CHAPTER SEVEN
Other Reunions
Virginia immediately regretted slamming out of her room. She hadn't meant to get so angry at Wolf. And she really was hungry. But she was sure she was right. She wasn't being jealous. She was thinking of her father and the future and her mother. Matilde was certainly a good woman and all. But it just wasn't the right time and her father wasn't the right man. And she certainly wasn't jealous. If her father found the right woman she'd be thrilled, wouldn't she? Wolf had just said those things because he wanted her father out of their hair. Well, that was too bad, because like it or not her father was her responsibility. Maybe everyone thought highly of him now. But it was only a matter of time before he started to screw things up again and she'd have to bail him out.
One of the new radiators in the hallway interrupted her thoughts with its banging and clanging. Its racket only seemed to prove her right. Her father had been lucky in coming up with the cannon idea during The Giant War, she told herself. It had worked only because experienced military leaders were using them. If this whole boiler thing didn't work, he'd look like a fool again. Would Matilde be able to put up with that? How long would it be before Matilde decided to leave him for some older, more powerful being of some sort? She just didn't want her father to get hurt.
Not knowing where to go, Virginia wandered in the direction of the great marble staircase that wound regally from the top of the castle to the main floor. She stood looking down to the floor below, wondering if she should have a talk with Matilde directly. Or maybe, considering how hungry she was, she wondered if she should just go to the kitchen and ask for another sandwich. She ran her right foot over the top step and looked down at her scuffed black boots. She wasn't jealous, was she?
"Jealous is as jealous does," the singing ring sang, as if in answer to her thoughts.
"It's just the same as it always was.
Although you swear your concern is true,
There's less for him than there is for you."
"I don't need to hear from you too," Virginia said, covering the ring over with her right hand.
"Your Highness! There you are!" a voice called from the stairway just below her. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Virginia looked down to see Lord Rupert coming up. He was dressed in his favorite salmon pink velvet jacket. It was decorated with black braid and black cuffs, finished off with black pants and an especially shiny pair of black shoes. Next to him, Virginia felt positively drab in her wrinkled navy traveling dress.
"I have been combing the castle for you!" Lord Rupert said, throwing his arms wide. "There's a wedding to put together, you know. I need you for a fitting at once. Come, come! There's not a moment to lose." He scooped her up and thrust her toward the ascending staircase. "Princess Rose is on the floor above you. She's having the last fitting on her gown this very minute. And I need you to try on your matron of honor gown. I do hope you'll look well in emerald green."
There wasn't much Virginia could say or do. Rupert was like a tornado when he got like this. He just swept up everything in his path. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself in the doorway of a bedroom that was being used as a dressmaking facility. Rose was standing on a platform, encased in a wedding dress of white lace. There were mirrors on three sides of her and several glowing lamps that seemed to be lit with constantly changing magical forms instead of fire. Two women fussed at Rose's feet checking the length of the dress's hem. Another fluffed up the endless train behind her. A fourth fiddled with the lace veil on her head. Rose was staring at herself in one of the mirrors, looking very uncertain about the whole process.
Rupert pushed his way into the room first and gave Rose a once over. "Splendid, splendid!" he exclaimed. "The veil should be decorated with baby's breath at the top. And perhaps the train needs to be a bit longer. But it's absolutely perfect."
Rose sighed deeply. She didn't like being a life size fashion doll. She felt useless and frivolous.
"I still say the hair should be up," the woman who'd been working on Rose's veil decreed. She was the Royal Couturier's First Assistant and she wasn't used to having her opinions ignored.
"Nonsense!" Rupert said. "She'll look like an old maid. With her hair down she looks fresh and young and innocent."
"I think it makes her look a bit wild," the Couturier's First Assistant said, with a dour shake of her head.
"Nonsense. No one ever looked wild in lace!" Rupert clapped his hands three times and the other three young seamstresses stopped what they were doing. "Ladies, I need you to fetch the matron of honor gown at once. Then help Princess Rose out of her gown."
Rose turned around and saw Virginia for the first time. Finally a smile came over her face. "Oh, Virginia! You've come to rescue me." She tried to step off the platform, but Rupert pushed her back up.
"No your Highness!" Rupert said. "You mustn't move. The dress might catch on something and then we'd be in terrible trouble. There's only one more day before the wedding. We must be very careful. Penelope, help the Princess out of her gown."
Penelope was the given name of the Couturier's First Assistant. She made another face and undid the back of Rose's gown. Meanwhile the other three assistants got busy helping Virginia out of her navy traveling dress and into a rather poofy satin gown of bright emerald green. When the ensemble was complete with satin green shoes, Rupert pulled her over to one of the mirrors.
He squinted at Virginia's reflection and pursed his lips. "Hmm. It's just as I feared. Green is definitely not your color."
"Thank you," Virginia said wryly.
"Of course I meant that in the very best of ways. Blue is your shade."
"Don't worry," Virginia said. "I don't really think maid of honor gowns are supposed to be becoming. Where I come from, they never are."
"More's the pity," Rupert said with a deep sigh. "I gave you plenty of room for your, uh, growing midriff. But unfortunately empire waists don't become you."
"You need to be tall and slim and very bosomy to wear an empire gown right. Do the sleeves have to be so puffy?"
Rupert squinted hard at Virginia's reflection again. "I believe you're right. We'll trim those down and create just the tiniest bit of a train in the back."
"Thank you."
"Now. What kind of headdress should we do?"
It was Virginia's turn to sigh. In New York City hats were absolutely forbidden, even outside in the coldest weather. She'd softened on that because of Wolf's worrying nature and her pregnancy. But…"Do I really have to wear a hat inside?" she groaned.
"Well, I suppose now that your hair is longer, we could curl it the night before and give you a headband of baby's breath."
"Fine. Let's do that."
"So," Penelope the Couturier's First Assistant remarked disapprovingly. "Her hair is going to be down too? I think she would look better in a snood."
"Indeed?" Rupert answered. Would this woman's lack of taste never end? "She's a matron, not an old hag."
"Snood's can be quite elegant. Queen Red Riding Hood the Third used to wear one all the time."
Lord Rupert yearned to say, yes and look where it got her. But instead he said, "Well, no one here will wear one. Not while I'm in charge."
Penelope the Couturier's First Assistant sniffed and gathered up Rose's gown, which Rose had slipped out of during Rupert's discourse over Virginia's puffy sleeves. It took Penelope and two other ladies to carry the wedding gown out of the room. The remaining assistant helped Virginia out of her gown and then left as well.
"Fear not!" Rupert said, just before he too closed the door and disappeared. "I will have both gowns perfect!"
"Ah!" Rose said, sighing with relief. "I thought they'd never leave. I get so fidgety trying on that gown. Rupert has had me trapped up here almost every day since you left." She put on a fluffy robe, tied it in the middle, and sank onto the bed. "I much prefer my leather pants and jacket."
"I don't think Rupert would let you get married in that," Virginia said as she slipped back into her navy traveling dress.
"I had a new leather outfit done to take on the honeymoon. For hunting. I don't mind gowns generally speaking, but Rupert keeps insisting on my wearing these fussy ones, full of ribbons and lace. He tells me I look more like a princess in them. I feel more like his personal dress-up doll."
"You did look lovely in that gown."
"You think so?" Rose looked up appealingly at her sister-in-law. "I want so much for Wendell to be pleased with me."
Virginia sat down on the bed and slipped her boots on again. "He will be."
"I want his family to be pleased with me too. He's got these two cousins coming and I'm really nervous about meeting them."
"They'll love you," Virginia said, putting her arm around Rose. "How could they help it?"
"Because I'm a wolf. I'm the only one of my kind to ever become a monarch. And I don't know anything about being Queen. Wendell told me that I'm made for the job. But I'm not so sure."
"You'll be great."
"I hope so. Oh but, I haven't asked about your honeymoon yet. How was it?"
"Very nice. Except for one part." Virginia told Rose about their unpleasant trip to the Fifth Kingdom.
"I guess not everything has changed," Rose said. "That's why I have to be a good queen. But what does a queen do really? I mean, Wendell is the one who's going to be doing the actual ruling. What am I supposed to do? Stand around and let Rupert dress me?"
"You'll find your place."
"I feel so much pressure."
"Wolf does too. I don't think he wanted to be a prince or an heir to a throne. But he felt it was his duty to accept."
"Well, it's more than just duty for me. I've got to get it right for Wendell."
"You will."
"And for our children. When I think that my children will one day rule this country, I can't believe it."
"I know what you mean," Virginia said, running her hand across her stomach. "The thought of being a parent is kind of frightening, isn't it?"
"Oh, that part doesn't frighten me. I think I'm looking forward to being a mother. I barely remember my parents anymore. Or my younger brothers. I feel like I missed having a family for most of my life. I want a castle full of children. Don't you?"
Virginia couldn't stop her eyebrows from flying up at the thought of that. "Whew," she said. "I'm overwhelmed as it is. If I have my way, there won't be any more little ones for a while."
"Really? Oh, I want as many as possible as soon as possible."
Having more children was something Virginia didn't want to think of just then. There was something else on her mind and she didn't want Rose to see how concerned she was about it. "Rose, did you happen to notice how my father did while I was gone?"
"Haven't you seen him?"
"Yes. But he was very busy with the new boiler system, so we really didn't get much time to talk." For the first time Virginia became aware that the pipes in the wall were not banging and clanging. The new radiator in Rose's dressing room was perfectly quiet and seemed to be doing a nice job of taking the chill off.
"The boiler's been his pet project since you've been gone," Rose said, rising. She went to the white lacquered dressing table near the door. The whole room was white, the walls, the furniture, the curtains, the linens. It had once been Snow White's sewing room. Rupert had said it was a perfect place to prepare for the wedding, good luck and all that. Rose picked up a white hairbrush and began brushing her thick red hair. "Maybe Rupert likes my hair down," she said. "But I think I'll wear it up during dinner tonight. I'd prefer that my new in-laws think I look mature instead of wild."
"You don't look wild."
"I want Wendell's cousins to think he's marrying the most poised and mature lady in the Nine Kingdoms."
"They will. I'm sure they will. So…getting back to my father…"
Rose swept her hair up in back of her head and proceeded to swirl it around, all the while gazing at herself in the mirror. "As you know, he was busy with the boiler. And of course he's been very excited about the wedding. I think he's every bit as excited as Wendell and I are. He's been so wonderful to Wendell…and to me. But mostly to Wendell. I think he thinks of him as a son."
"Yes," Virginia said, remembering. "They were almost inseparable from the first moment they met." And it had bugged Virginia at first. The way her father had insisted on dragging Wendell around when he was a golden statue and how he'd almost refused to escape without him, when they had the chance to get away from the trolls and the Huntsman. Wolf and his self-help books would probably say that she had been jealous of him too. But so much had happened since then. Wendell had become something of a brother to her. And she thought very highly of Rose. What was it Wolf had said? You're just gaining a new pack mate. She liked having Wendell and Rose as part of her "pack." But there were limits. "How is he getting on with Matilde?" Virginia asked as nonchalantly as she could.
Rose secured her long red hair with a set of tortoise shell combs. "Oh…you mean their romance! They're both walking on clouds. It's the talk of the castle."
"I was afraid of that," Virginia said under her breath.
"What?"
"What's everyone saying?"
"How wonderful it is. Everyone's so happy for them. Wendell says that before The Giant War, Matilde had been getting more and more distant from everyone. He was afraid she might pull out of the Council completely and just become a recluse in her ice castle. Now she's getting involved in everything again. Your father's done her a world of good."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. They're obviously very happy. I know they want to get married as soon as possible, but they're waiting on account of Wendell and me. Wendell would love to be best man. But he's sure that honor will go to Wolf."
"What about the age difference between them?"
"With fairies there's always an age difference. They live so much longer than everyone else." Rose did a turn so Virginia could get the full effect of her hair. "What do you think? Do I look mature?"
"Absolutely. And beautiful too."
"Thank you. Now I have to decide on a dress." Rose ran to the closet, her bare feet flying in tiny nervous steps. "What do you think? The green print or the maroon velvet?" She held up both dresses for Virginia's inspection.
"The velvet, definitely."
"You know, when your father marries Matilde, Wendell will be related to almost every monarch in the Nine Kingdoms in one way or another. Except of course for the trolls and the dwarves and Old King Cole."
Virginia didn't say it, but she was pretty sure the Fifth Kingdom wouldn't have wanted a connection to Wendell or anyone else who was friendly to wolves.
"I don't have shoes to match," Rose said. "What about these brown ones. They'll go with my hair combs at least."
"I'm sure they'll be fine."
"Of course when Rupert sees me, he'll probably rip them off my feet and give immediate orders for the Royal Shoemaker to have velvet slippers made up."
"No doubt." Virginia wandered over to the fireless lamps that were stationed next to the three full length mirrors. She raised one of her hands to test it for heat, but it was cool to the touch. "What kind of lights are these?"
"Those? Oh, they're magic. It doesn't consume anything, but it gives off light. It's fairy fire. Elves can make it too, but not as well. Matilde made those for me because she was afraid there'd be a fire here with all the different material Rupert had me trying on. Every surface was piled high with bolts of cloth before he decided on the lace." Rose slipped out of her robe and started to step into the maroon velvet dress. "You must have seen those lights at Wendell's coronation."
"I did. But so much was going on, I didn't think to ask anyone what they were."
"At Wendell's coronation Matilde's uncle, Prince Brutus and his daughter Alicia handled the lighting. Matilde is doing the same thing for our wedding. Would you do my buttons for me?"
"Of course." Virginia buttoned in silence for a moment. "Rose? Do you think my father and Matilde are getting married too quickly? I mean, with my mother dying recently. Where I come from it's, well, it's not considered proper."
Rose spun around to face her sister-in-law. "Oh, Virginia! That's what you're worried about." She slipped her freckled hands over Virginia's shoulders. "Don't you worry. It's not like that here. No one's going to think any less of them. In fact, like I said, everyone's happy about it." She threw her arms around Virginia and gave her a warm hug. "We all think it's wonderful."
"Oh," Virginia said, weakly. "How nice." Once again, Virginia became aware of how quiet the shiny new radiator in the room had become. There hadn't been any noise since she'd come in. Was Wolf right? Was she just being jealous?
The singing ring began wiggling on her finger, as if in response to her thoughts. Virginia had a feeling that if Rose hadn't been there, he would have sung that little song to her again.
"Jealous is as jealous does.
It's just the same as it always was.
Although you swear your concern is true,
There's less for him than there is for you."
It was beginning to look as if Wolf and the singing ring were right.
