Silvia, Princess Silver

5. Breakfast

Silvia watched the eagle go, then turned and followed the boy. "What did you say your name was?" she asked, since she gathered she was not supposed to acknowledge that she had already met him in owl form.

"My name," he said, "is Copper." He shrugged. "They name princes and princesses after metals. It's a tradition. I guess it's supposed to make us stronger. Odd, though."

"Um, if..." She paused, thinking.

"What?"

"If I'm supposed to be a princess around here, then do you think my name is still Silvia?"

He laughed.

"What?"

"You're Silver, of course, and you're my big sister. I've been wanting to meet you for a long time!" He gave her a quick hug, then stepped back and, with a bow and a flourish, said, "Come this way, Princess Silver." Chuckling, he turned and ran through the door.

On the other side of the door she stopped and stared, her mouth falling open. It wasn't the strange, royal opulence of the room, because unlike the places she had already been that morning, it was at least somewhat ordinary in a comfortable sort of way, with stuffed old armchairs by a cozy fireplace and a round table in a bay window with flowers in a vase catching the morning sun. No, what truly amazed her was the woman sitting straight-backed at the table, a teacup in her hand. Even with the sun behind her, lighting up her hair, Silvia recognized her instantly. (Whether from actual memories from infancy or from the photographs she had studied so many times, Silvia was not sure.) It was her mother.

Silvia stood there shyly, not at all sure of what to say.

The Queen set her teacup down, pushed her chair back, and, gripping a cane to help herself stand, came forward. She was limping, but did not seem to be bothered by that fact. Her face was lit with a radiant smile. "My daughter!" she exclaimed. "At last!! I trust your father has raised you lovingly and well?"

"Um, are you really my...?"

"Oh yes! And I'm so sorry my position made it impossible for me to care for you! They needed me here, and I could not risk having my heir here with me. There are assassins and traitors everywhere. But let's not dwell on that. What matters is that you've made it safely to this point, and now you will come into your power."

"Uh, wow. Um, I never... I... " Silvia, reduced to speechlessness, stared at the woman, who looked so tall and stately in her elegantly embroidered blue silk bathrobe.

"My dear!" the Queen said. "Come, give me a hug. I've missed you terribly!" And then she folded Silvia into her arms and held her very tight, and Silvia held onto her, and found that she was crying.

The Queen was crying, too.

"Now that everybody's said hello and all that," Prince Copper said, "we probably should be getting organized. Anyone want hot chocolate or a piece of cinnamon toast before we go?"

Silvia pulled reluctantly away. She realized that her mother smelled good. Perhaps, she thought, babies know their mothers by smell, and I must still remember what mine smelled like!

"Uh, Silver? Some breakfast?" It was her brother!, she thought wonderingly. He was waving her to a seat. She smiled and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I can't believe I have a brother," she said. "Or, or a mother." She stared at the Queen, who was still standing in front of her, smiling through her own tears.

"Come, sit. You must be famished." The Queen took her by the hand and drew her toward the table.

"You're not at all like my stepmother," Silvia said without thinking, and then wondered if it had been a rude thing to say.

"Stepmother?" The Queen frowned. "Oh dear. Well, I suppose the King thought I was dead. That was the rumor, back when he'd had to take you and flee for both of your lives. Poor man! Is she nice?"

"Not really, no. She, um, tricks people for a living."

"A thief?" Copper asked, sounding interested.

"No, in advertising."

The Queen pulled out a chair and Silvia sat down. It was a lovely chair, simple but elegant, with an upholstered seat that felt smooth and soft. Probably silk, too, she thought.

"Toast?"

Hardly knowing what she was doing, she allowed Prince Copper to offer her food and drink, and somehow managed to take a few sips and a bite or two, despite her amazement. But she could not stop staring at her mother, who kept smiling at her.

"Fruit?" Copper asked, pushing a plate toward her. Even though it was full of perfectly ripe and gorgeous peaches, pears, plums, apples, and cherries, even nicer looking than the most costly of the fruits on display at the corner fruit stand down the street from her apartment building, she shook her head. Her appetite had deserted her.

He shrugged. "Then let's get dressed. Mum, do I have to wear a tie? They're so uncomfortable."

The Queen smiled. "Not today! Everyone should be as happy as possible. It's such a wonderful and momentous— What was that!"

"A cannon ball," Silvia said. The thump of impact was like what she had heard earlier. This one, however, had come right through a window, scattering splinters of colorful glass across a pretty woven rug before landing on the floor. On the far side of the room, she could see a heavy ball of black metal half buried in the floor.