Chapter 12
Although Bella had been inside the castle walls just yesterday, the aura today was different.
Perhaps it was due to not having lively conversation with her amphibious guide, but she knew she had to do something to help before heading home.
She rode down the wide street, heading toward the brownstone castle on the hill, but the main road did not lead to the castle gate.
She had to stop and ask someone how to get to the castle and was directed down narrow streets intended to slow any advancing enemy armies.
Portcullises hung between the supporting buildings, with guard towers at either end.
One word of alarm and those gates would drop, trapping enemies in a kill box.
For such a protective edifice, Bella wondered why they had not included the pond within the walls. Wasn’t protecting their source of water just as important as protecting their lieges?
She made her way to the castle door and hesitated. Did she merely knock and ask to see the king and queen?
Out of options, Bella dismounted and tied Nocturne to a hitching post, hoping no one would bother him while she went inside. The guard outside the door took one step into her path.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“I have an urgent message for the king and queen.”
“Do ye now? And what is it?”
She hesitated. “I know where their son is.”
He assessed her in a slow gaze, head to toe, that had Bella jutting out her chin at him.
“Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll tell them?”
“Why don’t you let me tell them, since I can answer their questions, which I guarantee they will have.”
His eyebrows slammed into a thick bar, and his jaw squared.
Bella huffed at the difficulty she received while trying to help the prince. “Fine. Please tell the king and queen that their son is now a frog, living in the pond outside the walls.”
He scoffed. “You want me to tell my lieges that their son is now a frog, living in the pond outside the walls?”
“I do. And he cannot be removed from it, else he will turn irreversibly into a bullfrog and never be able to speak again.”
He barked out a laugh. “Our prince is a talking bullfrog who now lives in the pond?”
“That is what I said.”
“And is this a magical pond?”
“No. The pond is disgusting. Have you not seen it?”
“I have. ‘Tis a cesspool of filth that no prince would visit.” He laughed right in her face at this point. “There’s no crown to be had with that tale. Off with ye. Do not return.”
She stared at the guard a moment, then fished into her pocket and pulled out a coin for him.
His mouth dropped open, so Bella knew the coin to have some worth.
“For my passage, please. I’m also riding his horse, Nocturne, since the prince left him in the stable.
You will see that he remains safely tethered and undisturbed while I am inside. ”
The man had not taken his eyes off the coin, but he did look up to study the horse and then seemed unsure. He put out his hand, and Bella pressed the coin into it. He pushed open the door without looking at her. “It’s your neck on the line.”
The second the door shut behind her, Bella stuck her tongue out at him, then headed into the main corridor.
At the far end of the room, elevated on a low dais, sat the lieges, who were engaged in a blistering argument about unfaithful kings, their consorts, and the illegitimate children they fathered.
Bella approached and lowered herself into a deep curtsy.
And waited a long, long moment to be acknowledged.
“Greetings, child. You will forget all that you heard.”
Since it struck personally, Bella knew she would never forget what she’d heard. Still, she stood and forced herself to smile. “Greetings, Your Majesties. I fear I bear troubling news for you regarding your son.”
That got their attention. “Well? Spit it out,” said the king.
She took a deep breath. “Sometimes, things have to be seen to be believed. Your son, Prince Riven, was removed from the castle by an enchantress yesterday who placed a curse upon him. She blames him for the state of the pond outside the castle walls and has punished him to live there until he saves as many lives as have been lost.”
“Lost? None have drowned or died there,” said the king.
Nervous, Bella wet her lips. “This particular enchantress values the lives of the animals who have been poisoned from drinking the water, Sir.”
The queen delivered a worried look to the king, but he turned red. “Animals are not people! Who is this enchantress? I shall demand to have a word with her.”
“The prince did not cite her name, Sir. But I daresay he would not want you sharing his fate.”
The king blew out his cheeks in dismissal, even waved off her comment. “Royalty makes their own fate.”
Bella studied them. “Your son would disagree.”
“Why?” the queen demanded. “What do you know?”
With another breath for courage, Bella said, “Your Majesty, please understand your son is no longer human. The enchantress turned him into a frog. He can speak, but only if he stays in the water. We tried coming into the city walls yesterday with him in a bucket of mire, but even with the mud still wet, he almost faded away. Became a true frog,” she hastily amended.
“He could no longer speak, and the light in his eyes faded. I barely got him back into the pond in time. Had Nocturne not been so fast, your son would have met a tragic end.”
“More so than becoming a frog?” the queen asked, her brow arched high.
“He is still himself inside that form and will remain thus until he can break the curse.”
“How is he to do this from a pond?” the queen asked.
“That is the crux of his punishment, Ma’am.
She made him as helpless as the animals who sipped the water.
However, there are steps to take to prevent more damage.
For example, the seamstress in town, Henriette, has found a way to make her dyes stay true without dumping the water and polluting the pond.
If your other clothiers followed suit, that would take care of one problem.
” Bella tried not to smile, for if she could get Henriette into the royal graces, her problems would be solved.
“Sewer waste and butchers’ discards would also need to be addressed, among other waste sources, like the ostler dumping horse carcasses in there instead of properly burying them. ” Ha! She reported him after all.
The queen looked concerned and said, “All this is happening in that pond?”
Before Bella could answer, the king waved his hand to silence them both. “I have heard enough of this nonsense. Guards! Take her away.”
Bella spun to the door and saw two burly men approach her. She whirled back to the queen. “Please, Your Majesties, at least send someone you trust to the pond. You’ll see I make no jest. But do not remove the prince or he will die.”
Uncertainty flitted behind the queen’s eyes.
“I speak the truth!” Bella said as the men grabbed her elbows and shoved her toward the door. “The prince will need all the help he can get. Please! Go to your son.”
Sunlight blasted into her eyes as the door slammed shut behind her.
“Well, at least they didn’t stretch your neck,” the guard outside the door said in greeting.
She brushed off her arms where the guards had crushed the fabric of her sleeves.
“Hark you this: when the prince does not return, and the filth keeps piling up in the pond, know you that every person in this castle will be responsible for perpetuating his punishment.” She gave him a sharp nod of dismissal and headed back to Nocturne.
The horse nickered at her in greeting, and Bella hopped into the saddle and headed back. The streets twisted and turned, and at one point, a mounted nobleman raced up to her and addressed her.
“Senorita, have you seen a woman come this way, dressed in a purple gown?”
“Purple? As in, royal purple? No, Your Highness, I have not.” A runaway bride? An abductee? Whoever she was, this man was clearly anxious for her safe return.
Despair crossed his face, and he nodded once in dismissal and kicked his steed into action.
Bella watched him race willy-nilly up and down streets, asking the same question to all he encountered.
She felt bad for him as she urged Nocturne into a walk.
Once back on the main street, she retraced her steps to Henriette’s shop. She tied Nocturne to the post and headed in, noting again she was the only customer.
“Bella! I am beyond happy to see you!”
“Me, too, my friend.” They embraced warmly.
“Can I get you some tea?”
“No, thank you. I’m heading home, to Luxembourg. But I wanted to thank you for telling me the gossip about the prince. I...” she took a breath, “I know where he is, so I told the king and queen.”
“You know where he is?”
She nodded. “He... has been cursed.” At the incredulous look, she added, “I know I sound mad; but ‘tis true. He is a frog. I actually had him in a bucket on the saddle horn the day I came here, at his behest. He provided the coin and waited with his horse, which I now have.”
“Bella, my friend, are... you... alright?”
Bella’s shoulders dropped. “If you do but one thing for me, please take yourself to the pond and tell Prince Riven that I sent you to speak with him. I also put in a good word for you with his parents.”
“What? How?”
“I said that your dyes do not fade, which means your water does not need dumping. I said perhaps other clothiers could learn from your example to keep the pond clean.”
“You... did that? For me?”
She smiled. “I did. I also think you should barrel up some pond water and sell it to your competition for profit. You can call it a dye maker’s perfect mix. ‘Tis your discovery, after all.”
Henriette flung herself at Bella and gave her a mighty hug. “Truly, you are the best of friends!”
Bella returned the hug, then held the woman’s elbows and stepped back. “Please, please trust me. Go to the pond and tell the prince I sent you. You will see I am not lying.”
“Since you know where he is, why do you not stay here, where you have friends, and collect the prize? Mayhap even marry the prince?” Her brows danced with mischief.
“My father was quite ill the last time I saw him. I promised to help Riv—um, the prince, undo his curse. He bade me stay for two days, which I did. But I cannot risk my father’s health any longer. He needs me,” she said, her eyes willing her friend to understand.
They locked eyes, then Henriette nodded. “I will be as good a friend as you and head to the pond tonight. But if you jest with me, I shall be very cross with you.” And she wagged a finger at her.
Bella smiled and lowered the pointing hand.
“I speak the truth. Oh, here. He collected these for me, but I wish to share them with you.” She tumbled a portion of the coins to the counter, making Henriette’s eyes widen.
“And now, I must go. I have a long ride ahead of me. And hopefully, I shall find my papa in fine health. Au revoir, my friend.”
Tears filled Henriette’s eyes as she looked from the coins to Bella. “à la prochaine,” she replied, her bottom lip quivering.
Before the tears came, Bella headed outside for Nocturne, who had somehow come untied and wandered.
He was a dozen paces away, with his muzzle dunked into the water trough.
Bella reached into her purse and pried open the tiny gold chest, keeping the sparkling item out of view.
“How far do you think you can run, my noble steed?” she asked as she approached him.
She gathered one sugar cube into her palm and reached for the reins to collect him but was stopped by a rough voice.
“Come with us or pay the price.”