For the second time in as many weeks,Claudia was called to the King's office. She made her way through the granite halls with her two new guards in tow.

Ugg! I hate doing this alone! But, I hope Clarissa is enjoying herself. The poor girl had to be tired of following this old woman around—she deserves a little bit of happiness. Well, at least she doesn't have to deal with his abuse today.

Of course, Claudia wasn't completely alone—she had her two guards on loan from the King. While they did serve their purpose—to intimidate the men around the castle into following her orders—they were pretty worthless otherwise. They couldn't even provide tolerable small talk, much less an interesting conversation.

Ugg, these guards! They can't talk and they barely walk! Why are they so slow!

Without looking back, she chided, "Bertram, Earnest, why are you two dragging? We can't make His Majesty wait." When she didn't notice an increase in their pace, she turned to give the slothy pair a real earful. However, when she turned around, what she saw on their faces was not an expression of laziness or willful disobedience, but a mask of abject terror! Apparently, the King's threat to behead and mince the pair during her previous visit had made a bit of an impression on them.

Claudia tried to comfort the terrified soldiers, "Oh dear! You poor things! You have been doing a fine job, you have nothing to worry about."

"Yes, queen Claudia," Bertram replied in a tone that implied much more fear than confidence.

However, Bertram and Earnest did manage to move a little quicker, but the fear did not disappear from their faces. Claudia sympathized with the two—she knew as well as anyone that the King was someone to fear, but she had a job to do.

Still, moving a little quicker was still too slow. Finally, she stopped and turned to them, "Perhaps, it would be better if I visited the King alone. Please wait for me in the courtyard."

With that, the soldiers' solemn demeanor brightened considerably, "Yes, queen Claudia!" —and then they sprinted towards the courtyard, lest Claudia might change her mind.

Claudia laughed. Well, I am nothing if not a merciful queen. Referring to herself as a queen, even in her thoughts, made Claudia laugh even more. But, this little bit of self-deprecating mirth was transitory— Claudia was now left with the prospect of meeting the King completely alone. She grimaced, Is there any chance that these "reforms" might mellow this monster?

Of course, Claudia knew better.

As she approached the doors to the King's office, she found two new soldiers standing at attention.

"I am here to see His Majesty."

"Yes, queen Claudia, His Majesty is expecting you."

The two guards opened the giant double doors.

At least it is a more respectful welcome than my previous visit.

The soldier on her left walked in and found the King standing with his back to the door, once again observing his kingdom from his window.

"Your Majesty, queen Claudia is here as requested."

The King did not turn around, "Yes, yes. Leave her here, and shut the door behind you."

Claudia stepped in and remained by the door, as the King started the conversation.

"So, it appears that things are going well with the Princess."

"Yes, she appears to be getting along well with both Clarissa and Abel," Claudia couldn't help but smile, "and even Gain seems to be behaving himself."

"Good. I think I may bring up negotiations for the wheat soon."

"They should be returning from their outing within the hour. I plan on meeting them in the courtyard. Would you care to wait with me?"

"No, tonight's dinner should be sufficient for my purposes."

There was a brief silence.

"You didn't call me here just to talk about dinner."

"Yes, I was meaning to ask, Abel and the Princess, do you think that there is something there? It might be good if Abel made a play for the Tearmoon Princess. It could solve a lot of my problems."

No! No! No! Stay out of their life. Get your wheat, but leave them alone!

Claudia was in a panic. She feared for anyone that the King showed interest in. She knew it was the stories of her own beauty that brought him to invade her home of Santina, and it was Gain's talent with the sword that made the King decide his eldest son was worthy of being his protege. My parents couldn't protect me, and I couldn't protect Gain—now Abel and the Princess...

Had she known his plans to make Abel heir apparent, Claudia would have been completely apocalyptic. As it was, Claudia tried to softly push the King away from her youngest son.

"Oh, I don't know. You've heard rumors about the Princess and the Sunkland Prince. They even traveled together during our incident."

"Yes, he was with her when Abel met him on the battlefield. He almost killed the Genius Prince that day"

"Our son almost died that day..."

"Bah! My son would have killed that rat from Sunkland had the Princess not stopped the fight. Though it's probably better that he did not kill him, the Kingdom is not ready for war—not with Sunkland, anyway."

Not with Sunkland? You bastard—biding your time to invade Santina again.

"Remno does not need a war with anyone..."

The King growled and tuned towards Claudia, "You do not tell me what Remno needs!"

The queen was actually fortunate—such a comment would ordinarily merit a response from his fist—"However," the king thought, "these are not ordinary times, and a broken jaw might be difficult to explain to the Princess."

Having realized the precariousness of her situation, the queen obsequiously responded, "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Make sure dinner goes well."

"Yes, Your Majesty. May I leave Your Majesty?"

"Of course, we don't want to keep the Princess waiting."

Claudia arrived at the courtyard and waited for her children's return. A guard called out from the gate, "The Royal Princes are returning, lower the drawbridge!"

Claudia quietly grumbled to herself, "and what of the two princesses and Miss Anne?" She would remind the guards (again) to include female party members in their announcements. It was one of many disrespects ingrained in the men of the castle—but they were doing better. Not just for Clarissa and herself, they were royalty after all, but, from the kitchen to the Council, men and women had begun working together without harassment—most of the men even managed to be polite— congenial, even.

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Of course, the improvements started through Claudia's coercion—with power on loan from the King—she could force the men in the castle to behave themselves, and they did—after all, they were used to acting out of fear. But, Clarissa's sudden appearance in Council affairs was something very different. What she brought was not the old fear in a different package—Clarissa brought new freedom and new ideas. Yes—There was the initial surprise among the all-male Council from the gender of the new royal liaison and the council members she appointed, but that shock was soon displaced by excitement. There was a sudden feeling of relevance—at first, it was just Clarissa's new appointees bringing forth new ideas, but soon some of the male council members, seeing that they had a chance to be something other than a rubber stamp for the King, began putting forth suggestions of their own. Some of the ideas were good, and many were terrible—but just that spirited discussions were occurring at all brought new life into even the oldest among the council.

Of course, Claudia's earlier conversation with the King served as a cold reminder that all of this 'change' wasn't change at all, it was just a calculated attempt to construct a facade for the benefit of Tearmoon's Princess. Once the King received his wheat, it would all be over.

But, there has to be a way...

Claudia's thoughts shifted to the riding party making their way through the castle gate. Claudia was surprised to see that Clarissa was the first to enter the courtyard, apparently not needing an escort to guide her horse. She dismounted and led Shadowspear her way.

"Mother, we had the most wonderful time! I love horseback riding... and Gain went hunting with Miss Anne... and I raced Abel and..." and she kept going, never taking time to breathe...

"Clarissa, slow down!" Claudia laughed at her adult daughter, who was sounding like a child returning from her first adventure away from home—which was a sadly accurate description of her daughter's life. But, Claudia was happy that her daughter did get to experience a bit of wonder.

Mia smiled, "You forgot the most important part!"

"What?" Clarissa was pretty sure she hadn't missed anything in her recounting of the morning's events.

"We got everything we need for mushroom hare stew!"

Claudia looked in Mia's direction, "Oh? So, you know how to cook, too?"

"Well, I..."

Anne interrupted before Mia could complete her sentence, "No! I will help in the kitchen!"

Claudia quickly interjected, "Miss Anne, What is that!"

When Claudia pointed in Anne's direction, she answered, "Hares? Prince Gain and I went hunting—"

Anne thought the queen was referring to the day's quarry tied to the back of her horse (which was wrong, of course).

"No! What are you riding?"

Gain answered his mother, "The King's Horse," and then he almost appeared to smile at Anne. "I hear it is a very good horse."

As surprised as the queen was at the content of her son's response, she was shocked (and more than a little pleased) at the expression that went with it. Oh my! His tone is still a little mocking—but, there is no doubt—he respects this girl!

Apparently, a mother knows these things!

As the conversation paused, Clarissa bowed her head contritely,"I am sorry mother, I will not be able to help with dinner—I still have work with the Council. So, it will be just you and Anne in the kitchen."

Mia interjected, "Well, I would be happy to hel—"

"No!" both Anne and Claudia interrupted (for very different reasons).

Claudia started with her justification first, "The offer is too kind. But, I can't have a visiting princess working in the kitchen. Besides, two people should be more than enough to cook hare stew."

"Yes," Anne added, "besides, you wanted to read Elise's first romance—you won't get much other time for reading on this trip."

"That is true."

Mia's Court Artist, Elise Littstein, had finally completed her first official romance, The Good Prince and the Beautiful Princess—a very gentle romance, written by a girl who had experienced very little romance herself. The very basic plot has the Good Prince defeating his Evil Brother in a sword fight, winning the heart of the Beautiful Princess. Despite its hokiness, it sold like hotcakes. Mia, of course, was completely oblivious to the obvious inspiration for the story—which was especially ironic, since the purported work of fiction was more rooted in reality than Mia's 'official' biography, The Chronicles of Saint Princess Mia, also written by a Miss Elise Littstein. Of course, Mia had already read the completed final draft of the romance a half dozen times—but this was an actual book! There was something about having an actual bound copy in her hands that made it new and exciting. Just the thought of it made her smile with anticipation. "Well, I am sure you two will do a wonderful job without me!" Mia quickly curtsied to the queen and then scurried away.

Abel was happy to see Mia smile, and as much as he wanted to steal another hour with her, he knew she needed her 'book time' as well.

"It seems that all of the ladies will be occupied, so I will bring the horses back to the stable."

Clarissa interjected, "Oh! But, I would like to ride Shadowspear to the meeting."

"But, you only just started riding!"

"Baby brother, if I don't practice, I won't improve." And then Clarissa smiled at Abel and Gain, "and if I don't improve, one day I might find that my slowpoke brothers can ride as fast as me!"

For the first time in at least ten years, the two Remno brothers exchanged confused looks of mutual commiseration, as an older sister dropped a metaphorical gauntlet at their feet.

Pleased with her brothers' confusion, Clarissa began to climb back onto Shadowspear's saddle, when she suddenly remembered, "Oh, Mother— the Princess would like for Sir Bernardo and Michelle to attend dinner if that is possible."

"I will inform His Majesty, you can talk to Michelle at your council meeting."

Claudia then looked towards her fascinating accomplice in keeping a certain Princess out of the kitchen, "Well, Anne, I hope you can cook as well as you hunt!"

The moment Mia left to walk alone to her room, Claudia immediately felt guilty about essentially prohibiting her from entering the kitchen. Oh, I hope I didn't hurt the Princess's feelings. I haven't really even had a chance to talk to her, and now I did this... but, the way that Gain looked at Miss Anne—I haven't seen that expression in so many years. I have to talk to her!

Still, I can't leave it like this. Claudia decided to catch up with Mia to apologize.

Meanwhile, Mia was already laying in her bed in the guest room that queen Claudia had furnished specifically for her visit. It contained neither the austere furnishings normally found in Remno bedroom, nor the gaudy extravagance displayed when foreign royalty tried to impress the young Princess during her visits. No, everything in the room, the colors, the fabrics, the furniture was assembled from a treasured memory of Claudia's youth—her own room from the time before she was taken from her home in Santina. It was something that Claudia could never get permission to do for her own daughters, but it was an acceptable extravagance for the visiting Princess.

Of course, there was no way for Mia to appreciate the loving accuracy exhibited in Claudia's effort, but it was not really done for Mia's benefit—Claudia had been given free rein to prepare a room for the Princess, and she decided to make the most of it.

When Claudia arrived at the guest room, she was tickled to see the young princess laying on her back happily reading a book in this copy of her old room. She's lovely. Oh, Abel. Don't let this one go!

With the Princess happily devouring a book in her bed, Claudia correctly concluded that an apology was not necessary—and rushed to the kitchen to join another young woman that had apparently caught the attention of her other son. I know it's not much—but, there was definitely something there—maybe she can...

As Claudia entered the kitchen, she found that Anne had already skinned three of the hares.

"So quick! I didn't mean to leave you to start on your own. I just wanted to check on the Princess."

Anne waved her hand dismissively at the queen, "Oh, Miss Mia has a book, she's on cloud nine!"

Claudia laughed, she knows the Princess well!

"I will get started on the mushrooms."

As Claudia began sorting and washing the mushrooms, she set up her cutting board next to Anne, "So, do you cook often?"

"Well, I have had to learn a few skills. I have sworn that I would do anything to protect Princess Mia, so being able to find my way around the kitchenhas become invaluable in securing her safety."

Claudia answered in a knowing tone, "So, it seems that even the Great Saint has to worry about being poisoned by her servants."

"Poisoned by her servants? Oh, Moons no!" Anne gasped, "Her Majesty is adored by most all of her subjects and certainly by everyone in the castle."

"But, then..."

"I have to protect her from accidentally poisoning herself!"

"What?"

"Oh yes, Princess Mia is a saint and a sage, but she is a terror in the kitchen." Anne looked at Claudia with deadpan seriousness, "Tragically, she loves to cook."

"She's that bad?"

"I do not allow her to boil water."

"Oh my! But, I am surprised that you are telling me this."

"Well, I have to tell someone! What happens if she is here and tries to cook when I am not around? I can't really explain it to Clarissa or Abel, they are too in love with the Princess to believe it—and Gain..."is a monster—well, I can't say that...

"...avoids the kitchen." Claudia rescued Anne from her awkward pause.

"Uh, yeah..."

"He's not a monster."

"I didn't say—" can she read minds?

"Well, he's not. Not yet, anyway. Right now, he's just a little lost."

"Ha! You sound like the Princess."

"Well, I will take that as a compliment!" Claudia said with an earnest smile.

Anne smiled back at Claudia, "These are done. I will help with the mushrooms."

"So, you hunted the hares with Gain?"

"I did."

"And, he behaved himself?"

"Yes, for the most part."

"That's good, he hasn't had much experience around women."

"With his charm? Who would have thought?"

"Be nice. He is my son."

Working in the kitchen had made Anne forget that she was in the company of a queen, "I am sorry, it isn't my place. It's just that I speak my mind so much with the Princess that sometimes I forget..."

"Oh, don't be so serious! It's wonderful having someone new to talk to. And, I know Gain is slightly lacking in the charm department, but, maybe if he met the right woman..."

"I am sorry queen Claudia, but I don't think there is a princess on the continent..."

Well, maybe not a princess...

Claudia kept her thought to herself and just smiled at the lovely young woman chopping mushrooms next to her.