There was a glimmer of hope in what she was saying, and I pounced on it with all fours.
“… Which brings us to the other reason we should call off the wedding,” I said grandly.
The Queen’s smile disappeared.
“What’s that?” she said sharply.
For my reply, I let drop my disguise spell.
“Because I’m not Royalty. I’m people.”
“Oh, that,” the Queen shrugged. “No problem. I knew that all along.”
“You did?” I gulped.
“Sure. You were embarrassed … twice. Once when I arrived at the palace, and again just now when I opened the door in my all-together. Royalty doesn’t embarrass. It’s in the blood. I knew all long you weren’t Rodrick. It’s my guess you’re the Great Skeeve, Court Magician. Right? The one who can shape change?”
“Well, it’s a disguise spell, not shape changing, but except for that, you’re right.”
Between Badaxe and Queen Hemlock, I was starting to wonder if anyone was really fooled by my disguise spells.
The Queen uncoiled from her seat and began pacing back and forth as she spoke, oblivious to her nakedness which peeked out of her wrap at each turn.
“The fact that you aren’t the king doesn’t change my situation, if anything it improves it. As long as you can keep your disguise up enough to fool the rabble, I’ll be marrying two power blocks instead of one.”
“Two power blocks,” I echoed hollowly.
“Yes. As the ‘king’ of Possiltum, you control the first block I was after: land and people. Impasse by itself isn’t large enough to wage an aggressive war, but uniteing the respective powers of the two kingdoms, we’re unstoppable. With your armies backed by my capital, I can sweep as far as I want, which is pretty far, let me tell you. There’s nothing like growing up in a valley where the only view is the other side of the valley to whet one’s appetite for new and unusual places.”