Chapter 19

"She has gone where?"

Prince Henri had thought he would drop by to see his daughter the night before her coronation to see if her nerves had calmed since earlier in the day. But she was not in her chambers and he only found Miel in the princess's sitting room alone. Miel had the unfortunate task of having to inform him of his daughter's whereabouts.

"I'm terribly sorry, your majesty. I'm afraid I came bearing news of Prince Andrei's illness, and her highness felt she needed to see him right away."

"Why didn't you come to me with the news?" he demanded. "How sick is he? Why haven't I heard of this?"

"He has been ill a few days with no sign of recovery. I believe King Ioan didn't think it was appropriate to trouble you with the news at this time."

Prince Henri looked troubled. He had loved Andrei like a son. He had not quite forgiven the young prince, but the news of his illness was deeply upsetting. He was even more troubled when he discovered his daughter had ridden to Lavigne on horseback. She was not an experienced rider, he knew. He doubted she would even make it there by herself. He worried all night for both children, and considered whether he should travel to Lavigne himself in the morning.

However, in the early hours the next day, a messenger arrived from Lavigne bearing news that the princess was safe and would be escorted home shortly, and that Prince Andrei had taken a turn and was likely to recover. Even as the relief washed over him, Prince Henri had to laugh at Andrei. Was he really sick, or simply heartsick, or perhaps plotting to win his way back to Jardinia? Isabel would have accused him of scheming not too long ago, but despite all her claims of hatred for him, and all her conditions that he never come near her, she had come to a state where Henri could see that she would not be happy without him. But Isabel had seen through him from the very first; she had not been immediately charmed unlike everyone else, Henri himself included. Andrei had earned her love by being the support her father had failed to be.

Henri knew that she had forgiven him. If she accepted his repentance, why shouldn't he? Andrei had confessed out of a sense of guilt and concern for Isabel's welfare, and accepted the harsh consequences that awaited him. And even before that, he had agreed to hand back the very sovereignty that he had been so desperately after. He had put his ambitions aside for her. Having had sufficient time since the confession to reflect upon everything that had transpired, Henri could not doubt that Andrei truly cared for Isabel.

Henri was not altogether surprised when he discovered that Andrei was on his way to Jardinia with Isabel. Another messenger had been sent ahead of the royal carriage to inform him of this. However, he was still officially banished, and the matter had to be dealt with appropriately. He summoned the council to await their return. The council unsurprisingly was rather delighted to learn of this development. They were very eager to have him back.

Upon arrival, Andrei and Isabel were sent immediately to the council room. Andrei was still weak from his illness, and the journey had done him no favors. He had to lean on Isabel for support, and she seemed anxious to put him to bed. But Andrei determinedly repeated his formal apology, swore his allegiance to Jardinia and to Isabel, and declared he would accept whatever position they offered him, even if they didn't offer him one, as long as he could stay with his wife. The council made its position clear that they were happy to pardon him and welcome him back, but they looked to Henri and Isabel for the final word. Isabel said she had already prepared the pardon, and that it could be issued tomorrow, but she was insisted that there be further negotiations as soon as possible for a new contract with which the marriage would be reinstated. She knew the council would be unhappy if she denied him a position and they might challenge her on that decision, and truthfully, he was easily the best adviser she could find. But she would make him wait, and wondered with her mischievous curiosity how long it would be before his resolve broke and he would attempt to negotiate his way back into the council.

After a little bit of confusion, Andrei's old attendants set about preparing a room for him in the royal suite, rather than his previous chambers. But he was hardly in any condition to wait, so Isabel sent him to bed in the royal bedchambers that had been prepared for her. He was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillows. Isabel stayed up for some time in the parlor of her new suite with Miel and Lisette recounting the events of the past twenty-four hours, though there was not a whole lot to tell, since she provided them only with a gist of her conversations with Andrei, even though Lisette kept pressing for as much detail as her station allowed her to ask.

Isabel was rather exhausted herself, thus she retired for the night after Lisette helped her get ready for bed. She debated whether to spend the night in the room that had now been prepared for Andrei, so as not to bother his sleep, but Lisette told her she was being silly. So she walked quietly into the large royal chamber and crept into bed. She lightly touched Andrei's forehead to see if he still had a fever. Then she ran her fingers through his hair the way her mother used to do when she was sick. Isabel smiled as she lay down and reflected on how she was going to start a new chapter of her life tomorrow, and step into new roles, for better or for worse.

The coronation ended up being a slightly bigger event than had been originally intended. It had been planned as a small internal event, with only the key Jardinian nobility in attendance, but news of Prince Andrei's sudden return had spread and more guests had showed up.

Later, Isabel would confidently be able to say it was the happiest day of her life. Her countrymen and her subjects toasted her and swore their allegiance to her. And Andrei was there. He seemed to have fully recovered after a good night's rest, and was back to his old self again. He was the last to swear his allegiance to Isabel, but he made a big show of taking several vows to protect her, to support and guide her, and to cherish her. Isabel did not know whether to laugh or cry. Based on how moved the crowd seemed to be, she knew Andrei was back in everyone's graces. But she had to admit that such a heartfelt declaration from him would elevate her own public image, and it was just like Andrei to be always striving to make a strong impression.

A small celebration followed, in which the queen and her consort mingled with the guests. As always happened to him, Andrei was the center of attention even though it was Isabel's coronation. He was bombarded with questions about his long absence (which he tried to avoid by attributing to personal reasons) and the scar on his face (which he tried to attribute to a hunting accident). Isabel would normally have been extremely irritated by all the attention he was getting, but on this day, every time she looked at him, she only felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. Besides, no matter how much attention he was receiving, Andrei's attentions were focused solely on his wife.

A/N: Just brushing up a few loose ends in this chapter and I apologize in advance for the Epilogue. I had a really hard time with it, and with deciding what to put in it, and I've rewritten it several times already, and I'm still not very happy with it. But I've had enough, and it's going to be up tomorrow! In the meantime, Happy Holidays! ^_^