Flash Fiction #584 -- Buffy the Princess/1

 Although she didn't say so aloud, Serena agreed with Buffy, her cat familiar, that they should have taken a flying carpet to the capital rather than her father's pirate ship.  Serena had never realized how boring life could be on a boat or how long a journey could take. Serena's mother, who was determined that Buffy would know every nuance of court etiquette and every tedious detail of history, only made it worse.

"Today we start the reign of King Mushrin the twenty-third --"

"Not another one!" Buffy hissed.  She leaped from the bed to the table, her tail fluffed and her ears back.  "Do these mushrooms have no imagination?"

"Mushrins," she corrected with a frown. "Be polite.  They were the longest run in kings any land has ever seen, with sixty-seven generations --"

"No!" Buffy yelled and fell over on her back, all four legs kicking in the air.  "No, it is not possible!  We aren't even halfway through them!"

"Do you know why they survived so long?" Mom asked.

I nodded.  "They were so damned boring that no one cared."

"Serena!  Such language!"

"But it is the truth," Serena continued.  Boredom always drove her to insanity.  "I can tell you 23's life.  He was born in the castle, married whom he was told to marry, let the council rule, and had five to ten baby Mushrins.  He died in his bed.  Twenty-four took over."

Mother frowned and scanned a few pages.  And then a few more. The frown grew.   She finally closed the book with a snap, startling Buffy into a jump -- but she did not unfold her wings.

Mother had warned them about the problem. That didn't stop her from repeating it.

"The King is more than a little paranoid.  He could easily decide that a cat with wings must be a spy.  Especially one who can talk. He won't much like wings on you, either, Serena."

That had been the most straightforward warning Mom had given them. This was serious.  

"The hiding spell is in place," Serena replied, far more serious now.  "Neither of us has flown since we stepped on the ship."

That hadn't been easy for either of them.  Serena suspected Buffy slipped out at night a flew for a while, but she didn't say so.  Buffy looked incredibly innocent right then, a sure sign she was up to something.

Mom stared at the cat but said nothing, either.

"No one is really going to quiz me on this stuff, are they?" Serena asked with a tap on the book.

"The king won't, but your cousins will be a problem. They'll do their best to make you look like a fool."

"Cousins?  I have cousins?"

"Several, but you only need to worry about the five girls who live at court.  They do not like anyone to draw attention away from them.  You are a threat.  Not only are you pretty -- no, you are -- but you are smarter than them.  And you know magic.  They know it.  What magic they know is child's play."

"Why have you never told us about this?"

"First, I wanted your father there.  That proved more difficult than we expected.  But mostly, you had to grow up first.  I can only imagine the havoc you and Buffy would have caused just two years ago.  I trust you now."

Serena threw herself into her mother's embrace.  She didn't feel grown up and wasn't sure she wanted to be, but it still felt good to have her mother say so.

Even Buffy pressed herself into the embrace.

And then the door opened.  All three of them gave a startled yelp.

Dad had put one foot inside the room.  He leaped backward and must have hit something. He didn't yelp, he cursed.  Then he dared the door again and peeked in.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Fine," Mom replied with a wave of her hand.  We were all back in our places now.  "Tell me that we don't scare you."

"Fear the three of you in one room? Terrified."

Mom laughed.  Serena wasn't so confident that he joked.

The two of them went off to tour the deck arm-in-arm.  She thought it sweet, even if she couldn't yet call that man Father.

She and Buffy went back to studying the book.  They stumbled across the appendix and much more exciting material about battles and scandals.

Not to mention assassinations and secret societies.

"Not such a boring place after all," Buffy said.  "But I can't say I like it better.  Serena, I think we're in for some trouble."

"I am starting to think 'died in bed' is a euphemism for 'someone made it past the guards,'" Serena added.

"Maybe we should make our own accommodations."

"Or at least not both sleep at the same time."

Buffy made a sound of indignation.  "I'm a cat.  I sleep.  I can't imagine you'll stay awake fifteen hours or more to keep me safe."

"I would try."

That softened Buffy's mood, and they both decided to nap while they still could.  It was pleasant to curl up on the bunk and escape from tales of Mushrins and others.  Serena had never realized ruling could be so dull.

They both slept for now.  Serena kept seeing assassins in her nightmares, many looking like Mushrooms with swords and knives.

It was not a restful sleep.  She finally got back up and stood by the porthole.  Buffy sat up suddenly, looked around until she found Serena, and then went back to sleep.

After a little while, Serena went back to bed as well. It was time to rest while she could.  Despite what they thought about the upcoming visit being boring, she knew how fast that could change.

At least the nightmares disappeared for a while, although Buffy snarled and hissed in her sleep.  She didn't even complain when Serena woke her up.

Then, they both slept for a while.

And things changed.