knee,
and I got out of bed, wondering how to set the alarm.
According
to the traditional clock on my bedside table, I had plenty of time to get ready
before breakfast. With the remainder of time, I sat in the squishy chair, reading
my wonderful Newton book, waiting for my escort.
“Good morning, Princess Lily,” the
short green lady from Thursday night said. “My name is Beryl. Her Majesty asked
me to show you to the breakfast room.”
“There’s
a breakfast room?”
“Of
course. You can’t have breakfast in the dining room or the tea room.”
“Oh.”
“Right,
then. Shall we go?”
I
nodded and followed Beryl into the hall. After a series of staircases, elevators,
locked (and unlocked) doors, we arrived in a sunny room. My parents were
already there.
“Princess
Lily,” Beryl announced.
Breakfast
was actually pretty normal and served by the seven short people from before. With
some of the dishes my mother offered explanations. “This bacon is really a
bacon substitute sent over by the Three Little Pigs.” “These eggs are from the
Goose Girl. You remember that story, Lily.” (I do?) “This is gingerbread from
the Little Old Woman who made the Gingerbread man.” (Isn’t that wrong somehow?)
“When you eat this alphabet cereal, the letters on your spoon will spell
character names, places, and important things from the stories of Smythe’s
SFL.” [16]
When
we finished breakfast, my mom asked, “Do you think you can find your way back on
your own? Your father and I have lots to do before your presentation at one. Beryl
will come for you around twelve forty-five. Cook will send lunch to your room. Wear
the blue dress in your closet. We’ll save the green one for the ball tonight.” [17]
“Okay,”
I mumbled as she left the room.
I did have trouble finding my way back. After thirty minutes of wandering, I thought
I’d finally found my room, but when I opened the door, it was a library. Exhausted
and frustrated, I decided to sit for a moment and analyze the route I’d taken.
Looking
around the room, I noticed a framed map on the wall, near the door. The
probability of it being a type of fire escape map seemed high to me, so I went
over, hoping to find the way to my room.
Sadly,
the map was written in some sort of code. (Nothing is normal in this place!) I started
looking around to see if there was a codebook, or at least a readable map of
the castle. Wouldn’t a library be a great place to keep something like that?
As I
examined the room, I came across a framed portrait of a young man. He had dark
hair and dark eyes. He was smiling, but his eyes were sad. I looked at the
bottom of the frame to see the title, but the placard had been removed. The place
where it had been was a slightly different color than the rest of the frame. I reached
out to touch the spot.
“Your
Highness?”
I
sucked in a frightened breath. “Macon! You scared me.”
“I apologize,
Princess. May I ask how you came to be in this part of the castle?” His face
looked a little hard; it made me feel like I was in trouble.
“Oh.
Um, I got lost on the way back from breakfast. I was looking for a map.”
“I
see.” Macon’s eyes softened a fraction. “Allow me to escort you to your
chamber.”
“Certainly.”
Macon
closed the door behind us, then pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and
locked it. “This door is ordinarily locked, Your Highness. I can’t imagine how
it came to be unlocked.”
“Oh,”
I mumbled, still feeling guilty for being in the library. “Why is the door kept
locked?”
Macon
pursed his lips and thought a moment before answering. “It is His Majesty’s
wish.”
I
didn’t think it would be wise to continue my inquiries.
Macon
deposited me back at my room and wished me a pleasant morning. I spent the rest
of it reading, wondering why the library was forbidden, and getting a little nervous
about what to do at my presentation. Lunch came and since my mother was not
there to provide
and I got out of bed, wondering how to set the alarm.
According
to the traditional clock on my bedside table, I had plenty of time to get ready
before breakfast. With the remainder of time, I sat in the squishy chair, reading
my wonderful Newton book, waiting for my escort.
“Good morning, Princess Lily,” the
short green lady from Thursday night said. “My name is Beryl. Her Majesty asked
me to show you to the breakfast room.”
“There’s
a breakfast room?”
“Of
course. You can’t have breakfast in the dining room or the tea room.”
“Oh.”
“Right,
then. Shall we go?”
I
nodded and followed Beryl into the hall. After a series of staircases, elevators,
locked (and unlocked) doors, we arrived in a sunny room. My parents were
already there.
“Princess
Lily,” Beryl announced.
Breakfast
was actually pretty normal and served by the seven short people from before. With
some of the dishes my mother offered explanations. “This bacon is really a
bacon substitute sent over by the Three Little Pigs.” “These eggs are from the
Goose Girl. You remember that story, Lily.” (I do?) “This is gingerbread from
the Little Old Woman who made the Gingerbread man.” (Isn’t that wrong somehow?)
“When you eat this alphabet cereal, the letters on your spoon will spell
character names, places, and important things from the stories of Smythe’s
SFL.” [16]
When
we finished breakfast, my mom asked, “Do you think you can find your way back on
your own? Your father and I have lots to do before your presentation at one. Beryl
will come for you around twelve forty-five. Cook will send lunch to your room. Wear
the blue dress in your closet. We’ll save the green one for the ball tonight.” [17]
“Okay,”
I mumbled as she left the room.
I did have trouble finding my way back. After thirty minutes of wandering, I thought
I’d finally found my room, but when I opened the door, it was a library. Exhausted
and frustrated, I decided to sit for a moment and analyze the route I’d taken.
Looking
around the room, I noticed a framed map on the wall, near the door. The
probability of it being a type of fire escape map seemed high to me, so I went
over, hoping to find the way to my room.
Sadly,
the map was written in some sort of code. (Nothing is normal in this place!) I started
looking around to see if there was a codebook, or at least a readable map of
the castle. Wouldn’t a library be a great place to keep something like that?
As I
examined the room, I came across a framed portrait of a young man. He had dark
hair and dark eyes. He was smiling, but his eyes were sad. I looked at the
bottom of the frame to see the title, but the placard had been removed. The place
where it had been was a slightly different color than the rest of the frame. I reached
out to touch the spot.
“Your
Highness?”
I
sucked in a frightened breath. “Macon! You scared me.”
“I apologize,
Princess. May I ask how you came to be in this part of the castle?” His face
looked a little hard; it made me feel like I was in trouble.
“Oh.
Um, I got lost on the way back from breakfast. I was looking for a map.”
“I
see.” Macon’s eyes softened a fraction. “Allow me to escort you to your
chamber.”
“Certainly.”
Macon
closed the door behind us, then pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and
locked it. “This door is ordinarily locked, Your Highness. I can’t imagine how
it came to be unlocked.”
“Oh,”
I mumbled, still feeling guilty for being in the library. “Why is the door kept
locked?”
Macon
pursed his lips and thought a moment before answering. “It is His Majesty’s
wish.”
I
didn’t think it would be wise to continue my inquiries.
Macon
deposited me back at my room and wished me a pleasant morning. I spent the rest
of it reading, wondering why the library was forbidden, and getting a little nervous
about what to do at my presentation. Lunch came and since my mother was not
there to provide
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