Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 545(@200wpm)___ 436(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“It wasn’t like this back when Kind Queen Lorelin was alive,” Keezer said mournfully. “She used to give feasts for the Lesser Fae sometimes! A good Queen, she was. I hope your Ladyship will follow in her footsteps.”
“I certainly will try,” I promised him. I was still angry though—I knew what it felt like to be cold and hungry and to feel like I didn’t have enough education to make a place for myself in the world. I turned to Krynn and Seldarin again. “What can we do about this? How much power do I have?”
Sel shrugged expansively.
“You’re the Princess. Technically you should have more power than anyone in the Kingdom.”
“However, just about any decision you make will have to be approved by the Lord Regent—Mordren,” Krynn warned me. “He’s supposed to be your advisor and lend you his wisdom until you come of age.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I snapped. “I’m perfectly able to make decisions without his input! Especially when his ‘wisdom’ is ‘don’t educate girls’ and ‘poor people don’t really need to eat!’”
“He never would have dared to do such a thing when your mother was alive, Princess.” Seldarin’s face was like a thundercloud. “I grew up here as a Lesser Fae under her rule and there was always plenty to eat and everyone had an opportunity to learn.”
“So the kingdom of the Dark Fae is actually going backwards since Mordren took over,” I said, still frowning.
“You could say that.” Krynn nodded. “I’m sorry, my Lady. I would have tried to dissuade him from cutting the rations of the Lesser Fae if he had consulted me—but he didn’t.”
“He didn’t listen to you about education, so why would he listen about this?” Sel pointed out.
“We need to change this right now!” I said. “These people deserve to be fed and educated too—they should have the same rights as the High Fae!”
I must have been speaking loudly enough for the crowd to hear me because a cheer went up as the words left my mouth.
“Careful, my Lady,” Krynn murmured. “You have the power to make changes in name, but you have yet to come into your magic. You have nothing to back up your words.”
“Surely there must be something we can do,” I said, thinking hard. “I know—Keezer said that the old Queen used to throw feasts for the Lesser Fae. What if we ordered the Palace Kitchens to cook a feast for them tonight?”
Krynn looked thoughtful.
“I’m fairly certain you could pull that off. You could announce it as a feast of gratitude to all those who have waited for your return and welcomed you back.”
“Let’s do it then,” I said decisively. “Let’s go to the kitchens right now!”
“I’ll take you, your Ladyship!” old Keezer, who had apparently been listening on the sidelines, piped up. “I’ll introduce you to the head cook too. Goztel is his name. He don’t like the Lord Regent’s orders either. He’s the one who slips me the scraps,” he added, giving me an exaggerated wink.
I suppressed a smile.
“All right—take us to the kitchens, Keezer. Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome, your Ladyship!” He beamed at me, showing a grin that was nearly toothless. Then he shouted out, “Long live the Princess—Blessed is she whose Bite is Sweet!”
“Blessed is she whose Bite is Sweet!” the Lesser Fae roared back, returning his chant and touching their foreheads and their necks as they did so. Then all of us headed down the hallway for the kitchens.
This might still be a dream, I told myself as we marched along. But I was going to try and make a positive change here if I could. And if I woke up in an hour, cold and alone in my minivan, oh well. I wanted to do whatever I could to make the Palace a better place for as long as the dream lasted.
25
Lily
Old Keezer had been right—the Head Chef, whose name was Goztel—was more than eager to comply when I asked him to prepare a feast for the Lesser Fae.
“It’s mighty good of you, my Lady,” he said, ducking his head in a bow and then rising up again to a height of almost eight and a half feet tall. (Sel had murmured to me that he was also a half-breed and was half ogre.)
“It’s long overdue,” I said. “I understand that Queen Lorelin used to hold feasts for the Lesser Fae often.”
“Yes, she did.” He nodded. “But the practice fell out of favor after she passed and King Valerin was alone on the throne. Of course, we didn’t blame him,” he added quickly. “He was grieving his wife’s death and the loss of his baby daughter—of you, your Ladyship.” He nodded at me obsequiously. “So of course he couldn’t be thinking all the time of the Lesser Fae.”
Personally, I thought this was a poor excuse for neglecting the people who kept the Palace running for fifty years, but I didn’t say so. I nodded at the Head Chef and promised him that feasts for the Lesser Fae was going to become a regular thing again—starting that very night.