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  Smiling at her, I nodded to ask “ready for the next one?” She nodded back, a confident yes. I motioned for the other ladies to join us on stage. I introduced each one, motioning to Genevieve at the harpsichord in the back next to Fleur, Louise sitting on a chair to the right of me with her bongos, Chantal standing next to her with the shaker, and finally Nicole standing to my left holding her lute and handing me mine. I nodded to each one as I introduced them. I knew they were ready. I took another deep breath and let it out. We began our next song.

  This one started again with Fleur, and Chantal on her cool makeshift bongo. I watched the audience as their faces lit with wonder. Then I came in with the vocals. A classic Ingrid Michaelson song, “The Way I Am”. Another love song. I probably didn’t want to think about that too closely. I sang the first two lines, and then the girls came in on the chorus with harmony and hand claps to add to the bongo and bass. Nicole started strumming her lute and took up the next verse. Genevieve came in on the chorus with the harpsichord and we sang in harmony again like the first time. I loved looking out at the audience to see them clap with us, swaying in their seats. Sixteenth century or not, this was awesome.

  Nicole sang the last verse. I added my lute and some harmonizing. I was looking around at the faces of my girls. They were enjoying themselves. My heart soared; so far, so good. I did have to change a few words in the last verse since I was fairly certain there was no such thing as Rogaine for hair loss in this century. Then we finished it off, everyone singing in harmony and repeating the chorus twice just for fun.

  This ending was met again with booming applause, this time with stamping feet to add to the mix. I motioned to each of my ladies and they each took a bow separately. Then we bowed as one. I stepped forward and introduced our last piece as the girls put all our instruments off to the side, except for Genevieve who stayed at the harpsichord.

  “Our last piece this evening is a little less traditional,” I announced, trying not to laugh at this huge understatement. “We hope you enjoy it.”

  I looked around and saw that my ladies had taken their places on their marks. I looked at each of them and felt my pride swell for how they’d done so far. They were pros! Only I could see the slight shaking of their hands. Yet they were smiling too and I could tell they were proud of themselves as well.

  I looked to Genevieve who nodded that she was ready. The rest of us stood in a straight line, arms to our sides, heads down. I took my deep breath, let it out, and sang out the first note long and let my voice rise. Taking it word by word, I sang the next one, and the girls joined me singing the word slowly and in harmony, while taking their steps back, and raising our right hands out toward the audience bringing them back to our sides and dropping our eyes back to the stage. Little by little we sang the first sentence, or question really, from the famous Queen song, “Somebody to Love.” I smiled in anticipation when we sang that last word in unison. Immediately, Genevieve came in on the harpsichord. The girls tapped their right heels to the beat while I began singing the first verse in earnest. Nicole came forward to sing the next line while I swirled to the back. Chantal, Louise and Fleur all sang full harmonizing backup vocals. When Nicole finished her lines, she joined me in the back, and we stepped forward together as we sang, the others circling around us to the back again. I loved this song so much, and in my head, I could see the Glee kids on stage doing their cover of the iconic classic. We weren’t exactly Glee, but we tried our best.

  The girls kept up the rhythm, moving shoulders back and forth to the beat, spinning, their backs to the audience, and then forward again, all the while singing their parts. Nicole and I took turns singing the verses, while weaving in between the others. I couldn’t believe how natural their moves looked, even though to them, doing anything like this was completely new and foreign. I couldn’t keep from smiling. Then we were once again standing in a line across the stage, tapping our right heels in time and chanting about finding someone, anyone to love.

  Each time we repeated the words we switched places on the stage: the two in the middle moved back and walked to each of the ends, then the next two stepped back and moved to the sides, until we were back in our original formation with me in the middle of the stage. The two on my right sang. Then the two on my left answered. We all sang the last lines together. We held out the last note in unison. Finally, everyone stopped while I belted in my best Freddie Mercury imitation the line that gave the song its title.

  This brought the audience to their feet as the girls came back in with backups, keeping up the foot tap rhythm. Genevieve left the piano then and joined us up front too, singing along, repeating the line over and over. Nicole and I had fun and ad-libbed above their chorus.

  We smiled at each other and at the audience. I noticed they were mimicking the foot tap we’d been doing while clapping their hands in time. Even the king and queen were on their feet. I saw Leonardo smiling proudly like a loving grandfather. He was the only one who knew without a doubt that he was getting another glimpse into the future. When I saw Charles my heart soared. His eyes caught mine, and I saw him place a hand over his own heart.

  I grabbed Nicole and Fleur’s hands. They grabbed Chantal, Louise, and Genevieve’s next to them. And together we sang the last line. We raised our connected hands together while singing the last line one more time and holding onto that last note. “Loooooooove.”

  The room absolutely exploded with applause, hoots, and whistles. There was banging on tables and chairs banging on the floor.

  We lowered our hands and bowed together a few times. Before I knew it, the girls had their arms around me and we were in a jubilant group hug. They were jumping up and down, so excited at what they had accomplished. I hugged them back and looked at their faces. Fleur teared up she was so happy. People crowded us on stage, caught up in the excitement, congratulating each one of us. The crowds parted and the Royal family made their way to our makeshift stage. The King waved his arms about to silence the crowd. When they stood in front of us, we bowed to them until the king told us to rise. He came up to me first, took my right hand and placed a kiss on the top of it.

  “M’moiselle Blanchet, that,” he declared “...was the most rousing performance I have seen in my lifetime! We are very fortunate, very fortunate indeed. You do this court a great honor!” Everyone clapped again at his statement.

  “Thank you, your Majesty,” I curtsied as the noise died down. “I believe I could not have achieved such a feat as this without this group of the most talented ladies-in-waiting I have ever met.” Then I bowed toward the queen. “Your Majesty, the queen, has certainly been blessed with the finest women in France to wait on her.” She came forward to address them.

  “Ladies,” she began, “I have never been more proud. I was unaware of the wonderful talents you had hidden inside. I beg your forgiveness for that.” Fleur could hold back no longer and stepped forward to throw her arms around the queen.

  “Oh thank you, your Majesty!” she exclaimed as tears ran down her happy face. The Queen was surprised at first, but then she too smiled. She hugged each girl in turn and praised their different talents. Lastly, she stopped at me.

  “Isabelle.” She dropped the more formal title, which alone was an honor. She cupped my cheek with her hand as she looked into my face. “The King is right. You do us much honor!” She enfolded me into her arms. It was like getting a hug from my own mom. It was wonderful.

  The prince stepped forward and congratulated each one of us in turn, much more formally.

  At that time, the king cleared his throat to capture the focus of the entire assemblage. “Attention everyone, I have an announcement to make,” he proclaimed.

  I thought, oh right, the big surprise. I glanced at Charles in time to see him tense up. He kept his face blank, though clearly prepared himself for the worst.

  “Many of you know that news of our court musician has spread far and wide. Some of you”–he paused and gestured to the newer families he’d p
ointed out at dinner–“have already come to hear for yourselves. Right now, as we speak, there are many more en route to our Loire Valley. For we have issued invitations to all our neighboring realms to join us for an end-of-summer celebration!” Everyone clapped at this announcement and exclaimed joy at the prospect. But the king wasn’t finished. “There will be all the usual festivities. Games of sport, jousting and hunting.” More applause. “Of course, ladies, there will be,” he looked around the room at this, “...dancing at night.” They laughed and clapped at his audacity.

  I thought, well the king is one to feed off an audience himself. He sure knew how to keep everyone in rapt attention.

  “And,”–he paused again, looking around the room to make sure he still had everyone’s attention–“I am happy to announce that the court from Spain has accepted our invitation to join the festivities! Perhaps,” he wiggled his eyebrows at Charles, “we might even announce another betrothal, eh Charles?”

  Oh, boy. I could see the barely contained anger in the way Charles clenched his jaw. His whole body tensed, but he bowed slightly in his Father’s direction, while everyone continued to clap enthusiastically. Well, perhaps the ladies in the room clapped a bit less enthusiastically than the others.

  The King raised his arms again to quiet them down so he could make one more announcement. I felt like adding, “but wait, there’s more,” like those irritating infomercials.

  “I have one more announcement of something that has never before been done in this Kingdom. For the first time ever, thanks to our very own M’moiselle Blanchet, there will be a competition of entertainments!” He swept his arm toward us on the stage and smiled at me.

  A what? Competition? For...me, us? What in the world?

  “Musicians from near and far are traveling now to our court to compete with our very own M’moiselle Blanchet and her newly accomplished ladies! Wait...There is more…”

  Seriously? This was an infomercial.

  “There will be grand prizes! Including land and a title, jewels, of course…” People applauded. “...Also,...because we have heard that the princess of Spain has quite the musical talent herself and would like to be part of the competition, the queen and I have decided,” he paused, taking her hand, “that the winner of this competition will also have the chance to win...the prince’s hand in marriage!” He swept a hand toward Charles once again. The room absolutely erupted in applause for the millionth time that evening, masking the very audible gasp that escaped my own lips.

  I looked at the girls around me in shock and saw the same expression on their faces. I looked at Nicole. She gave me a wide-eyed shrug. It was news to her too, then. And poor Charles, well, he looked as if he might be sick. He turned on his heel and left the room.

  The King took my hand and pulled me near him. “Let’s give the princess of Spain a run for it, shall we?” he whispered so only I could hear.

  Shocked, I felt like I’d just been chosen for some weird “Bachelor” version of the “Hunger Games” and the king had wished the odds be ever in my favor.

  Chapter 16

  “I can’t believe they would offer their own son as a prize!” I finally voiced my outrage as I paced back and forth in da Vinci’s garden. “Like he’s a, like he’s a...oh I don’t know, prized racehorse or something. It’s barbaric!” I threw my hands up in frustration. “And I was just starting to like the king and queen.” I bemoaned, disappointed.

  I flopped down in a chair. Well, flopped the best I could in a stupid dress and corset. I was frustrated and angry. To be honest,...at the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat...I just wanted to go HOME! I was tired of this century; tired of the weird customs and playing with people’s lives as if it were a game; tired of dead rodents and bloody threatening notes, of which I’d received another the night of our grand performance. Thank you very much for the stiff ugly toad with the bulging eyes whoever you are! I reached down and unlaced my shoes and ripped off my stockings. I was tired of those too.

  “I’m sorry, Leo.” I looked at my dear friend, who, as always, had that serene look on his face and empathy in his eyes. “I didn’t mean to take it out on you.” I stood up and walked back to the grass, eager to feel its soft plush earthiness between my toes. It seemed to help. A little.

  “Oh my dear, do not worry yourself. I suspected you might have a word or two to say after that evening,” he replied.

  Sighhh. I walked around the grass, letting it calm me. I’d been dying to get away from the castle and talk with Leonardo. He was the only one I could truly be myself in front of. And as much as I loved my new friends, I was tired of talking to them about the whole matter. Nicole was ecstatic. She kept telling me I was going to win. Little did she know how hopeless this whole thing was.

  “Even if I win, it would never work,” I continued my diatribe. “Technically, I’m not even alive yet. And to my knowledge, there has never been a queen in France called Isabelle.” If only I could look that up to double-check. Maybe it was best I couldn’t.

  “Not to mention I need to get back, Leo,” I sighed. “But how can I? How can I leave him here? To this!” I felt the squeeze in my heart, the one I felt whenever I thought of actually leaving Charles here. As much as I loved my parents and Anne, and as much as I thought I once loved Zeke, I realized what I felt for Charles was different. It was so much more than I had ever felt before. It was thrilling, and scary and, ugh frustrating, but wonderful all at the same time. If that even made sense. I mean, it didn’t even make sense to me most of the time.

  I sank to the ground, lay back in the cool grass with arms outstretched, and closedg my eyes to the warm sun on my face.

  “Who do you plan on leaving?” asked a familiar voice that made my heart skip. I opened my eyes and saw an upside-down Charles staring down at me. Oops, how long had he been around? How much did he hear?

  “Hello, Charles,” I blinked, smiling up at him. “Would you like to join me?” I asked, patting the ground by my side.

  “Leonardo,” Charles called out, “this seems a scandalous scene, does it not? A shoeless, stockingless Mademoiselle lying in your garden?” Leonardo laughed in return.

  “I seem to bring out the very best of them, your Highness,” he retorted.

  “It’s hardly scandalous,” I protested. “He’s an artist. Can’t you see he’s busily sketching me?”

  In truth, he’d been sketching some other ideas I’d discussed with him earlier. Like a water bottle. How dearly would I love a water bottle! No one drank water in this century. No wonder they suffered from so many odd ailments. All they drank was watered-down wine and ale. I had also been telling him about solar power, and how we might somehow harness the power of the sun to charge my phone. He’d made some wire to connect to the battery and had tried using the fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, they didn’t work. Or if they did, it wasn’t enough.

  I felt sure that he’d quickly cover his real work if I suggested he’d been sketching me instead.

  “I’d very much like to see those sketches when they’re finished,” Charles told Leonardo. He sat beside me on the grass, pulled my head into his lap, brushed my hair back, and picked the odd blade of grass from it. I closed my eyes again. It felt wonderful.

  “Now who’s being scandalous?” I mumbled I felt him chuckle.

  “So then,” he asked, “again, who are you going to leave?”

  I let out a long sigh.“No one. That is, not at the moment,” I hedged. Because I would leave. I’d have to, right?

  “You would leave me?” he asked incredulously. “In the evil hands of the Princess of Spain?”

  “Hmph,” I answered, “Genevieve was bad enough.” I opened my eyes then and looked up into his face. Oh how I was starting to really, really love that face. “Charles, what are we going to do? Are the king and queen serious about this?”

  “I believe they are.”

  “Ugh! How can you be so calm!” I sat up, no longer able to relax. I pulled my legs up and
hugged my knees tightly. He pulled me back toward him, tugged me into his lap, placed my head against his chest under his chin, and put his arms around me. It felt so good to be held close by him, so perfectly normal. I placed my hand on his chest, and felt his heart beating with mine.

  After we’d sat for a moment, he asserted, “It’s simple. You are going to win.” I slid my hand up to his face to feel the roughness of the stubble on his jaw and tip his face down until our eyes met. I could see resolution in his. I knew mine were filled with doubt.

  “What if I don’t?” I whispered. Although something inside me still screamed, what if I do! How in the world did I get myself into this impossible situation? When the time came, would I really be able to leave him behind? Slowly, hand behind my head, he pulled my face up to meet his.

  “You will,” he whispered back as his lips met mine in an achingly sweet kiss.

  Man, oh, man I’m in big trouble. I thought right before my mind went blissfully blank and I had no thoughts at all.

  “Ahem,” came a voice behind us. “If I may make a suggestion?” Leonardo said, his voice dripping with amusement. Oops, guess we kinda forgot he was there.

  “Oh hey, Leo!” I acknowledged, looking over my shoulder after reluctantly pulling away. I felt, rather than heard, Charles chuckle again.

  “Do forgive me, Leonardo. I tend to lose my impeccable manners around this one,” he nodded toward me still in his arms. I swatted him as I struggled to get up and straighten myself out.

  “Quite,” agreed Leonardo.

  “You had a suggestion to make?” Charles asked.

  He hesitated briefly and looked at me as I braided my hair back out of my face. “Well, it seems to me that what you need is something that none of the other groups have access to. Something that could give, oh, how do you say…,” he paused, twirling his hand up in the air, “Ah, the element of surprise.”