The squeak made both brothers freeze, a groan escaping Xavier as a small figure catapulted out from behind the garden wall to block their path. Miriam’s eight-year-old frame looked frail and tiny in the moonlight, her hands on her hips as she glared up at her two brothers.
“You swore you’d wake me, Xavier. You lied.”
“Xavier,” Theo grumbled. “Why did you promise her that?”
“Obviously I didn’t mean it,” Xavier muttered. “She figured out we were up to something, and I had to say something to get her off my back, otherwise she would have told on us.”
“And I still will,” the miniature princess said shrilly. “Unless you take me with you like you promised. “I want a carbuncle favor, too.”
“Miriam, you can’t come,” Theo told her. “The cliffs are dangerous, and you’re too little.”
Predictably, she bristled. “If you’re not too little, I’m not too little, Theo. And Xavierpromised.”
Theo threw a look of frustration at his brother. He didn’t want his little sister tagging along, but he didn’t like Xavier’s cavalier attitude about lying to her, either. If the other prince had said she could come, he felt bound to honor that promise. Heaven knew Xavier wasn’t likely to. Besides which, he did have sympathy for her position. It was hard to be always missing out. Of course she would want her chance to find an elusive carbuncle, and try to attain one of the lucky favors the magical creatures dropped. And since the winter solstice was the only time they emerged, this was her only chance, just the same as them.
“Come on, then,” he sighed, sliding down from the bay stallion and leading it back to the brick wall. “You can ride with me, my horse can easily carry us both.”
He ignored Xavier’s noise of protest, and instead focused on helping his sister scramble into the saddle of the large mount.
“Thanks, Theo,” Miriam said breathlessly. “Is this really your horse?”
“No,” Xavier informed her flatly.
Theo ignored him as he hoisted himself up in front of his sister. “It’s going to be. Once I get a carbuncle favor and convince Father to buy it for me.” He settled into position. “Now hold on tight around my waist, Miriam,” he said grandly. “This horse is really much too big for you, you don’t want to fall off.”
“A horse is a good idea, Theo,” Miriam said excitedly, as she complied so forcefully she squeezed the air from his lungs. “If I get a carbuncle favor, I’m going to use it to convince Mother to let me make friends with the village girls. Those girls have so much more fun than all the courtiers’ daughters.”
Xavier snorted as the two princes urged their horses forward through the moonlit garden. “Good luck with that, Mim.”
She tossed her brown curls defiantly. “That’s my exact plan. I know I need good luck to convince her.”
“No need to mock her idea,” Theo told Xavier. “What will you use the favor for, anyway?”
“Never you mind,” Xavier said, his voice thick with something Theo couldn’t decipher. “But something better than a horse, that much you can be sure of.”
They’d left the manor’s garden now, and they all fell silent as they navigated the deserted road toward the coast. The nearest section of cliffs was no more than fifteen minutes’ ride away, and the sound of the waves grew steadily clearer. Theo felt his excitement rise, and he leaned down to stroke the horse’s neck.
“We’ll be friends for life, you’ll see,” he told the creature. “You’ll like the royal stables at the castle. As many oats and carrots as you can imagine.”
The horse gave a soft huff, prancing a little at the attention. Theo had to tighten his grip so as not to lose hold of the reins, and Miriam let out a squeak as he felt her slip a little behind him.
“Careful,” Xavier told him, frowning over at the trio. “That horse is too big for you, Theo, and too spirited. “Don’t manhandle the bit like that, you’ll wreck his mouth.”
“I’m not manhandling anything,” Theo said, hoping the darkness hid his flush. The horse was strong, but he refused to admit that he was having trouble controlling it. “And he’s not too spirited, he’s the perfect amount of spirited.”
Xavier just shrugged, urging his own horse onward. “We’re almost there,” he said. “Remember, the carbuncles look like small dogs, but they don’t move like small dogs. If you see one, you can’t let it out of your sight for a second, or you’ll never find it again.”
Theo felt Miriam nod against his back, where she’d laid her head to help her hang on better. “They move like they have wings, like dragonflies skimming over water,” she added helpfully. “I read about it in the manor’s library today.”
“And if you catch the moonlight glinting on their foreheads, that’s when you know they’re dropping a favor,” Theo said, bouncing a little in the saddle.
Miriam giggled. “Do they really drop them like…you know…droppings?”
“That’s the tale.” Xavier loosened enough to grin at her. “So if you find one, you’d best give it to me, Mim. You won’t want to touch animal droppings.”
Theo couldn’t see his sister, but judging by the sound she made and Xavier’s resulting laugh, he would guess that she’d stuck out her tongue at him.
“Shh,” he told them both. “The cliff is just ahead, and I think I hear voices.”
