Page 28

28

BESSA

I knew he would say no and still I asked. How could he? Our one night had awoken a sleeping beast in my breast and I wanted more. Surely it hadn’t been the cause of the fire. And if that was what Ambrose thought and if that was why he pulled away, why… I’d simply set the record straight and then…

Then what?

Choose him? The people would riot. I had to have a royal suitor. And then his rejection hit me fully. He’d said no. He’d said ‘we can’t.’ And when he said something, the man meant it. In a whirl, I was spiraling. How dare he sit there and lie to me about his snow fox? It wasn’t romantic! It was a lie of omission. He was right. It wasn’t that we couldn’t be together. We simply shouldn’t. Besides, I had already told him it wasn’t us. I had tried and he still said, We can’t.

Eska came bounding down the corridor, shooting up my leg and settling into my hair. Her presence calmed me. Mika appeared next. The fire had been small and contained, but I still felt a flood of relief seeing her safe. “Mika!”

My sister’s embrace was rough and full of worry. “You’re okay?” she asked, her voice muffled by my hair. “You smell awful. Like burnt animals.”

“Quite okay, thank you. And I probably smell that way because it was the vellum and parchment. Mika, I’m sorry, but the fire was mostly contained to the library.”

Our mother might have been too dignified for a shriek, but Mika wasn’t. She shrieked good and loud and pulled away. “Not the library! Oh for Gelid’s sake, this is a catastrophe!”

“Prince Gillian has already offered to replace our small collection out of his own,” I told her calmly.

Mika’s eyes narrowed. “You haven’t chosen, have you? The suitors have barely arrived–”

“I haven’t chosen,” I confirmed.

Mika put a finger to her nose. “Ah. Good for you. See, this is why you’re the queen. You’re smart.”

“Thanks,” I said dryly. “Is everyone accounted for from the fire?”

“Wyot is still helping in the yard, but people are beginning to filter back into the castle. I’m going to the kitchens next for dinner arrangements, although I already was going to ask if it’s possible to send them all elsewhere for tonight? We’re already hours behind.”

“Elsewhere, yes. That’s a great idea, Mika. I’ve already talked to Noll at the Dancing Snowflake and he can certainly take some of the load of suitors, perhaps permanently for the larger entourages.”

“I can help organize,” a young woman interrupted. “I’ll send some of the girls over to the inn and we’ll get the rooms cleaned up in no time. It’ll be easier than keeping the castle rooms clean, what with them all being so far apart, and no offense, but the offerings are a bit meager here. Some of the suitors commandeer the best fixings for themselves, leaving the others with less.”

I pointedly looked at the maid who had stopped behind my sister, head not down nor any sense of royal decorum present. No, she was gaping unceremoniously with her mouth open, instead, still talking.

Mika turned around and then put a hand to her forehead. “Right. Bessa, this is your new lady’s maid. As much as I love helping you dress, running your castle staff, and overseeing all the suitors, I need help. We need help. Cassia here is going to be your new shadow. Whatever you need, she’s your woman.”

“Would you like to be a lady’s maid?” I asked curiously, eyeing her rather large biceps. She had an earthy smell to her, comforting and strong.

“Yes, your majesty. I enjoy a good day’s labor.”

Mika whispered, “Curtsy,” and the girl attempted a clumsy curtsy and I nearly wanted to put her out of her misery, but it was probably for the best that she learned how to execute a good one, if for no other reason than to keep appearances in front of my councilors and suitors.

“You wouldn’t know who the pushy suitors were, would you?” I asked my brand new lady’s maid.

“Of course. Prince Gillian of the Violent Tides took most of Prince Rontu–”

“Thank you,” I said. “I think I can guess most of it.”

“Of course. Should I gather the girls and head to the tavern?”

“Yes, please.”

Cassia sketched another awkward curtsy and left, but I didn’t have a second of peace after that, seeing as my sister was glaring at me.

“Bessa, she’s supposed to be your lady’s maid,” Mika said reproachfully.

“Neither of us have ever needed anyone to help douse our candles, empty our chamber pots, or undress at night. We’ve always had each other.”

“And we are no longer merely bakers’ daughters. We have bigger needs.”

“My lady’s maid is going to need to be multi-faceted. Like a gemstone,” I said. “Do you trust Cassia?”

“Yes. She was the one who told off the champagne suitor, and is extremely capable. I’ve checked her background.”

I relented. Mika was right. We already were on different paths, busy with different things at different times and I didn’t even want to think about the times I’d had to unlace myself or sheepishly ask Wyot for help when Mika wasn’t around. “Then I trust you. But don’t think this means we won’t still be close. Because you can’t escape me, sister.”

“Good. Because I’m ready to break down over the library, but I’m trusting you. One, that you haven’t already given your heart away to Gillian just for some books, even though that’s not your style at all, so maybe you’re just being pragmatic with his shipping lanes and seal meat and clear treasury he’s willing to splash around to impress you. Have we determined why he’s here, by the way?”

“Well, first, you can’t break down, Mika. You’re all I have.”

“Not true. You have Cassia now.”

“Second, I have done none of the above. I have a strategy, you know.”

“What’s that?”

“Delay, delay, delay.”

“Gelid help us all,” Mika muttered. She jerked her head toward where the maid had left. “More rumors are reaching more villages,” she said. “Cassia says a bad batch of sugared crabapples made her entire village dance from dusk until dawn. No one could stop moving their feet until they digested it all.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Or pleasant.”

“No,” she agreed. “Magic is unpredictable. It’s a double-edged sword. I think you’re right in keeping it a secret, but for how long?”

“Until Frostvale is in a politically strengthened position,” I said. “Imagine some of these kingdoms in the Ilex Isles realizing it is more than just rumor. Having the Violent Tides’ prince here has been nerve-wracking enough.”

“Would that be so bad to show them some power?” Mika wondered.

“If I had more, yes,” I said. “As of right now, what would I do if they threatened us overtly? Give them a heat rash? Make them itchy and uncomfortable? My magic isn’t mine, it’s Eska’s, and my only job as queen is to ensure the livelihoods of our people. Other kingdoms would complicate that. Most of them would just prefer to fold Frostvale into their own holdings and we would cease to be sovereign and become only a tribute state. Who would warm our soil and waters then? I fear no one would care once a king took what he wanted and we would be left in an even more precarious position than before without the money from our ice trade deals going into our own coffers anymore.”

“You paint a dreadful picture, Bessa,” Mika commented. “But you might be right. I guess we’ll continue showing small displays of strength, like this fabulous midwinter feast you’ve planned for your coronation, and delay, delay, delay. I only know one thing for sure, though.”

“What’s that?”

“I don't envy you.”

We reached the kitchens, already a bustling, warm atmosphere again, filled with workers preparing as much as they could for tonight’s dinner. I told them that from now on, most of the dinners would be for our immediate household as well as the suitors themselves and a small, more manageable entourage.

“Would your majesty like to try the barley soup?” a kitchen maid asked. She lifted a heavy iron lid with a long, spiked tool and the steam made her smiling cheeks ruddy and warm.

“Of course,” I said, pulling a spoon from a pile next to her. Barley was one of our most reliable cool-hardy grains along with rye, so it was hard to make it exciting anymore. Still, I dipped in, ready to give praise and encouragement.

The soup was flavored with onion and garlic, the barley unctuously chewy and the dark greens, hardy and tough, provided a thick base. There were plenty of carrots, too, and I was impressed at her ability to coax out each vegetable’s unique profile without muddying the flavor.

“What makes this different?” I asked, handing her back the spoon. “It doesn’t taste like the barley soup we usually have.”

“Ale from the brewer,” she said, dropping into a curtsy. “I thought it might go well and I guess it has!”

“Very toasty and nutty,” I told her.

“Oh, and I toasted some spices from Skyfold Pass and it made them sort of nutty-tasting.”

“I see. Well there you go.”

Mika also took a sip, making mmm noises. “I love these new flavors. For little brown-colored powders, they’re all so unique and flavorful. It’s a shame Skyfold Pass’s suitor is so…”

“Boring?” I offered. Skyfold Pass’s suitor, King Culm, had barely spoken two words since the archery competition. His lips appeared clamped shut during every meal we’d shared together, content in letting the other suitors drive the conversation. More often than not, he preferred to let his famed magician speak for him, as if that showed me something. What it showed, I had no idea. I still hadn’t seen any actual magic from the magician. The coin he’d pulled from my ear had been hidden behind his other fingers! What was worse? Lying about your craft or being clumsy at it?

“Not exactly diplomatic of you,” Mika scolded, trying not to laugh. “Still. These spices might be worth it.”

“He clearly thinks he has a chance,” I said, my mouth quirking up as she took another sip. “Although I’ve seen more of that magician than of the king. It’s like they want us to connect on a magical level, but it’s an odd approach. I wouldn’t be marrying the magician after all and he’s not exactly been magical.”

“Why is he carrying around that weird little frog? The poor creature looks downright miserable.”

“Power makes people do strange things, Mika.”

“Strange indeed,” she murmured, going back for seconds. I tried not to grin as the cook slapped her hand away. At least, I didn’t let Mika see my grin as she clutched her red fingers to her chest.