Page 20 of The Beauty and the Griffin

“So, you lost your prestigious position through no actual fault of your own. Huh! Welcome to the real world, girl. You’ve had your cry, plus some. It’s time to grow a backbone and use your sparkling résumé to acquire the job you really want.”

Auntie’s practicality spurred me out of my personal slough of despond. After all, King Koldo’s peoplehadprovided me a stellar recommendation letter (I suspected Queen Jakinda’s influence there—she really was a gem, Eddi’s opinion notwithstanding), and word of my availability spread quickly. To my surprise, socially ambitious parents worldwide nearly climbed over each other to hire the recently dismissed former nanny/tutor/companion of a royal princess. I can offer no reasonable explanation for this behavior (I wasfired,people!), but I’m certainly not complaining.

While working out these changes in my life, I purchased a car, learned to drive it, and discovered how much I enjoyed the independence it offered. Papa was seldom home—his value to the government seemed to increase by the year—but he was quietly proud of my achievements. More than once, I recalled the Gamekeeper’s words about the connection between wisdom and humility, and I wondered if he would also approve of my choices.

Oh, how I missed him!

I finally chose a day job as tutor/nanny to a family within easy driving distance. Heloise and Pearl, ages eleven and nine, were sweet and well-behaved girls, and their parents were thrilled to have me. I agreed to accept occasional weekend duty for bonus pay, which sometimes felt more like vacation time than work, since I accompanied my charges to dance classes, historical or natural-history sites, and even the occasional play or party. In my free time, I worked to make Castle Iker feel less like a medieval relic and more like a home. Papa appreciated my efforts and made a concerted effort to come home more often.

Despite her crazy-busy schedule, Princess Eddi called me regularly. Sometimes she only wanted to complain about her stepmother, her baby brother, and other changes in her life, but I could usually distract her by asking about the winged horse she’d received for her eighteenth birthday. Her personal drama merely amused me until the following spring, when she repeatedly called to unload her latest romantic woes regarding Prince Fidelio of Vetricia, who was so completely wrong for her that I just . . . couldn’t. And then she revealed that she and her winged horse, Snow White, would spend almost the entire summer at Faraway Castle, being trained by Kai the dwarf, her lifelong friend, to prepare for the Faraway Castle Cup.

I listened and joked with her, and I don’t think she suspected a thing. But as soon as we hung up, I cried my eyes out. Homesickness flooded through me. Would I ever talk withhimagain? And if I did, what could I possibly say?

Arabella

“You must bring Beatrice to Faraway Castle this summer,” Pukai decreed, pacing a stretch of sunny beach. “I know the Gamekeeper is concerned about rumors of fay magic, but we cannot allow him to ignore the bigger picture. Days and months are ticking past.”

There must have been a typhoon or something on the other side of the world, because Palau Kalah’s palm trees shivered as if sensing a distant wind.

“That attack on Princess Edurne and her fterotó at the race in Vetricia last month confirmed his suspicions,” I pointed out. “If the Gamekeeper hadn’t sent Prince Briar and Kai to the race, the princess and her mount would likely be dead.”

“No other contestant was attacked?” Pukai asked.

“Not one. Several concerned council members took turns keeping watch over Her Highness until she arrived here at the resort last week. The princess hired Kai to give her private fterotó-training lessons, but the Gamekeeper has assigned him double-duty as her bodyguard. Other staff members are also keeping tabs on her. Everyone is on high alert for any hint of fay magic.” I frowned, feeling useless. I occasionally have difficulty distinguishing fay magic from human magic, since my own is a blend of both.

Pukai abruptly asked, “Kai is giving the princess private lessons? Why? Didn’t she win last year’s Faraway Castle Cup on someone else’s horse?”

“Yes.” I could only shrug. “Ours is not to reason why . . .” I misquoted.

The siren queen gave me a blank look.

I flung my arms wide. “Does no one read poetry anymore? Oh, never mind. Kai has adored that girl since they were children. He would give his life to defend her.”

Pukai snapped back at me, “It hardly matters what comes of all that! If Beatrice refuses to meet with the Gamekeeper again, our last hope is gone.”

Inconveniently, she was correct.

“I have a plan,” I declared. More of a last-ditch idea than an actual plan, but it held some merit. “I’ve repeatedly tried and failed to convince Beatrice to come here this summer. She says she needs distance and time. But I fully intend to drag her here at Christmas.”

“That’s it? That’s your plan? We’re doomed.” On that high note, Pukai ran down into the lapping waves, changing into her mermaid form on the way.

I shrugged and returned home to my fairy-godmother cottage. After several years of neglect, it was due for some attention and upgrades. Instead of fretting over Beatrice and possibly approaching disaster, I occupied myself by granting minor artistic, academic, or athletic aptitudes to several newborn princes and princesses, just to keep the fairy-godmother tradition alive. I’ve always found it best to maintain a positive outlook and keep too busy to worry.

Panic and gloom would accomplish exactly nothing—which seemed a waste, since Pukai and I had plenty of both to spare.

Beatrice

All that endless summer of watching over two energetic little girls, I wondered if the Gamekeeper missed me. Did he have anyone to talk to? I mean, like, close friends? Did he think of me at all? With each passing week I felt more distant from him, from everything that really mattered. Pearl and Heloise sensed my sadness and started taking advantage of my distraction. I knew it but couldn’t seem to make myself care.

Eddi was my only real connection with Faraway Castle—which was hardly satisfying. Whenever she could borrow a car and drive far enough from the resort’s magical interference to use her cell phone, she’d call me to vent her frustration with Fidelio, who spent as much time with her archrival, Raquel Cambout, as he did with her. I did my best to listen and not advise, but once, when I was overtired, I slipped up and mentioned Kai as a possible love interest . . . and promptly received a royal earful. No matter. In the end, everything would turn out perfectly for Eddi because she is the beautiful princess.

Jaded? Me?

Not so’s anyone would notice.

I really needed a buck-u-uppo chat with Auntie Bella.

Arabella

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