"What the hell are you doing to her?" Tanya's father snarled at Bertrem as he crossed the room in swift strides, and she realized with a sinking stomach just how bad this scene must look to him.
Quickly, she held up a hand to protest, "Dad, it's not what it looks like! Please, I can explain!"
"There's nothing to explain!" he roared, reaching her side and clamping a hand on her wrist. "Bertrem, get the hell away from her!"
"Dad, no! He didn't do anything to me, I swear! I just turned into a duck, and that's why I'm not wearing anything." She tried to yank her arm out of his grip, but although he wasn't hurting her, she couldn't shake free of him, either.
Her father didn't lessen his hold at all as he glared at the prince. "And how the hell do you expect me to believe that?"
Bertrem cut in. "Fakir, you don't have to believe me. But please, hear me out. Don't take Tanya back until we all have a chance to talk."
He laughed bitterly. "I have no reason to trust you with my daughter."
Tanya bristled at his words. "Yes you do, Dad! He gave me his heart shard!"
Her father blanched, and he stared at Bertrem. "You...what exactly did you do?"
Bertrem's father spoke up from the doorway, and although his voice sounded odd, his words were measured as usual. "Fakir, it sounds like there's quite a story for us to hear. But for now, why don't the men all leave Tanya in peace so she can get dressed, and then we can continue this discussion?"
Her father glared at his friend, but nodded his assent curtly. Dropping Tanya's arm, he grabbed Bertrem instead and growled, "Come on, you." Tanya managed to catch Bertrem's eye as he was being dragged from the room, and somehow his slight smile managed to reassure her. Slowly, she got up and put her clothes back on, aware that she would have to face her father when she was dressed. But although she went slowly, all too soon she was exiting the bedroom into the outer sitting area.
All three men looked up as she entered, and her father stood up, no doubt meaning to walk over to her. Swiftly, she dashed over to where Bertrem was sitting and stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders, He covered one of her hands with his, and Tanya stared defiantly at her father. He clenched his jaw, but didn't move further. Instead he ground out, "I think you both owe us one hell of a story."
Tanya cleared her throat. "Well, yesterday, I...I came here. I didn't know if I could do it, but I remembered how it felt when you did it, and I just...managed to pull that feeling out. But when I got here, I turned into a duck almost right away, and Rem had to give me one of the pills. It took a lot of energy to travel here, and my body was exhausted, I guess. The pill worked for a while, but then I turned back again, and he gave me the last one. He got me to go to sleep, and when I woke up, I was still human. And I guess Rem should tell the rest, because I don't remember any of it."
Both of their fathers shifted their gazes expectantly to the prince seated in front of her. With a steady voice, he continued the story. "I knew that we didn't have any more pills, and we had no way of knowing when or if you would come to look for her, Fakir. I had no idea what would happen if she stayed as a duck for too long. So I did the only thing I could think of. I went to the treasury and got the sword that Father had told me about, and I came back here. When I returned, she had turned into a duck again in her sleep, so I cut out a shard of my heart to give to Tanya."
To her surprise, Bertrem's father exploded out of his seat at those words. "Bertrem, what on earth were you thinking? Don't you remember what I told you about that sword? It's not something that you can trifle with! Even if you managed to get a piece of your heart out, I assure you it was not without its cost!"
Tanya's father nodded, and she was struck by the haunted look in his eyes. "Mytho's right. It isn't as if it was just a shard of your heart that you took out. Tell me, Bertrem, do you feel any differently now? Is there anything that you feel is missing?"
Tanya walked slowly around the side of the couch as Bertrem answered, suddenly needing to see his face. He looked contemplative. "I don't think so. I feel the same as I always did. I suppose if anything, I feel relieved, since the heart shard seems to have worked. Tanya hasn't had any issues since I gave it to her last night, which is a lot longer than the pills were lasting."
Her father's gaze shifted to her. "Yes, I don't doubt that you're right. But the issue here is what it potentially cost you to do so." Tanya stared at her father. She had always thought that he hated Bertrem. She never would have thought she'd see him concerned about the prince.
Abruptly, the king strode over to his son and stood, staring down at him with turmoil in his eyes. "Bertrem, please concentrate. Is there anything at all that feels different?"
Bertrem frowned. "No, Father, like I said, there's nothing. I know that this was a risky plan, but I was willing to give what I had to for Tanya. And besides, it seems like it turned out just fine."
"You don't understand, you little idiot!" Tanya's father hissed. "Each heart shard represents one of your emotions. Since you only took out one, there's no way to know which emotion you've lost."
Horrified, Tanya stared at Bertrem. She sat down next to him on the couch heavily, drawing his attention. Hastily, he clasped her hand. "Tan, don't worry about it, please. I didn't know that the shards were emotions, but I was willing to give up a lot more than just that if it meant you would be cured. It worked, and that's all that matters to me."
Her father murmured, "I suppose this makes sense. If I were Drosselmeyer, this would be exactly the kind of development I would create. Having the heart shard of love stay with the person you loved to keep her human, but then having her disappear if she confessed that love, so it would be more heartrending. I suppose this probably would have happened with Ahiru if you had returned her feelings, and you would have been fully restored without her heart shard."
Bertrem's father snapped, "Aren't you glad I didn't, Fakir?"
Her father returned the hard look the king was giving him, and for a moment Tanya thought they would fight. Then her father growled, "Of course I am. What a ridiculous question. I'm just trying to figure this out for the sake of your son, Mytho."
"Father, please calm down. I really feel fine, and as far as I can tell I'm fully in possession of all my emotions still." Bertrem attempted to soothe his father, but Tanya shrank back at the fierce look in the king's eyes.
"Mytho, I think he's right. Just look at him. Don't you remember how you felt when you were missing pieces of your heart?"
"Of course I do! Why do you think I'm so upset?"
"Would you calm down, dammit?" Her father seemed to be growing irritated with the king. "I'm saying that Bertrem's not acting like that at all. He's completely normal. So isn't it reasonable to think that maybe he just gave her a piece of his heart that belonged to hear already?"
Tanya gaped at her father. She had never heard him say anything so poetic before. Bertrem seemed to be equally surprised, and ventured, "Why would you think that?"
Her father snorted. "It's rather obvious, isn't it? How else would you have been able to give her a heart shard without having any adverse affects yourself? It's reasonable to conclude that you love her." Tanya felt herself flush as her father continued, "At any rate, Mytho, I don't think there's anything to worry about. You should keep an eye on him for a while, but my professional opinion is that there isn't anything to worry about."
The king gave his son one last uneasy look, then sat down on the chair next to the couch, suddenly showing exhaustion in every line of his body. He sighed wearily. "I hope you know what you're talking about, Fakir."
Her father scoffed, "Of course I do. This is what I do. And anyway, do you think I would take any chances where Tanya is concerned?"
Bertrem's father finally cracked a small smile, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I suppose not."
Bertrem broke in. "Fakir, does this mean that you aren't going to take Tanya back with you?"
Her father's face sharpened, and he glared at the prince. "What the hell are you talking about? Obviously I'm going to take her back with me."
"No!" Tanya whirled to face her father, clutching instinctively onto Bertrem's arm. "I won't go back! I don't want to be kept inside the house any longer, and I definitely don't want to marry the baker's son!"
Her father sighed. "Tanya, I know that I pushed you, but please try to understand. I only want what's best for you."
Her eyes filled up with unshed tears as she pleaded, "But Dad, isn't what I want important too?"
His face softened. "Of course it is, Tanya. I was always just...so afraid. After what I went through with your mother, I was determined not to let that happen to you, too. So there may have been times when I was...a bit too strict with you. But, Tanya, if you're really cured now...well, that changes a lot of things. And if you've inherited the same power I have, too…" He ran his hand through his hair. "Well, there isn't a lot I can do to stop you, now is there? But I'd like it if you would listen to me. The power that you wield is strong, and it's dangerous. You need to learn how to control it, or it can very easily harm someone. I would like to take you back home with me so I can teach you how to use it. Besides, your mother is worried about you."
Tanya stared at him. She had rarely heard him talk to her so gently, and she felt herself softening towards him.
Bertrem spoke up, and there was a note of panic in his voice. "Wait a moment, please." He looked at the king, and said in a firm voice, "Father, I wish to be engaged to Tanya."
She gasped, and her father jumped out of his chair with a small cry. Bertrem turned to Tanya and took both of her hands. "Tan, I know we haven't really talked about this, but I hope you will consider it. You're the only person I've ever truly cared about, and I can't just let you go. I love you."
She felt tears pooling in her eyes again, and smiled shakily. "I love you too, Rem. But...am I really a good choice for your wife? I'm not even a noble, and I don't know if I have what it takes to be queen."
The king's gentle voice broke in. "Tanya, dear, what do you think all that training that you did with Rue was for?"
She stared at him blankly. "You mean the etiquette lessons for Rem's parties?"
He nodded. "Didn't you ever wonder why you needed so much training if it was only for a few parties a year? Or perhaps why you learned history and politics as well as etiquette?"
Tanya considered this. "Well, I did ask Queen Rue about that once. She just said that it was necessary, so I didn't ask anymore."
Her father cut in angrily. "Hold on just a minute, Mytho. Do you mean to say that you and Rue have been going behind my back for years to give her queen training when you fully knew my feelings about the matter?"
Bertrem's father smiled serenely. "Well, I thought it was better to be prepared just in case you changed your mind. It would be difficult to prepare her to be queen in a short time, after all. We didn't want the poor girl to feel pressured. Rue in particular was insistent. She had quite a hard time learning everything so quickly when we got married, you know."
"Oh, so instead it's much less pressure to give my daughter secret queen training when you didn't even know if it would end up being useful to her."
"It all turned out fine in the end, didn't it?" Bertrem's father seemed to have calmed down considerably, and was now teasing her father with almost as much enthusiasm as usual.
"I'd hardly call secret coercion fine!"
The king ignored him, and turned to his son instead. "Bertrem, I think you know that your mother and I would like nothing better than to see you happy. I think that an engagement with Tanya would be an excellent choice. If she and her parents agree, then we are prepared to approve a betrothal."
Bertrem turned to her, a question in his eyes. She laughed and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him in answer, feeling like everything in the world was finally where it should be.