ON THE DAY OF THE double betrothal, Issa woke feeling muzzy-headed and languorous. It was still dark outside her window, but she could hear movement in the outer chambers. She wished for silence to calm herself, then pushed aside the bedcovers and stood to face the day. In addition to her own servants, King Haikor had sent six maids to help her, and they chattered incessantly through the morning.
Even with the additional maids, it took three hours until she was fully dressed. The shimmering green gown she wore was made from yards of silk, adorned with seed pearls and precious gems. Her slippers were crusted with matching jewels and were tight around her toes. Her shoulders ached from the weight of the gown, and her neck and head were sore from the ministrations to her hair.
She had seen the end result in the mirror, the way her hair had been teased high above her head, with little ringlets all around her neck and flowers tucked into a wreath that looked almost alive. It could have been alive in truth, if she were allowed to use her neweyr, but on today of all days she did not dare to flout the king’s orders. She would have felt steadier if there had been anything that felt familiar about the day’s routine, but it seemed as if she had entered another realm, even more different than when she had first come to the palace in Rurik.
When she stepped out of her rooms, Issa found two guards waiting for her. They helped her climb the steps to the ramparts so that she could look out onto the city.
King Haikor had commanded that all the shops in the city be closed for the day. Issa could smell food being cooked in the palace kitchens, to be passed out to the thousands who lined the streets, which were covered with flowers. Issa felt a pang of guilt at the sight, knowing the neweyr that had died in them as they had been pulled from their stems.
The sun shone brightly, almost blinding her as she smiled and waved to the crowds. She could see Edik on the other side of the gate, and Ailsbet with him, as extravagantly dressed as she was, in a red gown that shone brighter than her hair. How the gown had been made so quickly she did not know, but King Haikor must have paid well for it. She did not look nearly as uncomfortable as Issa felt, however.
Kellin was with the guards down below. He was dressed in a uniform and cape, half-armor studded with rubies and gray feathers. He looked wonderful, and he was staring at her quite openly. King Haikor himself was already waiting for them within the Throne Room.
There were cannons shot off, one for each of Edik’s thirteen years, and then a pause followed by seventeen cannons for Princess Ailsbet’s age. Issa was conscious then that she was now eighteen, five years older than Edik. Would the difference in age always bother her? Kellin was two years older than she was, at twenty.
They waited for the haze of smoke from the cannons to die down. Then, at last, it was time for the ceremony itself. Issa walked down the ramparts and into the Throne Room, which was nearly silent after the noise outside. She and Edik were to be betrothed first, then Kellin and Ailsbet.
Issa knelt before King Haikor with Prince Edik’s shoulders touching hers. His neck was thin against the stiff collar of his uniform, and the sapphire crown on his head looked heavy and uncomfortable.
Behind them, the Throne Room was filled with nobles and some merchants upon whom the king wished to show favor. By the time they were all in their proper positions, it was past noon.
The binding official stood in front of King Haikor, upright, a dark hood over his head so his face could not be seen.
He looked too much like an executioner, Issa thought, as she had seen one recently. The black hood was the same, though an executioner was taller and wider, strong enough to kill with an ax alone, if his taweyr failed to stop the heart. The hood was meant to show that all those who stood before marriage were the same, no matter their rank.
It was all Issa could do to breathe. One of the guards behind Issa nudged her, reminding her to bow before King Haikor, giving him a final obeisance as Princess Marlissa of Weirland before she was transformed into Princess Marlissa of Weirland and Rurik. A betrothal was in many ways as binding as a wedding.
Then Edik took her hand in his gloved ones.
“The highest of the land have gathered today,” said the binding official. “We are here to see a contract made between this man and this woman.”
Issa felt Edik stiffen beside her. She wanted to smile at him, to reassure him that he had no reason to fear. But she could not make herself do it.
“This is a binding contract to be held until the death of the one or the other. King or queen, lord or lady, duke or duchess, man or woman, it is the same.”
Issa tuned out the droning words and stared behind the official’s head at the bloody history of Rurik depicted on the walls.
She heard a cough behind her and realized that the official had stopped speaking.
It was Edik’s turn.
“I swear to abide by the contract of this betrothal and to be united in matrimony with you, Princess Marlissa of Weirland and Rurik, when I reach my majority. May we be joyful together in our impending nuptials and always mindful of our duties to our peoples and always conscious of the history of our kingdoms that has drawn us together.” Edik was nervous and stammered more than once, but he was sincere.
Issa thought that he might not be the man she loved now, but she had hope that she might come to love him in time.
When he was finished, he placed on Issa’s middle finger a large ring of sapphires and diamonds, fumbling slightly as he did so. It was his mother’s ring, which King Haikor had given to her at their wedding.
Then it was Issa’s turn: “I swear to abide by the contract of this betrothal and to be united in matrimony with you, Prince Edik of Rurik, on the day you reach your majority. May we and our kingdoms be joyful together as we sow peace between our peoples, and may the future bring to both our kingdoms the finest imaginings of all our hearts.”
The binding official took up Issa’s hand on one side and Edik’s on the other. He pulled them to their feet and then pressed their hands together. “As the weyrs are opposite hands, so are you two. Affianced to affianced,” he declared triumphantly.
There was a round of applause, and bells rang out somewhere in the distance. Issa felt numb as she turned to Edik for a kiss and felt his cold lips on hers. When he pulled away, King Haikor congratulated his son heartily and clapped him on the back.
Then it was time for Ailsbet and Kellin to be betrothed, and they went through the same ceremony, nearly word for word.
Afterward, Issa felt confused, as if it had all happened in a dream. None of it felt real to her, though she knew when King Haikor clapped Kellin on the back and kissed his cheeks, that Kellin was farther from being hers than he had ever been.
Bells rang out again, and Issa could hear distant shouting, as if her hearing had suddenly returned. The betrothals were finished, and Issa and Edik turned together to face all of those who were gathered inside the Throne Room.
Kellin and Ailsbet were nearby, waving and giving thanks. With Edik at her side, Issa nodded and smiled and kissed cheeks and gave embraces until it was all a blur.
At last, she was in the Great Hall for the grand dinner. There were fifteen courses (including a full roast peacock, its bright feathers returned to its carcass). The feast took four hours from beginning to end, though Issa could only take small bites of the most delicate dishes, roasted fish and poached eggs, or fruit compotes.
After the feast, King Haikor stood and clapped his hands to get the attention of the court. Issa stared at Lady Pippa, who rose to stand beside him, noticing that she seemed slightly thicker around the waist than before. Issa glanced around the room, wondering how many others had seen this. Of course, King Haikor would want more heirs, but Issa had not thought it would happen so soon.
What did this mean for her and Edik’s betrothal? Or Kellin and Ailsbet’s?
“There is another joyous announcement to be made,” said King Haikor. “After our two betrothals today, there is to be a royal wedding. And this time, not a prince and princess to be joined, but a king and queen.” He bent down and kissed Lady Pippa, and the applause from the court was thunderous.
Issa looked down and saw that Edik’s hands were clenching the sides of the table.
She whispered into his ear, “Do not show anything but happiness.” Did he understand the danger he was in?
“This should be my day, mine and yours. Why could he not have waited?”
“He is the king,” said Issa. And he had never been known for his patience, she thought.
“Lady Pippa is to take the queen’s chambers now, and she will be called queen-in-waiting,” said King Haikor. “She will be queen when we are married in one month’s time.”
Issa clenched her jaw and held tightly to Edik’s hand. She thought of the five long years until she and Edik were married and wondered when Kellin and Ailsbet’s final binding would occur. The king had seemed so eager for them to marry, but he had not yet set a date. Now it seemed likely that would be postponed until after the king’s own wedding.
The dinner went on with more toasting to the king and his bride-to-be, and Issa only pretended to sip from her cup. As the celebration was winding down, she realized Edik had fallen asleep in his chair.
At the same moment, Issa and Kellin stood to excuse themselves from the table. Edik woke but was too groggy to do more than wave to Issa. Ailsbet stood and moved to Kellin’s side, eager to seize the opportunity to leave.
“Congratulations on your betrothal, Princess Marlissa,” said Kellin formally as the three neared the door.
“Thank you,” said Issa, “and my congratulations to you on your betrothal. You and Princess Ailsbet.” She wished she sounded more genuine, but she was not at her best and did not know when she would be again. In time for Kellin and Ailsbet’s marriage, perhaps.