The Princesses frowned disapprovingly. Prince Gerin whirled away and dashed for the door. “I cannot eat now!” he called. “I must find Toli!” He was gone before his mother could protest

“Breakfast is an unwanted intrusion today,” said Quentin. “Besides, there will be time enough and food enough for eating at the field. If any go away hungry this day, it is their own fault and no one else’s.”

Bria sighed and herded the girls before her, and they went down to eat a hasty meal before departing for the hunt.

For many days the castle had been bustling with activity. There was food and drink to organize, folded pavilions to haul from storage, and the field to prepare. Minstrels and circus performers, some with trained dogs and bears, had begun arriving in the town. Merchants readied wares which they would offer to the crowds; food vendors prepared their special delicacies.

Toli and Prince Gerin had arranged their surprise in their own way, practicing the more difficult jumps time and again. The Prince had, after many painful tumbles, learned to jump with ease, handling his horse with an expert hand at last.

“Very good! Excellent!” called Toli that final day. “You are ready for the hunt, young master. I have taught you all I can!”

“Do you really think so, Toli?”

Toli nodded solemnly. “A finer rider in this realm would be difficult to find. You are ready. Just remember everything we have practiced and you will ride with the best.”

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

“Father will be so surprised!” the Prince shouted. “You will not tell him-”

“Never fear-I want him to be surprised, too.”

Those last days had been hard ones for the Prince, trying desperately to keep his secret. It burned inside him, threatening to leap to his tongue each time he opened his mouth. But somehow he had managed; the secret was safe.