Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
CYPRIEN
By lunch, I’d worked all of the kinks out of my body.
It was bittersweet, because the pain was all I had to remember my night with the prince.
I served my stepfamily in a daze thinking about what might have been if things were different.
A rough grip on my wrist brought me back to the present and I looked at Octavius. “Sir?”
“Have you not been listening?,” he growled, squeezing my wrist harder. “I’ve been speaking to you for several minutes.”
“I’m sorry, Stepfather. I was just going over what all I needed to make dinner tonight,” I lied. He gave me a look that said I wasn’t entirely convincing, and my stepbrothers laughed.
“What a simpleton, distracted by dinner preparations hours before dinner!” Stefan choked out around the laughs flowing out of him. Sebastian was too hysterical to speak, tears forming in his eyes.
“Boys, compose yourselves at once!” My stepfather shouted. We were all shocked by his outburst but it was effective in silencing Stefan and Sebastian. “I hate repeating myself, Cyprien, so listen closely this time.”
I nodded and swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”
“We need to get my sons dressed in their finest suits and shoes as soon as we’ve finished eating.
The castle has sent out another proclamation and the prince will be here with his entourage.
It said something about checking hands but I’m sure that’s just code for deciding who will take the princess’ hand in marriage.
” He paused for a moment, looking pointedly at the three of us.
“Cyprien, I won’t have you embarrassing me so you’ll be working in the fields this afternoon, out of sight.
As for my sons, you are to be on your best behavior and will do anything the prince asks of you. Is that clear?”
Both of them nodded adamantly, eyes wide. “Yes, sir.” I took that to mean that they had not been made aware of the upcoming royal visit until that moment. For some reason, knowing that we found out together made me feel better about being relegated to the fields.
“Now!” Octavius clapped his hands together.
“Finish eating quickly boys. We have much work ahead of us, and little time. My sources say that the prince and his guards are two farms over, which gives us two hours at most. Cyprien, go ahead and make preparations upstairs; Antonia will clean up down here.”
I murmured, “Yes, sir,” before turning and heading back through the kitchen. I boiled water on the stove, then rushed upstairs to clean the wash basins.
Antonia stopped me when I came to collect the hot water. “What’s the rush, Cyprien? Is something going on?”
“No, not at all. Just a casual visit from the prince who is looking for the man his sister will marry!” I called over my shoulder on my way back up the stairs.
She called my name, but I ignored her. There was too much to do, and way too little time.
At the top of the stairs, Sebastian and Stefan disappeared into their respective rooms. I slipped into each one quietly and filled their washbasins with fresh water.
Neither of them noticed me–they were too busy digging through their wardrobes for the perfect clothes.
Boots flew in every direction as I exited Stefan’s room and I heard grunts and growls of irritation coming from Sebastian’s.
Had they just waited, I’d have picked out their clothes and shoes for them.
Their impatience meant I only had a huge mess to clean up later, something I was not looking forward to.
My stepfather was standing at the other end of the hall, watching with disapproving eyes as I worked and making me terribly uncomfortable.
“Soothead, get in here and help me!” Stefan wailed from his room.
A snarl came from behind the other door. “No, help me first! I’m the oldest.”
Sebastian was closer, so I burst through the door.
The contents of his wardrobe had been emptied across the bed and the floor.
Sebastian knelt between the bed and wardrobe, breathing as though he had run a mile.
He looked at me with a panic-stricken expression, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
“Calm yourself before you pass out,” I told him reluctantly. “Go sit over there.”
He stood on wobbly legs and shuffled to his chair by the fireplace.
I walked over to the mess of fabric on the bed, eyes scanning it quickly for the correct color and fabric.
It took me all of two minutes to pick out all of the correct pieces of clothing and another ten to find his boots.
By that time, Sebastian had calmed down, but Stefan was throwing a total fit.
“Okay, I’m going to leave a hot towel on your face so that I can shave you.
While you’re steaming I’m going to go find Stefan’s clothes before he has a coronary.
” I soaked a face towel in the hot water in his washbasin then placed it upon Sebastian’s face. When he didn’t object, I left the room.
I breathed a sigh of relief, finding the hallway empty.
Stefan was sitting in his chair with his head in his hands.
His hair stuck out in every direction and it looked like he’d slashed at his clothes with a sword.
Silently, I picked my way through the mess, piecing together his best suit.
After searching the rest of the room, I found his finest boots crammed under his bed.
Fortunately, they were made of superior leather and would not require a shining after such abuse.
The entire suit was checked for wrinkles then laid on the bench at the end of his bed.
He still hadn’t muttered so much as a word, nor had I.
He had just watched me with equal measure of panic and hatred in his eyes.
I placed his own hot towel over him, then returned to shave Sebastian.
By the time I had both of them looking their best, we could hear hoofbeats approaching. The boys hurried down the grand staircase to the front door, and I headed down the back staircase to the kitchen. Antonia was still in there and she grabbed me by my shirt before I could head out the door.
“What’s this all about, Cyprien?” she hissed softly.
“The prince is coming to find his sister’s intended. He’s checked all of the noble families and is now onto the merchants and wealthy farmers. Currently, he’s literally outside the front gate. I must go, quickly, because Stepfather doesn’t want me to be seen and embarrass him.”
“You had better get going then. We don’t want a repeat of last time you embarrassed him.”
I shivered at the thought and rushed out the door.
The hoofbeats had stopped and I could hear voices around the front of the house.
With a speed I didn’t know I had, I ran toward the hay fields beyond the orchard.
There was no way that I was giving anyone an excuse to have me lashed again.
Panting, I took up station beneath a tree at the border of the orchard and rested, finally taking a moment to breathe.
ALARIC
The day had been disappointing thus far.
I was shocked at the lengths young men would go through to try and prove that their hand matched the print on my arm, some even mutilating their own hands in the hopes that it would prove that they were the “chosen one” as they had begun calling themselves.
The Magus had assured me that there would be some sort of reaction when we found the right man, but I wasn’t so sure.
The mark had remained unchanged since the inflammation went down.
None of those we checked knew the real reason I was hunting for a match, they all thought I was searching for my sister’s mate, not my own. It was laughable, really. Why would I be marked with their handprint if they were Lydia’s match?
When we arrived at the farm where Cyprien lived, his step family was already outside. I knew that neither of the soft-faced, manicured man-children’s hands would match my mark. Theirs was the last house on our route, and I was losing hope.
“Your Highness, so good to see you,” the father gushed with a blatant fake smile that I could read right through. He was an awful man, I was sure of it.
“Thank you, Octavius. I assume you know why we’re here?” I matched his energy as I slid from my horse.
“I admit, I have heard a few things but I do not know the reason in full.”
The Magus and Travis slipped from their own stallions and appeared beside me.
It was the Magus who responded to Octavius.
“We are seeking a royal match. His Highness has been blessed with a mark on his arm, and we are comparing it to the handprints of the men who came to the ball.” His vagueness and air of authority left no room for more questions. “May we check your sons?”
“Of course, your Holiness. Boys, show them your hands or whatever else they need you to do,” Octavius said, never taking his eyes off of me.
His sons rushed forward, hands out, eager to please.
They were obviously simpleminded, and I was glad that I already knew neither of them would match.
Still, I made the effort and allowed them to lay their hands against my exposed arm.
Both their hands were too soft and dainty to match my Hand of Fate.
They looked utterly dejected, and their father swore softly.
“Are these the only young men who live at this residence?” the Magus asked.
“Yes, your Holiness, just these two.” His lie was all too smooth. I knew that Cyprien lived there, but I didn’t contradict him. I knew men like him: He would never give his stepson the chance to be tested. He was too embarrassed by his mere existence.
“Thank you for your cooperation on this matter. We must be taking our leave now,” Travis said, just as he had at each home we had stopped at today.
The men bowed in turn, and we climbed back upon our horses. When the rest of my entourage turned toward home, Travis eased to a stop with me. “What is it?” he whispered.
“We know that Cyprien lives here and he was in the orchard when I saw him before. I know it can’t be him but I’d like to test him anyway.”
By that time the Magus and other guards had noticed we weren’t following them and had doubled back. The Magus studied at me questioningly. “Your Highness?”
“There is someone we missed who will be farther down the road, probably in the fields.”
“He said no other young men lived here and the property belongs to him for several acres.” He turned to look back at the house. “Do you believe he lied to us?”
“Yes, but that isn’t what is important right now. What is important is finding this other young man and testing him. We can deal with them later. I am certain my father will want to know about this before we take action.”
“As you say, your Highness,” he said, nodding. “Let us go find this other man. He may be our last hope.”