Chapter 4
Asta patted the pleats of her maroon dress to smooth them as Linnea stood behind her, tying a ribbon to the end of her braid.
“Must we go? There are horses to ride, books to read, and so many other more enjoyable things to do!” Asta pleaded. Dyri nudged Asta’s knee with his wet nose. “See? Dyri doesn’t want me to go. He needs someone to play with.”
Linnea gave a small laugh. “It is only breakfast, cousin. Eat quickly, then excuse yourself. You just have to make an appearance.” She made her way to the suite doors, her light auburn hair swishing behind her. “Plus, I’m starving, and Mikkel told me yesterday that there would be bacon.”
Fine. Asta would attend the stupid breakfast. But only for the bacon.
The pair of women made their way to the dining hall in the west wing, which was reserved for smaller, more intimate meals. It was typically where Asta, Maren, their father, and their closest courtiers ate breakfast and lunch.
Asta preferred the small dining hall rather than the grand one in the heart of the castle. This room was warm, the sunshine pouring in through the massive windows. They were propped open all summer long, so the scent of salt water and pine drifted through the air.
Passing through the doorway, Asta tapped the threshold. Kaid was in her usual seat and Halsten was in Linnea’s. Disgruntled, Asta took up a seat opposite him, next to Svanhild.
Maren gave the women a soft smile and nod. “Good morning, sister.”
“Morning,” Asta grunted out as she piled fruit onto her plate.
The platter at the center of the table was much more extravagant than usual, filled with fruits Asta hadn’t seen in months.
She peeked at Svanhild through the corner of her eye.
Her sister’s lady-in-waiting had always intrigued Asta.
She had never seen the brunette smile, nor had she ever seen her eat more than a few bites of a meal.
But somehow, Svanhild was quite muscular.
Maren’s lady-in-waiting was hired by their father when Maren turned sixteen, which was six years ago.
Asta had never seen a sign of aging on Svanhild since her arrival, but she guessed she was in her late twenties.
She never bothered asking the woman anything about herself because, frankly, she was frightening.
Asta could ask Maren, but their sisterhood had been fading over the last two years.
Asta noticed the empty seat at the head of the table. “Where’s father?”
“Not feeling well after last night’s activities. He says he will see us for dinner, as his day is filled with meetings starting this afternoon.” Maren gestured to a maid in the corner, summoning more orange juice to her glass.
Good. Asta didn’t feel like dealing with their father and Kaid at the same time.
She knew her father loved her; he always had.
But Asta had heard so many terrible things about how he had treated her mother during the last year of her life, and it was something she could never let go, even when they were sharing delightful moments together.
Since she died giving birth to her, Asta never had the pleasure of knowing her own mother, Queen Else.
Maren couldn’t tell her anything either, since she had been about a year old when Asta was born.
But Asta would stare at the paintings of her mother around the castle daily.
Sometimes she would even talk to them, asking advice that a daughter would ask her mother, had she been alive.
Asta listened to the breakfast conversation as it manifested. Kaid and Maren asked each other questions that, in Asta’s opinion, children would ask when they first met. It made her stomach churn, causing the bacon to be far less enjoyable than she anticipated.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“What’s your favorite food?”
“What’s your favorite animal?”
Maren was only doing this because their father wanted her to. Asta knew that without even needing to ask. Kaid was not the man for Maren, and everyone knew it.
Linnea, being the extremely polite and docile creature she was, had engaged in pleasant discussion with Halsten.
To Asta’s surprise, the man was not a terrible conversationalist. She enjoyed watching Linnea’s eyes light up as Halsten described the Poulson manor in Haalberg.
Linnea seemed especially excited when he told her about the gardens, the ivies climbing the stone walls and the bubbling fountains.
Asta made a mental note to go on a walk through the grounds with her sometime soon.
She couldn’t even remember the last time she had done something Linnea wanted to do.
Selfish, Asta scolded herself.
Halsten Seung wasn’t horrid to look at, Asta admitted to herself.
His warm beige skin complemented his dark, shoulder-length hair.
He had it pulled back the first few times she had seen him, but today he let it flow freely, the locks being tugged in every direction as the sea breeze swept through the room.
His dark tendrils framed his high cheek bones and accentuated his deep brown eyes. Yes, he could stay here.
Asta interrupted Kaid and Maren’s painfully awkward chat about their favorite flower. “Have you ever had a girlfriend before?”
Halsten’s fork clattered on his plate and Maren cast Asta a warning glare, but Asta just returned the gesture with a sweet smile.
Kaid cleared his throat and the cogs in his mind were clearly at work, pondering what the correct answer was. Asta tried to hide her amusement as she imagined smoke billowing from his ears due to his brain overexerting itself.
“I have before, yes,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows and stabbed her fork into her eggs. “I mean girlfriends that lasted more than one night.”
Kaid clamped his mouth shut and Halsten choked on his juice, a small orange drip slipping from his nose. Asta was proud that she could make her enemy’s best friend laugh at her snide remarks.
Maren snapped at Asta. “Sister! I’m not sure what your foul attitude is driven by the last few days, but I suggest figuring it out. Perhaps you need to start taking more naps, since you are acting so childish.”
Asta blanched. Even though Maren was only a year her senior, her older sister had always been much more mature.
Likely because neither of them had a mother, so someone had to take on that role, especially since their father had always kept them at arm's length. Asta kept her mouth shut after that, but noticed Kaid’s glances and hidden smirks each time Maren was distracted.
After another thirty minutes, Asta caught herself cracking the bones in her fingers and decided it was time to excuse herself. Everyone else began rising as well when they realized how long the breakfast had lasted.
Linnea escorted Asta down the halls, making their way back to the west wing. Asta could hear two sets of footsteps behind them and knew they were Kaid and Halsten. She ignored them the entire walk back, only making small comments to Linnea to make it seem as though she was busy.
Asta lingered outside her doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of exactly which suite Kaid was staying in. Linnea was clearly tired of her cousin’s antics for the moment, so she stepped inside and began helping the maid tidy up the rooms a bit.
Halsten led the way, opening the suite door directly next to Asta’s and stepping inside. Kaid turned to Asta before he entered. “Waiting to see where I’m staying so you can kill me in my sleep?” he mused.
Asta grinned. “Now all I have left is to count the windows so I know which is your bedroom. Then you’re gone.”
Kaid shook his head and laughed—actually laughed at Asta’s joke about murdering him. “If you want to know where my bedroom is, Princess, you need only ask. I’ll gladly show you.” He winked, a corner of his mouth turning up.
The way he could make her royal title sound so belittling set Asta on edge.
“You sat in my seat,” she snapped.
His brows furrowed. “Excuse me?”
Asta placed her hands on her hips. “My seat in the dining hall. I always sit between Maren and Linnea, right where you decided to plant your ass today.”
Kaid cocked his head to the side, his dark hair sliding down his shoulder. “I didn’t realize we had assigned seats. We didn’t think you would show up, anyhow. Next time, I’ll make sure there are place cards on each chair.”
“I only showed for the bacon.”
“Ah, so you like meat. I was beginning to think you were a prude altogether.” Kaid smirked, crossing his arms in front of his chest, the hard edges of his muscles capturing Asta’s stare for a beat.
Her face tightened at his implication. “You’re despicable.”
“You’re the only one that thinks that.”
“You’re to marry my sister and do what? Have affairs the entire time you’re married?”
Asta had meant for those words to slice through the air, but instead, they sounded as though she were in pain. Was that why she hated him so much? She didn’t want what happened to her own mother to happen to Maren?
The corners of Kaid’s mouth turned down, his posture loosening. “It won’t be like that. I don’t want to be miserable the rest of my life. I need this marriage to work as much as Princess Maren does.”
When she surveyed his face, Asta could see no sign of deception. “This doesn’t mean I’ll instantly stop hating you.”
“I would expect nothing less from you, blondie.”
Her teeth gritted at the nickname, but she didn’t feel like arguing anymore. She just wanted to read and forget about this stupid breakfast. She could feel the bones in her hands starting to ache, that familiar tight ball in her chest coiling by the second.
Asta placed one hand on the handle of her door and the other on the frame of it. She caught Kaid assessing the hand placement, but she didn’t move them. “Goodbye, neighbor.”
Asta tapped the frame and opened the door, about to step inside when Kaid asked, “Why do you do that? The tapping?”
The color drained from Asta’s face. He had been watching her, observing her habits. She couldn’t explain them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Asta rushed into her suite and slammed her door behind her.