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“But how do they work?” Prince Alfred of Spades demanded as he examined the silver watches in the velvet-lined display case. Covered with diamonds and lapis lazuli, each was a piece of beauty, though none actually told the time. These were no ordinary devices. These were soul mate clocks, designed to chime and glow when the owner met his or her soul mate. They were devilishly tricky to make and priceless beyond compare. And Alfred wasn’t going to leave until someone explained it to him.
“Magic,” the clockmaker’s apprentice, a young man only a few years older than Alfred, replied.
“Okay, but how does the magic work?” Alfred pressed. “What if two soul mates meet as babies? How does the clock know that they’re meant to be together when they can’t even talk? What if their personalities change?”
“I’m not sure,” the young man admitted, his green eyes flashing with a hint of interest. “We don’t sell the clocks to anyone younger than 18.”
Jack of Spades interrupted with a long-suffering sigh. “Was there something you wanted, Alfred?”
“Yup! One of those,” the prince said, pointing to the soul mate clocks.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Yao asked, in a tone of voice that indicated that it was not a good idea. “You will likely have to make a political marriage; I doubt your soul mate will be the chosen bride.”
“I know that.” Alfred laughed. “I still want one. And I want to see it made, so I know exactly how it works,” he added enthusiastically.
Over the next few months, the prince visited often to watch his clock’s construction. To his surprise, it was the clockmaker’s apprentice, Arthur, who did most of the work. The young man patiently explained the mechanical process to Alfred, though he was still unable or unwilling to describe the magical secret that made the clocks work. But Alfred didn’t mind. He discovered that he liked spending time with Arthur, and he grew curious about the other young man.
“Artie, how come you don’t have a clock?” he asked one day as leaned onto the work table with his chin in his hands. He had an excellent view of his clock and he watched as Arthur carefully attached a row of diamonds to the spade-shaped rim of the prince’s soul mate clock.
“Because I can sell it to a young lord for enough money to feed my family for a year,” Arthur replied, keeping his gaze fixed on the clock.
“Sure, but wouldn’t it be worth more to know who your soul mate is?”
Arthur shrugged. “It’s not as romantic as you think,” he said softly as he continued his delicate work. “With a clock, soul mates meet as strangers, but feel that they need to act immediately like lovers. They never really get the chance to fall in love.”
“Is that the real reason you don’t have a clock?” Alfred asked, and he grinned when Arthur blushed in reply.
The weeks passed too quickly, but for all his impatience, Alfred didn’t complain when it seemed that his clock was taking longer to assemble than strictly necessary. Instead, he spent more time watching Arthur put the finishing touches on the spade-shaped watch.
“I almost want to break it with a hammer,” Alfred said, feeling oddly annoyed as he watched Arthur attach a delicate silver chain to the nearly completed watch.
“What?” The apprentice nearly dropped his work. “Why?”
“So I can watch you make another.”
“Oh.” Arthur looked up at him with startled green eyes, and at that moment Alfred realized that he didn’t really need the clock after all. Arthur must have realized it too, because he smiled back. “Tempting, but you really shouldn’t.”
The clock was saved by the arrival of the clockmaker, who insisted on giving it the final polish. Though the clockmaker would take the credit, Alfred knew that Arthur was the one who had poured his soul into the watch, turning it into an exquisite masterwork. Anyone who looked at it could see it had been crafted with love.
On the day the clockmaker presented the prince’s watch at the castle, the King and Queen held a grand reception. Many nobles gathered in the throne room, undoubtedly hoping to hear the clock’s chime up close and personal. Alfred knew they were bound to be disappointed. He gazed at the clock with genuine admiration as he lifted it out of its felt-lined box. Although he gave his compliments to the clockmaker, he made sure to catch Arthur’s eyes as he spoke so the apprentice would know that the compliments were meant for him. Arthur returned his gaze with an unreadable look and seemed as tense as everyone else in the crowded room when Alfred finally reached for the mechanism to wind up the clock.
The room held its breath, waiting to see if the clock would chime. But Alfred pulled back his hand at the last moment and turned instead to beseech his parents. “If my soul mate is in this room, can I let the clock choose who I wed?”
The King and Queen shared a glance, but relented after one look at the eager and noble crowd.
Alfred wound the clock and, as he suspected it would, it immediately began to chime with soft magical notes. The Prince walked along the edge of the room, allowing each person to touch the clock. The crowd watched with bated breath, waiting for the glow that would signal a match.
Person by person, Alfred spiraled inward, leaving dozens of disappointed young men and women in his wake. He could feel the tension building and he felt butterflies flutter in his stomach when his spiral reached the center. There was only one person left. Alfred held out the clock to Arthur, who hesitantly touched it, creating a warm glow that filled the room.
Alfred smiled. “You were right, Arthur. It was better to fall in love first.”
With a joyful laugh, Arthur leapt into Alfred’s arms and kissed him soundly.
And they lived happily ever after.