Oh My, I Messed Up the Story

The doughnuts and hamburger, though blander than the ones back home, revitalized me so the following day I handled the bridal lessons like a champ. Even the nitpicking Madame Chalaise was impressed.

Since I was starting to get the basics down, she had me run what I could only think of as drills from a very sissy boot camp—walking with a book on my head while wearing impossibly high heels, smiling, turning, waving, repeating.

Once I got into a rhythm it was a mindless task so I could focus on other things.

I ran a mental tally of what I knew about the people in this place, both from the novel and my own observations.

I only saw the king at meal times. In the book he actually wasn't all that important a character. He was on Sigmund's side but in the end, passed away before he could do much to help his heir due to an unexpected illness.

The queen was also on Sigmund's side but her power primarily manifested itself through her brother, the archduke. Her days were spent entertaining high ranking nobles and drinking tea.

Rosenia's schedule was virtually the same as the queen's as far as I could see. She was petty and demeaning but posed no real threat in the novel. When Sigmund was deposed, she went back to Rowenhilde in shame, never to be heard of again. I wasn't terribly worried about her.

Franz was more of a wild card. We hadn't spoken since he escorted me to the dressmaker so I didn't know if he had taken my words to heart or not.

I had no idea what he was up to, only that he was trying to gather support within the court. For the time being it looked like he was stuck, since his plans only got any traction once Marcy and Alpheus got involved in the novel.

His relationship with Mariela seemed fairly one-sided. I got the impression that he cared for her but didn't know how to show it so she felt no attachment to him.

Mariela, like the queen and crown princess, spent a lot of time drinking tea with other nobles but since she was only the second princess, she was excluded from certain gatherings and frequently alone. Or with me, now that we were friendly.

Of everyone in this palace, ironically, I knew the most about the man I was trying to avoid since his plans were covered in detail in the book.

He spent hours each day holed up in his office conferring with his cronies, including Duke Orla and the archduke. With all of that foreknowledge at my disposal, Sigmund was low on my priority list of people to figure out.

Al was at the top.

The novel glossed over his lonely childhood, mentioning that he had no playmates and was left alone any time he wasn't either participating in lessons or needed to show his face at a formal event. He began sneaking out of the palace around the age of ten to explore the outside world, which led to his meeting Marcy years later.

Honestly, I didn't have a clue what he did when he wasn't with me. His family gave him no responsibilities and he wasn't vying for the throne. As an adult, he had no need for further tutoring.

How did he spend all of those empty hours before I got here? I needed to accurately gauge Al's life and personality if I was going to get this novel back on track but at times he was as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.

I hadn't met Sir Luken Marino yet and I wondered if I even would. He was a distant cousin of Marcy's and she had convinced him to help her and Al in their quest to bring down the crown prince after getting to know him through his frequent visits to the kitchen trying to woo one of the pastry assistants.

It was easy enough to convince him since he had previously trained a bit with Franz and knew he would make a better king than Sigmund.

Of all the main players, that only left Marcy. I knew how things were supposed to go with her but so far it seemed like she stuck to her role in the kitchen, hardly stepping outside it because her delicacies were in demand for the constant tea parties held by the queen.

I really needed to get back in there and talk to her more seriously but what would I say? I hadn't been here long enough to collect my bearings and come up with a real plan. I was making things up as I went along and who knew how long that would work.

"Madame Chalaise, may I request Lady Catherine's presence?" a soft feminine voice sounded from the doorway. "I would like her to accompany me for tea in my chambers."

Mariela primly folded her hands in front of her, a picture of elegance and poise. She had to mind her manners if she wanted the old dragon to cooperate and let me go.

It worked and my tutor released with no complaint—I had to applaud Mariela's methods.

"Thank you for relieving me back there," I whispered once we had made it down the hall. "My eyes were about to glaze over."

She let out a dainty giggle. "Practicing walking is very repetitive, I cannot blame you. I have the perfect thing to perk you back up though!"

"You're the best," I sighed happily when I saw that we were having hot chocolate instead of tea.

"I have noticed that you never finish your tea. I do not mind it much myself but I can see how one would get sick of it after having too often. The secret is variety. I rotate through no less than twelve different types before having the same one again when I am in charge. Unfortunately, the queen typically chooses the same three varieties over and over and she is in charge of most tea times in the palace," Mariela lamented as she stirred her drink with a spoon.

"It would be nice to be in charge of something. It would give me more to do."

I frowned. Had Franz not talked to her about her potential political contributions? I really thought I had gotten through to him too.

"Can't you try asking your husband if you can shoulder some of his work? That would keep you busy."

"It would but I doubt he would agree. Why bother asking if I know I will be turned down? It seems counterproductive."

"You never know unless you try," I hinted heavily.

If they only talked to each other! With proper communication and mutual reliance, those two had a real chance at a good relationship.

Franz wanted to grant her wishes but he didn't know what they were because she never said anything! As an objective viewer, it was frustrating.

"He has been spending a bit more time with me in the evenings," she said thoughtfully.

"Can you believe that he has actually asked me questions about my day? Specific ones! The change has been hard to believe since he has largely ignored me for the past nine months."

My heart went out to her. What was with these princes' mindsets?

One brought in a beautiful foreign wife that he doted upon from a distance but wouldn't spend actual time with and the other dragged a wannabe runaway to the palace and demanded her time constantly so he wouldn't be bored.

Her situation was almost completely opposite of mine. What a lonely way to live. If it wasn't outrageously unacceptable for me to do so, I would track down Franz and shake him until he paid attention to his poor wife.