Hold onto the Potato

"I do not think that is how the saying goes," Mairwen smiled as she corrected her companion. She and the scientist strolled through the Spring Garden while taking a break from work. Along with the other guards, Eira walked silently behind them, trying to ignore the silly banter going on between the teens.

Renat twiddled his thumbs nervously. "Are you sure? That is how I have always heard it."

"Say it again, please."

"Hold on to the potato," he repeated more cautiously than before.

"And what does it mean?" The princess asked with a musical laugh.

"It means do not quit. Keep going forward even when it is hard." The scientist straightened his shoulders. He secretly liked her laughter, but narrowed his gaze in determination.

"Why would you have a potato in your hand in the first place? And how in the world does holding onto it gain you anything?" Mairwen's face scrunched as she considered his explanation.

"I do not know," Renat conceded. "What do you say to encourage someone to keep going?"

"Do not quit," the girl responded with a straight face.

"Really? You do not have any fun colloquialism?" Renat could not believe that interesting sayings were only coined by the poor.

The princess thought for a moment. "Well, my brother used to say 'to the stars' whenever he saw me want to give up," Mairwen offered.

"To the stars?" It was Renat's turn to laugh lightly. "Why would he say that?"

"It came from something Nanny would tell us when we were little. 'The stars never got in their place by trying halfway. Look to them for inspiration.' Alaron shortened it to 'to the stars'. It was our own little joke…" Mairwen paused and gave a ragged breath. The sudden sadness surprised even her. Pain radiated from her chest.

"You miss him," the scientist observed. "He is very special to you." Having no siblings of his own, he could only guess at how the girl felt.

"It is like a part of me is missing. I am afraid that I will feel incomplete from now on," Mairwen admitted. She stopped walking and faced him with a look of hopelessness.

Renat took up her hands in his. He looked earnestly into her eyes searching for what to say. "To the stars," he whispered. "That is what your brother would say just now if he were here. So I will say it for him. Do not give up."

"I will hold onto the potato then," Mairwen agreed with a gentle nod. Pulling her hands away from Renat, she wiped a tear from her cheek. They stood just staring for many moments.

"Is this what people do when I am not around? Stare deeply into each other's eyes hoping something will happen?" Brinn strode up beside them and placed her hands on her hips. Eira stifled a laugh while Mairwen turned a shade of pink that was previously only found in pomegranates.

Renat, on the other hand, looked at her with a hint of amusement. He had become used to her constant jibs. "It is nice to see you, Spymaster Brinn. It feels like every time we turn around, there you are. I would think a spymaster would have better things to do."

His words irked Brinn. She did not like feeling that he had the upper hand. The elf wanted to wipe the smirk from his face. "Shouldn't you be somewhere doing something science-y, or have you finally realized just how superior magic is?"

"Never." Renat glared at her. The boy would take most things in stride, but science was a line that should not be crossed.

"Both science and magic have their places," Mairwen tried, but neither was listening.

"I hope you did not hit your head too hard when you fell due to the magic sleeping powder," Brinn teased.

Renat shook his head. "I appreciate your concern. I assure you I am fine. In fact it led me to a great scientific discovery. Would you like to see?"

"Science is of little use to me," Brinn countered. "But I will humor you. Please show us your genius."

"Oh no!" Mairwen wanted to stop the madness, but it was too late.

The scientist quickly pulled out some white powder from pouch and blew it in the elf's face. Brinn laughed, "Sleeping powder? That is not even original. I had expected better from—achoo!" As she sneezed, Brinn's human exterior vanished revealing the elf's golden skin and pointy ears. Seeing the mayhem, Eira quickly shooed the other guards out of the area before they could see too much.

The princess stared wide-eyed at her elven companion. "What happened?"

Brinn struggled to catch her breath as a fit of sneezing nearly catapulted her across the lawn. When she recovered and returned herself to human form, she ran at Renat and grabbed him by the collar. "You! What did you do to me?"

"Wind!" He uttered quickly.

The elf released him slightly. "Speak."

Renat took a deep breath. "Princess Mairwen said that elves have wind magic, so I did some research and experimentation. And guess what knocks the wind out of you faster than anything?"

The realization dawned in the elf's eyes. "A sneeze!" she exclaimed.

"Exactly," Renat agreed with a smile. "No wind, no magic, and no shape shifting. So I put together some things to make your nose itch, and here we are."

"That's amazing!" Mairwen chirped.

"Impressive." Brinn released the boy's collar. "I will be keeping this, though." She took the pouch and tucked it away. "If I hear about you making any more of it to use on me. I will end you."

"Yes ma'am," Renat saluted her. He was pleased not to be crushed into a pulp by her exceptionally strong hands.

"There may be something to your science," the elf nodded approvingly. "But if you tell anyone I said that, I will deny it." Brinn turned to leave the garden but spoke over her shoulder. "But do not get comfortable. This is not over." The playfulness in her voice made both the Princess and scientist smile.

"I look forward to it," Renat said genuinely.

"She teases because she cares," Mairwen whispered.

Brinn heard it and started to respond, but could not deny her words. "You can go back and attend the love birds," she said to Eira as she passed. The soldier nodded, and motioned for the group to return to the young royal.

As she was heading back into the palace, she passed three more soldiers. Their uniforms were ill-fitting, which bothered the spymaster in a way she could not explain. Brinn slowed her walk to listen. The soldier with white-blond hair approached Eira. "We have come to relieve you of guarding Her Highness."

"You are early," Eira responded, looking the three men up and down.

The blond man grunted. "Better early than late. Should we come back?"

Eira arched her brow to tell them to leave, but then looked at the tow soldiers with her. They were tired and after seeing Brinn transform into something they could not explain, the two probably needed a break. "You are relieved," Eira informed the two men with her.

"You are relieved too," the blond soldier added to Eira.

She gave a dry laugh. "I am never relieved from Her Highness."

"But Her Majesty needs to speak to you urgently," the other soldier insisted.

"Then Her Majesty may come to me or I will bring Princess Mairwen to Empress Aurora. I do not leave my mistress."

Obvious frustration passed over the blond man's face. "Good luck explaining that to Her Majesty."

"What did you say your name was?" Eira put her hand on her sword.

Before he could answer, a loud trumpet sound from inside the palace rang out. This was part of a recent alert system to warn of danger. The trumpet meant those who were not trained to fight should seek a safe place to shelter.

Eira looked toward the sound, taking her eyes off the others for barely a second. The blond guard shoved her to the ground and moved past her. "Princess Mairwen," Eira shouted as she hurried to stand and give chase.

"Watch out!" Brinn called, as she, too, could see what was about to unfold.

The trio of intruders moved toward the princess and Renat. The smallest of the three assassins brought out a shortened crossbow used for close range. He aimed quickly and released. Mairwen saw the arrow come and began to move, but knew that she would never be fast enough to escape the bolt. Bracing for impact, she instead felt the weight of Renat's body pushing her to the ground.

The princess was shocked by his action, but even more shocked by what she saw. Deep and unmoving, the feathery bolt protruded from the scientist's left shoulder.