Twenty-Nine - Mina
Twenty-Nine
Mina
???
The men invited to stay at the palace began arriving three days before the festivities began. I greeted each one personally after he settled in, and took supper with them, their female relations, and Noel each evening instead of with the court. I tried to be welcoming and friendly, but with each new arrival, it grew harder.
It was an effort to maintain my smiles, except when the men I had personally invited made their appearances. I might not want to marry any of them, but I enjoyed their company. A couple had been on my list of possibilities before Alan made that list painful to even contemplate. Mostly though, I had invited men who I felt comfortable around who wouldn’t read too much into my invitation.
The young merchant I had met the previous summer was a little in awe of me, but he had a wonderful sense of humor that didn’t dim even when he was nervous. The secretary I had met in my sixteenth year and the farmer from my fifteenth would balance out the wildness of the man I had met riding with a merchant caravan when I was nineteen.
With one day to go before the performances marking the start of the celebration that would culminate in a ball, most of the twenty men invited to the palace had arrived. But only three of them were men I had sent personal invitations to .
“This is quite a home you have here, Princess Mina.”
I spun around. “Jacob! When did you arrive?”
I had been wandering the gardens for most of the morning, chatting with my guests. Someone should have found me and informed me of the arrival of one of the men I had invited so that I could have gone to greet him. Apart from the two from Skorsa, Jacob was the last of my invitees to arrive. He was also the one I had most looked forward to seeing again—apart from the men from Skorsa.
“Just now. I told the guards I didn’t need to freshen up and asked them to show me to where you were instead.”
I smiled. He looked a little rumpled, but I knew from experience that it was his usual state. Freshening up wouldn’t make his clothes fit better, and his black hair needed a trim rather than a comb. Jacob didn’t need silks and jewels, he was comfortable in his own skin, and it showed. He was a handsome man who’d catch the eye of many women over the next few days. Especially because he towered over most everyone else.
“I’m so glad you made it. I was afraid my letter might never find you.” Though he no longer traveled with the merchants, Jacob hadn’t given up his wandering ways. He drifted from village to village and town to town, selling magic-reading charms and doing odd jobs to pay for food and shelter as he went. I hadn’t been sure where to direct his invitation.
“Well, if I lived in a place like this, I might not move around so much, Princess Mina. Or should I be calling you Your Highness, seeing as we’re in the palace?”
“Technically, we are in the gardens behind the palace. And as I told you years ago, you are welcome to call me Mina.”
“And like I told you then, that would give everyone the wrong impression.”
When I was with the traveling merchants, people had watched me extra closely to see if I might develop an attachment for anyone. Nothing in the law said I had to wait until the last moment to marry, and with me being almost twenty and able to marry, the topic wasn’t far from anyone’s mind. While the older generation called me Your Highness or Princess Charmina, and the small children called me Mina, Jacob had insisted on calling me Princess Mina.
I smiled. “Does that mean you aren’t actually willing to settle down, even if you could make the palace your home?”
He stilled. “Your letter said—”
“Calm down. I’m teasing. I know you have no interest in marrying me.”
“It isn’t you. Or even the marrying.”
“I know. You value your freedom too much. Like I said in the letter, I didn’t invite you to the palace in hopes of changing your mind. I thought you’d enjoy the experience. And I have to admit, it is nice to see a friendly face.”
Jacob scowled. “Are you trying to tell me any of your guests are being less than friendly? Do I need to have a word with some of them?”
I laughed and slipped my hand into the crook of his arm and began walking down the garden paths. “Thank you for the offer, but if anything, the problem is the opposite. It is the guests who are trying to be a little too friendly I need a break from.”
His expression didn’t change. “I can deal with that, too.”
I rolled my eyes. “Everyone knows the entire point of this ball is for me to find my consort. You can’t get mad at people for flirting with me under the circumstances.”
“I can if you don’t welcome the flirting.”
“It’s fine, really.” And it was. Of the other men in the palace, only four had actively tried to engage my interest. Another three were taken with the idea of marrying a princess, but weren’t quite bold enough to truly flirt. Between Jacob and the other friends I had invited, I had enough of a buffer to get through.
“Your Highness.” A maid hurried through the garden to reach me. “Another guest with a personal invitation has arrived.”
My heart thumped wildly in my chest. Jacob looked at me in concern, and I realized I had tightened my grip on his arm .
“Would you like Master Wrison to be shown to the garden when he’s refreshed himself?”
I pushed down my disappointment. “No, please direct him to the green parlor. I’ll meet him there.”
The maid curtsied. “Of course, Your Highness.”
Jacob waited until she was out of earshot. “Based on the bruises I’ll have on my arm, I’m thinking one of your invitations was actually to a man you do hope will settle down with you, and Master Wrison isn’t it.”
I slid my hand free. “You will not have bruises, though I am sorry.”
Jacob gave me a look that said he wasn’t going to be deterred. “Why isn’t this man here already?”
I sighed. “It’s a long story. He’s now the only one of my personal invitees who hasn’t arrived. Hopefully Sam—that’s the man who just arrived—will have news of whether he’ll be coming at all. Sorry to abandon you so soon after your arrival, but I need to talk with Sam. I’ll catch up with you later?”
Never one to feel out of place anywhere, Jacob waved away my concern. “I’ll be fine on my own. But don’t think I won’t ask you for that story the next time I see you.”
???
The green parlor was a comfortable room located between the royal wing and the portion of the palace where my guests were staying. Furnished with multiple divans, a card table, and a well-stocked liquor cabinet, it was the perfect room for the rare times Noel or I wanted to socialize without all the formality such events usually required.
Not that it was rare for us to wish to forgo formality, but we rarely had guests who’d like the same.
Sam already waited in the room when I reached it, inspecting the bookshelf placed between two large windows. He set the volume he had pulled out aside and crossed the room to wrap me in a warm hug. “Mina, how are you doing?”
I hugged him back. “That depends on what news you have for me.”
He stepped back and gestured at the nearest divan, the low seat made of cherry wood and forest green velvet. I sat next to him and clasped my hands tightly in my lap. That he wanted me to sit down before he spoke was not a good sign.
“Let me start by saying things in Skorsa have been in a bit of an uproar since you left. Between the revelation of your identity and news about what Powell had done, there has been more excitement in the village than we usually see in a decade.”
“Just tell me, Sam.”
“I will, but I think you need to hear all this.” He reached out and patted my hands. “Between a few of the more sensible members of the council and the magistrate you sent from Haiwella, logic prevailed enough that no one wanted to claim that Alan couldn’t serve as the primary blacksmith for Skorsa. After her interviews with the villagers, the magistrate actually sent for a smith from Haiwella to come out and certify Alan’s mastery.”
“So quickly?” There was no doubt in my mind that Alan deserved the title, but I thought craftsmen refused to certify anyone unless they observed their work for months, if not years.
Sam nodded. “Magistrate Leland pulled dozens of examples of Alan’s work from the past few months, including the necklace you gave Ma, for the smith to look over. Then he spent three days with Alan in the forge, declared that there was no doubt in his mind that Alan had made those items, and signed his certificate of mastery.”
“That’s wonderful. So, what is the bad news you are so reluctant to tell me, Sam?” As if I didn’t know. If Alan had forgiven me, if he planned to come to the palace, Sam wouldn’t have hesitated.
“Not bad,” Sam said in a rush. He paused. “Well, not the bad you are thinking. It’s about Powell.”
A chill went through me. “What about Powell? ”
I had alerted local authorities about Powell’s use of an illegal charm and the fact that he had fled Skorsa—though by rights it was Sam’s father’s place to share that information as the magistrate for Skorsa and the nearby villages. Conrad had sent word, but my interest in the case encouraged the Haiwellan constables to look a little harder for the maker of the charm and the fleeing smith. The last I had heard, they had made no progress locating either.
“He returned to Skorsa a few days after Magistrate Leland and the master smith left. He had another charm. He went directly to Pa and accused Alan of stealing the gold pieces he used to keep locked in that cabinet in the shop.” Sam paused and chuckled softly. “It was funny to watch, actually. Powell was ranting and raving, and Pa was nearly as worked up thanks to the charm, but the accusation didn’t make any sense. It didn’t matter what emotion the charm was stirring up; it couldn’t stop Pa from realizing Powell was up to no good. But since the charm was affecting him, he ended up yelling and calling Powell a bunch of unflattering names. You would have enjoyed it.”
“I would prefer to know that Powell has been brought to justice, but I don’t think that is where your story is going.”
Sam’s shoulders slumped. “No. I ran to Pa’s office when I heard the shouting, and Powell must have realized that his charm wasn’t having the intended effect when I punched him.”
“You what?”
Sam’s dark cheeks gained a rosy undertone. “I punched him right in the gut. I was so angry, and even though I was supposed to be angry at Alan, Powell was there, and I was naturally angry with him, and the emotions got mixed together. Between my reactions and Pa’s, Powell realized his charm wasn’t working, and he fled.”
“Wait, I want to hear more about you punching him.”
Sam’s blush grew more pronounced. “It wasn’t a very good punch, sadly. I think I hurt my fist more than him.”
That was unfortunate. “If Powell’s charm didn’t work as intended, and you punched him—no matter how effectively—why are you acting like this is all bad news? I know it would have been better if Powell had been held for a trial, but the incident didn’t leave things worse than before he returned.” I looked a little closer at Sam. “Did it?”
“He didn’t flee Skorsa entirely at first.”
Somehow I managed to squeeze my fingers together tighter, not wanting to hear what came next, but also desperate to know. “Sam.”
“He went to the forge. Two farmers were there, placing an order with Alan. They hadn’t spent the last couple of weeks looking closely at what Powell had done, so when the charm impacted them...”
“They reacted as intended, getting angry at Alan.”
Sam nodded. “There was a fight. Powell used it as a distraction and slipped away, but he left the charm behind. And because the fight got so out of control, no one noticed. So, it was still there when Alan returned to the forge after he healed.”
My hands sprang apart, and I gripped Sam’s bicep tight enough that he winced. “Alan was hurt?”
“Broken arm. But Cole rode into Haiwella and bought a healing charm, then rode back through the night to get it to Alan as quickly as possible. He said he even saw Powell on the way, but couldn’t do anything about it, since he was in a hurry. The broken bone wasn’t the real problem.”
“The charm,” I whispered, finally releasing Sam’s arm.
“Exactly. The charm was still in the forge, so a few days later, another customer nearly came to blows with Alan. This time, though, Alan thought to look for the charm and smashed it before things got too bad.”
“Who was the customer? And the farmers from the first fight?”
Sam shook his head. “It’s better you don’t know. It wasn’t their fault, Mina. You know that.”
“You and Conrad resisted the charm.”
“We had an advantage of knowing exactly what Powell had been up to, not just vague rumors. ”
“And so Alan had to experience the people of Skorsa turning against him again. What happened after he broke the charm?”
“He closed up the forge and refused to speak to anyone. He only relented enough to allow Cole to deliver some food, but still wasn’t talking. When I left, Cole said he’d give Alan one more day before he refused to leave without having a real conversation.”
“Oh Alan,” I whispered, tears pricking my eyes. “Nothing ever goes right for you, does it?”
Sam wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Pushing you away was his choice, even though you are right for him.”
“Don’t blame him, Sam. Can you even imagine going through everything he has? He deserves understanding. And even if you can’t manage that, you can at least give him the courtesy of time.”
“I hate to say this, Mina, but time is not on your side. The ball is in three days.”
“I know. But it’s not like I’m expected to marry at midnight or anything. I still have a little more than half a year before my birthday.”
“But you are expected to announce a betrothal soon after the ball.”
“Then I’ll stall. Unless I talk to Alan and am told in no uncertain terms that he will never forgive me, I’ll keep stalling right up until my birthday, if that is what it takes.”