I Love You, My Cursed Prince

The women were preparing for their early trip to the city. They were going to do some shopping to prepare for the Capital Season. Muriel was in the princess' room, helping her with some last minute changes to her shopping budget, when there was a knock on the door.

Since both women were fully dressed and nearly ready to leave, Princess Arya told the visitor to enter. It was the butler. His gloved fingers were curved in the handles of a small leather suitcase. "Pardon me, but His Highness has prepared a gift for Miss Devin, and he left instructions demanding that she receive it before you leave."

Muriel hoped it was another doll, or a piece of embroidery, and not an expensive gemstone. The poor, dear man had already spent so much money on her. It wasn't fair.

Her lips pouted and her fingers went to her bosom as she gave the princess an apologetic expression.

But the princess was unfazed. She waved the butler closer. "Let her have it, then. If you upset my son, then you'll have done the same to me."

Muriel still felt guilty when she took the suitcase. She laid it on a small table and opened it up.

"Papers?" she said with a hitch between the syllables.

"Papers?" Princess Arya moved in next to her and looked inside the suitcase. There were stacks and stacks of odd looking doc.u.ments, or at least they seemed odd to Muriel. The princess took one of the doc.u.ments and silently read it while Muriel scanned the rest. Some words were handwritten, but many repeated paragraphs had been printed via woodblocks. Each paper had the red seal of the prince, and there were signatures too. She didn't read any of the papers, but she did notice that all the papers had large numbers written out at certain points.

30,000

10,000

200,000

100,000

50,000

And so on and so on ...?

Her brain wasn't linking anything together.

"Oh," the princess said after a moment or so, "these are promissory notes."

Befuddled, Muriel repeated the phrase. "Promissory notes?"

"Think of each one as a banknote, Muriel, with my son being the bank. If the clerks are willing to do a little paperwork, and they most certainly will with this sort of money being promised, then you'll be able to use one promissory note for one store. That's why there are so many and with different numbers. Conditions have been written in so they can't be used by anyone except you. These are much safer than cash."

Muriel's throat dried out. She went into a coughing fit. Princess Arya told the butler to hurry and fetch a pitcher of fresh water with a cup.

Some minutes later, after Muriel had taken large gulps out of a cup, she managed to say to the princess, "This is insanity."

Princess Arya shook her head. "I don't now what you mean. My son has all his wits."

Muriel didn't know what that princess was thinking, but she almost felt insulted. She snatched up the suitcase, and she rushed to a large fireplace.

"What are you doing?!" the princess asked with a high pitched voice.

Muriel emptied the suitcase out, pouring all the promissory notes into the fire. She let the suitcase clatter onto the floor.

The butler was so frightened to see that gesture that he left the room.

Princess Arya went to Muriel and gripped her shoulder. Her face was acidic and suddenly much older looking. "Why did you do that?! How could you?!"

Muriel stepped out of the woman's grasp. "Madam, the total amount of money your son offered me was at least four times as much as your shopping budget! What am I meant to do? Accept such an impractical gift? Encourage such unnecessarily acquiescent behavior? What will he give me then? The entire castle?! No, Madam! I will not drain him!"

Princess Arya's lower eyelids twitched. Her lips pursed. She tangled her fingers together and bitterly looked down at the burning paper.

And she sighed. "Fine. This is fine." She looked back up to Muriel, and she had a much more triumphant expression than before. "In reality, this is very good." She smiled as if she had discovered a new way to win a strategy game, and she was about to use it. "You likely won't have any new clothes this year, Muriel. I won't pay for them."

Muriel shrugged. "I'm not wallowing in despair over that."

"You'll still need to accompany me into the city. I can't happily shop alone."

Muriel curtsied with a sigh. "Yes, Your Highness."

In the end, the princess certainly did have her shopping spree. Muriel bought some things too, but only what she thought she needed. A jar of cream for her hands. Some threads for sewing. A few bolts of linen and wool for making u.n.d.e.r.g.a.r.m.e.n.ts. A single order for a new corset. Ordinary things like that.