Page 32 of Of Brides Of Queens

“Of course. That is a wonder in itself.”

We sat, and I gazed at the princess. I got the sense she gazed right back.

Would we just sit here and gaze at each other all night? I grinned. “There is so much that I wish to ask you that I struggle to begin.”

“I feel you may be a monster who will answer one question and spark my curiosity to ask five more.” She fidgeted and squelched in her seat. This princess was far more nervous than I.

The fabric over her mouth puffed outward as she blurted, “My king does not know I am here. Toil brought me the letter directly, and I snuck out.”

I would have expected the material to stick to her slime over her mouth. How did she manage that?

I considered what she’d said next. “I had not intended for you to feel uncomfortable with my invitation, Princess. I had thought that your king might relish further meetings between us.”

She sighed very prettily. “While one meeting was granted to convince you of the estranged nature of our union, he might reason that further meetings would create friendliness between us that might work against his romantic designs.”

My brow cleared. “That I would not concubine for him out of a sense of friendly loyalty?”

“Just that, Your Majesty.”

“You are familiar with your king’s reason,” I ventured to say.

A wet nod under her cloak. “As any princess should be, and I have more cause than most to uphold princessly duty. My king and I are estranged in body and in heart and in interest, and so we cling to our ancient responsibilities as humans might a jutting rock in a storm.”

I rested back against my chair. “How is it that you are married to your king’s purpose yet snuck away without divulging the contents of my letter?”

She should not be capable of sneaking out.

Quiet threatened to creep through the conservatory, but the princess shook her head quite moistly before quiet could settle. “Queen Perantiqua, now you mention this, I cannot say how sneaking away came to be or was possible. When I read your letter, I felt a great urge to attend you.”

I inhaled then, and in doing so, I caught the sweet reek of obsession. The ancient in me curved her lips, for I had watched other monsters experience similar confusions when it came to me.

I would not share my theories of obsession. “Allow me to say, Princess Bring, that I listen to your true form with rapture. Your movements are like art in every feeling and gesture—a symphony.”

The damp sounds of her shock and embarrassment at my compliment were an experience in their own right.

“YourMajesty.You flatter me, and you the most untouchable fairy stitch monster that ever was. I cannot think how I have climbed to such a platform in your esteem. My sounds are nothing very special. Princes can make them.”

She did not see herself. “A princely pawn could never make your noises. Yours are unique to your delightful monster and they arise so prettily.”

“I… cannot think how to answer.”

“Compliments do not require an answer. Your only effort must be to believe them.”

“Believe them,” she echoed.

I let the quiet in. Space should be given to such challenging moments, and though the state of the princess’s esteem did not inspire deep anger in me as the tattered esteem of Huckery,Unguis, and Loup did, I possessed a strong desire to see that this woman love herself again.

I tapped the breakfast table. “You know. Now I am queen, I would expect that King Bring should bemyconcubine.”

The princess snorted, then hastily said, “Excuse me! What a horrific noise. I was caught off guard.”

I torsioned a smile. “I have already told you that I enjoy your symphony, princess. Worry not. What do you think your king might do with such a request?”

She relaxed again, then chortled. Wetly. “I can tell you almost certainly, Your Majesty. He would at once desire to accept your offer on the first night, and then he would consider what you meant about it on the second night. Then on the third, he would reflect on whether your offer was intended to save or ruin the world. He would convince himself on the fourth and fifth nights that you meant to save the world because that is what hedesires of you. On night six he would plan how to accept your offer elaborately and seductively, and on the seventh night, he would do just that.” Princess Bring cut off with a gasp. “But why would I say such things of my king’s reason? Please do not ever say I did so.”

“I will not. You are safe with me.”

In the workings of my mind, I concluded that Princess Bring displayed vast confidence in her king’s reasoning and rhyme. She had just conveyed these casually and succinctly. She had also snuck out to meet me in certainty that King Bring would otherwise prevent the visit. Even I had not guessed that he would interpret the visit that way.

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