A Third Prince Interlude

He would have pressed on. He should have pressed on. He had long ago resolved not to let anything get in the way of being with his dear Katarina. Not his friendship with Nicol. Not the wiles and stratagems of the increasingly Marchioness-like most-definitely-not-a-Marchiones-that-would-be-wrong-and-very-silly Mary Hunt. Not the well-intentioned but increasingly obstructive care of Maria Campbell. And definitely not the pointed disapproval and opposition of Duchess Claes.

Right them, however, his mind was in too much shock be coherent, and the presence of the Duchess, who was actively occupying Katarina's time, could not be called anything but a direct impediment.

He turned to part ways with them at the dining hall for the guests.

"Ah, aren't you having dinner with us, your highness?"

Of course his dear Katarina would notice he was leaving. Every act of love over the years went completely over her head or just bounced off, but him trying to discreetly make his exit after he'd said he was going to eat with her, and suddenly nothing he did could be hidden. Exasperation was a familiar feeling around his dear Katarina, even if now it was tinged lightly with despair.

"Yes, your highness, come join us," Duchess Claes said, her tone a dagger coated in dung pies. "I'm sure between all the work you have to do and how busy Katarina will be over the coming days, this might be the last chance you two friends have to enjoy each other's company."

"I can even show you how good my table manners and dinner etiquette are now," his dear Katarina said proudly.

"My squire, that's not something to brag about at your age," Lady Maria said tiredly, sounding so much like Keith when she did.

"But they're really good now!"

"Still not something to brag about."

"Alas, I wouldn't want to intrude on your time with your family," he said, the smile for her still coming to his face despite all that she had said. "Perhaps some other time, my dear Katarina."

"Are you sure? All our friends are gonna be there, I'm sure we can find a way for everyone to fit in," his dear Katarina pressed.

Happiness. Pain. Hope. Exasperation. All at the same time. Only she could do that to him. "I'm sure, my dear Katarina. Besides, I'm sure Alan would be terribly put out if he learns we all had dinner without him."

"Well… all right them. Ah, but remember what we talked about, all right? Just tell me what kind you like, and I'll help you set it up!" She gave him thumbs up. "So start making a list, all right? I'll get it from you next time we meet."

…she… was actually serious about that, wasn't she? She was rejecting him, and to make amends was going to help him find a lover. Only his Katarina…

Pretending not to hear that last, he walked away, and he could feel the triumph coming from Duchess Claes. He kept his face smooth, his gait even as he walked down the corridor, turning at the first opportunity. He waited until he had walked twenty steps before he let his face change into an unsightly rictus as he let his spine curl. He didn't know if he was snarling or weeping or—

"Your highness?"

The familiar voice made him stand up spread-straight, and he composed his face into a neutral, vaguely amused mask as he turned to find that Maria Campbell had followed him. "Was there something I can help you with, Lady Maria?" he said.

In response, she reached into her coat and withdrew a handkerchief. "For your face," she said.

He blinked at her, then raised a hand to his cheek, felt wetness there. A part of him was furious and aghast that he had been seen in such a state. The other couldn't really bring himself to care. It was only Maria, after all. Not like she'd talk. "Thank you, but I have my own," he said.

She nodded, tucking it away. "Are you all right?" she said quietly.

Pain led to anger. "What do you care?" he snapped.

"I care because you're my friend," she said, "distantly as that may be. I do not have so many friends that I would not notice if they were lost to me. "

He snorted. "What, you're not concerned I'll snap, go mad, be tainted by the abyss and destroy the kingdom."

"Of course I am. That's why I care. I wouldn't want to have to put down a friend."

He couldn't help it. The snort that came out his nose was extremely undignified. "How like you," he said, not sure if he was laughing or outraged.

Maria shrugged. "If not me, then who? Alan, who would blaming himself for not being able to see the turn you have taken and done something to help you? Nicol, who would be doing the same? The knights of this realm, who have sworn to protect you, and have just failed utterly?"

"You are a twisted woman, Maria Campbell. Are you sure you were born a commoner?"

"You've met my mother, your highness."

"So I did, so I did…"

Silence fell. It was almost… almost… comfortable.

"Are you all right?" Maria repeated.

He took a deep breath. "A minor setback," he said airily. "Clearly, my dear Katarina misunderstood my intent. It happens." A beat. "Constantly."

Maria tilted her head slightly. "Would you like me to make you forget what happened? Give you a memory of having dinner with us, as you had planned?"

"That's illegal, Lady Maria. And treasonous."

"Yes," Maria nodded. "It is. Do you want me to?"

It tempted. Her answer… her offer… it hurt. And yet… "How could I surrender one of my precious memories with my dear Katarina?"

"Your highness, you sound like a masochist."

That managed to get another chortle out of him.

She looked at him and sighed. "I am not involved in this affair. My only concern is my squire's education and safety. I refuse to take sides."

"You've made that annoyingly clear, Lady Maria. Very annoyingly clear."

The smile she gave him was strangely tender. "That being said… I wish you happiness, your highness. I will not speculate on what form that happiness takes. However, I wish you well in achieving it."

"How tepidly supportive of you."

"Yes," she admitted. "Now if you'll excuse me, your highness… I must have a talk with my squire about words one does not casually utter in public, if I have not been beaten to it."

"Hex it, Sophia…" he muttered, almost an agreement.

"I doubt it was Sophia, your highness," Maria said. "Her preferred parlance for such things is 'stealing'. 'Trash fetish' might be from her, however. If so, I shall need to have words with her…"

"Then I wish you… happiness with that, Lady Maria. I believe I am now later for dinner."

Maria nodded, bowing to him. Always so formal. Still, it was part of her strange charm, he supposed. "May I withdraw, your highness?"

"You may, Lady Maria."

She left.

He… hurt. It still hurt, how his dear Katarina had misunderstood. But it was a familiar pain now, not a dark, yawning void threating to consume him utterly. Simply the pain of once more being thwarted in his pursuit of his dear Katarina…

…

All right, that sounded far too masochistic.

Heart both heavy and light at the same time, he headed for dinner, with his family, his considerable intelligence already planning on how to recover from this.

She would properly understand how he loved her!

The next day, the lectures began.

The first class started with a simple geopolitical primer headed by Professor Vaati from the academy. While the high nobility of Sorcier—exempting Katarina Claes, of course—could be expected to know the names of the countries surrounding the country, as well as be up to date on their political situations, some of the other people attending the lectures, such as Ministry employees, some castle staff, Katarina Claes, and lower nobility like Maria needed to be informed of even these simplest matters.

"The nine countries that are attending the International Assembly are as follows," Professor Vaati said in his familiar, comforting voice. "The Republic of La Sable, currently ruled by the Lord Presider Donnar Horntuba; the Federation of Etran, ruled by the Council of Nine; the Kingdom of Xiarmah, currently ruled by Queen McSweeney Meiling—" next to her, Maria heard Katarina repeat, "McSweeney?" in a confused tone, "—the Kingdom of Ethenell, ruled by King Faraam Dahl; the Kingdom of Tasmeria, ruled by King Leon Almeria; the Kingdom of Drang, ruled by King Zardoz of the House of Boazania; the Land of Hallig, jointly-ruled by King Miquella and Queen Malenia of the House of Rayalu; the land of New Catarina, ruled by Queen Siegmidala; and of course, our own Kingdom of Sorcier.

"Today, we will be discussing a general overview of the nations involved, and in following days we will be moving on to more in-depth discussion of their current political situations, both internal and external, as well as discussing customs and etiquette specific to each country…"

Maria listened intently, taking notes as was her habit, and all but transcribing what was said. Thankfully Professor Vaati talked in a clear, measured pace, enunciating his words clearly, so it was not difficult to hear every detail. She glanced at her squire every so often, frowning when she saw the duke's daughter wasn't taking notes. Well, at least she seemed to be listening intently. The knight wanted to chide her squire and prompt her to take notes, but there was no time to be distracted. Despite his pace, the lecturer's words were concentrated, every sentence containing pertinent details, and there were no repetitions.

So glances were all Maria could afford to do as she took notes on how La Sable was a federal republic rife with corruption, crime, violence, and smuggling; about how Etran was controlled in all but name by the major mercantile groups, earning it the derogatory nickname of the 'Trade Federation'; of how Xiarmah was ruled in turns by five noble families, which were the Sungs, the Tangs, the Hongs, the Fangs, and the McSweeneys, which was a very old established family; that Ethenell had recently undergone a succession crisis and the current king was still establishing himself; that Tasmeria had a historical enmity with their neighbor, the Principality of Towair, ruled by High Princess Hertrude, and that this was why they were not a part of the International Assembly despite their relatively cordial relations with the other member states; that Hallig contained the major highway to the Eternal Realm of Numen, and thus had strong political and economic ties to the underground country; and that Queen Siegmidala was one of the few rulers who was a sworn knight prior to her elevation, the others being Queen Malenia and King Artorias…

Thankfully, the lecture also included the known compositions and noteworthy trends in the builds of the knights of the various nations. Knights of Ethenell, for example, were predisposed to curved swords and dex builds, while Hallig's Knights of the Scarlet Aeonia favored sword, spears and scythes, and many of the Knights of Xiarmah eschewed armor and weapons for robes, fists and speed, which had cultivated a fearsome reputation for them. Queen Malenia's preferred weapon was an overly-long katana, while Queen Siegmidala was known to be skilled in wielding war hammers…

…

Maria was really dreading having to find a way to repeat this all to her squire later.

A Katarina Interlude

Ooh, lore dump! Ah, this was easy. If there was one thing that Katarina had been able to really enjoy while playing Fortune Lover, it had been collecting all the lore in the item descriptions and putting together the lore details that way. Remembering this was going to be a snap!

She just sat back and let the comforting voice roll over her. It was soothing and strangely familiar, like watching a lore video on Fortune Lover on the internet. Better yet, there were no plugs for Audible!

The Hand of Malenia
A golden katana, made by a loving brother. The wielder of this blade claims to have never known defeat. Does a draw not count?

Hallig lies by the sea in the far north. Its trees rise high, and people from all lands are welcome to find sanctuary under the auspices of its king. Despite this promise, the paths to Hallig are guarded fiercely. None shall disturb the King's Peace, under pain of the Queen's War.