Pumpkins and Princesses (The Tales and Princesses Series Book 3) Read online

  We moved back to the dirt path, and Harry was awfully close to me as we walked. I found myself tensing more and more with every step, and I barely heard a single word he said to me. And boy did he talk. It was a constant, never-ending chatter. And he made himself laugh at least twenty times.

  “You know, Ellie,” he said with another laugh at some inward joke. “We’ve been walking for at least an hour, and you haven’t said one word. Are you just shy, or intimidated by me? Or both?”

  I sighed. It was both of those things… and more. I still didn’t reply.

  “Humph,” he said, but there was still a playful tone to his voice. “Well, I’ll just keep talking. I’ll go crazy if there’s no conversation— even if it’s just one-sided.”

  I kept my eyes straight ahead, but my lips started twitching into a smile. Harry noticed.

  “Ah, there you go! You’re starting to warm up to me already!”

  I sucked in my cheeks to keep from smiling even bigger but failed as a tiny laugh escaped from my mouth.

  Harry nudged me playfully with his elbow. “I think we’ll be great friends, you and I.”

  I flushed. “Maybe.”

  Harry stopped abruptly and dramatically brought a hand up to his heart. “Words from the fair maiden! I can’t believe my ears!”

  This time I let the chuckles come. “It was just one word.”

  He wiggled his blond, almost invisible eyebrows. “Now it was…” He paused to count on his fingers. “Six words!”

  I giggled even more, not able to help myself. I was beginning to realize, just as Harry had said, that he was fun to travel with. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. Besides, I could do with a friend or two.

  Chapter 5

  Once it started to get dark, Harry told me there was a humble inn just a couple hours out of Greriveth’s capital. Once we arrived, my jaw dropped to the ground. I couldn’t believe buildings could actually be that big. After counting the windows, I determined there were at least ten rooms. I was in awe, even when Harry tried to explain to me that it was actually a lot smaller than most inns— especially those in Newvein.

  “This is small?” I exclaimed.

  Harry snorted and pushed me towards the front door. “Where have you been hiding away, Ellie? Have you even been to Newvein?”

  My face grew hot at his words. I was embarrassed by my naivety, so I didn’t grant him any explanation. He didn’t seem to mind, however, as he watched my face light up when we stepped inside. To our left was a magnificent, mahogany desk with a tall, thin man scribbling away on some paper with a quill. Directly in front of us was a festively lit dining hall with five, long tables all filled with jolly men and women drinking and eating what smelled like marvelous food. My stomach grumbled as I watched a drumstick or a piece of fluffy bread reach various guests’ mouths, but I was almost able to ignore my hunger as I enjoyed the sight before me.

  “Excuse me, kind sir!” Harry bellowed jovially.

  The old man at the desk squinted down at us through his giant, round spectacles. “Yes?”

  Harry lightly placed two fingers on my elbow and guided me over to the desk. My head barely reached over the top.

  “We’d like two rooms, please.”

  The man cleared his throat and shifted through the stack of papers before him. “That’ll be one silver piece for each room.”

  “How much money do you have?” Harry directed to me with a whisper.

  I cocked my head to the side as I remembered back to what my stepbrothers had given me.

  “I definitely have enough,” I said loudly.

  “Hush,” Harry hissed, then palmed himself in the forehead. “You know nothing about haggling.” He groaned, then grinned wryly at the worker. “How about three copper for each room?”

  The man narrowed his eyes. “The rooms aren’t negotiable. Payment, please?” He outstretched his hand to Harry.

  Harry turned to me. “Ellie, kindly pay the man for our rooms, will you?”

  I guffawed. “But, you—”

  “That’s what you get for ruining my negotiations,” he interrupted with a wink.

  I clenched my jaw. Really naive. That’s what I was. Who else would travel to the capital with a thief?

  “Fine,” I grumbled as I shuffled through my bag, digging out the worn coin purse given to me by my stepbrothers.

  The man snatched the coins from my palm and gestured his head up the stairs behind him.

  “First two doors on the left,” he said without making eye contact.

  “Great!” Harry exclaimed as he dragged me to the staircase.

  “Uh, thanks!” I called back to the worker, but he remained hunched over his paperwork.

  After inspecting both rooms, Harry claimed the larger one before I even had a chance to blink, and I was left alone in my own room. There was a small window in the corner with actual glass panes, and a writing desk to my right with three candles. They weren’t stubs of wax, either. New, never before lit, candles. But that wasn’t what excited me the most: there was a bed. Not a cot— a real bed with springs and a mattress. I tiptoed over to feel the white quilt resting atop it. It was much softer— and cleaner— than the wool blanket I used at home. I kicked my boots off and twirled over and over again, slipping across the wooden floor in my socks.

  Harry had claimed the bigger room, but mine was larger than the one Mother and I shared, so I didn’t mind one bit.

  I threw myself onto the mattress and laughed as my body bounced twice, then sank into the bed at least two inches. I hadn’t thought I would really care for nicer things, but I realized it felt nice to enjoy it a little bit.

  I stared at the ceiling and started thinking of how much of a disaster it would have been to not have Harry with me. Upon entering the inn, I would have frozen without any thought of what to do. I didn’t want to resent Mother for her intense desire to shelter and protect me, but it was her fault I was more like a child out in the world than my actual eighteen years. I tried to ignore it, but the annoyance I felt was hard to push away.

  My tired body soon infected my mind, and my thoughts began to slowly muddle together until I fell asleep.

  “Ellie? Are you okay?”

  I couldn’t stop staring. Harry had been right: that little inn was nothing compared to Newvein. There were buildings scattered around us that had to be twice the size, and the array of colors was overwhelming. The stone of the streets shone with hints of dark blue, and every building was adorned with flower boxes underneath their windows. And we were only standing in a piece of the place. The city continued farther than I could have imagined, and the towering castle with an intriguing black stone loomed at the end.

  “Ellie?”

  “Am— am I dreaming?” I breathed.

  Harry drew his brows together, the usual playfulness in his expression disappearing for a moment.

  “You really have never been to the capital?”

  I shook my head, not taking my eyes off of the sight.

  Harry studied me for a second longer, but then shook it off and continued walking down the road. It took me a moment to realize he’d started moving, but when I did, I ripped my eyes away from the scenery and chased after him.

  “Where are all the people?” Harry said.

  He was right. There was no one around. My awe of the city hadn’t allowed me to observe that we were alone. All of my assumptions and imaginations told me that a big city like Newvein would have busy people bustling about, and merchants trying to sell their wares to unforthcoming customers. At least, that was the impression I got when Mother talked about it.

  “Is it normally so empty?”

  Harry shook his head, eyes narrowing. “Something’s up.”

  Before I could ask what he was thinking, the squeal of an instrument I’d never heard before sounded from a distance. I jumped behind Harry and grabbed his arms.

  “What was that?”

  Harry turned to pull me away from him, eyes lighting up on
ce again. “That was just a trumpet. The people must be gathering in the square for a royal announcement.”

  “Announcement?” I cried with a smile. “How exciting! Let’s go!”

  I picked up my light skirts and started off on a sprint towards where the trumpet had sounded.

  “Wait up!” Harry called after me. “You’ll need my help to find where you’re going!”

  I slowed for him to catch up, then followed as he led us through the winding streets all the way to the square. My breath caught at the sight of the people. There were at least two hundred people in front of me. Many were dressed in elaborate dresses and tunics, and others were dressed similarly to Harry and me— some worse. The noise of the chattering voices rang in my ears, and my legs began to buckle underneath my weight.

  “So. Many. People,” I said through gritted teeth.

  Harry chuckled with a roll of his eyes and tried to pull me into the crowd. I dug my heels into the ground, refusing to get any closer.

  “I can’t,” I said. “Too many.”

  Harry cocked his head to the side. “You’re a very interesting person, Ellie.” He moved to stand beside me again. “Fine, but don’t blame me if you can’t hear anything.”

  He snapped his words at me, but upon looking at him through the corner of my eye, his body was shaking from inward laughter. Everything was so funny to him, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the mass of strangers in front of me.

  The trumpet sounded again, and I forgot my own troubles as the crowd quieted almost instantly.

  “Are we going to see the royal family?” I whispered.

  Harry waved his hand to silence me. I bit my tongue, eyes staring forward at the far edge of the square where a long dais spread in front of the crowd. The person holding what must have been a trumpet— a very long, very thin, gold instrument that ended in a weird, circular shape— was tiny, but a broad smile stretched out his chubby cheeks as he stood before the crowd on the platform. He seemed just as excited as everyone else.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, noblemen and noblewomen,” the man hollered. I was surprised such a small man’s voice could carry so loudly and so far. “I present to you Their Majesties: King Thomas, Queen Catherine, and the Crown Prince Gerald!”

  Applause erupted with a roar, and everyone threw themselves into bows or curtsies as the royals climbed the steps behind the dais where they had been hiding. My breath caught at the sight of such regality. King Thomas was clean-shaven, not what I imagined in my head, and he stood tall and straight. His muscles were strong, and his billowing, maroon robes made him look even larger than he was. Queen Catherine looked just as strong but in a different way. Her head was lifted, but not arrogantly. It was confident. Her brown eyes scanned her subjects with evident love and compassion. And she was beautiful. Her chestnut hair was tied up into a tower of intricate braids, and there was a slight hint of pink on her high cheekbones. Like her husband's clothes, her gown was deep maroon— the color of the Kingdom of Greriveth, but the color flattered her much more than it did the King.

  And then my eyes fell to their son. The similarities to his parents were few and far between. The Prince was fit, like his father, but if I had to pick one he looked like most, it was his mother. They had the same coloring and similar build, but as he gazed at the people, he lacked the same spark of compassion. It was something else, like dominance and pride. I shook my head. Maybe the sun was playing tricks on my eyes.

  I wasn’t able to focus on his appearance for long, however. I had expected to find Prince Gerald dreamy and incredibly handsome, like the princes in the books I’ve read, but any thought of such things made my stomach turn. Something in me revolted at feeling attracted to him. He was handsome, but I felt drawn to him in a way I would a friend… or maybe even a brother. I stared and stared, trying to determine why I felt like I knew him from somewhere…

  The Prince’s eyes met mine, a brilliant hazel-green, very similar to my own. I gasped and dropped my gaze to my feet.

  Harry snorted and nudged me lightly in the ribs. “He’s pretty handsome, eh? Swooning, are you?”

  “No!” I spat, but my face grew hot from being caught staring at the Crown Prince. Harry took my blush as a hint that he struck a sensitive chord and snickered.

  “Don’t worry, Ellie. You’re not the only one. He’s rather popular among the ladies.” Harry turned to me with an exaggerated wink.

  I chose to ignore Harry and turned my attention back to the King as he began to speak:

  “People of Greriveth!” he bellowed with a deep voice that was just as strong as he looked. “We are thrilled to announce that Prince Gerald is of age and in search of a wife!”

  A wave of giggles from nearly every woman reached my ears. The King held up his hand for silence, but a smile grew on his face.

  “Yes, yes. A lucky woman she will be.”

  Prince Gerald smirked and raised his chin slightly.

  The King continued: “The Queen and I have come to an agreement with Prince Gerald that we will allow him to choose his wife among all eligible young ladies at a ball we will hold in one month.”

  The excited chatter grew even more than before, and I also found myself beginning to grow eager. I’d always wondered what a ball might be like.

  “All women?” a voice shouted from the crowd. I wasn’t able to find the source among the masses.

  King Thomas raised a dark eyebrow at the outburst, but he answered, “You heard me right. All women. Noble, peasant, young, old… Prince Gerald can choose among all the wonderful ladies Greriveth has to offer.”

  This time the chatter grew to more outbursts of excitement rather than quieted chatter. A few women directly in front of me already began to talk about what they’d wear to impress the Prince. Harry turned to me with both eyebrows raised, and his mouth turned into an “o.”

  “What are you planning to wear to this ball, Ellie?” he teased.

  I grinned at the thought of wearing a pretty dress and dancing at a magnificent ball, not to impress a prince, but to enjoy myself and experience something so grand. But then I remembered: Mother would never let me go.

  The town became a lot busier than when we had first arrived after the royal family went on their way back to the castle. In the absence of their monarchs, the people went back to their normal lives, but there was a spring in their steps I suspected hadn’t been there before.

  Harry helped me find the little boutique Jacob and Jared’s packages were at, but it turned out I was actually retrieving a couple love notes from two, giggly and perky young women. I was under the impression that my stepbrothers and the girls wrote back and forth often. I couldn’t understand why any two girls might take a liking to Jacob and Jared, but the letters in my bag were real and very rank of perfumes the girls had seemingly bathed them in.

  “Where to now?” Harry asked as we pushed through the congested streets. I held my breath each time I came close to brushing against a stranger, and it happened often.

  “Home,” I said.

  “But we just got here!”

  I wasn’t able to flash a look at him, focusing on not bumping into people along the path.

  “And now I need to get home.”

  Harry threw his arms to his sides in submission. “Fine. Let’s go home then.”

  I dared a look at him. “Oh, no. You’re not coming with me this time.”

  He stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “Why not?”

  I shook my head. “Can we get out of here first?” I let out a shaky breath as I had to dodge a little girl running past my legs.

  Harry touched my elbow and aided in steering me more effectively. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”

  I found myself smiling in relief. There had been many moments where this strange young man had shown such kindness to me. It was definitely welcome.

  After a good half hour (much longer to traverse the city than when it was empty of people), we made it to the outsk
irts of town. I felt my fists relax, and my breathing return to normal.

  “I thought you were going to pass out for a while there,” Harry said, releasing his grip on me. The absence of his hand made me tense up once again, and I longed for the comfort and warmth of his touch.

  “I think I still might.” I stumbled under my weight, but he caught and stabilized me with ease.

  “Okay, Ellie. I have to know: what is your story? You’re so…” he paused for a long time, scratching the blond scruff on his face. “Intriguing.”

  I folded my arms and gave him a look up and down. “I’ll tell you if you tell me your story.”

  He held his hands up in surrender and barked out a laugh. “Good point, good point. I guess we’ll both have to stay in the dark then.”

  I flashed a pretty smile and winked. “Guess so.”

  “You know,” he continued as we walked back into the forest leading out of Newvein, “I’m okay with a little mystery. It kind of makes our friendship more fun.” He nudged me with his shoulder, nearly sending me careening off the trail.

  I giggled. “I’m glad.”

  Chapter 6

  Prince Gerald didn’t see the need for a bride. Much less a bride he picked from a flock of love-struck women attending a ball just to strike his fancy. However, it was still better than his parents sending in a strange noblewoman or princess from another kingdom to marry him. At least the ball provided a chance for him to have a say— even if a little.

  He thought back to the announcement in the square, with the displeasing squeals of women vying for his affection. But there was one girl Gerald had seen in the crowd… she didn’t screech, jump, or chatter like the other women. She had just stared at him. Not creepily, nor with awe as many girls did, but as if she recognized him and was searching her mind as to why. And, for some unknown reason, Gerald had felt the same way, too. It was like they had a mysterious link to one another that he wanted to explore.