Neil came in and stood politely at the door until he was acknowledged, which was obviously behavior he was putting on only for the sake of his Majesty, since normally he would have just come in and taken a chair if he needed Alberic's attention.

Alberic looked at his valet and silently raised an eyebrow. The King turned to see who was in the doorway, and called Neil in with a hearty welcome, offering him a seat. Neil declined and replied quietly, “Your Highness, one of the seekers you sent out has returned with some small amount of news. You did ask to be notified immediately…” Then Neil raised an eyebrow back at Alberic to inform him that there was more, but that he wasn’t sure he should say so in front of the King.

The Prince raised a silent wish to the heavens that the news was something actually useful, and stood to make his excuse to his father. King Algernon wasn’t going to let him off so easily though.

“What are you seeking? Looking for something, huh? Well, it can’t be a bride, you already have one of those!” The King laughed at his own joke.

Alberic thought fast. “Flowers. The gardeners said that it is too early to have all the flowers we want for the wedding, so I sent some people out to see if anyone has any they would sell us. That’s all.”

“Ah yes,” his father nodded. “Ladies are always weird about having the wedding perfect. Well, good luck to you. It still won’t be enough, I bet you. Nothing would be. Well, I‘ll leave you to it.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Alberic nodded and smiled at his father, and Neil stood respectfully out of the way to let the man out of the office. He was going to enter himself when Alberic caught his arm and dragged him down the hallway himself, down a servant’s stair and out a side door into the courtyard.

“Where are we going?” Neil asked.

“Somewhere no one is going to eavesdrop. And somewhere I can get fresh air at the same time. And somewhere I can scream out loud if this news is really no news at all.” Alberic let go of Neil and sat himself down on a stone bench at the edge of the garden.

“It’s not all the news you want. I did say, “A small amount of news.” I meant it. But it’s the best we have.”

Alberic sighed. “Neil, thank you for taking on this mystery in addition to dealing with me losing my mind. I do appreciate it. All right, I’m ready. Give me the news.” He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and steeled himself for another annoyance.

“Squire Eadis has seen a witch living in his forest, who seems to fit the description of the one we are looking for. I left a couple of men to go with him, to politely ask her if she will help us,” Neil told him.

“Oh!” Alberic opened his eyes and looked at Neil. “That is better than I expected! Do you think it’s her?”

The valet shrugged. “I have no idea. But maybe another witch would do as well.”

“Do you expect her to come?” The Prince almost dared feel a glimmer of hope.

Neil frowned. “Honestly? No. If it’s the same witch, she seemed concerned with “the rules.” I think she’s going to make you come to her. But hopefully the reports of the men we sent will help you with that, to know what to take with you.”

Alberic sighed. “I hope we don’t have to take all three of the ladies there. Four, if you count Tam. I really just want the dratted bush negated and the women back to normal.” Alberic jumped up and started to pace. “Oh, blast! I can’t go off visiting witches all the way out on the edge of the kingdom, I have a wedding in less than a week! I have no time!”

Neil leaned against the garden wall. “You could wait until after the wedding, if you can keep it from getting worse,” he suggested

“I…” Alberic considered, then shook his head. “I can’t let Tamlin go on like this. I can’t keep her asleep and locked in her room right through the wedding. Even if it wasn’t hurting her, I could never get away with it. My parents would catch on eventually, I’m sure. But how can I leave with all this going on?”

The valet reassured him, “Don’t worry yet, Sir. We haven’t even heard from Eadis. It might not be a witch at all. She might give the solution to the men I sent. She might be willing to come to you. Don’t jump to the worst possible conclusion before we know anything.”

Alberic sighed. “Did Kerin tell you I tend to do that?”

“No, of course not.” Neil smirked. “I noticed you do that all on my own.”

***

The witch really was a witch according to the messenger from Eadis, but she wouldn’t come to see the rose bush. Alberic sighed. It was what he had expected, but he still wasn’t happy about it. “Did she seem like she might help if I go to her, at least? Was she sympathetic or completely hostile?”

“Uhhh...” The guard who had carried the message looked nervous, being questioned by the Prince. “She was, I dunno, sorta in between? Rolf, who was the Squire’s man, he said she probably was lookin’ for payment of some kind. She gave us cookies, but just said Tsk Tsk a lot when we told her you had a spell you didn’t like.”

Neil and Alberic glanced at each other. They’d asked everything they could think of from the messenger, and probably had all of the information he had. The Prince nodded, and allowed the man to leave.

“It’s hard to say if it’s the same witch. Witches around here all tend to be of a type.” Without the King present, Neil took a seat next to Alberic and relaxed somewhat.

“I’m going to have to go myself, aren’t I? It’s my spell. The witch picked it out for me, so it’s my problem. But I can’t exactly take the whole bush! And what kind of excuse can I come up with for leaving just before my wedding, which guests arriving every day? Kerin’s family is due in only two more days, I can’t be gone when they arrive!” Alberic looked thoughtfully out the window for a moment. “Can I?”

“No, you can’t,” Neil answered. Alberic sighed. Neil went on, “May I make a suggestion?”

“Of course.”

“Tell Kerin, ask her advice,” was the valet’s reply.

Alberic found a small smile for the first time that day. “Great idea. Help me find her.”