Page 40 of Kingdom of Feathers

“Your Majesty,” Lord Baldwin spoke quietly in his king’s ear, “should we not retire? To debrief that…discussion?”

Basil almost smiled. “Plain speaking, Lord Baldwin, I beg you.”

“All right then,” said the nobleman, his voice rising slightly in volume as he slowed his steps, so they fell behind Princess Wren and her guards. “I want to debrief that utter disaster of a meeting with you.”

“We will,” said Basil soothingly. “But other things can come first.” He saw Lord Baldwin’s confused look, and chuckled. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. I’m assuming the princess is leading us to breakfast.”

“Your Majesty, this is a clear insult.” The military officer joined the discussion, his eyes settled angrily on the princess now halfway down the corridor ahead of them. “It’s a sign of how little respect King Lloyd has for you, that instead of treating with you himself, he pushes you off onto…” He jerked his head in Princess Wren’s direction, apparently sensible enough not to say his thoughts aloud.

Basil came fully to a stop, considering his companions thoughtfully. “I don’t know King Lloyd well enough yet to know if he intends it as an insult. But I certainly don’t take it as one. Princess Wren is the future of Mistra. I’d prefer to treat with King Lloyd directly, but in the meantime, I’m not at all reluctant to get a sense of where his heir stands.”

“How are you going to do that?” snorted the military officer. “The girl’s not just mute—they say she’s addled in her mind.”

Instead of answering, Basil looked up. Alarm spiked through him at the sight of Princess Wren, standing motionless now and looking back at them. Once again, her face was hard to read, but he had the uncomfortable impression that she’d heard the murmured conversation. Would she be offended enough to report it to her father, and make successful negotiation even harder than it already was?

“My apologies, Your Highness,” he said more loudly, starting back into motion. Sending a glower at his military advisor, he muttered, “Don’t be absurd. She might be mute, but any fool can see her mind is sound.”

Princess Wren gave no outward response to any of it, but as soon as they reached her, she began to walk again. As Basil had predicted, she led them directly to a dining hall, smaller than the one in which they’d eaten the night before. From the doorway, Basil could see steam rising in spirals from an impressive array of dishes. His appetite flared at the smells wafting out to him, but he stepped back, politely waiting for the princess to precede him into the room.

To his surprise, Princess Wren stepped back as well, gesturing for the Entolians to enter. Basil hesitated for a moment, but figured she would be a better judge than him of Mistran etiquette. Once he stepped through the door, he glanced back and was astonished to see that instead of following him into the room, the princess was already walking away. If Basil’s memory of the castle was correct, she was heading in the opposite direction from any accommodation suites.

After only a moment’s hesitation, he turned away from the food, hurrying back into the corridor. Both of his companions made as if to follow him, but he turned to them with a frown.

“No need to follow me. Eat your breakfast.”

“But Your Majesty,” protested Lord Baldwin.

Basil scowled from him to the military advisor. “I was grateful for your support in my meeting with King Lloyd. But your presence isn’t likely to make any discussion with the princess easier, given the obvious discomfort that emanates from you both every time you’re in her presence. If you want to be any use to me, get a hold of yourselves.”

Without pausing to see the effect of this severity, Basil swept after Princess Wren. She had just disappeared out of sight around a corner, her guards still behind her, but his long strides allowed him to catch up to her without difficulty.

“Your Highness!” he called, when he had almost reached her.

She turned, looking startled.

“Thank you for showing me the way to the dining hall,” he said courteously. “But if you’re not inclined to take your breakfast, I would prefer to continue negotiations.”

She was staring at him with open astonishment now. Basil looked her over, noting that she wasn’t wearing a tiara today. Instead her hair was pulled up on top of her head in a bun, and tied with a large ribbon of the same bright blue as her gown. He doubted the hair would stay in place for the whole day, but at present the effect was very elegant. The dress fanned becomingly around her slim form, and like the pink gown of the day before, this bodice was again cut wide across the shoulders. He met her dark eyes, and saw that their gaze had become uncomfortably searching. Had his thoughts been too transparent as he looked her over? He was still adjusting to the reality of a crown princess who was a woman rather than a child.

“It hasn’t escaped my notice,” he said, smiling wryly at her, “that I haven’t had the best of beginnings with your father. But I hope you’ll still be willing to hear me out.”

The princess considered him for a long moment. There was a frown on her face, but she didn’t look angry. Basil suspected it was more that she was trying to figure him out. And not having much success, if her expression was anything to go by. The thought struck him as humorous—no one had found him hard to read before. His habitual bluntness took care of that. Meanwhile, in spite of Princess Wren’s silence, he found her much more accessible than her father. Her eyes were bright and intelligent as she looked him over, and he was sure she was debating whether to give him a chance.

He was overcome with the sense that they could communicate successfully with each other, if she would only let him in. Her silence wasn’t the issue. But there was most definitely a reserve, a suspicion that held her back from trusting him. Not surprising, given their kingdoms’ history.

Basil had stood patiently through her scrutiny, and he was rewarded by the sight of her frown fading away. With a jerk of her head that seemed to invite him to follow, she turned and continued walking.

Elated, he matched his pace to hers, slowing his strides and glancing curiously at the passageway they’d entered. Frequent windows interrupted one wall, giving constant views of a large and appealing garden. If it was the same garden he’d seen from the council room, it must be a large one indeed, since they had crossed half the castle.

Just as he was concluding that it was indeed the same garden, the princess turned abruptly, sweeping out through open double doors into the chill morning air.

“Your Highness.” The greeting came from one of two guards stationed on either side of the door, and the princess inclined her head in a graceful acknowledgment.

Trying to ignore the hardness in these new guards’ eyes as they rested on the foreign king, Basil kept his eyes on Princess Wren. Her pace had picked up now, and he could feel eagerness radiating from her. Clearly this wasn’t a pleasant garden stroll. She had a specific purpose for coming here, one that made her willing to delay her breakfast. As he followed her, Basil glanced around, still trying to get his bearings. The council room had looked out on the garden, but this time they’d entered it from quite a different part of the castle. He suddenly realized that the garden didn’t line one side of the castle as he’d supposed, but instead occupied its very center, enclosed by four corridors. He could see two of the castle’s four turrets from where he stood, poking through the foliage. He reassessed his half-hearted compliment to the garden earlier. It was quite a marvel.

It quickly became clear that Princess Wren was heading for the enormous pond that dominated the center of the garden. With amazement, Basil saw her reach the water and throw herself down onto her knees at the edge, leaning forward and scanning the surface. From his angle, he couldn’t see what she was looking at, given the rushes growing around most of the pond. When he caught up to her, he was greeted with a peculiar sight.

“The swans,” he muttered aloud, watching in fascination as the princess physically helped one out of the water. “I should have realized.” Several more swans were gliding toward the kneeling princess, but she hardly seemed to notice them, her eyes fixed on the swan in front of her, and her forehead creased with concern.

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