Mariana had no doubt that if Ursula had rejected George Evan’s offer, he would have been easily replaced with any one of a number of young men in that same age group.
After a moment, the King cleared his throat. “Mariana, if you do not want to wed the man who has asked for you, your wishes will…”
“Be taken into consideration,” the Queen finished. The smile had left the King’s face.
“Taken into consideration.” Mariana stood and went over to a window on the other side of the desk from where Pir Leo sat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him watching her, but he didn’t move or say anything. Ever the faithful servant of the King.
The autumn day was warm, and the windows of the library were open to let the air in. A wave of nausea washed over Mariana, and she gripped the back of a nearby chair.
No flames filled the fireplace, but the candles on a nearby table leaped to life as Mariana stood there. Glancing at her father, she saw him scowl and wondered if he’d used his Fire Sensitivity on the candles to send her some kind of message. Was he trying to tell her he was in control?
She took a deep breath to gather her courage before she faced him. “What exactly does ‘taken into consideration’ mean, Father? Does it mean I can marry whomever I want, or does it mean I’ll get a choice of a few appropriate men you select for me? And if I reject them all, then what?”
He took several deep breaths as though calming himself before he spoke.
“Of course, I…we want you to be happy, but there are bigger issues we must keep in mind. The safety of the palace and the kingdom as a whole have to be uppermost in our minds. Even above our own desires.”
“So I have no say.” Mariana nodded. “Who will I be spending the rest of my life with? Who will I be sleeping next to and who will be touching my body, Father?”
The Queen gasped. “Mariana, how dare you speak to your father that way?”
“Isn’t that what we’re discussing, Mother?” Mariana put a slight emphasis on the last word. “This is a man you are allowing to take whatever liberties he wants with me, because once we are wed, I will be as much his property as I am yours now.”
“Mariana, that is enough.” The Queen walked around to stand in front of her. “Regardless of what you feel right now, your father is still the King. You will speak to him, to us, with respect. You are a member of the royal family, and you will consider the welfare of the people of this kingdom before your own.”
“Before my own?” Mariana asked.
Her mother moved to stand next to the King. “You’re no longer a child, Mariana. It is time you thought about how you can serve Valborough.”
She took the King’s hand in her own, effectively presenting Mariana with a royal show of strength. “As Cognate Prince and Heir Presumptive, your brother understood he had to wed a woman who would be the right kind of queen to stand at his side. Liliana understood her marriage had to be one that would benefit the kingdom, as well. Her child could easily join the line to the throne, and thus she could one day be Queen Mother. She and her husband must be above reproach.”
Mariana shook her head. “It’s all about politics. It’s like the games of chess we had to play every night after dinner when I was a child. Every move had to be thought out well in advance.”
“And every possible outcome considered.” Her father released his wife’s hand, sat behind his desk, and took a long drink from a glass of brandy.
The Queen clasped her hands in front of her. “That’s what it is to be royal, Mariana. We must think about what would most benefit our people before we even consider our own wants.”
The Progenna shook her head. “What a sad way to live. I’m glad there is no possibility of my sitting on the throne. At least, I don’t have to worry about how appropriate I appear to the rest of the kingdom.”
“Oh, but you do.” Her father met her eyes. “You may not have the title of Princess, but you are still my daughter. You represent this family and this country everywhere you go and whatever you do. You know this. People look at you and make judgments about me and my reign.”
Mariana shook her head and returned to the bench. She couldn’t believe, after all this time, when Ramone’s wife would deliver a child any day now, her role in the family had somehow become important.
“Who wants to marry me?” She met her father’s eyes. There was no way out of this. She’d been naïve to ever think otherwise. She might as well get it over with.
Chapter Seven
The King took a deep breath and motioned the Sahdeer over to stand next to him. “Pir Leo has expressed interest in having you as his fourth wife.”
Mariana’s stomach lurched. Fortunately, she hadn’t eaten any breakfast, so she wasn’t in any danger of embarrassing herself here.
“If you indeed will take my thoughts and feelings into consideration, Father,” she said, “perhaps I should make them known. I am…flattered by the Sahdeer’s interest, but I would prefer a husband closer to my own age.” She carefully kept her eyes on her father’s face, instead of looking at the other man who was slowly moving closer.
“I assure you, Mariana, I have put quite a bit of thought into the proper mate for you.” The King cleared his throat. “As you know, Leo’s Sensitivities are diminished almost to the point of being nonexistent. Even having bonded with three other women, he has little to no power.”
“And that is what makes him a suitable match for me. I see.” Mariana’s calm voice surprised even herself. It all made sense now.
“Progenna Mariana.” Pir Leo stepped forward to within an arm’s length of her. “I would be honored if you would consider my petition.”
“I have to wonder what bargain you have struck with the King. I have nothing to offer you except my virtue, and after three other wedding nights, I’m sure you aren’t a stranger to taking that.”
“Progenna,” the Sahdeer said, “you have always been dear to me. I don’t want anything from you, other than your companionship.”
“And my lack of Elemental Abilities doesn’t bother you?” Mariana asked.
“At this time of my life, magical Abilities aren’t as important as having someone to share the rest of my life with. I would be honored if that would be you.”
Mariana took a deep breath. “And in return, I would share my virtue and my body with you?”
The Queen stepped forward. Mariana feared her reaction to these blunt words, but before the Queen could speak or act, the library door flew open.
“Your Majesty,” Merec, the upper butler, said breathlessly, “you must come immediately. The Raven has returned.”
With a quick intake of breath, the King nodded and then spoke to Valentine. “I have to go. We will finish this discussion later.”
As the King hurried out, Pir Leo said to Mariana, “I’m sure all of this has come as a surprise, but I hope in time, you’ll become more comfortable with the idea of being my wife.” He bowed to both the Progenna and the Queen and left the library.
Mariana began to pace the library after her father had gone. Her mother sat in the King’s chair behind the desk.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
“Where did Father go?” Mariana finally asked.
“Kingdom business.” Queen Alexandria didn’t look up from the papers she was studying.
“What kind of kingdom business?” Mariana stopped pacing and stood in front of the desk. “Why would he leave in the middle of our meeting?”
“I think the discussion was essentially over. You will wed Pir Leo as soon as it can be arranged.”
“As soon as it can be arranged?” Mariana began to tremble. “Why? Ursula and George Evan won’t be married until next summer. Surely, I can’t get married before she does.”
“You can if the King decides it.”
“But, Mother. I don’t understand. Why the rush to get me married? I don’t need to produce an heir or anything like that.”
The Queen stood and leaned on the
blotter to look Mariana in the eye. “The matters of state are not for you to concern yourself with. The King will decide what we need to do to best serve Valborough. If that means you are to wed the Sahdeer of Valentine as quickly as possible, with a minimal amount of ceremony, then that it how it should be. It is your duty.”
“A minimal amount of ceremony?” Mariana blinked. “Am I not to have a full royal wedding?”
“Mariana, you will have a wedding suitable to your station. Obviously, we can’t give you the days of celebration or the amount of ritual we gave Liliana. She was, and at this point still is, second in line for the throne, presumably.” The Queen narrowed her eyes and tilted her head slightly. “In another year or so, Ursula’s abilities should be fully manifested, and it is possible she will become stronger than Liliana, in which case…” Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head.
“I see,” Mariana said. “I will never be in line for the throne, so I don’t deserve the royal wedding.”
“It isn’t a matter of deserving.” The Queen sat down and picked up one of the parchment pages. “It just isn’t proper for someone not in the line of succession to be treated as such.”
Mariana couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Mother, I am still not feeling well. I think I’d like to lie down now.”
“Of course.” The Queen gave her a brief smile. “You’re dismissed to return to your bedchamber.”
****
Mariana didn’t waste any time. She didn’t know where her father had gone, and by now, he could have left the palace. She had to find out what was so important he would leave the most important discussion of her life.
She raced to return to her room, opened her wardrobe, and found the plainest gown she owned. If she wanted to move through the servants unnoticed, she couldn’t look like a Progenna.
The gown was a dull green dress with little embellishment. No lace or embroidery decorated the bodice, and the sleeves were straight with no gathers or flounces. Mariana had worn it once, to visit a home for dying soldiers. She hated it, but she also knew it wouldn’t attract any attention.
When Mariana and her sisters had been young, before Liliana had taken her place as Royal Princess, second in line to the throne, and had to take instruction on protocol and diplomacy, the girls would often sneak up the back stairs of the palace and visit the servants’ quarters.
Old Millicent, who had been the Queen’s personal maid before Mariana’s father took the throne, lived in a three-room apartment in the servants’ wing. The girls loved her like a grandmother and would visit her often.
Millicent died when Mariana was a teenager, but she still remembered how to get to that part of the palace without anyone knowing.
Once in the green dress, she took a heavy black scarf out of a trunk. This piece of cloth was designed to be worn by a woman in mourning, and such an item was part of every young noble woman’s hope chest. Mariana had worn it only once, to the state funeral of her grandfather, the late King.
She used the scarf to cover her head and tucked it in around her shoulders. It was a risk to walk through the residence dressed this way, but it was midday, when the rest of the family was busy with official tasks, most of them outside the palace.
Today, Mariana knew, Ramone and Victoria were in their apartment, in virtual seclusion due to the approach of Victoria’s labor. Their baby was due in less than two weeks, and the royal physicians insisted she remain in bed now until the baby came. As this child was expected to become King or Queen after Ramone, it was imperative that nothing go wrong.
Liliana and Nigel were similarly ensconced in their estate on the other side of the royal gardens. While her delivery date was a few weeks further out, she had been ill since they arrived at the Autumn Palace.
Ursula, therefore, had taken all of Liliana’s official visits, and today she was at an orphan hospital, representing the royal family.
With all of the family occupied elsewhere, Mariana was certain she could get to the servants’ wing without detection, and from there it would be a simple matter to find someone who knew where the King had gone.
Even she knew the servants talked amongst themselves, and the royal family had few secrets from the maids, valets, and kitchen staff.
Someone would be willing to help her find her father.
****
Jonathan stood outside the cell bars, looking at the bleeding and bruised man lying on the dirt floor. The stench of the garbage and ordure from the stone pit above this prison drifted through the scented handkerchief the King held to his nose.
He should have asked Alexandria to use her Air and Water Sensitivities to provide him with something, a bottle of scented water perhaps, he could carry for situations like this. The prisoners could die from the fumes down here for all he cared.
“This is the leader of the rebels who attacked the royal caravan?” he asked.
Thibault raised one eyebrow, but after a moment, he replied, “He is a member of the rebels, sire.”
Jonathan met his friend’s eyes and understood the unspoken response. This was a man the guards found to charge with the crime, but not necessarily the actual person responsible. He clenched his jaw.
“How does it help me if you couldn’t arrest the leader of the rebels? I thought your informant was trustworthy.”
Thib shook his head. “Oh, sire, I wouldn’t trust any of the men working for me as far as the width of this cell, but I know this particular spy holds no love for the rebels.”
“He’s loyal to the throne?”
“He’s loyal to his pocketbook, sire.”
“So he would name any man just to get paid.”
“Unfortunately, most of the villagers claim to know nothing about the rebel attacks. We’re lucky to have gotten any name.”
Jonathan snorted. “This business is getting messier and messier. I don’t like the idea of killing the wrong man.”
“Oh, he isn’t the wrong man, sire. He may not be the leader of the rebel band, but he is sympathetic to them.”
Jonathan regarded the man on the ground, who appeared more dead than alive. “If he is going to die anyway, I suppose we should make sure it counts.” He moved away from the cell. “Have him executed in the center of the village in a week’s time. Make sure the people know if the leader of the rebellion gives himself up before that, this man’s life will be spared.”
“Of course, sire.” Thibault bowed and followed the King out of the dungeon.
As they walked up the dark stone stairway to the trapdoor that led to the dung pit, Jonathan reached out with his Flora Sensitivity, attempting to make a few fragrant flowers bloom in what had to be rich compost in the pit. After only a moment, sweat covered his brow from the exertion, and he stumbled.
Thibault caught him before he fell to the ground and helped him to the carriage. Just before the driver closed the door behind them, Jonathan gasped when he saw a row of tulips growing where nothing had been a moment before.
“Perhaps my powers aren’t diminishing as much as we thought,” he murmured.
****
Mariana watched as the carriage rolled away from what she had always believed was a garbage dump. She’d found a hiding spot among the cows and pigs grazing in the weeds and foraging in the kitchen scraps thrown here every morning and evening.
Her father arrived with a man dressed all in black. It took her a moment to realize it was Amar Thibault, her father’s cousin. She hadn’t seen him since her grandfather’s funeral and had believed he had left the kingdom. Now, though, she couldn’t remember the reason she’d believed that.
The men hadn’t noticed her, but to her surprise, she was able to clearly hear every word even though they’d closed the nearly invisible trap door.
Mariana listened to her father talk casually about killing another, possibly innocent man, as a way to show the people of Valborough he was still in power. She dropped to sit on the ground, not caring the gown she wore would be ruined.
&nbs
p; Her father had locked up a man for attacking the royal caravan, and was planning to have him executed, whether he was guilty of the crime or not.
How could that be true? If someone else had told her this story, she’d never have believed it.
Her father was the King of Valborough by Virtue of his Abilities, and thus, he was commonly referred to as the “Virtuous King of Valborough.”
When she and her siblings were children taking lessons with a governess in the schoolroom, before her father ascended to the throne, they learned the title “Virtuous King” was more than just a way of saying he ruled because he was the strongest Sensitive in the kingdom. It also meant that he, and all the Virtuous Kings and Queens before him, lived by a moral code that protected the weak, respected the dignity of every citizen regardless of rank or abilities, and strove for honesty and fairness in dealing with every other person.
From what Mariana heard her father say, he wasn’t interested in dealing fairly with the man being held in the underground prison cell.
What was she to think about this? It wasn’t right, and this man was going to be executed if she didn’t do something. Suddenly, she felt queasy and her vision clouded until everything around her seemed shrouded in mist. A moment later, the sensation passed, and she was able to take a calming breath.
Her father stumbled as he entered the carriage, and his cousin helped him inside. The King muttered that his powers weren’t diminishing, and Mariana wondered if the proud King was embarrassed to have apparently tripped on the carriage step. It seemed a strange thing to worry about when he’d just condemned a man to die.
Once she was sure the carriage was out of sight, she hurried from her hiding place.
A line of blue and yellow tulips grew along the edge of the garbage pile. She hadn’t seen these flowers before. Her father had to have been the one to make them grow, but she didn’t understand why he would do such a thing. Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. She had to find the trap door, get into the cell and release the man.
Pigsty Princess Page 8
