Casimir's Journey (30 page)

“How could you let her take that?” He asked. He was crushed. This was part of who he was. This defined who he was! She’d let it be stolen without a second thought.

“I was trying to keep you safe,” she said quietly. She looked away, and he could see she was struggling not to cry.

“You cannot save me. You cannot save anyone,” he said to her, equally low. “You can only save yourself.”

“How is justice to be served, then? Are those who thwart it just free to live an unencumbered life, leaving the wreckage in their wake?” For the first time, she didn’t look like the controlled, poised woman he had known. She looked young.

“What good has seeking justice done for you?” Grizelle was also quiet. “Now we stand among the children of those who hurt you, and they hurt through no fault of their own. What does that serve?”

Catrin looked at her, but didn’t respond.

Grizelle went on. “Thea is not her father. Or her mother. She is her own person, and she did not deserve this, even for the offense you made sure she committed. It was not a just punishment on your part. Sebastian—Sebastian, Bryce’s son, just behaved in a way that would have put the most noble, most chivalrous man to shame. He is not Bryce. And Casimir? What has he done? There is not even the excuse of his parent, Catrin! Markellus had nothing to do with this, nothing at all.”

“No, he was the opposite,” Catrin said. She spoke as though she were far away.

“Indeed. Or you would not have protected his son from birth,” Grizelle said softly. “Catrin, this is over. We must go.”

The words startled Casimir. Catrin had protected him because he was his father’s son? What did that mean? He wished Markellus was there to answer that.

Catrin just looked at her. Then she looked at Casimir, and as Thea had done earlier, she reached out and touched his cheek. She ignored Thea’s recoil. “You are the most noble and honorable of men.” And she turned away.

“No! Stop her! Catrin! You will not walk away again!” Aland stood, apparently released from his throne, and Ceridwen stood with him. Even the normally placid queen was angry.

But it was not Catrin who spoke. Grizelle turned to the pair of them. “You will sit down, and you will do nothing. Had the pair of you been more honest in your dealings with a young, impressionable, trusting girl, who did nothing other than give you her sincere friendship, we would not be here, decades later. That is your justice. Living with your part in this.” Unlike moments before, her face had not an ounce of compassion.

Aland and Ceridwen both stared at her, and Casimir noted that the queen’s mouth was opened in a small
‘o’
of shock.

“I said, Your Majesties, you will sit down!”

Slowly, carefully, they sank back to their thrones.

Grizelle turned her back to them. She put her arm about Catrin, and they began to walk down the center of the hall. With each step, they grew fainter, as if becoming obscured by clouds. By the time they had reached the middle of the hall, they had disappeared.

Casimir—for he was indeed Casimir—turned to Thea. Gathered her in his arms, and kissed her soundly. In front of her parents, sisters, and the entire court.

He was back.

“Stop fidgeting,” Roysten said, irritation plain in his tone.

“I can’t help it! I keep feeling that something is about to happen!” Casimir inspected himself again around the figure of Roysten in the mirror. He was dressed in the colors of Ethion with trimmings in the colors of Gallivas. Behind him, he could see his father and Lord Maddox.

“How do I look?” He asked them.

He could see pride and love in the faces of both.

In the weeks since he found himself again, as he termed it, his two lives—or rather, his memories of his lives—had presented a problem. In his head, he knew that Hadden, and the memories of who he was, how he’d lived, all of it—were false. Even though others shared the same memories, they were not real.

He’d spun himself into a knot trying to sort out what was real and what wasn’t. In the end, it had been Thea and Adelaide who had solved the problem for him.

“Why not be both?” Adelaide asked. “You’ve been both. You have the memories of the lives of both. So you are Casimir and Hadden.”

“I am happy to marry the both of you,” Thea said, with a smile.

He smiled at the memory. He’d not seen her smile for so long—not since her father announced the engagement to Sebastian. Now, there were no shadows in her smile, no secrets. She had no reason to hide anything.

They had presented it so simply. Yet they were right. He was both Hadden and Casimir. The essence of who he was had stayed with him regardless of what his name had been.

He had spoken to his father and mother, and informed them he was changing his name. He would be known as Prince Casimir Hadden of Ethion. While he was thrilled to have himself back, he didn’t want to lose Hadden.

That meant he was able to keep Roysten and Maddox in his life. As Hadden, he remembered Maddox as his father figure. After the weeks of going around like an ass on a leading string, he’d done as Thea and Adelaide had suggested, and embraced them both. Which meant he was fortunate to have two amazing men as fathers.

He didn’t voice it, but he wondered, at times, which one was real. There was an equal argument that either one could be something Catrin had planted. He didn’t express this thought, merely accepted there were now two men who would be there for him.

“I’m sorry her majesty could not be here,” Maddox was saying to Markellus. “This is a proud day for us all.” He looked at Casimir, and beamed. Markellus watched the other man watching his son, and a fond look moved across his face. Casimir could tell that Maddox was fast becoming a favorite of his father’s. The thought pleased him. It meant he would not have to choose, not have to divide himself. There had been enough of that already.

“She’s a lucky one, your perch,” said Roysten. He hadn’t given over feeling Thea was cold, but what with her in line for the throne again, and in front of a king and Maddox, he wasn’t ready to be so bold in his speech.

Casimir laughed. “What you don’t know is fine with me, old man! I’d rather everyone thought the same way.” He shook his head, thinking of all the suitors Thea had garnered. And lost. He felt a pang for Ulric.

Not for Sebastian, though. He’d returned home, and every kingdom near to Laurycia had felt the storm of Bryce’s wrath. He’d wanted the throne of Gallivas for his son, and he was determined to get it.

In a show of strength that made Casimir like Sebastian as he’d never done before, he’d resisted and outlasted his father. He refused to seek Thea’s hand. Casimir had heard about it from some of the nobles of Laurycia who’d travelled to Gallivas. They’d felt they needed to escape. Their king was angry and extremely irrational. Casimir had also heard from Sebastian, who was back in Gallivas as well. Courting again, although it was rather low-key, given the state of his relations with his father.

Adelaide had never been happier. Of all Thea’s sisters, she was his favorite. He’d cared for all of them before he was Hadden, but her kindness to him as Hadden had earned him a special place in his heart. He was delighted that she would be getting the love match she deserved. It might take a little longer, but he felt confident.

He’d heard nothing from, or about Catrin since she and Grizelle had disappeared from the hall. Initially, both Bryce and Aland had been desirous of pursuing her, and tossing her in a dungeon somewhere.

It had been Thea who’d put an end to it. Bryce had traveled to Gallivas, to attempt to salvage the broken engagement and to encourage Aland to assist in finding Catrin. She’d insisted on sitting in on all of their meetings. Casimir had been very proud of her. He knew that behind her façade of always doing right, she held her father in high regard, and found it difficult to stand up to him. More things had changed in the past year than just his face.

“Why did this happen in the first place, Father? Your Majesty,” She looked at Bryce. “Grizelle mentioned the both of you as reasons for Catrin seeking justice. One normally only seeks justice when one feels wrong has been done, to one’s self, or to those one loves. Why does Catrin feel you owe her justice?”

Casimir had never seen two kings so equally stumped. Neither wanted to answer. Ceridwen, who was there as well, lost her patience. Casimir had never seen that before either. Not in all the time he’d spent in the court of Gallivas.

“Catrin was angry because of how we all –all of us!” She glared at both men, “Myself included, treated her. What the lady Grizelle—”

“Lady? Lady of what?”

“Catrin is a princess, just as you are, Thea,” Ceridwen said sadly. “Her father, Garrick, was the old king of Nandrenay. Her mother was Roslyn. Actually, I believe Roslyn still lives. Catrin was an only child, and Grizelle was sister to Garrick’s father. That’s neither here nor there. But the Lady Grizelle is most definitely a lady.” She looked down. Casimir could see Ceridwen was reluctant to share the story.

Eventually, it all came out. He and Thea had listened in near silence as first Ceridwen, and then Aland had related the events of Catrin’s coming out festivities.

“Mother, you were both most unkind. And you, Your Majesty, were dreadful.” She looked at Bryce with disdain.

Casimir thought Bryce might strike her, so angry was he. As king, he was not used to such talk.

“We were. We were paid well for our arrogance and our lack of concern,” Ceridwen said sadly. “I would not give up one of my daughters, not ever, but every time we had another child, and it was a girl, the whispers ran rampant. We wanted to spare you the pain of our mistakes. I am sorry, Thea. I am sorry that all this has happened.”

“I do not blame you for any actions other than your own,” said Thea softly. “You behaved badly, but so have I. Not one of us was kind to Catrin, and she took action that made us pay for our behavior. But Catrin alone is responsible for the things she did. I can’t understand how you have no resentment for her.” She turned to Casimir as she spoke.

Bryce, impatient with a conversation that did not focus on him, threw up his arms. “Who cares what the old bat is about? I won’t stand for it! You’ll marry my son, and we will find the old witch and extract our own judgement!” He stepped close to Aland, nearly shouting.

“No, you will not.” Thea drew herself up. “Had you been less of a boor, Your Majesty, perhaps this would not have reached the fever-pitch it did. Nor do you get to come here and vent your spleen over losing my mother.” She grinned at him, and Casimir was surprised to see a truly fierce look on her face. “You will step back from my father, and you will comport yourself as a king ought to, as much as you can.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.

He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off. “Furthermore, you will instruct your son that he will marry a daughter of Gallivas, and he needs to get back here, wish the next king and queen well, and do his duty for Laurycia.”

Bryce glared at her, but she didn’t back down. Casimir coughed, hiding his laugh. Thea had pegged Bryce exactly. Had she mentioned Adelaide, he would have never supported it. But in this manner, Bryce had no one to target, to fight against. Not that he didn’t try.

“Why would I tell him such nonsense? He wanted a queen. Why take the dregs?” Aland and Ceridwen were ready to toss Bryce out on his ear. Thea smiled at them, and looked at Bryce.

“Is that your only objection?”

“No, Miss High-and-Mighty! You’re not queen yet, and I am still the king! You’d do well to remember it! Why would I want my son tied to women who allowed men to die? How do we know that the curse is well and truly broken? That you’re not just all curses waiting to happen? The sisters of the curse, that’s what they’re calling you, did you know?”

Casimir couldn’t believe it, but the man actually cackled. He felt exceedingly sorry for Sebastian at that moment. It explained a lot of how Sebastian behaved.

“Why would you want to do this?” Thea tapped her finger to her lips, pretending to think. “I would guess that you would not want your subjects, or ours, or those of Ethion, or Nandrenay, to know the part you’ve played in this. My parents have taken responsibility. They have left you out of it. It can stay that way, or…” She raised her brows suggestively.

Bryce goggled at her. Like a fish. Or a toad. Casimir had to keep himself from laughing again. Life with Thea would never be boring.

“Fine! Fine! I shall instruct him to have pity on the poor family of Gallivas, and take a wife from the stable of women here! But I do not guarantee that he will reign after me! There are others!” And with those words, he glared at everyone, and stomped from the room. He made sure to slam the door.

There was silence after he left, and then everyone burst into laughter.

Casimir smiled, remembering.

“Excited?” Markellus asked.

“I am. I am ready to put this past year behind me.”

“You’re a good man, Casimir,” Maddox added, coming to stand on the other side of him.

“I’m a lucky one,” he said, looking at his two fathers.

“If we’re all through, my lords, I believe there is a bride waiting,” Roysten said dryly.

Casimir took one last look at himself. If he looked hard enough, he saw the faint blue of Hadden’s eyes.

All would be well.