Geography

The Forest sprawled over the large expanse of land. Many people lived on the edges of the Forest, but not many wandered into its depths. To the south lay the five kingdoms that formed the Foretlands. To the north, beyond the mountain range, were the ten kingdoms that formed the Inghetlands. On the west were the many tribal kingdoms of the Lochlands; and to the east lay the Ocean.

The Foretlands consisted of a peaceful group of kingdoms with lush green countryside, rich orchards, bountiful harvests, and beautiful gardens. Their people were likewise peaceful, laid-back and unassuming. The Inghetlands were a place of harsher and colder climates, with harsher and tenser relations among its kingdoms. Their leaders were usually shrewd and ambitious, but also fair and just. The largest of the Inghet kingdoms, Fier, was particularly interested in forging good relations with their Foret neighbors and had enjoyed many years of successful trade relations, and now were slowly strengthening their alliances through political marriages.


Chapter 2

There was much celebration in the kingdom of Lavigne in honor of the wedding of their newly-crowned queen. Her father had ruled Lavigne in her mother's stead, and when he passed away rather untimely, Adaline was forced to ascend the throne though she was ill-prepared for it. Lavigne would have descended into chaos, had not a prince of Fier been passing by.

The Foretlands had long had trade relationships with the kingdom of Fier. But ever since Inghet bandits had been travelling through the Forest to raid the towns on the border, they had all turned to Fier for protection. Thus they began negotiations to strengthen their alliance.

Prince Ioan had been travelling through the Foretlands as a show of good faith during the negotiations of the alliance. Upon witnessing the queen's struggles in Lavigne, he offered her valuable counsel, and quickly became indispensable to her. Within a short time, she proposed to strengthen their alliance through a marriage. At first the Lavignian council had been wary of a foreigner taking the reins of their kingdom, but the Foretmen were not known for ambition or desire for power, and they were quick to accept an outsider as their ruler when he proved to be effective.

The wedding celebrations were planned for an entire fortnight. This was to be expected. The Lavignian court was well known for its frequent balls and celebrations and the wine and the musicians.

Isabel and Miel had attended many of these celebrations since they were children, given the proximity of Lavigne and Jardinia. The children of various nobles all over the Foretlands were often in attendance as well.

Isabel was not wildly popular among her peers, being well known for her sharp tongue and judgmental attitude. She in turn held them in contempt for their lack of ambition and for their shallow pursuits of balls and finery. Miel was much better liked, though she was rather shy and did not make many friends. Besides, she was afraid to spend too much time with anyone Isabel disapproved of, which was most of their peers. However, as an accomplished musician, the only talent in which she surpassed Isabel, she would always be asked to perform at every celebration, and she loved every visit to Lavigne.

She was rather disappointed when Isabel declined to be present for the majority of the celebrations. The princess claimed that she needed to attend to her duties of learning to take over the kingdom, in order to prove to her father how serious she was. Miel knew that her motivation included avoiding Prince Andrei. Isabel would not have directly objected if Miel had asked to go on ahead to the celebrations without her, but she would have been very vocal about her displeasure.

So they attended only the last three days of the celebrations, joining it on the day the actual vows were exchanged. All the Foret royal families were present, and given the nature of the union, many heads of Inghet kingdoms were also present. They were all kings. In contrast to the Foret rules, Inghet kingdoms could only be passed along a male line of succession.

Isabel spent most of the wedding away from the dance floor. She attempted to make conversation with the queens of her neighboring Foret kingdoms as she normally would, but this time they only wanted to ask her about whether she would accept an offer of marriage from Andrei. Thus she was forced back to the dance floor, where Prince Andrei kept insisting on asking her for several dances. This was unusual for her since the young noblemen usually only asked her for one dance at the most out of politeness, but she only ever accepted a handful of them. A small part of her felt flattered to be receiving so much attention from Prince Andrei. Most young men were wary of her scornful remarks and maintained their distance respectfully. But she also saw right through Prince Andrei's act.

At first, she had been eager to meet him, for she had had heard he was knowledgeable, intelligent and a natural leader, unlike the frivolous young nobles with whom she grew up. She was not surprised when she caught his eye. She was far more intelligent and beautiful than any woman in any of the Foret courts. But it did not take her long to realize that his interest was only in her crown. He was full of insincere flattery and he took her for a fool.

But no one else seemed to notice or care. When Andrei visited Jardinia, half the court fell in love with his wit and charm immediately, and the other half gradually followed. She found that she resented him. In fact, she had started to feel intimidated by how knowledgeable he was of Foret politics and commerce. She tried to make it clear through her cold behavior that she wanted nothing to do with him, but his persistence only made her hate him more. She knew why he was not so easily discouraged. She was the only unmarried female heir to a Foret throne for the foreseeable future.

What made it worse was that her father was fully in support of the match, and would constantly drop hints that she should consider it herself. And just as she had feared, he was hoping that there might be an announcement out of Adaline's wedding. He was anxious to introduce her to King George, Andrei and Ioan's brother, ruler of the kingdom of Fier. He seemed quite pleasant, though quiet and serious like Ioan, very different from Andrei. She thought his wife was rather dull mostly because she looked bored and barely spoke two words.

While Isabel kept counting the minutes till she could leave, Prince Andrei found himself at the center of attention. A group of admiring noblewomen surrounded him at the refreshment table as he helped himself to his favorite Lavignian wine. Isabel had hardly seen him without a cup in his hand during the entire time she was at the celebration. Personally, she thought all wine tasted atrocious. She stood a little apart, scoffing at the foolish girls who were swooning over his glib compliments. He wasn't exactly handsome per se, but there was something magnetic about his personality that she could not quite put her finger on.

It didn't take long for Andrei to notice her standing nearby.

"Princess Isabel!" he exclaimed, grinning. "I have been looking for you all evening. You have danced with me only once tonight!"

Isabel scowled at him as he walked up to her. "Yes, my Prince. And that was once too many."

"Now, why such hostility?" He was speaking quite loudly and Isabel could hear the girls laughing behind him. He seemed slightly tipsy from all that wine he must have been indulging in.

"Because I want you to leave me alone," she announced, raising her voice so much, that everyone around them turned to look. "I do not wish to dance with you, I do not wish to sit next you at the dinner table, and I certainly do not wish to marry a drunkard like you."

The music had stopped and everyone was staring at them. Isabel felt herself flush. She had not meant to make a scene. Andrei was looking at her with his eyes narrowed and a hard expression on his face. He was visibly angry, but he did not say anything.

Isabel fled to the garden. Across the room, Prince Henri sat down on a chair and buried his face in his hands.


Needless to say, Isabel left the celebrations early, and dragged Miel back with her. The following day, she had a huge row with her father.

"You had to make such a fool of yourself?" He shouted at her.

"Well I hope I made a bigger fool of him," she said defiantly.

"What were you thinking?"

"Well, I had to tell him outright, didn't I?" She shouted back. "He was not taking any of my rather overt hints!"

Prince Henri drew a huge breath. "Isabel, why would you refuse him? It is the right time for you to marry and there can be no better suitor."

"Why? Because I am not good enough for you?" She asked angrily. "You think I am weakling like Adaline, who needs a husband to do her job for her?"

"Isabel, I will not be spoken to in this manner," her father warned her.

"And I do not wish to be spoken to at all," she threw back at him and stalked off.

She paced the length of the palace trying to calm herself down. Her head was throbbing and she had an urge to rush into the kitchen and start breaking all the china. Instead she went out to the gardens. It was a hot summer evening, but the sky was gloomy and threatened rain. The gardeners had probably left by now.

She paced among the rose bushes, hoping the scent would be soothing. Her dress got caught in the thorns and the skirt ripped completely when she tried to yank it. Her mood was at its foulest when she turned around and noticed an old woman picking her roses.

"Hey," she yelled. "Who are you? This garden is not open to the public; you are trespassing!"

To her surprise, the old woman laughed.

"I am not trespassing," she declared, her eyes flashing, "I am here to punish you."

Isabel opened her mouth to demand an explanation, but the woman continued, "You are rude, inconsiderate, arrogant, contemptuous, and very unkind." She counted off on her fingers. "You need to be taught a lesson."

There was something different about the woman. She seemed almost magical.

Isabel was suddenly frightened and took a step back. "Who are you?" she asked. "What have I ever done to you?"

But the woman ignored her question. "I think you are not fit to be a ruler. The people would suffer far too much from you. You need to step aside so someone far better can take your place, someone whose heart's desire is to do good to your kingdom."

"No!" Isabel screamed.

"And you need to be as ugly on the outside and you are on the inside," finished the old woman, grinning widely. Then there was a flash of light and Isabel thought the woman looked like she had turned into a fairy.

All of a sudden she felt her skin crawl, her bones ache and her head pound. She screamed and writhed in agony. And then she realized her skin was getting covered in fur. Her nails were growing into claws. She touched her face and felt the fur. She screamed in horror and tore at her hair and pounded on the floor.

Then she heard someone come running.

"Princess, are you alright?" It was Christien. "Are you hurt?"

"Stay away!" She screamed before he could get too close. "Don't come near me!"

"I only wish to help," he protested.

"Fetch Miel." He hesitated. "Now!" she screamed.

She curled up into a ball on the ground and realized it had started to rain heavily. She cried hard, her wails muffled by the downpour, until Miel came to take her inside.