Chapter 9

Alexandra

"I will not put up with this anymore," Alexandra stormed into her parents' room. "Those stupid magicians have pinched me and prodded me, choked me with their smokes and drowned me with their potions. I have had enough!"

"Calm yourself, my dear." Alexandra's mother looked up at her daughter, "I know that this is difficult, but it is the only way. After that business at the school, none of the enchanted princes will even look at you. We must find you an enchantment. Then some younger prince who hasn't heard about you can save you, all right and proper."

"The school, the school?" Alexandra cried. "I am the best ever to come out of that school. They said it themselves. Yet you keep treating me like I failed."

"Alexandra, you went to the school to learn how to act like a princess. Not to make enemies of our neighbors!" the King banged the table. "As far as I am concerned, you did fail. Now, we need to find some way to get you married. I don't know what we're going to do."

"Married? I'm fifteen, let's not panic. There might just be someone out there rational enough to want to marry me, not some enchantment."

"My dear, enchantment has always been part of royalty..."

"Then what does that make me? Think about it: just what does that make me? Maybe you should worry about replacing me instead of enchanting me, because I will not be enchanted." The princess turned and walked out of the room. Her parents looked at each other.

"There must be some appropriate way to find the princess a husband. I really don't think that enchantment will work at this late date. Do talk to the advisers, dear, or Alexandra may get right out of hand." The King nodded and turned back to his tea. He already had a couple of thoughts in that direction.

Alexandra, in the meantime, went outside to walk in the gar-den. She found it calming to be in the garden surrounded by growing things. It reminded her of her early days at the school, learning campaigning skills. Once she was in control of herself she went to the stables. There she could relax and let the whole business of enchantments and marriage go. Only her parents were bothered about those things.

At the stables, she listened to George's tales. The head groom had been with the kingdom cavalry, and was always willing to tell stories of his years patrolling for bandits, giants or monsters. In exchange for her attentive ear, the princess was given lessons on how to ride 'like someone in the cavalry.' When she wasn't in the saddle or listening to George she was watching what went on in the stable, learning what she could from the stable hands and grooms about horses and their keeping. The word had spread through the stables about how intelligent and pleasant the young princess was. In return Alexandra was allowed to hear much of the gossip of which royalty was normally kept carefully ignorant.

This afternoon, however, she simply leaned against the fence and watched the beautiful animals as they were put through their paces. Safe in the afternoon sun she thought about the morning.

The magicians had done worse than try every spell they could think of to enchant her: they had made her feel dirty. Just the thought of them made her stomach clench. All morning she had gritted her teeth and put up with the stink and the nonsense. She had glared her anger through the thickening vapors in the windowless room. All the time one of the royal councilors watched. When the oldest magician had ordered her to strip so she could be naked, just as on her christening day, she had lost her temper. As he stared at her waiting for this last and greatest indignity, Alexandra had looked to the royal councilor to stop this insanity. Instead she caught the slightest of smiles on his face. She turned back to the magician and slapped him so hard that the sound stopped all noise in the room. The old man stumbled back, the mark of her hand already red on his face. She turned to the councilor and gave him the glare she had used to quiet her unruly council at the school. He reddened even faster than the magician and started pulling at his collar. He opened his mouth to speak but choked on the noxious air of the room. While he was gasping and coughing Alexandra walked out without a word.

The grooms and stable hands stayed at a careful distance from the young princess, though her face tore at their hearts. She stared into the courtyard, even after the horses had left it, with tears running unnoticed down her cheeks. Finally, George came over and stood beside her. Silently the two leaned on the fence in the heat of the sun. The odors of the stable surrounded them. To George they were the smell of home.

"Shall I sharpen up my old cavalry sword and challenge whoever has caused you this hurt?" At first he didn't think she heard, and, feeling the rebuff, he stood up to go, the creak of fence seeming to reach her as his words couldn't.

"George, am I royal?"

"You are the princess."

"But you need to be enchanted to be royal, and I will not be enchanted."