Page 40 of Songs and Spun Gold
“Oh, ah, I assumed you would have,” the director fumbled. “Mostly little things, except for Georg’s leg, of course. A door slamming shut when no one is near it. A rack of costumes falling over. Things like that.”
Axel raised an eyebrow and twirled his hand in his father’s favorite “keep going” gesture.
“It has the cast all worked up,” the director worried, rubbing his hands together. “There are whispers of ghosts or—” He lowered his voice and looked quickly to one side and then the other as if checking for eavesdroppers. “Magic.”
“Ghosts or magic?” Axel scoffed. “There’s no such thing as either.”
“Still,” the director protested, wringing his hands. “Some of the more superstitious members are threatening to quit if it keeps up.”
Sighing, Axel asked, “And what assistance do you hope I can provide with this problem?”
“Yes. Well. Some of the accidents have been less, er, ghostly in nature.” The director cleared his throat. “A counterweight falling, lifting lines coming loose. We had a wall sconce drop to the floor just this morning.”
Axel tensed. “Did it—”
“Thankfully, there were several cast members near at hand who extinguished the flame before it could catch,” the director said, anticipating his question. The prince relaxed into his chair again. “However, that is what drove me to speak with you, Your Highness.”
“What sum do you believe would enable the necessary maintenance, Director?” Axel smoothly asked.
The director named an amount. After some discussion and the promise of a detailed written report of the proposed repairs,Axel worked the number down to a figure that would ensure the safety of the theater for its employees, cast, and patrons without drawing his father’s attention.
Once he had sent the director happily on his way, Axel verified the door was firmly closed before repositioning his chair so that he could see out the window. Then casting his waistcoat back on the nearby armchair, he picked up the report he was supposed to be reviewing, dropped into his absurd chair, and gazed at the clouds while he thought about old buildings in need of repair.
~
“Miserable wretches—think they are—if I outlaw—” King Steffan muttered under his breath as he attacked his ham with his knife.
Ignoring his father, Axel slowly twirled his fork, the bite of meat on it forgotten as he stared out the window. Presenting his suggestion might be a bad idea. His parents would resist. But now that he’d allowed his mind to consider it, it refused to go away.
A slight clearing of his mother’s throat brought him back to the present. As if he’d meant to all along, Axel lifted the fork the rest of the way to his mouth and resumed eating his breakfast.
“What has you distracted this morning?” Queen Carina asked. She delicately patted her mouth with her napkin before lifting her eyebrows in a wistful expression. “Were you thinking about Heidi again?”
“No, actually.” He speared a piece of potato. “I had a visit from the theater operations director the other day regarding some maintenance the building required, and it started me thinking.”
“—cares about spinning—”
His mother’s face fell at this proof that he was not daydreaming about his lost ladylove. “About what?”
“Other buildings in need of care,” he replied casually, looking at his plate as he selected his next bite. “I thought perhaps I could visit Reineggburg to see what it would take to make it habitable again. Why did we abandon it, anyway?”
“Reineggburg?” His mother stiffened, her voice unusually tense. Even Father stopped his irritated mumbling and watched Axel intently as his fingers twitched on his silverware. “Why would you want to fix it back up?”
“Why not?” Axel replied uncertainly. “What am I not remembering?”
Mother smoothed a nonexistent lock of loose hair behind her ear. “It—it isn’t someplace to return to,” she murmured, shifting her eyes to the side before looking down at her plate. “Not after what happened.”
“Which was…?”
“That’s enough, boy,” Father snapped. He glared at his son as he stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “It was abandoned for a reason. The answer is no.”
That was it? Gulping down his disappointment, Axel gave his father a pleasant smile. “Of course. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”
As his mother relaxed and returned to her meal, Axel painted on a calm and undisturbed manner. Inside, he berated himself for his foolishness. What had he been thinking? Even if his father had let him go, it wouldn’t have changed anything.
He needed to accept the impossible for what it was.
CHAPTER 11
