Princess in Disguise (9 page)

The old ogre sitting beside him gave Annie a wide-mouthed grin. She could understand why he no longer competed in the tooth-spitting contest. He didn't have a single tooth in his mouth.

“And the winner of the bludgeoning contest is Footrot,” announced an ogre with orange hair that stuck up all over his head, “with Nose-wipe coming in a close second.”

“How could he not?” Liam whispered to Annie. “There were only two of them.”

After laying his club on a nearby table, the bigger of the two ogres clasped his meaty hands together and shook them in the air, as if he'd won something significant. “At least now we know which one is Footrot,” Annie whispered back.

Both ogres were grinning when they went to a line painted on the floor at one end of the open space. With their toes on the line, they took turns spitting the teeth they'd had knocked out. Footrot spit two teeth, but Nose-wipe spit three, and all of his went farther.

“And the winner is Nose-wipe!” shouted the ogre with the orange hair.

Footrot clapped his friend on the back, making Nose-wipe stagger. They were walking past Annie and Liam, heading to the back of the room, when Liam said, “Pardon me, Footrot. May I speak to you for a moment?”

“Well, look at you!” bellowed the ogre so that everyone turned to stare. “There's a little human come join us for a day of fun and games.” Footrot was over seven feet tall, and he had to look down to see Liam almost as if he were talking to a child. “Impressive win, wasn't it, little man? You want to learn my secret to winning?” The ogre bent down as if he were going to confide something important. “Have an extra-thick skull!” he said, and roared with laughter. Standing up, he winked at his friends and would have walked on if Liam hadn't planted himself directly in his way.

“I need to ask you a question,” Liam told him. “It will take only a minute of your time, if you don't mind.”

“But I do mind,” Footrot said, no longer looking amused. “Why should I waste my time talking to a pipsqueak like you? Out of my way, little man, or I'll step on you.”

“Challenge him to a contest,” Annie whispered to Liam. “Think of something that you're sure to win.”

“Against an ogre?” Liam whispered back.

While the other ogres bet on whether the human would get out of the way or not, Liam looked around the room. His gaze fell on the finch in the cage. Suddenly his expression brightened. “I want to challenge you to a contest,” Liam told Footrot. “If I win, you have to answer my question.”

“And if I win?” asked the ogre.

“Then you can squash me flat.”

Annie gasped. Liam getting squashed had never been part of the plan.

“I can also squash you flat if no one wins,” said Footrot.

“Agreed,” Liam replied.

“Then you have a deal,” Footrot said with a grin. “What is the contest?”

“You have to make the finch sing,” said Liam.

Footrot scratched his ear. “They do that? I don't think I've ever heard one sing.”

“They sing when they're happy,” Liam told him.

“Then bring on the finch!” Footrot ordered his friends. “This fool just told me the secret and I'm going to win!”

The ogres cleared off one of the tables and set the cage in the middle. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Annie asked Liam as Footrot took his seat.

“Stay on the other side of the room,” Liam replied. “Don't come near me until it's over.”

“Are you sure? Because I can—”

“I'm positive,” said Liam. “You'll be helping me a lot if you'll do that.”

Annie was confused, but all she said was, “Then I will.”

While Annie went to stand by the door, Liam took a seat across from Footrot. “I'll go first!” said the ogre. He stared at the bird for a minute, then crooked one of his fingers to a young ogre and whispered something in his ear. The ogre was laughing when he left the
tavern. While he was gone, Footrot poked the finch with one long finger. The finch darted to the other side of the cage.

The young ogre was back in a few minutes. When he approached the table, Footrot held out his hand. The other ogres laughed as the young one dropped a worm onto Footrot's palm. Holding the worm between his thumb and forefinger, Footrot used his other hand to open the door, then draped the worm over the perch. The finch fluttered around its cage until the ogre shut the door again, finally settling down as far from the worm as it could get.

“Eat the blasted worm and be happy!” the ogre said, shaking the cage.

The bird fluttered around madly. Annie was afraid it was going to hurt itself, but then Liam spoke up. “I win by default if you hurt the bird.”

“What's that mean?” one ogre whispered to another.

Footrot grunted and set the cage on the table. “That bird doesn't know how to be happy. You'll never get it to sing.”

“I can try,” said Liam. He waited until the bird settled on its perch again, then did something not even Annie was expecting. Liam began to whistle.

His whistling wasn't very loud, but everyone in the room stopped talking to listen. Annie had heard him sing, which wasn't at all extraordinary, but his whistling was amazing. Liam had told her once that three
fairies had given him christening gifts, one of which was the ability to whistle. He had never shown his skill in Annie's presence before, probably because his whistling would be ordinary if she was close by. No wonder he didn't want her near him now!

All eyes were on the finch as Liam whistled the song of a meadow lark greeting the morning sun. He whistled the song of a robin, gossiping with its neighbor. Finally, he whistled the song of a finch, calling to its mate. If Annie had closed her eyes, she would have thought it was the bird singing. And then it was the bird in the cage, answering Liam's call that had been so perfect that even it couldn't tell the difference.

“The winner is the puny stranger!” announced the redheaded ogre.

Footrot waved the other ogres away and nodded to Liam. Annie hurried over to join them, eager to hear the answer to Liam's question.

“What was it you wanted to ask me?” said the ogre.

“I was told that you work for the fairy Moonbeam,” Liam began. “She isn't in the Moonflower Glade now. Where can I find her?”

“Is that all? I thought you wanted to know something important! I haven't seen Moonbeam in weeks,” said the ogre. “Last time I talked to her, she stopped by to check on the glade, and was leaving again to marry some human. As far as I know, she's up in Loralet with her new husband.”

“Can I ask a question, too?” asked Annie. “Do you think the owner of the tavern would sell us the bird in the cage?”

“My mother owns the tavern and I gave her the finch myself,” said Footrot. “You might as well take it. The stupid bird doesn't even know when it should be happy.”

“Thanks!” Annie said. Snatching the cage off the table, she hurried out the door before the ogre could change his mind.

Liam was right behind her. After helping her up onto Otis's back, he handed her the cage. “Why did you want the finch? The last thing we need right now is to haul around a birdcage.”

“I don't want the cage, just the finch,” said Annie. “We'll set it free once we're back in the forest. It's obvious that ogres don't know the first thing about taking care of birds.”

“I was surprised he gave it to you. I suppose he didn't want it around as a reminder that he lost.”

“Or he's nicer than we thought he was,” Annie said, remembering the wink Footrot had given her just before she left the tavern.

Annie and Liam took the road out of town and soon reached the main road heading north. They stopped when they found a patch of forest so Annie could open the birdcage to release the finch. The little bird seemed too frightened to move at first, so Annie set the cage on the ground and backed away. After a few minutes, the finch hopped out, fluttered its wings, and flew to a nearby tree. Instead of disappearing into the forest, however, it turned to watch Liam help Annie onto Otis's back. It was still there when they rode away.

They traveled for the rest of the day, calling each other Seth and Ruben when anyone else happened to be around. Most of the time, they were alone with no other travelers in sight, and they were able to talk about the things that really mattered to them, like how Annie's family and all the wedding guests were faring
back in the castle, and how anxious Liam was to go see his father. They started seeing more people on the road when they drew near to Loralet, but it was evening by then and they knew it was already too late to visit the fairy Moonbeam. When they finally entered the capital of Floradale, they headed straight for the area where the butcher's shop was located, and found an inn with rooms available.

Otis was happy to let a stable boy lead him into a clean stall in the stable behind the inn. When they were sure that the horse was well cared for, Annie and Liam got themselves a room. After a quick supper of venison stew and coarse bread, they climbed the stairs, yawning.

“Why did we get one room?” Annie asked when the door to their room was closed. “If you need more coins, I brought some, too.”

“Shh!” said Liam. “Not so loud. These places have thin walls and we don't want anyone to hear us. I got one room because that's what two farm boys would get. I'll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed.”

“Don't you think we can stop pretending now? We're far enough from Treecrest and King Dormander that I think we should be safe.”

Liam shook his head. “We can't travel as ourselves yet. People always talk when they see royalty, and we don't want word to get back to Treecrest. You saw how many people we passed outside the gates. If any one
of them knew who we really are, King Dormander would learn about it very quickly. I don't want anyone to know we're outside the castle until we bring help back with us.”

“Fair enough,” said Annie. “I really would have liked a hot bath, but I guess that's going to have to wait, too.” She yawned again, covering her mouth with her hand. “It's just as well. I probably couldn't stay awake long enough for them to bring up the water.”

“I'm too worried about my father to sleep,” Liam said as he spread his blanket on the floor, but a few minutes later neither one was awake.

For the first time on their trip, they both slept through the night without waking. Sunlight pouring through the window woke them the next morning and they were up and out the door minutes later. Although it was still early, the public dining room on the first floor was already crowded. When they appeared at the door, however, the innkeeper's wife was able to find them a table. Neither of them usually ate much in the morning, but a serving girl brought them both cold mugs of cider and plates heaped with coddled eggs, rashers of bacon, and crusty bread still hot from the oven. Annie hadn't thought she was hungry until she smelled the food, and she dug in as if she hadn't eaten in days. Liam didn't notice because he was too
intent on his own breakfast, and had already started on a second plate before Annie finished her first.

They were sitting back, pleasantly full, when a young woman came into the dining room to look around. The innkeeper's wife went to talk to her, and the young woman left, looking disappointed. A few minutes later another young woman came in and the same thing happened. This happened three more times. When the innkeeper's wife walked past their table, Liam said, “What did those young women want?”

The woman glanced at the door, saying, “They come by every day, along with half a dozen others. They all want to talk to the fairy Moonbeam. Gertrude isn't working here today, so it's up to me to tell them that Moonbeam isn't back yet, and I have no idea when she'll return. They'll all be back tomorrow, mark my word. Ever since everyone learned that the fairy had helped Eleanor and the prince fall in love, all the less fortunate girls have been hoping that Moonbeam would help them find wealthy husbands as well.”

“So Moonbeam isn't in town? Do you have any idea where she went?” asked Annie.

The innkeeper's wife laughed. “What would a boy like you want with Moonbeam? Hoping for a rich wife, are you?”

“Actually, we did need her help with something,” said Liam.

The woman sighed. “Sorry, I can't help you any more than I can those girls. I only know what Gertrude tells me. If anyone would know, it would be Gertrude.”

“Who is Gertrude?” Annie asked.

“The butcher's daughter, of course,” said the innkeeper's wife. “When Moonbeam married the butcher, he declared that his three children had to move out or start supporting themselves. The son got married and moved away and the two girls got jobs. Gertrude works at the inn six days a week, but today is her day off. It's a pity about the butcher shop. It's been closed since Moonbeam and Selbert left. Selbert's son, Jamesey, helped in the shop, and now that he's gone and his father is away, there's no one to run it. These days I have to go halfway across town to get good cuts of meat, and they aren't nearly as good as Selbert's. Ah, if you'll excuse me, someone is waving at me like I'm a runaway coach. Some people don't know the meaning of patience.”