Page 37 of The Broken Mirror
Just for kicks, Hortense tries one final kiss. But all she gets is toad slime.
CHAPTEREIGHTEENPLEASANTRIES WITH THEPRIMEMINISTER
The next day Hortense tries to go hunting. Though it’s usually an activity that brings her much joy, today she finds it lacking luster. Plus, hunting does seem different when your beloved has been turned into an animal. She may be a fearless huntress who shoots rabbits for dinner, but she’s certainly not trying to hunt cursed humans!
First Byron is turned into a beast, and now this? What iswith the evil queen Olga and turning boys into animals? That lady needs to lighten up.
Hortense is also having a hard time enjoying hunting because she’s terrified that she’ll accidentally step on a frog. Charlie has assured her that frogs have very alert senses and that if he were hanging out in the grass and some human was walking around, he’d catch on and jump out of the way before being stepped on. But still she worries.
Hortense comes back to the castle to change, but before she can get to her room, a castle page comes up to her.Lily Licks,she curses. She’s been trying to avoid members of the court and the castle staff as best she can. She and Charlie agreed that they shouldn’t tell anyone about the curse. They need to learn more first, and they don’t want to risk word getting out and something going awry. She and Charlie don’t know why Charlie’s been cursed, and if the citizens of Eastphalia find out their prince is now a frog, who knows what will happen?
The only people who know, of course, are Beatrice, Byron, Jack, Filomena, Alistair, and Gretel. Beatrice told her that Princess Jeanne of Northphalia was also present for the news since they were at her castle. This initially worried Hortense; she’s never met Princess Jeanne. But Charlie assured Hortense that, despite Jeanne’s spoiled nature, she’s actually quite lovely. Charlie and Princess Jeanne knew each other as children and as the royalty of neighboring kingdoms. They often played together in courtyards while their parents went over kingdom-related business. Hortense justhopes Charlie’s right to trust Jeanne. Though, if Filomena and Jack trusted Jeanne enough to stay at her castle, then that seems as good an assurance as any.
“Princess Hortense!” the page calls to her. “May I have a word with you?”
“I’m afraid I’m just off to change,” Hori replies. She’s nervous about what the page might ask her.
“It’s very important, Princess. There’s a visitor.”
A visitor. They haven’t had a visitor since the little old lady, if one can even call her a visitor. Hori has brushed off any visitations to the castle until she can get this curse under control.
She walks over to the page, who is standing at attention. “Who is the visitor?” she asks.
The page looks at her nervously. “It’s the prime minister, Your Highness,” he says, quivering.
Hori sighs deeply. “All right, I’ll see what this is about. Where is he?”
“In the receiving room, Your Highness.”
“Please, John, how many times have I told you to call me Hortense?” she says, patting John’s shoulder.
Hortense walks into the receiving room while taking off her white leather hunting gloves. The prime minister rises from his place on the couch and bows to her.
“Your Highness,” he says.
“I thought you’re supposed to address only queens as ‘Your Highness’?”
“I believe it’s appropriate to address a princess by such a title. If I were speaking to your mother-in-law, I would say ‘Your Royal Highness.’”
“Hmm.” Hori sits on the couch opposite the prime minister. “I suppose I’m not really one for outdated formalities.”
“It’s a shame your mother-in-law can’t join us today,” the prime minister says, “but it seems she is otherwise occupied. She set up this meeting for us.”
“That was nice of her,” Hortense responds.
How Hortense dislikes this man! He’s always given her definitely creepy energy, but it seems no one else has picked up on this. Nobody wants to rock the boat, apparently. Hori’s gotten into many arguments with Prince Charlie’s parents over things the prime minister has done. He’s constantly cutting palace support to the poorer regions of Eastphalia, which Hortense thinks is despicable.
He sits across from her now with his thinning, mousy hair and his creepy blue-and-white pinstriped suit, crossing his legs and grinning his greasy grin at her. She scowls back.
John comes in and offers them tea.
“A cup of English breakfast, please,” the prime minister asks.
“Dohwa-chafor me, John, thank you,” Hori says.
“Dohwa-cha?” the prime minister asks. “What is that?”
“It’s peach blossom tea, sir,” John replies.
