Eugene did say all trading happened on Merchant’s Crescent now. The author’s instincts seem to be right on the nose.
From what I have gleaned, Astera is led by a monarch and their consort, with the monarch’s authority taking precedence. There is also a council of five advisors, and in the event that a monarch isincapacitated before their heir is of age, the council assumes governance of Astera in the interim. I believe there is some correlation between the cardinal directions and the jurisdiction of each councilor, for my admission papers bear the seals of the Councilor of the West and Master of Seas, as well as that of the Councilor of the East and Master of Prosperities. From my best estimation, the Master of Seas is responsible for Astera’s navy, while the Master of Prosperities seems to be in charge of economic affairs. I have yet to determine what the North and South administrations cover, or what the fifth council position is; when I inquired, the supervising guard said it was none of my concern. This is the full extent of my observations regarding the government of Astera.
Rapunzel blows out a breath, the chair creaking as she sits back. All this secrecy, and they’re breaking it to invite her to a party. No wonder her mother’s suspicious.
But…
That only makes Rapunzel want to gomore.
If she can’t study up on Astera, maybe she can dive into diplomacy. She descends upon the political arts shelves, and returns to the table with a wobbling stack of books with titles likeTheories of ArbitrationandDuties of the Plenipotentiary.
A few hours later, she’s wading through a chapter of the rather silly and bloatedArt of the Bargainwhen the chair across from her squeaks. Rapunzel jolts to attention as Pascal ducks behind the book stack and fades into the pages.
Her mother is lowering herself into the other seat. Somehow, it’s already dark out. The library’s lamps were sufficient after all.
“You’re a little too old for me to enforce a bedtime,” the queen says gently, “but itislate.” She picks up a discarded book—Rules of Engagement—skims the title, and looks up at Rapunzel. “You really want to go, don’t you?”
“I—I don’t expect it to be a vacation or anything,” Rapunzel blurts out. “I promise I’m taking it seriously. I know it could be dangerous. I just think…we should find out why me, why now.”
“Sweetheart, what happened yesterday isn’t your fault. You know that, right?” Her mother reaches across the table for her hand. “And it’s not your mess to clean up. We’ll manage it just fine. Truly.”
Whenever a growth spurt hit and Rapunzel’s dresses started getting too short, too tight, Mother—no, Gothel—would roll her eyes and sigh,I suppose I’ll just have to find you more fabric. No, don’t worry, Flower. It’ll be out of my way, but I’ll manage it somehow.
Rapunzel still feels like she’s fourteen, trying to reverse engineer pictures of dresses into a workable pattern so she doesn’t have to bother Gothel for that too, when she says, “I want to help. IknowI can help.”
“I know you can…” the queen starts.
“And it’s part of being a princess, right? There’s always going to be a risk.” Rapunzel shuts the book. “Maybe this is an opportunity for a new alliance. Or maybe itisa threat, and we need to know how to protect our kingdom. I want todosomething about it. It doesn’t feel right for me to just stay in the”—she catches herself—“palace.”
I can be the princess you waited eighteen years for,she swears but doesn’t say.I can’t heal Father anymore, but I can do this. I can make you proud.
When the queen finally speaks, her voice is hoarse. “Sometimes I forget you still have a whole world to see. I won’t be the one to make this castle a cage. Just promise…” Her eyes glitter in the lamplight. “Promise me, Rapunzel, that you’ll come back.”
The next morning brings one hitch to the plan.
Rapunzel and Eugene can’t avoid eavesdropping while they wait awkwardly outside her mother’s meeting parlor. It’s almost fascinating to hear Minister Cressien try to wrestle vehement disagreement into a nice hat. “Your Majesty, I—I’m afraid I can’t…rationalize this course of action. It doesn’t seem…”
“You may speak freely, Cressien,” the queen says dryly.
“I must be hallucinating,”the minister erupts. “Surely we’re not sending thebrand-newprincess, and her suitor with a pardon so recent the ink hasn’t dried, as emissaries to a kingdom no one’s heard from since beforeanyof us were born. A kingdom that deliberately manipulated us into this situation! The king won’t allow it, and he’ll be right!”
Eugene grimaces and mutters,“Ouch.”
The queen coughs. “The king is currently on the royal doctor’s strongest painkillers, because he is a tremendous baby. He spent the morning in his bathtub convinced he’s judging a pastry contest. But you’re right, this is a risky move. At best,King Enver does genuinely want to establish relations, and at worst, they have more sinister intent.”
“Even the middle ground is unacceptable, Your Majesty,” Minister Cressien insists. “They could have reached out to you or the king at any time. They almost certainly wish to exploit Princess Rapunzel’s inexperience, and we don’t know to what end.”
Didn’t I say we could use that?Rapunzel thinks a bit crabbily.
But the queen embodies serenity itself as she says, “I concur, Cressien. This calls for a shrewd, insightful, highly capable diplomat with decades of experience and familiarity with our kingdom’s policies, who can see exactly what Astera’s real goal is.”
Eugene and Rapunzel have only a few footsteps’ warning before the parlor doors open.
The queen ushers the two of them inside with a smile brighter than the sun. “And that’s why you’re going with them. Now, let’s talk strategy.”
The call comes at midnight:“Rapunzel!”
Rapunzel pushes herself up from her bed, her head heavy. Suddenly it’s jerked sideways.
