Once upon a time, there was a very silly princess. Princess Mainsail was slightly overweight and winded from climbing up the parapet with Lord Grant. Below was the gate, her townspeople, and a small but noteworthy straggle of refugees. A swallow zipped by her head, or possible a bat, which startled her into looking up. She shielded her eyes for a moment from the light burning brightly from the watchtower. From the watchtower, Lord Grant told her to look north, as if that would explain why he had dragged her up here.
"The sunset, Lord Grant?" she asked, petulant, but trying to be polite. There was a pronounced burning glow.
"That is NORTH, My Lady," whispered the lady in waiting, Lady Grace. "The refugees are coming from Rocky Point."
"Oh yes," answered the Princess, "all those unfortunate people at the Horse Gate. I have been thinking about how to put them to work. One told me she is a smith. How useful!" The princess noticed for the first time a sword mounted on the wall, along with assorted other weapons.
"A blacksmith, My Lady?" said Lord Grant. "The smith would have stayed to defend Rocky Point."
"The daughter of the smith, then," the Princess conceded. "I'm sure our smith can find a use for her, though she is a timid little thing..."
"My Lady," interrupted Lord Grant, "Her city is burning, her family lost, and the enemy is four days' march from here. The training of future blacksmiths is not our first concern. We must shut the gate."
"Certainly not! Not in 30 years has it been shut. From my father's time we have been a free city, with an open gate." After a brief silence, she went on, "What exactly is it you do, Lord Grant? I see that you are a military man, though why we need so many weapons is hard to understand. Why can't we all get along?..."
Lady Grace apologized to Lord Grant, "I always told her to pay attention in council meetings, but she was always preoccupied with her dog, or her banker, or the new footstool she was having made."
"...This is a very fine horn," Princess Mainsail was still talking. She twirled the long, curved horn into the 'carry arms' position and straightened her shoulders. "I will go out to talk to them."
"Rocky Point is burning. They are not here to talk."
"Then you go out and fight."
"They have more troops and we have the advantage of a fine wall, except for one weakness."
"Which is?"
"The gate."
"Well then, shut the gate!"
"Yes, My Lady. If you would please, sound the horn...Not yet! Outside."
At the blast of the horn, Lady Grace saw clearly that the flying darts were swallows, and that their clay nests were built into the crevice between the doors of the gate and the surrounding wall. "My Lady, the swallow nests will be destroyed!"
Princess Mainsail, now that she had decided to shut the gate, forgot that she had ever opposed it. "Don't be sentimental. One of you will fly away homeless: you or the swallows. Lord Grant, in my experience, it is better to be prepared. When I go for a picnic, I check to make sure everything is working. The groom checks the carriages, the porter checks the baskets. We can't have the handle breaking after all. We can't have anyone being bitten by spiders, but that's just me."
"Very wise, thank you, My Lady."
Tomorrow: Princess Mainsail gives a very bad speech.
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