Page 31 of The Prince of New York

“When we’re doing the courthouse thing, make plans to go to a stationery store and possibly a bag store. I’ll teach you how to effectively pack a bag for these trips for your personal hardware, entertainment, and so on. If you don’t have a hobby, we’re going to a hobby store, and you’ll pick a starter kit for learning something.”

“I paint,” Madelyn admitted.

“Oil, water, acrylic, or other?” I considered the complications transporting a drying painting would create, decided the RPS could earn its keep, and would enable her however she needed.

“Watercolor.”

That would simplify things. “We’ll go to the art store anyway, and we’ll pick a travel kit for you. There’s going to be a lot of downtime, and it’s better if we prepare the aides for this sort of thing. Since you haven’t done this sort of work before, I’d rather you not learn the hard way. I’ll be picking a hobby, too.” Outside of my work, I hadn’t bothered with anything that might count as an enrichment activity. “Dr. Stanton? Do you have any recommendations for me?”

“I would like you to take up horseback riding while you are there. The Californians have reopened their palace stables, and there will be a horse available for your use. I’ve already made arrangements for an instructor, and as your sister will be riding often, you need a refresher course. For an artistic craft, I think I’ll inquire on if it’s possible to find a woodcarving instructor for you. I want you working with your hands, and I don’t want you using your talent much. Woodcarving, outside of heat tempering the wood, should meet my requirements.”

I raised a brow at the thought of working with a knife. “While woodcarving is a rather manly hobby, I’m not sure I want to be doing an activity that might result in the loss of a finger. Or fingers. With my luck, I would end up cutting off my own nose. How about I start with clay sculpting? That sounds safer. The blades are dulled. I think.”

“If you want to play with clay, I’ll allow it, and you can even use your talent to fire the clay. It’s a good way to practice usage and prevent spontaneous combustion.”

Madelyn narrowed her eyes and regarded Dr. Stanton with a rather displeased expression. “What do you mean by spontaneous combustion?”

“He’s New York’s strongest Royal, and he must do exercises and work with his talent to prevent it from bottling. When we remove his current suppressors, I will have him do some intensive work to mitigate the risk. He’s excellent at managing his risk factor, but it’s always an issue following illness. For your work, you can just check on him in the afternoon and ask if he’s done his exercises for the day. He’s the easiest royal to work with in that regard. He follows his trainer’s recommendations, and he takes safety seriously.”

“But he can spontaneously combust?”

“As can his sister,” Dr. Stanton replied, and she offered Madelyn a gentle smile. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“If you’re sure,” she murmured in a way I recognized to mean she would be worrying about it.

“Remember what I said about melting tungsten?” The question drew the woman’s attention to me, and she nodded. “Doing a tungsten melt means I don’t have to worry about my talent for at least a week. That sort of work is intensive, and while I can continue to use my magic, it uses enough strength and energy that it is no longer a worry for a while. Dr. Stanton probably wants me to go to the junkyard to make certain she doesn’t have to monitor my talent for a few days.”

“He’s not wrong. It also gives him a chance to experience normalcy before he’s thrown into an unfortunate schedule. Terry will bring him back to you rather fatigued, but you’ll be able to handle him,” Dr. Stanton promised. “I’ll be available if there are any issues. As we have time, I’ll go over his general training regime with you until Carrie has a chance to discuss what to look out for. For the most part, Ian is truly easy to manage, and you will likely get him dancing to your tune at the first hint of serious disapproval. He’s a helper, and the helpers get distressed when they’ve made a mess of something. Alas, he’s a New Yorker, so he has to be difficult while helping.”

I sighed. “Couldn’t you have said something nice about me, Dr. Stanton?”

“I did. I told her you won’t be a problem. You even know how to clean up after yourself, do dishes, and handle basic kitchen tasks without complaint. I’ve seen you steal a vacuum from a maid because you felt she shouldn’t have to clean up after you.”

If Madelyn’s brow rose any higher, it would merge with her hairline. “I see. He copes with anxiety through doing useful tasks. And creating extra work for others is a source of anxiety. Anxiety is simple enough to manage when the conditions for its development are known. We will have to work on the cleaning issue. Standard vacuuming can be left to the cleaning staff. They’re required to do it anyway, even if the carpet doesn’t appear to need it. If you spill a bag of chips and the cleaning staff isn’t coming for more than an hour, it is all right to make use of a vacuum. I recommend a portable one with a battery, Dr. Stanton. He can keep it in his suite, do a round if he makes a mess, and then he will leave the cleaning staff alone to do their regular chores or he will have his emotional support vacuum taken away.”

“I’ll acquire one,” the doctor replied. “In fact, I’ll get him an entire cleaning kit, that way he can keep his space cleaned to his standards. As long as he doesn’t develop obsessive compulsive tendencies, it’s a safe outlet. Keep an eye out for his hands becoming red, Madelyn.”

“Easily done. He will not be cleaning while in California unless he has been assigned a horse and must work in the animal’s stall. That will push the limits of everyone’s sanity. Suite cleaning will be limited to your personal suite,” the woman informed me, engaging me in a staring contest. “Will four hours at your junkyard be sufficient to prepare for the trip? There will be staff on hand to help secure and sell any refined metals you might make. There is a note that you should exercise your talent before the flight.”

I rolled my eyes, wondering when someone would realize I did not want to melt any part of a plane I happened to be riding within. “My talent will be fine. I’ll do some light melting on Sunday, but I’ll keep it to two to three days before having to use it again. That gives me full access to my talent in case of an emergency.”

“That leaves the problem of your parents,” Dr. Stanton murmured.

I sighed, well aware neither of their bodies had been found. Worse, I hadn’t been able to find any evidence of either immolating. “You are concerned they might show up.”

“I am. They won’t target Rachel. That would be the equivalent of suicide. There would be nowhere safe for them on this planet. Every RPS agency in the world would be after them with orders to kill on sight. You, however, are their eldest legitimate child—and you are the weapon they had wanted to cultivate. You would be their ultimate target for a live capture. If you see them, and it is safe to eliminate them, I want you to do so with extreme prejudice.” The woman sighed. “The RPS is nervous, and I don’t know why.”

“They’re probably nervous because they don’t know what happened to them. It’s entirely possible they died in the fire. It’s more likely they escaped. There weren’t many people killed by that fire, and those who were killed match missing person records or were identified. And none of those missing match their description.” I caught myself before glancing at Madelyn.

The last thing I wanted was my parents going anywhere near the woman.

“Madelyn, this warning is as much for you as it is for him. If they approach you, cooperate. Feign relief they are alive and well. Play along with anything they need. You do not have the offensive or defensive abilities to handle them, and they value people of your caste—especially if they are aware you have an amicable relationship with Ian.”

With Dr. Stanton broaching the subject with the woman, I dared to steal a peek.

She blushed, and a few moments later, she stammered, “I’ve always made a point of telling them Ian was the kindest of their sons whenever they asked me.” Her face reddened further. “They did ask me if I thought he was handsome.”

“Madelyn, anyone with a pair of functioning eyes is going to think Ian is handsome. He is genetic perfection for looks,” Dr. Stanton said, and she grinned. “But this is perfect for protecting you. They were both raised to be Royal, and their conditioning is simple. For their legacy to continue, they need a son. They have the perfect son already in Ian. Honestly, I suspect they knew exactly which children were legitimate; the RPS has been going through the kingdom’s records, and a lot changed in how the children were managed after Ian was born. After Rachel was born, other changes were implemented. Ian faced fairly harsh punishments for his transgressions, but he was never pushed quite the same way as the other children. Once Ian started taking the blows, the records of injuries and requirements for the royal physicians lessened significantly.”

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