Chapter 3

Isabel did not leave her bed for days. She refused to eat, she refused to bathe, and she did not want any of her attendants around. She lay in bed and cried, sometimes crying herself into a restless sleep. Her father tried to see her many times, but she refused to let anyone in. Miel tried her best to explain to the regent what had transpired, but Isabel had not fully explained it even to her. They questioned Christien, but all he could say was that he heard shouting and when he arrived at the scene, the princess was curled up on the ground screaming in agony.

Isabel finally conceded to let her father visit, but even though Miel had tried to explain her physical transformation to him, it was a severe shock to Prince Henri to see his daughter covered in fur. For her sake, he tried to remain calm. He sat down by her bed, and moved to take her hand in his, but she drew it back, and he felt another wave of shock as he noticed the claws.

"My dearest daughter, how did this happen?" he asked, perplexed.

Isabel burst into tears again, but through her sobs she told them about the old woman who always picked her roses and when she tried to throw her out one last time, the woman transformed into a fairy and turned her into some kind of a furry creature.

"She did this because you wanted to throw her out for trespassing?" Prince Henri asked in disbelief.

"I don't know," his daughter wept. "She also accused me of being rude and unkind and uncompassionate and many other vices."

Henri gingerly put a hand on her shoulder and tried to comfort her. "She must have placed some kind of curse on you," he said. "I will send my men out to the Forest to search for her. Maybe we can convince her to change you back." Isabel felt a small grain of hope taking shape in her mind.

Prince Henri sent many of his men to search for the fairy, but a fairy can never be found unless she wants to be found, and the men searched for days without any success. Meantime, Isabel's condition grew worse. Her absence was noticed at court and Henri told her she was very ill and confined to bed. She refused to let any of her attendants into her chambers, so they had to be reassigned to other positions in the palace. There were many whispers among the staff regarding the mysterious illness, but no one knew the real details. And Isabel was discovering that this curse had not only altered her appearance, but it was making it very difficult to control her temper.

If she ever gave in to the frustration she felt, she found herself raging uncontrollably and tearing up her pillows and bed hangings. Once she almost attacked the maid who brought her food and insisted she eat something. Isabel was angry that Miel had allowed the maid to enter, but then she was distraught by her uncontrollable reaction. Miel tried to explain that she could not possibly take care of Isabel all on her own, and since the maid had already seen her, Isabel agreed to let her attend to them. She was the girl with the burned scar, and Isabel found that given her own appearance had become so revolting, she no longer felt uncomfortable by the girl's burn marks.

Christien also attempted to call upon her, and inquired after her health many times. Isabel was not sure if he had caught a glimpse of her that day amidst the downpour, but she flat-out refused to see him. She could feel herself beginning to feel angry, but she resolved to try very hard to keep her temper in check, because she would not let herself turn into a ferocious beast. But she still refused to leave her room.

Prince Henri sat at his desk, pulling at his hair, at a loss regarding what was to become of his daughter and her kingdom. She had informed him that she no longer wished to see people and she no longer wishes to rule. She had given up hope that that the fairy would be found. As he sat there worrying, he was surprised to receive notice that Prince Andrei had arrived. He had completely forgotten that he had been due to visit Jardinia soon.

Henri considered telling Andrei it was not a good time for discussing trade agreements, but then he decided that he needed to focus on other matters instead of worry interminably about Isabel. So he summoned the council to meet with Andrei and discuss their plans. Then he asked Andrei to join him for a ride in the countryside. He felt calmer when he was around the young man, and for some reason felt that he could trust him. He found himself telling Andrei all his troubles, trusting him with the truth about Isabel's condition, of which he had not even told the council. The young man's concern did a lot to relieve his stress. Isabel was a fool to have refused him.

Henri had apologized profusely for Isabel's behavior, but Andrei did not seem to be holding it against him. In fact, now he seemed eager to be of service to Prince Henri and even offered to join the search for the fairy. However, he searched for days too, and was just as unsuccessful as the rest of the Jardinian soldiers.

"I suppose you are rather lucky my daughter refused you," Henri joked bitterly. "You may have found yourself stuck with a reclusive beast."

"But perhaps I may have been able to do more to help you with your duties," replied Andrei thoughtfully. "As it is, I am scheduled to be in Ligne in a few days."

Henri sighed. "Andrei," he said. "I sincerely believed that you would have been the perfect candidate to govern Jardinia. It would have given me a great deal of peace to leave the kingdom in your hands."

"I am truly humbled to hear you say that, your majesty," replied Andrei in wonder. "It would have been a great honor to have been ruler of Jardinia."

Henri hesitated to say what he had been thinking about lately. "What if… Isabel could be persuaded to change her mind…?"

Andrei looked taken by surprise at the question.

"I'm sorry," the regent apologized. "It is too much to ask of you to marry someone with her affliction."

"Your majesty," responded Andrei, interrupted him. "I mean it when I say it would be a great honor to rule Jardinia, no matter what may be my wife's appearance."

Princess Isabel laughed when she heard the proposition. Prince Henri had been nervous to bring it to her, but he counted on the fact that she was past caring.

"He really will never give up, will he?" she asked.

"My dear, since you refuse to take the throne now, why not leave it in the hands of someone capable?"

She screamed for him to leave the room.

But he was back the next day and the next, every time reminding her that she at least had a duty to make sure there was someone else ruling in her place. Finally, Isabel gave in.

"Very well, Father, you may do as you wish. I will marry Prince Andrei, as long as I am never required to see him or spend time with him, and definitely never be expected to bear his children."

"But if you have no children, who will inherit the kingdom?" her father asked.

"I am sure you will have a solution for that too," she replied uncooperatively.

Oh well, one hurdle at a time.

Andrei did not give up his search for Delphine. After many attempts, she finally showed herself.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked angrily. "You told me you were going to help!"

"Andrei, I am so sorry," replied a very remorseful Delphine. "I did not cast the curse correctly, so I was hiding because I was afraid you would be angry at me."

"What did you do?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

After his brother's wedding, Andrei had ridden to the Forest to clear his mind. He was extremely angry and had felt humiliated by Isabel in front of the guests.

Delphine would usually come to him whenever he was in the Forest, taking the appearance of a beautiful young woman. Indeed, she took the form of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, far more beautiful than Princess Isabel, whose appearance he had to admit was rather appealing, no matter how rotten her attitude was.

Delphine had been patient and listened to him recount the events of the evening. She was already privy to his ambitions of becoming king. He had set his mind on Jardinia because he could marry into the position. He had no hope of obtaining a ruling position in the Inghetlands, being the third son, and Inghet laws would not give him the opportunity to marry into the throne.

Delphine had taken great pleasure to tell him how much she despised Isabel as well. She had been nothing but rude to her, when she visited the rose gardens.

"I wish I could punish her," she had lamented.

"Why don't you?"

"I am not allowed to perform magic on humans, unless it is to curse or bless them at another human's request."

An idea had occurred to Andrei. "What kind of curse can you put on her?"

The plan had been to curse the princess to make her take on the appearance of a beast. Then Andrei would swoop in to the rescue. He would find a way to "break the curse", but in fact Delphine would simply lift the curse. Then the princess would have no choice but to accept his hand in marriage. It was custom in the Foretlands to give your rescuer what they wanted, especially if the damsel in distress was a princess.

"What did you do?" Andrei asked again.

"I cast the curse wrong," Delphine replied in a small voice. "It became tied to your heart's desire – your desire to be king."

"What does that mean?" Andrei frowned.

"It means I cannot lift the curse," she said. "I'm really sorry, Andrei."

The prince sighed.

"No matter," he said. "The curse still turned the tide in my favor. The princess has agreed to marry me."

"She has?" Delphine asked in amazement.

"Yes, she no longer cares who rules her kingdom. She stays holed up in her chambers all day, and being married to me would make no difference to her," he explained. "Well, she will marry me with the condition that I will never see her or approach her, which works just as well for me."

"But then how will you have heirs?"

"When I am king, I shall find a way to ensure I have heirs. I will figure something out."

Delphine smiled. "Andrei, I am so happy you were able to get your heart's desire despite my mistake. I have failed to repay my debt to you."

Andrei chuckled. "Well, then I shall come back to collect it some other time," he said, getting up to leave.

"Wait," called Delphine. "There was just one thing you should keep in mind. Do not let the princess ever come into the Forest."

"I doubt she ever will, but why?"

"I drew from the magic of the Forest to cast the curse, so being in the Forest may affect her negatively."

"Very well then," he said. He would keep it in mind, but it was very unlikely that the princess would ever leave her chambers.