“Fine, what do you want me to do?” Colin asked, having heard this same speech many times.
“I want you to go to your room and pack a few things; you’re leaving the castle today,” his father said.
“And where will I be going?” he asked. “Have you found another relative that thinks they can straighten me out?”
“No, I’m done trying to help you. We’ve done all we can; you’re on your own. I don’t care where you go as long as it’s away from the castle,” his father said, then got to his feet. “You may take one small bag with you, but no money, jewels, or other valuables.”
“I don’t understand,” he said, thinking his father must be kidding. “Are you kicking me out of the castle? This is my home. I’m the prince.”
“You may be the prince, but you don’t act like it,” his mother said, pointing to the newspaper still sitting on the table. “For years, we’ve tried to teach you that everyone in Ballantine is important, tried to make you understand that the commoners aren’t our slaves. We’ve tried to teach you to be a wise leader, to govern with compassion, but it clearly hasn’t worked.”
His father walked behind his mother’s chair and put his hands on her shoulders. “Son, this isn’t easy for us, but you’ve left us little choice. This latest escapade of yours only proves that you aren’t fit to govern. Maybe out there, you’ll learn something, maybe you’ll finally become the man you were supposed to be. If not, your brother will become the king,” he said.
He could only watch open-mouthed as his father helped his mother out of her chair and they left the room. Opening and closing his mouth several times, he searched for something to say, something to stop what was happening, but his parents were gone before he could speak.
“This can’t be happening,” he said, looking around the table. “They can’t really mean it.”
“I’m afraid they do,” Jamison said, pointing to the guard that was waiting by the door. “I heard Dad telling one of the guards to watch you so you didn’t steal anything.”
***Darby***
It had taken several hours, but the shelves were restocked and ready for the next day. She’d been listening to the parade and wondering if she was missing anything but decided that the last thing she wanted was to stand in a crowd just to catch a glimpse of the royal family. Instead, she’d go out to the farm and bring back a load of merchandise to refill the stock room that was looking empty.
Just thinking about the farm relaxed her, and she knew that what she needed was a bit of fresh air. Slipping out the back door, she grabbed her bike and began the long trip out of town on the back roads to the farm. It wasn’t the most direct route, but with the parade in full swing, she had little choice.
As she wound her way through the back streets lined with brightly painted houses, their flower beds overflowing with early blossoms, she couldn’t help but smile with affection for the only home she’d ever known. Leaving behind the streets of town, she bumped along the dirt road that led to her farm, avoiding the worst of the ruts as she rode, her eyes scanning the forest around her for anything interesting.
The road climbed steadily away from the sea, then leveled off on a plateau that stretched for several miles but was only a few miles wide. It was here that her great-grandparents had settled years ago when the Seelie had come here to build a better Fae community. She wasn’t sure that they’d accomplished their goal, but she loved the farm, had worked through blood, sweat, and tears to hold onto it, and she hoped that her parents were proud of her.
When the farmhouse came into view, she smiled, happy to be home, if for only a few minutes. The smile grew even broader when she saw Eli sitting on the front porch, a big pitcher of lemonade and two glasses sitting next to him. He was grinning too when she jumped off the bike and leaned it up against the porch.
“I thought you might need a little break,” he said, gesturing to the table next to him. “I even managed to get a few of Mildred’s cookies.”
Darby’s stomach growled at the thought of the sugary, buttery confection her neighbor was famous for. “How is Mildred? Did she go to the parade?” she asked, climbing the stairs and sitting down in the rocking chair next to Eli.
Eli waved his hand in the air. “She’s just as cantankerous as ever. We snuck down the mountain for a little while, but it was just a bit too crazy, so we came home,” he said, holding out the plate for her to take a cookie. “Did you go?”
Darby shook her head. “I stayed at the store to restock the shelves, which is why I came home; the storeroom is empty. I’ve got enough stock for tomorrow but nothing to fill the shelves after we close.”
He whistled. “At that rate, you won’t have enough to last the whole summer.”
She nodded. “I know, but things will slow down after the first week, at least I hope they will, or we’re going to be in trouble.”
Eli was quiet for a second, then asked, “Have you thought any more about getting that bank loan?”
Sighing, because they’d had this discussion many times, “The last thing I want to do is give the royals any more money than I already do; the interest rate they’re charging is ridiculous. I feel like I’d be paying to use my own money, and I’m not going down that road. We’ll build the new drying house and workshop when I can pay cash for it. We’ll just have to make do with the farmhouse for now.”
“Just thought I’d check,” Eli said, filling her glass again. “Are you going to take the wagon when you go back?”
Darby nodded. “I’d like to see if I can get more than a day of stock into town.”
“That’s going to take a few hours. Aren’t you going to the ball tonight?” Eli asked, surprised to hear her plans.
She laughed. “I wouldn’t be caught dead at that ball,” she said, then saw the look on Eli’s face. “But you should definitely go if you want to. Almost everyone will be there. It’s just not my thing.”
Darby had only gone to the ball that was held each summer at the beginning of the season a couple of times, but that had been enough for her. Unlike the rest of the Fae who called Ballentine home, she wasn’t interested in the sex-fueled party. Being groped, pinched, and squeezed by men she didn’t know held no appeal to her, and she definitely hadn’t enjoyed waking up the next morning next to one of those men.
Sometimes she wondered if she was really one of them, or if she was frigid like she’d been told numerous times when she’d spurned a man’s advances. It was an ugly word, but maybe they were right; after all, she had never enjoyed the chance sexual encounters the rest of the town seemed to constantly seek. In a town where fidelity was a dirty word, her inability to sleep around labeled her as the odd one.
“Well, if I’m going to get everything done before the ball, I’d better get back to work,” Eli said, getting to his feet. “I wish you’d reconsider going; it really is a lot of fun.”
Darby stood as well. “I think I’ll just stay home this year and work in the gardens for a few hours,” she said.