The Blossoming Willow

Chapter 22: The Punishment

Sally Jean and Arthur couldn't stop talking about the ball for the rest of the week. Everything about life at the palace amazed them. Luke was on standby for whatever Sally Jean might need. Julie accompanied the siblings around the palace whenever Mary was busy with her duties – just because Mary had visitors didn't mean things stopped behind the scenes of the palace.

Sally Jean especially loved sitting in the music room listening to Princess Sylvia play, while Arthur enjoyed exploring the palace grounds when the weather wasn't too bad. It was a freedom the two had never known.

Joe wasn't nearly as impressed. He sulked when Mary wasn't around and was actively hostile to the doctor, earning him several lectures from his friends. Fortunately, he had been pleased to note that, except when their schedules overlapped in visiting Sally Jean, the doctor seemed to be actively avoiding Mary since the ball. Lady Amber's lecture must have had the intended effect on her lover.

Which was a relief. It was going to be hard enough for Joe to find a profession and convince the king that he was a worthwhile suitor without having to compete against the royal physician. A nobleman would have been competition enough, but Joe might have had an edge there since he probably knew Mary better than anyone. But a doctor? The guy literally saved people's lives! It wasn't fair.

The day after the ball, Joe got up the courage to pull the king aside and ask for his permission to court Mary. While the king hadn't quite laughed in his face, he had rolled his eyes, pointed out that Joe had literally nothing to offer her, and that if he was really that set on it, he should ask Mary first and then continue the conversation with him.

When Joe pressed the king on why he had accepted Lord Vincent's request, the king raised an eyebrow and then went off on a long discourse about all the ways the marquis was superior to an unemployed servant boy, fully deflating Joe's mood for the rest of the day.

The next day, however, Joe rallied. The king hadn't completely shut the door to the possibility of courting Mary. He seemed willing to consider it if Joe could persuade Mary that that's what she wanted. With the doctor keeping his distance, Joe was able to keep Mary company whenever she was free and remind her of all the things they had shared over the years. He was as attentive and agreeable as he had ever been. He would win her over yet!

To Mary, that week seemed like her life was fuller than it had ever been. Her friends had been the one thing missing in her perfect life and now they were here. They caught her up on the palace gossip since she had left Prince Steven's. She, in turn, showed them the other side of palace life: the music, the library, the hot baths, even ice skating.

It still felt unusual to be able spend time with them when she wasn't exhausted and sore. Now, instead of commiserating over how crabby Matilda had been that day, they shared in joyful things. It was a nice change.

~~~

"Okay, so if I move my bishop here, that kills your pawn," Arthur said as he moved the chess pieces.

"What? No way!" Joe exclaimed. "How did you do that? I had him pinned down!"

Mary laughed at the two men's bickering. Lord Vincent had been trying to teach them to play, so they were practicing with one another in an effort to beat Vincent the next time he challenged one of them. Sally Jean, meanwhile, watched with interest from a chaise.

"Princess! Please! You must come quickly!" Jane rushed in, interrupting the group.

"What's the matter?" Mary asked.

"It's George. They're—He made a mistake and now they're going to have him beaten for it," she sobbed.

"What?! Where?" Mary asked in shock.