I shook my head.
She smiled and looked around the stone walls. “This happened. I’m the lady of Greenwood Abbey with a wonderful husband and son, and a stepdaughter, of course.”
“You and Father...that was arranged?”
Lady Vanessa nodded. “I suppose you expected some great romantic adventure where I ran away and found true love, no?”
I gave a mirthless smile. I was the last person to expect anything of the sort. When I was thirteen, Mother had promised me to General Turner’s son, Dominic. The experience was unremarkable at best and unpleasant at worst. It was some time before she broke it off, setting her sights on the crown prince instead when my face began to show promising signs of beauty. It was funny how things turned out in her favor.
“Going through with the marriage was my duty,” Lady Vanessa said. “Luckily, I ended up with a gentle husband and a sweet son. When they’re not at each other’s throats, that is.”
I managed a smile.
“That is my story. But yours...” She turned and placed her hand in the space between us. “You don’t have any obligation to go through with the marriage if you don’t want to.”
“I don’t?”
“No,” Lady Vanessa said. “There are thousands of witch girls in Olderea who could make the perfect crown princess. You’re the best choice, but you’re not the only choice. You have the option to refuse if it makes you unhappy.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Lady Vanessa stared, blue eyes wide. “My dear, it has to do with everything. Don’t you know that your father would go to the ends of the earth for your happiness? He worries that you’re angry with him for even suggesting you as a possible bride. On the other hand, he heard that you and the crown prince were...close.”
I laughed, which seemed to startle her. “Merely rumors started by my mother,” I said.
“In that case, you have every right to back out of the arrangement.”
Did I really have the option to reject this proposal? Did Iwantto?
“I’ll get out of your hair now,” Lady Vanessa said after my prolonged silence. She brushed imaginary dust from her skirts as she stood, flustered, a stark contrast to her earlier serenity. She headed to the door instead of back out the window like I expected. “Good night, Narcissa.”
“Good night.”
The door clicked shut. I took a bite of the pumpkin pie, savoring the buttery crust and thick filling.
You have that look on your face, Misty said from the corner of the room. Her eyes popped out from the darkness, missing nothing.
“What look?”
You’re realizing something.
She was right.
I recalled how Lady Vanessa’s face shone when she spoke of duty. Her shoulders had straightened with pride. Father’s duty was to serve the royals and lead the Royal Guard. Maddox...he had none. Perhaps that was why Father was so angry with him.
As for me?
I stared out the window. Night had fallen. I could see nothing but my reflection, which stared back with a surprising hunger.
I used to have a purpose. A certainty. A goal. They were never my choice, but the moment they were taken away from me I had been miserable. Now, a new opportunity presented itself in the form of this marriage. It was a road that led to a life with purpose again.
I could help this kingdom more than Mother had harmed it by being the very thing she wanted me to be—crown princess.
