Rapunzel and the Dark Prince by Lidiya Foxglove

Author:Lidiya Foxglove [Foxglove, Lidiya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-07-03T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Rapunzel

When I heard the word “dinner” and “court”, I imagined we were going to go sit at a long table and eat and the court would be there eating too, and that was pretty much it.

It all got out of hand before it started.

The queen was waiting for us, with a tall, handsome man who must be the king. He had Dorin’s nose, and more than that, Dorin’s presence, with distinguished veins of silver in his hair.

“His majesty, King Alexander,” the queen said. “This is our new princess, Rapunzel.”

“Lovely to meet you, Rapunzel,” the king said, taking my hand and bowing to kiss it. His tail curved upward when he bowed, and I started blushing again just thinking about how everyone reacted when I asked about tails. “She may not be a darkling, but as a human beauty, she is perfection. She is going to knock the boots off our foreign visitors. I definitely want her to have training in diplomacy.”

I barely even knew what ‘diplomacy’ meant but it sounded just awful.

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, Father,” Dorin said. “She has a lot to learn just about daily interactions.”

“She has a bright eye,” the king said. “I bet she’ll be a quick study.” He winked at me and Queen Maria gave him a sideways look. He put a hand around her waist and she gave him the tiniest shake of her head, with an amused twist of her mouth. Even in a matter of moments, I could tell Dorin’s parents were still as wild about each other as Dorin and I were for each other. It made the queen seem a little less scary.

“I hope so,” the queen said. “Because there is a lot to learn right now. Let me tell you what will happen. We will proceed into the reception hall. The court will be lined up to receive you. The king and I will come first, you and Dorin next, and then Dorin’s brother, Prince Adrian, and then the king’s sister, Princess Luiza, and her husband. You must not look at anyone as you pass by, for risk of singling anyone out for favor, but they will bow to you. Next, we will proceed into the dining room and you must step onto the dais and turn, and at this point you must give the court a fairy bow and you may look at them.”

“Why can’t I look at them in the hall but I can look at them on the…dais?” I didn’t know this word either.

“Because the hall procession is where we show favor. Once we enter the dining hall, that is no longer protocol.”

“How often do we do this?” I asked.

“Every day,” Dorin said.

“Every day?”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds. It only takes about ten minutes.”

“What's a fairy bow?”

Oh, I had so much to learn. The fairy bow was one leg straight, toe forward, and the other knee bent, one hand to the waist and the other back, lower your head but not your waist—of course, I couldn’t bend my waist anyway with the corset on.

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