and ran down his chin.
âReally, James!â scolded Queen Charlotte. âYour table manners are atrocious!â
âSorry, Mother,â James apologized. But as soon as she looked away, he grinned at Edward.
Tansy glared at them. They âalong with her other four brothersâmight turn out to be a worse embarrassment than the castle!
âAnything interesting in the news today, dear?â Queen Charlotte asked, sipping her tea.
King Albert frowned. âThere was a fire in the Three Foxes Tavern last night. And two sheep have gone missing from one of the villagersâ fields.â
Edward stabbed at the air with his fork. âThe ogre set that fire! And heâs responsible for the missing sheep, too. Everybody says so.â
âThatâs right,â James mumbled through a mouthful of food.
King Albert raised an eyebrow. âJust because everybody says something doesnât make it true. There are other explanations for fires and missing sheep.â
Queen Charlotte nodded. âCarelessmistakes and wolves, for example.â She rose from her chair. âPlease excuse me,â she said. âI need to wake the other boys.â
Tansy stayed at the table, listening eagerly. The ogre was camped halfway up Mount Majesta. He had first appeared in the kingdom eight years ago, when Tansy was only a baby.
âSomeone saw the ogre set the fire,â Edward insisted. âSaid he came down in the middle of the night and hurled a burning log through a window.â
âPeople see all sorts of things when they want to,â King Albert replied. âDid anyone find the ogreâs footprints near the tavern?â
Edward wiped his hand across his mouth. âDonât know. I didnât hear anything about that.â
âMaybe he erased them,â said James.
The King snorted. âRumors,â he said. âAllrumors. Anything bad that happens, people blame it on the ogreâeven failed crops and plagues. Yet thereâs not a shred of proof heâs ventured into town even once.â
âStill,â Edward said, âthe kingdom would be a lot better off with the ogre gone.â
Edward was right, thought Tansy. No matter what the ogre had or hadnât done, people were frightened of him. And because of that, many townsfolkâincluding several of her familyâs former servantsâhad moved away to other kingdoms. With fewer and fewer people to work and pay taxes, the kingdom had become poorer and poorer.
âSo how would you get the ogre to leave?â King Albert asked with a sigh.
Tansy thought that was a good question. Anyone who had ever tried to approach the ogre was turned into stone. This hadhappened to some hotheaded young man every year for the past eight years. Eight granite statues now circled the well in the meadow where the ogre lived.
Edward stroked his straggly beard. âIâm not sure, but James and I will find a way to drive him off.â He made a tight fist. âAnd if the ogre refuses to go, weâll kill him.â
James grinned at his brother. âYeah.â
King Albert shook his head. âAnd what makes you think you wouldnât end up as blocks of granite too?â
âWeâre stronger and smarter than those other men,â said Edward, flexing his muscles. âRight, James?â
âRight. And if we donât succeed, you can always use us to mend the castle walls.â
âNot funny,â King Albert said. âYouâre talking foolishness. Leave the ogre alone, andheâll leave us alone.â
âYou donât know that,â argued Edward. âEven if the ogre didnât do any of those things heâs been accused of, he could still strike at any time!â
âI absolutely forbid the two of you to go anywhere near that ogre,â King Albert said firmly. âUnderstand?â
Nodding sullenly, Edward stood to leave. James scrambled up from the