"Don't be silly Char, of course you'll marry Arielle!"
Princess Louise's voice drifted through the cracks in the doors to where Ella was huddled. She shivered in the cool of the closet. She was cold, but she needed to hear this discussion. Char had warned her about the frigid temperature, but she had worn only a thin silk coat. Before going down to wear his grandmother wanted to meet him, Char had told Ella to listen from the hiding spot in which she now sat. Eavesdropping on their conversation had been even more upsetting than she had feared. She knew that Char would love her no matter what, but she also knew that the dowager princess was determined to have him wed Arielle.
"She's a child, barely even eight years old Grandmother!" It was Char's voice, and it was angrier than Ella had heard him before. She could barely recognize the voice of the gentle Char she knew under the veil of fury that had taken him over.
"Oh Char," Louise heaved a sigh. "Stop acting like an immature child, that's older than you were when you were betrothed."
"And that worked out fine, didn't it!" Char's sarcastic answer was partially drowned out by his grandmother's indignant interruption.
"It would have worked out wonderfully if it weren't for that… that…" Ella could practically hear the disgust dripping from the princess' lips, "that uncouth commoner pig!"
Ella flinched. She could take being called a commoner or a pig despite her being a noble, but she despised being called uncouth. After spending years at finishing school, tortured by Hattie and Olive, she found herself as polite and well-mannered as any of the royal family, if not more so, as she could handle constructive criticism.
"And that's final!" she heard Char finish. She could tell by now that he was winning the argument, but that the princess would not give up and subtly try to pair together Char and Arielle. Ella knew that even if Char did win the quarrel, the dowager princess would loathe her and scorn her at every occasion.
The door to Princess Louise's room opened and Prince Char stepped out. "Fine," Ella could now hear the princess' voice very clearly, and she could immediately tell that the resignation in it was completely faked. "But at least, for your old grandmother's sake, be good to Arielle,"
Prince Char spun around.
"Arielle? She's not here is she?"
"What did you expect, Char? Me not to bring your wife to be?"
Prince Char gritted his teeth. "Listen to me, Grandmother. I will not marry Arielle."
The door slammed, and Ella came out of her hiding place to join Char. Together they walked up the spiral staircase in silence, thinking of the weeks ahead while the Princess was in the palace.