The Quest for the Perfect Day (Part II)

Dedication: To poor Baby Smithereens, who after Part I was posted had to wait so long to hear the end of the tale.

So, there was Princess Emily, wondering if she would ever get in, wondering if she would ever find Princesses Marcy and Becky, wondering if The Perfect Day could be had. The Perfect Day was not to be eluded, however. Princess Marcy's own steed Jeep came bounding around the corner hot on Prius's tail to save the day. The darling fairy at the next gate did not pose impossible questions, very kindly telling Princess Emily that although, it was true, there was no room on castle grounds for anymore steeds, room could be found right outside the gates for tethering Prius. Princesses Marcy and Becky followed Princess Emily out, so she could dismount Prius and let them bring her safely back through the gates.

And then, The Perfect Day showed up in all its glory (obviously a much easier thing to find than a Perfect Husband). The Barnes Castle proved itself to be filled with Renoirs, one of Princess Emily's favorite (sad to say, she is not very original when it comes to art appreciation) and with many, many other dazzling works of art. Princess Emily discovered quite a few pieces of furniture that would look excellent in Princess Marcy's castle, but pillaging, they decided, is something best left up to knights.

Soon, it was time to leave Barnes Castle for the midday meal. Afterwards, Princess Marcy and Princess Becky had decided they'd mix with some commoners in Philadelphia's marketplace. Princess Emily, as we all know, does not frequent marketplaces often, but she will go anywhere when in the company of these two particularly charming princesses. What a relief it was not to have any other royalty around to tell them that it was not proper to mix with the common folk, as if they had not heard that a thousand times. These three are not real big on propriety.

Princesses Marcy and Becky are far more adept, of course, at navigating marketplaces, and they knew all the names above the stalls, many of which were completely unfamiliar to Princess Emily. Nevertheless, this was The Perfect Day (to prove it, the sun was shining brightly, and the princesses had been able to leave heavy cloaks and woolen capes at their inn just before happening upon some of the best pizza Princess Emily could remember having eaten in a long time). Because it was the The Perfect Day, Princess Emily was going to find herself enjoying the marketplace immensely. Every stall seemed to beckon to her with just the right article of clothing/book/delicious bar of soap.

She found a new dress. She found a wonderful hat. She walked into a store where a man complimented her on the dress she had chosen to wear specifically for this quest, which made her feel wonderful. And then she found The Perfect Boots, the sort of boots she'd been wanting for ages, and the operator of the market stall that sold them had marked them way down, especially for this day. The rest of the Royal Palace of Lancaster might be shocked to discover that she had bought clothing and shoes off the common street, but let them be (Princess Emily specializes in shocking the Royal Palace). By the end of the day, Princess Emily actually ended up with more wares than either Princess Becky or Princess Marcy. However, Princess Marcy was very brave and allowed someone other than her own Lady in Waiting to make up her face for her.

It was, by then, the cocktail hour. The princesses headed back to their inn for some drink specialties -- the sorts of things never drunk by knights, only by princesses. And then they were off for one more cocktail and a fabulous meal, mingling, yet again, with the common folk. Poor Princess Becky, worn out from all her travels, then had to get to bed, and The Perfect Day (alas!) drew to a close with Princesses Marcy and Emily chatting away until they could no longer keep their eyes open.

As the three princesses mounted their steeds the following day, after a proper diner breakfast, they were already making plans for the next big adventure. They are confident that many, many more Perfect Days are to be had. Princess Emily has heard rumors that one might even be hiding out in the Kingdom of Lancaster. The other two will soon come down to her castle to help her find it (but where will Princess Emily hide the Imperfect Husband while they are visiting?).