Chapter 13 #2
“Very understandable,” Elowen said kindly. “You’re midway through an exhausting journey, a solid sleep and clear weather for travel is what you most need.”
“Nonsense,” Theo said unsympathetically. “As a former guard, you should be able to survive on very little sleep.”
“Chivalrous of you,” Flora said. “You may recall, Your Highness, I’m not a guard anymore.”
Theo’s answering smile was so relaxed, Elowen would almost have called it a grin. “True, you’ve certainly risen in the world. Do you outrank me now that you’re a crown princess, and I’m merely a lowly second-born prince?”
“Naturally,” said Cassius calmly. “As a royal of Carrack, Flora outranks most of her peers.”
Elowen was a little shocked, until Theo’s chuckle told her that Cassius had been joining in the banter. She still had a way to go in learning the hidden humor of these solemn princes, it seemed.
“Watch yourself, Prince Cassius,” Theo retorted.
“You wouldn’t wish to offend an ally.” He dipped his head toward Elowen, a barely visible twinkle in his eye.
“Especially when that ally is on the brink of strengthening its ties with the fair kingdom of Torrens, which can rival even Carrack in power and prosperity.”
“Oh dear, you’ve slighted Carrack’s honor,” sighed Flora. “Now we’ll never hear the end of Cassius singing the praises of his homeland.”
Elowen laughed, barely able to pull her eyes from Theo. She was mesmerized by the relaxed side of him the visitors had brought out.
“To save us from that fate,” Theo was saying, “how about you instead tell us about your trip to Pulau?”
“It was interesting,” Prince Cassius said, becoming serious at once.
“The islanders are very different culturally, and we were there far too short a time to really understand their ways. But they were open to discussions about the security of the region, which is encouraging.” His broad brow creased slightly.
“We got the sense that they were keeping their cards close, though. I would feel easier if we had a better strategy for strengthening bonds between Pulau and the rest of the Peninsula.”
Theo’s expression was thoughtful, and Elowen wondered what was on his mind.
“You seem very concerned about the security of the Peninsula, Cassius,” Theo said at last.
Prince Cassius’s response was prompt. “I have grave concerns. I fear that if we can’t unify, we may see an end to the peace we’ve enjoyed since the first war with the continent. They’re no longer content to keep distance and pretend we’re not here.”
“You sound very certain of that,” Elowen said, alarmed.
“I am, Your Highness.” Prince Cassius looked her in the eye, his expression serious, with no sign that he resented her inserting herself into the conversation.
“Something is definitely amiss on the continent. We know for certain they were behind the recent trouble that our kingdom only just headed off. But unfortunately, we don’t have any concrete evidence that we can do much with. ”
He exchanged a frustrated look with his wife.
“Besides which,” Flora added, “we obviously don’t want to level accusations that would lead to war when war is exactly what we want to avoid. But we’re sure that at least one kingdom from the continent, and possibly an alliance of them, has aggressive intentions toward the Peninsula.”
“We’ve communicated these suspicions to all our neighbors,” Prince Cassius added. “Whether they believe them on the limited proof we can offer is out of our control. All we can do is try to shore up relations within the Peninsula.” He nodded gravely to Theo. “I applaud you doing the same.”
“Very romantic, my dearest and most charming prince,” Flora said in exasperation.
Prince Cassius looked confused for a moment, then his eyes flicked to Elowen and she saw understanding drop.
“My apologies, Your Highness, I didn’t mean to refer to you as merely a tool for political purposes.”
Elowen shook her head, surprised by the softness in his tone, even the hint of humor. It wasn’t what she would have expected from the reportedly proud prince. It must be Flora’s influence.
“I don’t take offense, Prince Cassius,” she assured him.
“To be fair, if you’re offended by the implication, so should Theo be,” Flora pointed out.
Theo grinned. “Not at all. If one sibling had to be sacrificed on the altar of political marriage, I’m glad I could save Miriam from the fate of being exiled to Carrack.”
Flora and Prince Cassius both laughed.
“I only hope Miriam sees it that way,” Flora said. “I still sometimes feel guilty for unintentionally stealing such a catch from my closest friend.”
“I haven’t seen much evidence of guilt,” Prince Cassius said dryly.
Elowen had been silent through this exchange, fiddling with her soup spoon. She looked up just as Theo’s eyes drifted to her. He took in her withdrawn demeanor, and seemed to suddenly realize what he’d said.
“Elowen, what I said just now—I’m sorry if I seemed to be…that is, I was joking, I didn’t actually mean to suggest I was being sacrificed by—”
“It’s all right.” There was a laugh in Elowen’s voice as she took pity on him and cut him off.
She’d never heard him stumble over his words like that before.
It was endearing. “I think on balance I prefer the idea of being the fearsome beast receiving the sacrifice rather than the hapless maiden being thrown to the monster.”
Flora and her husband both laughed again, but while Theo smiled, he had a very shrewd look in his eye as he searched her face. Elowen’s cheeks reddened under his scrutiny. How much did he really see of her? More than she gave him credit for, probably.
She found herself wishing it could be this way more often.
The effect of these other royals, friends of his, was so different from his manner around her court, so many of whom were suspicious or resentful of him.
It was no wonder he was on his guard all the time, watching his back.
Elowen was surprised to realize she was almost longing for when they would go to Siqual, where maybe he would be natural and relaxed like this all the time, instead of so clearly out of his territory.
“So can you explain to me, Elowen,” Flora said with the air of one turning the subject, “if the tournament isn’t finished yet, why was I told we’ll be toasting the victors tonight?”
“Some of the events are finished,” Elowen told her. “And we’ll toast those victors tonight—Lord Devin for the archery, for example, and Lord Bertrand for the jousting.”
She saw how Flora’s eyes flicked quickly between her and Theo as she said that second name, apparently using her guard training to pick up something in their body language that they would both no doubt prefer her not to see.
Theo’s eyes shifted, Flora’s quickly following their trajectory.
Elowen reluctantly did the same, to see Bertrand himself, seated some distance down the table.
He was watching the four royals, and although he did seem to be trying to hide his resentment for once, he wasn’t succeeding.
She felt a sinking disappointment that apparently the duke hadn’t followed through with forbidding his son to attend.
Or perhaps he had, and Bertrand had ignored him.
Although Sophia sat near Bertrand, Elowen saw no sign of the duke.
The possibility that Bertrand was there in defiance of his father was unsettling.
“And, of course,” she pulled her focus back to the conversation with an effort, “we’ll toast our own Theo for his victory in the maze run.
” She smiled at him before continuing her explanation.
“But the real winner, the event everyone cares most about, is the weapons combat. That has one more round tomorrow morning, then a few commoners’ events in the afternoon, and the tournament will be finished. ”
She chuckled. “Truthfully, we don’t usually have a feast like this while the tournament is still underway. The real reason, which I shouldn’t tell you, is to impress our royal visitors.”
“Very gratifying.” Flora spoke with good humor, but she didn’t quite manage to stifle a yawn with the words.
Prince Cassius obviously saw it, too, because he jumped in. “I hope no one will be offended if we withdraw after the meal, given our exhaustion from our journey.”
“No, of course, we all understand,” Elowen assured them.
She felt regretful, however, when the couple retired soon after. Patrick approached Theo, and she saw his manner return steadily to its usual, more aloof state. Finished with her food, she rose from her seat and wandered toward Sophia, who stood alone by a table laden with enormous punch bowls.
“Enjoying the meal so far?” Sophia asked her.
“Sure,” said Elowen, pouring herself some punch. “It’s…lavish.”
Sophia said nothing, looking as distracted as Elowen felt.
Elowen’s eyes found Theo across the room, being introduced by Patrick to someone whose name she couldn’t remember but who was no doubt important.
She ran back over every detail she’d ever heard about Prince Cassius and Flora’s story.
Some parts she didn’t envy them, such as the danger Flora had mentioned.
But it certainly made an arranged marriage to a husband who was sure of you before you’d even met feel flat by comparison.
“I’m not foolish to want romance,” she declared suddenly.
“What?” Sophia jumped a little, startled by the miniature outburst.
Elowen moderated her tone. “Is it really so ridiculous to want to be pursued by a man? A good man, I mean. A man whom you actually really want to…” She trailed off with a sigh. “What am I talking about? Of course it’s ridiculous.”
“It’s not,” Sophia said softly. “What daydream is more appealing than a good man being willing to overcome all obstacles to make you his?”
Elowen looked at her friend, no longer sure which man they were speaking of. But she didn’t pursue the topic, because the musicians were starting up, and Theo was making his way across the room to claim her for the first dance.