The last one to be announced was Casimir, Count of Weston. I remembered from my etiquette lessons that he was the delegation head. After he had made his bow, the herald stamped his staff several times and announced Her Royal Highness the Princess Marie Christina Adrienne Camille of Northhelm.
I held my breath as a tall girl swept into the room. She was wearing the largest dress I had ever seen but her height made it look regal. It was a pale gold that admirably set off her bright gold curls. From a distance she looked much as I had expected although perhaps a little taller. But as she got closer I realised with surprise that she wasn’t beautiful.
She wasn’t ugly, either, but her features were too irregular for beauty and her eyes, though blue, were a pale colour that seemed to fade as you looked at them. My surprise was followed by a momentary surge of satisfaction but I felt instantly ashamed of my spitefulness. Was it court, I wondered, that was making me so shallow? I had never thought physical beauty of any great importance before.
As she progressed down the room, the court swept into deep curtseys and bows but I also heard the faintest hiss of surprised whispers. I guessed I wasn’t the only one surprised by her appearance. Princesses were usually famed for their beauty after all.
I felt a stirring of pity for the princess. She must have spent her whole life being compared to the typical princess – petite and beautiful. But she carried herself with confidence and elegance, standing straight despite her height. Watching her sweeping towards me, the pity disappeared and was replaced with admiration.
I felt suddenly that she was someone I would like to have for a friend. I wondered if this was the kind of instinct the king would want to know about.
When she reached the foot of the dais, the princess swept into a graceful curtsey. Neither too deep nor too shallow, it conveyed the exact level of respect due from a princess to a king. My admiration grew. I remembered that Northhelm was a strong kingdom with a formidable military and that they had recently made an advantageous trade agreement with Lanover. Reluctantly I found myself thinking that this would be a good alliance for Arcadia.
Princess Marie rose and spoke in a strong voice, expressing her thanks for our hospitality. The king gave a brief speech in return, welcoming her to our kingdom. Then the music began and the food started to circulate.
Queen Eleanor ushered her daughters forward to be introduced to Princess Marie and I lingered behind them. When the girls had finished gushing over her dress, the queen looked around for me and gestured for me to come forward and be introduced. I bobbed a quick curtsey and smiled respectfully. We exchanged standard words of greeting and then I was happy to fall back, replaced by an eager member of court.
While I had been talking to Princess Marie, Lily and Sophie had been swamped by the other young girls who were eager to hear their impressions of the visiting princess. I looked around for a friendly face of my own and saw Max. When he saw me looking his way, he detached himself from his conversation with Count Casimir and came towards me.
He was no longer glaring at me but I still felt angry at his unjust assumptions about my cousin. So I turned my back on him and went over to join Beth who I had just seen deep in conversation with Helena and Rivers. When I reached their group I risked a quick glance back at Max. He was standing watching me with an expression on his face so close to anguish that I felt guilty immediately. And then I felt more anger at him for making me feel guilty. What had I done wrong? I reasoned. Nothing.
Still, it was hard to concentrate on the conversation in front of me and I found myself giving answers to my friends’ questions about the princess at random. When I next risked a glance at Max he was talking to Princess Marie and I realised with savage satisfaction that she was half an inch taller than him. When I asked myself why that should give me such satisfaction I was unable to come up with an answer.
When Felix and Nate came to join our group I greeted them with delight. A casual movement on my part left Beth and Nate standing side by side and she flashed me a timid, grateful smile. I smiled back before turning my attention to the sallies of Rivers and Felix. Playing off one another, the boys’ comments grew more and more outrageous. I laughed and flirted with both of them, determined to relax and enjoy myself for one evening.
Twice I saw Max watching us from across the room. Both times I turned away to flirt even more determinedly with Felix. He was delighted to oblige me, but he reignited my guilt by expressing pity for Max, stuck with the boring dignitaries while we were all having such a delightful time.
Chapter 19
By the time the party broke up I had a headache and was desperate for my bed. Lily and Sophie had gone to bed some time ago, escorted to their rooms and tucked in by Nanny, but the queen had told me to stay with the other young people. She clearly thought she was being kind, though I secretly wished I could have escaped with the twins.
I had said goodbye to the others and was making my way up towards the tower when a familiar voice called for me to wait. I stopped with reluctance, the last thing I wanted now was another fight.
“Alyssa,” said Max, sounding breathless and looking hesitant. “I’m really sorry about earlier.”
“Which time?” I snapped, instantly regretting my tone.
“Both times,” he said quickly. “I’m glad your family is looking after you and I’m sorry I said anything. Not that it’s an excuse, but I guess this whole princess thing is getting to me more than I like to admit.”
I suddenly felt sorry for abandoning him at the reception. “Thanks for the apology,” I said. “Sorry for running away from you before.”
His expression softened and for a moment I thought he was going to take my hand. But he didn’t and the moment passed.
“That’s alright,” he said. “By the way, you can sleep in tomorrow. They’ll deliver breakfast to our rooms. And Father said he wants to see you in his office after breakfast. He said to make sure you were there before ten.”
I nodded, my remorse intensified. I had been so focused on my own drama that I had completely forgotten the king’s request to observe the delegation. Other than the princess, I couldn’t even recall a single face. I wondered what I would tell him.
“Don’t worry,” joked Max, who must have read something of my distress in my face, “I’m sure you’re not in trouble.”
I smiled back, forgetting my concerns for a moment. It had been a while since we had shared a friendly moment like this. No wonder I had been in such a bad mood. I had forgotten how much I had come to rely on his companionship.
Something of this must have shown in my face, too, because Max smiled and tucked my hand into his arm. We walked to the princesses’ bedroom together and chatted the whole way, laughing at some of the stranger elements of Northhelm protocol and cheerfully picking Felix’s character to shreds. But we carefully avoided any mention of Princess Marie.
When we reached the door, Max took my hand and squeezed it.
“Friends again?” he asked.
“Friends,” I agreed, with a smile that felt both lighter and heavier than before.
The next morning I arrived at the king’s office at half past nine. I was hoping punctuality would help cover some of my negligence from the night before. To my relief there were already several guards in the room when I arrived and the king didn’t ask me any questions about the delegation. Instead he explained that Count Casimir would be arriving for their closed door meeting at ten. He then introduced me to Markus, the captain of his guard.
Markus was a tall, broad man who projected a reassuring aura of strength. He shook my hand and congratulated me on saving the prince from Claud. I stammered and blushed and tried to assure him that it had been the prince who had saved me. He just smiled knowingly and I subsided, even more embarrassed.
“I’ve asked young Alyssa to watch from the hidden room with you, Markus,” explained the king. “I need her instincts. If she tells you she senses trouble, you listen to her.”
“Yes, sir
,” agreed Markus.
I avoided both of their gazes, unable to imagine myself giving any sort of direction to this man.
“Now I assume you’ve warned your men it would be treason to mention this little exercise to anyone?” asked the king.
“Yes, sir,” repeated Markus. “I have picked my most discreet and trustworthy men.”
“Good, good,” said the king, “I knew I could rely on you, Markus.”
He pulled the key to the hidden room out of his pocket and stepped forward to work the concealed lever. He then opened the door and we filed inside, leaving him alone in his office.
The room seemed very small now that I was sharing it with three men and I tried to take up as little room as possible. The two guards stood at the back of the room, leaving the wall with the eye holes to Markus and me. I positioned myself in front of two eye holes and looked into the room. Sure enough, I could see clearly through the back of the bookshelf. The king was sitting at his desk reviewing reports.
“I wonder if they can hear us out there,” I whispered.
“Given we can hear them, I think it would be best if we stayed as quiet as possible,” said Markus slowly. I gulped and nodded. The last thing I wanted was to cause an international incident.
The outer office door swung open with a creak and I quickly put my eyes back up against the wall. But it was Queen Eleanor and not the count who entered the room.
“I’ve just spoken with Princess Marie,” said the queen. “She said she had a very restful night.” For some reason the queen looked disappointed by this news. “Apparently she gets mildly seasick and she said last night was the best sleep she’s had in weeks.”
There was a moment of silence. “It’s such a pity,” burst out the queen, “I like her. But maybe it’s not surprising, she’s not exactly a typical princess.” The king gave her a warning look and then glanced back towards the bookcase that was hiding our presence. The queen put her hand in front of her mouth and looked embarrassed.
“I’ll come back later, then,” she said and left the room.
I was looking at the back of the king’s head so I couldn’t see his expression. I turned to Markus in confusion and saw that he was standing back with the other guards. He had obviously chosen not to spy on the king and queen’s conversation and I instantly felt ashamed.
But my curiosity lingered in spite of my shame. If the queen liked Princess Marie, why was she so disappointed that she had had a good night’s sleep? It seemed very strange. Fifteen minutes worth of pondering brought no answers. But it did bring the arrival of Count Casimir.
This time Markus joined me at the eye holes and we remained there, silent spectators of the meeting. The king and the count talked for over an hour, discussing trade and some proposed joint military activities.
After fifteen minutes I grew bored and after half an hour my feet were aching. I began to subtly move my weight from side to side in an attempt to ease my feet. All three soldiers stood motionless and showed no signs of pain. I knew that soldiers were trained to stand to attention for long periods of time and I had always thought it was a pointless exercise. Now I could see I was wrong – there was a use for it after all.
When the count finally left, the king swung open the bookshelf and let us out into his office. He thanked the soldiers who saluted and left the room. I started to follow them but the king gestured for me to stay.
“What did you think of the count?” he asked after the office door had closed behind the soldiers.
“He seemed genuine, your majesty” I said. “I didn’t see any hint of duplicity – and no weird feelings in my spine.” I smiled tentatively and was relieved when the king smiled back.
“That’s good to know,” he said. “I like the count – he seems like a straight dealer. But keep your eye on the rest of the delegation whenever you have the chance. You never know.”
I nodded my agreement and the king sighed.
“It would be nice to have an alliance with Northhelm,” he said wistfully. “It’s a pity things didn’t work out with Princess Marie and Eleanor.” He sighed again and I tried to look interested but not too curious. The king didn’t take the bait and I left without any idea what had gone wrong between the princess and the queen.
Time seemed to fly by after that. Each day we accompanied the delegation on some outing and each evening we had another party. Some were smaller and some were larger but I could always count on Nate and Felix for company and often Beth and Helena were included as well.
I lingered near the delegation as much as possible and listened to their conversations but observed nothing suspicious. Princess Marie joined the royal family for breakfast and dinner each day and I continued to be impressed by her intelligence and good sense. My initial nerves subsided and I began to feel certain that whoever our enemy was, it wasn’t Northhelm. With that fear gone I began to actually enjoy myself on some of the excursions.
I couldn’t help but be delighted, for instance, with our trip to a sandy beach just outside the city. It was only the young people on that outing and I even dipped my toes into the ocean. It was shockingly cold, and Lady Marissa complained loudly at my ‘racy’ behaviour, but I didn’t care.
Princess Marie said she had never felt Arcadian waters and joined me. When I threw her a grateful look she smiled and whispered that she had a Lady Marissa in Northhelm too. We chased the waves back and forth together for a few minutes and I felt certain now that if circumstances had been different we could have been friends.
But circumstances were not different. I was a woodcutter’s daughter and she was a foreign princess. And if that was not enough, each day she spent in Arcadie made it more obvious that she would be an excellent wife for Max. It raised an insuperable barrier between us.
I began to think about leaving the palace. Once Arcadia was allied with Northhelm the kingdom would be safe. Our unknown enemy wouldn’t dare strike against our combined strength. Whenever I could I slipped away to the Blue Arrow and I began to hint to Harrison that I might be looking for a job soon.
“Are you unhappy at the palace?” he asked.
“Yes!” I said and then, quickly, “No!”
I shrugged, embarrassed. “It’s complicated.”
The day before, I had sought refuge in the palace library and found Max and Princess Marie there. They had been discussing the Northhelm-Lanover treaty and invited me to join them. I mumbled an excuse and fled, my heart burning.
“Don’t worry, Alyssa,” said Harrison, “we’ll always have a place for you here.”
I smiled at him gratefully. But I was beginning to suspect that life with the royal family had ruined me.
Could I ever be happy at the Blue Arrow now?
Chapter 20
The final ball for Princess Marie arrived much too quickly. There was plenty of buzz around the palace and even some betting in the servant’s wing over whether or not an engagement would be announced at the ball. Most people seemed to think it likely.
I briefly considered telling Lily and Sophie that I was too ill to attend. But I couldn’t bear to lie to them. They liked Princess Marie and had been making a lot of effort over the last few weeks. Their tower room was starting to look quite cosy.
The girls didn’t seem to mind my inattention. They were perfectly happy to have a life-sized doll to dress up as they pleased – directing the maid on how to arrange my hair and even lending me some jewelry to wear. They seemed to take my pleasure in the ball for granted.
And when I looked at myself in the mirror I did feel a small stirring of interest. It was my first ball and I looked almost as magnificent in silver satin and chiffon as I had looked in any of my childhood fantasies.
As we approached the ballroom, the strains of the orchestra grew louder and I found my feet tapping in time to the music. The twins had been teaching me to dance for the last week and in spite of myself I was eager to try out the steps I had learnt.
Entering the ballroom
felt like entering a fairy tale. Lined with gilt-edged mirrors, the room appeared even bigger than it actually was, filled with a never ending sea of twirling dancers.
Anything that wasn’t a mirror was covered in flowers and the room smelt delicious. A long refreshment table lined one wall and scattered chairs covered other walls but I could barely pull my eyes away from the dancers to notice these details. The twins told me they were going to find Georgiana and I nodded absentmindedly, not even turning to watch them disappear into the crowd.
“Want to join them?” asked an amused voice.
I started from my reverie and saw that Felix was gesturing at the dancers. “I’ve never actually done it before,” I admitted. “Lily and Sophie have been teaching me but now that I’m here I’m realising it’s not quite the same!”
“In that case I insist on having the honour of your very first dance,” said Felix. “I promise I won’t let you trip. All you need for a successful dance is a strong male lead. Isn’t that right, Nate?”
Nate, with Beth on his arm, had walked up while we were talking.
“In that case she’d better wait until the next dance when I’ll be free to show her how it’s done,” said Nate with a grin. Felix gasped in mock outrage and called on us girls to defend him.
“It’s not as scary as it looks – truly!” said Beth, ignoring Felix.
I smiled at her gratefully and agreed to make the attempt.
“If I humiliate myself I’m relying on the three of you to remain my friends!” I warned jokingly.
“You can count on us,” declared Nate nobly but then added, “but I won’t promise not to laugh,” which rather spoiled the effect.
As a new song started up, Beth smiled in delight. “A waltz!” she exclaimed and in another moment she was gone, swept onto the dance floor in Nate’s arms.
The Princess Companion: A Retelling of The Princess and the Pea (The Four Kingdoms Book 1) Page 18