keep Cinnamon in control you laughed at him? How ungrateful!”
“Well, for once it wasn’t me looking like the fool.”
Augusta’s grey eyes flashed angrily. “If not for the fact that your horse ran away with you and provided embarrassment and punishment enough, I would call the witches right now. Melantha would not be happy if our celebration was spoiled by one of her young ladies, would she?”
Moira looked down at the ground. “No, Augusta.”
“No, so I expect you to apologize to Prince Lucian and then we will go to the picnic. Phillipa will help Lucian get cleaned up.”
Moira never looked up from the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lucian replied. “I probably would have laughed too.”
There was no response from Moira as she followed Augusta. Phillipa watched and then looked at Lucian. “I am so sorry, Lucian.”
“Will you be able to clean it?” he asked, looking at the ruined jacket.
“Of course I will,” Phillipa replied. “I wasn’t referring to your clothing.”
Lucian thought for a moment before it dawned on him that she was referring to his princess, not the accident. Afraid he wouldn’t like the answer, but desperate to know, Lucian asked, “Do they ever change couples?”
Phillipa frowned. “We don’t change couples, Lucian. Love does not happen overnight. It’s like working with Zephyr. You begin with trust, respect and then you become a team, friends and from there love is born. The only time a pair is changed is when one party fails a class, as you should know from your parents.”
“I don’t really know what happened,” he admitted. “Mom and Dad never told me. I just know that Mom’s prince failed his mission and Dad stepped in.”
It was quiet for a moment before she said, “Come to my office tomorrow evening. You need to understand what happened. I can’t tell you now because your princess is waiting for you. And gentlemen never make ladies wait.” She smiled and waved her wand, causing the mud to instantly disappear before leading him back to the rest of the group.
Lucian soon found Moira sitting on a blanket with Adrian and Allegra. They were talking as Lucian walked up. “Moira, are you doing better now?”
“I’m fine,” she retorted.
Allegra looked up in surprise. Before she could say anything, Jacobi walked up and asked, “Do you mind if Clarissa and I join you?”
“Not at all,” Adrian replied. “The more the merrier.”
“Thanks,” Clarissa said as she and Jacobi sat down. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is,” Allegra replied. “Are you a first year?”
“Not exactly.” Clarissa explained, “I’m only twelve so I begin next year.”
“That’s great! I’m twelve too,” Allegra said.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Rusty barking. He ran to Lucian, tongue hanging out and wagging his tail. “Oh Rusty, I can’t work with you today,” Lucian said, scratching Rusty’s ears.
Rusty looked at him for a moment before turning and seeing Allegra. He barked and jumped into her lap. “Good boy, Rusty. Look at how you’ve grown! You’re such a smart puppy. Why did you say you can’t work with him?” Allegra asked, turning her attention to Lucian.
“Adrian and I always work with Rusty after his lunch on Saturday. He thinks it’s time for a lesson,” he replied.
“I told you he’d be the perfect dog.”
Someone sneezing behind them made them all turn around. “I’m allergic to dogs. You need to take that mutt somewhere else,” Esmé said. She and Kaelen were standing together next to the group.
“Or you could go elsewhere, Esmé. It’s not our job to keep you comfortable,” Allegra snapped.
Esmé sniffed and Kaelen asked, “What’s that dumb dog doing here anyway? Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough for one day?”
“Dumb dog? Rusty’s not dumb,” Allegra retorted.
“It’s okay, Allegra,” Lucian said before Allegra could continue her attack. “Kaelen, you’ve already been in trouble once for hurting Rusty. Shouldn’t you go before you make it twice?”
Kaelen blushed angrily and began pulling Esmé away as she started interrogating him about Lucian’s comment.
“I can’t believe she was accepted,” Allegra said, disgust in her voice.
“You know her?” Moira asked.
“Yeah, she’s in the same dressage division I’m in, so I see her at competitions all the time. She’s the most selfish person I know,” she replied.
“Well, she and her prince seem like a match made in heaven,” Clarissa commented.
“I don’t think they qualify,” Adrian countered with a grin.
The group laughed as the fairies brought baskets to each blanket. They passed around plates and silverware before passing around sandwiches, apple slices, flasks of fresh apple cider, carrot sticks and little vanilla cupcakes. The meal was enjoyable, except for Moira sulking anytime the ride was mentioned. It didn’t seem like long before Calista announced, “It is time for you to say goodbye to the lovely ladies of Fair Damsels Academy. Please remember there is no kissing when you say your goodbyes. We will meet again December twenty-second for our winter festival.”
“Well, they don’t have to worry about kissing here,” Adrian said, his nose wrinkled.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Moira replied.
Lucian and Allegra exchanged glances, but said nothing. They didn’t need to.
“Well, it was a pleasure to meet you,” Lucian said to Moira.
“Yeah, likewise,” she replied, though her sarcasm was not lost on Lucian. “I suppose I’ll see you in December.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Have a safe journey.”
She didn’t respond. Rather, she turned on her heel and joined the rest of the girls in line to return to Fair Damsels Academy. Lucian watched her go wishing Phillipa had said trades were allowed all the time. He would have much preferred Clarissa, although he certainly didn’t wish Moira on Jacobi. Not even Kaelen was bad enough in his opinion. To his mind, the afternoon had been a failure.
“Didn’t I tell you she was a piece of work?” Adrian asked, watching the carriages pull away.
Lucian just nodded as he fed Zephyr some of the leftover apple slices. “Thanks for trying today, Zephyr.”
The horse munched happily on the slices while Adrian accused, “You didn’t tell me Allegra was such a good rider.”
“Oh yeah, riding’s her passion.”
“Yeah, well, she’s a lot better than me. Let’s head inside with Rusty. It’s getting a bit chilly.”
“We have to put the horses away first,” Lucian replied.
“Then we’d best get moving,” Adrian said. “We’ll work with Rusty tomorrow.”
Year 1 Chapter 3
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After supper on Sunday, Lucian climbed up to the second floor. He walked past the classrooms to the hall with the fairies’ offices. There were golden nameplates on each door. He reached the one that read Phillipa Rosepetal – Horsemanship. He knocked on the door and soon heard a voice say, “Come in.”
He walked into the office and saw Phillipa standing at her desk. She was wearing her normal riding habit and leather boots. “Good evening, Lucian,” she said, looking up at him with large pink eyes. “I thought perhaps you might like to come help me in the stables as we talk.”
“Okay.” He followed Phillipa silently as they walked to the stables. It was a clear autumn evening. There was the slight smell of rain left over from the afternoon’s shower. “What do you want me to help with?” he asked as they walked into the wooden building.
“Calista is going into town to see her sister. Tomorrow is her birthday, you see. She needs the carriage prepared. I’d like you to groom the horses while I polish the carriage.”
“Alright.” He grabbed a curry brush and went to one of the four charcoal-grey horses that would pull the blue and gold carriage.
; They worked in silence for a while before Phillipa said, “I suppose I should begin telling you the story. Once upon a time, there was a young prince named Maximillion. He, like many others, graduated from Charming Academy and was sent out on his quest. There were some who doubted Maximillion’s abilities; he was not a very good student and barely scraped by in many of his classes. However, graduation came and his quest began. He searched for five full years for his princess and then met many obstacles when he found the location of the Forbidden Tower. Somehow he got through the forest of thorns and distracted the dragon. But he could not reach her.”
“Why not?” Lucian asked.
“He was scared of heights,” Phillipa replied. “The Forbidden Tower is so named because it is, as I stated, surrounded by barriers and it is well over one hundred feet to the small window that is the only way in or out. Princess Alexandra was blessed by the witches with hair that grew abnormally fast, was stronger than steel, and yet light as a feather and soft as satin. She was incredibly beautiful, not that I need to tell you. She would not allow Maximillion to give up. She knew how difficult the climb was for him. But she continued to encourage him, calling down her love and her faith in him. It was no use. Not even ten feet up, Maximillion, overcome by his fear, fled.
“Alexandra was heartbroken, doomed to remain in the tower for eternity. On the last day he could have saved her, her prince, her love had abandoned her. She cried late into the night, until she heard someone calling her name. Hope bloomed once again and she ran to the window, expecting to see Prince Maximillion. But to her surprise, it was not her