The usurping King and Queen were seen off at the station by the Princess, and parted from her with real affection. You see they weren’t completely wicked in their hearts, but they had never had time to think before. And being kept awake at night forced them to think. [p121 And the ‘voice of conscience’ gave them something to think about.
They gave the Princess the receipted bills, with which most of the palace was papered, in return for board and lodging.
When they were gone a telegram was sent off.
Ozymandias Rex, Esq.,
Chatsworth,
Delamere Road,
Tooting,
England.
Please come home at once. Palace vacant. Tenants have left.—Ozyliza P.
And they came immediately.
When they arrived the Princess told them the whole story, and they kissed and praised her, and called her their deliverer and the saviour of her country.
‘I haven’t done anything,’ she said. ‘It was Erinaceus who did everything, and….’
‘But the fairies said,’ interrupted the King, who was never clever at the best of times, ‘that you couldn’t get the kingdom back till you had a thousand spears devoted to you, to you alone.’
‘There are a thousand spears in my back,’ said a little sharp voice, ‘and they are all devoted to the Princess and to her alone.’