| |
Rian
I paced the floor of my bedchamber, trying to dispel my anger toward King Farris. My efforts were futile when they could in no way put a stop to my thoughts. How could he do this to her? He treated his daughter like a common harlot. She deserved to be courted and proposed to properly—not have her reputation sullied in exchange for him getting his way. One thing was certain, once she was my wife, the princess would never be treated this way again.
The door of her room closed and then I heard murmurings of conversation. Leaning against the wall between our chambers, I closed my eyes in concentration as I tried to make out what was being said. It was of no use. The utterances coming from the room next door could not be deciphered. The image of her sitting stiffly on her father’s sofa played itself out behind my eyelids. She had been so pale. I rubbed my palms together, remembering how her hands had trembled.
I wanted to go to her, to console her, and let her know things were not as I had planned them either. I wanted to give her assurance of a much better future. But one step away from my room would land me into trouble. Just outside my window, a guard stood sentry while another waited out in the hallway. I stepped over to pull the curtain closed. Normally, it would not matter, but I did not need further punishment standing in my way of being able to speak to the princess in the near future.
With a sigh, I plopped down on my bed with my arm behind my head so I could stare up at the ceiling. Had proposing been the right thing to do? It had been a speedy decision on my part. It was not like me to be so impulsive. It had felt right at the time, and as I relaxed and thought it all through, it still felt right.
My mind switched to thoughts of the better moments of this day—speaking with the vicar, my conversation with the princess, the kisses we had shared. I longed to relive that last part. I had asked if I could see her later that day, and she had said yes. Did she feel the same after our meeting with her malicious father?
Her door opened and closed again. It felt like an eternity had passed. How much longer would I have to stay in this room? According to the clock on top of my wardrobe, it was five minutes until dinnertime. Royalty were expected to be seated at precisely six o’clock, and since I had been allowed to sit on the dais next to Adrika, I assumed I was expected to be there as well.
Rising from my bed, I quickly checked my reflection in the mirror. I ran a brush through my hair, and then rushed out the door.
I came up short as the warrior stepped in front of me. His face was an impenetrable mask. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To the dining hall for supper. Where else would I go at this time of day?”
“The king said you were not to be released until six o’clock. You will not leave until then.”
The king would likely be more upset over my tardiness, but I did not say anything more. Folding my arms across my chest, I leaned into the door frame and commenced to staring at the man in front of me. I had the ability to make people uncomfortable with just a look, and it was working now. He tried to stare back at me but soon began to fidget as he stole glances. I wondered if it had occurred to him that I would one day rule over him. He finally looked at his pocket watch, nodded and then stepped aside.
Long strides brought me quickly to the dining hall. Such haste was not because I cared about the king’s irritation over my tardiness. My urgency was caused by my desire to see Adrika. We would be married by the next day, and I wanted things to be right between us. Entering through the door leading to the dais, I took my seat beside the princess.
She may have been the only one in the room who had not turned to look at me when I entered. Scornful glares were aimed my way from many of those seated below us. No doubt the rumor of our unchaperoned meeting in the library had circulated the population within the castle.
Surprisingly, Princess Adrika was still wearing the same clothes as before. For as long as I had known her, she had always changed into one of her beaded outfits for each meal. The only change was that her dark hair hung in waves down her back now. I had to fight the urge to rub the silky strands between my fingers.
Then she turned slightly toward me without looking up at my face. It was enough for me to see that her lips were turned down at the corners and sadness was evident in her glassy eyes. I wanted to console her, but I would not do so here.
“Princess, I wondered if you would take a walk with me after supper.”
“If that is your wish, Your Highness.”
I sighed as I pushed my food around on my plate. “I do not think your father would like you using Your Highness when addressing me. He would probably prefer you call me prisoner. That is what he does, is it not? Label everyone by their position in accordance to him.”
It was true. I had never even heard him call the princess anything other than daughter. And the way he said it made her seem more like a possession than someone he cherished. Judging by the way he had treated her since my arrival, that was indeed how he saw her.
She did not say anything, her stare remained fixed ahead with her lips pressed tight. I should not have spoken to her about her father, but I was so angry with him. I leaned forward and looked down the table. The king had the same smug look as before. Adrika’s uncle was leaning toward him with his lips moving rapidly, but of course, I could not make out what he was saying. He stopped speaking immediately and scowled when he saw me looking at him.
Sitting upright, I looked at the princess again. She had stopped eating and was sitting there with her hands in her lap. Judging from the food on her plate, she had done little more than move its contents around with her fork.
I ate a little more of my own food while chafing at having to sit there until the king declared the meal finished. Even in Gilvary, no one left the royal table until the king was done. My father had always preferred to linger at the table, but the meal was considered finished when he dropped his napkin on his plate. I had noticed that King Farris rose as soon as he was done.
There would not be much daylight left for our walk as it was. We could certainly talk on the bench outside the princess’ bedchamber door, but I wanted her to see my face and know of my sincerity. She needed to understand that I had not intended for things to go the way they had in her father’s chambers. And I wanted to give her my betrothal ring.
Reagan had allowed me to pick one from among the rings in our family vault on my thirteenth birthday. It was an honored tradition, marking me as a man who would one day be expected to choose a wife worthy of my kingdom. I had cherished the emerald ring, carrying it with me when I left Gilvary. It had been in my possession these last ten years, and I had never had a desire to place it on another woman’s hand—not even the one who had carried my child. I quickly pushed that thought aside.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor had me looking in the direction of the king once again. I stood only because Adrika did. She turned and curtsied as King Farris walked by with her uncle in tow. Neither of them even looked our way. As soon as they were gone, I grabbed her hand and tugged her closer to me. I placed her hand in the crook of my arm and escorted her out.
Once in the hallway, I made a point of turning in the opposite direction from the king. “That is the last time you will ever stand just for the sake of bowing down to the king. Neither of my brothers or even my father ever expected such an act from their families. You should be treated with the respect of a cherished daughter, and after we are married, it will be so.”
She turned her head away from me and did not speak until we came to an outside door. “Where are we going?”
“You agreed to go for a walk with me.”
“But I am not dressed for such an outing.”
Did she think we would be scaling the side of the mountain? A stroll is what I had in mind, but I would not argue with her. Besides, I had not considered the fact that neither of us were wearing our cloaks. I turned us back toward her chambers. When we arrived, I reminded her that it would be dark soon and told her that I would be waiting outside on her veranda.
Entering through my own bedchamber, I retrieved my cloak and then made my way outside. No guard had been in sight since I had been released for supper, but without a doubt, they were still close by. I walked out to the trail and looked both ways, but no one was in view. Escape was no longer on my mind. I had just as much made a vow to marry the princess, and I would never willingly go back on my word. At the moment, privacy was my only concern.
It did not take the princess as long as I expected. She had donned the same trousers, boots, and cloak she had been wearing the last time I had seen her on this trail. I took her free hand in mine and pulled it up to my lips. She did not even look up when I kissed the back of her fingers. No tell-tale blush colored her cheeks either. All I could see was a raw vulnerability and a resolve to endure her fate. I wanted to do something to change her mood but had no clue of how to do so.
We started down the trail in complete quiet but for the thump of her staff with every step. I slowed us down as soon as we were out of sight of most of the castle. “I am sorry for the way things turned out today. It did not go the way I had planned.”
She did not say anything.
“I had only gone to your father to ask for permission to court you. I had planned to propose on my own. You deserve better than being ordered into a marriage.”
No reply.
“Regardless of how this has begun, I promise it will be better for you after we are wed. I meant what I said to the king. I will not allow you to be mistreated by him once you are my wife.”
Nothing.
“Princess, have you lost the ability to speak?”
She stopped walking and looked directly at me for the first time since we were in the library together.
“Why do you call me that? I have never once heard you say my name. How is that any different than what my father does? You say things will be better after we are wed, but that is not so. After tomorrow, I will have two rulers instead of one. How is that better?” She had punctuated each question with a thump of her staff on the frozen ground.
She was angry. Good, I much preferred that to the subdued girl from earlier today. “Correct me if I am wrong, but I take it your father believes that a wife is under the rule of her husband. I can guess that is why he married a woman from Cordelia. Well, I am not marrying a Cordelian. You are not expected to bow down to my every whim. Get this straight. Even now, we are equals in rank and in relationship, and I do not expect that to change.”
Her brow wrinkled over dark, glaring eyes. “Who do you think raised me? I may not be from Cordelia, but I am the next best thing, right? You are just like him.”
“Do not ever compare me to your father again.” I took a step forward and she raised her staff between us. “What? Am I supposed to be threatened by that stick? What do you expect to do with it, knock me upside my head? You may get in one whack before I pry it from you, and then what?” I turned away in frustration. I was glad for the communication but this was not what I had in mind.
I felt a hit on the back of my knees and one to my chest. The world seemed to spin, and I landed hard on the frozen ground with the wind knocked out of me. When my vision cleared, all I could see was the end of her staff just inches from my nose. I looked past it to the angry woman standing over me. In an instant, her brown eyes grew large, she placed a hand over her mouth, and the stick was gone from my view. I wondered briefly if she had ever used a weapon in anger before. At least she had restrained herself before bashing my head in.
“I am so sorry. I should not have done that. I do not know what came over me.”
I started laughing. Everything considered, it was an odd expression of my feelings, but I could not stop myself. She took a step back as I rolled up to my knees and held my hand out to her.
“May I?” I pointed to the staff she held in her hand. She slowly stretched the end of it out toward me. I took it and laid it on the ground beside me. I reached both of my hands out to her. “Could you come here, please?” I did not want to crawl to her on my knees.
She took small steps toward me. When she got close enough, I grabbed her waist and pulled her to me, taking both of her hands in mine. The sky was beginning to darken behind her. We would have to turn back soon, or we would not be able to see the path.
“Adrika.” She had been looking at my chest, but her gaze flew to mine when I said her name.
“Everything that has happened today from the time I stepped out of the library until now, forget all of it. Forget about the fact that your father is demanding that you marry me. This is me asking you, and I want a straight answer. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
She did not answer at first. I was not sure what her response was going to be. If she turned me down, I would find a way to escape before the ceremony. Her father would never know she rejected me. Even if she said yes, it would only be because I was better than the alternative, but it would still be her choice.
“Yes, I will marry you.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
I freed one hand and dug into my pocket. “Please accept this ring as a symbol of our betrothal.” I slipped it onto her finger. It was a little loose, but it could be adjusted later.
“I have nothing but myself to offer, but I promise to be faithful and kind, and if there is ever a time that I am not, you may use your staff on my head.”
A small laugh escaped her lips, drawing my attention there. She placed her hands on both sides of my face and bent down to kiss me tenderly. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to deepen the kiss.