“I still can’t believe you didn’t know it was him! How oblivious can you be?” Isabelle said with amusement.

Markus had been reunited with Isabelle when the ball ended, and now the two of them were enjoying the hospitality of Isabelle’s friendly chef, whose work had also finished by now.

“It’s actually not unusual,” Alphonse, the chef, informed them. “There are many women who wouldn’t be able to identify the Second Prince, and a number who aren’t aware that we even have another prince. Getting the crown means you get all the glory. Although Prince Alexis doesn’t hold a grudge over it, and the pair of them are generally on very good terms.”

“My brother isn’t a woman, though, even in this get-up. I’d expect him to be a bit less clueless than those silly hopefuls.”

Alphonse had been surprisingly unperturbed by the revelation that Markus was not in fact a maiden. Isabelle was glad of this, particularly since it allowed her brother to rest there comfortably before they set off for home.

The next day, at around noon, the siblings gathered their things and dressed themselves for travelling. Markus borrowed some of Isabelle’s clothes, which were a little tight but were better than wearing the dress home. Then they thanked Alphonse, bade him farewell, and were on their way.

“I think I’m going to miss him,” Isabelle declared. “He was a nice man, and I wouldn’t have minded talking to him some more.”

“Well, you might see him again before long,” Markus replied, and told her about Alexis’ proposed ‘punishment’.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea! I’d love to work at the palace, and I know you’d love working in the gardens. What does it matter if it’s not what you were doing before? You still get to do some kind of gardening. Anyway, you might find you’re really good at trimming hedges.”

“But wouldn’t it be difficult moving all the way here? We’d have to sell the cottage and find a new house to live in, and we couldn’t take everything with us. Besides, the neighbours aren’t particularly friendly, but surely there must be some people you’d regret leaving behind?”

“We’d manage. There are a few people I can think of fondly, but no one I’d hate to say goodbye to. What about you? Is there anyone you’d miss?”

“Well… not particularly, I suppose. I like working for the Duke, and it’s nice chatting with the other gardeners, but it’s really the work itself I like most.”

“So there’s no problem, then, is there?”

And that was why, a few weeks later, Markus found himself back in the royal city, once again staying with chef Alphonse, steeling himself to ask at the palace for a job. It was Isabelle who had made everything happen. She had taken care of selling the house, she had bought a cart and loaded it with their most valued possessions, and she had convinced Alphonse to let them borrow his rooms while they searched for their own lodgings. Now it was his turn to get a job for himself, and with any luck, one for Isabelle too.

He wore the smartest clothes he owned, but he was still intimidated by the palace guards’ crisp uniforms and gleaming boots. He nervously made his request, and to his relief was soon allowed to enter. He was now walking after a young errand boy, who was also dressed smartly but was a little too enthusiastic to be scary like the guards. He hurried along cheerfully, and kept beaming at Markus whenever he turned around to make sure he was following.

The head topiarist was a well-built man of medium height with thick brown hair. He gave off the air of being strict but not unfriendly, and Markus liked him from the start. He found himself thinking that this was exactly the sort of man suited to keeping a garden in order. The man, who introduced himself as Robert, dismissed the errand boy and told Markus to explain who he was and why he was here.

“My name is Markus, sir, Markus with a ‘k’. Until recently I worked as a gardener for a duke. I am here to request a job as an apprentice topiarist. I promise to train hard and carry out any other duties I may be given. I’m afraid I haven’t done any topiary before, though… only weeding and sweeping and odd jobs for the other gardeners.”

Robert waited patiently, and when it was clear that Markus had no more to say, he asked, “So why come here? Why are you not still working for this duke?”

“My sister hopes to find work at the palace, so I moved here with her.”

“So, it wasn’t because you wanted to work in the palace gardens? Perhaps you thought it was better to work for a king than for a duke?”

“These gardens are beautiful, and I would be very happy to work here, but I would work for anyone if it allowed me to be a gardener of some kind. I am here because of my sister’s request.” This wasn’t exactly a lie, since it had been Isabelle who persuaded him to move to the royal city.

“Good answer. Now come with me.”

The head topiarist brought Markus to an area with many trees which were trimmed into shapes. Then he took him back to the hut where he had been questioned, and brought out a drawing. The sketch showed the trees he had just been shown.

“What do you make of this?” Robert asked.

Markus was unsure how to answer. “Well… it’s the trees you showed me earlier. But it’s not exactly the same, these two look a bit different,” he said, pointing.

“That is because they were not cut properly. This is not a drawing of those trees, it is a plan. It shows precisely how I wanted those trees to be trimmed. Could you follow a plan like this? Would you make sure that every twig was cut according to my wishes?”

“I suppose… since I’ve never done topiary before, it’s hard to say… I would try my best to be follow your instructions, but I don’t know if I would have the skills to do this.”

“An honest answer,” Robert remarked with approval. “These may be the royal gardens, but I do not expect perfection. I expect hard work and I expect my orders to be carried out to the best of your abilities. I will accept you as an apprentice. I’ll call that errand boy to fit you out with a uniform. Come back tomorrow, bright and early, and if you want, bring your sister. I’ll send her over to the palace and see if they have any work for her. You will learn to have the skills for this job, and if you turn out to be utterly useless, I’m sure I can always put you back to sweeping paths.”