Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96695 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 483(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
As Hugo was relaxing, a door off to one side of the throne room opened, and the masked man in a ragged cloak and clothes danced out as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His mood was carefree, and Hugo’s heart gave a skip.
“Your Majesties,” he greeted with a grand flourish and deep bow. Before either could reply. He spun on his toes and hopped over to Hugo. “I thought we agreed you’d never speak of our arrangement.” His voice was low and rough but still pleasing as Hugo remembered.
“Yes, but the king and queen wish me to marry their son. I can’t. You saved my life twice. It belongs to you. Until you reject me, I’m not free to pledge myself to another.” Hugo’s stomach twisted into giant knots, and his mouth became as dry as the sun-scorched earth in the middle of summer. This was such an enormous wager he was making. If he was wrong…
“But…but you paid me. The glass rose. And the ring.” It was the first time since their meeting in the tower so long ago that the masked figure sounded anything but confident.
“My life is worth more than a glass rose and a ring.”
“You would give yourself to someone who doesn’t love you?” The masked man laughed and danced around Hugo as if it were all a game, but the laugh sounded forced and strangled compared to his other playful noises.
“Honor demands it. Even if you don’t love me, I would promise to serve you as a loyal helpmate. My gift is not as valuable as gold, but every coin I earn would go to you.”
“You would marry me without ever seeing my face? How do you know I’m not a hideous monster under here?” The man leaned in close enough to touch the tip of Hugo’s nose with the mask. As their eyes met, the man darted away again.
“Your appearance doesn’t change the generous act of kindness,” Hugo stated. He turned, trying hard to meet the man’s eyes. “Do you not want me?”
The masked man tripped over his own feet and nearly fell on his ass but righted himself after a few stumbling steps. “Um…I…” The magical man wavered.
“Wait!” the queen cried out, stopping everyone. “You don’t even know his name. I cannot permit you to marry someone whose name you don’t even know.”
“What if I guess it? Can I marry him then?” Hugo suggested.
The queen hesitated. She stood, every muscle in her body seeming rigid, while her smile thinned and became as fragile as frost. “So be it. You may have three guesses. If you fail, you must marry Prince Everand,” she declared.
“I agree to your terms.” Hugo bit back his smirk and turned to the masked man, who suddenly looked nervous. He’d stopped his cavorting but wouldn’t meet Hugo’s eye.
“All right. Is your name Peppercornelius?” he asked, thinking of the eager servant from Wulia.
The masked man snorted and shook his head.
“That’s one,” the queen chimed in, sounding all too pleased.
Hugo took a step closer and furrowed his brow. “Is your name Rumpelstiltskin?” He recalled the odd name from one of Dorian’s books of fairy tales.
“Nope,” the man said with a snicker.
“That’s two. Last guess,” Queen Lilianna crowed.
Hugo didn’t look at the queen. His eyes locked on the masked man. “I hope you want me, because I know your name,” Hugo whispered, and the other man’s eyes snapped up to Hugo’s.
Holding his gaze, Hugo lifted his hand to the mask. He spoke loud enough for the king and queen to hear him. “Is your name Everand Rupert Desmond Rosewood the First?” As each of the prince’s names left his tongue, he hooked his fingers under the chin of the mask and lifted, revealing the handsome face of the man who’d stolen his heart.
“How did you know?” Everand gasped.
“You mean other than the fact that you have both the rose I made and my father’s ring in your room?” Hugo said with a teasing lilt.
“Oh, damn.” Everand swallowed hard. “I forgot about that.” His cheeks flushed, and he glanced over at his mother, looking apologetic.
“But that wasn’t the only clue,” Hugo admitted.
“When did you suspect?” King Hubert interjected, appearing enthralled as if he were watching the last threads of a mystery being tied up.
Hugo turned and bowed to Everand’s royal parents. “After I returned home from my first visit to the palace, I had a chance to think calmly about everything that had happened. Queen Lilianna is known throughout the kingdom as a fair, rational, practical leader. If all those things were true, why would she react so strongly to such a ridiculous story? It made no sense. Everyone knows that spinning straw into gold is impossible. Unless Queen Lilianna knows for certain that it’s not impossible. She would also know that a person with such a unique magical skill would become a target for every criminal and villain.” Hugo paused and dragged his eyes from Queen Lilianna to Prince Everand. “She would do anything to protect that person, especially if he was her own son. Even if it meant threatening some silly but otherwise harmless nobodies. My suspicions were mostly confirmed on my next visit to the castle, especially after I spotted the rose and ring in Everand’s possession.”