scott street

15: THE STORIAN & VARIOUS

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, lived a princess.

She did not live a life you might expect of a princess; she lived in a humble cottage with her wise-woman mother, and had few friends, save the mill-worker's daughter from the village. She was raised to be an intelligent, compassionate child, but the superstitious townspeople saw her and thought her a witch– and so she withdrew, and became reclusive and defensive, as any girl might. These girls are known to us, and we have followed them through a tale before; Agatha the first girl, and Sophie the second, kidnapped to the School for Good and Evil and cast onto opposite sides, where they believed a great mistake had befallen them. Through a great many schemes and trials, it was revealed that they were in the right places all along– and they never lost their bond with one another, though it was sorely tried and tested.

Now, the time had come that the girls and their schoolmates were invited to a grand ball to celebrate the coronation of their classmate, the son of the great King Arthur. Sophie was thrilled by the grandeur and circumstance, but Agatha was daunted, and stuck close to her friends all throughout the day, fearing the scrutiny that her friend attracted and encouraged. Her fairy godmother had made her a beautiful gown for the festivities, richly embroidered green that shone like the sea in the sun– but despite this fine fare, she was afraid to be looked upon, and wished that people would not notice or discuss her.

The reason for her nerves was this: the new King Tedros had asked her earnestly if she would dance the final waltz with him, the dance saved for the King's closest female relative, be it wife, mother, daughter or sister. But his mother had long fled, and he had no living grandmother or any sister– and so he asked Agatha, who he loved and hoped to one day marry. Agatha loved him, but knowing that people would assume they were surely to be married soon, she baulked in fear– she also imagined she would embarrass the both of them, for she was no great dancer. And so she delayed giving an answer for as long as possible, even going so far as to suggest another classmate that could dance it with him instead– their friend Beatrix, who was a good dancer and very beautiful.

Throughout the ball, Agatha fretted as the tenth dance grew closer, still uncertain on whether or not to accept the King's offer. However, after the ninth dance, a strange woman came into the King's line of sight. He met her eyes and realised immediately that he looked upon his disguised mother, Queen Guinevere, returned from self imposed exile to see him crowned.

Distressed and confused, Tedros fled the ballroom as quietly as he could, but Agatha, Sophie and Beatrix followed him, and worriedly eavesdropped on the conversation until they had to sneak away. Agatha dithered in a deserted hallway, knowing that once Tedros returned to the ballroom, it would be time for the tenth dance, and not wishing to upset him further by rejecting his offer. Sophie and Beatrix cajoled and convinced and coaxed, desperate to see that she would not turn it down.

"Forget Teddy," said Sophie, who was a little inconsiderate by nature. "What do you want to do?"

Agatha stared into the mirror on the wall and thought of the storybook balls she had admired so much as a child, and had secretly hoped, deep in her heart, that she one day would get to go to a grand ball and dance with a Prince that loved her...

They ran all the way up to the entrance hall in their fine gowns, where a crowd of girls were already there, clamouring to the King's Man that guarded the doors, insisting that they were chosen for the last dance. Agatha pushed through the crowd with her sharp elbows and heavy boots, and she stood straight before the King's Man and said:

"I am the tenth damosel of the Coronation Ball, and I will dance with the King."

And the King's Man, who had hoped for his master's sake that he would see her and she would say such a thing (for he knew that the King loved her very much), smiled and waved away the rest of the girls, who were disappointed, but not so unkind as to be rude or make a scene. Sophie and Beatrix fussed as Agatha took her place in front of the doors to the main staircase, trying to rearrange her hair and gown, and giving last minute advice: