Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Gail Carson Levine's story/characters/plots/anything I've missed out.

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El sat in her bedroom, gazing out at the stars. The evening hadn't gone badly. In fact, she had quite liked Jerrold. He was really easy to talk to, and friendly as well… She wouldn't mind being married to him…

Oh my goodness. El sat bolt upright. This was Daria's dream guy she was thinking about. She felt instantly guilty.

How can I be thinking this…when Daria's pining away somewhere?

Jerrold and El look really good together.

Daria sat in her bedroom, at the window. Her room, though abundant in luxuries seemed cold and forbidding. It's not fair…El is the best at everything… Instantly, she regretted that thought.

How can I be thinking this…when I know what El's home life is like?

Jerrold waved the servant away.

That was a really eventful evening. The two girls he had met were polar opposites. El is really funny…and Daria is cold and aloof. Nevertheless, it had been El who intrigued him the most. Hidden under all that happiness, he could tell there was a layer of sorrow. Daria was much simpler. She was merely jealous of the attention that he bestowed upon her friend.

Mother and Father expect me to wed soon…it wouldn't hurt going to see El one more time…would it? Oh, and Daria too.

Morning had broken. El sat straight up in her bed, swinging her feet over. She winced as her bare feet came into contact with the freezing stone floor. She dressed hurriedly, and made her way down to the kitchen.

"Am I late, Mandy?"

"No, lass. How was dinner?"

"Jerrold is nice."

"What did your mother want?" Mandy never referred to Lady Rosalind's first name if she could help it.

"She said I would marry soon. An arranged marriage?"

"An arranged marriage? Well, doesn't that top all! Who would force a pretty lass like yourself into an arranged marriage. No doubt she'll marry you off to an old man with plenty of money. And you're just going to accept it?"

"No, Mandy, she said maybe the Prince." Mandy dropped the dish she was holding. El jumped. Mandy doesn't drop things. It's just not done.

"No." Mandy blanched. "No, honey, she didn't."

"She did."

"What about Daria?"

"She hates me."

"Oh."

Silence fell in the kitchen again. Mandy scrubbed away furiously.

"And what do you feel about that, lass?" She broke the silence.

"I like the Prince. Just not…that way."

Mandy sighed.

"Your dear mother is holding a ball this evening. She expects you to be there. Who knows, lass…maybe you'll find an eligible young man who you like."

"Who is going to be there?"

"Daria and her family…Prince Jerrold and his…Lord Edmund…he has two sons and three daughters…Sir Galahed and his brood…"

"Seems like the whole of Kyrria." Mandy laughed.

"Just about, lass…just about."

"I've met Sir Galahed before…didn't he lose all his money?"

"Yes, he's quite poor now. I doubt your mother wanted to invite him, but it would have been considered a dreadful snub if she didn't….you see, he was your father's best friend's cousins half uncle's nephew, or something dreadfully complicated like that."

"Two sons and three daughters…what are their names?"

"Eldest son…Galahed, after his father…he's quiet a young man now…he's twenty summers…Elise…she's fourteen…Pearl…fifteen…and I can't remember the last one…"

"Five children's quite a lot."

"Yes…and his poor wife is expecting again…"

"I wonder if it is to be a girl or boy…"

"Probably a boy to balance things out." Mandy concentrated hard.

"Mandy?"

"I remember now. The last son is nineteen, his name is Peter."