7
T he ride back passed in a blur. Lady Vanessa and Maddox asked frantic questions which Father answered. I said nothing, and I said nothing even until the next morning as Tizzy tended to my toilette.
She, on the other hand, was more talkative than usual.
“Which gown would you like to wear on Monday, milady?” she asked as she braided my hair back.
Monday was the day Father and King Maximus settled on to meet again. It seemed that in a span of a night, news had spread all over the household about the crown prince’s proposal.
I met Tizzy’s gaze in the vanity mirror, deciding to throw the girl a bone. “Whatever you deem fit for a newly engaged.”
“So you accepted?” she exclaimed. Her eyes widened with a million questions. Whether I was in love with the crown prince was surely one of them. Little did Tizzy know, I was not a romantic. Mother had crushed the dreams and silliness right out of me at the age I started finding boys handsome.
“It is a royal arrangement. I hardly think my acceptance matters,” I said drily.
Tizzy fastened my braids in place with pearl-tipped pins. “Oh.” After a moment’s hesitation, she said, “Does that mean milady does not want to marry the crown prince?”
I didn’t speak. Tizzy finished attending me and left with a pout, clearly disappointed at my lack of response.
But I had answered her question. King Maximus, who rarely yielded on his decisions, seemed set on the arrangement. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Bennett’s emotionless proposal made it clear he would avoid me like the plague once we were wed. Neither he nor the king could possibly trust me to take part in royal affairs after what happened last summer. I would be a figurehead to show off at public events, nothing more.
The situation must be dire indeed for the king to choose you , Misty said as she jumped off from her perch on the window seat.
“He wouldn’t be able to find another gentrified witch with a competent bloodline,” I murmured. I looked at my hands. “Do you think she did it?” Now that I was alone, I finally voiced my fears.
Who, darling, your mother? Misty curled herself around my chair. You think she schemed all this up so you can become the crown princess?
I gazed at my reflection. My cheeks looked paler and hollower than I remembered. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”
I suppose it all seems quite convenient, Misty reasoned. Still. You must be paranoid. You’re in shock.
“I am not. I am being cautious. ”
Misty meowed. Why don’t you go ask her then?
“Visiting right after the proposal?” I scoffed. “People will talk.”
Really, you have a dizzying intellect.
The contents of my vanity rattled as I searched the drawers for rouge. “I won’t let her win.”
My. Even when she’s in the dungeons your life still revolves around that woman. Misty turned up her tail and sauntered out the door, which Tizzy had left open. I’ll be in the kitchen when you decide to pay me some attention.
THE REST OF THE DAY passed uneventfully. I took my breakfast and lunch in my chambers, mainly to avoid Father. Whenever I did see him, I caught him throwing apologetic glances at me. I wondered if he was the one who proposed the idea of marriage. Protecting the royal family—and thereby the kingdom—was his duty. If that involved pulling me into an arranged marriage, I couldn’t blame him.
But the possibility of all this being Mother’s plan still gnawed at my consciousness. Scenarios of every shape and form ran through my head. It was possible she still had access to her network of thugs. Perhaps they were the ones inciting riots, if not the actual assassins. But how? I was no longer sending messages to them through rodents and pigeons. Could she still have people working for her, even without her wealth and position?
I pressed my forehead against the window in frustration, the icy glass burning my skin. Even after years of living with her—of assisting her with the most unscrupulous schemes—I could not fathom how her mind worked .
Maybe Misty was right. I was in shock. I was being paranoid. After all, six months of solitude being broken by an assassination attempt could not be good for my health. I made a discontented noise in the back of my throat and collapsed onto the window seat.
A light tap next to my ear nearly sent me to the floor.
Lady Vanessa, of all people, stood on the other side of the window, smiling sheepishly. She had a plate in hand and a furry shadow against her skirt, which, if I wasn’t mistaken, was Misty.
I lifted the window with some effort.
“You missed dinner. I thought you’d like some dessert,” Lady Vanessa said, placing the plate on the windowsill.
“Thank you.” Pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream on the side. Just how I liked it.
“And this little lady has been scratching at your door for some time,” she said, lifting Misty from the grass.
“Oh,” I said, grimacing. I had kept the door locked after lunch and somehow didn’t hear a thing. Misty jumped through the window and hissed at my outstretched hand. She stalked away.
I would have to sleep on the floor tonight, it seemed.
“May I?” Lady Vanessa asked, gesturing to the window seat.
I fiddled with my sleeves. Avoiding her forever was impossible. And after her outburst at Maddox last night, I figured the best thing would be to appease her.
She hopped onto the windowsill with the nimbleness of a woman half her age and settled comfortably beside me.
“Help yourself,” she said, gesturing to the pie.
I cut into the slice with a fork, though I had no intention of eating it in front of her. It felt a little too familiar .
Lady Vanessa leaned forward, clasping her hands before her knees. A few blond curls fell from her chignon. Even with disheveled hair she looked beautiful.
“If you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling, Narcissa?”
I blinked, shifting in my seat. “Perfectly fine, thank you.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I see.”
A beat passed. I continued to push the pie around the plate, smashing the crust into crumbs.
“I was in an arranged marriage once,” Lady Vanessa said. “I was seventeen—younger than you. My father said it was my duty to marry into a good family. Preferably one with...influence, as he liked to call it.”
I glanced at her, wondering why she was telling me this.
“I was stubborn at first. Having the freedom of choice taken away from me was suffocating, especially at my age.” She sighed and straightened her shoulders. “But even then I knew I had to do it. My family was depending on me. We were on the brink of financial ruin, but my father had a title that was respected enough to make the match. Can you guess what happened next?”
I shook my head.
She smiled and looked around the stone walls. “This happened. I’m the lady of Greenwood Abbey with a wonderful husband and son, and a stepdaughter, of course.”
“You and Father...that was arranged?”
Lady Vanessa nodded. “I suppose you expected some great romantic adventure where I ran away and found true love, no?”
I gave a mirthless smile. I was the last person to expect anything of the sort. When I was thirteen, Mother had promised me to General Turner’s son, Dominic. The experience was unremarkable at best and unpleasant at worst. It was some time before she broke it off, setting her sights on the crown prince instead when my face began to show promising signs of beauty. It was funny how things turned out in her favor.
“Going through with the marriage was my duty,” Lady Vanessa said. “Luckily, I ended up with a gentle husband and a sweet son. When they’re not at each other’s throats, that is.”
I managed a smile.
“That is my story. But yours...” She turned and placed her hand in the space between us. “You don’t have any obligation to go through with the marriage if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t?”
“No,” Lady Vanessa said. “There are thousands of witch girls in Olderea who could make the perfect crown princess. You’re the best choice, but you’re not the only choice. You have the option to refuse if it makes you unhappy.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Lady Vanessa stared, blue eyes wide. “My dear, it has to do with everything. Don’t you know that your father would go to the ends of the earth for your happiness? He worries that you’re angry with him for even suggesting you as a possible bride. On the other hand, he heard that you and the crown prince were...close.”
I laughed, which seemed to startle her. “Merely rumors started by my mother,” I said.
“In that case, you have every right to back out of the arrangement.”
Did I really have the option to reject this proposal? Did I want to ?
“I’ll get out of your hair now,” Lady Vanessa said after my prolonged silence. She brushed imaginary dust from her skirts as she stood, flustered, a stark contrast to her earlier serenity. She headed to the door instead of back out the window like I expected. “Good night, Narcissa.”
“Good night.”
The door clicked shut. I took a bite of the pumpkin pie, savoring the buttery crust and thick filling.
You have that look on your face , Misty said from the corner of the room. Her eyes popped out from the darkness, missing nothing.
“What look?”
You’re realizing something.
She was right.
I recalled how Lady Vanessa’s face shone when she spoke of duty. Her shoulders had straightened with pride. Father’s duty was to serve the royals and lead the Royal Guard. Maddox...he had none. Perhaps that was why Father was so angry with him.
As for me?
I stared out the window. Night had fallen. I could see nothing but my reflection, which stared back with a surprising hunger.
I used to have a purpose. A certainty. A goal. They were never my choice, but the moment they were taken away from me I had been miserable. Now, a new opportunity presented itself in the form of this marriage. It was a road that led to a life with purpose again.
I could help this kingdom more than Mother had harmed it by being the very thing she wanted me to be—crown princess.