Briar

Ch. 11 The Prince

The geese in Jubbellard were a little more spunky and perhaps even smarter that the Ladies in Numberland. They had their little fits of rebellion, trying to run away or pulling at her clothes. Jilly was a lot of help in these moments. She was not able to communicate with them, but they at least trusted her shape. For the most part the were good, eating in the lake or pooping around it. But there was one thing that really caught Rose by surprise: the explosion.
Prince John had returned from his uncle’s a week and a half after the girls arrived. It only took him two days to get back to his favorite pass time. Like all princes he loved horses and hence riding. The hills around the lake was really used for the horses’ roaming and training ground. Rose had had this explained to her, but she had not been told that the Prince loved to ride his charger straight through her gaggle of geese. The first time it happened each goose jumped about a foot in the air and flew off in every direction. It had been a few months since they had last been attached and the time off had renewed their fear. Feathers were everywhere, flapping wings took them every which way. Even Jilly was scared and flew into the lake. Rose ran around for a good 15 minutes before, she got them all back. They might all be in a group but they wouldn’t calm down for hours. Breathing heavily she turned to look at the attacker with thin eyes and thinner lips.
“What do you think you were doing!”
The Prince had spun his horse around to watch the commotion. He started a little heard someone, anyone talk to him that way.
“Do you know who I am?”
“I don’t care if you’re the king of HillyNilly? Do you know who I am? I’m the goose girl, and do you know how much work you just caused me? What is wrong with you, doing such a horrible thing to these poor, defenseless geese.”
Rose placed her fists on her hips and started toward the boy on the horse. He was thin for his age, but his shoulders were wide, meaning he still had some growing to do. Not that he was completely scrawny; he had some sort of muscle. He might have had the beginning of a beard, but it looked completely ridiculous because all of his hair was blond. And his blue eyes were crinkled a little, like he was going to laugh. Laugh! How dare he? This was a serious matter. And then he laughed.
“What is the matter with you? Do you realize what you’ve done? They won’t be the same for the whole day? How can you laugh at causing more work for people?”
This only inspired more laughing. Rose waited angrily while he calmed down.
“I’m the prince.”
Rose raised an eyebrow. This didn’t seem to be the angelic boy that the other’s had described.
“Prince John the Third, heir to the throne. Now you know who I am, but I don’t know who you are.” When she didn’t fill in his pause he moved on, “What happened to Anglia?”
“She got married.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. Now what are you doing riding through my flock?”
Prince John was amazed that this little slip of a girl could still talk to him with anger now that she knew who he was.
‘Actually they’re my flock.”
“So what. I’m the one looking after them. All you seem to be doing is disrupting them. It’s my job to watch them, make sure they don’t get hurt. And you are getting in the way of that.”
“You know, you are one of the few servants in my life who have ever scolded me.”
“And what does that have to do with anything? What I’m saying is that it’s wrong for you to plow through my geese.”
“Come on it’s my one vice.”
“Well, your one vice causes me all sorts of trouble. So you can bottle it up with your other vices and move along.”
“They’re just rusty. In a few weeks, they’ll forget I was ever gone and get back into the swig of my racing through.”
“Well I can’t. So go improve your mind or something.” Rose reached into her bag and drew out one of the books inside. She threw it at him before walking away.
John looked down at the book, “Grant Appleberry’s opinion on Botany? She knows how to read?” John began a confused laugh. No one but the senior servants ever talked back to him, and they never told him what to do, but this little thing thought she could order him around? She would be interesting.
It was much later when John was flipping through the book she had tossed at him that he realized he hadn’t learned her name.
The Prince rode through the geese again the next day, and like before, Rose was in an even worse mood than before.
“Twice! Why would you do it again! I told you to stop yesterday.”
And he had the gall to laugh. She had checked to make sure that he was the prince from yesterday, not that she knew anyone else in the castle who would be doing something as fruitless as ridding a horse, but it paid to make sure. Rose had no intention of being any nicer to him if he kept running over her geese even if he was a prince.
“That one I did just to get your attention.”
“Because saying hello isn’t enough.”
“Nope. Besides I like the way they fly.”
Rose gave him her most critical look. “You know I read that book you tossed at me yesterday, and I have to say that I like Kinderall’s views better.” John was swigging off his horse which was of course white. It was a bit too story book for Rose. The whole place was.
Still not trusting him completely, Rose decided to response anyway. You never know when you might find someone to talk to about Botany. The chances were few and far in between. “I know I just picked up him up to contrast Kinderall. I’d never seen that particular one; so I thought I’d at least pick through it.”
John walked over smiling. Well at least he wasn’t laughing.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a servant who has read Kiderall.”
“May be you have, and you just don’t know.” Rose said it as a insult, but John didn’t take it as one. He was an optimist of sorts.
“What’s your name?”
“I don’t know if I should tell you. You might just try and get me fired.”
“And telling them I want the new goose girl fired won’t work just as well? Besides why would I want to fire someone as well educated as you. Although I do think it’s a little bit of a waste to have you watching geese.”
“I like watching the geese. Don’t you ever try and change it.” Would this idiot really try and involve her in politics? Thanks but no thanks.
“Okay. I won’t.” So many things about her confused him. She kind of reminded him of his father, always going straight for a thing, never holding back even if it would be better for them to say nothing.
“Your name,” he pressed.
“Rose,” she pouted.
“Funny name.”
“Well you have a funny face.”
“The beard? Yeah. I thought it was a bad idea too, but my uncle said all men have beards.”
“That ridiculous. I know plenty of men without beards.”
John and Rose continued with their banter long into the day. They found that they had a lot in common. And despite John’s terrorizing the geese; he really liked the large birds. Jilly also took a liking to him silently agreeing with him on a lot of the subjects the discussed. John took to coming out to her bit of land everyday. Sometimes it would only be a wave from his horse because he had princely matters to attend to. Sometimes he would stay around for hours. There wasn’t too much gossip about them. First it was unconceivable that the Prince would be with someone so lowly and the other reason was that no one besides the two of them, Jilly, the geese, and his horse knew how much time he spent there. There was only an occasional gardener around. And so although didn’t plan it this way their meetings had a somewhat secretive nature.
Rose, kind of became his unofficial tutor. She was much better reader and better read than him and even some of his real tutors. She always had something good to recommended. They talked about other things too. Rose told him selective bits about her childhood mostly what growing up in a secluded area with only a few other people was like. John told her about being pampered in the castle. He had been a real brat when he was younger. But after he learned about his sister, he changed a lot. He wanted to be someone that his sister could love. Someone admirable. That was his goal.
It was about a month into their friendship when Jonas realized that he never saw Rose when she was not working. At night she seemed to completely disappear. It was at this same time that he found out what she was doing. He found her in the library, of course. On one of the couches, there sat Rose and a very pretty girl in a maid outfit. John thought it was odd that she was wearing it at night, but decided not to mention it. She was probably just too poor to afford other clothes. They were arguing about keeping up with embroidery lessons? Rose didn’t strike him as the sort to do something that girly, that tame, but if John had learned anything in his time with Rose it was that she would constantly surprise him.
“Rose,” he called out.
The girls’ heads snapped in his direction. Rose looked worriedly at her friend, and the other girl blushed. John couldn’t help but notice that she was very cute with rosy cheeks.
“Hi John.” Rose’s eyes were working back and forth as if looking for escape. Why would she want to leave so quickly? John made his way up to the two of them.
“Rose, don’t be rude introduce me to your friend.” The girl in question seemed to be in a state of shock. She must be new. Didn’t she know that he would never hurt her, least of all for talking to him? Especially when she was so pretty. He concluded that she must be new, from a town along the boarder if she knew so little.
“This is Jillian. She’s a new maid here. She works in the uuu… South Wing,” Rose named the wing farthest from John’s apartment. He felt a little pang of disappointment that there would be no way for him to accidentally run into her.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Jillian. Isn’t that weird, Rose.”
“What?” Rose looked to be making his part here difficult.
“Doesn’t she have the same name as your black goose?”
Rose’s uncomfortable composure seemed to be at a breaking point. “It’s not all that strange. Tons of people have the name Jillian. And my goose’s name is Jilly.”
Jillian’s blush had spread to cover most of her face. She had also come to her breaking point, “I think I will head off to bed now. You know work and all.” She raised out of her chair, keeping her face hidden. Unfortunately for her John was not used to having people leave so quickly after his entrance.
She had only made it a few steps before, “Wait. Please stay a while. I’m sorry for interrupting you two. If you’re that uncomfortable I’ll leave.”
Her head swung in his direction, distress written all over it. “Oh no. I … well …. I just thought that you and Rose would like to be alone.”
Her eyes slid to the side, waiting for him to confirm her statement. In the end, with his first look at her full in the face, he couldn’t think of anything more elegant to say than, “Stay.”
“Alright.” Jillian sat back down in her stop, and John went to go get a chair. Rose could do nothing but laugh a little at the silly, happy expression on Jilly’s face.
It seemed that the three of them had a lot in common because most nights Jilly, Rose and John could be seen in the library discussing things. John was surprised that a maid could be so well educated. Jillian was the perfect lady: quiet, pretty, demure, polite. Before he knew it the best part of his day was seeing her.
Life at the castle continued as all ways. Rose worked well, and no one questioned Jillian’s presence. They had asked John not to say anything about her for the sake of her reputation. John almost completely stopped coming to bother the geese. He was becoming a man and as such his lessons were ever more demanding. Also not coming in the day, gave him better permission to come and bother Jillian in the evening.
Summer fell into fall and that lead to winter. Everything at the castle went on as normal. People continued with their work. Rose was kept busy between the geese and John. It was only occasionally that she would feel pangs for Jonas. She made sure to keep them to herself with sick days and long hours spent looking out a frost bitten window. Some days Rose felt like she was just pushing through the slug of life, just surviving, but other days were better. On the bad days she would tell herself that she was perfectly fine before Jonas came and would be so afterwards. That it was better to be here without him that to be torturing herself at Numberland. She had left there to forget him; she just hoped that it didn’t take another 14 years to get him out of her mind. Jilly, being the good friend she was, was very sensitive to Rose’s moods. She always made sure to entertain her when it got really bad.
No one really noticed the growing bond between the prince and his two servants. And no one except Rose noticed Jilly’s growing infatuation with the Prince of Jubbellard or his feels for her.
The long nights and the short days made John happy. But the more he saw of Jillian more she kept away from him. He had tried to get closer to her, asking her about her family, life in a different country (not that she would tell him which one she was from), he even asked her about her job in the castle. Jillian was close lipped about everything concerning herself which wasn’t giving John much hope. What little she had let slip, gave him a little hope that may be she wasn’t a complete popper. The evidence was in her mannerism and her knowledge, but she refused to confirm anything. In all other aspects, however, they got along perfectly. John was very afraid that he was falling in love with a woman that he barely knew. And if it turned out that she really was from a farmer family on the boarder there was no way that his feelings would ever turn into marriage. And John refused to disgrace her without marriage, keep her as his mistress while he married some noble woman. The very idea made him sick.
John decided that he needed to have his questions solved once and for all. Rose was usually with them, but for about an hour every night she would go down to the kitchen to get them all a snack. Jillian seemed to be uncommonly welcome of snacks. So, John decided that this was the time that he would strike.
Rose had been gone for about fifteen minutes, and Jilly had been using the time to put some books back. There were a few fake swords lying on the table next to another large stack. John had given her some initial time to go father into the maze of the library, but took another few minutes of debating before finally taking a few tombs in hand and going after Jillian. It took him another fifteen to find her, and another few to gaze at her without either of them becoming embarrassed. When she turned in his direction John started and tried to make it look like he had just gotten there.
“I uuuu didn’t know we had gotten any down from this section.”
“Do you even know what this section is?”
“Uuuuuummmm.” John colored. How did she always know when he was lying? Jillian had a laughing look in her eye. This was not the time for laughs. John decided to do what she was good at and get directly to the point.
“I don’t know what section this is, and I don’t care. I didn’t come here to put away books.” Jilly gripped her books a little tighter; her eyes wider. He couldn’t … he wouldn’t. “I came here … I came here for you. I need to speak with you Jillian.”
He hadn’t found out had he? I know I’m not the best at hiding things, but I was so certain that no one has seen me change.
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
Jillian gasped and tried to speak, but being a bird had trained her to be even quieter than she had been originally.
“No, I don’t think. I know. I know I’m in love with you.”
Jillian’s eyes just kept getting wider and wider while her cheeks became redder and redder. Her mouth opened, and then all her words rushed into her throat at once. And she was coughing. Coughing? It took John a few seconds to drop his books and rush over to her.
“Oh god, Jillian, are you alright?” He held her in his arms, cradling her while stroking her back. After a little while she started breathing relatively normal. Her light brown hair, that reminded strangely of a pony he had had as a boy, was falling in her face, completely covering it. “Jillian are you okay now?” John leaned over her trying to get into her line of vision.
“No,” was the only thing that got out of Jillian’s mouth. “Nothing is right.” She tried to break out of John’s hold, but he won’t let her go.
“What is it Jillian? What the matter?” John backed off a little, “Or am I the problem?”
Jillian’s eyes shot to his at his conclusion. “How could you think that? How could you ever think that? You’re the closest thing to perfect that I’ve ever found.”
“Then why are you crying Jillian?” John’s fingers brushed along her cheek whipping away the tears she had been trying to hide.
Jillian coughed a little more, little breaths coming quickly. She knew what she should say: that she was a servant and that there was no way for them, that she wasn’t good enough. But the truth was that she loved him back, that she had been waiting for love her entire life. The love that she had thought would never exist. Now that it was here she didn’t want to lie to it anymore. But she couldn’t, just couldn’t, tell him the truth. The truth would kill her, seeing him turn away from her in disgust. It would be better for both of them for her to love him from afar while he went off and married someone like Victoria.
Jillian was as stone. John couldn’t take it. What could be that bad? What could turn this woman’s bright eyes to glassy balls.
“Please,” he whispered before taking what he hoped was offered. He lightly placed his lips along her cheek replacing his fingers. Licking them away from his love’s face he followed them to their origin. By pure instinct, Jillian’s eyes closed. When they opened again there was a new emotion in them, fear.
“Please,” she whispered. “Don’t follow me. Don’t look into my past, and don’t talk to me. Don’t love me. I can’t … I don’t want to lie to you anymore.”
“Anymore?” John looked into Jillian’s new eyes, and they sort of fell into each other. Like moths drawn toward the light, they found themselves being pulled in.
The sound of a large oak door closing and Rose’s voice yelling, “Delivery service,” broke the spell around Jillian. Confused she looked around her at the scattered books, and the serious face of the prince who had somehow fallen in love with her. She could say no more. When she pushed this time, John fell away, and she took off in a run tripping slightly between the books and her dress.
“John! Jilly! Where are you two?” Rose shouted again. When Jilly came rushing though, “Oh. Are we excited? I guess it’s a good thing that today was a little quick.” And when Jilly raced past, “What? What! Where are you going?”
Rose took off running to where Jilly had been. May be John had gotten hurt. But the only thing wrong with the scene she saw was that the books on the ground were bending pages.
“What happened? Jilly flew out of here like she saw a ghost.”
“I don’t know,” John looked completely confused. “I told her that I love her.”
“I thought you might.” Rose’s face turned serious. “She’s … she’s been through a lot, okay? She might need some time, but I think she loves you back.”
John raised his eyes, and Rose saw determination there. Good he would need it. Jilly needed someone to take charge.
“I’m going to go talk to her? I think she’ll need a friend right now.” She turned away back towards the door.
“Rose,” she stopped, “What’s wrong with her?”
“That’s something that you’re going to have to ask her John.” She said her words without looking at him. She continued back to her room undeterred. Jilly was there, sitting on the bed like a proper girl. Her face and body were completely composed, but there were tears streaming out of her eyes.
Rose closed the door before speaking, “I think you should tell him.”
Jilly made no move to acknowledge her; it was like she was a sculpture of ice. Rose continued into the room. She bent before Jillian, placing her arms around her shoulders.
“I know it’s hard, Jillian, but there’s always a chance to be taken with love.”
Rose could feel Jillian’s tiny shivers as they became bigger.
“What … what if he, he finds me disgusting?”
Rose only hugged tighter.
“How could he love a goose!” She spat out the final word, like it was the most vile of sins.
“How could he love a maid?” Rose responsed. She pulled away a little to look her Jilly’s eyes. The were crinkled, uncertain. “But he does. He loves you. And you love him too don’t you?”
Jillian tried to keep her answer inside but like magic it was drawn out of her, “Yes.”
“Then shouldn’t he know the truth.”
Jillian tried to back away from Rose’s direct honest questions.
“Shouldn’t he?”
Jilly refused to answer.
John tried to find Jillian in the Southern Wing and the entire castle for the next two days. He even went so far as to break his promise and asked Marie, the housekeeper, about her. But that was just another dead end. Marie said that she had never employed anyone by that name. John was becoming even more confused. How could she completely disappear? Where had she gone, and what had she been doing in the castle in the first place? At the end of his third day searching, he finally followed the one lead he had left: Rose.
She was sitting on the side of the hill. Snow completely covered the ground and there looked to be more on the way soon. She looked pretty funny in her barrowed winter wear. Where she came from the winter’s weren’t nearly this harsh; so she had talked to some of the other servants and gotten a mishmash of winter wear. Most of the geese were huddled together at the edge of the lake, but her black goose, Jilly, was next to her. Jilly. Just hearing her name hurt.
“Hey Rose,” he called out. Both heads turned to him. Rose quickly placed a hand on the goose who seemed to be about to run away. She whispered something to it. Funny the thing had never been afraid of him before.
“Can I talk to you for a minute.”
“Sure,” Rose smiled sadly and patted the snowy piece of hillside next to her.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been around. I’ve been trying to find her.”
Rose silently stared at him, trying not to look at Jilly.
“I even asked Marie. She had no idea who she was. I … I need to find her Rose. Please, I know you know. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t tell you. All I can say is that she would never hurt you.”
“Where has she gone?”
“She’s here.” He didn’t know how close.
“Can you …”
“Can I get her for you?” Rose sighed and looked down at Jilly. They had gotten very talented with communicating through head movements. This one said yes.
John looked at her in hope, “I’ll go get her.” He made a move as if to go with her, but she stopped him with a wave.
“Wait here. I’ll come back.” It was a small lie, but one that both of them could forgive.
John only had to wait a little before Jillian was relieved to him. One minute he was shivering in the snow looking at the castle longingly, and the next, there was bright light everywhere. John turned to look automatically. Jilly, the goose, was still sitting next to him even though with Rose gone she must be freezing. And the light, the light seemed to be coming from her. And then before John’s blinking eyes, she was growing becoming smaller more shapely. Her legs fanned out becoming folded like linen. Wings turning into slimmer, more delicate arms. And she was paler, her body turning blue? Her head was larger and her hair was growing longer, flowing in the slight breeze.
And then Jillian was there standing before him, but this was a new Jillian. This was not a maid. No, she was a grand lady, with a gown to match even his mother’s. John’s mouth was a gape. She was like a fairy princess. Her periwinkle dress reflecting off the snow and floating above the ground. Was she a witch? A fairy? A Changeling? Cursed? But she was still his Jillian wasn’t she?
“What are you?” he tentatively asked.
Her face had been colder than the snow before his question, but she blushed, becoming more like the Jillian he knew.
Then he noticed that she had drawn back a little, tearing. Before he seemed to know what to do she was flying across the snow, her feet barely even leaving indentions.
John sat in the snow completely stunned. What had just happened? It had happened to fast that John couldn’t even be sure of what he had seen. He silently reviewed the last few minutes. Had it been so short a time? So much had happened. Why had Jillian run away? Jillian’s big secret was that she was a bird? He looked to where Jilly had been: the goose’s impression in the snow was still definite but it changed and melded into the blur of a woman’s skirt.
What was going on? He understood that Jilly was a goose, but why? What he needed more information. Jillian was long gone, but John knew exactly where to find Rose, and he knew she would know just as much as Jillian. After all she was the one that had left them together.

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Aww don't you love long chapters, and hate cliff hangers, especially in fairy tales where you know it's gonna end happy but there's that little carnal of doubt.
So once again please write to me and tell me if I'm doing alright. And don't worry this shit does end.