CHAPTER 22
Katy
N ext month ?” Katy gasped, whirling to stare at him in horror. How was she supposed to convince him in that little time?
“A royal wedding cannot be put together any quicker,” the king grumbled. “Be grateful that it will be as soon as that.”
“But—” She turned her frantic gaze to Axel, begging him with her eyes to help her.
For a few moments, he looked back at her with slightly pinched brows. Then, smoothing his features into delicate concern, he said, “Perhaps it would be kinder, Father, to allow poor Katrin a little more time to acclimate herself to the idea of becoming a princess, rather than pushing her so quickly into her new life.”
“That’s a good idea, Steffan,” Queen Carina interjected. She set her fork delicately on the table and leaned forward. “There’s no need to rush into things.”
Surprised, Katy closed her mouth and picked up her fork instead. Axel and his mother continued to argue with the king about the timing of the wedding. Katy ate her breakfast silently, restraining her natural impulse to dive in. After all, the last time she tried to bargain with the king, she had landed herself in the current mess. Perhaps it was best to leave her own arguments for the fight that truly mattered: convincing him to set her free. She could let her “betrothed” handle this battle .
Her lips curved up a little as she watched the queen vehemently argue against a quick wedding. If she played her cards right, maybe she wouldn’t have to argue with the king to end the betrothal at all.
~
Axel had pushed for six months, but he and his mother were only able to talk the king into a three-month extension on the date of the wedding. She would have preferred more time, but July was still better than April. She could work with that.
Joining Axel for music lessons before breakfast became her routine. After that first morning, Otto was always there as well. He never joined in their music; most of the time, he appeared to be ignoring them. He would stand at the window and watch the courtyard, sit in one of the sturdy, uncomfortable chairs with an ankle crossed over the opposite knee while staring up at the ceiling, or wander along the edges of the room examining the papers attached to the wall. Katy suspected that he was filling the role of a chaperone.
She couldn’t imagine why he felt the need to do so. It wasn’t like he’d walked in on the prince about to kiss her.
With the reduced schedule that his father had promised, their music lessons sometimes flowed into other parts of the day. Axel began teaching her note values in addition to the names of the notes on both paper and the piano. It was a little confusing, because his teaching style was rather random, but she was starting to get a feel for it by paying attention to the notes as he sang them compared to how they looked on the page. His explanations made much more sense in conjunction with the demonstrations.
Watching him with his art made it very difficult to stick to her plan of escaping the betrothal. He was so full of life when he was singing; how could his parents wish to deny him this part of himself?
Much as she enjoyed it, though, she couldn’t keep him. Even when he insisted that she learn the part of the female lead to help him learn his own. His bright smile and the slight crinkle around his eyes when he was happy weren’t worth the cost of his firstborn child.
Dinners with the nobility had given her the chance to begin introducing the king’s court to her unconventional ways, but her first opportunity to truly put her plan into motion came a few days later at Axel’s birthday celebration.
It was to begin with a time of mingling in the late afternoon before a formal dinner, after which they would move to the grand ballroom for an evening of twirling around the floor in colorful gowns and crisp white shirts. Accordingly, Katy had been stuffed into a light pink ball gown. Her maids had attempted to strap her in to the point where she couldn’t breathe, but she had quickly made her opinion on that clear. The other women present could restrict themselves all they wanted; she saw no reason to be a delicate, fainting creature for the sake of fashion.
The skirt was beautiful. Full and with only a thin petticoat to puff it slightly, it was delightful to twirl in. She wished the prince had remembered to teach her the formal dances of the nobility so she would have the chance to spin through the ballroom in it. As it was, she only knew village dances, which were unlikely to be featured tonight.
“You look beautiful, Katy,” Axel greeted her when she opened her door. A gentle smile curved his lips as his eyes slowly scanned her elaborate dress and the half-up, half-down style into which the maids had forced her hair.
“Happy birthday, Your Highness,” she returned cheekily, dipping in a quick, shallow curtsy. His smile widened as he reached forward to wrap his finger in one of the curls that hung by her face .
“I would say you already told me that, but it was a friend who wished me well this morning, not a flippant courtier.”
Taking the arm he offered, Katy stepped out of her room, closing the door softly behind her. “Courtier?” She leaned forward, peering past him down the hall before looking in the other direction. “I don’t see any courtiers.”
“In this wing? Goodness, I hope not!” he said in mock horror. She vaguely wondered why it would be unusual for a courtier to be in a guest wing but let the comment pass. Hopefully, it would be a useless bit of trivia before long.
The low murmur of voices grew as they approached the formal dining hall. Katy brought her left hand up to join the one on Axel’s arm, averting her eyes from his crisp white shirt and dragon-crest-embroidered red waistcoat. He cut a fine figure himself, and she could not allow herself to be distracted by it. By it, or by his right hand settling on top of hers. Unless he was performing his most masterful role ever, his only discontentment with their situation was her reluctance. By following through with her plans to escape him, she would be hurting him.
It was his birthday, and she was preparing to walk into that dining hall and take the first big step toward breaking his heart. He might be upset with her. But it was better to break his heart now than to crush it later when he learned the truth.
She could never let him find out. So she could not go through with marrying him.
They entered the dining hall in a cluster with Axel’s friends, Lord Tobias and Crown Prince Michael of Daraigh. Michael’s younger brother Justin had also come for Axel’s birthday, but the twelve-year-old prince had already disappeared into the crowd. Axel’s Amitian cousin was present also, but Katy had yet to meet her.
A group of young ladies turned at their entrance. “And so it begins,” Tobias muttered, eyeing their bright eyes. He flagged down a nearby server and plucked a glass from the older gentleman’s tray. “Time to begin fortifying myself.”
Axel slapped him on the back, almost spilling his drink. “Whatever it takes, my friend. You shall have the pleasure of bearing the full brunt of their admiration tonight. I have brought my protection in the form of fair Katrin. Does she not grace my arm better than any young lady has done before?”
“Has there been one before?” Michael asked, his eyebrows raising.
“But of course,” Axel replied without missing a beat. “A prince cannot avoid escorting ladies both young and old with great regularity. Is it not so in Daraigh?”
Tobias took a sip of his drink. “I believe he referred to a more permanent lady. Must not have heard about Heidi.”
“Heidi?”
“A young woman I met a few months ago. There is little to tell,” Axel said dismissively.
Tobias snorted. “Little to tell? You’ve been mooning over her ever since.”
The Daric prince widened his eyes. “Mooning? It fits your dramatic nature, but I never expected you to moon over one of these fine ladies.” He waved a hand at the flock hovering just out of range.
“Oh, it wasn’t one of them,” Katy cut in with a wicked grin. “She was a village girl, like me.” Axel’s right hand twitched on top of hers, but he didn’t otherwise react to her addition.
“Did you find her?” Michael asked, turning to his friend with a curious expression.
Frowning, Axel replied, “Find who?”
“The girl from the village. You know, when we went to visit...” He trailed off, looking down for a moment before continuing. “There was a girl in the nearby village that you could never leave without seeing. What was her name...? Helena used to tease you about her.”
To Katy’s surprise, a light blush dusted Axel’s cheeks. He hadn’t been embarrassed by the sight of her in her underthings, but this unsettled him? A pang flashed through her, but she quickly shoved it away. She could work with this. “Which village was it?”
Michael’s brow furrowed. “I can’t remember. Axel?”
“You know I don’t remember, Michael. If I did, I would have gone back.” His voice was unusually quiet, and his eyes dipped to the ground as his hand tightened over hers.
He had been serious that night in the theater. There really had been a girl who made the village wonderful for him.
Hadn’t he said he’d left after his sister died? And Princess Helena—no. No, many facts of his identity were lost to her, but everyone in Flussendorf agreed that Katy’s friend was a nobleman. A prince was not a nobleman.
But still— She held back a wince at the pain in her temple. No, it was—it was only a coincidence.
“Then who is Heidi?” Michael pressed.
Axel’s mouth twitched into his polite smile, but the look he gave his friend was serious. “I’ll tell you later, Mike.”
Michael’s jaw muscles stood out. “Don’t call me that.”
The discussion ceased as they were overwhelmed by the crowd of female well-wishers. At some point, Axel’s cousin wandered by. Katy judged Marielle to be in her late teens. It would be impolite to ask her exact age, so naturally, she did. After all, Axel’s parents were nearby.
The other girl simply pressed a finger to one side of her button nose and stretched her slightly-too-wide mouth into a smile, her dark eyes dancing. Queen Carina apologized profusely and glared at Katy. Surprisingly, the king smiled instead, as if amused by the attempts of his son’s betrothed to offend his niece.
At least the queen had reacted as intended. But it would be better if King Steffan had, too.
It was almost time to sit down for dinner when a pretty brunette leading a cluster of young noblewomen sashayed over. Each wore a gown with a neckline lower than Katy would be comfortable in and held a matching fan in her left hand.
“Just when I thought we’d escaped them,” Tobias muttered, taking a sip of his drink.
Axel didn’t reply, but Katy noticed that his smile flattened a little and the crinkles around his eyes disappeared. Nevertheless, he nodded graciously as the leader stopped in front of him, one hip jutted to the side as she fluttered her fan in time with her eyelashes. “Good evening, Lady Ilse.”
“Happy birthday, Prince Axel,” she said, echoed by her flock. “It is such a delight to celebrate with you.”
“Thank you,” he replied simply. His expression was serene and patently fake, but Lady Ilse seemed pleased.
Casting her gaze sideways, the brunette examined the prince’s companions. “Hello, Prince Michael. It is a pleasure to see you.” He nodded politely. “And Lord Tobias, of course. Such a faithful friend, always at our prince’s side.”
Tobias swirled his glass and returned her gaze through his half-open eyes but said nothing.
Lady Ilse turned her focus to Katy. “And who is this? Surely not the village girl rumored to be your intended,” she giggled insincerely. “Why, in that dress, she almost looks like a lady!”
Axel’s arm flexed under her hand, but Katy cut in before he could reply, shaking her fan down from where it hung around her elbow. As she wasn’t accustomed to carrying one, it felt awkward in her hand, but she didn’t need it to be smooth.
Flapping the closed fan toward Lady Ilse, Katy said, “You are so quick! And I’ve heard so much about you, I almost feel like I know you.” The other woman’s eyes brightened, flitting to Axel as if she thought he was the source of Katy’s information. “It’s so satisfying to know that you are just as I imagined you.”
“Why, thank—”
“I must admit, I never believed someone could be as insincere and self-absorbed as you are,” Katy continued glibly. The corner of Axel’s mouth lifted slightly. “But it’s true, the right dress can make someone look like a lady. My compliments to your dressmaker.”
Lady Ilse’s fan arm dropped along with her jaw. Tobias hid a small smile in a sip of his drink, while Michael turned away, one fist pressed to his mouth.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Katy added, waving her closed fan clumsily in the other woman’s direction. “You’re still young, and I hear there are plenty of men who are more interested in rank and appearance than they are in personality. There’s every chance you’ll find someone. Eventually.”
Blunt words were apparently beyond Lady Ilse’s experience, because she flapped her mouth soundlessly for a few moments while her face reddened. When she recovered, she turned to Axel with a stiff smile. “I am so sorry, Your Highness. It must be difficult to marry a mannerless guttersnipe. Even worse when it is without love.”
The twinkle was back in his eyes. “On the contrary, Lady Ilse, I—”
Exhilarated by speaking her mind, Katy rushed along to the next idea that popped into her head. Dropping Axel’s arm, she said brightly, “Oh! I forgot to give you your birthday present, dearest.”
She grabbed his chin with her right hand, pulling his head down. When his face was a few inches from hers, she stopped and flipped her fan open between their faces and Lady Ilse. Axel had to dodge to avoid being whacked in the face, but Katy kept her hold on his chin and tugged him back down.
His eyes were wide as she stretched up and pecked him on the nose. Lady Ilse’s shocked gasp was priceless; Katy only wished she could see the lady’s face.
“What are—”
“Pretend to kiss me,” Katy whispered, cutting him off. She leaned sideways a little to brush her lips across his upper cheek, moving her hand to the side of his face at the same time. “Passionately. We’re giving her a show.”
His eyes sparkled as he wrapped his hands around her waist. “Anything for you, Katy,” he whispered in her ear before placing a light kiss in front of it. The action sent an unexpected thrill through her, stealing her breath as the protection of her impulsiveness vanished. He brought his face around to the other side, sliding his lips across her nose on the way. “But why not make it for everyone?”
This might have been a mistake.
She was supposed to be convincing his parents, if not him, that they didn’t want her to join their family. She was supposed to be shielding herself from him so she would be able to leave if – when – the time came.
Yearning for what he just suggested didn’t fit into the plan.
Sliding her right hand down to his chest, she turned her nose into his cheek before gently pushing him back. It was a struggle to keep her breathing even, but it would help convince their audience. She let the fan drop, locking eyes with Axel as he pulled back.
“Happy birthday,” she said softly. He gave her a goofy grin, reached his right hand up, and wrapped one of her loose curls around his index finger.
After a moment, they turned back to Lady Ilse. Axel slid his left hand around Katy’s back, tucking her into his side instead of returning her to his arm. It was a perfect continuation of their little show, but Katy almost ruined it by stiffening. It felt too nice.
“Well, I—I wish you well,” Lady Ilse forced out between clenched teeth. If looks could kill, she would be guilty of ending King Steffan’s family line. “Good evening.”
The bell for dinner rang, and she swept away at the front of her flock with her nose in the air.
“Masterfully done,” Tobias murmured from behind his glass. “You might be free of her the rest of the evening after that performance.”
“Yes, indeed. You have my gratitude, fair Katrin.” Axel squeezed her side. “Although we should apologize to Tobias and Michael; the less time she spends chasing me, the more she has to harass them.”