Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess

here I learned that Prince Tarvek isssszzz—erk! The one we—we—we were made for.”

Agatha turned to Tarvek. “Made for?” She shook her head. “If they were made for anyone, they were made for The Storm King.”

Tarvek paused, and then shrugged modestly. “Yes, well, I am The Storm King.”

On the face of it, this was rather analogous to someone admitting that he was the White Rabbit of the Equinox. Agatha decided to treat Prince Tarvek the way that she always treated Professor Rollipod back at the University[49].

“Do tell!” She cooed. “That’s very nice! Would you like some juice, your majesty?”

Tarvek looked at her with a tired annoyance. “Stop it. I don’t think I’m old Andronicus Valois. But I am his direct descendant, through my mother, which is why my last name isn’t Valois. The lineage has been guarded and preserved by the Sturmvarous family for ten generations, and if you keep looking at me like that, I’ll make you sit through a recitation of the entire genealogy.”

Agatha couldn’t stop looking at him, but she tried to do so differently. If true, this was astonishing news. There hadn’t been a Storm King for almost two centuries. Occasionally, one appeared in some of the more obscure Heterodyne Plays, but they weren’t popular, if only because too many people found the idea of a new Storm King to be too implausible.

Tarvek continued, eyeing her carefully. “It’s quite the family secret. You can imagine what would happen if it got out. But apparently these two—” he indicated Tinka and Moxana, “—Trust you, so I shall as well.”

Agatha nodded slowly. “I think I know something about having explosive family secrets.” She paused. The memories of what she talked about at dinner were weirdly distorted, but accessible. “That is, if I still have them...”

Tarvek looked embarrassed. “Of course you do. I won’t tell, my sister wants you dead, and no one will believe the servants.”

Agatha analyzed this, and was not completely reassured. Tarvek ran what he’d said through his head and came to a similar conclusion. “A living Heterodyne heir is too important to risk. But even if you weren’t a Heterodyne, I...” He looked at her earnestly. “I’d want to get you as far away from my sister as possible.”

Agatha nodded gratefully. “Won’t there be repercussions from her having... killed your father?”

Tarvek looked uncomfortable. “Quite possibly. It depends how perspicacious the Baron’s Questor[50] is, but Anevka can be very... convincing.” Seeing Agatha’s face, he tried to dispel the mood. “But that is not your problem. My father’s unexpected death has placed me under some obligations that I must deal with as soon as possible[51].”

Tarvek continued. “Tinka will guide you out of the castle.” He pulled an official looking note from an inner pocket of his coat. “This will insure that you are conveyed safely back to your friends at the circus. My father sent them packing early this morning, but I managed to have them detained outside of the city walls.”

Agatha took the note. “I’d better get there quickly. They’ll be very worried. You won’t have problems with your sister, will you?”

“Will I have problems with my...” Tarvek’s mouth quirked upwards. “You must be an only child. My sister will be furious, of course. But she requires maintenance, and for that she needs me. She’ll scream and throw things and demand that I let her kill someone, but the servants know to stay away from her at times like that.”

“That’s... good?” Agatha ventured.

Tarvek sighed. “In our household, that’s as good as it gets.” He stared at nothing for a moment, then visibly pulled himself together. Now, when he looked at Agatha, she was struck by the air of authority he displayed. “But by the Law of Succession and the Right of Inheritance, I am the Prince of Sturmhalten now. Protector of Balen’s Gap and Defender of the East. My sister will be controlled. As for you...” He considered Agatha as if he had never seen her before.

Agatha found herself flushing slightly under his scrutiny. Then, to her astonishment, he bowed. “Allow me to be the first to formally acknowledge you as the future Lady Heterodyne. It is my sincere hope, when everything is settled, that you would consider returning to Sturmhalten.”

Agatha’s eyebrows went up. “Returning?”

Tarvek smiled. “Oh yes, with a Heterodyne back in power, we’ll want to strengthen political ties with Mechanicsburg. But more importantly...” Here he faltered at bit and rubbed his neck. How annoying, he was acting like a tongue-tied schoolboy at his first dance. “I... um... I mean I personally... I would very much like it if you... came back... here... and wanted to aid me in reconstructing the Muses.”

“Me?” Agatha was startled. “Why me?”

Tarvek gently patted Moxana’s chair. “Moxana claims that you are a very strong Spark. I myself have found you intelligent, personable, quite comely—” Tarvek reddened as he realized what he’d said. “—And unlike my sister, or indeed most of the Sparks I have met, refreshingly sane.” Most of the last of this came out in a bit of a rush.

Agatha regarded the young man. To her surprise, she realized that his recitation of her assets had pleased her excessively. Again she felt a tingle run down her back. Working closely with Prince Sturmvarous could be interesting. Any mechanic with a scrap of curiosity would jump at the chance to work with actual Muses. She frowned. She did have to consider the realities of the household however. There was no question that Anevka was very dangerous. Tarvek seemed to sense her thoughts.

“I’m not saying stay now. In fact, I insist that you get as far away as you can from my sister’s influence for the moment. Give me time to work on her.” He smiled. “You’d only have to come back when you thought it was safe. If you’re really worried, I’ll build you a... a death ray or something.”

Agatha went slightly weak at the knees and she had to take a deep breath. “I... I think I might like that,” she said carefully.

Tarvek beamed. “Wonderful!” He gently took Agatha’s elbow. Another tingle ran up her arm from where his hand touched her skin. “But now, I’m afraid, you must be going, and I have things that must be done.”

Agatha took a step towards the door and then stopped. “Wait! What about the Geisterdamen?”

Tarvek frowned. “What about them?”

Agatha paused, unsure how much she wanted to reveal. She spoke carefully. “They claimed to...” Oh dear. How awkward. The word “worship,” while accurate, would no doubt lead to a very complicated discussion. A discussion Agatha realized that she would have to have, but possibly, not when she should be fleeing for her life from a mechanical homicidal maniac. “...know my mother.”

Tarvek frowned. “Yesss... I had heard a little about that, but I never really paid attention...” He looked at Agatha. “If Lucrezia Heterodyne was your mother...” He blinked. “Good lord. You must be this... child person they’re always going on about. Fascinating.” He pondered this for a second, and then forcibly shook himself, and again took Agatha’s elbow. “Rest assured that I’ll take good care of them. I’ll definitely try to find out a bit more about this... mythology they’ve built up. But now you really must be going!”

Agatha saw the sense in this, and soon Tinka was leading her through the now gloomy corridors of the castle. Tinka carried an ornate hand-cranked electric candelabra, that served more to distort the shadows and keep Agatha on edge than light their way. She tried to make conversation.

“It’s so quiet,” she whispered. “Where is everybody?”

“Most of the ser-servants are con-confined to the servant wing-ing-ing. The old P-P-Prince is dead. There are... pro... pro... procedures that must be observed. Tinka continued. “Prince Tarvek will take care of it. All will be well-ell-ell.”

Agatha had her doubts about the simplicity that Tinka seemed to take for granted. “I really think it’s a good thing that I’m leaving.”

“Our Prince agrees.” Tinka nodded and her head fell off. Her body took another step, froze, and then toppled forward to the carpet. Agatha gave a small scream of surprise.

From a shadowed alcove, the three Geisterdamen stepped forth, Eotain casually wiped her blade clean on the curtain. “Forgive us for taking so long to find you,” Vrin said with a slight smile.

The three didn’t look like they were going to attack her. Agatha pointed at the Muse’s head. The eyes blinked