Ok, hey guys! I'm just wondering, did everyone stop reading after chapter three besides Riley? I was dissapointed to only get one review on the last chap - I thought it was the best chapter I've written so far.
As for my review from Riley, thank-you! I couldn't wish for a better reviewer than you, you're totally encouraging!
I'm also going to say that I'm not going to update before I get least seven more reviews on this story.
Ok, enjoy the chap, and by the way - this takes place about half an hour before Conrad proposes to Katrina, in other words, chapter four.
Chapter Five
It had been a week since the Gemma met the royal family – with the exception of Prince Sebastian, who hadn't put in an appearance.
The autumn morning dawned gray, with a slight drizzle now and then. Rebecca had a disgruntled Gemma up at six o'clock sharp in order to prepare her for that day's excursion: Queen Ella had requested that she be in the palace courtyard by ten in order to meet the Prince, who had apparently been a very close friend to the deceased Lord Frederick.
The Queen had also noticed the tense air between Gemma and her daughter, and wanted to set a feeling of respect between the two. Ella knew that Katrina had avoided Lord Frederick, albeit been polite to him.
At the Spring Feast two seasons ago, Ella could have sworn she even caught a twinge of fear sparkling in Katrina's eyes, when Lord Frederick met the girl's gaze as he kissed her hand in the proper courtly greeting.
She had never mentioned these observations to her daughter – to do so would have meant a quick and sudden defeat at her daughter's prideful hand. Yes, Katrina had too much pride ever to admit, even to her own mother, that she had been afraid of something as foolish as one man.
But the tension between Katrina and his daughter was ridiculous. Katrina barely knew the girl, and even though it had seemed to Ella that Gemma was completely like her father, she could have been mistaken.
Ella had loved Frederick as one of her closest friends, and she wanted her children to at least try and feel the same way. She had no doubt that Sebastian would like Gemma – perhaps, she thought with a sly smile, he would even feel more than must a mere liking for her. Katrina, however, needed to be spoken with.
Turning the corridor's corner, Ella stood before Katrina's boudoir. Taking a deep breath, she fixed a firm expression to her face and rapped against the door with her knuckles.
"Come in!" Katrina's voice sounded from within, sounding refreshed even though it was early. Ella smiled; her daughter was always one to wake early. She entered the room, noticing that, as usual, everything was in its place. Katrina needed to be organized with all the weapons she had hidden inside her room. Ella knew there were several forbidden daggers lying somewhere – besides the one Katrina was permitted to have if she ever needed to defend herself and the guards, for some reason, weren't around.
Daggers weren't the only things the princess had in stock. She had, to Ella's knowledge, two swords – one of which she never used. Ella was the only one, besides Sebastian, who knew of these detailed things. Katrina kept them a steely secret from everyone else, even her father, whom she knew wouldn't let it go as quickly as her brother, who was amused by it, and her mother, who pretended to know nothing.
Katrina had to have several bows and hundreds of arrows in stock someplace or another, too...
Ella positioned herself beside her daughter's four-poster bed, smiling good morning glibly. Katrina smiled back, but raised her eyebrows. "Alright, mother, what's the problem?" she asked with a sigh, flopping down on the bed.
Ella straightened to her full height (which wasn't a very impressive gesture). "Katrina – your behavior one week ago was completely ridiculous."
Katrina's jaw tightened. "If you mean the way I acted around Lady Gemma, mother", she said in a high pitched voice, "I was perfectly polite. I just didn't run to embrace her."
Ella's eyes flashed. "You shunned her, as you used to do with Frederick! What is this behavior, Katrina?" Katrina paused, her eyes swiveling around the room. Usually, in an argument, Katrina locked eyes with her opponent – and stared them down. This trying-to-look-for-an-escape behavior was highly uncommon with the princess.
"Alright, mother", Katrina said in a low, raspy voice. "I wasn't polite to her because you're deceased best friend was a... he was a magic user. You could say that he was a, well... a sorcerer." She coughed, and Ella's eyes widened in disbelief and fury. "You don't know what you speak o - "
Katrina shot up on the bed. "He was! I saw it with my own two eyes. Yes, he was clever in the way he hid it, mother, but not clever enough for me – I question every person I cross paths with!" The princess leaped from the bed, coming to stand before her frozen mother. Ella noticed that her fists were clenched, shaking, at her sides.
She was concerned for Katrina's health. There was wild gleam in the girl's eyes. "Lord Frederick was a sorcerer – and our new Lady, mother, is a witch!"
Ella's lips tightened into a white, thin line – partly from fear for her daughter, and partly from anger at these rash accusations. Turning sharply on her heel, she quickly left the royal bedroom, heading down towards the kitchens – to Mandy. Mandy would know what was meddling with the princess.
Katrina pulled her head back, brushing the hair from her eyes. She was glad that Ella had gone to confer with Mandy – for Mandy was fairy, and would assure the Queen that Katrina was perfectly sane, and right, and far cleverer than she had ever been.
Katrina was interrupted at her thoughts by a knock at the door. Heaving an exasperated snarl, she pounded the bed with her hand. Why did annoying servants or courtiers always bother her when her life didn't need the extra annoyance and trouble? Expecting a mere servant girl or messenger boy, the princess turned to open the door – carefully wiping her face blank.
The blank face, she had learned from her dear friend Wayne, kept one safe from the emotional court gossip.
Perhaps the figure at the door was even Wayne – one of the few people who would please her. There was just one topic that they did not see eye-to- eye on, and that was Lord Frederick – but the Lord was dead, and Wayne hadn't to know about the disturbing discussion she had just had with her mother.
How surprised Katrina was when she didn't find an annoying servant or Wayne – not even her mother or Mandy. What she found was the person she least wanted to face now – or ever, for that matter: Prince Conrad.
"Princess Katrina", he slithered, offering her his hand, "may I request the pleasure of your company for a moment? There is something important I would like to discuss with you."
Katrina frowned at him, but exited her room – she didn't want to face her mother when she came back, and she knew that Conrad would catch her sooner or later. It was best to get the business over with now.Conrad smirked, hiding the expression from Katrina as they walked down the corridor together. Not only did he want:
The woman keeping stride beside him The Power of ruling two kingdoms.
No, there was a third, major component of Kyrria that he desired, and that was something his father had told him of when he was just a young boy, something of legend... a rare artifact that –
"Conrad?" He snapped from his trance to find Princess Katrina staring at him with undisguised impatience, tapping her foot against the cool marble floor. Conrad looked at the simple wooden double doors before him, barely concealing a further smirk. Perfect. Just two guards down the hall, and he could deal with them and make it look like an accident if it was necessary. This was the perfect location for his proposal – and further action in order to convince the princess if necessary. The sitting room beyond the doors was informal and small – rarely used.
He could count on no interruptions – too the end, whatever it would be. One thing was certain – he would have his bride.