“Don’t you want to be magical?” Queen Moragana asked.
I laughed then glanced about the room. Even the soldiers’ eyes were focused on me, as if this were a crucial moment in time.
“We are what we are,” I responded, treating the subject lightly as if it were unimportant, but what was I supposed to say, that I wanted to become Fae? I presumed that the Fae were born as Fae, not changed by a potion or created by some Fae Queen’s mumbo jumbo recitation.
“Do not be impertinent,” the queen reacted in a voice raised into a higher octave. She sniffed into a scented hankie as if I’d insulted her. I felt Timothy fidget in the chair beside me, which meant that I was on the borderline of queenly anger. I sighed and restrained my aggravation.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to be impertinent. It’s only that I don’t have all the wonderful powers that you and your Fae court have. I can’t do the magnificent things that Timothy can either. Humans are totally without such benefits.”
Queen Moragana shook her head, then flashed a searching look at Timothy. “Prince Cadarone, haven’t you explained any of this to the girl?” she thundered, so loudly that I quivered with regret for my big mouth, which had apparently provoked her.
But before Timothy could get a word in, the queen continued. “You, Pe ne lop ee are going to acquire powers. I have seen it. You married a Pooka who is Fae, a prince of the Fae. Of course you will become High Born. It is the law, and in Faery, that means you must acquaint yourself with your abilities, whether you want them or not.”
With that said, Queen Moragana went back to her eating, munching on a baked apple as if she’d saved the best for last.
It was a good thing I wasn’t being called on to say anything more because I’d been completely tongue-tied by astonishment. I didn’t look at Timothy or any of the people around me. I just picked up the scone I’d been nibbling on and took another bite.
Ben came over, moving his chair to sit beside me. Then he plopped down and with his puppy eyes of kindness, said, “The queen likes you, Penelope. I’ve never heard her lecture anyone so severely. That is not her habit. Most people she merely avoids speaking to.”
I wanted to say that I wished she had avoided me, but I was pretty sure that she was listening to Ben’s words. Sometimes, silence really is the best response.