistake it for a request or a suggestion.
"Not a lot, yet," he says. He pulls out one of the chairs at the small table in the middle of the room. Amy stays on her feet. Lord Stefan sighs. "The reports are confused and contradictory at this time. But it appears there was a sighting of a dragon, who may have . . . made off with His Majesty and your guest." He gestures to the chair again. "Please sit down, Amy."
Amy doesn't so much sit down as she sinks into the chair. "A dragon? Who took Perry and Parker?"
"I'm very sorry, Amy."
Amy waves the sympathy away with one hand. She'll be sorry later. Right now, she needs to be Queen Amethyst of Ambergeldar.
"Hired, do you think?" she asks.
Stefan nods. "They're not native to the area around Amber; we've not seen one near the capital for thirty years, at the very least. I think it's a bit much of a coincidence that the first one to wander this way in three decades just happens to take the King. But I don't know who hired it, or why. Or if the kidnapping was the endgame or just the first step. And I cannot imagine that anyone could kidnap a king without some help from inside this palace."
"So I can't trust anyone here," Amy says.
"You may trust me, Amy," he says. "You cannot imagine I had--"
"Heavens, no, Stefan," she says. "You're Perry's oldest friend. You, Rosalind, Lord Terence. Marta."
Stefan nods. "For now, that's as far as I'd be willing to go."
There are three sharp raps at the door, a pause, and then two more. Stefan waves Amy up and behind him, draws his dagger, and opens the door a fraction of an inch. Then all the way, to admit Lord Terence, the court magician and his father-in-law.
Lord Terence, with a bow, hands Amy a sealed letter addressed to Perry. "This arrived, for His Majesty. In his absence, I took the liberty of delivering it to you."
"Arrived from where?" Stefan asks, coming over to look at the letter.
"It was in the Council room. One of the pages found it."
Amy turns the letter over. The seal pressed into the wax is the Royal Seal of Ambergeldar. Perry's, in other words. She breaks it, unfold the letter, and reads it through.
"It's from Perry's Uncle Maximilian," she says. "It's a ransom note. If Perry wants my safe return, he will abdicate immediately in favor of his uncle. Only he uses a lot more words." Amy hand the letter to Stefan. "I take it things have not gone according to his plan. A bit overconfident, and not a little bit stupid, to send the demands before he's sure he successfully kidnapped the correct target."
Amy paces the length small room, then turns to Lords Terence and Stefan. "Right. Well, Maximilian has not been at court for weeks, which means there's definitely someone else involved, and we don't know who it is. We're going to need outside help.
"Lord Terence, you will wait here, please, for Rosalind and Nurse Marta and my children. You will all stay here until we know more. If anyone tries to break in, if anyone so much as threatens the Prince and the Princess, you have my permission to kill them where they stand. Or at least turn them into frogs or something."
Lord Terence bows. "As Her Majesty wishes."
"Lord Stefan, you will come with me."
"Where are we going, Amy?"
"To my rooms. There's something I need to get."
Eventually, though, she sets out to join Perry and Parker on their tour of Ambergeldar's first football field (with improvements).
She'll cut through the gardens, and she's almost to the door that leads into them when someone takes her arm, firmly, just above the elbow. Startled, Amy turns to find Lord Stefan, commander of the palace guard. "If Her Majesty would please come with me," he says, and Amy's guessing from the grip on her arm that no is not really an option.
"Lord Stefan, what's going on?" she asks.
"Not here," he says, quickly and quietly. And then, with a slight nod to the guard nearby, he says again, "If Her Majesty would come with me, please."
Amy lets him lead her up the back stairs (the ones she used to use when she was a kitchen maid), to Perry's study and then into a small windowless room beyond it. Perry calls it the War Room; it's easy to secure, hard to break into, a place from which the King and his advisers can deal with an invasion. Amy's been inside it maybe twice in her life.
"Stefan, what is going on?" she repeats.
"I'm afraid we don't know, Your Majesty."
"The children? Are they--?"
"Rosalind is getting them," Stefan says. Lady Rosalind is Amy's best friend and Stefan's wife. "I want you all here until we know more."
"Why don't you tell me what you do know?" Amy says, and only a fool would mistake it for a request or a suggestion.
"Not a lot, yet," he says. He pulls out one of the chairs at the small table in the middle of the room. Amy stays on her feet. Lord Stefan sighs. "The reports are confused and contradictory at this time. But it appears there was a sighting of a dragon, who may have . . . made off with His Majesty and your guest." He gestures to the chair again. "Please sit down, Amy."
Amy doesn't so much sit down as she sinks into the chair. "A dragon? Who took Perry and Parker?"
"I'm very sorry, Amy."
Amy waves the sympathy away with one hand. She'll be sorry later. Right now, she needs to be Queen Amethyst of Ambergeldar.
"Hired, do you think?" she asks.
Stefan nods. "They're not native to the area around Amber; we've not seen one near the capital for thirty years, at the very least. I think it's a bit much of a coincidence that the first one to wander this way in three decades just happens to take the King. But I don't know who hired it, or why. Or if the kidnapping was the endgame or just the first step. And I cannot imagine that anyone could kidnap a king without some help from inside this palace."
"So I can't trust anyone here," Amy says.
"You may trust me, Amy," he says. "You cannot imagine I had--"
"Heavens, no, Stefan," she says. "You're Perry's oldest friend. You, Rosalind, Lord Terence. Marta."
Stefan nods. "For now, that's as far as I'd be willing to go."
There are three sharp raps at the door, a pause, and then two more. Stefan waves Amy up and behind him, draws his dagger, and opens the door a fraction of an inch. Then all the way, to admit Lord Terence, the court magician and his father-in-law.
Lord Terence, with a bow, hands Amy a sealed letter addressed to Perry. "This arrived, for His Majesty. In his absence, I took the liberty of delivering it to you."
"Arrived from where?" Stefan asks, coming over to look at the letter.
"It was in the Council room. One of the pages found it."
Amy turns the letter over. The seal pressed into the wax is the Royal Seal of Ambergeldar. Perry's, in other words. She breaks it, unfold the letter, and reads it through.
"It's from Perry's Uncle Maximilian," she says. "It's a ransom note. If Perry wants my safe return, he will abdicate immediately in favor of his uncle. Only he uses a lot more words." Amy hand the letter to Stefan. "I take it things have not gone according to his plan. A bit overconfident, and not a little bit stupid, to send the demands before he's sure he successfully kidnapped the correct target."
Amy paces the length small room, then turns to Lords Terence and Stefan. "Right. Well, Maximilian has not been at court for weeks, which means there's definitely someone else involved, and we don't know who it is. We're going to need outside help.
"Lord Terence, you will wait here, please, for Rosalind and Nurse Marta and my children. You will all stay here until we know more. If anyone tries to break in, if anyone so much as threatens the Prince and the Princess, you have my permission to kill them where they stand. Or at least turn them into frogs or something."
Lord Terence bows. "As Her Majesty wishes."
"Lord Stefan, you will come with me."
"Where are we going, Amy?"
"To my rooms. There's something I need to get."