//------------------------------// // "And also that bumbling idiot of a prince!", she muttered. // Story: The life of an odd Prince // by Lucen Aurora //------------------------------// "And also that bumbling idiot of a prince!", she muttered. By Lucen Aurora Lady Bluecoat stood nervously in a large, garishly decorated waiting room, a huge gilded door of highly polished wood in front of her. She shifted nervously from side to side and wondered, not for the last time, where the Prince had teleported the princess off to. She had raced back to Blueblood manor right after the disastrous fashion show to let the elder Blueblood know what had happened. Bluecoat knew full well that she was going to catch holy hell from Lady Blueblood for the youngers revelation; she had been tasked to follow the younger and make sure no such thing happened. More than that she worried for her brother. After they had lost track of Synthect outside the restaurant, Princess Blueblood senior had been raving furious. They had planned to snatch Synthect that afternoon and drag her before the meeting of lords and ladies that very evening. Her brothers suggestion that Prince Lucen might have had something to do with Synthect's disappearance had only made Princess Blueblood Senior more angry; she seemed to think they should have santched the changeling right from under the Princes' nose. It hadn't helped that the elder Bluebloods spy network couldn't find any trace of her. And then there was the document drop. The Princess Blueblood the younger had failed to get the red book from the drawing room. It had cost Lady Blueblood a small fortune to procure that book listing every single changeling and who they where pretending to be. When she had finally been able to go back for it later and bring it to her mother, the book she had brought back was totally empty. Princess Blueblood senior thought their contacts had cheated her, and had raged for several days about what she would do to the traitors when she finally got ahold of them. Nopony had the nerve to suggest to the Princess that Prince Lucen might have had something to do with it, so sure was she that he was simply too incompetent to manage even getting dressed, let alone foil her plans. The sound of a formal voice jolted Bluecoat back to the present. "Miss Bluecoat, the Princess will see you know." a well dressed unicorn herald intoned in his snooty voice. "Ah, yes, thank you Reeds," she replied in her most formal manner. Steeling herself for the conversation to come, Bluecoat held her head up, smoothed back her mane with her magic and trotted into the room beyond. It was a magnificently appointed room with soaring polished wood columns going up to a high ceiling. Bookcases of precious wood and ivory full of books lined the walls. A huge fireplace of marble with the House of Blue family heraldry carved into it had a roaring fire fire going despite it being the middle of the summer. Silk Drapes were drawn closed over tall windows she couldn't see and all around her where uncomfortably overstuffed and gilded chairs, couches, and other assorted furniture where arranged in cozy clusters. Off in a far and dark corner, away from the fire was the Princess, surrounded by several silver maned unicorn stallions, bent over some rolls of parchment. They where talking in hushed whispers with Princess Blueblood. Lady Bluecoat took a deep breath and tiptoed quietly over to where they where talking. The elderly Unicorns looked up at her, clearly annoyed at being bothered. Princess Blueblood was the last to look up, her gaze lingering on Lady Bluecoat for several moments before she spoke. "The Herald said it was urgent, Bluecoat, for your sake I hope it was," she said haughtily, her upper lip curling into a sneer. Lady Bluecoat bowed deeply on her front hooves, "It concerns your daughter, your Majesty," "And where is my little idiot," the Elder mare replied with a scowl. Lady Bluecoat stood up from her bow, turning her head slightly to look at the assembled lords, but saying nothing. "You are all dismissed," the Princess said, waving her hoof imperiously. "Your Highness, far be it from me to...," an old unicorn with a long purple mustache began. "Then don't Mesmerizer, you have been dismissed, begone with you," the Princess replied tartly, scowling at him. Grumbling, the unicorns picked up their various effects and left the room in a huff. When the last of them had left the room and the door was closed, the Princess turned on Bluecoat and with a scowl as cold as ice, stared at the younger mare. "Well?" the Princess demanded. "It's your daughter, your majesty, she," Bluecoat paused and though hard about what she would say next, "There was an incident at the Fashion Show." "Oh? Did the little trollop burn it down? Spend a second fortune buying all those hideous dresses? What! Spit it out!" the Princess demanded. "Well, the target showed up for the fashion show, despite everything that happened," Bluecoat began. "And you two let her get away, did you?" snarled the Princess, getting to her hooves and pacing towards a nearby minibar where she poured herself something amber into a large, bulbous glass. "I'm afraid Prince Lucen intervened, and teleported away with the Changeling, but not before teleporting the princess to some unknown location," Bluecoat replied meekly. The Princess turned about, and fixed Bluecoat with a withering look. "And why, would that little buffoon of a prince do that," she asked coldly then took a long swig of her glass. "Princess Blueblood the younger, ah, lost her temper and revealed the the target for a changeling," Bluecoat blurted out. The Princess' eyes narrowed, and she seemed to swell in size; Bluecoat backed away. "Oh, is that all? And I suppose," the Princess began, her voice low and cold a, "That the prince knew that the target was a changeling?" "Ah, yes, he said as much," Bluecoat replied, her ears back as she hurriedly backed up, bumping into a nearby chair. "What kind of fool do you take me for, Bluecoat? Worried about your brother, I imagine, weak, useless thing that he is," the Princess sneered. "H-he said so, in front of a whole crowd, y-you can verify..." Bluecoat started to stammer. "Oh, I WILL," sneered the Princess, "And I will find out if you are telling the truth, not that it matters." Princess Blueblood was nearly on top of the terrified mare, so close that Bluecoat could feel the Princess's breath on her face. The Princess's lips curled into a long, evil looking smile; Bluecoats eyes became very wide. She crumpled back, her face going ashen, and slid down the couch to the floor where she lay gasping and twitching for several minutes while the Princess stood over her, her face contorted with evil glee. The smell of Urine and Feces filled the room, and the Princess started to turn away only pausing long enough to spit on Bluecoats still form. "That brother of yours is next," she murmured, "And that fool daughter of mine as well."