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I didn’t want to miss that. I’d realized it subconsciously I suppose when we first set up the idea for the activity, but after seeing the lavender Torin planted for me, I realized that I would have been heartbroken to get a bunch of children excited about gardening and then not have been able to see the literal fruits of their labors.
I clear my throat and push thoughts like a year is just not going to be enough to the back of my mind. “So I was thinking…you know what would be more effective, and more fun for Torin, than meeting with all these business people and politicians and trying to explain why the farms are exciting?” I ask.
“What?”
“A farmer’s market.”
She pauses for a moment. “What?”
“We need to get people interested in the farms. We need the people to understand why these are important. Even before the king and all the big business people and advisors understand it. If the citizens want them, then the higher ups will have a harder time saying no,” I say. I’m talking fast, but I can’t help it. My blood is pumping, and my thoughts are whirring. “But the farms aren’t ready for tours and visitors yet. We have these visions of people coming out here to pick fruits and vegetables and sample food made with the produce, but we’re too far away for a lot of people to come and we’re not ready. But we can take samples to them. We could set up little markets in the villages. Or at the schools. We can have fresh fruit and vegetables. We can make pies and tarts, salads, chocolate, jams, coffee, all kinds of things in smaller batches for them to taste. And we can have games and projects like today’s for the kids. We can invite local artists and bakers and other farmers too. We can bring the farm to them.”
Linnea again doesn’t say anything for a second.
“We need to get out there and tell as many people as possible about Torin’s ideas,” I say. “But it’s a lot easier to get people to listen to the bigger ideas while they’re having fun and tasting delicious food.”
She finally gives a soft laugh. “Torin’s ideas? Abi, this is you.”
“Well, the ideas about how to present it are mine, but the farms as a whole, on a large scale, are his. While we’re there handing out chocolate covered strawberries, he can talk about how the programs at the schools will work, how this will create new jobs, how it will impact the economy. All the big picture stuff.”
“I love it,” Linnea says. “Instead of having him sitting in meetings, trying to convince the University to offer new programs, we get the people asking for programs. And if the Faroe Islands don’t want to do it, we’ll do it here in Cara.”
My heart rate speeds up. “Exactly. So…markets. Who do we talk to about getting those set up?”
She laughs louder now. “Abi.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the princess.”
I frown. “I…um…okay.”
“You just say the word, and I make some calls, and say ‘Princess Abigail wants this’.”
I open my mouth. Then shut it. I think about that. My heart flips. Wow. I feel myself smiling. “Really? That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“Really?”
“I thought you’d studied how the Cara royal family works.”
“I…looked up their history and things like that.”
“Well, there are only two people who have more power than you do on this island,” Linnea says. “The king and queen.”
“Not Torin?”
“Nope. The princess shares equal power with the prince. Just like the queen shares equal power with the king.”
“Wait, what?” I don’t know why this hasn’t occurred to me to wonder about this before. I suppose because I’ve been so wrapped up in one particular member of the royal family, I haven’t really thought about the rest of them much.
And, well, I didn’t intend to be a member of the royal family for long.
Every time a thought like that crosses my mind now, I feel a sharp pang near my heart.
“Torin’s mother is the king and queen’s daughter-in-law,” Linnea says. “She’s respected by the people and is given financial support and protection as a member of the royal family, but she doesn’t have any actual authority. However, the queen—Torin’s grandmother—does have power. Equal power with the king.”
I think about that. “Do they ever disagree?”
