"It's nice to see a smile on your face," Dagda commented as they made their way to the hall where their people were waiting to start the music. "After the Roland… misunderstanding, I was afraid I would never see you actually smile again."
Roland misunderstanding? Does he actually think that? Marianne thought.
"Yeh, well…" she hesitated as she opened the last door to the dancing hall, excitement pooling on her stomach. She had stopped looking forward to these a long time ago, as it was always the same thing and the same people trying to gain her attention (Roland among them); but knowing that Bog was going to be there made it more interesting. And they could talk without making her father suspicious!
"Are you happy about the treaty?" Dagda really wanted his daughter to be happy. He had thought about this since receiving the acceptance letter from the Bog King, something he really didn't expect.
He had come to terms with the whole thing by now. Bog had been nothing but accepting of this new arrange of things, and Marianne seemed to glow when she spoke to him about details of the treaty. It has been so far a good experience for the next Queen, and Dagda could see in her the monarch she was when she managed the things needed to continue this process.
It was like a whole new Marianne he had never seen before, a stronger woman, the Queen he wanted her to be. The only thing left was finding her a King, but she had been pretty clear about it when he approached her about the issue. " There's no need to be a King, father. I'm stronger like this, and I won't be alone. I still have your counsel and my sister's help. But if I find a man that looks at me in the eye and I don't want to hit him, I'll think about marrying. Until then, I'm good."
She did have a point, though. She wouldn't be alone, like he was when Violet died. His daughter wouldn't be helpless and confused, she still had the help she needed to be a proper Queen. But it was hard for him to change his views, he was clear about that. From accepting goblins to letting her be Queen without a King at her side…
Baby steps, he reminded himself.
"I'm excited to see what happens!" his daughter answered his previous question, taking him back to reality. "Thank you for inviting the Bog King, dad. It was a nice gesture."
"Oh, yes. It was something that occurred to me in the spur of the moment," he laughed, happy to hear that his plan worked.
"I really appreciate your efforts to accept all of this. I know how prejudiced you are and how difficult it is to think different…"
"I must admit that I was skeptical about the treaty," the King blushed slightly, looking forward and totally missing his daughter's eyes scanning the cave they were getting into. "But now it's not the time for politics. Would you grace this old man with your first dance?"
And before Marianne could laugh and take her father's hand, a new voice interrupted their little moment.
"Or… someone even better." She knew that voice. Too well.
Oh, crap.