Born to Rule

to dance and tumble for the amusement of the court. Watch out for dear Gortle, God, and for my dear pony, Menschmik.” And then she had another thought. “Oh, and P.S., dear Lord, may I not drown in the moat.”
    As the last candle was snuffed out, a lovely sound swelled through the castle. It was the Royal Camp Choir accompanied by their songbirds. As the third-year girls made their way through the long corridors and twisting passages of Camp Princess, they sang the sweet and slightly mournful song known as “The Princess Taps.”
“Day is done, gone the sun
From the hills, from the lake,
From the sky
And towers high.
The stars in heaven’s gown
Bright as jewels in thy crown.
But rest ye now, Princesses royal.
Dream of thrones
But keep ye loyal
To your people
And your kingdoms ,
Safe they keep
While you sleep .”
    Alicia couldn’t fall asleep, so she decided to read another letter or two from Love Letters of a Forgotten Princess . Yes, these were the letters of an aching heart, she thought as she lit her special reading candle. Would anybody ever ache for her as the princess ached for her true love? Or would she ever feel such a yearning for a true love?
    Her own parents had a very happy marriage, but it wasn’t this romantic, Alicia thought wistfully. She didn’t wish her mum and pop pain, but just a little achy romance would be awfully interesting. Not heartbreak-achy, not like the poor needlepoint counselor who died of a broken heart before the tapestry was finished. That would be like so, well, over the top.
    She remembered that she wanted to put on her thinking tiara and figure out what was with this tapestry. She scrambled out of bed and got the tiara from its velvet box. Then she climbed back under the covers and, with her thinking tiara firmly in place, Alicia thought about where the ancient tapestry might be hidden. She wracked her brain, but nothing came. Instead, the open page of her book caught her eye. It was one of her favorite letters.
…and so, My True Love, evil cannot part us, neither the Blood Guard nor the treacherous queen. We shall meet in another world, a better world. A world that has neither kings, nor queens, nor princes or princesses. A world without crowns, but one where we shall be clad only in the light of the stars that shine through us .
    This was the part that always confused Alicia. Was the forgotten princess talking about being dead? Dead and stark naked in heaven? That is what it sounded like to Alicia, but she never dared ask what it might really mean.
    As the candle sputtered out, Alicia drifted off to sleep. The thinking tiara slipped off her head and onto the pillow. A chill filled the air and Alicia shivered, pulling her velvet covers up under her chin.
    Something cold brushed her cheek just as she fell asleep. And once again a voice whispered, “Young princess, I am old. Please help—not all my tale is told.”
    But once again, by morning she had forgotten the words, forgotten even the whisper in her dreams. Yet still there was that strange sensation that someone, something had passed through her chamber as she slept.

Chapter 7
    AN AMPLE LADY

    The next morning the three princesses of the South Turret emerged from their bedchambers in their best winter clothes. They were struck by an amazing sight.
    “ Munk doctum! ” gasped Gundersnap in Slobo.
    “Holy halibut!” whispered Kristen.
    “Lady von Schleppenspiel!” Alicia exclaimed.
    The needlepoint counselor sat in a very large rocking chair, dozing. The girls’ exclamations had not sent even the faintest ripple across the placid lake of sleep in which she seemed to be completely immersed.
    Suddenly a strange noise rumbled up from Lady Merry’s massive body. The silk that spanned her stomach gave a lurch. Her mouth opened and a very large burp came out, causing a chandelier overhead to shudder.
    The lady’s eyes flew open. “Oh, my goodness! My goodness! You’re here! Oh, miladies, shame on me for drifting off like this. And here I am awakened by my own digestive music. I’m afraid I sounded very much like the tuba in a marching band—my gut, that is!” She giggled. It was a teeny-weeny little giggle, which seemed odd to Alicia, coming from an enormous woman who had just burped loud enough to shake a chandelier.
    Princess Gundersnap stepped forward. “Vye are you here, please?”
    “Oh, my goodness.” The lady began chuckling. “They didn’t tell you? I am not just your needlepoint counselor; I