Sleeping Beauty's Daughters Read Free Page B

down for a time. Children, come to my room after you have met the tutor. I will tell you the rest then.” She left the conservatory, moving slowly, just as one of the footmen entered.
    “Your Majesty,” he said, “Master Julien is here.”
    Luna was on her feet immediately, but I barely heard the footman’s words.
    “Aurora!” Luna pulled at my arm. “It’s the tutor—our new tutor. Come on!”
    I shook my head hard to clear it of Mama’s strange, terrible story. Yes, our tutor—I remembered now. We had been waiting for him to arrive for days. This would be our fifth—or was it our sixth? We always looked forward to getting to know them, for they were new faces to us, and we rarely met anyone new. But though they came forewarned of our isolated location, each soon decided that teaching rhetoric and Latin to two girls on a remote cliff top far from the nearest town was not to his liking. Our last tutor had left months before. I continued studying on my own, but Luna could not be forced to her books.
    We started out of the conservatory. I was slow, still lost in my thoughts, so Luna darted ahead.
    “Luna!” Papa called. “Give the tutor a chance to settle in before you begin to torment him!”
    She laughed and sped away.
    Servants were already unstrapping a great leather trunk from the back of the tutor’s carriage when we entered the courtyard, and as I watched, the carriage door opened and a man stepped out. He was disheveled, his clothing wrinkled from travel. He had reddish curls under his floppy velvet cap and a rather long, hooked nose.
    Luna stepped in front of him and waited for him to bow, but he only pulled off his cap and nodded his head, as he would to any ordinary female. She bristled, and I could see that she was offended. For all her talk, she liked to be treated as royalty.
    “I am the princess Luna,” she said in her most imperious voice, and held out her hand to be kissed. Appalled at her rudeness, I started to speak, but Papa shook his head to stop me.
    The tutor stepped forward, took Luna’s hand in his, and shook it, saying, “And I am Master Julien, your new tutor.”
    Luna glowered. “Show me some respect, sir. I am a princess!”
    He smiled then, and his face became a little more handsome. “Well, I am your elder, Your Highness, and your superior in learning. If you weigh these advantages against your rank, are we not equals, more or less?”
    This was so outrageous that it was intriguing. I had to hide a smile as I watched Luna trying to decide what he meant and whether she should be insulted. Then Papa came forward, and Master Julien did sweep him a low bow—naturally, for Papa was king.
    “Welcome to Castle Armelle, Master Julien!” Papa said. “We are very glad to have you here at last. The girls badly need improvement.” This last, with a smile, was directed at Luna. She scowled when Master Julien laughed.
    “I will do my very best, Your Majesty,” he replied.
    “Princess Luna has introduced herself,” Papa went on, “and this is my elder daughter, Princess Aurora.”
    I nodded my head, and the tutor did the same, saying, “Delighted, Your Highness.” Luna snorted. Obviously, this greeting didn’t meet with her approval either.
    “The queen is indisposed and will meet you at dinner,” Papa told him. “We have given you a room on the family’s floor, with a view of the sea. Shall I show you there?”
    Now I was surprised. Why would a mere tutor be given a room on our floor, and not with the servants?
    “Girls,” Papa said, “go up to your mother. I will join you there shortly.”
    Luna began to protest, but I took her arm and pulled her back into the castle. “I want to talk to the tutor!” she cried.
    “Don’t you want to hear the rest of the story?” I asked as we mounted the stairs.
    “What else is there? Mama slept, Papa woke her, and here we are.”
    “I think there is more,” I said.
    We knocked gently on Mama’s door, and at her soft “Come