The Wild Swans (31 page)

“I don’t understand
,” the ambassador of Kozlovka said when the Loire ambassador joined him in the corner he sulked in. “Why do you bow to these royals? Surely your own estates are more luxurious than this,” he said, his mouth twisting with disdain.

The Loire ambassador blinked. “Pardon?”

The ambassador of Kozlovka gestured to the pretty but plain ballroom. “This place is not at all grand. It’s a small, backwater country worth little or no notice. Why do you play attendant to the royals?”

“I hope
that they will give a favorable report to the Black Court, of course,” the Loire ambassador said.

“The what?”

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Don’t know what?”

The Loire ambassador shook his head. “I do this because our countries have been allies for some time. This way,” he said, plunging into the crowds.

The ambassador of Kozlovka followed the Loire ambassador through the crowds
, until they reached the far side of the room. “There,” the Loire ambassador said.

The corner of the room was occupied by Prince Falk
, the head of the Agriculture Department, and his wife of one year, Princess Elise, the chief of the Treasury Department. Prince Falk was the second youngest of the seven princes of Arcainia. Princess Elise was more widely known for the fact that she possessed a natural magic. It had been considered ‘Shocking News’ at the time of their marriage, but the ambassador of Kozlovka hadn’t taken much note of it as the ‘Shocking News’ came from a small, unimportant country.

“That is Prince Falk and Princess Elise
—what of them?” the ambassador of Kozlovka asked as he watched the pair.

Attendants danced around the prince and princess
, and courtiers and ambassadors vied for the pair’s attention. The royal couple seemed utterly entranced with each other, though, exchanging smiles and sharing quiet laughter.

“They are the Black Court
,” the Loire ambassador said.

“I don’t understand.”

“Prince Falk manages Arcainia’s agriculture industry which, in spite of being one of the smallest countries on the continent, is the largest exporter of crops and foods. Princess Elise manages the country’s purse strings. Not a coin enters or leaves the country without her knowledge. Being that they export everything from fish to crops to meat, and they are one of the few countries that can grow winter crops like radishes, carrots, and winter wheat, as a result their trading business is booming. Every continent on the country has some sort of dealings with them, whether it be agricultural or financial,” the Loire ambassador said. “If you anger one of them, you will find your country cut off from their exports, trade routes, and treasury services. If you make a good impression on them, they will be merciful to your country and keep prices low even though they have a monopoly on a large amount of goods.”

“That cannot be. If they are so powerful
, the country must be rich. Why, then, is everything so
plain
?” The ambassador of Kozlovka said.

The Loire ambassador shrugged. “To save money
, Princess Elise imposes strict rules on the family’s conduct. They don’t seem to mind; they would rather hoard or invest their wealth than live in luxury, or so Princess Elise said.”

The ambassador of Kozlovka stared at the royal pair.

Prince Falk said something and kissed Princess Elise’s forehead, drawing a blush from the curly-haired princess.

“Prince Steffen will one day become King
, and Princess Gabrielle the Queen, but it’s these two who run the majority of trade. They are the merchant monarchs of the continent,” the Loire ambassador said.

“Aunt Elise!” a gold
-haired toddler shrieked as she skirted through the crowd around Prince Falk and Princess Elise. “Hide,” the toddler said, diving behind Elise’s skirts.

Seconds later
, Prince Rune strolled past. “Hmm, I thought I saw her go this way. Where is she? Oh Princess Ria, where are you?” Prince Rune asked, winking at Princess Elise as he crept closer to her.

Those surrounding Prince Falk and Princess Elise backed up to watch the family spectacle.

“I don’t know, Rune. I haven’t seen her,” Princess Elise said.

“That’s too bad. I should move on
, unless she’s
here
,” Prince Rune said, darting around Princess Elise to scoop up the giggling toddler.

The princess shrieked as Prince Rune tickled her tummy.

“Practicing for the future?” Prince Falk asked, his hand resting on his wife’s waist.

“Perhaps
, although my wife isn’t due for a few more months and I hope—
ouch—
our child is not so conniving,” Rune said, wrenching the toddler from him to make her release her grip his hair. “There you go, Ria. Go find your mother,” he said, setting her back down.

The crowd completely dispersed with the little girl’s departure
, but the ambassador of Kozlovka couldn’t look away. It was astounding to him that a royal family so, so
normal
would be the financial power of the continent. He barely noticed when the Loire ambassador slapped him on the back and moved on.

“As her father is Steffen
and her mother is Gabrielle, Ria was statistically doomed to have a shrewd personality,” Prince Falk said. “That being explained, you should probably begin to worry.”

“Falk
,” Princess Elise said, smacking her husband in the belly.

Prince Rune laughed good
-naturedly. “And what of you two? Think you’ll be ready to unleash a child with your combined intelligence on the world?”

“Of course
,” Prince Falk said. “But we won’t, yet.”

“Why not?” Prince Rune asked.

“All our investments are not at a point where I could think about being absent from work,” Princess Elise said. “Carabas Harbor has been operational only for four years, and I mean to expand our wool industry.”

“That’s rather auspicious
,” Prince Rune said.

“I will not rest until all acknowledge Arcainia’s financial superiority
,” Princess Elise said with a maniacal laugh, flexing her fingers as she grinned like a hungry wolf at the dancers and party attendees. She abruptly cut the expression short. “I haven’t seen Brida yet tonight. I’m off to find her. You two enjoy yourselves,” Princess Elise said, kissing Prince Falk on the cheek before she swirled away.

Prince Rune squinted as he watched her leave. “Sometimes she frightens me.”

Prince Falk sighed like a lovesick school boy. “I just love that side of her.”

Prince Rune eyed his brother. “Allow me to amend that. Sometimes you both frighten me.”

Prince Falk shrugged, and his eyes landed on the hapless ambassador of Kozlovka. “What do you want?” he imperiously asked.

“Nothing
,” the ambassador of Kozlovka said, swallowing.

“Humph
,” Prince Falk said before turning his attention back to his brother. “Elise received another letter from Prince Severin of Loire today.”

“Don’t their exchanges bother you?”

“Not at all. I’ve met his wife. Prince Severin isn’t the type to stray, but if he did, she would butcher him. Anyway, he’s wondering if he could send a few scholars to apprentice with Elise for a year or two.”

As the princes drifted away
, the ambassador of Kozlovka could no longer hear the conversation. He took the moment of silence to reconsider his thoughts on the royal family of Arcainia. He knew they were involved in the Shimmer Conflict, but every royal family on the continent was. Going beyond that knowledge he knew they were one of the countries that were struck first by a rogue magic user.

He always thought it was sheer luck that had freed their country
, but after witnessing the family interactions and name dropping for even a few minutes, it was abundantly clear to the ambassador of Kozlovka that Princess Elise and the royal family of Arcainia could handle
any
problem cast on their country.

Rune

Everything was burning.

Elise’s world was a wash of flames and heat. She wanted to cry out, she wanted to
scream
and howl in pain. But she couldn’t.

Clotilde was there
, her death screams mixing with the roar of the hungry flames. Elise shut her eyes against the horrors, but she could feel the queen’s papery skin under her hand as the witch expired, turned to dust by Elise’s power.

Soon Elise would join the queen
, turned to ash by the blistering flames.

Elise bolted upright
, gasping for air and pushing her wild curls out of her face. “It was only a dream,” Elise said to her silent room. “I’m not in Verglas, about to be burned. I’m in Castle Brandis, in my room,” she said, her voice an audible reminder.

Elise shivered and burrowed back under her blankets
, chilled by more than the cool air.

Besides
the marked change in her relationship with her foster brothers, Elise’s curse-breaking-witch-slaying adventures added another aspect to her life: nightmares.

Elise knew Clotilde
was evil, and she doubted anything but death would have ended her reign of terror, but the one-time queen’s screams and the feel of ending her life haunted Elise in her sleeping hours.

Just as bad were the nightmares of fire and
burning. Between the two memories, Elise found it difficult to sleep to say the least.

Elise closed her eyes only to be assaulted by the sight of King Torgen’s mad
, feverish eyes. His twisted laughter rang in her ears.

With a gasp Elise sat upright again.
By the dying light of the fire, she pulled on a freshly laundered skirt over her nightclothes, and a thick robe. She slipped out of her room, taking care to shut the door without making a noise. Her room was surrounded by her brothers’ quarters; if they knew she was up, they would fuss.

Elise wrapped the robe tighter and made her way to the kitchens. Even at this late—or early—hour
, a cook or two was sure to be up marinating meat or punching dough for breakfast. If she couldn’t sleep, Elise would rather be in the cheerful, warm kitchen.

Elise was almost there when a familiar voice stopped her.

“Elise?” Rune said. He was dusty; his hair was mussed, and he had a fresh cut on his cheek. He was carrying a crossbow and quiver, but at the moment he looked concerned.

“Rune
, welcome home. You’re back sooner than expected,” Elise said.

“I finis
hed my dealings with the goblins during the morning and decided to push to come home rather than camp another night. What is wrong?” Rune asked.

“Nothing
. I couldn’t sleep,” Elise said, smiling to cover her partial truth.

Rune set the crossbow and quiver down so he could shed his traveling cloak. “That doesn’t seem like you
,” he said, brushing off the black “hero” clothes he wore beneath the cape. Covered as they were, they were mostly spared from dust and debris.

Elise shrugged. “I thought a snack might help
,” Elise said, glancing in the direction of the kitchens, although the thought of food made her green.

Rune studied her in uncomfortable silence. “Elise
,” he finally said. “You did the right thing. There was no other option; Clotilde had to be killed.”

Elise winced
, as though the words were a physical blow. “How did you know?”

“I have had to kill before as well.”

“Does the memory ever go away?” Elise asked, staring at the hemline of her robe.

“Not entirely
, no. It fades, but you will always remember. It’s a good thing.”

Elise looked up
, confused. “What? How?”

“It reminds you how precious life is
, and it teaches you to be merciful,” Rune said, bridging the gap between them. “But Elise, while the memory will stay with you, you cannot let your guilt condemn you.”

“But I killed her
,” Elise shivered. “Clotilde was a person, and I killed her.”

Rune eased his arms around Elise and pulled her flush against his chest. She hid her face in his shoulder
, letting hot tears spill down her cheeks.

“She was. Clotilde was human like you
and I, but she made bad choices. She embraced darkness, and looked to make others suffer for her ambitions. The only way to stop her rampage was to kill her; it was the consequence of her actions. I am sorry you were forced to pay the price for even a part of her sins. Your actions were just, and you must accept and realize that, or she will win even in her death,” Rune said, smoothing Elise’s hair away from her face.

Elise said nothing
, but took comfort in Rune’s strength.

“Come
,” Rune said after several moments, stepping back from Elise.

“Where are we going?”

“To Mother’s Salon,” Rune said, leading the way.

The royal quarters of Castle Brandis were not by any means opulent. Besides the
ir bedrooms, the royal family had few private rooms. One of the rare exceptions was a sitting room that was once upon a time used almost exclusively by Queen Ingrid for entertaining guests. It was now used mostly for family meetings as it was one of the few places that was not on office that could seat the family.

Rune grabbed a torch from the wall and entered the salon
, pausing to start a fire in the fireplace and to light several candles. When the room was adequately lit, Rune returned the torch to the hallway. “Sit,” he said, indicating to a plush settee.

After Elise sat
, Rune eased in next to her, curling an arm around her shoulders. “So, you’re having nightmares?”

Elise nodded.

“It’s not unusual. I’ve had the occasional nightmare since we returned,” Rune said, rubbing his eyes with his free hand.

“Of what?”

“You, in the fire.”

Elise shivered and rested her head on Rune’s shoulder.

“My heart stopped when I turned human and realized you were among the flames,” Rune said, squeezing her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified.”

“Me
, either,” Elise admitted, adjusting her head so it was pressed against Rune’s chest rather than his shoulder. “I didn’t know if the shirts worked and the curse was really broken, or if you all were still swans. Thank you for saving me.”

Rune dropped a kiss on Elise’s head
, making her blush to the roots of her hair. “As long as I live, I will do everything in my power to rescue you—whether it be from mad kings or the mundane.”

“Thank you.”

“I am wild for you, Elise.” Rune brushed Elise’s shoulder with his fingertips. “I love you. This may not be the right time to mention it, and Steffen would gut me if he knew, but I don’t know when I will get another chance to tell you.”

When Elise was silent
, Rune persisted, “Do you still doubt me? Can’t you see my love in my actions for you?”

“I do
,” Elise said. Even when on the run from a black witch, Rune had proven that his first concern was Elise in a million different ways. Furthermore, it wasn’t just her physical wellbeing that concerned him, but her emotional state as well. Rune could tell when she was upset, like tonight, and he knew exactly what to say. But… “But you never treated me like a lady. You flirt and charm women everywhere you go. You have never flirted with me.”

“Yes
,” Rune agreed. “Because I wanted to make it clear to you that I was not playing with you. I’m not blind. I do not lead women on—why do you think I call Brida Captain Meier?”

“
She liked you?” Elise squawked.

“I picked up on it fairly quickly after it became apparent she had few feelings of kindness for you. Did you ever wonder why that was?”

“No. I assumed it was because my status as a fosterling.”

“Brida is a fair girl. She wouldn’t dislike you because of that. No
, she disliked you because of the way I treat you.”

“And how do you treat me?”

“The way a hero treats his lady love.”

Elise whipped her head off Rune’s chest to stare at him. His face was smooth with its seriousness.

“Who else do I offer to rescue and help at any time of the day? What other woman will I go charging across Arcainia for? What female besides you do I kiss—not even on the lips but on the hand and head? I escort no one to parties or dinners because I will not partner myself with anyone who is not you.”

Elise stared at the fire. If she looked at Rune
, she would bolt. The passion of his feelings both thrilled and frightened her. “Who am I to evoke such emotions in you? You are a hero. I’m nothing but an orphan—,”

Before she could say more
, Rune pressed a finger against her lips. “No, you are Fürstin Elise, financial genius, savior of Arcainia, brave, loyal, and true. I chose you because of who you are, not your pedigree.

“You are so beautiful
, and you don’t know it—or at least you don’t believe it. And for the life of me, I will never understand why you continuously bind your glorious hair back,” Rune said, burying his hand in her wild hair.

Elise closed her eyes and allowed herself to see the future she kept locked in the deepest part of her heart. More than marrying someone for the country
, more than marrying someone who was a good person and kind, Elise wanted to marry someone who was passionate for her, and who would spend every day the rest of their lives proving that passion.

Elise wanted to marry a hero.

Elise would be happy with Rune if she could let go of her fears and doubts and allow herself to love him. But, could she do that?”

“Elise
,” Rune whispered. “I love
you
.”

Before Elise could open her eyes
, Rune kissed her. The kiss was very much like the heroic prince: true, controlled passion, and warm. This close to him, Elise could smell the outdoors and open road on him. Every part of her tingled, and Elise almost laughed.

Oh
, yes. She could easily give in and let herself love Rune.

When Rune finally released her
, Elise blinked to try and clear her head. “Well. I don’t think nightmares will be a problem for me tonight.”

Rune chuckled until he processed what she said and broke it off. “Wait
, does that…?”

Elise avoided her eyes and felt her cheeks burn. “I love you
, too, Rune.”

“Really?”

“Truly.”

Rune bolted to his feet and scooped Elise up
, laughing as he twirled her in the air.

“K
eep it down. Our family is sleeping,” Elise chided, or tried to. Rune’s laughter was infectious, and soon, she was laughing as well.

“I don’t care
. Let them wake up. You have made me the happiest of men,” Rune said, still holding Elise aloft.

The salon door swung open
, revealing Steffen in his robe. His hair stuck up at odd angles, and his face was squished like a troll’s. “Rune, what are you doing to Elise?” Steffen said, his voice calm.

“Elise said she loves me
,” Rune said as he set Elise on her feet.

“How wonderful for you. If that is the case
,
what
are you two doing in a room together, this late at night,
unchaperoned
?” Steffen said.

Elise and Rune exchanged guilty glances.

Steffen shuffled into the room and grabbed Rune by the collar of his shirt. “I am going to
leash
you. You will not be unchained until after you two are married—which won’t be for many years—as I cannot trust you not to paw my baby sister. Say goodnight, Rune,” Steffen said, dragging Rune out of the room.

“Steffen
,” Rune said, tripping along behind their older brother. He gave Elise, who followed in their wake, a wry smile.

Elise giggled and
, unseen by Steffen, took Rune’s hand and squeezed it. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said.

“Good night
, Elise,” Rune said, his eyes soft with the promise of love and happiness.

“Good
night, Rune,” Elise said, scarcely less happy and full of love.

“If you do not muzzle yourself
,
Rune
, I will find a kennel for you,” Steffen said.

Elise stifled another peal of laughter as she left the brothers and darted into her bedroom.

Clotilde’s presence and King Torgen’s games were a foul chapter of her life, but there was no reason to let them spoil the rest of her days.

One day
, she and Rune would marry—although Steffen was right, it would not be for a handful of years. Elise wanted to get the country back on its feet, its financial power restored, and Carabas harbor opened before she married. She had no doubts Rune wouldn’t agree to the waiting—he had patiently waited for years to tell her his feelings, after all.