Lawrence Watt-Evans and Esther Friesner. Split Heirs . The Hydrangean king has been beheaded by the barbaric Gorgoreans, and his over-genteel court has been overthrown. The daughter of the old king has married the new king and given birth to triplets. Since myth has it that triplets indicate three fathers, the Queen has to send two of her children into hiding.
Problem is, the maid takes both the boys, leaving the daughter by mistake.
So the queen has to raise the daughter as a prince, hoping to find the boys before it becomes too obvious that she is not a he. Farcical, fast-paced and funny. It makes a wonderful read-aloud. God has decided to destroy the world. They take a nuclear power plant, in which a scientist is experimenting with strange matter, hostage, and the world would indeed end if Ananayel along the way had not discovered that there are some definite pleasures involved in being human.