Two
~Aderyn~
I wriggled around uncomfortably in my seat, unaware of the eyes of the other girls my age, as the light green puffed-up dress I wore itched at the back of my neck and shoulders. I had completely forgotten that tonight I had a dinner with other "young ladies" my age who gathered once a month to discuss all sorts of fascinating things from matters of religion and politics, to handsome knights and princes in the surrounding kingdoms.
The disturbing news of Brynn leaving for a possible war inhabited my every thought from the moment he left the castle; surely my father wouldn't allow to such a thing. But I knew I wasn't fooling myself; the king had no interest in protecting his daughter's best friend.
Brynn knew that being a knight involved specific duties. We both knew this. Yet over all these years I had somehow overlooked the big picture, focusing only on the minor details; the glint of his new armor, the ceremony, the smiles and praises of congratulations ringing all around him. I was proud of him. But at the same time I couldn't help but wonder if he would miss-
"Princess?" A dainty hand was placed on my shoulder, snapping me out of my deep thoughts.
"Huh? Yes?" I looked to my left where the Duke of Wickersham's daughter, Beatrice, as well as the other girls, stared at me with wide eyes. I smiled at her politely. "I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I asked if His Majesty had any new recruits to send with Sir Robert?" A girl to my left, whom I didn't care for in the least, smirked when my face turned ashen.
"Well," I began. I hated bringing up the subject of Brynn around these girls, knowing how their reaction would be, but it seemed inevitable. "Brynn is being knighted this coming Sunday."
"But is he going with Sir Robert?" the sassy girl, named Lucinda, asked. I wanted to reach across the circle and cheerfully tear her hair out but a warning to behave myself echoed in my head.
"He informed me this afternoon that he may have to go."
"You poor dear," Beatrice said, patting my hand. "You must be worried sick about him." I looked at her with suspicious eyes.
"Brynn will be fine," I cleared my throat; I would rather talk about religion or politics than him.
"Is it true he's courting the Earl of Crimshaw's daughter, Elizabeth?" Lucinda's voice rang with authority. She always had hated my close relationship with Brynn and any jab she could make to get under my skin became her top priority. Unfortunately for me, this time it worked. My eyebrows raised several inches in surprise.
"Elizabeth?"
"Hadn't you noticed she isn't here today?" A younger girl named Mary asked.
"I saw them a few night's ago in town," Mary's twin sister Marie chimed in.
"I hadn't heard," I said. Lucinda chuckled and her face fell in false pity.
"Well, I'm sure he had a good reason for keeping it to himself, Aderyn. After all he tells you just about everything, does he not? I can't imagine why he would keep such a thing from you."
Echoes of agreement rang throughout the circle.
"Brynn has a life of his own outside the castle walls. Who am I to tell him how to run his life?" I shrugged and took a sip of my tea. Acting like a young lady felt a lot like being thrown to the wolves if you asked me.
"Well, you are the Princess. He would have to listen to you no matter what, wouldn't he?" In my mind I envisioned myself slapping her across her beautiful, smug face. The girl brought out such a violent nature in me.
"But you know I wouldn't do that to Brynn," I retorted in a kind, yet acidic voice.
"Because you love him." It wasn't a question. All of the girls leaned in at the same time. As if they had rehearsed, or at least known that Lucinda had set a trap for me.
"Because I am a good friend. I would like to think you aren't too stubborn to take lessons from me," I smiled and all traces of politeness were gone from her features. Why couldn't I get through one single day without someone mentioning this? Brynn and I never thought of each other in that way.
Triumphantly, I rose from my chair just as the doors opened and our mother's entered the room to collect us. I curtsied, as expected, and walked over to greet my mother whilst the other girls stared after me in open-mouthed shock.
"Aderyn," my mother spoke through her smiling teeth. "Why do I get the feeling you-"
"Had a lovely time, mother!" I kissed her lightly on the cheek and turned to the other women. "I can't wait for our next gathering."
If I continued to smile like this for much longer my face would crack in two, I feared.
"I can't wait until next time!" I called back over my shoulder again as I quickly dismissed myself from the room.
Once on the other side of the door I ran down the halls and into my bedchambers where I locked myself away from the world and slid my back down the door til I found myself on the cold floor.
"God, I hate those damned things," I whispered to myself. "I don't know how mother does it without killing someone or herself." I heard splashing water from the other room and curiously went to investigate. In my small bathing room Lady Catherine stood, readying a bath for me.
"Back so soon?" She asked when I made my presence known.
"Thankfully." I confessed and she studied my expression.
"I take it Lucinda is well," She chuckled.
"She does with my misery what Elizabeth Bathory does with blood," I crooned and Lady Catherine tried her best to stifle a laugh.
"Now, that's a bit extreme..."
"You think? It's the most mild thing I could think of," I said and sighed, beginning to slip out of my itchy gown. After a few minutes I was standing by the large tub filled with steaming water in my undergarments. Lady Catherine busied herself flitting around the washroom lighting candles and occasionally pouring oils into the water until it was cool enough for me to enter.
And it was one of the greatest pleasures I could enjoy that I always looked forward to. What I had to worry about that made my muscles so tense was beyond me but being able to feel the stress melt away from my body, carried away by the warm water and oils, was a heavenly feeling.
Once out of the tub I sat on my high back chair, brushing out my hair until it was smooth and dry. Lady Catherine folded back the sheets to my bed and I wondered aloud at the fears which I had pushed to the back of my mind.
"Do you really think my father will send Brynn away with Sir Robert?"
"I'm afraid so, my lady. Only a few more days until he is knighted and then his soul priority is dedicated to the safety of this kingdom; his duty to the crown."
"He'd be traveling to St. Andrews and the Shetland Islands. There's no telling how long they'd be gone for," I said and I think the enormity of it all was just starting to sink in. "Even if the war was something we need not worry about, he would still be away for quite a long while." I tied the robe I was wearing tighter around my small frame and stood up, waiting on Lady Catherine's reply. She looked at me as if trying to read my mind; at what I was thinking in this strange head of mine.
"There's really no way of telling," she answered simply. "Only God knows, I'm afraid."
And then another question struck me. One that disturbed me even more. I crawled into bed and leaned towards Lady Catherine, my voice almost a whisper.
"Do you know of the Earl of Crimshaw's daughter, Elizabeth?"
"Yes. What about her?"
"Is she being courted, by any chance?"
Lady Catherine's face shifted just the slightest and I knew she was keeping something from me.
"Why do you ask, my lady?"
"You know, don't you?"
She didn't answer. Without saying a word she pulled the sheets up around me and began to close the sheer curtains around my canopy bed.
"Well, come on. Out with it. It's not like I don't already know!"
"Then why must you make me speak it?"
"Because I need to hear it from someone I can trust to be telling the truth," I pleaded and her eyes turned soft.
"It's not well-known around the castle but I have enough reason to believe that she's being courted, yes. By..." She took a deep breath and shook her head, her pretty blond hair was toppled up on her head in a giant web of curls that dimly shone in the light.
"Brynn?"
She only nodded once and I felt...
Betrayed.
"Why would he not tell me this?"
"I think my lady cares too much about things that are not really her business," She said and stood up, smoothing out her dress with her pale hands. I glowered down at my lap.
"Perhaps you're right," I whispered and she smiled at me faintly.
"Goodnight, my lady," she said softly before closing the final curtain and leaving me to my thoughts.
"But still," I continued to think aloud. "Why wouldn't Brynn tell me?"