Chapter 2
For days after the feast, the excited and fearful murmurs regarding Emrys' presence in court were rife. Few had seen him since that evening, but word had extended far beyond the castle and out into the town. Peasants were gathered at the gates begging to be healed from the illnesses that plagued the poorer community. Castle life, however, had not changed at all despite Emrys' presence. There were some who took it as a sign that the man from the feast was not Emrys and such a phantom did not exist despite King Emmett's claims.
I did not see him at all following that evening, yet a sense of restlessness washed over me. Whether it was his choice of words when he addressed me, or the fact that his presence in the castle made me uneasy I was not sure. Lady Alice, however, was swept away in the occasion. The morning following the feast, the King called his sister to a meeting with Emrys. The princess refused to disclose much of her encounter and I did not press, yet since that moment she had not stopped talking about him.
One evening, we were sat in my Lady's chamber and I was combing her long, dark hair through for bed in amicable silence. I bit my lip, unsure whether to raise the question that had been haunting me since the night of the feast. Deciding that I needed to share some of my concerns I spoke up, clearing my throat nervously. "My Lady -" I began only to be cut off by her, "Alice." She said matter-of-factly. "When will you begin to just call me Alice? We have known each other since we were children playing together in the nursery!" She exclaimed, but I merely sighed, this had been a frequent argument of ours over the years.
"And for all that time you have been a princess and I, your subject. It's expected, my Lady."
Lady Alice rolled her eyes growling under her breath in exasperation. "If I was not so tired I would argue this out with you."
Suddenly she sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing as she looked at me. I shifted, unnerved by the devilish gleam that appeared in her crystal blue eyes. "As your Lady, Princess and member of the royal family I demand that you call me by my given name. Only."
I opened my mouth to protest, but there was little that could be done upon her order. A formal demand by a member of the royal family had to be followed it at all possible. "Only in private." I finished lamely, unhappy to completely play to her whim but unable to deny her the wish.
Alice smiled triumphantly. "So, what were you going to say Bella?"
Placing the comb on the table, I followed Alice to where she sat on her bed. Absent mindedly I fiddled with the threads of the bed cloth. "What do you know about the legend of Olwen?"
The princess let out a big sigh as she thought, flopping backwards on her bed, her long black hair fanning about her. "Not a lot. There isn't much on her aside from that she is supposed to be a mortal who loved Emrys." We were silent then as we both pondered the story of Olwen. "I wonder if that legend is true too, since Emrys is real?" She questioned thoughtfully turning her head to me, her blue eyes glistening with enthused mystery.
"You think it's him?" My stomach clenched even tighter. If that man was really Emrys then what was the significance of him calling me Olwen. Was it a mistake? Had I misheard him?
Alice smiled knowingly. "Without a doubt. He just knows things and the things he showed me…" She trailed off; awestruck and lost within her own thoughts and memories of her time with him. She frowned then, "If Olwen did exist, imagine what it must be like to have lost the love of your life and then endure the whole of existence without them."
I too collapsed back on her bed as we lay in silence together. Two young girls, unable to marry for love, their lives planned out by their fathers, or in Alice's case, her brother. "At least they knew what love was like." I finished sadly.