Heart Over Sword - Chapter 155

At dinner, the families dined together in the banquet hall. The tables were set up, so the Kings and Queens sat side by side, with the right side of the table followed by the Crown Prince Arvid and Prince Conrad, with the right adjoining table sat the younger Hart siblings. The ‘terrible twins’ Prince Harald and Prince Halvar argued over some competition between them, their voices loud throughout the hall even after their nanny scolded them more than once, and sitting quietly to their side was Princess Marna.

To the left of Queen Eleanor was Princess Isabel, and Princess Evanna, the adjoining table to the left sat Lady Loraven and some court ladies that seemed to speak more to the Queen than the mistress of the King. Conrad sat quietly observing everything and taking note of the quiet slander aimed at Princess Evanna by Princess Isabel and occasionally the Queen whose insults were hidden by pretty words. It seemed the princess was dealt in emotional abuse more so than physical here, but the King seemed unaware. From how he reacted to him slapping his daughter, Conrad knew King Osian loved his daughter dearly, and the Queen appeared to pick her battles with the King’s daughter.

The evening was filled with laughter and lively conversations between the two families or, in this case, the Kings and Queens. Entertainment was provided for them during the mighty feast, and a jester entertained the room before the band played for the nobility to dance to. And for once, his brother, Arvid, sat quietly by his side. But Conrad knew that Arvid was never quiet; he was calculative, manipulative and enjoyed watching people squirm beneath him. So, when he was silent, Conrad became concerned.

Yet, nothing came of it as the feast ended and the night drew on. Conrad’s younger siblings had already been taken by their nanny to go to bed, and much to his disappointment, Conrad was not dismissed even when he tried to call it a night. He was still fatigued and almost pale from using his powers earlier that day; he wondered if his father purposely kept him there because of this.

“I think it is time our dear wives and children should call it a night and let two old King’s reminisce,” King Osian finally announced as he stood up from his seat, his hand clasping King Horik’s shoulder with a drink in the other hand.

“Old? Talk for yourself!” King Horik barked in laughter, mirroring King Osian’s stance.

With the dismissal, the Queen’s walked away, chatting cheerily about stuff he didn’t bother listening to, and Princess Isabel barged past Princess Evanna so she could walk by his brother, Arvid’s side. Conrad was all too happy to head back to his chambers, but at the same time, he wanted to spy on his father. Throughout dinner, Horik had been glancing at Princess Evanna with a calculative look in his eyes, and he was acting nearly friendly to him the whole time. Conrad needed to somehow listen in to what their conversation was.

While he was trying to work out how to do that exactly, Conrad heard Princess Evanna’s voice float across his ears.

“Maggie, I will be fine. It is my duty to walk and keep Prince Conrad company until his quarters. I will see you when I return.”

Conrad frowned; they never agreed to that. He turned to look in her direction and watched as the princess slipped away from the small crowd and entered a door. Conrad strangely felt like he should follow this rebellious princess and see what she was up to now. So, he followed her through the door, keeping in mind nobody saw him and ascended the old stony steps and tight walls, almost tripping over bags and misplaced items. It was apparent now that this was a hallway meant for servants.

He stopped when he saw the wall to his left open out to a window that overlooked a small parlour. The view was distorted by some netting, and he could make out from his heightened eyesight that it was, in fact, a painting in front of him, but it revealed the two King’s sitting together in front of a giant lit fireplace below him. Conrad gasped when he felt something tug at his sleeve, and his eyes widened when two small hands covered his mouth and stared into the bright green eyes of Princess Evanna. She slowly looked to the side, and he realised King Horik and King Osian had stopped talking and were peering directly at them.

King Osian cleared his throat, “Sometimes, the sounds of the servants carry over to this room. There are a lot of hidden passageways they use.” Thought his father was satisfied with King Osian’s answer and looked back into his wine glass, Osian still stared at them as though he could see through the painting.

Princess Evanna sighed when the King returned his attention to his father and removed her hands from his face. “What are you doing here!?” She whisper-shouted, her brows drawn together in annoyance.

“What are YOU doing here, princess?” He sneered and sat down on the barrel behind her, overlooking the discussion between their fathers’.

“I asked you first!” She balled her hands up together, leaning towards him, but glanced to the side, realisation dawning on her face that she raised her voice a little too loudly.

“I want to see if anything of importance comes up. And I saw you sneak off after using my name as a little alibi for yourself. Very clever.. It seems I made the right choice in following you. At least now you aren’t completely lying to.. Maggie was it?” He smirked at the lost look on her face. He waited a few seconds as he could see the cogs turning in her head, but nothing came to her lips.

Conrad looked back at the two King’s though amusement still filled his golden eyes.

“Fine, I’ll let you stay here with me if you agree to my alibi,” She finally spoke up quietly and shuffled down onto the ground, leaning onto the bricked wall, her chin resting on her arms as she gazed over the parlour. Conrad crossed his arms, refusing to budge on the barrel she was obviously using before he arrived.

For the first ten minutes of the discussion between the Kings, Evanna and Conrad slowly started to become tired over their boring talks. The princess stood up and yawned quietly, stretching her arms out; they’d both tuned out from the topics, and Conrad was going to follow Princess Evanna’s lead. But as she took the first step away from him, Arvid’s name was mentioned, and he tuned back into the discussion.

“I know from our letters we discussed the possibility of marrying our eldest children, Arvid and Isabel. But I have changed my mind,” King Horik began as he stroked his beard and stared into the fire.

King Osian placed his goblet down, his face now stern, and all amusement from their fun discussions before was long gone. “Horik, I thought you wanted this alliance? It needs to be stronger than simple word of mouth. I need to know I can count on your kingdom as you would ours if ever need be,” He replied quietly.

“Oh, do not get me wrong, Osian.” King Horik stood up and started to walk around the back of the sofa. “I still want a marriage between our children, but after meeting Princess Isabel, I don’t think she is fitting as Queen of Hatherland.” King Osian stood up and glared at his father. “I do.. however, think your youngest daughter would make a fine Queen,” King Horik continued in a lazy manner as though he could not see his friend almost raging at his insult to his eldest daughter.

King Osian plopped back down on the sofa and sighed. “I must admit, Evanna does act much older than Isabel. But she IS still a year younger, and Isabel will mature into a young lady worthy of Arvid’s bride. Evanna is..”

Conrad glanced at Princess Evanna, who had, upon hearing her sisters name, decided to stay. She wore an unreadable expression, but he could tell she was listening intently to the conversation. She gripped tightly on the edge of the wall’s ledge again and seemed to be hardly breathing.

“Evanna cannot be Queen. You saw her today; she is rebellious, free-spirited. She is only eight and has already somehow escaped these high walls and is not afraid to challenge anyone,” King Osian finished.

“Exactly!” His father came back around the sofa and sat next to King Osian. “She is only eight and has her own mind. She challenges adults.. Today, I had not seen anything like it. Whenever I discipline my children, they know what they have done wrong and accept the consequences. Your daughter.. like a damned councilman, wiggled her way out of a harsher punishment. And to punch my son..” Horik burst into laughter, slapping his knee as though he was watching it all over again.

“It was disrespectful.. Horik.. Your eldest will be the next King of Hatherland; he can’t have a wife who is an illegitimate child.”

“Then how about this..” King Horik was not finished with trying to get the second princess. Conrad’s body suddenly went cold as though he already knew what was about to leave that wretched mouth of his. “How about Conrad and Evanna? Your daughter has impressed me, and it takes a lot to impress me.”

Evanna and Conrad tensed at the suggestion. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, wondering if he would see any fear on her face. But nothing of the like was on her face; she merely frowned and pressed herself forwards as though she wanted to hear more.

King Osian’s lips twisted at the thought of it. “You want to marry off your son who slapped my daughter?”

“I thought we were all over that now, no?” King Horik smirked and waited for his response before he added. “It would solidify our alliance.”

King Osian sighed and leaned his arms on his legs, staring into the fire. “Then they shall be wed when she is of age.”

Princess Evanna stood up and stared at Conrad. He could almost read her mind with how she looked at him. It was apparent neither wanted to marry the other, but he did note something before she stormed away.. The princess never did look at him in fear.