Princess in the Tower

  Princess Imogen’s heart skipped a beat as she saw a new scene out the window. What is happening out there in the garden, she thought. Is that a delivery witch speaking with our porter? The two characters might be all the way down there at ground level but Imogen’s lifetime spent staring out of this window has given her excellent long vision. The witch’s wizened face and grey shawl embroidered with red knotwork were clear to her, as was the ribbon-wrapped bronze rod in those arthritic hands. The witch handed it to the porter and went their separate ways.

“I haven’t sent for anything from elfbay recently; I wonder what that bronze item was? Who was it for? It did look like a gift...” Imogen said to herself. She went back to counting the new flowers on the ash trees but would not be content until the questions were answered. She ran as fast as her plump legs would take her across her small room and down the single flight of stairs to her guardian’s lair.

The guardian was preening his shiny scales, making sure that his white stripes appeared clean and straight against the rest of his blue body. His room looked and smelled a lot nicer than Imogen’s, as his hoard included not just gold but every medicinal tincture known to man or beast.

“Sidicii, who was that outside? What did they give our porter?” The princess chimed.

“Hmm, I recall you addressed me in the formal manner when you were but a babe.” Sidicii growled. He attempted to intimidate her by puffing some smokey little flames out of his nostrils while spreading his wings. That alone used to make lords wet themselves back in the old cave, he remembered.

“Oh you’re so cute and talented! Alright, I’ll oblige.” The princess cleared her throat and knelt down with some effort in front of her guardian friend, “O great and mighty dragon known as Sidicii, teeth like swords, I beseech thee for thy wisdom...”

“Ok that’s enough princess, I got you a telescope.” Sidicii opened the chute in the wall where the porter had placed the gift. The bronze rod wrapped in a thick red ribbon had segments, knobs, an ornate cap at either end, and a stand that was folded down neatly.

Imogen unravelled the ribbon with gusto and fumbled with all the moving pieces until at last it was standing by itself ready for a viewing of the cosmos. Or, ready for Imogen to place her veil on the end. “Thank you so much for this beautiful veil stand my friend. I shall put it in my favourite corner!”

With the end of his flexible tail the dragon flicked off the veil and moved the telescope to his window. “You’ve come of age, and I, the great Sidicii, say it’s high time that you start working from home, so you can contribute to your father’s kingdom. Take the caps off and look through it!” Respectfully hiding her confusion, the princess looked through the eyepiece as instructed and gasped. She can see ten times farther than usual!

The princess delighted that her world was ten times bigger now. But, what was it her mathematics tutor said? The area of a circle increases with the square of the radius… “ONE HUNDRED!” Imogen squealed. “My world is one hundred times bigger now!” That afternoon Imogen conversed with her tutor via Zuum crystal about the work she’ll be doing from home with the telescope. She is to use her aptitude in geometry to map the positions of the stars and planets in the sky and calculate future conjunctions.

Imogen wanted to send message doves to her best friend Nym, a fellow towered princess in the neighbouring region, to let her know about her exciting new job. No, she thought, Nym would be quite jealous. Imogen knows most jobs aren’t easy to do from a tower, so most princesses in this ‘towered generation’, including Nym, don’t have an occupation. Weaving stopped being an option ten winters ago when the textile market became saturated. Not many people are good at mathematics, so Imogen said a silent prayer of gratitude and sent a dove only wishing Nym well.

The nightly work plotting the course of the heavens was followed by long morning sleep-ins and reporting her results via Zuum crystal to her tutor Bertrand, her father the King, and the court mage Plutan. She proved herself so well she received doves bearing certificates of good work, and was even given access to the more expensive kind of parchment and ink for her work. Star maps started to line her small chamber and Sidicii didn’t mind that it was starting to spill over to his portion of the tower.

Soon it was time to use her two-yearly permission to attend a ball. It was easy back in the day for Imogen’s mother the Queen. She received an invitation to a ball through a small card and before she knew it she was married off to her favourite prince for the economic and diplomatic benefit of two kingdoms. She often tries to make Imogen feel better by saying things like “look at all of these fancy invitations! No man would work this hard to invite me back in the day.”

Sidicii would take a different approach to assuaging Imogen’s restlessness. His pile of invitations was much larger than Imogens, but they were all fraudulent. “These are all the ones that could be from the Crown-19 Knights’ guild. If they take you Imogen, that’s it. They could kill you, maim you, and the kingdom would lose economic power. They’ll cut your tongue out so you can’t taste anything! Never forget it.” The King merely complains to himself about how kingdoms have suffered economically since the princess lockdown.

Excited nonetheless, Imogen and Nym worked hard in their correspondences to make sure they will go to the same ball. In the end, only three of the fifty-something invitations they received each were appropriate. “So it’s your turn to pick, Imogen. There’s the handsome prince twins in the horse-based kingdom, the Scholars’ Guild, and the vampire lords’ masquerade. I’d prefer the prince twins though.”

On Imogen’s invitation to the Scholars’ Guild ball, once all of the glitter is brushed off and pop-out decorations are folded back, it says she will be commemorated for her hard work if she comes. It mustn’t say that on Nym’s invitation, or she would have said something. “Nym, I’m sorry I haven’t told you, but I’ve been doing scholarly work, and it would be remiss of me if I did not attend that ball. I just didn’t want you to feel bad about not having work yourself.”

“Ah, I’m guessing that’s why you’ve been keeping odd hours. It’s alright Imogen, you know you can tell me anything. But... we won’t get another chance to impress these princelings – or ride their horses – for another two years. That is, if they invite us again.”

Truth be told Imogen was more interested in accolades than prospective suitors at this stage. Nym was the older one whose kingdom needed a boost. “What if I told you one of the scholars has an automaton you can ride?” Nym didn’t look impressed through the Zuum crystal. “And, my tutor’s uncle will be there! Bertrand says he got his wealth from plundering the high seas, but don’t tell anyone. Oh, and his beard goes all the way down his chest. Come on, I know you like beards!”

“Alright” said Nym skeptically, “send the RSVP doves.”

The two set about obtaining fine gowns that would go with their mandatory coverings. Imogen decided on a gown of deep sapphire to go with her golden hair, with bright green and purple rouches across the body, inspired by the aurora in the night sky. Nym aimed for her dress to go with both her own dark curly hair and Imogen’s dress, so she opted for a shining silver one with a deep red rouche in the same pattern as Imogen’s, inspired by the lunar eclipse.

The dresses were made with such a large skirt that no-one may come within 6 feet of the princesses. Gloves were mandatory so that if a knight grabbed their arm, they could slip out of the glove and run away. They were also to wear veils so as not to attract one of these awful knights. So with their faces masked appropriately, they attended the Scholars’ Guild ball.

Nym expected the ball to be full of older more conserved men, and the short-sighted bookworm types who don’t see much sun. She was surprised to see their hidden wild side, and that her large sedentary body was no match for their constant flow of drinks. The princess table was built especially so that the bearers of 12-foot diameter dresses could still receive gifts, parlay with eligible lords, and reach the jugs of wine. Nym smiled at Imogen, deciding this was the right ball to go to after all. “Is that the pirate uncle over there? He’s very handsome.”

“Shush Nym, no that isn’t him. Bertrand is with his uncle at the ice sculpture. I don’t know who this man is.”

The man saw the merry women failing to be discreet in looking at him, so he waltzed over. “Pleased to make your acquaintances, princesses Nym and Imogen. I am Nathaniel, knight of the lake tribes to the North.” He took his feathered cap off with a flourish and bowed. Imogen thought it was a pretentious display, and figured it was nearly time to receive honours for her work.

“I’ll leave you in Nym’s fine company good sir, and take my leave as I have some business to attend to.” Imogen leaned as close as she could to Nym, squishing their skirts together, whispering “remember to ask if he has a horse you can ride.”

The rest of the evening dripped sweetly away like honey through an hourglass. Imogen proudly held a large trophy that was a functional orrery, and Nym caught a potential suitor. The other princesses caught up with each other and everyone enjoyed the automaton show. Guests who found stray cogs kept them as mementos. The morning brought bittersweet news back at home that was in stark contrast to the flavour of the evening.

“There were 5 new cases of princess capture by the Crown-19 Knights’ guild this month.” Sidicii growled. “Make sure to tell Nym to get her suitor tested!”

“A fool once told me you like to report a bigger number than is true.” Imogen joked. “Besides, Nym has gone for testing already, friend. She’ll learn the results in about 3 days; you know how sensitive the interrogation process is. Now, you said there was good news as well?”

Sidicii produced a letter from his hoard. It looked tiny in his great claw; letters addressed to dragons really should be bigger so they don’t have to squint so hard. “The healers of the realm are offering a new enchantment that will keep knights away! It is said to be more effective for each princess, when more princesses have it. You can finally live as your mother did, and I can be free of my bond.”

That’s a lot to think about. What will the new lifestyle be like? Maybe Nym’s wedding can have more than five attendees. Maybe face coverings will become old-fashioned one day. Will the Crown-19 Knight’s guild disappear completely? There’s only one way to find out… Imogen took the enchanted talisman as soon as it became available to her. Some of the other princesses in neighbouring regions got it first, because they worked with healers, and Imogen saw how much their lives have changed now that they are on the outside.

The talisman looked like a vial decorated with fine horizontal lines, with a sharp point at one end. A terrifying shape, but brave Imogen was looking forward to seeing more of Nym. Here goes nothing...