It was the oft-repeated request that Royce Wardell could not refuse. Indeed, it was difficult to refuse his five-year-old daughter�his princess�anything. Victoria was the voice of reason where Kate was concerned.
He took the child in his lap. She smelled of soap and talcum and wore a pink flannel nightdress that contrasted sharply with her curly auburn hair. �What would Papa�s princess like to hear about tonight?�
Kate put her small dimpled hands flat against his waistcoat. �About dragons and castles, if you please, Papa.�
�Mother won�t like it if you dream of dragons and wake in the night.�
�Make it a good dragon then. A dragon that likes little girls.�
�Well, then, let�s see.� He pretended to think.
�Hurry, Papa!� Kate wiggled as she anticipated the wonderful tale to come.
Royce smiled at the excitement dancing in her sea foam-green eyes. �All right, then, let�s begin.�
She laid her head back against his arm and waited.
Once upon a time, in a magical land far away, lived a beautiful little girl named Princess Kate.
�That�s me!�
Princess Kate lived in an enormous castle in the Emerald Green Hills, and every morning when she awoke, she looked out of the high window and saw the flowers blooming in the meadows and on the hillside.
�Blue flowers?�
There were flowers of all different colors, but the blue ones, which were Princess Kate�s favorites, grew very close to the castle almost up to the drawbridge, and she liked to pick them. . .
�For her mother the queen, because she was so wonderful!�
For her mother the queen, the most wonderful mother in the whole world.
The queen would smile and kiss her daughter and then hurry to arrange the beautiful blue flowers in bejeweled vases all over the castle.
�They were magic flowers that never died like the ones Silas has to throw out.�
And because these flowers were magical flowers, they lived forever, and one day the queen found she didn�t have anymore vases to put them in! What was she to do?
�What was she to do?� echoed Kate, shaking her head.
So early one morning, Princess Kate set out to find more vases for her mother to put flowers in. She walked and walked and grew very tired. At last she sat down to rest beneath a tall oak tree. It was shady and cool there, and she fell asleep.
Kate yawned and snuggled closer to her father.
When she woke, the first thing she saw was an enormous green dragon just sitting there looking at her.
�Was he breathing fire, Papa?�
He was smiling, and he said, �Princess Kate, you�re a long way from the castle,� and she said, �I�m looking for more vases for my mother the queen to put her magic blue flowers in. And then the dragon smiled even more and said, �I know where there is an endless supply of beautiful pots and vases. Just hop on my back, and I�ll take you there.�
�A dragon ride!�
So Princess Kate climbed onto the dragon�s back. �My name is Lancelot,� the dragon said.
�Like King Arthur�s best knight!�
�Hold on tight, and we�re off.� And with that, he sprang into the air and began to fly. They flew and they flew far beyond the emerald green hills until they came to a very poor place with no trees or flowers, only barren land and caves.�
�Oh, did Lancelot take her to the right place?� Kate lifted her head to gaze at her father in consternation.
And just when the princess was sure that they�d come to the wrong place, someone appeared from the largest cave�a man carrying a magnificent jeweled vase!
�A handsome man? A king?�
Royce chuckled to himself. The princess thought he was the handsomest man she had ever seen. �Is he a king?� she asked Lancelot, but Lancelot shook his head sadly. �No, he lives here all alone. He has no queen and no little princess. All day he makes beautiful things, but he has no one to give them to.�
�Oh, the poor man!�
Lancelot turned his huge scaly head to look at the princess riding on his back. �Do you want to ask him for a vase?�And Princess Kate, who had the tenderest of hearts, cried, �Oh, I want to ask him to come home with me! He can live in the castle with my mother and me and make vases for all the flowers that I pick!�
Kate sat up straight. �And did he, Papa? Did the poor man go home with the princess?�
Royce patted her and drew her head back to his shoulder. When Princess Kate suggested to the man that he come home with her, he agreed immediately. He climbed onto Lancelot�s back, and away they flew, straight back to the castle. Now the queen, who was all alone, too�except for the little princess, of course�was very glad to see the handsome man, and soon they fell in love and got married.
Kate sighed contentedly. �And they lived happily ever after.�
And the three of them lived happily ever after. The man made even more beautiful vases then, and the princess picked even more flowers, and the queen loved seeing the castle become a lovely blue home.
�Oh, Papa, you tell the very best stories! I do love them!�
Royce rose with the child in his arms and carried her to the bed. �Goodnight, precious Kate.� He tucked the covers around her and kissed each soft rosy cheek and then her forehead. �You are loved.�
Outside the barely-open door, Nick Barkley swiped his sleeve across his eyes. �Nick, what are you doing?� His mother came up the stairs and paused on the landing.
He whirled, embarrassed. �I�ah�I was just on my way to bed.�
�That�s Kate�s room.�
�Yeah�uh�well�Royce was telling her a story, ya see, and. . .�
�And you decided to listen. Aren�t you a little old for bedtime stories?�
He grinned. �Not the happily-ever-after kind.�
�Yes, we all wish for those, don�t we?�
Nick reached out and pulled his mother into his arms. �Mother, I. . .�
She patted his face. �I understand, Nick.�
�He�s a good man.�
�Yes.�
�And the two of you needed KatieBee. We all did. I don�t know what we�d do without her.�
�She�s our joy.�
�So it�s happily ever after�after all.� He squeezed her gently.
�Yes, it is, Nick.� She looked up at him through narrowed eyes. �Shall I come and tuck you in, Nicholas? Tell you a story perhaps?�
His brows lowered. �Goodnight, Mother!�
Victoria watched him stalk down the hall, a powerful giant of a man beneath whose broad chest beat a heart every bit as tender as that of his tiny sister.
�Goodnight, Nick,� she murmured. �Goodnight, my son.�