Page 6 of The Broken Mirror
“Yeah, sit down!” Gretel cuts in. “I was actually dying to ask about your dress…”
“Oh, this old thing? It’s so out of style now, I know, please don’t think any less of me! The locals can just get quite rowdy around the tavern, spilling and such, so I don’t like to wear my good gowns here. You know how it is.”
Gretel looks dejected, so Filomena gives her hand a squeeze under the table and mouthsI think it’s very cute.
Alistair’s looking a little dejected, too, come to think of it. Princess Jeanne didn’t askhimto kiss her hand. Wearing a hot-cocoa mustache, he asks a reasonable question: “If you’re really a princess, where’s your crown?”
“Well, Alistair, that’s actually very pertinent to why I wanted to speak with you all.”
The four trade glances. Filomena gets that feeling again: The plot is about to thicken.
“Wait,” Alistair says, frowning, “how do you know my name?”
Princess Jeanne laughs, and it’s a sweet melodious sound. Despite her suspicions, Filomena starts to warm to the girl. Besides, it’s obvious Jeanne’s way too old for Jack, who’s only thirteen.
“Why, I know all your names! Dashing Jack the Giant Stalker, fashionista extraordinaire Miss Gretel, and of course the brilliant Filomena, or should I say Eliana? What name do you go by these days?”
“Filomena’s fine,” Filomena says, slightly confused now.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Alistair butts in. “Don’t I get a descriptor?”
“Of course, Alistair the Adorable,” Princess Jeanne says, tapping Alistair on the nose with her pointer finger. “You four have been splashed all over the pages of my favorite magazines. Every time I go to get my nails glittered by the sprites, I always read thePalace Inquirerand theDaily Crown.”
Gretel perks up. “Hold on, are we famous?”
“Well, it takes more than one feature in thePalace Inquirerto betrulyfamous—and I should know—but you certainly got a lot of coverage during Hortense’s and Beatrice’s weddings. A gorgeous ceremony, by the way! So lovely, I can almost forgive the fact that I wasn’t invited,” she says, pouting coyly. “But anyway, that’s not what I’m here to talk about. I need help. And after reading about you, I think you lot are the ones I need.”
The four friends look at one another. More people to help? This is the last thing they need right now. Don’t they themselves need help? And aren’t they on the way to help Zera?
“Plus I just overheard your little conversation about getting robbed? I think I know exactly who was behind it,” Jeanne says.
Okay, now they’re interested.
“Go on,” Jack says.
“Okay. First let me back up a little. Does the name King Richard mean anything to you?” Princess Jeanne asks.
Filomena’s drawing a blank, once again cursing the fact that she doesn’t have her Never After books on hand. Gretel shrugs. But Jack and Alistair look at each other with an air of dread.
“Yes, it does,” Jack responds.
Princess Jeanne can see that Filomena and Gretel are lost here, so she explains. “King Richard is my uncle,” she tells them.
Jack’s face has gone stony, cold, closed up. Filomena can sense that any interest he had toward getting to know Princess Jeanne and whatever she wants has vanished. That name clearly means something to him, and it’s not good.
He coughs. “We know of King Richard. At least, Alistair and I do.”
Princess Jeanne nods. “Then you know he’s caused a lot of harm in Never After, especially here, up north. He’snotorious for forcibly wiping out villages, sending all the creatures who live there away from their homes and their communities, so they’re left with nowhere to go. All just so he can clear the land and build his own properties there.”
“He targets some of the most beautiful villages in Never After,” Alistair explains to Filomena and Gretel. “Especially ones near the sea or on lakeshores. He conquers them for his own greed. The oldest and loveliest villages in the kingdoms, those that used to thrive under the protection of the fairies. But since the fairies are gone, there’s no one to stand up to him and his army. He just builds castles for himself and his friends, castles that sit empty most of the time.”
Filomena is shocked. How awful! Running people out of their homes? Just to build empty showpalaces? “How can he do that? That’s horrible! Hasn’t anyone stopped him?”
“We’ve tried,” Jack says, still stone-faced. “But since the Last Battle, all of Never After is either controlled by ogres or falling to despots like him.”
“Right. I’m relieved you know how truly horrible he is. Some in the North have rallied to his cause. But here’s the thing: King Richard isn’t even technically a king. He just took the title and makes everyone call him that.I’mthe rightful heir to the throne.”
“So you’re not aligned with your uncle?” Jack asks, skeptical.
