Princess in Disguise (16 page)

“What were his plans, exactly?”

“Take over Dorinocco, of course,” he said as if he thought Liam was thickheaded.

“Then there's no longer any point to your mission,” said Liam. “Clarence and my mother are both locked away now. I doubt very much that either will be getting out soon.”

Fenley's mouth dropped open. “When did that happen?”

“Yesterday,” said Annie. “King Montague is back on his throne again.”

“Well, I'll be,” Fenley muttered to himself.

“Next time I tell you that something is a bad idea, will you please listen to me?” Alfred asked as Grimsby herded them down the stairs. The job was made easier when the fur seemed to take over, making the men march in front of the ogre and go wherever he pointed. “We would have been better off if we'd taken that job my uncle Rudy offered us,” Alfred continued. “He wanted us to …”

Annie stopped listening as their voices faded away. It had been a long day and suddenly she was exhausted. She had to force herself to smile when Lizette beamed in her direction. “There,” Lizette said. “Now we can talk. I want you to tell me everything, starting with why you're here.”

Annie sighed. “I'd love to, but do you think we can change out of these wet clothes first?”

“Oh, I'm sorry! I might have some clothes that would fit you, Annie, although I'm not sure Grimsby would have anything for Liam. Right this way, and … Oh, how sweet. You're holding hands.”

“I'm trying to keep the fur off Liam,” said Annie.

“Don't worry about the fur now. It's helping Grimsby. When he comes back upstairs he'll tell it to leave you alone and you'll be fine. But why do you think holding hands would help?”

“Because magic can't touch me, or anyone I touch,” said Annie.

“Really? That's so interesting! I didn't know that about you. I see there's
a lot
you have to tell me.”

“Is everything all right here?” asked Liam. “We thought vandals had ransacked your castle.”

“Oh, that! We're having it redone. Grimsby had let it go, but he said I could do whatever I want to it. The choice was either redecorate the castle or go on a grand tour, but after the wedding I decided that I'd rather fix up the castle. We'll go on a grand tour later.”

“You got married?” asked Annie.

“Just last week!” said Lizette, holding up her hand, where a diamond as big as a robin's egg sparkled on her finger. “I'm sorry we didn't invite you to the wedding, but it was a small affair with just a few hundred people.”

They were still talking in the hallway when Grimsby came back up the stairs. “Did you know there were horses in the hall?”

“I'm so sorry!” said Annie. “I forgot to mention them. The horses are Liam's and mine. We didn't know where to put them and the storm was so bad …”

Grimsby shrugged. “No skin off my fangs. I put them in the stable, though. They were making a mess on the floor and the workmen won't like it.”

“I was about to get Annie some dry clothes. Perhaps you can find something Liam can wear, at least until his own clothes are dry. You'll be spending the night, of course,” Lizette said, turning to Annie. “You'll be our very first guests. We don't usually go to bed so
early, but the workmen get here at daybreak and we like to be up and about before then. We're having them work on the top floor last, so there are two rooms all made up that will be perfect for you. Oh, dear, I suppose we should all get some sleep now. That's all right. We'll have a nice big breakfast in the morning and you can tell us everything then.”

Good
, thought Annie. Tomorrow would be soon enough.

“Roar!”

Annie was out of bed, standing up, before she was even awake. The sound had been terrifying, and as she tottered on her feet, she looked around, half expecting to see the ceiling caving in or a dragon tearing down the walls. She was surprised to find that everything was just as she'd left it when she'd fallen asleep in the clean but shabby bedroom. The sound came again, just as loud and just as terrifying.

“Annie, are you all right?” Liam shouted, throwing open the door.

“I'm fine,” she said as she hurried to join him. “What
was
that?”

“Good morning!” Lizette called out in a cheerful voice, appearing in the doorway of her own room. “I thought I'd let you sleep in while breakfast was cooking, but no one could sleep through that!”

“What made that sound?” Liam asked her.

“I'm sure it was just one of the workmen upset about something. It happens all the time. You get used to it eventually. Grimsby went downstairs to talk to them. He'll be joining us for breakfast, so if you'd like to get ready …,” Lizette said, giving Annie's borrowed nightgown a pointed glance.

“Give me five minutes,” Annie said as she closed the door.

She turned around, surprised to see that her bed had been made and her own clothes were clean, dry, and draped across a chair. “That's odd,” she murmured. She hadn't seen anyone, nor had she heard any magic.

It took her only minutes to get dressed. She was ready with her hair brushed and the nightgown folded neatly on the bed when the five minutes were up. The aroma of frying bacon and fresh-baked bread greeted her when she opened the door, making her mouth water. Lizette wasn't there, but a moment later Liam stepped out of the room across the hall.

“You
were
fast,” said Liam. “Lizette said to go to the dining room at the bottom of the stairs when we were ready.”

“But there was nothing in it,” said Annie.

Liam shrugged. “We could sit on the floor for all I care, as long as they feed us.”

“We need to get on the road as soon as we can,” Annie told him as they started down the stairs.

Liam nodded. “We should reach the Garden of Happiness in just a few hours, then we can start back to your parents' castle.”

“Why are you going to the Garden of Happiness?” Lizette asked as the door at the bottom of the stairs opened. “Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you.”

“We're looking for the fairy Moonbeam, and we were told she'd gone there to visit her friend,” said Annie.

Lizette raised one eyebrow. “Why do you need Moonbeam?”

“It's a long story,” Annie replied.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Annie was surprised to see that the table was back, along with four chairs and a sideboard. Grimsby was already seated at the table, drinking something cold and frothy. Platters of steaming bacon, biscuits, venison sausage, herbed potatoes, and cooked mixed grains rested on the sideboard.

“Oh, my,” said Annie. “Where did all this food come from? I mean, how could you cook it with your home so torn up?”

Lizette laughed, a loud shriek that reminded Annie of the first time they'd met. Annie and Liam had come with Cozwald, a prince who had thought Lizette needed rescuing, especially when they'd heard her shrieking and believed the ogre was killing her.

Annie and Liam both looked confused now, but Grimsby laughed with his bride, a gentle sound
compared to the shrill noise she was making. When she was finally wiping tears from her eyes, she smiled at Annie and said, “I didn't cook any of this. Our servants did, just like they always do.”

“What servants?” Liam asked, looking around.

“Our invisible servants, of course,” said Lizette.

“Every wealthy ogre household has them,” Grimsby explained.

“Someone did make my bed and wash my clothes,” said Annie. “I didn't hear any magic, though.”

Lizette gestured for Annie and Liam to help themselves from the sideboard. “You said last night that magic cannot touch you, so I assume you did your own hair. Otherwise the servants would have brushed your hair and helped you dress this morning.”

“Doesn't that bother you?” asked Annie. “You'd never know when an invisible servant is in the room.”

Lizette sighed. “It's just something else I had to get used to. Now, you never did tell me why you need Moonbeam. Is something wrong?”

Annie nodded. “Everything! Liam and I were supposed to get married a few days ago, but then one thing after another happened …”

While Annie and Liam piled their plates high with food and sat down to eat, they took turns telling Lizette and Grimsby about the day they were supposed to get married. They also told them about everything they'd gone through after leaving the castle.

“And now you want to see Moonbeam?” said Grimsby. “What are you going to ask her to do?”

Annie glanced at Liam. They hadn't really discussed what they would say to Moonbeam or what they needed from her. Annie knew they wanted her help, but she wasn't sure what form it should take. Knowing Moonbeam, it would be better to tell her something precise, rather than let her make it up as she went along.

Annie wanted Moonbeam to make the mischief stop, end King Dormander's siege, and send the evil wizard away. What she'd really like, however, was to have everything back the way it had been before their wedding was disrupted. Unfortunately, that kind of magic was probably more than even the most powerful fairy could handle.

“We're not sure what we're going to tell Moonbeam,” Annie told Grimsby. “But we do have to decide soon.”

“And we need to get going,” Liam said, setting his tankard on the table. “We have a lot to do today.”

“I was wondering, Lizette,” Annie said as Liam got to his feet. “Would you and Grimsby like to come to our wedding? I know it's a little late to ask you, but—”

“We'd love to!” cried Lizette. “Wouldn't we, Grimsby?”

The ogre nodded, taking his bride's delicate hand in his big, rough one. “It will be the second wedding I've attended. Our wedding was the first.”

“We're going to hold it as soon as we can after we have everything straightened out,” said Annie. Liam pulled her chair back for her as she stood. “Thank you for your kind hospitality.”

“And for locking up those men,” said Liam. “If you wouldn't mind holding on to them for a few days, we should have everything settled.”

“No problem,” Grimsby replied. “I'll be right back, my love. I'm going to see our guests to the door.”

“Annie, Liam, I'll see you soon!” called Lizette, waving good-bye as they started toward the stairs that led to the lower floors.

“Wait,” Grimsby said when they reached the staircase. “I should go first. The workmen are down there and some of them aren't very happy right now.”

Even from the top of the stairs they could hear hammering and the sound of heavy things being moved two floors below. Someone dropped something and yelped while someone else shouted orders. When the group reached the first floor and walked into the hall, Annie was glad that Grimsby had gone first. Three ogres who were bigger and nastier looking than Grimsby were carrying huge slabs of granite to the fireplace at the far end. Another ogre who was dragging an even heavier block stopped when he saw them, squinted his eyes, and growled.

“Now Lummox, these are friends of mine,” said Grimsby. “No need to get worked up.”

“Humans!” said the ogre. “They responsible for the mess I found this morning? Had to clean it up before I got started. No respect for other people's property, if you ask me. Not staying here, are they?”

“No, no, just passing through,” Grimsby said as he hustled Annie and Liam to the door.

They walked around a crew of dwarves laying a new floor and a gnome carving woodwork. Every one of the workers looked at them with dislike. “They got Lummox mad, now we have to put up with him,” one of them muttered.

“Sorry about the horses,” Liam said once they were outside. “We didn't mean to make a mess.”

“Or be disrespectful,” said Annie.

“Don't listen to Lummox,” Grimsby told them. “He's happiest when he has something to complain about. The servants had cleaned up the mess before he got here, but he said it wasn't clean enough. Ogres have a very refined sense of smell, you know. Even better than giants. You may have heard that giants can smell the blood inside your body. Some ogres can smell your bones. Here we go, the servants got your horses ready for you. Ogres don't ride, so I didn't have a stable before I married Lizette. I just had one built so she can keep some horses here. Good luck at the Garden of Happiness. I don't care for the place myself. Too cheerful for my taste, and way too many fairies!”

As Grimsby strode back into the castle, Annie and Liam turned to the horses. Their reins had been tied to a hitching post that hadn't been there the night before, and they both looked groomed and well fed. Otis nickered when he saw Annie, nuzzling her neck when she reached for his reins.

“That was an interesting visit,” Annie said as Liam boosted her onto Otis's saddle. “I like Grimsby a lot more than I thought I would, although I didn't care for his workmen, especially Lummox.”

“I guess ogres are like humans,” Liam said as he untied his horse's reins. “Some are nicer than others. At least the weather is good today. We should reach the garden in a few hours.”

“I just hope Moonbeam is there,” said Annie. “We have no idea how my family is doing. I can't bear to be away from home much longer!”