The Price of Popcorn

Rhodri saw her first, attuned as he was to life in the Nightshade Court. He set down his stick and bowed low. Mirabelle took the opportunity to score a goal against him before realizing why he had let down his guard. As the von Hedwig children watched her approach, followed by guards and courtiers, Rhodri hissed at them.

“Drop your sticks! Drop your sticks!”

They looked at him, and then at the guards, who were pulling their truncheons from their belts.

“Drop them,” Claire said, setting her stick down. “Hurry.”

They did so, and made their way from the playing field to cluster around Claire. As the Queen and her entourage approached, Lady Aubergine appeared between her and the children, carrying Bettina on one hip. She did not appear to be the least bit out of breath, even though she had been out of sight of the game when Rhodri had dropped his stick. She set Bettina down and bowed low. Bettina curtsied.

“How beautiful you look this morning, Majesty,” she said. “Do you like your guests? They look fine in your livery, do they not?”

The Queen surveyed the children, who bowed and curtsied, except for Rhodri, who had bowed low as soon as he dropped his stick, and stayed down.

“They look well, though they looked quite sick last night. My colors make everyone look better, even grub-pale persons such as they. Not like purple. No one looks good in purple.”

Bettina scowled.

“Does it not gladden your heart to see children playing in the gardens? The laughter of the young is a tonic.” Lady Aubergine ignored the Queen’s insult.

“Who are they? Who are their parents? Where is their estate?”

“They come from far away, Majesty. They were traveling with their parents and were separated from them.”

“They have fallen very far, from the cloche to a peasant’s hut.”

“Now that they are in your protection they may wait for their parents in comfort and safety.” Eglantine spoke loudly and clearly, so all the court could hear. “Thus is the generosity of the Nightshade Crown.”

The Queen stared hard at Eglantine, gratification and suspicion battling in her dark eyes. She looked to the children, who attempted the most humble and grateful expressions they could muster, with varying success.

“Of course,” the Queen said, “were it not for the serious charges laid against them. Did you or did you not attack my popcorn herders and disrupt my harvest?”

“We meant no harm. We saw men hurting little animals and chased them away,” Annabelle said.

“We did not know they were yours, your Majesty,” Mirabelle added.

“Such a delicacy as popcorn is unknown outside the royal court,” Eglantine said. “Even noble children of the cloche caste, if they are raised far from the influence of your sophistication, have never seen such a thing. They did not understand the process of the harvest. It was a misunderstanding, my Queen. They meant no disrespect.”

“Hmm. Did they not?”

The older children shook their heads. Gerhardt added his scowl to Bettina’s.

“What is wrong with the red-headed one?”

“He’s part carrot, your Majesty,” Eglantine said. “They get a bit funny in the head.”

“What?” Gerhardt said.

Adolphus pinched him, flashing the Queen his most winning smile. She sniffed.

“Well, they have cost me my popcorn and they shall pay for it!”