Page 81 of Songs and Spun Gold
Lifting a piece of buttered toast, he bit into it, chewed with an expression of rapture, and swallowed before giving an answer. “I may love Michael, his family, and their beautiful kingdom, but the sword maidens of Castellia are far better suited to protect me from Father’s wrath than all the forces that King Phillip has to offer. In addition, following me to Castellia would require either a navy – which we don’t have – or marching through Daraigh or Amitié. Neither would be likely to agree for such a cause, not even with Uncle Felix married to King Antoine’s sister.”
The picture he painted made Katy giggle. The queen sent a scowl in her direction, but King Steffan remained focused on his son. “It is admirable that you wish to spend time with your betrothed, Axel. Be that as it may, skipping out of your duties is not acceptable. I will ask my steward to lighten your load if you feel you need more time to get to know each other before your wedding next month.”
CHAPTER 22
Katy
Nextmonth?” Katy gasped, whirling to stare at him in horror. How was she supposed to convince him in that little time?
“A royal wedding cannot be put together any quicker,” the king grumbled. “Be grateful that it will be as soon as that.”
“But—” She turned her frantic gaze to Axel, begging him with her eyes to help her.
For a few moments, he looked back at her with slightly pinched brows. Then, smoothing his features into delicate concern, he said, “Perhaps it would be kinder, Father, to allow poor Katrin a little more time to acclimate herself to the idea of becoming a princess, rather than pushing her so quickly into her new life.”
“That’s a good idea, Steffan,” Queen Carina interjected. She set her fork delicately on the table and leaned forward. “There’s no need to rush into things.”
Surprised, Katy closed her mouth and picked up her fork instead. Axel and his mother continued to argue with the king about the timing of the wedding. Katy ate her breakfast silently, restraining her natural impulse to dive in. After all, the last time she tried to bargain with the king, she had landed herself in the current mess. Perhaps it was best to leave her own arguments for the fight that truly mattered: convincing him to set her free. She could let her “betrothed” handle this battle.
Her lips curved up a little as she watched the queen vehemently argue against a quick wedding. If she played her cards right, maybe she wouldn’t have to argue with the king to end the betrothal at all.
~
Axel had pushed for six months, but he and his mother were only able to talk the king into a three-month extension on the date of the wedding. She would have preferred more time, but July was still better than April. She could work with that.
Joining Axel for music lessons before breakfast became her routine. After that first morning, Otto was always there as well. He never joined in their music; most of the time, he appeared to be ignoring them. He would stand at the window and watch the courtyard, sit in one of the sturdy, uncomfortable chairs with an ankle crossed over the opposite knee while staring up at the ceiling, or wander along the edges of the room examining the papers attached to the wall. Katy suspected that he was filling the role of a chaperone.
She couldn’t imagine why he felt the need to do so. It wasn’t like he’d walked in on the prince about to kiss her.
With the reduced schedule that his father had promised, their music lessons sometimes flowed into other parts of the day. Axel began teaching her note values in addition to the names of the notes on both paper and the piano. It was a little confusing, because his teaching style was rather random, but she was starting to get a feel for it by paying attention to the notes as he sang them compared to how they looked on the page. His explanations made much more sense in conjunction with the demonstrations.
Watching him with his art made it very difficult to stick to her plan of escaping the betrothal. He was so full of life when he was singing; how could his parents wish to deny him thispart of himself?
Much as she enjoyed it, though, she couldn’t keep him. Even when he insisted that she learn the part of the female lead to help him learn his own. His bright smile and the slight crinkle around his eyes when he was happy weren’t worth the cost of his firstborn child.
Dinners with the nobility had given her the chance to begin introducing the king’s court to her unconventional ways, but her first opportunity to truly put her plan into motion came a few days later at Axel’s birthday celebration.
It was to begin with a time of mingling in the late afternoon before a formal dinner, after which they would move to the grand ballroom for an evening of twirling around the floor in colorful gowns and crisp white shirts. Accordingly, Katy had been stuffed into a light pink ball gown. Her maids had attempted to strap her in to the point where she couldn’t breathe, but she had quickly made her opinion on that clear. The other women present could restrict themselves all they wanted; she saw no reason to be a delicate, fainting creature for the sake of fashion.
The skirt was beautiful. Full and with only a thin petticoat to puff it slightly, it was delightful to twirl in. She wished the prince had remembered to teach her the formal dances of the nobility so she would have the chance to spin through the ballroom in it. As it was, she only knew village dances, which were unlikely to be featured tonight.
“You look beautiful, Katy,” Axel greeted her when she opened her door. A gentle smile curved his lips as his eyes slowly scanned her elaborate dress and the half-up, half-down style into which the maids had forced her hair.
“Happy birthday, Your Highness,” she returned cheekily, dipping in a quick, shallow curtsy. His smile widened as he reached forward to wrap his finger in one of the curls that hung by her face.
“I would say you already told me that, but it was a friend who wished me well this morning, not a flippant courtier.”
Taking the arm he offered, Katy stepped out of her room, closing the door softly behind her. “Courtier?” She leaned forward, peering past him down the hall before looking in the other direction. “I don’t see any courtiers.”
“In this wing? Goodness, I hope not!” he said in mock horror. She vaguely wondered why it would be unusual for a courtier to be in a guest wing but let the comment pass. Hopefully, it would be a useless bit of trivia before long.
The low murmur of voices grew as they approached the formal dining hall. Katy brought her left hand up to join the one on Axel’s arm, averting her eyes from his crisp white shirt and dragon-crest-embroidered red waistcoat. He cut a fine figure himself, and she could not allow herself to be distracted by it. By it, or by his right hand settling on top of hers. Unless he was performing his most masterful role ever, his only discontentment with their situation was her reluctance. By following through with her plans to escape him, she would be hurting him.
It was his birthday, and she was preparing to walk into that dining hall and take the first big step toward breaking his heart. He might be upset with her. But it was better to break his heart now than to crush it later when he learned the truth.
She could never let him find out. So she could not go through with marrying him.
They entered the dining hall in a cluster with Axel’s friends, Lord Tobias and Crown Prince Michael of Daraigh. Michael’s younger brother Justin had also come for Axel’s birthday, but the twelve-year-old prince had already disappeared into the crowd. Axel’s Amitian cousin was present also, but Katy had yet to meet her.
