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ESSIE SAT at the small, white-painted dressing table in her and Farrendel’s turret room, braiding her hair. No reason for anything more complicated since she had no plans to leave the palace grounds that day. “Paige is coming over shortly to go over a list of social engagements. I am thinking about taking on some of her duties while I am here. Would that be all right?”

Essie partially swiveled in her seat to see Farrendel. His hair was still wet from his shower after his exercise with his bodyguards and Julien that morning, and he was fiddling with the buckles of the straps holding his swords across his back. At her question, he met her gaze, his forehead scrunched. “You do not need my permission for either of those things.”

“I know. But if I take on more royal duties in Escarland while we are here, it will change our schedule and create more busyness.” Essie shrugged as best she could while still braiding her hair. She turned back to the mirror to finish the last of it. “I’m asking for your opinion on it, and I guess it is considered more polite to phrase it as a question instead of just saying,I’m taking on more royal dutieswithout getting any input from you whatsoever.”

“Ah.” Farrendel halted behind her chair, meeting her gaze in the mirror. “Would you expect me to attend any of these functions with you?”

“No.” At least, not for a long while. Essie knew Farrendel was far from ready. “That’s why Paige is coming over. We’re going to divide up the work and brainstorm which ones I can feasibly attend by myself or with her or my mother without anyone starting to gossip about you not attending. Things like visiting the widows and orphans home or a few of the hospitals or stuff like that. It was a lot of the things I was doing before marrying you. Averett and Paige do more of the official royal duties where people want someone with more clout than the youngest royal sibling. Paige and Mother have taken on a bunch of my engagements since I married you, but I thought it would be nice to take some of the burden off of them while I’m here.”

And while Farrendel was so busy. He had his morning exercise sessions, and Julien was talking about adding sword training in a week or two, once Farrendel had regained more of his strength. He also had counseling with Mr. and Mrs. Harwell, and Lance Marion was sure to send an invitation so that he and Farrendel could go back to studying—well, experimenting with—Farrendel’s magic some more.

Essie had no intention of sitting around twiddling her thumbs while Farrendel was gone. She might as well resume her own schedule. If she and Paige could arrange it so that Essie’s royal duties fell into those times when Farrendel was busy, she wouldn’t have any less time with him than she already did.

Farrendel nodded, though his gaze had swung from her to studying himself in the mirror. “If I do not have to attend, then I think you should take on whatever you wish. You like people. You are already restless, and it has only been a week. Besides, it would probably be best to remind your people that you are still their princess. You did not get much of a chance to do that when we were here last.”

Trust Farrendel to see the political ramifications as well as the personal ones.

Still, Essie grinned as she tied off her braid. It would be good to return to the widows and orphans home and some of the other charities around Aldon. She had missed that work, even if she’d found other ways to be useful around Estyra working with the elves wounded in the war.

Farrendel was still studying himself in the mirror, reaching up to touch the ragged ends of his hair. The scrunch returned to his forehead while a frown creased lines around his mouth.

His intense expression caught her attention. “Is something wrong?”

Farrendel straightened his shoulders, his forehead smoothing and his jaw tightening. “I want my hair cut.”

“Pardon?” Essie turned in her chair again, then stood. She studied Farrendel’s stiff muscles and narrowed silver-blue eyes. “Did someone say something about it?”

Ragged and uneven since it had been hacked off with a troll’s knife, Farrendel’s hair looked awful. But Essie had been careful not to say anything. She hadn’t been sure Farrendel would want anyone to touch his hair again, not even to straighten out the strands while it grew out.

He clenched and unclenched his fingers, not meeting her gaze. “I cannot keep seeing this.” He gestured to his reflection in the mirror. “Can you cut my hair?”

If only Essie could, but cutting hair was not something she had ever learned as a princess. If she attempted it, she would just make him look worse.

She tried to imagine asking some Escarlish barber to trim Farrendel’s hair. Even though he seemed determined, Farrendel would freak out if some stranger got anywhere near him wielding a pair of shears.

But, there was one person who might be able to help.