A Queen Redestined

Chapter 6

The road stretched on, as did the lessons under Madam Belrac’s watchful eyes. 

Marie had never been so entrapped in such a small enclosed area for such a long time before. Whenever she had had the opportunity to be out in the woods and fields before, she had always been on horseback. Tiring maybe, to ride tens of miles in a day, but at least she was out in the fresh air. It was an entirely different kind of exhaustion to have to hold herself in one position, unable to really move her limbs much for hours on end.

On the sixth day, she decided she had enough of it, and borrowed a smallsword from one of the guards during their lunch break, when Madam Belrac wasn’t looking.

Elizaveta watched her from the steps of the carriage, idly eating a cold meat pie. 

”Do you know how to use a smallsword or a dagger?” Marie asked, in between sparring with a couple of the guards, who seemed pleased to have some sort of exercise too, after the long hours of riding. Elizaveta shook her head.

”Not all of us are privileged enough to have the opportunity, I’m afraid.”

Marie c****d her head at the other girl. ”Well, do you want to give it a go? We’ll take it slow, you don’t need to worry about getting stabbed.”

Intrigued, Elizaveta stood up, dusting off the crumbs of her pie, and looking around to ensure Madam Belrac was still off elsewhere. 

Marie grinned at her.

The Vifort weapon of choice was the sabre, but as far as Marie knew, the fashionable weapon at court, if one was permitted to openly carry a weapon at all, was the smallsword. They considered it much more elegant to stab an opponent than s***h them open, Marie supposed, although she didn’t think there was much of a difference when it came to the violence involved.

She was grateful, in any case, that she had been trained to use most of the weapons popular in Gadilida, so she would not disgrace herself at court for this. 

”The first step is to learn how to hold the sword properly. Your stance is good, did you take dancing lessons?”

Elizaveta nodded, trying to correct her grip on the smallsword, the way Marie was showing her. ”Yes. One learns to dance at court, to sing, and play the harpsichord. Among other instruments. Madam Belrac should be going through that with you tomorrow, I should think.”

”What? To teach me how to dance and play the harpsichord in the carriage?”

Elizaveta shot her an amused look over her shoulder. ”Probably not. I meant the education that one should be expected to have had, if one is at court.”

They went through the steps slowly, Marie guiding her through every minute movement. It almost felt like she was teaching Hugo how to hold a smallsword for the first time again, and the memory brought a smile to her lips.

”Now, you don’t want to get into a fight if you can help it, but if you have no choice left, you have to surprise them, and then run as fast as you can after stabbing them-”

”Lady Marie!”

And there was their afternoon peace broken. Marie tried not to sigh too heavily. 

”Madam Belrac!” she said, pasting a cheery expression on her face, and sweeping an exaggerated version of the day curtsey to her. To her back, she thought she could hear Elizaveta trying to disguise a giggle. ”You’ve returned. Is there a problem?”

The venerable lady looked extremely displeased, to nobody’s surprise.

”You don’t see the problem? Two young ladies, in court dress, fighting on a dirt road on the way to Vemae?”

Marie tried not to sigh or roll her eyes.

”We were hardly fighting, Madam- in fact, I don’t think I got further than teaching Elizaveta how to hold a smallsword and how to land a first blow.”

”There is a time and place for everything, my lady, and this is not a suitable arena for your pugilistic hobbies.”

She lost the fight with rolling her eyes, although thankfully Madam Belrac chose not to say anything about it right then.

”My apologies, Madam. But surely you must agree that it’s tiring to be cooped up in a carriage all day long?”

Madam Belrac fixed her with a steely look. ”Then perhaps my lady should learn to endure that. As she will come to learn to endure many other things once she is in the Vermillion Court of Marimiers.”

—

”I’m beginning to wonder what kind of a background a person must have to develop a personality like Madam Belrac’s,” Marie said sourly, once they were securely in a separate room after dinner, at a countryside manor of some noble house. Elizaveta had settled down to embroider a pouch, while Marie occupied herself with whittling a horse from a spare piece of firewood.

”Don’t blame her, she’s only doing her best,” Elizaveta soothed, and Marie sighed at her horse.

”Does she have to be so rigid about everything though?” She gave it a moment’s thought, then levelled her curious gaze at Elizaveta. ”Actually, is the court at Marimiers as difficult as Madam Belrac paints it to be?”

She watched as Elizaveta frowned, open her mouth to say something, then shut it again, as if searching for words, and she winced.

”That bad huh?”

”In some ways, it’s worse than you think. In others, it can be easier. Madam Belrac has seen various ladies enter Marimiers, wives to noblemen, a princess or two, and she has been their introduction to the court. So she has rather strict ideas on what will help you succeed- and what may cause you to fail.”

”Do you think she’s correct on all of them?”

”She may be a master of court ritual,” Elizaveta said thoughtfully, ”but I think in the end everyone plays their court games a little differently. You won’t know how until you get there, and get into the thick of it.”

Marie let the half-carved horse drop to the table, and swung around to face the other girl more fully. ”Is there anyone you’d watch out for? If you were in my place.”

Elizaveta smiled at her. ”I don’t want you to have any preconceived notions of anyone before you even get there- you seem like the kind to make enemies off the bat.”

Her mouth dropped. ”What? What do you mean?”

”You’re straightforward, but you already know that,” Elizaveta said. ”As of now you trust me, and so you will take my word for it. But just because I dislike or am wary of someone, doesn’t mean you have to. Our positions are entirely different, and so the courtiers’ motives and attitudes towards you will be likewise different. I think you should give each person a chance as you meet them, and not have my history with them sully your fresh start.”

Marie eyed her skeptically. ”Fine. If you say so.”

”I do say so.”

”Can’t you tell me a little about the prince then? What kind of person he is? I don’t want you to tell me that I should simply wait and see after I’ve met him either.”

The courtier huffed, although it was not without some fond amusement. ”Alright then. Prince Alfons is a rather gentle person. He’s intelligent, erudite, and a pleasant companion. You won’t find yourself arguing with him over silly things. In fact I think your marriage to him will be a tranquil, peaceful one.”

”You’re making him sound like a fairy tale prince. Not a living, breathing one. What are his faults?”

”Now you’re asking me to speak ill of my prince.” Elizaveta arched an eyebrow. ”What faults could our noble, royal leaders of the kingdom have?”

”Elizavetaaaa.”

”I’m not saying that to be coy, Marie. I’m trying to make you understand that when a courtier says something to you, you have to start reading between the lines. Especially when you’re asking unpleasant information from them.”

That stopped Marie up short. Whatever did Elizaveta mean? She tried to think about what the other had said again, but aside from an unusually placid expression, there wasn’t anything odd she could infer. 

”All right. Pretend I’m stupid. Tell me what you really mean to say.”

Elizaveta fixed her with a glance. ”Just this once. I’m saying that Prince Alfons is a person who drifts through life like a sleepwalker. He doesn’t really care about much, hasn’t shown much interest even to the fact that he’s getting married, and you should be prepared for your marriage to be a very empty, loveless one unless you do something drastic about it.”

—

It was with anticipation that Marie looked through the windows on the twelfth day of their journey. 

They had already reached Vemae the day before, and now were finally on the last few hours’ of their journey towards the Palace of Marimiers.

The gleaming walls of the palace could be seen from as far as a mile away, and Marie watched as they slowly came clearer into view. By the time the carriages rolled into the cobbled road that led to the main gates of Marimiers, Marie could see the intricate carvings and statues that decorated the palace at every cornice and break of the otherwise endless walls. Rows of trees delineated the outer part of the gardens past the gate, slowly giving way to perfectly manicured hedges, which in turn disappeared to show off the large expanse of lawns, punctuated with majestic fountains and arrangements of flowers.

The books she had read on Marimiers had described the palace as a small city unto itself. They had not been exaggerating. Not by much, anyway.

The royal family was already waiting with a small group of courtiers when they alighted from the carriages. Marie swept them a perfected grand curtsey, as Madam Belrac had drilled into her, and she could see that the king and queen were pleased by her efforts. 

”Welcome to Marimiers, Marie of House Vifort,” the king said, and swept her into a hug. ”It is so good to finally have you here.”

Marie stilled, startled by this breach of protocol, especially after Madam Belrac had spent the better part of two weeks inculcating into her the strict rituals of court. But the queen stepped up to embrace her as well, and Marie began to understand. The rules of court were for its courtiers. Not the king, nor the queen.

Her eyes travelled to behind the royal couple, where a slender, beautiful young man stood, the exact same mirror of the image she carried in the locket around her neck now. 

She wondered if those rules applied to Prince Alfons too.