Andrei

He had been such a fool. Such an irresponsible fool. Andrei had told himself that he was not to blame for what he had told the fairy under the influence of alcohol, nor for what she had done. She would have done it anyways; she only used him as an excuse. And it really had helped him get what he had always wanted. It ruined Isabel's life in the process, but she had brought it upon herself.

He had thought her wretched. He had thought he really was helping to save Jardinia from her, for if Prince Henri was to be believed, she would have driven the kingdom to the ground. How wrong he had been about her. If only he had gone about things the right way from the start, if he had been the friend she needed and provided the guidance she wanted, then he may have been very happily married to the most beautiful woman in all of the Foretlands.

But then, Andrei realized, in this fantasy, he would never have been king. Even if Isabel had married him willingly, she would never have passed sovereignty to him if not for her affliction. Even now, he knew he would have to run the risk of her wishing to renegotiate the contract to retain her sovereignty upon coronation. And he had been increasing this risk by spending the past few weeks mentoring her on governance, but he had been pushing those thoughts away. He was finally starting to feel the joy from his new position that he had always imagined, and he wouldn't do anything to change that. The trouble was that his increase in happiness was accompanied by an increase in a sense of guilt. So he tried to think as little of the curse as possible, but it was proving to be difficult since he spent so much time wondering what Isabel looked like under that veil.

Chapter 10

Isabel waited inside the palace for a long time trying to gather the courage to step outside into the grounds. The guests were already outside, and she had bid Lisette to go on ahead without her. Now Miel was waiting with her, and even though Miel was impatient to get to the festival, she did not mind standing with the princess telling her about her time in Lavigne. It was strange having Isabel be the one listening for once, and Miel had noticed that it had definitely become easier to talk to her. However, Isabel made no move to step outside. Perhaps she may have stood before the doors the entire night if Queen Adaline had not burst through it.

"My dear friend," she exclaimed. "We thought you weren't going to come outside today after all, so I was coming in to find you. I haven't seen you since your wedding, and even then I barely saw you! We have missed you at the Lavignian court!" She didn't give Isabel much of a chance to respond before she went on, "I do hope you have recovered from your horrid illness, I am truly sorry for whatever lasting marks it has left on you. But do know that you can always come to me if you need anything. After all, we are sisters now!"

Isabel laughed uncertainly and thanked her.

"Come, let us stroll about the grounds. We have much to discuss," announced the queen and dragged Isabel outside and they walked around the gardens, away from the other guests. Miel smiled at them and set off towards the festival itself. Isabel was alarmed at the nature of the conversation they were about to have, but fortunately Adaline always chatted non-stop. She did ask a few questions regarding how things were between her and Andrei, but fortunately Isabel could provide positive-sounding yet non-committal responses to those. They walked past the rose bushes and Adaline was quite impressed by the quality of the roses. Isabel smiled and made a mental note to tell Christien about it.

Anxious to get away lest she started asking questions about her condition, Isabel asked where King Ioan was so she could greet him.

"Oh, he and Andrei are still arguing I believe," said the queen, a tinge of annoyance to her voice and led Isabel to the brothers. They were indeed speaking in angry voices that they were attempting to keep down, but Isabel and Adaline got close enough to hear. They were both carrying empty cups, and Isabel supposed the wine might contribute to making them especially querulous.

"Just because you've got your own kingdom now doesn't mean you can just forget about our homeland," Ioan was saying.

"You've got your own kingdom too, and I don't see you doing much," Andrei retorted angrily.

Isabel was rather affronted by the way they were speaking about her kingdom (and Adaline's) but when she turned to look at her companion, she only rolled her eyes and didn't look one bit offended.

"That is enough arguing for tonight, darling," she announced loudly, walking up to them and taking Ioan's arm. "You're missing all the festivities." Isabel noted how freely she addressed him and for the first time wondered what their relationship was like. She had not had a chance to observe them together till now.

Ioan was about to respond, but then he noticed Isabel, and bowed to her. "Princess Isabel, it is wonderful to see you again after so long."

Isabel curtsied, feeling awkward. "Likewise, your majesty. I hope everything is alright?" She looked from one brother to the next. Andrei had looked uncomfortable as soon as he had noticed them, but now he walked up right next to her and said quickly, "Oh there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh yes, he's right," Ioan smirked. "Your husband is so dedicated to your kingdom, he is ignoring promises he made to our brother, King George." Isabel jumped involuntarily. She wasn't quite used to anyone referring to Andrei in that way, which is why she succeeded in pretending that the marriage had not actually happened; but she recovered quickly. Andrei, meantime, gave Ioan an irritated scowl; and Queen Adaline had started telling her husband off for being unkind.

"What promise?" Isabel asked, turning to Andrei.

"I promised to serve as ambassador and George wants me to help negotiate a new trade agreement with Ligne, but I have been telling him that this is not the best time," he replied, sighing.

"I would begin the negotiations myself," said Ioan. "But trade negotiations have been Andrei's expertise."

"These ones would take time. George wants to send workers to Ligne to alleviate the job shortage scenario, and right now, I don't think I can go away to Ligne for that long."

Isabel nodded. Ligne was rather sparsely populated and may be the most open to the idea of Inghetmen coming to work in their lands.

"Well, you're quite right," said Isabel. "This is not the best time of the year for Ligne either. Their farmers give them so much trouble this time of year, they wouldn't even want to consider it!"

Adaline nodded in agreement. "Yes, do you not recall Queen Jacinthe complaining about it at the last ball, darling? She complains about it every year."

Ioan looked skeptical, but Andrei seemed to relax.

"The winter would be a much better time for them," Isabel continued, encouraged.

"Then it's settled," Andrei smiled, "I shall write to George and inform him I will take this up in a few weeks."

Ioan sighed. "I wish there was something we could do more immediately," he frowned. Adaline looked exasperated that the conversation was not over.

Isabel tilted her head to one side, which Andrei had noticed she did whenever she was thinking. "Jardinia is making plans to build new bloomeries and smithies, I am certain we can have workers come here for that. But I suppose that would not be sufficiently immediate. Weren't all the Foret kingdoms speaking of sending men to Fier to train properly to deal with the bandits? Maybe we can bring more guards from Fier and have them train everyone here."

Andrei grinned, and felt a rush of affection at her thoughtfulness. He almost put an arm around her and had to catch himself just in time.

Ioan still looked uncertain and said, "I don't think we can convince the councils to agree to bring more guards."

"Why not?" Isabel asked sharply. "You've convinced them of everything else."

Ioan looked taken aback and Adaline laughed. Unexpectedly, Isabel joined her. Both brothers were reluctant to make their own councils feel they were placing priority on Fier, and Isabel had just called them out on that.

"Alright, I must insist, now," said Queen Adaline as her laughter subsided. "We really ought to enjoy the festival." She began to drag her husband away.

Andrei turned to Isabel with a warm smile. "I must thank you sincerely for your support back there," he said. She returned his smile, though he could only see a shadow of it through her veil, and shrugged. She had really only said what had come to her mind, but his gratitude felt nice all the same.

Andrei ran his hand through his hair. "You haven't had a chance to greet the other guests, have you?" She shook her head.

"Then if I may," he said extending his arm. Isabel hesitated for a split second bu then slipped her arm through his. Almost immediately she started to feel a strange fluttering sensation in her stomach. But it was quickly drowned out by the nervousness she felt at the prospect of having to greet the guests, and the curious looks they would be undoubtedly giving her. Fortunately, not many of the nobility were in attendance, and Andrei had the annoying habit of attracting all the attention within any crowd. This would normally have irked her greatly, but tonight she felt grateful for it.

They also had the opportunity to walk around the festival together. The Jardinian common folk always brought all kinds of merchandise to sell at the festival, and also sold the most delicious treats from the orchards. Isabel pointed out craftsmen whose work she liked the best, and the bakers whose pies she liked the best, and Andrei had sampled them for himself with great interest. He also wanted to refill his cup with his favorite Lavignian wine, but Isabel insisted that at this festival, he really ought to substitute the wine with the spiced cider. He obliged and was not disappointed. Isabel, of course, could not partake of any food or drink because of her veil, but she tried not to complain about it. It was, after all, by choice.

There were also performances from musicians from all over the Foretlands, though most of them were from Lavigne. Miel always watched every performance and sometimes even performed with them. This year too, she was among the musicians and appeared to have formed a strong camaraderie with them. The music was very lively at the festival, and the dancing rather spirited. Isabel and Miel had always joined in at the dances at the festival with the common folk, and they had both thought it was much more fun than the dancing at proper balls.

Andrei watched them with much interest and asked Isabel if she was familiar it with.

"Yes," she replied uncertainly, "But I am not dancing tonight!"

"Oh nonsense," he claimed, dragging her towards the dance floor.

"Andrei!" she exclaimed, and then quickly removed her arm from his, feeling embarrassed. She had never addressed him so informally before. She always avoided addressing him directly and always used 'Prince Andrei' when she absolutely had to; and he followed her lead and did the same. But now, he had turned to her with a wide smile. Isabel dropped her gaze and felt herself flush, feeling thankful for her veil.

"Well, it looked rather fun," he said. "I would have liked to learn." He sounded a tiny bit crestfallen. Isabel almost said he could ask any girl here to show him and they would be delighted at the opportunity, but strangely, she started to feel the urge to teach him herself.

"Oh alright," she said, holding out her hand, which he took eagerly. She would have liked to stand apart from the couples on the floor, but this dance required you to interact with the others. The dancing got interrupted when they approached and she was very conscious of everyone staring at her. But the dancers were quick to welcome them and cooperated a little too zealously as Isabel taught Andrei the steps; he picked them up quickly. They were able to join in the group soon and it was quite a bit of fun. Isabel noticed that Miel joined in from time to time, and Lisette and Christien were dancing together. That was new, she thought. She would have to ask Lisette about it later.

But people never stopped staring at her.

"They won't stop staring," she grumbled. Andrei chuckled.

"It's not the veil," he assured her. "They are curious to see us together, you know. People say all sorts of things, so it's important to keep up appearances."

He meant it harmlessly enough, but it still ticked Isabel off enough to ask sharply, "Is that why you wanted to dance?"

"No!" he replied quickly, looking stricken.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ask in that way," she apologized, but she was starting to feel that she had had enough of dancing for that night. And of course Andrei would always be thinking about his public image, it was nothing she had not expected.

When they left the floor, Isabel said she would head back now, and made her way to the palace.

"Isabel," he called after her. She turned around. He had dropped the formalities too. And he was looking at her so intently as if he wanted to pierce her veil with his gaze. "I don't want you to think this was just for show," he implored. She didn't say anything, mostly because she was still feeling embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I should not have addressed you informally without asking first," he apologized, mistaking her silence for disapproval. "I thought perhaps…since you had…maybe I could…" he was stammering now, and it was bringing back those fluttering sensations in her stomach.

"Perhaps it's time we dropped the formalities," she suggested quietly.

"I would like that very much," he smiled.

When Isabel returned to the palace, she was in high spirits once again.