The Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall,
author
July 10
12:34 PM
What’s In
the Lacy Book?
“Why do
spiders serve as your guardians?” I asked Apple Blossom yesterday afternoon, as
the two of us sailed along the Bell’s Rush on a thick raft made from oak logs.
I wondered if the use of spiders, like the Jadeites’ written language, had
originated with the tree elves.
“Tales from
the first Jadeites say that humans fear spiders more than any other creature,”
Apple Blossom explained, “so the Jadeites formed an alliance with the spiders:
they could have undisturbed places to build their webs in exchange for keeping
humans away from the Jadeite Greenwoods.” She looked at me and asked, “Is it
true that humans fear spiders more than any other living thing?”
I chuckled
and answered, “Yes, for the most part.”
“Why?” she asked “Spiders are so much smaller
than humans, and so out of the way.”
“I can’t
answer that,” I said with a shrug. I always thought the fear of spiders was
irrational and ridiculous. Spiders do nothing except look cool and keep pests
out of the yard.
It would
have been very nice to be able to see
the banks of the Bell’s Rush
instead of row upon row of blue-clad civil soldiers—three in each row, standing
tall and grim-faced in perfect chain formations, watching us. It was part of
the “careful observation.” Apple Blossom had asked the queen if the two of us
could have a sail along the Bell’s Rush,
and the queen had sent for a squad of civil soldiers to keep an eye on us…or
rather, on me. We had to wait until they were all lined up before we could go.
It was still a lovely sail, and I enjoyed listening to the “tingle-tingle-ting”
of the Bell’s Rush. I
just wished I could’ve had a better view of the scenery around us.
Thinking of
the queen made me think of that lacy book in her office that I never got to
discover the use for. I wished I hadn’t thought of it, because now it was going
to bother me all day. “Apple Blossom,” I whispered, “do you know about that
book sitting on your mother’s desk in the office with all the roses and lacy
things?”
Apple
Blossom nodded. “I know which book you’re talking about, but I don’t know
what’s written in it.”
“Oh,” I
said. “I was just curious about what it might be used for. But you don’t know.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
Apple Blossom
looked at me, and her face held an impish grin. “We can see what’s in it,” she
said. “Remember, I know where the key is kept.”
I shook my
head. “That’s not a good idea, Apple Blossom. It’s not for us to read, and I
need to stay out of trouble.”
“We won’t
get in trouble,” said Apple Blossom. “I know how to keep from getting caught.”
“You got
caught last time,” I reminded her.
“That was
because I hid! I won’t hide this time.”
“Still…”
“We’ll just
look at one page,” she said. “Just one page, and then we’ll get out! I can tell
you what the page says.”
I wasn’t
curious enough about the book to get into trouble over it, and I was on thin
enough ice just for being a human. Apple Blossom is a princess, but she is a
child and I’m an adult, and because of that I hold a certain amount of dominion
over her. “We’re not going to do it, Apple Blossom,” I said as sternly as I
could, “and that is the end of that.”
“Okay, we won’t do it,” said Apple Blossom,
playfully rolling her eyes.
“Thank
you.”
She gave me
that impish grin again and said, “But I will do it myself!”
This was
certainly not a better option. Since she was with me, I would likely be blamed
for her mischief if she was caught. “That’s not what I meant, Apple Blossom,” I
said firmly. “I meant that neither of
us is going to do it.”
“You won’t
get in trouble if it’s only me.” Apple Blossom steered the raft towards the
shore.
“Oh, I have
a feeling that I will.”
“You won’t,” she assured me, patting my knee. “If
I do get caught, I’ll be sure that Mother knows it was all my idea. But I don’t
think I’ll get caught. I really do know how to go in and out without anybody
seeing.” She stepped off of the raft and approached a line of three soldiers,
nodding to them in a respectful manner. “Our sail is over for the time being,”
she told them. “I thank you very much for taking the time to ensure that Aidyn
and I had a safe sail.” She had gone from mischievous little kid to well-spoken
regal princess without a second thought. The soldiers nodded their heads to her
and moved aside to let us pass through. “Thank you,” I said, polite to the end
despite my unease. I caught up to Apple Blossom and grabbed her by the hand.
“Let’s not
do this, Apple Blossom,” I said. “It’s really not all that important for us to
know what’s in that book.”
“I need to know!” said Apple Blossom.
“You’ve got me curious, and it’s going to be on my mind forever unless I find
out!”
“It won’t
be forever,” I assured her.
“What if
it’s about me?” she asked.
“Your
mother would never write anything bad about you!”
“I don’t
mean anything bad. I mean anything at
all about me!”
There was
no stopping the irrepressible little imp. I let go of her hand with a sigh.
“Promise me you won’t get into any trouble over this,” I said, though I knew
that if she was caught she’d be in trouble anyway—and so would I. Still, Apple
Blossom said, “I promise, Aidyn.” She sounded so solemn that I wanted to trust
her, but I knew that children’s promises usually amounted to nothing, even when
they were solemn.
When we
reached the palace, Apple Blossom told me to wait in the garden.
“I don’t
think so,” I said. “I’m going to wait by the door, so if I have to cover for
you, I will.”
“You would
really do that?” Apple Blossom’s eyes widened. “You could get into even more
trouble than I could! Isn’t that what you were afraid of?”
“Now I
don’t mind it so much,” I said. Suddenly, I’d rather have had the queen, king,
and whoever else be cross with me than with her. She was my friend, and nobody
wants to see their friend get into disgrace, no matter the age difference.
Still, I was quick to remind her, “We can still forget this and go back to our nice
sail.”
Apple
Blossom shook her head. “Please run into the garden if anyone comes by,” she
pleaded.
“I’ll try.”
Silently,
Apple Blossom scampered off around the side of the palace. I held my position,
and when I saw two men dressed in red—palace guards—approaching, I continued to
hold my position despite Apple Blossom’s plea. I looked far less suspicious now
than I would have looked if I had just run off into the garden. “Good
afternoon,” I said, nodding to the two men.
“Good
afternoon,” replied one of the guards. “Where is the princess? Wasn’t she with
you?”
“She was,”
I replied, “but she wanted to show me something from her room, so she’s gone to
get it.” I wasn’t sure how deep within the palace Apple Blossom’s room was, but
I figured that this would leave enough space for her to attempt her little
stealth trick. Sure enough, the guards departed without another word, and I
heard the big front doors swing open. Apple Blossom returned, smiling and
proudly holding up the key.
“You’d
better make this very quick, Apple Blossom,” I warned. “And leave everything
exactly the way it was when you went in!”
“I will,”
said Apple Blossom, and she unlocked the office and went inside. I kept an eye
out for guards and passerbys, but the garden was calm and empty today—a sharp
contrast to the day of the party. I felt a pang of guilt for allowing Apple
Blossom to do something that was obviously forbidden, and I promised myself
that I wouldn’t let it happen again.
I
heard the door creak open, and Apple Blossom peered up at me, her expressive
eyes asking if it was safe to come out. I looked around to see if the coast was
clear, then nodded when I saw that it was. Apple Blossom crept out of the
office, locked the door behind her, and gave me a push. “Run to the garden!”
she cried. “Hurry!”
We
scrambled for the garden and took cover in the spot that the party table had
once occupied. We sat down in a soft patch of grass, and Apple Blossom hid the
key in her shoe. Immediately, I felt the need to lay down the law: “Apple
Blossom, this is the first and last time
I am letting you do something like this. From now on, if I see that you have to
sneak to do something, then that shows me that you shouldn’t be doing it in the
first place, and it will not be
allowed! I am not covering for you anymore the way I did today, and if you do
something like this again I’m afraid that I will have to tell your mother.” I
expected her to argue or protest, but she just shrugged her shoulders and said,
“Okay, I understand.”
“So
what was written in the book?” I asked, now more curious than ever—I wanted to
know exactly what it was that had nearly caused so much trouble!
Apple
Blossom hugged herself and burst into loud and sudden laughter.
“Hey,
what’s so funny?” I asked. “Come on. Tell me what you found in the book.”
She
shook with laughter for a few moments more before she said, “It was nothing!
Oh, Aidyn, we went through all that trouble for nothing! It was only a court record book!”
“A
court record book?”
“It’s
just a record of the citizens she sees when she holds court, and what their
problems are and how they were solved. It’s nothing that concerns us!”
I
would’ve liked to see that court record book. I would’ve liked to know what
kinds of things Jadeites brought before their monarchs. But I knew to leave
well enough alone. “That isn’t ‘nothing.’ It’s very important,” I told her.
“You will be queen someday, and then you’ll have to hold court. Don’t you think
you ought to start taking it seriously?”
Apple
Blossom shook her head. “Court is boring. I shall let my husband hold court
when I’m queen.”
I
chuckled at that. For a moment I wondered what kind of monarch Apple Blossom would
turn out to be. I had a strong feeling that the negative reception of humans
would diminish under her reign. She was already working on that.