Page 10 of Kingdom of Feathers

Basil sighed. “I do know him.” He met his mother’s eyes. “It’s not like I expected him to give in easily, but he could have at least listened to my proposal.”

“He did,” said the queen. “You proposed to realign the border.”

Basil shook his head. “There was more to it than that. I want to go to Myst, to negotiate a ceasefire on Father’s behalf.”

“What?” The utter horror on the queen’s face made it unnecessary for her to put her opinion into words, but of course she did so anyway. “You want to travel into the heart of our enemy’s territory, and make yourself vulnerable to their malice?” She shuddered. “Thank goodness you didn’t say that in front of your father. Send his only son into Mistra? You must be mad to think he’d countenance such a thing!”

Basil grimaced. “If that’s your reaction, I don’t think I have much chance of convincing Father.”

“You have none at all,” said the queen firmly. “My advice is not to even bring it up. Why would you wish to go yourself? If we were going to send someone to negotiate—which I highly doubt your father will agree to do—it wouldn’t be you. Have you forgotten that our last envoy barely escaped with his life?”

“That was almost six years ago,” Basil said impatiently. “And the princes had just been killed. I just don’t believe the Mistran king is as aggressive as Father always claims. Otherwise he would have attempted a true invasion long before now. If I went, it would be a show of goodwill, to demonstrate how serious we are.”

“Basil, your life is too important.” There was an edge of genuine fear to his mother’s words. “You are our only son.”

“Yes,” said Basil dryly, thinking of his twelve younger sisters. “I’m aware of that.”

“Then you should know we would never risk your life like that! Isn’t what happened to Mistra’s princes evidence enough of the need to be careful?”

“Actually,” said Basil, meeting her look, “what happened to Mistra’s princes is evidence that no matter how careful you are, you can’t guarantee nothing terrible will happen. They were walking in their own castle grounds when they were attacked and murdered by an enchantress whom we can only assume was legitimately mad. What’s to stop such a thing happening here?”

“The dragons might help protect you if you were attacked.” There was a hopeful edge to the queen’s voice that made Basil roll his eyes.

“Zinnia and I might be friendly with some of the dragons,” he said, naming the oldest of his younger sisters, “but they don’t exactly follow us around, ready to protect us against enchantments.” He narrowed his eyes slightly at the thoughtful look on his mother’s face. “And if you think the dragons would ever take sides when it came to war between two human kingdoms, you must be out of your mind.”

His mother frowned at his habitual lack of tact, but she was so used to it, she didn’t bother speaking the chastisement aloud. “Of course I don’t think that.”

“Good,” said Basil briskly. “Now about this trip of mine to Myst—”

“There will be no trip to Myst,” said Queen Lucille firmly. “Don’t waste your energy on something that won’t happen. Your father will never send his heir to treat with his enemies.”

“All this nonsense about me being irreplaceable,” Basil said impatiently. “You havetwelveother children, Mother! I don’t see why Zinnia couldn’t just take the throne if anything happened to me. Father’s obsession with having another son makes no sense. I know the deaths of the Mistran princes only made him more determined, but I don’t understand why. I mean, they were all killed. It didn’t help that there were six of them, did it?”

The queen sighed. “I’m not saying I disagree with you.” Her usually serene face betrayed a hint of weariness, and Basil suspected, not for the first time, that she would be glad to stop having children. “But your father wants to pass his crown to his son, as his father passed it to him.”

“The Listernian king doesn’t seem to mind having a daughter as an heir,” Basil pointed out.

His mother gave him a look. “I’m not sure that example would do much to convince your father. Have you forgotten the furor over a princess being named as heir was such that someone cursed the entire kingdom, and sent her into an enchanted sleep?”

“Yes, but that’s all resolved now,” said Basil impatiently.

His mother ignored him, pushing on relentlessly. “And the only other princess to be the heir is Mistra’s, who—”

“Who by all accounts is addled in her mind,” Basil finished, unruffled. “Yes, it’s not an excellent promotion for crown princesses. But Zinnia would be all right.”

“What would I be all right at?” The suspicious question made both Basil and the queen turn, but before they could greet the oldest princess, an insistent voice cut across the adult conversation, as a small shape hurtled toward the prince.

“Basil, look! Look what I made! I did it perfect!”

Basil blinked down at the offering being held out to him. “I see that,” he informed the still-bobbing three-year-old seriously. “It’s most definitely the most perfect flower crown I’ve ever seen.” He shot a cheeky look at his mother. “Just what I need to proclaim my unassailable status of crown prince and sole heir. I’ll wear it at once.”

He made to take the crown of daisies, but his youngest sister shrieked and clutched it out of his reach. “No, I was justshowingyou!” she protested. “You can’thaveit!”

“I’m terribly sorry, Wisteria,” said Basil, his lips twitching as he met Zinnia’s eyes. “My mistake.”

“You can havemyflower crown, Basil,” said a sweet little voice, and another of Basil’s sisters sidled up to him, holding out her own creation.

“Thanks, Holly,” he grinned, taking the crown. “But I think you should wear it.” He placed it meticulously on her head. “There, like I thought. You look just like a princess!”

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