mirror, but didn't want to put the Brownies to the effort of taking it home, and she hadn't wanted to leave even a trace of her magic back where the Dwarves might possibly come upon it. Just because someone couldn'tuse something, it didn't follow they couldn't identify where it had come from.
She'd learned to take precautions like that a very, very long time ago. Never leave anything magical about unless there was no other choice. Such things had a Traditional tendency to turn up in the hands of people who only used them for mischief.
Then she shook out Old Maggie's cloak, tossed it over her shoulders, picked up the box with Jimson in it and trudged toward the Palace as if she had every right to be there, heading for the servants' entrance. No one stopped her; most of the servants and all of the Guards were up at the front, in any case, and very few people ever trouble an old woman who is carrying a box and looks as if she knows where she is going. She nodded to a few people, as if she knew them. That was another way to make people leave you alone. They nodded back, vaguely. Once she was in the Royal Wing, she ran up the back stairs to the hall of the Queen's Chambers, which were locked from the inside. She tapped on the door with the hilt of her wand and murmured the countercharm, 'Open locks, whoever knocks,' and the door unlocked for her with aclick.
She let Jimson out of his prison and hung him for the moment on the wall, pulled off the cloak and folded it away, to be returned as soon as possible to her own Castle. Or, possibly, loaned to Rosa. Being able to look like an old woman might be very useful to the girl.
Then, she put on the much more powerful illusion that kept her in the form of Sable no matter what she was wearing, and resumed her disguise as the Queen.
She just stood in the middle of the room, composing herself, slowing her breathing. She reminded herself of who she was supposed to be, settled into the personage of Queen Sable. At last, without hurrying her steps, she made her way from the Royal Wing into the more public parts of the Palace, and descended the Grand Staircase, arriving near the great door just in time to hear Rosa tell her altered story. She nodded to herself with approval. There was nothing in it that anyone could disprove, except for the part about the Princes. She was pretty sure that neither of the young men wanted to irritate the Godmother by giving the lie to anything Rosa said, especially not when going along with the tale gave them free run of the Palace as a guest.
She waited until a servant came toward her, leading the two Princes up to the guest quarters. She stopped all three of them with an imperious gesture.
'Who are these...men?' she asked, looking down her nose at them. She wasn't sure yet if she was ever going to let them know that she was also the Godmother. It wasn't likely that the blond was another enemy agent, but the dark one? She couldn't as yet tell, and was going to ask Jimson to be very particular about his investigations. 'And where are you taking them?'
'The Princess ordered me to take them to the guest quarters, Queen Sable,' the servant stammered.
'And their names?' she asked again, knitting her brows.
The servant cringed a little, and looked terrified that he didn't actually know who they were.
Predictably, the dark one answered first, reaching for his battered hat and sweeping it off his head in a low bow. 'Prince Leopold of Falkenreid,' he said, radiating a deliberate charm. 'At your service, in all things. It is a privilege and an honor to be granted the hospitality of Eltaria.'
She narrowed her eyes at him. He doubled the charm. She sniffed, to indicate that she was immune to it, and turned toward the blond.
'Prince Siegfried von Drachenthal,' the blond said, drawing himself up with commendable dignity, then bowing just enough to show respect. 'Your hospitality is appreciated, but I shall soon be on my way if you have no need of me. I prefer to earn my way with my sword. I heard there is war — '
'There is possible war,' she replied, with as little expression as she could manage. 'There is no actual conflict — as yet. Nevertheless, I shall send word to the King. It is possible he can find a use for you, either or both of you. In the meantime — ' she made a slight gesture onward ' — please enjoy the hospitality of the Crown while you remain in our land.' Her expression made it very clear that she would do her best to see their visit was as short at possible.
They passed her; she stopped the servant again. 'See that they have more suitable clothing,' she said, with cold disdain. 'And baths. We shall have them to dinner with the court. We would rather not be confronted with vagabonds and barbarians at our table.'
The servant nodded frantically, and she let him go.
The dark one is going to take it all as his due. I'm not sure how this Siegfried is going to react. But it was interesting that Siegfried had offered his sword immediately. If Leopold was living on his charm, Siegfried was clearly living by his arms. Someone like that could be extremely useful here, so long as he kept his role to that of bodyguard. He certainly rides well enough. If Jimson decides he's safe, it might not be a bad thing to have him go with Rosa whenever she has to leave the Palace.
She descended the rest of the way to the courtyard, where half the inhabitants of the Palace still mobbed the Princess. As people caught sight of her, however, they went very quiet, until at last the entire throng was as still as they had been when she as the Godmother had descended from the carriage.
She stepped toward Rosa, and the crowd parted silently to let her pass.
When she came face-to-face with the Princess, Rosa stood up to her bravely, although she was just a little pale — no doubt because she still was not quite sure that under that cold exterior was the Godmother. Lily lowered her lids and looked at her with slitted eyes.
'Well,' she said. 'We are pleased to see you safely restored to us. We shall hear your entire tale in private, we think. Such things are not for every ear.'
Rosa straightened immediately, and at that moment, Lily could see her mother live again in her. 'Of course, my lady,' she replied, using the appellation 'my lady' to make it clear to anyone who understood the protocol that she was naming herself as the Queen's equal. 'We have every intention of disclosing all details to the King's Consort.' Again, Rosa used the royal 'we' to show she was standing up to the Queen; Lily was, after all, only the Royal Consort. She had not actually been crowned Queen here. Technically Rosa was as much Queen as she was. Lily had been proud of her courage before; she was doubly so now.
She took Rosa's arm, and gazed about at the rest with the glare of a basilisk. 'In the meantime, return to your duties,' she said coldly, raking her eyes across the entire crowd. 'There will be a cask of wine in the servants' kitchen and another in the Guardroom with which you may drink to the safe return of King Thurman's beloved daughter.'
