Prince Micah was a chubby child. He was also very fair. Pale blue eyes, fair skin, and blonde hair so light is was almost white. Because he was so fairly complected he burned very easily. And he was often sunburned that summer. Once it was the fault of David and I that he was burned.
On this particular occasion we were knights, well at least David (my family’s friendship with the royal family enabled us to drop their titles) and I were knights. Micah, who would do anything to play with the “big kids”, was our servant. It was near teatime and, having rescued many people from the clutches of dragons (who do not exist in Lyra), we were tired. David and I dismounted from our horses and ordered Micah to fix us dinner.
“Dere you go,” Micah handed us each an imaginary plate, “apple, tatoes, bed, an’ sausage.” I love sausage so I dug into my “feast”, but David had a mischievous glint in his eye. He took a big bite, chewed, swallowed, and grimaced.
“This tastes like slop!” Now, I knew that imaginary food doesn’t have a taste, and David had never tasted slop (at least I hope not), but I loved adventure and sensed some mischief.
“What should we do, Sir David?”
“He must be punished, Lady Gina. Let me think.”
“Why not tie…”
“I said let me think!” He proceeded to think, “I know! Let’s tie him up to a rock.” So having decided to use my idea, he got to work. I helped him, and soon our unfortunate servant was tied (with the sash from my dress) to a large rock (a bench in the royal garden). After instructing Micah to think about how naughty he had been and promising to release him if he was good, we mounted our royal horses and rode off to rescue more people.
We probably would have released Micah soon and he would have been spared from his painful sunburn and we would have been spared from our painful punishment if tea had not been announced just then. However it was and as soon as the gong rang out announcing tea, David and I forgot our play and hurried inside. We had been scolded just the day before for being late and didn’t want to go through another lecture. Upon entering the parlor our mothers confronted us.
“Gina, your hair is unbraided and your sash missing! What have you two been up to?” My mother rebraided my hair and straightened my dress. Meanwhile David was receiving similar treatment from his mother.
“David! You two must have been running. And you have a grass stain on your trousers. What have you been doing?”
“We were knights, mother, and I fell off my horse.” Queen Lucy just smiled at him and straightened his hair. Nothing was said about Micah because he ate in the nursery and then took a nap, so we forgot all about him. After tea, I had to go home, and David, deprived of his playmate, went into the library to read.
About two hours later, Joseph, one of the royal menservants, came running into the palace carrying Micah. He was red as a beet and limp as a dead flower. Queen Lucy shrieked at the sight of him. Joseph carried the poor child up to the nursery. The queen followed shaking her hands. After laying the poor child down, Joseph ran for the doctor. Suspecting that David had had something to do with the mischief, the queen called for her eldest child.
David had completely forgotten all about his brother and was completely absorbed in his book. His mother’s summons suddenly brought the memory back and he trembled with fear. He might be the crown prince, but Micah was Lucy’s baby. She loved him dearly and the two-year-old was rather spoiled, but not overly so. David knew that he would be punished, knew he deserved to be punished, but he rebelled against the idea.
A defiant young prince presented himself before his mother. She immediately sensed his mood and also knew that such a mood could only be brought on by guilt.
“David,” her tone was severe, and the good queen was rarely severe, “tell me, how did your brother come to be so sunburned? Joseph said the poor child was tied to a bench in the garden, crying.”
“I...I’m so…sorry mother.” All of David’s determination fled when he saw tears in her eyes. His beloved mother, how could he have hurt her?
Seeing the downtrodden look in her son’s eye, the queen softened. “Tell me all, my little son. I love you and don’t want you to keep secrets from me.”
Slowly David told his mother the tale. He didn’t once mention my name. Our mothers had taught us not to tell tales on each other and we did our best to comply with their wishes. However, Lucy had been informed that a silk sash had been the means by which Micah had been imprisoned to the bench. Looking David straight in the eye, she asked him if I was also involved. David was crestfallen.
“Oh mother. I didn’t want to tell a tale. But, Mother, it was all my idea. She helped me, but I came up with the idea to tie him.”
“Hush my little son. It was Gina’s sash and not you who told me of her involvement.” This greatly puzzled David.
“Gina’s sash can talk?”
The queen smiled. “No my dear. Joseph told me about the sash and I then concluded that Gina must have been involved.”
“Then Joseph told a tale on Gina.” David couldn’t understand how his favorite manservant could do such a thing. Lucy gave up trying to explain the circumstances to her son and instead sent him to his room. King Robert was away at the time and meanwhile she had to go see her dear friend Priscilla.
You see Priscilla had a daughter who was best friends with Lucy’s young sons. Upon hearing of her daughter’s involvement with the burning of Prince Micah she immediately unleashed punishment. It was decided by the mothers that the culprits would be kept away from each other for a month. This was a hard punishment to bear, but the month passed quickly enough and the children were soon playing together. Micah was sunburned more that summer, but it was never anyone’s fault again, it simply came from being out in the sun.
