Mother and daughter both stare at you in stunned disbelief for a moment; you glance at one and then the other thinking that you’ve just made the last mistake of your life. After recovering from the initial shock of your entrance, Princess Fiona’s face darkens and she crosses her arms.
Looking down at you in a way that makes you want to crawl into a hole she begins to speak, “Well what do we have here? It looks to me like a little boy snooping around where he shouldn’t be.” She smiles and continues, “And you know what happens to little boys that do things they shouldn’t.”
Her mother, also recovering quickly from your unexpected entrance also gazes down at you, “Let’s not be too hasty Fiona, perhaps this male has a good reason for being here.” Then she directs her question at you, “Well male, do you have a good reason for being here?”
“I’m sorry,” you apologize quickly, not really knowing what else to say.
“Sorry are you?” the princess intones with obvious sarcasm, “Oh well I suppose that makes it all better then?”
“Hush girl,” Elizabeth said, “I don’t think we need to frighten the boy any more then he already is. In all likelihood he merely got lost trying to escape the clutches of those violent barbarians you like to call knights.”
“But mother,” the princess protested, “He was spying on us and that sort of thing must not be tolerated. I say we throw him in the dungeon and let the criminals have a go at him.”
“No,” The queen disagreed, “he is far too handsome to be wasted so carelessly.” She thought for a moment then her eyes lit up. “I have a better idea of what to do with this vagrant.” She turned and spoke directly to her sullen daughter, “One day you will be Queen, and you will have to take on many duties and responsibilities, but as it stands now, your treatment of men makes me doubt your ability to rule effectively. So I give you this task: take this man and care for him, treat him as if he was your husband and prove to me that you will one day be fit to lead our people.”
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