A/N - Another chapter this week since I am feeling excited for this story and the reviews! Hope you enjoy it :)
A/N #2 - Fixed two small mistakes from chapter 1: The scene with Cordelia being 9 years old was 18 years before, not the following scene, and this fic is a Fantasy AU and not Historical.
Princess Misty of the Southern Swamplands? Cordelia stared at the young princess with wide eyes, puzzled at the sight. The princess had a tall and thin body, and looked at her with wide eyes and her rose pink lips slightly parted. Her eyes were of a wonderful shade of sapphire blue and her skin was slightly tanned by the sun. She wore a brown gown that seemed to be specifically sewn to be comfortable to ride a horse, and riding boots under it. She looked like a perfect mix of her parents, having inherited her father's blue eyes and her mother's curly hair and slight curves. It was obvious that the royals didn't care about looking superior to them, since their garments were noble but humble at the same time. And Cordelia found herself overwhelmed by the situation.
She had spent eighteen years expecting a prince, and now this girl appeared. She expected a young, immature and spoiled knight to cross that door, with his head high and an haughty look on his face. She expected someone that she would hate all her life. She had never expected a humble, alluring princess that was looking at her as if she was a masterpiece hanging from a wall. She looked at her mother, who sat on her throne silent while studying the visitors' faces, and decided to be the one who welcomed them. As soon as she stood up, the king approached her.
"Your highness," he bowed before her and kissed her hand, receiving a smile from the young princess. "Your beauty has only grown in the past eighteen years."
"And you are just as charming, your grace." Cordelia smiled widely, then looked at the queen and princess as they approached her. "Queen Innocence, it is a pleasure for me to meet you again. Princess Misty, I am grateful to finally meet you."
"Uh, hello." the other told awkwardly, staring at the princess with wide eyes. "I mean, your highness." she bowed in front of Cordelia and smiled shyly, receiving another smile. "I—" Her words were cut by queen Fiona's loud, angered voice.
"You liar." she told, making her daughter jump in surprise and walk to the side. She had always been scared of the woman and her cruel, narrow-minded personality, and her abusive comments towards her had only made her more fragile through the years. "I was promised a honorable prince, not an idiotic annoying prin—"
"I must remind you, your highness, that we made a deal to save your kingdom from the devastation that my army could cause, and for you to be a queen until you die." His deep voice sounded severe as he spoke, looking at the queen with a defiant expression. "Also, I never promised you a prince, I promised you a firstborn."
The woman stood there and looked at the king with hateful eyes, not knowing what to say. "It's unnatural." she finally spoke after a few seconds, eyes shifting through the visitors and to her daughter. She was obviously not going to give her daughter's hand to a girl, it was unjust in her eyes. Cordelia swallowed hard and took a step forward.
"Mother, pleas—" She couldn't finish her sentence when her mother raised a hand and made her fly through the spacious room and hit a wall with a tapestry hanging on it.
"Cordelia!" Misty called, quickly running towards the princess and kneeling next to her. "Are you hurt?" she asked, suddenly realizing that she had accidentally dropped all the formalities. "Uh... your highness?" she added right after. The princess shook her head and Misty placed a hand on her shoulder delicately, then offered the other to help her stand. Cordelia took it, breathing in deeply at the skin to skin contact with her betrothed and then stood up, straightening her gown.
"Thank you, your grace." she told, giving Misty a nod and then looking at her mother. "If you'll excuse me, I wish to go to my chamber now, Mother. It's been a pleasure meeting you, princess Misty." she looked down and bowed slightly, then walked out of the room.
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Misty had excused herself from yet another dance from another noble to get a drink, wanting to escape the tortuous dances she had been forced to partake in. It had been her father's idea to have her bond with the nobles while dancing to improve her position as the future queen. Of course, she hated these formal balls, where she couldn't escape the exhausting dances. Wearing a stone colored dress was okay, although the corset and the heels were something she could definitely do without. Her parents had held many balls in her kingdom for her birthdays, but all Misty wanted was to be alone, preferably with her horse and her bow, away from all of her royal duties. Great disappointment had crashed over the young princess when her mother had denied her her wish and instead insisted on having a ball for each birthday that passed.
But tonight it was different. She wanted more than anything to stay inside the ballroom, enduring everything and putting on forced smiles. She had managed to resist the urge to strangle a few rude, arrogant or narcissistic nobles who talked about themselves and other inappropriate things as they danced away. After all the dancing and greetings from people she barely knew, the girl finally excused herself for a drink. Misty's throat burned at the touch of wine, the delicious drink that gave her the confidence to go through the night. Still, she didn't want to get drunk, she had yet to dance with the most important person in the entire room. Misty turned around and observed her.
Cordelia was dancing with one of her mother's knights, smiling widely as they waltzed around the room. He was tall and wore some of his best garments with the emblem of the Orleans house, his green and golden clothing contrasting perfectly with the princess' crimson red dress. She wore her tiara atop her braided hair the same way she had worn it that morning. She looked exactly the same, except for the dress and a faint bruise on her temple. The knight and she finished the song and then bowed to each other, him kissing her gloved hand with a wide smile on his face. Misty approached them before she too bowed. "Princess Cordelia?" she asked with a soft voice, blushing slightly when the other turned and looked at her. "May I have this dance?"
The princess smiled warmly and nodded, still startled about the idea of being engaged to the other girl. "Of course." she turned and smiled at the knight. "Thank you for this wonderful dance, sir Foxx." the man bowed at both of them and walked away, then Cordelia turned to look at Misty once again. "Do you know how to waltz, your highness?" Cordelia questioned, moving closer and taking her hand to delicately pull her close, placing the other gloved hand on her shoulder seam and then smiling shyly. Misty nodded and put her hand to cup her partner's shoulder blade, then held Cordelia's right hand at shoulder height, standing up straighter than she ever had. "How are the southern lands, if I may ask? I've never visited them." Cordelia stated as they slowly began to dance under the watchful eyes of the nobles and knights that surrounded them. All the assistants to this ball were from their two kingdoms, and all of the other guests arrived the night before the wedding. Fiona had made sure that the wedding was the most grandiose event a person could attend, having planned everything herself, down to the littlest detail.
"It is full of lakes and swamps, and despite what most people think the water is actually really, really clean." Misty grinned nervously, leading the dance. She wasn't much of a dancer actually, and was scared of stepping on the other princess' foot every two minutes. "My castle is in the middle of a lake. It's smaller than this one, but it's made of brighter stones. This one's so… dark."
"It's a charm my mother put on it after my father's death. Myrtle, my maid, says that it is made of white stone and marble, but that my mother enchanted it to look like a black castle." Cordelia explained, eyes focused on the other girl's blue ones. "It's a shame. I've seen paintings, the castle was so beautiful. I wish I could have actually seen it."
"What? You've always lived here, how is it that you haven't seen the real castle?" she asked, looking at Cordelia and accidentally stepping onto her foot. The other princess' face turned into a grimace and Misty pulled back slightly, being stopped by Cordelia's hand. "I'm so sorry." the tall blonde whispered, looking down to the other with worry. They kept dancing, eyes focused on the other's as they exchanged shy smiles and soft, nervous giggles— and then Misty stepped on the shorter princess' foot again. "Oh my, princess Cordelia, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, I am such a—"
"It's okay, your highness." the older interrupted, smiling warmly before she changed their hand positions so that she was the one who led the dance. It was strange to be the lead, since she had only danced with knights all her life and not with other maidens. "I am used to being stepped on." she kept her head high, knowing that as they danced around the room her mother was observing them with attention, trying to find a way to escape the arrangement she had agreed to eighteen years before. Cordelia never had any doubts that Fiona didn't care about who her daughter married, in fact she had never felt any attachment to the princess. The queen had kept her daughter locked inside of the castle's immense grounds all her life, not letting her ever leave her toxic protection, and humiliated and insulted her so many times that the young woman had lost count. "Anyway," she told, shaking those thoughts off her mind and then smiling again to the other princess. "My mother enchanted the castle months before I was born, right after my father died."
"So, and I beg you excuse my coarseness in this question, the queen is... a witch?" the wild-haired blonde asked, turning to look at the queen for a second. It was then when the queen looked at her with a cold gaze, as if she had heard her. Her eyes were just like Cordelia's, but still they had that darker shade that made Misty shiver. She was scared of the woman, scared that she would do everything she could to not let Misty spend any more time with her future wife. Because yes, she had never seen the other princess before, but something inside of her told her that she was already falling in love with her, to the point that she was convinced that she could make the princess happy if she was given the chance. Cordelia's eyes widened at the question and Misty's sudden expression, knowing that the queen was looking at them.
"Come with me." she whispered after they spinned once more and the song ended, the knights and guests of the ball clapping at them at first, then looking at them with surprise as they made their way out of the room to the balcony. Cordelia closed the door after them and made sure that all the attention of the guests was again on the dance and not on the two princesses who had practically fled out of the ballroom, then walked over to stare at the immense lake that shone under the moonlight. Misty followed suit, standing next to her and drumming her fingers against the stone railing, waiting for Cordelia's words to break the silence as she looked at the shorter blonde. She was so beautiful under the moonlight, and yet seemed so fragile. "My mother," the young woman started, looking at the lake absently as she took off her gloves. "Is a powerful and dark enchantress. All the women of my family have always had magic running through their veins." Cordelia sighed and looked at the younger girl, taking her hand and caressing her knuckles with her thumb. "Listen to me. I am older than you, and wiser. You shall not talk to Fiona unless it is truly necessary, and when you do you must not look her in the eyes. Because, just with looking into your eyes, she could just as easily read your mind. She is not to be trusted." Cordelia raised the girl's hand and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of it, now looking up at Misty with sadness. "Please remember that, my princess." she added before walking back to the ballroom.
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