Richard would not give up. So much was at stake, but nothing had worked. Not the soap, not the lotion, not the Vaseline. The ring was still stuck. He was running out of ideas.
And time.
It was almost two o’clock in the morning. He had kept his mother and the entire palace in the dark about Christina and the ring, but he could not keep it hidden forever. Come morning, the dawn would bring the truth about the ring and who wore it to light.
If the citizens thought the “magic” of the ring had selected Christina to be his bride and Richard married her, they would cling to their silly customs and traditions even more. The legend would seal not only his fate, but that of San Montico. With archaic ideas such as legends and fairy tales still part of everyday life, San Montico would never have tr
