Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan

Author:John Lenahan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2011-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

I spent that night dreaming about a mermaid. I don’t know if my dreams were a premonition or just the result of talking about them all day, but I can tell you one thing: the mermaid I dreamt about wasn’t old.

I awoke in the morning to the sound of splashing. I had one of those surreal moments when I couldn’t figure out whether the sound was coming from my dream or from the waking world. I sat up in bed and listened. Just because my grandfather was a peeping tom didn’t mean I was going to cop a look at Queen Rhiannon swimming naked – as much as I’d like to. I dressed, walked downstairs and found Essa speaking to the wet-haired, robed Queen, at the entrance to the council room. They stopped when they saw me. The Queen and I swapped morning pleasantries and she left.

‘Is everyone all right?’ I asked.

‘We’re fine,’ Essa said. ‘Brendan has been complaining about not having any meat in a while. He asked a Pooka if he could change into something he called a New York porterhouse so he could eat him. I’m not sure if the poor Pooka was scared or just confused.’ Then she smiled and I realised just how much I had missed that smile. ‘The Queen seems to like you,’ she said.

‘Oh, yeah? What did she say about me?’

‘She told me that I was with the wrong man.’

‘Well, I have to agree with her there. I don’t see how you can ignore such good advice from a queen and a prince. Come to think of it I’m sure I could get a king to join the focus group.’

‘Turlow is a king,’ she replied smugly.

‘And here is me thinking that he was just a Turd-low.’

Essa’s face got those lines in it that meant that our pleasant conversation was coming to an end. She turned to leave. I reached for her arm and thought better of it.

‘Essa,’ I called after her and she stopped. ‘Seriously, even if we never get together again I still agree with the Queen. He is not the right man for you.’

She gave me that exasperated look, which was safer than her I’m about to hit you look. ‘And why is that?’

‘When you are around him – you … you just don’t seem to be you.’

This looked like it threw her for a second. But then she bounced back, ‘Maybe this is the real me and you are the one that brings out my worst.’

I shook my head. ‘I don’t think so.’

For a second I thought she was going to say something else but then she looked at her shoes and left.

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