I deduced that the child was being bullied and a beloved toy was in danger. “That sounds terrible. Can you lead me to it?”
She nodded, seeming relieved, and seized my hand to tow me along. I was curious about what kind of situation I was being drawn into. Also amused on some level. I wasn’t quite sure why she’d approached me. I wasn’t wearing armor, unlike the knight following me, so really, I didn’t look like a knight at all. Perhaps I was less intimidating without the armor? She seemed quite sure of herself, so who was I to argue? I’d clearly been handpicked for this very serious job.
Because the river ran through town, some businesses used the water for powering water wheels, while others used it as a prime spot for laundry, fishing, and what have you. A stout fence on the banks kept the children out, hence Maggie being unable to fetch the toy herself.
“There.” She pointed ahead, where a stuffed bear with the appearance of a well-loved toy sat precariously upon a rock.Parts of its fur were definitely missing, with mismatched eyes of blue and black buttons and a crudely-sewn red vest.
Slipping free of Maggie’s hold, I vaulted with one hand over the fence and carefully picked my way down over the rocks before scooping up the bear. Maggie clapped, excited, as I made my way back up to her. I handed the bear over with a flourish before climbing back over the fence.
She squeezed the bear to her chest. “Thank you, James.”
“You are very welcome. Tell me, the boy who threw your toy—is he your brother?”
“Yeah,” she said with an aggravated sigh.
Seemed my next step was clear, then. “Let me escort you home. I want a word with him.”
Maggie blinked up at me with her ingenuous blue eyes. “You’ll take me home?”
“I will. Where do you live?”
She turned and pointed again. “The white house.”
Rather hard to mistake it for any other house, as it was indeed completely white, even the front door. I scooped Maggie up in one arm, situating her, and she relaxed into my hold as if used to being carted around. She likely was at this age.
“James, are you really not a knight?”
“I really am not,” I assured her, most of my attention on where I walked. There were quite a few pedestrians out and about at this afternoon hour. “I am a prince.”
“You are?”
“Newly made one, I should say. Isn’t that right, Sir Alloways?”
“He skipped knighthood,” Sir Alloways deadpanned. “Went straight for prince.”
The man had a droll sense of humor, which I’d always appreciated. I chuckled.
Maggie looked at me like she was trying to make the information form into something sensible. “Princes help people like me?”
It was a sad state of affairs when even children understood that the royal family didn’t give a rat’s ass about the commoners. I’d do my best to change that, though. I’d been mostly successful in my first life. At least, I liked to think I’d been.
“Princes are guardians of a country,” I explained, trying to put the idea into terms she could understand. “It’s our duty to care foreveryone. You asked for my help, didn’t you?”
“I did.” She beamed at me and squeezed Bear Bear harder. “So are you a good prince?”
“I’m certainly trying to be. How am I doing so far?”
Maggie promptly gave me a thumbs-up. “Good job.”
“Excellent. Now, let’s deal with your brother.”
I gave the door a firm rap, not putting Maggie down. It was opened a minute later by a harried-looking matron who was decidedly several months pregnant, wearing an apron and wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “Yes, who— Oh, Maggie! Where have you been?”
I handed Maggie over to her mother. “Her brother threw Bear Bear over the fence toward the river. She was quite distraught and asked me to rescue it. I’m James, by the way.”
“I, uh, thank you.” She looked at her daughter and the bear, then groaned. “Toby hassling you again?”
“Yeah.” Maggie grunted, looking sour.
