Catherine got up from the chair as quickly as possible without running and left the room. She was grateful for the opportunity to be alone for a few moments. She found the door to her rooms and was disappointed when it was opened by a maid. She realised that she would not be alone as soon as the woman politely asked her what she wished for and she was forced to ask for her to help her get changed for dinner. The request sounded ridiculous to her own ears, but the maid just nodded and soon had Catherine seated on a chair while she and two others picked a dress, then, apparently on orders from a fourth woman who entered the rooms soon after, started applying heavy make-up and jewellery to Catherine's face and hair, which they had combed and piled on top of her head.
When she was lead to the dining room in a large dress and smelling of perfume, she wanted to cry and run away. She felt embarrassed and exposed, and at the same time she was very unsettled by everything around her, most of all by how much a single wrong movement would cost her. She was absolutely certain that she could not count on her family to help her if she got into debt.
The prince greeted her politely and informed her that she was taking too heavy steps. Then he instructed her in how to make a gracious courtesy and how to greet the people in a room without having to actually greet them all. He corrected her when she tried to sit down at the table, and she had to wait while a servant drew out her chair. As soon as they seemed to have reached a small break between the thousand things she was doing wrong she caught his eye.
“Your m – Sir, this is all to much. I can't do all this, and I don't want to wear these dresses. Can't you send me out of the country?”
He looked her up and down for a moment, making her feel even more uncomfortable underneath the clouds of make-up, then pointed to her plate and told her what pieces of cutlery to use when.
“If in doubt, eat as little and as slowly as possible. You don't want to be seen with bad table manners.”
Catherine swallowed nervously and eyed the food that was being put in front of her. It did look overly complicated, and since the prince was just staring at her, she did not pick up a single piece of cutlery. After a few minutes of tense silence, he told her which things to use and started eating, allowing her to try her best to get a few bites into her mouth without making a fool of herself.
The prince seemed to take his task of educating her very seriously. Their meal considered of more tiny dishes than she managed to count, and each of them seemed to be somehow designed to stay on the plate. She was not sad when dinner was over, but was yet again to be disappointed in her hopes of spending the rest of the day alone. The prince spent more than an hour telling her details that she could not possibly hope to remember. When she was finally able to retire she fell asleep almost instantly.
She spent two more days in a constant state of confusion and embarrassment in the company of the prince. There was nothing easy about their interactions. Every time she looked up and saw his face, the enormity of the situation overwhelmed her. She had yet to get used to the ageing that was not apparent when he was further away, thousands of small lines signifying the time he had spent in battle and in contact with forces stronger than himself.
His face was terrifying. A scar that looked impossibly severe ran down the bottom of his cheek and across his neck. His eyes seemed to burn with dark fire and the set of his jaw told her that he was not a patient or friendly person. The calmness of his voice and the small jokes he had made with her the first day were long gone. Every hour she spent in his company seemed to anger him more.
She could begin to understand what he wanted from her and why she did not have a choice but to follow his orders, but the concept of being so much of a disturbance to such an important person was too much for her to even think about. She kept hoping that he would tell her to go somewhere else and let someone else give her further orders, but it did not seem to be a part of his plan to let her be away from him.
“Your – Sir?” she asked one morning when she was seated next to him in the small library.
He had asked her to join him, but up until that point his harsh features had been turned towards the book on his table. He turned towards her in a swift movement and seemed to give her his full attention for a moment.
“I was wondering why you are doing all this yourself? Would it not be more appropriate to have someone show me everything so you can do what you want?”
“Since you mention it, it would seem that you could use another session of practising your pronunciation. Try not to be so blunt, will you? As for your question, no it would not be easier. Did you not hear me tell you what it feels like when the spell leads me towards you?”
“You said it felt like being stabbed, sir,” Catherine answered, already wishing she had kept her mouth shut.
“Well, why would I send you out of the room I am in and risk triggering that again? It feels unpleasant enough to have you sleep in your own room, my dear girl.”
Catherine blushed and bit her tongue, trying to look as if she had simply accepted his statement as fact and was no longer thinking about it. The prince did not seem to pay her any attention any longer.
“We are wasting out time here as it is. I will not find an answer here no matter how long I search. As long as my only options are to marry or have you next to me, you will remain close by at all times. I suppose it would cause less jealousy if I introduced you as my cousin. But they would soon enough find out. Besides, if they know you are not a rival and still lives with them, they will understand that they need to show you their best sides. I do not wish for them to behave themselves. It might do you good to carry a weapon, however. You will not be entirely safe spending so much time at my side while posing as a rival to any of these women.
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