An abundance of Soot

I was meant to be cleaning out the stables but as usual I was slacking off , watching Maxwell Romain and his wizened mother practicing what they had been practicing everyday for the past year.

The old hag said something in sharp tones and even if the wind hadn't carried her voice all the way to where I was standing , I would still know what she said.

"Tell me what you know."

The man, Maxwell, tall, with his chest out and his hand on the family sword , recited like a dummy whatever he had been fed.

They were sending him to the slaughter.

They were sending him to the lion's den for "honor" and I wouldn't stand for it.

After half an hour, the woman passed by me to go back into her house and I made no attempts to pretend like I was cleaning because I wasn't.

I cleared my throat " You really want your precious boy to go? What if he dies? What if he never comes back, like all the others?"

She faced me, her back slightly stooped.

"Be more like your brother, James, he cares for this family at least. Now get to work. I don't pay you to stand around"

I rolled my eyes

"You don't pay me though..." I whispered.

She was already gone.

A few minutes later I heard footsteps.

"Need any help?"

I looked at mother's favorite son

"No thank you, the future Prince Consort cannot be cleaning out stables"

He laughed heartily and it brought a wry smile to my face.

I abandoned my shovel and faced him fully

"Brother, you cannot do this. It is a foolhardy quest. Am I the only one who is concerned? "

Maxwell shrugged, dropping the sword the same way I dropped my shovel, he sat on a bale of hay. "James, I know we are not far apart in age but you have been sheltered plenty. We have no father and mother is weakened..."

"Mother is probably a witch..."

He gave me a look.

I shrugged "I am only joking"

He sighed like i was wearying him. " If I am able to woo the princess and marry her, I become the prince consort of the Duval Kingdom. Even if she doesn't choose me, I will be given treasure and I can bring it home."

"Don't act like you haven't heard about the other side of the story..." I started . Why was he behaving dense and oblivious? I grabbed the shovel " About the magic spells that they place on all the suitors? About them going missing? About the supposed Beast of Duval "

Maxwell smiled then.

"I can always trust your overactive imagination to amuse me when I'm feeling burdened. Thank you brother."

He picked up the sword , wiped it against his trousers and made his way back to the house.

This was probably the last proper conversation we would ever have before everything changed. Tomorrow was the day the suitors met at the Duval Castle at the center of town .

I had no qualms about my brother winning the heart of the princess, I was only afraid of what would happen next.

                          x

The next day, we, the families of the suitors stood in the banquet hall.

Maxwell with 5 other dashing , serious looking men would go into the inner castle where they would have a feast and then a private moment each with the princess in the garden and then their fate would be determined.

My palm was sweating as I thought over my plan again.

It had to be done.

When my mother was picking snacks from our banquet table, I escaped , quickly passing corridors and evading guards.

In a matter of time , I found myself in an outer courtyard next to a fountain.

A lady was seated. Her hair was covered and her arms were covered too with a shawl. 

I approached her and she stood up jerkily, clutching the shawl around herself tighter. Her right hand was blackened , as if she had been playing in ash or soot. 

She was probably a lady in waiting to the princess.

"Wait, I mean no harm."

I didn't think this plan through! She was walking towards the exit.

"Wait , wait" 

she had started to move even faster without sparing me a backwards glance.

"Wait, my lady!"

She was almost gone. My shouting had alerted a few guards.

"I just want to save my brother!!"

She stopped moving. She hesitated , and she turned.

She pierced me with a stare too cold to belong to such a beautiful looking face. Her eyes were a shade i couldn't place my finger on. A cross between blue and grey. 

She signaled the guards to stand down. 

I cleared my throat " I know this is a big ask and I don't want to be sent to the dungeons for being this bold but please just tell the princess to choose my brother. Maxwell, his head is slightly bigger than average but surprisingly , women keep flocking to him . I guess that's what you women seem to like. He's not that bad though, I mean..."

I was rambling, I looked up to the lady and she had a small smile on her face, she wiped it off as soon as she realized i was looking at her.

Did I call her stare cold at first?

when she smiled, it put the sunrise to shame.

I shook my head , I didn't come here to be befuddled by sunny smiles. I had a job to do .

I cleared my throat " Please encourage the princess to choose my brother, he is hardworking and loyal but at the least , let her free him if she doesn't want him. If he goes missing like the others, my mother would not have the strength to go on living."

The lady tilted her head, the head cloth shifting only slightly , she adjusted it. " If your brother were to go missing, your mother would have you, would she not?"

I had already started to reply before I realized this was the first time she had spoken. " So you do have a voice." I started. She lifted an eyebrow. I cleared my throat . " My mother would still decide to die than live with just me. I am what you would call a.....nuisance"

I paused, waiting to see if she would laugh, that joke got some of the girls in town giggling strongly.

She merely smiled.

"I see then that you believe in the rumors of the missing suitors"

I nodded aggressively. She paused "and what about the Duval beast?"

I shrugged " ma'am, I really don't care what and what beast exists. I just want my brother rich or home safe so that I can live my life being a nuisance and black sheep in peace."

She smiled this time, a big smile that caused my chest to constrict. What was wrong with me? Was my new shirt too tight? Was I hungry? Was I under a spell?

She nodded at me. " I shall see what can be done. Nice meeting you, Black sheep of the Romain family."

She wiped her soot covered arm on her dress and soon she was out of my sight.

Well, mission accomplished then.

I was ushered back into the banquet hall by the guards and my mother rushed up to me , thanking the guards profusely. When the guards left , she pinched me . "Stupid boy. If you have ruined your brother's chances, you will sleep with the pigs today"

I rolled my eyes and rubbed the spot where she had pinched.

I was lobbying for her sweet Maxie's life. She owed me.

 Besides , I would take the pigs any day.

A bit of commotion brought my attention back to the matter at hand. The royal family were coming in. We all left the banquet tables and stood at attention.

The King and Queen came in first, smiling and waving at the people and then the princess...

Damn

I'm so stupid

The Princess, with her grey/blue eyes flashed me a small smile from her throne when her eyes found me.

 She wasn't in the same gown that I saw her in earlier but her arms and head were still covered.

Well, at least she could spare my brother. No harm done.

I made my way to the banquet table and proceeded to stuff my mouth with bread rolls . Whatever happened next was not my business.

As soon as I started to eat my 5th roll I heard :

"I would like to marry the handsome stranger beside the banquet table pushing various foods into his mouth!"

The bread roll passed the wrong hole and I found myself choking . Were it not for the quick thinking of the nearest guard , who grabbed me and hit my back multiple times, I might have just lost my life.

When I became stabilized, I looked around to realize that everyone was looking at me and the princess still had her finger pointed at me.

She smiled. Cunningly.

"He is who I will marry. Tonight! All the other suitors may be paid beautifully and will go back to their homes. He came to beg for the life of his brother and I am touched by such a gesture. He is whom I choose."

I couldn't catch my breath.

Celebration erupted all around me. Was she serious?

I was air lifted by the guards and my mother kept shouting " My son! My Son! I'm so proud of my son!"

She was probably happy because being related to the royal family meant that the royal magicians could probably fix her stoop.

                              x

The next few minutes passed by in a blur. 

My clothes were changed and I was taken to the garden to meet the princess while she spoke to the King and Queen and addressed the people.

I asked for my brother's life to be saved not to become the scapegoat instead. 

I heard a sound and I turned quickly, ready to verbally spar with this vixen but it wasn't her.

My brother appeared in the garden instead. He looked disheveled. I hadn't seen him this way before.

"Do you know there's a peculiar room in this castle that just houses a mountain of soot."

I shook my head, why was he going on about soot when there were more important things to sort out.

"Maxwell...." I began "I wanted you off the hook. I begged for her to spare your life."

He frowned "If I had known you were this jealous of me, I wouldn't have confided so much in you brother. My chance at honor has been snatched by you."

Now I frowned, what was this oaf talking about " I just saved your life, Maxwell"

"James, all I see is that you've taken the woman of my dreams and become Prince Consort. I don't see how this is saving"

I spluttered " You don't even like this woman! You barely know her."

"No matter, if I cannot marry the princess then I will slay the Duval beast"

"You told me you didn't believe in the beast"

"Of course I was lying you simpleton. That was mine and mother's plan. Marry the princess, become Prince Consort, Kill the beast, Kill the king and then become King. But if I cannot marry her then I can kill the beast they claim is in this Castle. That will either give me some mystical powers or give me enough honor to become a king or maybe an emissary to another Kingdom. That's where I've been, searching."

His eyes looked wild, bloodshot. "The only reason I'm not killing you now , James , is because you could help me achieve my goals."

I sat down on the stone bench.

Was this coming from the lips of my perfect brother? Murder? Bloodthirst?

"Maxwell...."

Another voice startled me. "You meant to slay my father..."

The princess walked quietly into the garden.

A bitter laugh worked its way up her throat.

"Look at this, James. This is the man you risked your life to save. "

I was lost for words.

Maxwell was silent, his sword was dark and sooty.

The princess looked at him. "I see you've been to my special room "

I looked at her "your what?"

She smiled, almost cruelly ." Where I send the wicked suitors who come my way."

She took off the shawl slowly , strange scaly markings all the way up her arms and neck.

She took off her head covering.

I recoiled as what looked like millions of snakes framed her face, like hair.

"Maxwell Romaine, I sentence you to a sooty end ."

This...this woman, right before my eyes morphed into a scaly beast.

I fell to the ground arms wrapped about my head.,

I heard a scream, I heard a roar and then the smell of ...ash. 

I lay on the ground for what seemed like forever.

A dainty hand touched me.

"DONT TOUCH ME, DONT TOUCH ME!!!" I shouted, crawling to get away from her.

"Calm down James. " the princess smiled " or should I say, my future husband" She was back to normal, shawl and head covering intact as if nothing had happened.

I looked around the garden .

"Where ...w-w-where is my brother?"

She shrugged and pointed at a pile of soot .

My stomach turned.

"We shall just tell your mother that I sent him to another kingdom to be an emissary. She'll be fine." She smiled slightly "I am what you would call.....an arsonist." 

The princess started to walk out of the garden . She called out to one of the guards. "Give him 10 minutes to compose himself and then bring him into the castle. This marriage ceremony must come on. Or his mother will join my soot collection" The guard's voice got muffled as he walked away "Oh, I thought the Maxwell man would make it. I quite liked him."

The princess laughed.

I threw up .

I spent the next 5 minutes dry heaving on the ground.

An hour later, in the main castle hall, a crown was placed on my head. The princess held my hand next to me and smiled as the Kingdom cheered.

She placed her head on my shoulder as a sign of affection as my mother clapped in the audience. 

"Congratulations James, you won both the princess and the beast."

 I recoiled.