‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY ESCAPED?’

The king was apoplectic.

‘I say “escaped”, but what I really mean is that they managed to temporarily get away from me,’ the Huntsman replied, his head bowed, squatting down on one knee. He was feeling very awkward. He’d never had to explain why he’d failed before, and he wasn’t very good at it.

‘And how exactly did they get away from you?’ the king asked.

His eyes were very wide and his mouth was very small and, from where she was sitting, the queen could have sworn he was vibrating.

‘Obviously they used great cunning and magnificent evil, and there were dozens of warriors with many weapons and also, possibly –’ he looked down at his big black boots in shame – ‘a mouse.’

‘Be gone,’ the king ordered. He couldn’t even bear to look at him. ‘Get out of my sight.’

‘If you give me one more chance, sire, I will return the prince to you post-haste,’ the Huntsman promised.

‘You’re lucky I’m letting you keep your head,’ King Poderick replied. ‘Guards, take him to the dungeons. And make sure to fill his cell with cheese.’

‘Noooooooo!’

Before the king’s guards could act, the mighty Huntsman leaped to his feet and ran across the throne room.

‘I refuse to surrender to those squeaky, cheese-eating monsters!’ he bellowed.

And then he dived out of a window.

‘Didn’t see that coming,’ the king muttered in surprise. ‘Well, I suppose that’s that.’

One of the pages dashed over to the window to have a look. Down below, he saw the Huntsman climbing out of the palace moat, limping as he ran off into the Dark Forest.

‘He’s run off, Your Majesty,’ he confirmed. ‘Should we send someone after him?’

‘Not unless you’ve got another Huntsman up your sleeve,’ the king grumbled. ‘Now what are we supposed to do?’

‘You could always go after Joderick yourself?’ the queen suggested.

Everyone in the throne room held their breath.

‘Uh, yes,’ the king said, taking off his crown and polishing it on the sleeve of his robe. ‘I could do that. That’s something we should look into. Advisers!’

At once, his team of trusted counsellors, consultants and confidants crowded round him.

‘Yes, Your Supreme Wonderfulness?’ The first one to speak bowed low and deep.

‘How may we assist you?’ asked another.

‘What do you think is the best way to get Joderick back to the palace and make sure this Cinders girl is gone for good?’ he asked.

‘I think, having taken all the options into account, such as the length of time he’s been missing, the distance from the palace, the failure of the Huntsman, the little girl’s magic powers, not to mention all this talk of mice …’ The first adviser paused as all the others murmured in agreement. ‘I think the best course of action would be to follow the queen’s suggestion. You should go after Joderick.’

No one looked more surprised than the queen herself.

‘Follow my suggestion?’ she asked. ‘Oh, I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. If only because it’s quite possible that it has never actually been done before.’

‘It’s a very good idea,’ said the second adviser, stroking his long beard.

‘A strong suggestion,’ agreed the first. ‘The queen is very wise.’

‘Oh, I say,’ she said, blushing prettily. ‘Get on with you.’

‘While I would love to undertake the quest myself, I’m not certain I, the king, should leave the palace during these troubled times,’ King Poderick said, pulling at the collar of his robes. ‘Is anyone else hot in here? I’m very hot.’

The advisers all huddled together for a moment to discuss this hiccup before turning back to the king.

‘We believe the people of the kingdom would be cheered to see their king go forth into the Dark Forest and bring back their beloved prince,’ the first adviser declared. ‘And also, no, we are not hot.’

‘Then it’s settled!’ the queen called. ‘My beloved husband, our brave and fearless king, will set out to save our son and bring him home this very eve!’

‘This very eve?’ the king asked as everyone began to cheer. ‘Before dinner? Without a proper night’s sleep?’

‘My brave, heroic husband,’ she said, lovingly stroking his cheek before gripping his arm very, very slightly. ‘Bring my son home or I’ll blimmin’ well throw you out of the window after that Huntsman.’

*

Everyone in the palace – and soon the entire kingdom – was celebrating the king’s pledge to go forth and find Prince Joderick himself. Everyone, that is, except for Margery.

‘That king is as useful as a chocolate teapot!’ she yelled, slamming the door to her bedchamber and rifling through a secret locked cupboard for which she had the only key. ‘There’s just one way we’ll get the prince back to the castle and that’s if someone gets Cinders out of the way first.’

She pulled out a shiny red apple, the big blue bottle of sleeping potion and a long black cloak, smiling as she laid them all out on her settee. The settee that used to live in Veronica the witch’s house … Margery turned to smile at herself in the mirror.

‘And that someone,’ she said, ‘is going to be me.’