"The New Queen and the Old Queen"

The king had never put nearly as much stock into festivals or celebrations as his mother and advisors had, so this was a bit of a new experience for him to be arranging one himself. While he didn't want the day of his own wedding to go by as indiscrete and subtle as a secret rendezvous, he knew full well he also couldn't have a celebration on the scale as much as the kingdom had likely envisioned. Aside from the fact he was marrying a commoner who had been found in the woods less than a week before, there was the fact his mother would not be present for it and the bride had no kin of her own in attendance.

It was when he was sitting down in his study with Diego, looking at one item after another on the list of preparations for the wedding, and scratching them off as being either things that were too austere or grandiose for the short period of time for preparation, too noticeable to attract too much attention, or had to be left off due to family not being present, that he began to doubt his course of action a second time. There was one time in particular, right when the young woman was getting fitted for her dress, that he realized he didn't even have so much as one of his family members to give her away that he began to wonder if he was making the right decision. Perhaps he should have waited. Although he was sure she would never agree even in five years time, he thought nevertheless that he should have revealed his intentions to his mother so that it could be more public.

It was as he was thinking these things that he looked out the balcony at the lake again, wondering if that swan was still there. Much to his astonishment, he counted several birds that time and not just the one. Taking that as another sign, one telling him to steel his resolve, he went forward.

The priest for the service was rather astonished at the sudden request, but no more so when he realized, a bit to Samuel's embarrassment, that he didn't even know the name of the girl he was set to marry. He nearly thought of taking a cue from his own pet name for her and declare her name to be Sylvia, but Diego hit upon a stroke of genius and wrote down five pages of every woman's first name he could think of and brought them before her. After looking over them for a while, she finally pointed to: "Costanza". Even then, the priest was reluctant, even when she nodded at being asked if she had been baptized and believed in the Nicene Creed (declaring it, obviously, was impossible). Eventually, however, he consented.

He didn't want the young woman, who he now knew was named Costanza, to have to walk up the aisle alone. He felt it important that someone be there to give her away. Lorenzo, however, while he assisted in the wedding preparations, adamantly refused. In trying to find a suitable replacement, Samuel finally began to realize that the feelings and misgivings that Lorenzo and Diego had weren't limited to them. Everyone in the court declined with the same uncomfortable looks. In fact, now that Costanza was moving around the castle more easily and freely so that preparations could be made for her permanent residency in addition to her wedding, unease and even dislike were on most of their faces. While all were initially caught by her beauty, it never lasted. Even among the servants she garnered her share of stares, and by the time the wedding arrived Samuel had caught whispers on three occasions. At long last, he got the head servant to consent to walk her down the aisle as a stand in.

The day of the wedding there were only twenty guests in attendance for the actual ceremony, which Samuel had arranged to be on both sides of the aisle to not unbalance it. Only twelve arrived, the others claiming to have come down with illness. Rejecting an invitation from the king was not something that could be excused under any other grounds. Ten of them were the ones that Samuel had set for his own side. However, the chapel was done up as brilliantly and festively as it could be under such a short period of time. Three days after the proposal, Costanza, dressed in white and veiled, walked down the aisle to the altar, and not a half hour later they were man and wife. An hour after that, in a more public gathering that nevertheless only had a hundred people made aware of it in time, a younger priest who had been appointed by the same one who married them placed the crown of the Queen of Beneserta on her head.

The wedding feast was the most public of all. As messengers had not been sent out to invite the surrounding nobility, instead the more prominent houses and families of Beneserta were invited. They, in turn, not wanting to turn down anything so freely offered, came in attendance. There was music, food, and drink provided. All the best that Samuel could gather in a short period of time, once again. However, it wasn't long into the feast that he realized it wasn't going as well as even his reduced expectations had planned. Few people drank more than a glass or two of wine and ate before departing. Only the youngest people danced. Out of obligation to the king, the people came forward and bowed to him, gave a much more curt bow to Costanza without even looking at her, and then departed. No one stopped to give well wishes. No one kissed the hand of the bride or asked her to dance. When he himself rose to dance with her, everyone else cleared the floor and stared with the same stony faces. By that point, Costanza's own expression was as melancholy as when they met, and his own look wasn't much better. Rather than be an occasion for joy, their dance seemed almost like a public spectacle. It wasn't long after that simply sitting there at the main table seemed to be setting up Costanza to be stared at and muttered about, and, just as Lorenzo had threatened, Samuel began to realize that she wasn't the only one being whispered about with disapproving glares.

It might have been the first wedding festival in the city's history that concluded prior to nightfall. Before the torchbearers even had a chance to start lighting the braziers, the last guest had left. The king and new queen quit to the castle.

By that time, he tried to focus on the highlights of that day. Costanza had looked like an angel during the ceremony, and the happiness he felt then was almost enough to chase away any bad feelings he had about how things had turned out. And now they would finally get a chance to be alone together. He told himself how that would make it all worthwhile, and that soon any awkwardness about that afternoon would be forgotten as they moved forward together. This was the first night of a lifetime they would spend with one another.

Yet scarcely had they both reached the king's chambers when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and saw his personal servant there telling them there was urgent news that couldn't wait. After three times trying to excuse him, he sighed and turned to Costanza, who had been standing there waiting all the while.

"I'll be right back."

Going out with the servant, he led him to his study. Lorenzo was there, already changed from the wedding and dressed for travel.

"What's the matter?"

"It's the Pice family, my lord. Their war with the Sidians began this afternoon when they torched one of their vineyards. They're demanding that we give them armed support. We need to meet with King Leonardo at once and negotiate our position. If we don't, they could draw us into their conflict as siding with the Sidia family."

Samuel felt overwhelmed. He rubbed his hand against his tired face and sighed in exasperation. "Lorenzo, this is my wedding night…"

"I'm afraid kings don't have the same luxury as the common man does, milord. If this isn't settled at once, you and your new bride won't have many peaceful nights to spend with one another. Already Leonardo is drawing up a sortie of a hundred men on our borders. If we don't settle this immediately we might not get the chance. I've made the preparations to depart."

"This truly cannot wait just one more day?"

"My lord, they could move as early as dawn. Even if we negotiate by then, the Pices aren't the type to remove a garrison once they have it put within another city's borders."

Samuel frowned and nearly fumed. He knew Lorenzo was speaking the truth about the Pice family. They were the type who relied on impulsive violence to get what they wanted. It was probably why they had the audacity to strike the Sidians first and then accuse Beneserta of offering the Sidians aid. If they saw any pretext for a fight when they now had land that would border whoever gained control of the choice portion of King Luca's land, they'd take it. As much as he hated it, this couldn't wait.

"Very well. Be ready to depart in twenty minutes."

As Lorenzo returned to the waiting riders, Samuel returned as fast as he could to his own chambers. Costanza had barely begun to remove her dress when he walked in. With a rueful expression, he explained the situation to her. Her own look was scarcely any better or worse than it had been for hours, although he could tell that the fact that they would have to start their marriage on an aborted wedding night clearly made her uncomfortable. It made him just as much, after all.

"It'll just be for tonight," he reassured her. "The next three days and nights will belong to us, and we'll make them so grand we'll forget all about…this evening." He stopped himself, nearly mentioning "this day".

Costanza paused a moment, but nodded back afterward.

"Until then, you are the lady of this castle now. Everything in it is freely yours. Go wherever you like and request anything you…"

He trailed off, realizing what he said. Costanza winced as well, wringing her hands together. While they had known each other only a short time, Samuel already was the one who "understood" Costanza the best. He had already connected enough with her to learn what she wanted or requested most of the time without her needing to communicate at all, and he was the most patient one in the castle willing to learn her meaning. With him gone, she would be left awkwardly trying to inform anyone of her desires and make silent requests of the castle staff.

The same staff that looked on her and muttered behind her back for the past three days.

"I'll be back in the castle by noon tomorrow," he stated as solemnly as an oath. "Nothing will keep me from that, even the gates of Hell."

She nodded back readily; no hesitation this time.

They embraced and he kissed her. The kiss during the wedding had stoked such a fire in his belly that he had earnestly awaited tonight above all else. To have to subdue it now with just a kiss on the forehead was torture to him. He dared not move for her lips at this point or he was likely to break off the entire visit and simply stay in that chamber with her. The only thing more unbearable than having to postpone their wedding night was the sad look upon Costanza's face. He knew it wasn't just from disappointment, but from everything that had happened today. He had wanted it to be a time where she would rejoice and laugh and forget all of whatever sadness and despair had afflicted her during her former life, whatever it may be. Instead, it only drove home how she was still an outsider to everyone but him.

By the time he was mounted up and riding, he was brooding so much that he was hardly aware of where they were going or the lateness of the hour. He had told Diego earlier that he believed in signs from God. What sort of sign was it that the very first night of his marriage had to be spent apart from his new wife? All the thoughts of what everyone had told him were weighing down on him now in the silence of the ride. The dismal memory of his wedding feast clung to him like a rain cloud. His affection for Costanza had not diminished, but now it was being muddied…diluted…by everything that had transpired since then. Doubts and fears were creeping into him more strongly and frequently than he anticipated.

Sleep was nearly impossible for him that night. Instead of his own room with his arms wrapped around the love of his life, it was on a single mattress borrowed by one of the nobles near the edge of his territory who was lodging them for a few hours—alone with his brooding.

His old enthusiasm managed to return somewhat on the ride back. Part of it was that the meeting with King Leonardo had gone well. Lorenzo had been well prepared with proper talking points, and while Samuel himself was still young he was experienced enough to know how to handle situations such as this. Just as they hoped, they arrived at his castle before the day had even gone from black to dark blue, and they were already meeting with him before the sky turned orange. Not long after sunrise, the talks were concluded. Beneserta would remain apolitical, offering assistance to refugees from both sides free of charge provided they remain on their land, and prohibiting all fighting. Food and supplies would be allowed to be purchased freely by both sides but their safety would only be guaranteed toward the borders, and no weapons of any kind would be available for purchase. Satisfied with this and considering it fair, the king dismissed them and gave the order to pull back his men. Aggressive as he was, he would settle for a vow from Beneserta not to join the conflict against them rather than risk fighting on two fronts.

Samuel was actually smiling a bit to himself when he realized that he would be back in his castle by the deadline he had set. He had fully intended to keep it all along but there would be no need for pushing himself to excessive lengths. Their regular trip would get him back in plenty of time. When he reached the borders, he actually began to feel happy again. The events of yesterday were passing, and what was left was the knowledge that he was married to Costanza. It wouldn't be for another three days that he would send out the official word to the surrounding nations of his nuptials, and until then it would just be the two of them.

Riding back into the gates, he had recovered enough to wish to play more of the role of a romantic, especially since the ride had taken him far from those who had given disapproving stares and whispers the day before. His horse went straight to the stable boy, he took the reins, and he made ready to dismount.

"My lord!"

Before he could even position his hands on the pommel, however, he heard the page calling. He looked up and saw one running from the main doorway straight up to him. Just looking on him immediately made Samuel begin to tense again.

It wasn't one of his own pages, but those assigned to the queen mother. One that was supposed to have accompanied her to the bishop.

He felt himself take in a sharp breath as he ran up alongside his horse. He stopped and bowed in greeting to him, but in a hurried manner.

"I'm a little surprised to see you here, Peter. Did you need to ride back to Beneserta for something the queen forgot?"

He rose again. "Sire, the bishop had fallen ill when we arrived and wasn't able to see us for more than a few hours. We started back for home after only staying the night and delivering your contribution. We arrived at dawn this morning."

Samuel felt his insides turn to water.

"The queen…that is, the queen mother asked to speak with you immediately on your return. She said only that she wished to discuss your marriage."

The king inhaled sharply again. A quiver went through him as he slowly dismounted his horse; his palm already sweaty on the pommel.

Even bracing himself for it, Samuel closed his eyes and winced from the pain when Eleonora's slap struck him across the face. He could feel the redness and pain as he slowly opened his eyes. Her own were blazing with anger and violence just as strongly as before.

"…I deserved that."

"I would wish you a month in Hell if I could give it to you," she nearly spat. She was shaking with fury; her face stretched in a mix of outrage and anguish.

"Mother-"

"Not a word…not one word! 'Only a few days'! 'An unconventional act of charity'! I leave you alone with that filthy wood-dwelling harlot for less than a week and she's your wife?! If you were not the King of Beneserta I would disown you this instant, you reckless, deceitful, thoughtless disgrace! How dare you lie to me! How am I supposed to trust anything you say?"

By now, she was shouting so loud the entire wing had to be hearing her. Her eyes were still red from when he walked in, obviously having been crying in a mixture of fury and sadness before he came home. She still hadn't changed from her traveling attire and her hands were in such tight fists her knuckles stood out. And Samuel realized he had little to say to her to calm her temper. He had hoped for a few more days at least, although it was quickly dawning on him that it would have made this moment little better.

"I didn't expect this to happen the first day. I wasn't trying to deceive you at first…"

"Only when you gave me leave to see the bishop then? So that you wouldn't have to hear me talk you out of your lust-driven madness?" she sneered. She snapped around and angrily paced toward the door. "I don't know what to be more infuriated at…how you treated me or how you made a fool of yourself. I'm so outraged right now…" Fuming, she reached into her dress and pulled out her crucifix again, clutching it tightly. "I had to pray for the strength not to throw myself off of this balcony the moment I heard the news." She wheeled around to him with another angry look. "Did you know that?! I'd rather die than live in the middle of this disgrace! I feel like I don't know who you are or where I am anymore!" She shook her head, snorting again as she looked away. "Not trying to deceive me at first… Of all the pathetic excuses for a sin…"

"What I did was not unheard of. I married someone I loved…"

"And just what exactly do you know about love, Samuel? I'm one that you supposedly love and this is how you treat me? Marrying behind my back… Behind everyone's back. Only shameful works of darkness are done where no one can see them, Samuel!"

"I knew as much about loving her as I would have any other noblewoman!" he defended. "At least I chose someone for a wife who doesn't have political ambitions and measures my worth according to what it gains her!"

"And this…this thing you dragged into the city doesn't?!" she shouted as she spun around. "Look at yourself! She's completely leading you around by your members! She has you fully in her thrall like the filthiest seductress! Enough to where you so willingly give your life and your kingdom to her! If this isn't a sign that she's enamored and bewitched you by your own passions, I don't know what is! I would ask you to tell me truly, Samuel…"

She took a step closer to him.

"Tell me if she truly can't speak or if from the very night she got here she's whispered all sorts of lewd and appalling things in your ear as she's lied naked upon you sating your lusts."

He tightened his face at once at that accusation. "I haven't lain with her even once! I didn't even have the opportunity last night! And that's the truth!"

She bitterly laughed. "And you expect me to trust a single word from your deceitful lips ever again. She threw her nakedness on you in that forest, didn't she? And you were all too willing to take it. She lay with you all night the very first time she was here, didn't she? What other sins did you consummate once I was gone? Did you turn this castle into a brothel-"

"That's enough!" he snapped, now his own anger swelling. "I accepted you being furious at me for my deception, but I won't stand here and endure the rest of these false accusations! Not from anyone! I married her was because she was the only one for me and I refused to commit the sin of fornication! The only sin I would have committed in that regard would be if I withheld marriage from her!"

The queen stood there, still fuming and quivering, and slowly calmed a little. "So it's true that you haven't slept with her yet?"

"I swear it."

She looked to one side for a moment. Her anger cooled a little more before she looked back at him. "Then maybe it's not too late, Samuel. I'll go back to the bishop and explain the case. I'll say you were not in the right frame of mind. That you thought that war was coming to Beneserta and you were fearful that you would lose an heir. There might be a case for it as she has no parentage or family name. There's no proof she was ever baptized even if she claimed she was…"

He began to look confused. "Wait, what are you saying? Are you wishing me to have this marriage annulled?"

She looked at him almost incredulously. "Of course I am, Samuel! That was the one good thing you did while I was gone…put this together on such shoddy grounds that it doesn't have much of a leg to stand on. Just put her aside back in the guest room until I've discussed this and there's a good chance all of it can be put away. It will certainly take longer than the four days you were at it, but…"

"Mother."

"Maybe you should come with me. It would be better if she was kept here far from you-"

"Mother!"

She stopped at his shouting, and saw him gazing firmly into her eyes.

"I'm not seeking an annulment."

Her mouth loosened. She stared at him in the most disbelief yet. "Samuel, you can't be serious. You have an opportunity to get yourself out of this snare you set for yourself. It's not too late. If we act quickly-"

"I've already acted, and I've made my decision. I'm married to Costanza now. I've had the crown of the Queen of Beneserta placed on her head. She is my wife."

She stepped closer. "Yes, but…but there might be a way out of it-"

"Mother…" his look grew firmer. "I don't want a way out of it."

She froze. Her body turned as rigid as a statue. She looked as if she had just been shot in the heart.

"I love Costanza. I'm sorry…but no amount of your anger or your disapproval will change that. I'm truly sorry that I didn't tell you this earlier." He took a deep breath, steadying himself and softening. "But what is happening right now is the precise reason why I did not. I knew you would never approve."

She didn't answer. She stood there looking almost broken. She quivered again, but not from anger this time. Her eyes began to shimmer.

He too felt his own chest quivering at that, but he swallowed and stood his ground. "I know you won't believe me, but I never, ever wanted to grieve you. I didn't want it to come to this. But…if I hadn't, you would have only been content with a woman I would never have loved. This is my marriage, mother. My life…not yours. I couldn't choose someone I would be unhappy with forever just to make you happy. Can you possibly understand?"

Still no answer. Tears began to roll from her eyes again. He hated to see them. He truly did. It gnawed at his heart worse than anything from yesterday. It was even worse when she took a step back from him and began to put her hand to his mouth. This, however, was what he wanted. What he vowed he would endure as a result of his wedding. He drew himself up again.

"I beg pardon of Our Lord for my deception, but not my marriage. I am the King of Beneserta…and I am also my own man. Costanza is my wife, and only death will part us now." He swallowed once, but then set his body as firm as he could.

"And she is now your queen."

Two more tears rolled out of Eleonora's eyes at that. She clasped her hand to her mouth tightly. For a few moments, she stood there staring at him like he was a monstrous thing she no longer recognized. That her life truly had collapsed around her. And he forced himself to endure it, like being thrust in front of a bonfire. He kept his face as hard as flint and his eyes in hers however long it took, even if it felt a bit more like a knife in him with each passing instant.

He expected her to break into tears. To throw herself down in anguish. It wasn't something he had ever seen her done, not even the day his father died, but as devastated as she looked now he thought it would still happen. Barring that, he expected to be chased out of there. A small part of him thought she would carry through on what she said earlier. That she truly would do something to herself out of disgrace. As devout a woman as she was, he knew she wouldn't have said that sort of thing simply to arouse feelings. She valued her honor above most things, after all…

Yet suddenly a look came over her. Her anguish and sadness were swallowed up like water poured on thirsty ground. She drew herself up, and her eyes firmed again; growing just as noble and focused as they were normally. She removed her hand soon after, and it lowered to her side while her face was again composed and smooth.

Without another word, she turned away and looked out the window to the balcony. However, she made no move toward it. She merely stared.

"I wish to be alone. Now."

As the king, no one could order him out of their presence, hence her choice in words. Yet it had all the severity and coldness of a command to get out. Samuel stared on at her backside for a few moments, but he knew it was no use. She had made her own decision. The stubbornness with which he maintained his own marriage had been well-learned from a master. He clung to hope by standing there in silence for a few moments, but then gave in.

Turning away himself, he walked to the door, opened it, stepped out in the hall and shut it behind him again. He looked to none of the castle staff in the area, knowing all of them had to have heard many of those outbursts. Instead, he walked straight to the gardens. Right now, he needed to cool his thoughts. Life in the castle would be very difficult for some time.

Costanza had just finished stitching the latest petal to the emerging shirt when she heard a knock on the door. She had, by now, been alone for almost the entire day. The moment she saw the queen arrive, she had shut herself up in the bedroom and gone about continuing her work quietly. She wasn't a fool, after all. She had seen the look she had been given each time she ate a meal with the woman, and she knew full well that her wedding had been scheduled only after getting her to leave the castle temporarily. And hours ago she and third of the castle had heard the shouting. She had made sure to keep herself isolated ever since then, although she had looked several times past her work to see if her new husband would be returning.

She thought now might be that time, especially when the door opened soon after. The king had provided her with the same small bell from her guest room to ring when she wanted to bid a servant to come, and she hadn't a chance to ring it. She looked to the doorway expecting to see him.

She felt a cold pit inside her instead when she saw the queen mother walk through the door instead.

She had changed from her travel attire. Now she was back in her normal clothing and looking just as regal and dignified as ever. Her head was again held high and her poise and manners perfect. She turned to her as soon as she was within. Her look bore neither malice nor indifference as it had before. It was mild now. Calm, composed, and at ease.

Nevertheless, she swallowed. Quickly, she put her things to one side and rose from her chair to meet her.

"Oh," she said as she saw her get up. "I'm sorry. My apologies. I should have waited for you to bid me enter before coming in like that."

As Costanza finished rising, Eleonora turned back to the door and shut it again behind her before facing her. She actually formed a small, wistful smile.

"Though…I suppose if I had done that, I should be waiting for a very long time, shouldn't I?"

Costanza swallowed a little. The tip of her foot dug itself into the carpet. Soon after, she grasped the edges of her dress and curtsied to her.

Eleonora smiled a bit more. "How respectful. However, you are the queen now…what was your name…Costanza? You need no longer bow before me. Oh, and on that subject," she folded her hands in front of her, "I should have asked. May I come in?"

The young woman rose and nodded.

"Forgive an old woman set in her ways," she went on as she walked closer. "It will take me some time to get used to the decorum. Oh…" She turned her head, looking past Costanza a little.

The young woman turned as well, realizing she was looking at the floral shirts arranged on a small table where she had set the rest of her things.

"It seems you're busy with your favorite pastime. Please…don't allow me to disrupt it. Relax." She gestured. "By all means, continue your work. I just came by to see my new daughter-in-law."

Costanza hesitated. She looked at Eleonora, back to her work, and back to her.

The older woman smiled a bit more. It was calm and mild, but it wasn't as warm as she would have liked. "Please. I insist."

She swallowed again. Tentatively and slowly, she turned and went back to her chair and sat. She drew her work across her, but she made no move to keep stitching.

Eleonora walked in a bit further, glancing over the walls and musing. "This used to be my room, you know, but that was when I still had my husband. I didn't wish to remain in here any longer after he passed. Too many memories. It took me some time to adjust to my current bedchamber, nevertheless. It felt like a dungeon cell for the longest time. I imagine you living in this room now might feel the same way, open and comfortable as it is. So unlike anything you've ever experienced or been used to all your days…"

She looked away from the wall and toward the table. She glanced down, looking at the shirts a moment. Costanza stiffened. A moment later, she walked forward and up to the edge, reached over, and plucked one from it.

Immediately, Costanza leaned forward a bit and held out a hand, barely stopping herself.

The queen mother noticed that even as she held the shirt out. "Oh? These are very important to you, aren't they?"

Costanza's grew nervous at the way she said that. Her sore fingers rubbed as she stared at the shirt, uneasily watchign it in Eleonora's fingers.

She smiled a bit more. This time, there was just a hint of darkness in it. She slowly lowered the shirt back to the table, taking note of how Costanza exhaled as if she had just seen a deadly snake slither by without spotting her.

"I suppose you didn't have much in the way of pastimes, living out there in that ruin all by yourself, alone day after day," she turned toward the extinguished fireplace and began to near it. "You should take up embroidery. It's far more lovely, and it matches your penchant for stitching."

She reached the fireplace and held out her hand to the fire tending tools nearby. She plucked one off in particular, the coal tongs. She opened them and closed them a few times. Each time, they gave off a squeak so sharp that Costanza winced a little.

"These need oiling regularly. They would wake the dead," she mentioned aloud, then looked back to her. "I must say, I never thought it was possible to stich a garment out of flower petals. May I see how you accomplish it?"

By now, Costanza's face clearly showed she wished she was alone again. She sat there unmoving. Yet Eleonora didn't move. She continued to stand and stare. Very slowly, very meekly, she moved her hands out to grasp the start of the shirt. Moistening her lips once, her hands began to stitch again.

She heard Eleonora walk closer, but she didn't look up again as she realized she stopped at her side and looked over her shoulder.

"How very peculiar, yet effective. Coating the petals with wax like that and making them into something strong enough to stitch. Very remarkable. You are a unique one, to be sure. There is no doubt to be made about that."

Costanza didn't look up. She kept focusing on her stitching, making sure to be very careful on the edges. The needle went in…and out…in…and out…in…and-

The hard metal bar of coal tongs suddenly swung out and struck her along her wrist.

The impact instantly knocked the shirt out of her hand. Sharp pain shot through her forearm, and her mouth opened as she nearly cried out in agony. She barely choked it off as she seized her wrist, her face twisting in agony and clutching it to her chest. The bar had swung so powerfully it had nearly broken it.

Eyes watering and teeth clenching from the pain, she looked up at Eleonora. Her own arm, as solid as a bar of iron, was still holding the tongs out as she glared at her with a look of pure hatred.

"Since you can't speak, you disgusting little wretch, listen very closely to this. I will be dead before I tolerate having a deceptive, sultry, poisonous maggot like you under this roof. I am not about to stand here and watch as you move in on my son and steal his kingdom away from him. I don't know what sort of devilry you worked on him to get him so infatuated with you, but I will expose it as well as you. I will not rest until I have seen you immolated like the soulless, ungodly witch that you are."

Costanza could only sit there, clutching her injured arm and cringing in the face of the woman's violent threats.

She gave her one more cruel stare before she wheeled around and walked back to the fireplace, putting the tongs back against it before turning to pass again. She stopped at the side of the table, once more looking over the shirts on it. She stared at them momentarily.

Without a word, she leaned over, snatched one up, grasped it at the top, and promptly tore it in half.

Costanza's eyes widened in abject horror. She reached in vain for it before cupping her hands to her mouth as tears truly did burst out from her eyes. She barely kept herself from screaming.

Eleonora threw the two halves to the ground and glared at her spitefully. "It hurts when someone takes something you love away from you, does it not?"

Turning away, she marched to the door, tore it open, and nearly slammed it behind her on the way out.

Costanza herself was left alone, falling out of her chair and to her knees. Her wrist was already swelling, but she hardly noticed as she reached out and grasped the two severed halves of the shirt. She clutched them to her chest fiercely, wrapping her arms around them, and began to sob bitterly.

Samuel didn't know what had happened other than his mother had said something to her when he finally got a moment to check in on her. He only heard her crying softly through the door. She wouldn't answer when he knocked, and when he came in he saw her hunched over herself in the seat with her shirts, but he hadn't even a moment to ask her what was the matter.

He spent far too long in the garden, he found out the hard way. When he had finally composed himself again to return to the castle and try some semblance of returning things to normal, he found his mother refused to see him. He could have commanded it, but that would have made things worse. And he had no time to see his wife, either. He had discovered that Eleonora had commissioned letters out to the surrounding provinces requesting to know if they had known about her son's nuptials, and without his consent. Sending those out would have been a national embarrassment. He had been planning a "cover story" of sorts for when he announced his marriage. To learn about it secondhand like this would strain his relationship with his allies. He had to run around gathering those up and making sure the right letters were sent before things could get any worse. It wasn't easy commissioning them now with his mind in its current state. After that, the official survey team from his new purchase arrived and cornered him before he could excuse himself. And by then, it was time for the evening meal.

This was the most solitary sup he had ever attended. He assumed his mother would not be attending, but he saw that Costanza was absent as well. That was when he learned that Eleonora had visited her privately. He went to see her then, but before he even had a chance to knock on her door he had more trouble. A representative of the Sidia family had stopped at the castle. They had grown concerned on hearing that he had already ridden out to meet the Pices, and now he had to deal with them to convince them that he was not joining an alliance against them. The representative, a skittish and easily-frightened man, took far more convincing than he liked.

After they finally were dismissed, he called Lorenzo, the head servant, and the rest of the castle staff to him.

"Understand me perfectly clearly. Since the moment I was married I have not had a quarter of an hour of privacy with my wife, and that is what I shall have. Neither of us are to be disturbed with any more special appointments or visitors until I request it. That starts this instant tonight. We are not to be disturbed again, is that clear?"

The staff expressed their acknowledgement, and at long last Samuel was free to be with her.

Simply walking to his room felt like a march of sorts. He was now physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. He had expected some trouble from his impromptu wedding, but never anything like this. His own court and servants didn't look at him the same way anymore. The walls that he once found comfortable and relaxing were now like a strange sort of dungeon to him, or some other place to be subjected to torment and tortures. He didn't know when his mother would come around…if ever…or if the rest of those in the castle would. It could take weeks or months. Enduring even one day of it was misery.

And as much as he tried to keep forcing it out of his head for good, Eleonora's talk of annulment kept springing back into his mind.

He was still thinking these things when he finally reached the door to his room. It was still shut, and he knocked on it.

"It's me."

Silence was the response. It had been silent before, but before he had heard weeping as well. He stood there a while, almost thinking she was indisposed or perhaps even asleep, when he heard a short bell ring.

He opened the door to the room afterward and walked inside. He sighed heavily as he turned and shut the door behind him.

"I want to apologize for not being here earlier…" he half-muttered. "As you might have guessed, things didn't go too well with mother. And after that it was just…"

He trailed off.

Only a few lamps around the sitting area were lit now, and Costanza, having not moved from the cushioned seat since he had seen her last, was there. She kept making sharp exhales of pain, and she was hunched over one of her shirts working intensely.

Staying quiet, he walked in a bit further. With three lamps being the only source of light, it was rather dim in the chamber. He kept walking in until he was at her side, looking down on her work.

One of the shirts was torn into two pieces. She had left off her other shirt and was trying to mend it, but was working so fast it looked as if she wanted to somehow mend it in no time at all so that not a single second would be lost on the sixth shirt she was making. The result was as expected. Her fingers were raw and swollen again. They even had marks where they had been pricked more than once, and a white cloth was nearby that she had used to dab them until they were closed before resuming. She kept making noises of wincing as her fingers fumbled over struggling to cover new petals with wax, which was almost impossible between the blood on her fingers and how swollen they were from stinging nettle stabs. She had managed to stick five new petal collections on the shirt, but there were easily over a hundred to do before the shirt would be in one piece again.

Worst of all, one of her hands was bent around the wrist. She wouldn't extend it and kept cringing and making pained noises with each gesture from it.

"Are you alright?"

She looked up from her work momentarily to look at him, and he was nearly struck to the heart. Her eyes were red and enflamed. She had been weeping, and weeping for hours from the looks of it. Her cheeks were stained and her features were a mess. He may not have known why she was doing this work or why it was so important to her, but it was important to her and seeing it destroyed and being forced to do it again had devastated her. He didn't know the whole story, but he assumed she must have accidentally torn it and, from the looks of it, damaged her wrist at the same time. Now she was desperately trying to undo the event by fixing it faster than humanly possible.

At that moment, all of Samuel's own concerns, woes, and personal worries evaporated. He realized now, as a husband, he no longer had the luxury of only being able to worry about himself. He had to think about her as well. As for Costanza, she couldn't manage a nod or a head shake. She turned back to her work, sniffling once, before trying to resume.

His head bowed and he swallowed. "I'm sorry," he said more quietly. His look drifted to one side. "I've been living as my own man for so long, only thinking about what's good and bad for me…I didn't stop to think about what the past two days have been like for you. That's something that needs to be remedied at once."

She only kept working, without looking up.

He lowered his head again as he began to walk around the seat, scoffing a little at himself. "I'm a very foolish man, you know. Look at how arrogant I was. I thought I was somehow giving you a favor or even a blessing by bringing you into my house. Thus far, all I've brought you is more misery, haven't I?"

She still didn't answer, continuing to work.

He sighed. "Of course I have. I don't know what my mother said to you when she came in today, but I know it wasn't words of welcome or affection for her new daughter-in-law. In that forest you had all the peace and quiet you could have asked for. Now I've brought you here and you get nothing but the stares and murmurings of everyone. You've been treated like nothing but an unwanted dog since you arrived. And then I make things worse on you…asking you to be my wife when I'm sure a husband was never on your mind, subjecting you to that public spectacle of our wedding feast, and now having to deal with more open hostility than ever…from my own family, no less." He grimaced as he came around the seat. "I wouldn't be surprised if you wished you had never met me."

She slowed in her work at that, but only for a moment before she focused on it fully again, still wincing and working through her soreness.

He sat down alongside her. He watched her quietly, continuing to see her hurt herself and stumble in her work. It was growing cruder from how frantic she was working. He could tell she was making more mistakes than successes by now.

Slowly, his hands began to come over. "Put it down."

She shook her head and kept stitching.

"Put it down, come on. You're in pain."

She shook her head again, moving her hands away and trying to work while doing so.

"Just for tonight. It'll be there tomorrow," his hands moved toward hers even as she pulled them away. "Just rest for a little while."

She kept trying to get out of the way for a time, almost trying to pull her hand out from under him when he finally rested his on hers. Then, however, she resigned herself. Sighing in defeat and new anguish, she practically threw the things in her hands onto the floor. Immediately, Samuel's own hands moved over hers. Minding her bad wrist, he pulled both back over to him while gently moving his fingers across her own sore, injured ones.

"Just relax. Just be at peace…just for tonight."

She slowly started to ease down, although her eyes drifted to the rest of the shirts including the one barely started. The sad, melancholy look on her face grew grimmer yet. For the first time since he met her, her look went from merely melancholy to hopeless. As if she was despairing of some great futility. If she hadn't already worn herself out crying, he was sure she would have burst into fresh tears.

Nothing…not his mother's glare, the disappointment of his court, the whispers of his servants, or the opinions of the rest of the nobility…mattered at all to him in that moment. Just that his wife looked so miserable and crushed.

He continued to gently move his fingers as he looked at her regretfully. "You know…I don't think it would be hard for the seamstresses to learn how to do this. I'd even be willing to learn, if you'd show me. Then you wouldn't have to do it yourself all the…"

He trailed off as she closed her eyes, shaking her head.

He sank a little where he sat. He exhaled helplessly.

"So much for my promise…" he muttered.

She didn't react, continuing to sit there, letting him work over her fingers. It was quiet between them. He could actually hear the lamp oil slowly being drawn up to burn and the flickering of the wick.

His own eyes closed. He inhaled and exhaled. "I would do anything to make you happy right now. Anything at all. If only you could tell me. If there's anything you want from me in the entire world, I'll give it to you. If you would only just-"

He cut himself off. His eyes opened.

Costanza was leaning into him now, her eyes still closed.

He said no more. He only watched her a moment, before his hands moved away from hers and his arms came around her. He held her as close as he could and closed his own eyes again.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that on the couch, but he wanted it to last forever. In the dim light and privacy of that chamber, there was only the two of them. Everything that had happened and all of his misgivings melted away. It was just the two of them now. The beautiful forest sprite in his arms, and their whole lives together still ahead of them.

Eventually, his eyes opened again slightly. He looked down and saw her angelic face finally at peace, now that she was reclining against him.

His hand slowly raised and gently brushed back one of the strands of hair off her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened at his touch and looked up at him. The two stared at each other a moment. Slowly, Samuel leaned closer. A moment later, their lips met, and both of them closed their eyes as they shared a kiss.

They parted soon after, their eyes still closed. A moment later they leaned in for another. A third followed soon after. By the time of the fourth, they both grew more passionate and deep. Holding her in his arms, he slowly leaned her down on the couch along with him as they kept kissing. As it grew more passionate yet, she reached up and slipped her arms out of the sleeves of her dress. He helped her with her sore arm before he more rapidly and earnestly began to pull off his own vest and tunic. Their lips were practically locked by the time they were pulling their garments off of their loins.

It wasn't until near midnight that they finally made their way into the bed.

To be continued...