The Breton Boys

Chapter Five: Pennyroyal Glade | 3

"This is it," Captain Maclyn announced, stopping just short of the gate and turning to face the squires. "Let's find a suitable place near by and we'll set up shop."

"Nonsense," came a childish, airy voice from behind the curly, silver arch. Captain Maclyn spun on the spot.

There stood a woman - a girl, really - wearing a long, gossamer white dress with spring green lace trimming the neck, cuffs, and bodice. She donned a silver chain around her neck, like all Gladeshirians, but hers had small green and white gems dangling at the end. Her hair was a light shade of red, and this, paired with her fair complexion...Duncan knew she was -

"Princess Metarie!" Captain Maclyn called out in surprise, sweeping his tricorn hat from his head and bowing. Captain Pitchblende did the same.

"We've been expecting you," she said sweetly, gliding forward out of the gate. "Please, come inside."

Captain Pitchblende looked to Maclyn skeptically but proceeded, regardless, to follow the princess through the twisting metal gates and into the palace grounds.

Once over the threshold, the landscape changed instantly. Though Duncan knew it was meant to repel pixies, the silver webbing that arched overhead seemed also to serve to keep the high volume of exotic flora within the gate from bursting out of it. Smaller paths led off the main one at odd intervals, disappearing under arching rose bushes, carefully sculpted topiaries, or tangled magnolia trees with pink blossoms the size of teacups. Even through the jungle of flowers, plants, and songbirds, Duncan could hear the unmistakable rushing splash of a waterfall somewhere in the distance.

"Not much farther," Princess Metarie chirped over her shoulder, smiling serenely.

"She's the oddest of the lot," Kail whispered behind Duncan, prompting Caleb to nod vigorously.

Duncan was certain he saw the princess' head twitch slightly, as if she'd heard Kail, but she didn't turn around and Duncan couldn't be bothered to spare it any more thought because at that moment, the Pennyroyal Palace came into full view from behind a low hanging tree bough.

It was easily the most bizarre edifice Duncan had ever seen. The entire structure was built around an incredibly large, ancient-looking tree that stretched nearly to the highest point of the silver cage that enclosed the grounds. The trunk appeared to be hollowed, as it was speckled from roots to branches with open doorways and round windows that glowed fiery orange in the night, but the tree seemed to be thriving nonetheless.

The palace itself completely lacked outer walls, so Duncan could see, even at this late hour, that it was bustling with activity. The building was made entirely of white marble that wrapped around the tree unevenly like giant, flat mushroom caps projecting outward from the bark, each floor supported by stone columns sprouting upward from the level below. Hundreds of small, round lanterns hung from the ceilings, columns, and tree branches, causing the marble to give off a golden sparkle. The waterfall Duncan had heard earlier was situated just to the left of the palace, where it bubbled and splashed into a clear blue lagoon many feet below.

"This way," Princess Metarie instructed softly, leading them to an earthen staircase on the lagoon-side of the palace.

The stairs led to a rope-and-wood bridge that carried them over the bank of the pool and around to the opposite side of the aged tree. They followed the princess onto the first marble platform and through several open, brightly lit rooms until they came upon one that contained a long table covered in a luscious spread of Gladeshirian delicacies.

"Please, eat!" Princess Metarie encouraged. "I won't be joining you, unfortunately. But don't worry, when you're finished, Garreth will be happy to show you to your rooms."

A man in a white, gauzy shirt standing in the far archway bowed slightly at the mention of his name and smiled at the guests.

"Please, sit!" he echoed; Metarie had already slipped from the room. "Help yourselves!"

There were exactly fourteen seats around the table, which held silver bowls full of ripe fruit, berries the size of apples, several pots of hot peach tea, and silver platters of sponge cakes with fluffy pink and yellow icing. Captain Pitchblende eyed the food carefully for a moment before stabbing a giant strawberry with his fork and sniffing it, as if he feared it might be poisoned. The squires and Captain Maclyn, on the other hand, hungry from their long journey, dug in without question.

At first, no one said anything as everyone was busy sampling the fare, but before long, Tedin broke the quiet.

"It was really nice of Princess Metarie to invite us to stay here tonight, wasn't it?" he said to black-haired Damiana Stitch beside him. "Do you think this means that King Adwen will say yes tomorrow when we - ouch! Oh!"

Captain Pitchblende stomped on Tedin's foot discretely under the table, causing him to cry out not-so-discretely in pain. But when he saw who had done it and understood why, his cheeks burned red and he stared down at his fruit rind-littered plate silently.

It was in that moment that Duncan understood why the original plan had been to camp outside the palace walls. It had nothing to do with demonstrating humility and resourcefulness, as he initially thought. No, it was because outside of palace, they were free to discuss and strategize at the last minute as necessary. Within the gates, they were being listened to and watched. Even now, Garreth's eyes flitted back and forth questioningly between Gyp and Pitchblende. Duncan knew that anything they said would undoubtedly get back to the king before their meeting in the morning, giving him more time to think and prepare his answer - more time to build up the courage to refuse Hollenmere's request.

Luckily, the other squires learned from Tedin's mistake, and even after Garreth showed them to their beds inside the great, hollow tree, no one dared say much of anything. All except for Caleb, who seemed incapable of keeping himself from asking Duncan some of his more burning questions, like "Do you think this tree had a dryad before it was carved out?" and "What happens to all of that nice furniture outside when it rains?"

A/N: And so our brave young squires arrive at the heart of Gladeshire. What are your impressions of the Gladeshirians, their royalty, and their palace? Do you think King Adwen will agree to send troops to fight Tsorsha? Let me know with a comment! Thank you for reading. :)