Dominic stood staring at the prince’s crown which was glittering in the candlelight, as it sat on the workbench before him. “Okay,” he said, bending down so he was eye level with it. “I think I’m about ready to call you finished.” Joy welled up inside him. Crafting the crown had been the hardest thing that he had ever undertaken. He smiled. “Yes, you’re perfect… almost.” He picked it up and began to polish it, one last time.
Jess walked in. “You finished it. Let me see!” She rushed over, her gown billowing as she moved.
He handed it to her, his nerves fluttering. Jess was the first person to see the finished crown he had lovingly and painstakingly created.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
Relief washed over Dominic and he let out the breath he’d been holding in.
Jess’s smile slowly vanished to be replaced with shock and confusion.
“What is it?” he asked, going over to stand by her, taking the crown. “Did I do something wrong?” He turned it, looking for any imperfections. He couldn’t see any.
She shook her head and said, “You did something extraordinarily right. Something no one has been able to do since Agnus the blacksmith.” She took the crown back from him. “You’ve created a true and honest king’s crown.”
Dominic laughed. “It is not a king’s crown. Those things are impossible to make.”
“I’m telling you, this is…” she began.
“It can’t be,” he said. “Okay, so I used the design from the last great king’s crown as inspiration for this,” he waved to it, “but there’s no way I succeeded where every other person since then and now have failed! For one thing I didn’t even use my magic to create it.”
“Who says you need to? The power of the king’s crown comes from the land, not the person creating it,” said Jess.
“If I had created a kings crown there would be a magical display unlike any other lighting the night sky.” He grabbed the corner of the curtains he’d drawn earlier and pulled them. “Does it look like there’s a magical light display going on out there?” he pointed out the window without taking his eyes off Jess.
Magic began to stream in through the window and dance about the room. Jess’s eyes widened, and she nodded.
Dominic slowly turned to stare outside. Waves of magic danced around the street. The whole night sky was lit up with a mass of colour and power.
He gulped. It wasn’t possible.
“Now do you believe me?” she asked.
“Nope,” he said, slamming the curtains closed. He moved backwards away from them. “It’s just a coincidence. It has to be.”
The curtains burst open and magic began to pour into the room. It streamed in and headed for the crown.
Dominic jumped out of its way. The raw power coming off it was immense. It made the hairs on his arm stand on end. “That still doesn’t prove anything,” he said. “It could just be…a really, really powerful regular prince’s crown.”
The magic settled into the crown becoming a part of it. The king’s seal appeared on the wall of the workshop. It made its way to the crown and formed a magical symbol on one of the gems adorning it.
“Okay,” said Dominic. “Okay. You’re right. It is a king’s crown. I made a king’s crown.” He burst out laughing.
“How?” Jess asked, examining the crown that lay on the worktop.
“I have no idea,” he said. Magic fluttered across the crown illuminating the room in warm, regal power.