Epilogue: King George, his Brothers, and the Foretlands
Chapter 25
King George had declared he would never let Andrei set foot in Fier again. After all, the boy had single-handedly almost destroyed the careful relationships George had been building between Fier and the Foret kingdoms. When tensions would break out again in the Inghetlands due to resource constraints, and he knew it was bound to happen soon, he wanted to make sure he would have the support of his Foret neighbors. He would need them to continue their supply of crops.
He was grateful that the news had not spread beyond the Jardinian council, Ioan and his wife, and now himself. He couldn't imagine how his reputation would be tarnished if his Inghet neighbors ever found out. It would have also been awful if the news had spread through the rest of the Foretlands.
He had sent his brothers to the Foretlands to settle there and spread Fier's influence there. He knew both his brothers were very ambitious, and they would find leadership positions in no time. Besides, it was better to let them go off in search of their own fortunes, rather than squabble over who should inherit how much at home.
Both of them, it turned out, set their sights on becoming king. George wasn't surprised. Ioan, having travelled down there first, had no trouble impressing Lavigne's newly crowned queen, who had little interest in governance. Ioan cleverly offered his support and made himself indispensable to her, and soon she proposed marriage. George had visited the Foretlands during the wedding, and he had quite liked Lavigne and his new sister-in-law.
However, he had thought Andrei had set his sights on a difficult prize. True, there were no other unmarried monarchs in the Foretlands at the time, and Princess Isabel had been the only unmarried heir who would take the throne soon (with no one else to follow for many years); but despite her father the regent's interest in Andrei, she seemed determined to rebuff his attentions. George thought her incredibly haughty and outspoken; but he rather liked the notion of a stronger alliance with Jardinia.
He knew Andrei had a way of getting what he wanted and wasn't altogether surprised when he married into Jardinia, although he was surprised that the wedding had taken place rather quickly and quietly. Apparently Princess Isabel had taken ill; and her illness had left lasting impacts, so she wanted to remove herself from the public eye. He hoped the after-effects weren't life-threatening, but it made sense why she agreed to hand over sovereignty to her husband. George hoped her illness would not get in the way of Andrei securing an heir in Jardinia. The throne would pass only to a daughter.
He had invited both his sisters-in-law to visit Fier, but Princess Isabel had declined due to the poor condition of her health. Queen Adaline, on the other hand, had been delighted to visit and had visited twice so far. She had become favorite among George's wife and mother.
Queen Mother Elisabeta had been rather forlorn when her two younger sons left home. She wrote them frequently, and became impatient when they took too long to respond (which was quite common with Andrei, actually). She had been rather upset that she had not been able to attend either of their weddings, for her health had not allowed her to make a prolonged visit; but now that her three grandsons by George were grown and had little time for her, she had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of more grandchildren. She was particularly eager for a granddaughter.
Ioan and Adaline's visits lifted her spirits greatly, but she still longed to see Andrei. Ioan would crossly remind her that her youngest son hadn't bothered to visit once since he left, so perhaps he didn't deserve the boundless concern she seemed to have for him. She had been a loving mother to all her children, and she had perhaps spoiled Andrei the most, but she had also been very strict with all of them.
She was deeply hurt when she received news of Andrei's treachery. She had written him a rather scathing letter expressing her disappointment in him, which she later regretted when she realized her son was tearing him to pieces over his mistake. She was sorry that she would never get to meet Isabel, of whom Andrei had spoken so lovingly in his letters. But how could he have hurt the one he loved in such a manner? How could he have hurt anyone like that, for that matter (because after all, he hadn't been too fond of her when he caused that curse to happen)?
Then they received news of Andrei's grave illness. Elisabeta wanted to rush to her son immediately, but George said she would only make herself ill as well. His mother may have forgiven and forgotten out of her deep concern, but George was still angry. Although, he had to admit that tone of Ioan's letter was rather worrisome.
And then Andrei pulled off a miracle that only he could. One day they were worrying about Andrei's illness and the next day they received news that he had recovered miraculously, reunited with his wife, and was reinstated in Jardinia. George had spent a great deal of time pondering how to mend relations with Jardinia, but now apparently there was no need.
When his mother kept needling him about being anxious to see her son, George relented and extended his pardon. He wrote to Queen Isabel, inviting her to visit her family by law, and her ally kingdom, who was most grateful at having her continued goodwill.
Queen Isabel's visit to Fier was more stressful than it needed to have been. George had been most anxious to make her feel comfortable as way of apologizing for the beastly inconvenience caused to her by his brother. However, the task proved to be difficult because she seemed to get very easily offended.
In George's defense, he had never received a female monarch in Fier. Queen Adaline hardly counted because she had passed her sovereignty to her husband and had little interest in discussing terms of trade and alliance. This had suited George very well, since with Ioan there was no need to exercise diplomacy and Ioan had Fier's best interest at heart.
It was really by a force of habit that when discussing politics with Queen Isabel, George tended to address her husband rather than her, which did not sit well with her at all. Fortunately, her haughtiness seemed to have reduced substantially since he last met her at Ioan's wedding, but she had an unsettling way of conveying her displeasure through her expressions and body language.
Fortunately, her visit was more a social rather than political one. Nevertheless, there was some need to discuss politics. She had graciously offer to accept workers from Fier to help run and manage the newly-built bloomeries in Jardinia for steel production, and she was also open to accepting blacksmiths and ironsmiths to settle in her kingdom and apprentice those wishing to learn the trade. Fier had an overabundance of young men in this trade, and Jardinia very few, so it was not difficult to arrive at the terms of the agreement.
Things were also made easier by the fact that the bandit problem in the Foretlands had been much alleviated over the past few weeks ever since rumors had spread about vicious beasts in the Forest. George hoped that finding employment in foreign lands for the restless young Inghet men would reduce the problem of them turning to banditry in the first place, but nevertheless, he warned the young queen that the problem might never go away completely.
She was also very keen on exploring Fier. She had wanted to visit the rural schools in particular, having heard about their high standards from her husband. She had been working with him to improve the conditions in Jardinian schools and the two of them had made good progress on that project, but she was eager to find room for more improvement.
She was also very excited to tour Fier and marvel at its wild icy natural beauty, a stark contrast to the tidy lush greenery of her homeland. She was very cowed by the cold when her husband had insisted on taking her out to the mountains at night, but she stopped complaining and was rendered speechless as soon as she saw what he had brought her out to see. She was completely enthralled by the majesty of the northern lights. George hadn't accompanied them on the trip. His younger two sons had gone with their uncle and aunt, and they had found her utter amazement incredibly amusing, but they had spent the rest of the trip chasing each other around the mountain.
Speaking of Andrei, he also constituted part of the reason why the trip was more awkward than it should have been. He and George were finding it difficult to move past George's banishment of his brother, however briefly it had lasted. Interactions between them were rather cold. He had been reinstated as the queen's chief adviser, and he seemed to wish to drop his role as an ambassador for Fier.
However, this is where their mother proved to be very helpful. The queen mother had had a tearful reunion and reconciliation with her youngest son. Andrei may have sulked a little while longer because of the harsh words she had written him, but he seemed to be reluctant to indulge in petulance in the presence of his wife. Isabel seemed to be uncharacteristically shy around her mother-in-law, but the two seemed to take to each other instantly. Elisabeta seemed most delighted to finally meet the woman who had made her son so happy, and more importantly, who had (unwittingly as it may have been) taught him to take ownership and responsibility of his mistakes.
She did manage to convince Andrei to continue as ambassador for Fier in the Foretlands, and George was relieved to see Queen Isabel providing no objections to it. But he knew he had to be careful around her, because she would keep a sharp eye on Fier's involvement in various Foret affairs.
George didn't see them again until he and his wife visited Lavigne in the following spring to celebrate the birth of Ioan and Adaline's first child. It was a son, which meant Ioan's succession in the Foretlands had not yet been secured. He was most anxious for both his brothers to secure the succession, but Ioan had had a son, and Andrei had made no progress at all, which seemed odd for a couple who were supposed to be so much in love. However, he had not reconciled with his brother sufficiently to ask what was taking so long.
But he had to be glad that Andrei appeared to be exceptionally happy. The circumstances of his confession and short-lived banishment had been kept contained, so he did not lose his popularity among the Jardinians. The queen delegated all public speaking and diplomacy duties to him since he was so skilled at engaging crowds and charming important lords and foreign sovereigns. She kept tight control over running her court and council, though she relied heavily on her husband's counsel. They worked together as quite a pair, and even George's wife had commented on it.
She had also reproachfully commented on how devoted Andrei was to his wife, so much so that he had given up wine because she forbid it. George had snorted and ignored her. If he knew his brother at all, he had been having his fill behind his wife's back.
George had visited Jardinia for the first time during that trip. Queen Isabel had been arranging for wedding celebrations for her handmaiden or something, which had seemed rather strange to George, and Andrei had said something along the lines that owed much gratitude to both the bride and groom for their support when his wife had been "ill". Prince Henri, in the meantime, was thoroughly enjoying his retirement by spending his days in the library and eagerly awaiting grandchildren, something George wished upon him as well.
When he left to return home, he thought that he was grateful that things were going well with his brothers, and no lasting damage had been done from Andrei's foolishness. He and Andrei had been mending their relationship because after all it was necessary for him to be in frequent touch with his ambassador. They were careful not to discuss the curse. Andrei had brought it up only once. He said he had been seeking out the fairy again to ask whether she still bore his family ill-will, and to make sure she would never harm them again. But she seemed to have disappeared without a trace. Perhaps she had taken her mischief elsewhere.