They were taken to the drawing room, and at sight of her father and
mother Princess Helda burst into tears and rushed towards them. It was
a touching scene.
Words could not express the gratitude of their majesties to King Daimur
and Prince Redmond for their deliverance, both of whom they remembered,
for having then been the stones that formed the window sill and the
door sill respectively they had heard every word that was said, and had
witnessed the escape from the island.
Helda's father was very anxious to have them stay and pay him a visit,
even if only for a few days, but Daimur, who wanted to restore Queen
Amy to her throne at once, declined, saying, however, that he had a
proposal to make before leaving.
He then asked the King of Oaklands to bestow on Prince Redmond the hand
of his daughter Helda, declaring that it was to Prince Redmond that
they owed the breaking of the enchantment, and not to himself.
This the King was very willing to do, and Prince Redmond's joy was
unbounded, for with no fortune and no throne to offer her he would
never have dared to ask the Princess to marry him, and they would both
have been very unhappy to the end of their lives.
It was arranged that the wedding should take place as soon as the
Princess could get her trousseau made, and as Prince Redmond had
decided to accept the King's invitation and stay for a few days' visit
Daimur and Queen Amy said good-bye and prepared to depart, but not
before they had been presented with two beautiful armchairs, each
carved from a single piece of oak, which the King of Oaklands prized
very much. Even Lady Clara Rosered, who had accompanied Princess
Helda, was not forgotten, but received a handsome lace shawl.
Their voyage back to the Island of Roses was rather slow, owing to the
poor wind, but it was very quiet and restful, and they arrived to find
a large crowd gathered on the dock to meet them, all very anxious to
see whether Queen Amy was aboard.
In an open space surrounded by some of the Royal Guard, who stood on
either side making a long avenue right down to the edge of the quay,
sat the Duchess of Rose Petals in the state carriage.
When Queen Amy appeared on the deck, looking a little pale, but
otherwise as well as ever, loud shouts went up and flowers were flung
at her feet as she walked up the avenue made by the Guards, King Daimur
walking at her side.
"Long live our Queen. Long live noble King Daimur," resounded on every
side, while rockets were sent into the air and all the bells in the
kingdom were rung.
A great procession of carriages followed the Queen to the palace, where
the Duchess had arranged a luncheon and a splendid reception, at which
Daimur received nearly as much attention as Queen Amy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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