I squash my giggles until the heavy oak door slams shut. My poor, busy father needs a hug. His subjects love him because he takes on all the heavy burdens. We’ve been at peace as long as I’ve been alive due to his diplomacy. The Fae have enough to eat and shelter from the winter snows. Humans have all but forgotten we exist. I can only hope that when I’m queen, I can leave half the legacy he’s left behind.
But until then, I’m content to make a doll for every newcomer to the kingdom—babies born, spouses married, and migrants welcomed with open arms. I have the courtiers deliver the doll on the baby’s delivery day, the Fae’s wedding day, or the migrant’s house-warming party. I especially love making dolls for the babies and guessing the coloring of the new Fae from the hair and eye color of the parents.
Doll-making helps me pass the time until I’m old enough to be included in Father’s matters of state. The only other thing I have to look forward to in my lonely life is marriage, and none of the offers look appetizing. If I had one decent offer, I’d be married tomorrow and making dolls for my own babies…ugh…but not with him…
Snapdragon steps into the dining room just as I’m rising from under the table. I drop to my hands and knees to hide, but I fear he’s already seen me. He’s the worst of the Fae vying for my hand because he makes no illusion of loving me…or even liking me. I bet he can’t stand me, but I’ll never know because he’s never honest. Is he honest with himself?
Oh, for Seelie’s sake, his boot tips are dangerously close to where I’m sitting, but he doesn’t lean over the side of the table. Sigh, it’s okay. He’s just sidling up to father. Why can’t he seehow he makes everyone uncomfortable with how close he stands to us? Why doesn’t Father shove him away?Omf, fingers tap the top of my head and tangle in my chestnut-colored waves. I’ll have to wash it again now that he’s touched me.
“Your Highness,” Snapdragon says, lifting the tablecloth with a deep bow that puts us eye to eye. I keep my face on my work, so his wink is less awkward. Can’t a guy take the hint? I’m never going to marry him! “I’ve come to you on behalf of the troops.”
“I’d expect so, seeing as you’re Captain of the Fae Army.” My father’s dry tone does nothing to hide his contempt for Snapdragon.
“Yes, well, there is a rumor circulating Magmell that you are to acquire one of the members of the hucow herd. The men are quite adamant that a missive was delivered to the herd, requiring one of them as payment for some tax debts.”
“What is it to you and the army? It is a peaceable transaction,” my father says, standing with a loud scraping of his chair on the stone floor.
“I do not doubt that the diplomacy is impeccable, sire,” he says with another bow. Thankfully, only his pointy chin is below the tablecloth level. “That’s the problem. You see, the troops are restless?—”
“I told you to give them leave to pursue other professions. My order wasn’t to build a more educated army; it was to avoid mutiny.”
“Yes, but I disagreed. Having a working army is akin to a soft army. They need to be in fighting shape, with testosterone pumping through their veins. I need them swinging swords, not hammers, to stay sharp.”
“Let me get this straight.” My father’s slippers roam around the room. When he walks while talking, it’s never good. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Snapdragon is about to get spanked.“You deliberately disobeyed me and now want me to fix the problem you created.”
“Only because you have the solution, your greatness.”
“I’m the King of Magmell. Of course I hold the solution! The fate of several realms rests in my hands!”
“I was only inquiring as to the species of beast you will acquire from the herd. If you bring a Minotaur from their underworld?—”
“No way, a Minotaur is a mindless beast who will reduce this castle to rubble?—”
“Taming it would give the soldiers something to do, but if you are set against a Minotaur, a hucow could entertain us just as easily. A pretty little cow wouldn’t cause an ounce of trouble in the castle—she could live in the barracks. It would reduce the food costs because the soldiers would drink her milk, as well as give them the aggression release they need…when theyuseher.”
“Snapdragon, the Fae royalty have an unsavory past, so I’ll forgive this transgression once. However, if you ask me to purchase a sex slave for the barracks again, I’ll volunteer you for the job. Do I make myself clear?”
“Clear as glass,” Snapdragon replies quickly, realizing he hit one of my father’s hot buttons. How many lectures have I endured about the depravity of our ancestors? Didn’t Snapdragon hear enough of them to get the gist of what sets my father off? “I was just thinking of my men.”
“Then let them go to marry, find professions, and start families. For Seelie’s sake, we need to breathe new life into this kingdom before the Fae go extinct. The orcs outnumber us five to one. If they ever elect an unruly king, hungry for territory, we’re doomed.”
“Sharp troops?—”
“—Are of no use if they are a thousand years old! Just because they look young doesn’t mean their backs don’t ache,their knees don’t creak, and the rest of them aren’t falling apart!” My father’s yelling reaches a fever pitch as he storms toward the door. “I will not repeat myself. Families! Babies! Not pointless pageantry and drills!”
The door opens and slams. Father always gets the last word, as is his right as king. I push my needle into the face of the doll I am making for the Eisley Family. They’re bakers, so I’m adding a fluffy, white hat to the blond doll. I pack the miniature apron, embroidered with their family symbols, into my sewing box. The baby shall receive it when she’s ready, I guess. This doll should have been finished last week, but the little tyke is late, and so am I.
Funny how the dolls are always done at the exact time they are needed. Although I don’t have another doll planned…for there are no other pregnancies in the Fae Village. Maybe if I befriend the new hubull, I can make hucow dolls for the herd’s new…babies…calves? Oh, how exciting! I have never seen a hucow before and don’t know whether to put horns or snouts on their dolls. Ooh, will they need little wooden hooves? How adorable!
“There are a thousand places to sew, Ms. Lilyfair, many of which have better light than beneath your father’s feet,” Snapdragon says as his beady eyes peer beneath the table.
“I was just leaving,” I say in a higher-pitched voice than I would like. Why do I sound so young? I’m over twenty! The stones catch my stockings as I scramble out from under the table on the opposing side. My heart pounds with the knowledge that we are unchaperoned. Nobody knows my whereabouts, and Father has retired to smoke off his Snapdragon-induced frustration. I wish I could go smoke off the frustration he brings me, too, but it’s unladylike and smells of rotten vegetables.
“Not so fast,” he says, rounding the table to my side and standing so close that my shoulder brushes his ribs. “Whatwill you pay for keeping our little secret? You don’t want your father to know you hide under his table during all his morning briefings, do you? What is it worth for him to never find out?”
“Grow up, Snapdragon,” I say as I shove my way around him. My feet continue until I reach the door. “I don’t care if he knows. Someday, those briefings will be with me, and I will need to know the state of affairs. It won’t be long before I’m sitting at his side as his apprentice?—”
“You? The little doll maker ruling as queen? Don’t make me laugh. The people will never respect a little girl like you. It will be your husband who will rule as king. Magmell isn’t a dollhouse for little girls to play with…in fact, the little girls are playthings for the males of Magmell.”
