Esther M. Friesner by The Way To A Man's Heart

Author:The Way To A Man's Heart
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2011-12-20T13:15:21+00:00

Her prayers went unanswered: He had seen her. He was doing a fair amount of drooling himself.

“If this kingdom survives the horror presently upon us,” he said in one of those deep, resonant voices that command respect and carry for miles, “then when it is over I shall order a special thanksgiving service to praise whatever power has brought a creature such as you into my realm.” He slid gracefully from the saddle and knelt in the dust beside Amaryllis’ side of the haywain.

She scrambled from her place to urge him back to his feet. “Noble sir, do not abase yourself before me. I am but a humble swordmaiden, Amar the Armigerous.”

“Thought ye said ‘Amazing,’ ” the driver grumbled. No one paid him any mind.

“A swordmaiden!” The young man’s eyes lit up. He clasped her hands to his breast in exultation. “This is a deliverance! Know, fair warrioress, that I am Prince Destino. Know too that I have fallen in love with you at first sight. Know likewise that if you will have me, I would make you my bride. Know besides all of the above that whether or not you accept my offer of matrimony-“

“Oh I do! I do!” Amaryllis cried.

“-that I would still offer you a lucrative dragon-slaying contract to-you do? I mean, you will marry me?” Amaryllis nodded hard enough to snap the neck of a lesser woman. “Ah, joy! Then I shall ride back to the castle to bring my parents the happy news while you ride forth to slay the wicked monster who-“

“What?” said Amaryllis. And also: “Monster? Slay?” And last but not least: “Huh?”

“Why yes, my beloved.” Prince Destino gave her a melting look. “The dragon. I’m sure I mentioned it. It appeared sometime this afternoon in the castle courtyard where I was entertaining my fiancee, the Princess Dimity of Yither.”

For a reason known best to herself, Amaryllis heard only one word of the prince’s last sentence: “Fiancée?”

Destino sighed. “An alliance contracted when we were both in our cradles. We were not supposed to wed for another two years, but what with the recent upheavals affecting eligible princes, her lather insisted we rush ahead with the marriage; ‘Before you give me a grandchild that’s a damned tadpole,’ was the way he put it. Princess Dimity of Yither is a very-“

“Don’t tell me about Dimity!” Amaryllis looked hot enough to set the whole haywain ablaze.

“Dimity is my stupid cousin, and a more graceless, stubborn, overbearing girl you’ve never seen!”

“Your… cousin?” The prince chewed this over. “But she’s a princess, and you-“

“My father lost his throne to barbarian hordes from the north,” Amaryllis said rapidly. “He and all my kin perished in the assault. I alone survived, an infant, rescued by my aged nurse.

She’s dead now too. There’s no one left to tell you any different, so don’t bother asking around.”

“A swordmaiden, a disinherited princess, and the chosen of my heart!” Prince Destino was in ecstasies. “And once you’ve rescued her, I am sure that the

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