The Staircase Mystery
a Tiny Kingdom story about a birthday, a staircase and misplaced toys
The Black(ish) Prince turned twelve.
The Queen had kept his birthday small that year. Dingus had not seemed particularly interested in fuss lately, and she knew him well enough to leave the trumpets and royal parade for another occasion.
There was steak, of course.
Proper birthday steak, served on a porcelain plate and prepared exactly the way a twelve-year-old prince deserved. Before he began, the King and Queen knelt beside him, stroked his head and told him how much they loved him.
Dingus accepted the attention with the calm dignity of a prince who had already noticed there was steak waiting and saw no reason to delay matters any further.
Afterwards, while he was still enjoying the general benefits of being twelve, he looked towards the staircase and stopped.
Something was very wrong.
His toys were everywhere.
The llama was halfway up the stairs, the raccoon had been draped over the railing, and the long floppy one with the strange eyes was hanging in a position no respectable toy would ever have chosen for itself. Even the squirrel was there.
Dingus stared at the staircase for a moment, then looked at the Queen before turning his attention back to the scene.
The Queen knew that look.
“They needed washing,” she explained. “They’re drying.”
Dingus continued to study the evidence and was already making a mental note to count every single one of them later. Because, you never know.
The Queen smiled. Soon these toys might have to be shared with someone new. A little princess was expected in the Tiny Kingdom, although Dingus had no idea yet what that would mean.
For the moment, he was more concerned with the fact that the Queen had washed his entire collection and arranged it all over the staircase.
The Black(ish) Prince had questions.
He would save the interrogation for later. The Queen, after all, was not easily intimidated. She was his mother, and Donder’s too. Dingus knew better than to underestimate her.
He would start by counting the toys.
Followed, if necessary, by a formal complaint.