The sail took two days which Septimus and Val spent mostly apart from each other. Val enjoyed the journey immensely and was running all over the ship trying to reveal all its secrets while Septimus felt slightly seasick and rarely came out of his cabin. At the end of the second day Val excitedly knocked on his door.
"Septimus! Septimus, come out. We can see Ingmaria clearly from here already. We will be there in less than an hour"
Septimus went on the deck and saw that Ingmaria indeed was there. Ingmaria had a hot climate and a large part of it was occupied by desert. But the coast looked beautiful with its soft white sand and palm-trees that could be seen even from a long distance. As they moved closer Septimus noticed a colourful delegation that was on the coast in order to meet them. Not too far from the coast stood a luxurious castle. It had a lot of golden parts and was shimmering in the sun beautifully.
As soon as they went ashore gorgeously dressed young lady moved forward to greet them.
"It's my great honour to see you in a kingdom of Ingmaria. I am Princess Agatha. My father awaits for you in the castle"
She gazed at Septimus with an interest and then moved her glance to Val. She made a face a proper lady would make while looking at something slightly disgusting, something between a worm and a slug.
"Who is that friend of yours, Lord Septimus? Is that a new fashion in Stormhold for women to dress up as farm boys?" she asked.
Val could feel the blood rushing to her face and the rage started to build inside of her when Septimus took her arm and hooked it around his elbow.
"And is it a custom in Ingmaria to travel in evening gowns?" he asked coldly. "This is Lady Valita who kindly agreed to take this journey with me"
"My carriage is fit for two, would you like to accompany me to the castle, Lord Septimus? The rest may follow us on foot, it isn't far from here" Princess Agatha smiled showing her shining white teeth.
"I already have a company" he answered.
Val looked up in his face.
"Septimus, there is no need to be rude. I will be quite fine on my own, I will travel with guards. They are nice chaps and are telling the most amusing dirty jokes"
She patted his elbow lightly and took a step back. Septimus sighed deeply and went forward to join the Princess.
The King gave them the warmest welcome and attempted to throw a feast in honour of his guest but Septimus convinced him to postpone it in order to rest after the journey. Both Val and Septimus were taken to their rooms which were enormously spacious. Soon the girl got bored and went to join Septimus in whatever he was doing.
"I knew you weren't sleeping" she said entering his room.
He indeed wasn't. He was sitting in a chair, deep in his thoughts. He shrugged when he heard her speak.
"I can't. It is too early and I'm not tired. But I'd rather stay here than go and make small talk with the King and his daughter. You can join me if you want to" he said.
She took the bed and they sat in silence for a while. The girl was starting to doze off when somebody knocked on the door.
"A letter for Lord Septimus" said that somebody through the door.
Septimus opened the door, took the letter and came back to his chair to read it. It took him a few minutes of reading when he exclaimed:
"He can't do that to me!"
"What's going on?" asked Val and sat upwards.
He stormed to her and gave her the letter.
"Read it"
She started reading it out loud.
"My dearest uncle. Are you the "dearest" because you are the only one left?"
"Probably. Keep reading"
"My dearest uncle, I hope that your journey is going well... It is too long, could you give me a summary?"
"He wants me to marry her!" he looked furious.
Something dropped inside of Val but she asked calmly:
"Who?"
"Princess Agatha"
"So?"
"So?! He is not in the place to command me that! I am his uncle, he's not to choose a wife for me. And he married for love so how dares he to offer a political marriage to me"
"I don't understand what are you getting so worked up about. She is very beautiful and she'll probably be a good wife to you"
"Who? That stupid little..." Then he used a word that made even Val giggle and say "Septimus" in the most disapproving way.
"What? She is. She's dumb and self-obsessed and downright boring. Do you know what she talked about in the carriage? About the clothes and jewelry and balls and how rich her father is and how beautiful she is. Have you noticed how great my skin looks? It's all because of that very expensive oil my father buys me. Touch it, my skin is as soft as a baby's bottom. It took a lot of effort from my side not to kick her out of the carriage."
"Do you think she actually touched some babies' bottoms to make such comparisons? Anyway, it is just a political marriage, you would hardly have to see her at all after you get married and when her father dies you would be the King of Ingmaria. It's not that bad"
"Of all people I didn't expect you to find it a good idea"
"Why?"
"Well, don't you love me anymore?"
The girl blushed a bit and looked up at him defiantly.
"That was low, Septimus. And it doesn't have anything to do with anything. It's not if a man like you could marry a girl like me. I don't have any false hopes about that. So you might as well marry Princess Agatha, I think she's a good fit for you"
"There is no such thing as "man like..." or "girl like...". People are all different, if you haven't noticed."
He went to the other end of the room and continued speaking from there.
"I won't marry her. I don't like her. I don't want a wife I would hate"
"Even if she makes you a king one day?"
"Actually I don't think it matters that much to me any more... I have to think about the answer for Tristan, could you leave me alone, please?"
The girl climbed off the bed and silently left the room.
