Born to Rule

curtains. Soon the sedan chair began to toss and buck like a ship caught in a sudden gale.
    “She’s changing into her bathing costume,” said an attendant as a large corset was flung through the curtains. Finally Lady Merry pulled back the curtain. She was sitting in the sedan chair in a brilliant crimson-and-purple polka-dot silk costume. “I wear both teams’ colors, please note.”
    The three princesses did note the colors as well as the size of the costume.
    “Ah, yes, it took two jousting tents to make this outfit. Ever so clever, isn’t it?” Lady Merry said.
    The princesses, along with several others and Lady Merry still in the sedan chair, made their way across the drawbridge. They headed down the grassy banks that surrounded the moat to a small crescent of beach, where Lady Gustavia, one of the waterfront counselors, sat in a tall stone chair. She wore a golden ruby-studded whistle around her neck to catch the attention of those swimmers who were not obeying the strict waterfront safety rules.
    The moat was fairly wide and encircled the entire castle. Some of the older princesses said it was really fun to swim under the drawbridge.
    “No dangerous fish?” Alicia asked a third-year princess named Eloise.
    “Oh, no, just lovely little sunfish mostly. They are quite friendly. They come up and tickle your toes.”
    “How deep is it?” asked Gundersnap nervously.
    “It’s over your head out in the middle. The shallow parts go pretty far out, so don’t worry.”
    “But the best part about the moat,” Princess Eloise continued, “is that it gives you great views of the castle. When you learn how to float on your back, there is nothing nicer than just floating along and looking up at all the lovely turrets and spires. You can smell all the good food cooking as you go by the kitchens and hear the blacksmith in his yard hammering away. On the far side of the moat, the one you can’t see from here, the banks are covered with daffodils in the spring. And look, the water is so blue. Just like your sapphires, Kristen. It reminds me of a sapphire ring.” Princess Eloise was known for being a very kind princess, and all the younger girls wanted to be just like her.
    “Brrr, it’s cold,” Alicia said as she stuck a dainty toe in.
    “Not really,” said Kristen. “Not nearly as cold as in the Isles of the Salt Tears. What about in Sloboland, Gunny?”
    “I don’t go swimming at home,” Gundersnap explained. “Mummy is afraid we might die before we get married. She has all our husbands picked out already, and she has to pay big money if we die.”
    Alicia was suddenly grateful that her own Belgravian royal family didn’t believe in arranged marriages. She hoped Gundersnap’s chosen husband would be a nice one.
    The three princesses now turned to watch the attendants in the launching of Lady von Schleppenspiel. Lady Merry created a rather large disturbance in the calm surface of the moat’s waters as she paddled out to the center. She then twirled about in her water wings and began waving at the princesses of the South Turret. “Good luck on your swim tests, Princesses!” She blew them kisses as she bobbled about in the clear water.
    The swim test would begin from the small sandy beach on which they now stood. Those who were already swimmers, such as Kristen and Myrella, were in the water about to begin their circuit of the moat. They were supposed to circle the castle clockwise, then swim under the drawbridge and back to the starting point.
    It seemed like no time since Kristen and Myrella had started, but suddenly they heard “A-ten level!” Lady Gussie shouted this as Kristen and Myrella raced under the drawbridge in the last stretch toward the beach.
    “Tie!” Myrella called out.
    A tie it was indeed. Myrella had almost beaten Kristen, but Kristen had pulled even at the very last second.
    “Let’s do it again,” Kristen said.
    “No, I want to do tricks,” Myrella replied as she clambered up on a rock in the middle of the moat. She dived off in a stunning upside-down twist. Ringlets of hair sprang out from her bathing tiara in a bright golden flurry.
    “One might think she had scales,” said a nasty voice behind them. Alicia turned to look. It was the Duchess of Bagglesnort. She smiled her rather grim smile and said, “But then again, what would one expect from a princess of the Marsh Kingdoms?”
    Alicia and Gundersnap exchanged looks.
    “Omigod, does she suck or what?”