A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks Page A

Mistaya occupied and involvedin something meaningful while she grew up a little more and perhaps rethought her decision to leave Carrington. This whole business about having a royal library came as a surprise, but now that he knew about it there was no reason not to do something constructive with it.
    “You wouldn’t send her there alone, would you?” he asked.
    “No, of course not,” Questor declared. “I would go with her. Abernathy could go, as well. Later, once she’s taken the measure of the place, we’ll send for craftsmen and laborers. But it would be her vision, her project, from start to finish.”
    Ben thought about it some more. “All right. Let me talk to Willow. Then we’ll make a decision. But I think you might be on to something.”
    He regretted the words almost before they had left his mouth, but once spoken there was no taking them back. He would just have to hope that this time was different from some of the others.
    Beaming in unison, the wizard and the scribe bowed and left the chamber.

    O nce outside, the door closed tightly behind them, Abernathy turned to Questor. “Perhaps we should have told him the rest,” he whispered.
    The court wizard shook his head, mostly because Abernathy’s whiskers were tickling his ear. “Time enough for that later. He doesn’t need to know everything right away.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Besides, we don’t know if
he’s
still there. He might have moved on. When was the last time you visited Libiris?”
    “I don’t remember.”
    “You see? Anything could have happened. Besides, what if he
is
still in residence? We’re more than a match for him, the three of us.”
    “I don’t know,” Abernathy said doubtfully. “Craswell Crabbit. He’s awfully clever. I never trusted him.”
    “Then we will have reason to get rid of him first thing. In fact, wewill suggest that to the King before leaving, once he has made the decision to send her. Which he will. I could tell by the way he spoke about it that he likes the idea. Anyway, you and I will be with her when she goes. What could happen?”
    It was the kind of question Abernathy didn’t care to ponder, and so he dismissed it from his mind.

FROGGY WENT A-COURTIN’

    T hat night, when they were alone, Ben discussed with Willow the idea of sending Mistaya to Libiris. She agreed it was a project that deserved Mistaya’s time and effort, but she also advised him not to make it a command that Mistaya go. When he talked to her, he should suggest that this was something that might interest her and utilize her strengths, letting her make the final decision.
    “But what if she says no?” he demanded.
    “Then give her more time to think about it. Don’t insist. She’s very strong-willed and may react in a way that is intended to test you.”
    “Test me? Why would she want to test me?”
    Willow ignored the question. “Ask her again in another few days. If she still refuses, then let her make a suggestion about what she would like to do. Just tell her that staying at Sterling Silver and studying with Questor and Abernathy is not a choice, that she is too old for that now.”
    Ben didn’t get it. Why all this tiptoeing around something that should be settled right off the bat? He couldn’t get past the fact that Mistaya was only fifteen, still a child despite her advanced capabilities, and not yet independent enough to be making decisions of this sort on her own. Plus, she had brought this difficulty on herself by misbehaving sufficiently at Carrington that they had sent her home.She should be grateful he didn’t insist that she go right back and straighten things out. She should be eager to do anything he asked after what had happened.
    Willow also suggested that he not do anything at all for perhaps a week and instead allow their daughter time to settle in without any talk about her future. Let her have a short vacation. Let her do what she would like for a few days before discussing what was