Page 63 of The False Prince (Ascendance 1)

Despite my objection that it was a boring topic more suited for Master Graves than dinner conversation, he indulged us with a lecture on the customs of castle life, the daily schedule a king might manage.

“If he’s king, why is he tied to a schedule?” I asked. “Why couldn’t he tell all his subjects that he’s off doing what he wants and they can wait?”

“He could,” Conner said. “But his primary responsibility is to his country, not to himself. He is a manager, a decision maker, a leader. Not a child at play.”

“But if one of us takes the throne, you’d do most of that for us, wouldn’t you?”

Conner shook his head. “I’ll be there to help you function in your role. I’ll be a counselor, a guide. But you will be king.”

Conner went quiet while Imogen and two other servants brought in the next course of our meal. She served Roden instead of me and didn’t look at any of us.

When she turned, I got a glimpse of a dark bruise over her left cheek. She’d been wearing her hair to hide it, but when she bent over, the bruise was obvious.

“Where’d you get that?” I asked her. She glanced up at me, then quickly looked down. So I turned to Conner. “Where’d she get that bruise?”

He waved his hand noncommittally. “She has a reputation for clumsiness. I expect she ran into a cupboard door or a wall, isn’t that right, Imogen?”

Imogen looked from Conner to me, then back at Conner and nodded. Nobody in that room could have missed the fear in her eyes.

“Somebody did that to her,” I said.

“Nonsense,” Conner said. “Imogen, if somebody hurt you, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you?” He laughed at his own joke. Obviously, Imogen could not have told him. And I suspected even if she could, she still wouldn’t have dared.

“We have business,” Conner said to all of the servants in the room. “You may all go.”

When they left, Conner said, “You seem very interested in that girl’s affairs, Sage.”

“Somebody gave her that bruise. We both know it wasn’t an accident.”

“She’s a servant girl, beneath your station now. Let those in her circles look after her interests.”

“Those in her circles probably caused it.”

Conner brushed off my statement with an empty promise to look into the matter, then said, “Forget the servant girl and remember why you’re here. Did you know the prince is already engaged to be married?”

That had Roden’s attention. “Already? To who?”

“To whom, Roden. The betrothed princess Amarinda of Bultain was chosen at her birth for the crown prince Darius. She is the niece of the king of Bymar, and an alliance between Eckbert’s home and hers is necessary for continued peace in Carthya. The betrothal was King Eckbert’s idea. His wife, Queen Erin, was from an inconsequential border town in southern Carthya, unknown in any social circles of the upper class. He was expected to choose from amongst the noblemen’s daughters, so there was a great controversy when he married. Even today, little is known about her life before the marriage. For all his weakness in defending his borders, he was always a great defender of his wife.”

“Why was that necessary?” Tobias asked. “What was she before? Some sort of criminal?”

“Bite those words!” Conner ordered. “She was your queen, Tobias, and a respectable woman, always. My only point is that Eckbert wanted to avoid a similar uproar with his son. Now that Darius has been killed, the betrothal will pass to Prince Jaron, if he is found. If you take the crown, you will one day take Amarinda as your wife.”

“But if she was engaged to Darius —” Roden asked.

“She was betrothed to the throne, not the prince. Amarinda will marry the man who becomes king.”

“Marry?” Tobias chuckled loudly, echoed by Roden and me.

“Not until you’re older, of course,” Conner said. “But when the time comes, she will be yours.”

“What does she look like?” I asked. Conner raised an eyebrow, and I added, “Seems to me a girl whose marriage is guaranteed might not need to take care of her looks as much as one who has yet to catch a man’s eye.”

“You shall see for yourself,” Conner said. “I have invited her to dinner at the end of this week.”

“But if she sees us —” Tobias said.

“You three will be in disguise as servants amongst my staff. She is a betrothed princess and will hardly deign to look at any of you. But I want you to see her, to gain an understanding of her mannerisms and style. It will help you after you take the throne.”