Page 19 of The Broken Mirror
“None taken,” says Filomena coolly. “So I look fifteen? Big deal.”
Gretel laughs at this. “Yeah, maybe now I can get into R-rated movies.”
“You know what I mean,” Little Jeanne continues. “Look what’s happened to Jack! He needs to rest. How’s he going to save Never After if he can’t even run?”
“I can run,” Jack mumbles. “Just not fast.”
“Jack has to rest for sure,” agrees Filomena. “But the rest of us can’t. We’ll keep looking.”
“The crown isn’t going anywhere,” Little Jeanne says. “I mean, Uncle Richard won’t be so stupid as to try putting it on while my sister is alive. And I don’t think he’s truly capable of murder.”
“What’s his plan, then?” asks Filomena, wondering—not for the first time—about Little Jeanne’s angle. At dinner the previous night, the younger princess defended Robin Hood; today she’s an apologist for King Richard.
“Probably just to have Jeanne agree to sign an abdication, relinquishing her rights to the crown and her kingdom,” says Little Jeanne.
“I would never!” says Princess Jeanne hotly.
Little Jeanne shrugs. “You might have to.”
“Never! This is my kingdom.”
“But Uncle Richard has an army and almost all the land. You have one village that’s loyal to you. That’s it,” says Little Jeanne.
“But once the crown is on my head, IamNorthphalia’s rightful ruler,” Princess Jeanne argues. “It’s the law!”
“Anyway,” continues Little Jeanne, “like I was saying, it doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world to take a breather.”
Alistair considers and turns to Filomena. “It’s not good to get so tired that you can’t properly defend yourself in battle.”
“Plus you can stay here as long as you’d like,” Little Jeanne says. “Right, sis?”
Princess Jeanne takes a sip of her espresso, her earlier agitation replaced by the airs of a consummate host. “Of course. I love company!”
Filomena can’t believe this. Little Jeanne just wants them to give up! To have her sister abdicate the throne and the four of them take a break! Of course, Jack must rest. That’s clear. Filomena’s not going to let him put weight on that leg.
But as for the rest of them? Chill out? Just hang around the castle? That seems ludicrous. They have a kingdom to save from ogres!
Why doesn’t Little Jeanne care about Princess Jeanne’s kingdom? Isn’t it her kingdom, too?
“You don’t get it, Little Jeanne,” Filomena says. “We have a mission to fulfill. We have a prophecy to keep in mind, and there’s a lot to get done!” She looks to Jack for support. “Right, Jack?”
He sighs and winces from the pain in his leg. “I don’t know. I’m feeling so foggy right now. I was going to argue, but maybe she has a point.”
Filomena can’t help feeling a little hurt. “So we just sit around here all day? Eating gumdrops and Hula-Hooping?”
“That actually sounds really nice,” Alistair inserts.
“Gretel?” asks Filomena.
Gretel throws her hands up. “I’ll do what everyone else wants to do.”
“Well, I, for one, am tired.” Alistair sighs. “We’ve been going nonstop ever since we first ran into Filomena.” (All the way back in book one!)
“But… what about our quest?” Filomena asks, quietly now.
Jack limps over to the nearest chaise to elevate his leg. It’s hard to see him so weak. “It will still be waiting for us when we’re ready. Little Jeanne is right; the crown isn’t going anywhere for a while. Richard won’t make a move until he needs to. Trust me, I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you have.”
Ouch.Filomena knows she’s the newbie, but she kind of thought that Jack felt like they were on the same page. That they were a team. Aren’t they? Now she doesn’t feel so sure.
