Summary: A desperate monarch makes a pact with another king that will one day force him to give his headstrong daughter to the king's harsh son. Within the castle walls lay many secrets, including a deadly curse with one year to break. Let the fairytale begin.
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Chapter Eighteen: Part One
Derek and Tristàn worked quickly, especially upon receiving Cecilia's message from Ana and Ilario. Ana had arrived the week before, fresh from both Italle and Spainne. Derek was unsurprised to see Ana, even if he did not know she was coming. That girl seemed to have gone to every country in Western Europe in the past few months. He was, however, quite shocked to see Ilario.
The large dog, no longer a puppy, burst through the carriage and bounded into Derek's arms. Behind him, he could hear Ana's laugh. "He has been waiting to see his papa," she teased.
"What?" Derek wanted to know.
"Ilario," clarified Ana, "reminds me of a child. He hated to be parted from Cecilia, could hardly be consoled by me, and yet is elated to find you. Cecilia is the mother, I the awkward aunt, and you the father."
Derek shook his head, although he was laughing. "How fares Cecilia?"
Laughter gone, Ana's face was set in a grim line. "Not well."
His chuckles ceased immediately as his head shot up to look up at his beloved's friend. "Why? What's wrong?"
"She wrote you a message," was all Ana said.
"Where is it?" Derek asked, his tone bordering on frantic.
Despite her serious face, Ana's eyes twinkled. "She would not tell me, in case something went wrong and I was captured by her father's men. That way there was nothing for them to try and beat out of me."
Derek frowned, his forehead crinkling. "I don't understand… do you think she put it in your things?"
Ana laughed. "Derek, she didn't tell me and even I know where it is."
The prince stood shock still, pondering until a yelp from Ilario snapped him out of it. Derek narrowed his eyes at the dog, trailing off, "You mean…?"
Ana's teasing chuckle was the only answer he needed as he patted Ilario down. One he heard the crinkle of paper in his collar, it was only seconds until he uncovered the paper that held Cecilia's loving, yet fearful words.
"She's getting married," whispered Derek, "to Adrian?"
Ana gulped, suddenly feeling fearful of the man for the first time since she had heard of his curse. "Yes," she said, her voice low, "on Spring solstice."
Derek pounded his fist to the floor. "Dammit," he yelled. "We don't have much time. Only three weeks."
"We can get Cecilia away," Ana said. "She and I have already worked out a plan."
"It's not just that," Derek answered, and his voice was tired. He literally seemed to sag to the floor, resting his back against a wall and tilting his head back, his eyes closed. "My birthday is on the same day as the wedding. We must be married by then."
Ana drew in a breath sharply. Looking beyond Derek, she saw her brother, standing in the doorway with Queen Marguerite. The gears in Ana's head began to work. "Then we don't have much time, do we?" She asked sharply. "We have a lot to do and not much time, Derek. We cannot sit here and sulk."
Derek's head snapped up, and he was about to growl a retort, but the look in her eyes made him stop. For a moment, Ana looked exactly like his mother.
Time passed quickly after that. The supplies from Eyerlin and Scoughtlyn came in and both Derek and Rafael quickly mobilized men. In the process, despite protests from the councilmen and his mother, Derek felt compelled to tell the men fighting for him what he was.
He gathered them together and told them all, in a low voice, the entire story of his family and the curse. "I understand," he said, his voice almost catching, "if you do not want to fight for me. If I were you, I would be skeptical as well. But," he cleared his throat. "I like to think that I have been a good ruler. I like to think that my parents and I have served you well. I ask that you do this favor for me now and fight for me. And… if you did, I would be forever grateful." He moved to leave but then came back, saying hesitantly, "if you choose to… not fight, there will be no penalty."
To his great surprise, very few soldiers deserted. Most stayed, saying that they could not ask for a better ruler and that they would do all they could to defend him and his honor. The relief Derek felt because of this was palpable and it was all he could do not to cry. It would have killed him if his people had rejected him, and the fact that they had not was an unexpected blessing.
By then, there were only ten days left until Spring solstice, the day of complete culmination.
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Cecilia could only feel a sort of numbness as her carriage jarred its way to Spainne. She believed that this was not a reality; that she was merely in a bad dream which soon, she would be free of. Next to her, her father had dozed off, snoring innocently after the many goblets of wine he indulged in on the way there. Cecilia hadcringed. She was glad that Issy wasn't there to witness it. As protective as Cesario was of his daughters, she was glad he had not insisted that Issy come with them. She had gone into hiding for her own safety with her governess. They were living in one of the many secret chambers of the castle. Provided that the enemy attacked, the two would be safe. For that much, Cecilia was grateful, for the worry she felt for her sister was alleviated with the knowledge that she was safe. It was one less thing to worry about.
Seated across from her was Lord Adrian, who had captured her hand, smirking as he talked about the life they would lead once they were married.
"You will soon learn to love me," he assured her. "Of course, if not, then that is not my concern. But you will. I will have more power and prestige than that wolf-man of yours could ever have."
Cecilia was content to remain silent, but as it appeared he wanted some response, she sighed. "I do not understand, my lord," she said, "why you want to marry me. I can assure you now that are our union will be most unhappy. Does it give you great pleasure in knowing that your wife will love someone else, regardless of power and prestige?"
"Would it make any difference if he's dead?" Adrian remarked casually.
The princess across from him paled slightly, but shook her head. "It would not," she said. "And The Enchantress..."
"Won't bring him back to life," cut in Adrian. "Believe me, I, of all people, have experience in such matters."
Cecilia had not heard the story of his parents and thus, was intrigued by his statement. "Have you?" She inquired softly. "Did you love her very much?"
He raised an eyebrow. "It was not a lover, if that's what you are thinking," he told her smoothly, but did not manage to restrain his next words: "It was my mother."
"I'm sorry," murmured Cecilia. "That pain I can understand."
Adrian looked at her, his crystal blue eyes melting, softening a little as he studied his fiancee. "My father has raised me," he told her. "It has not been easy... he is a hard man to please."
Cecilia narrowed her eyes at this statement. "Is that why you're doing this?" She asked him. "To please your father?"
Adrian's eyes turned cold again. "I am my own man," he bit out, but Cecilia had a hard time believing him. The two did not speak the rest of the way and for that, Cecilia was grateful. With this new revelation of Lord Adrian, she had much to consider. He was not a bad person, she mused. Not by nature. It was clear that the environment in which he was raised had ultimately shaped him into the being he was today. Too bad, she thought. In another lifetime, if he had been raised differently... they might have been friends. Maybe more, if she had never met Derek.
"We are here," Adrian remarked unnecessarily as they pulled up to his estate in the town of San Sebastian. It was on the western coast of Spainne, just south west of the border of Fraanc. It was an ideal location to strike and far enough away from the Spannish capital of Barcelona without attracting much attention from King Rafael, never mind the fact that his sister was in the wedding. She had no desire to see the foreboding structure, although she had been told it was fantastic, made of the darkest stones that gleamed when the moon hit it. Her ladies-in-waiting closed in around her and she settled the heavy veil on her face so that no one's eyes could see her. As she exited the carriage she could hear her father coming to.
"If you will forgive me," Lord Adrian said, his demeanor polite and the epitome of aristocratic, "I have some business to attend to. The servants shall show you both to your rooms and I shall see you both at dinner."
King Cesario nodded and Cecilia curtseyed. She was anxious to be alone... it had been a long day.
Adrian waited until the two were out of sight, and with a few choice muttered words, disappeared. He then found himself in his father's dwellings. The Dark Mage resided under ground, suitable for the God of Death, in a mass home of tunnels and dug out rooms. The interior of them were as grand as any castle, although, in Adrian's opinion, more foreboding than any castle he had ever been to.
He found his father in an unusually good mood, reading by the fire, an astonishingly mundane activity for one so powerful. The Dark Mage greeted Adrian with almost a smile, leaving Adrian feeling light-hearted. Cecilia's words came back to him, though-- Is that why you're doing this? To please your father?-- but Adrian pushed them out of his mind, instead focusing on explaining the updated situation to his father.
"I will help you, of course," purred The Dark Mage to his son. "Although I must be subtle about it, for I do not wish to have your dear aunt caught up in this as well."
"The Enchantress has other matters to concern herself with," Adrian said, an eyebrow raised. "Why would she take time to help with a few battles?"
"She seems to be fond of the Freench," sneered The Dark Mage. "And do not forget that she aided the other side during the last war."
"Of course," Adrian said. Looking at his pocket watch, he frowned. "I have to leave, I am afraid," he bowed. "Good day, Father."
The Mage nodded. Just as his son reached the doorway he called for him.
Adrian turned.
"Watch over your fiancée," The Mage said, as he fingered a heart-shaped locket under his cloak. "Prince Derek is close by and true love does not die easily."
Adrian nodded and left. It bothered him slightly that his fiancée was in love with someone else, but he knew that when he wrote Cesario with his plans. However, Adrian had never been raised in a loving environment, so it was probably better that way. What did he know about love? And if he had it, what would he do with it? He knew the basics of his parents' courtship and he had no inclination to end up like them. He saw love as a weakness, one that left his mother dead and his father bitter. So even if there was no love in his life…well. It was better that way.
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For Cecilia, the next few days passed by. Ana came quietly and it was the night before the wedding ritual was to begin and Cecilia was to hide away in her room, supposedly out of modesty and tradition. In reality, she was getting ready to flee.
"Derek is in a town nearby," Ana said, "so I do not think it prudent to escape immediately. I think Adrian is expecting an escape as it is. I think that it will take only half a day to reach Derek. Until then, we will plan. Let the maids see you regularly over the next few days, for I am sure they are reporting back to Adrian and your father. Lead them into a false sense of security and then escape when they least suspect it."
It was a good plan, one which Cecilia agreed to. "When they find me missing," Cecilia said, "they will go mad. We must prepare for an attack."
"It will come," Ana agreed. "I do not believe it will come until the next day, however. There will be time to prepare."
"I hope so," Cecilia said, but her brow was furrowed. There were too many loop holes in their plans, too many things that could go wrong, and there wasn't time enough to think out every aspect.
Cecilia went to her window and stared out of it. It was nightfall but she could still make out the waves crashing along the shore of San Sebastian.
She couldn't lose hope. Not yet and certainly not now.
Last Edited: 4/7/09
