'But you can't put the old king back on the throne,' said Magrat. 'Ghosts can't rule. You'd never get the crown to stay on. It'd drop through.'
'We're going to replace him with his son,' said Granny. 'Proper succession.'
'Oh, we've been through all that,' said Nanny, dismissively. 'In about fifteen years' time, perhaps, but—'
'Tonight,' said Granny.
'A child on the throne? He wouldn't last five minutes.'
'Not a child,' said Granny quietly. 'A grown man. Remember Aliss Demurrage?'
There was silence. Then Nanny Ogg sat back.
'Bloody hell,' she whispered. 'You ain't going to try that, are you?'
'I mean to have a go.'
'Bloody hell,' said Nanny again, very quietly, and added. 'You've been thinking about this, have you?'
'Yes.'
'See here, Esme. I mean, Black Aliss was one of the best. I mean, you're very good at, well, headology and thinking and that. I mean, Black Aliss, well, she just upped and went at it.'
'You saying I couldn't do it, are you?'
'Excuse me,' said Magrat.
'No. No. Of course not,' said Nanny, ignoring her.
'Right.'
'Only . . . well, she was a, you know, a hoyden of witches, like the king said.'
'Doyenne,' said Granny, who had looked it up. 'Not hoyden.'
'Excuse me,' said Magrat, louder this time. 'Who was Black Aliss? And,' she added quickly, 'none of this exchanging meaningful glances and talking over my head. There's three witches in this coven, remember?'
'She was before your time,' said Nanny Ogg. 'Before mine, really. She lived over Skunid way. Very powerful witch.'
'If you listen to rumour,' said Granny.
'She turned a pumpkin into a royal coach once,' said Nanny.
'Showy,' said Granny Weatherwax. 'That's no help to anyone, turning up at a ball smelling like a pie. And that business with the glass slipper. Dangerous, to my mind.'
'But the biggest thing she ever did,' said Nanny, ignoring the interruption, 'was to send a whole palace to sleep for a hundred years until. . .' She hesitated. 'Can't remember. Was there rose bushes involved, or was it spinning wheels in that one? I think some princess had to finger . . . no, there was a prince. That was it.'
'Finger a prince?' said Magrat, uneasily.
'No . . .he had to kiss her. Very romantic, Black Aliss was. There was always a bit of romance in her spells. She liked nothing better than Girl meets Frog.'
'Why did they call her Black Aliss?'
'Fingernails,' said Granny.
'And teeth,' said Nanny Ogg. 'She had a sweet tooth. Lived in a real gingerbread cottage. Couple of kids shoved her in her own oven at the end. Shocking.'
'And you're going to send the castle to sleep?' said Magrat.