Page 75 of The Broken Mirror
“Wooow,” the little girl says, looking up at Hortense in awe.
An older woman approaches Hortense. “Princess, I wantto thank you. I read in theNever After Postthat you fought to include the outer boroughs of the kingdom in the palace-aid program. I live in an outer borough, and it’s helped me so much. It got me through the bad harvest of last fall, kept food on the table for my grandchildren. Thank you for fighting for us,” the woman says, patting Hortense’s hand.
Gretel almost cries with pride. Her cousin is going to make such a good queen! And the people love her! Eichi, once again, was correct.
Gretel’s enjoying this display of community so much that she forgets why they’re all there.
“I think it’s ready,” Alistair says to Gretel. “Who wants soup?!” he asks the crowd.
Hortense, John, and Gretel work to ladle out soup and pass servings down a line to each person who contributed (and to those who didn’t). Then, when everyone has a cup of soup, it’s time to feed the frog.
Hortense places Charlie on the ground. He can’t transform on her shoulder, after all! Gretel’s holding her breath. Hortense ladles one spoonful after another into Charlie’s froggy mouth until he’s eaten almost a whole bowl of the stuff. Then she stands back.
At first—nothing. Gretel’s heart drops to her stomach. But then… a flicker. And suddenly the frog grows and grows, though he’s not looking so green. There, there he is! In human form! Prince Charlie!
Hortense begins to weep and throws herself into herprince’s arms. Gretel thanks the fairies that Queen Olga’s spell differs from the curse Queen Christina cast on Rosie’s seven brothers: Charlie is not, thank goodness, naked.
A collective gasp goes through the crowd. The faces of the villagers are shocked. Or appalled? They’re suddenly very scared. Parents cover their children’s eyes. Of course! How did Gretel not think of this? It’s terrifying to watch a curse break even when you know what’s going on. They need damage control, stat!
But Hortense, already a polished princess, is on it. She stands atop Alistair’s stool and faces her people.
“Citizens of Eastphalia! As many of you know, I am Princess Hortense, soon to be Queen Hortense. I know that what you just witnessed is a horrible thing. But it’s also the most joyful. Olga, the ogre queen, put a curse on Prince Charlemagne that turned him into a frog, in the hope of preventing him from taking his rightful place as king of Eastphalia. Today you have helped us break that curse. And now Charlie and I are ready to be your king and queen, if you will have us.” Hortense bows to the crowd.
There’s silence. And then there’s cheering. Loud, unabashed cheering! If there were any doubts as to the citizens’ opinions of the prince and princess, those doubts can surely be put to rest.
“You are all invited to our coronation! It will happen this evening. Please come celebrate at the castle!” Hortense shouts, her fist pumping in the air.
Gretel exhales, relief washing over her. The rightful king and queen of Eastphalia have returned.
Amid the hubbub, Alistair comes and stands next to her with a cup of soup. “So what do you think?” he asks. “Too much garlic?”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINEREADY ORNOT, QUEENDOMCOMES
It would feel almost comforting if it wasn’t so terrifying. Filomena almost thought she’d be able to close the chapter on this adventure without an ogre fight, but that, of course, would be too good to be true.
In Mary’s office, Jack smells the stench of ogre, and just after, they can all hear the ogres. A shudder runs down Filomena’s spine as she realizes why the ogres are here. They must have gotten word that Filomena is in Westphalia, andnow, they’re here to kill her in the privacy of her own castle. And then, of course, they’ll tell everyone in the kingdom that she ran away from being crowned, deserting her people, and the ogres will step in to salvage the kingdom.
It’s chilling, the feeling that you’re being cornered.
“How many are there, do you think?” Filomena asks Jack hurriedly. But Jack isn’t listening to her; he’s looking straight at Mary Contrary.
“Is this a trap?” he says sternly, his voice steely. “Are you on their side?” His eyes are like daggers, his voice like iron. Filomena is glad, for the umpteenth time, that she’s on Jack’s side.
“Jack, I swear on Westphalia’s crown that I am not on the ogres’ side. I don’t know how they got past the guards! They must have slipped in a secret way.”
“They must still have an entryway into the castle,” he says to Filomena. “A leftover from their time ruling Westphalia, when it was under their spell.”
“The good news, then,” Mary says, “is there can’t be that many of them.”
Jack is still looking at Mary suspiciously, but Filomena needs him to focus. The ogres are getting closer.
“Where should we go?” she says.
“We need to get out of this room. We need a getaway. But, Fil, I think we’re going to have to fight them.”
“Let me run down first,” Mary says. “I’ll do my best to distract them, or at least delay them. You two head up to the next floor. Three doors from the top of the staircase, there’sa secret passageway. You can use that to escape if you really need to.” With that, Mary and her long cape swoosh out the door, and she runs toward the ogres.
“Do you not trust her?” Filomena asks.
