Two Princes

7. The Morning After

Margaret and Veronica exchange a knowing look when Bartra asks why Elizabeth doesn't come down for breakfast the next morning.

"I don't think she's feeling well, Father," Veronica quickly covers. "She threw up last night."

"Oh." He sips his coffee thoughtfully. "Well, I hope she's feeling better by tomorrow night. Uther and I will have dinner at Le Mitron—a bit of business—and Arthur will be there, as well. I expect Elizabeth to join us."

Another knowing look, this one more worried. Bartra does not notice.

"I—I'm not sure if she'll be feeling up to it, Father," Margaret says quietly.

"Nonsense! She'll take today to recuperate, and I'm sure she wouldn't miss it for the world." He polishes off the last of his breakfast and rises from the table. "I have some business calls to return in my office this morning, girls. Elizabeth may stay home from school if she's not well, but please let her know not to disturb me."

Veronica opens her mouth, just as his gaze turns to her— "No, Veronica, you may not miss school, even to look after your sister."

"Veronica, why don't you check on Elizabeth before we go." Margaret rises, too, and, quickly collecting the breakfast dishes, carries them into the kitchen.

❤︎

"Sorry, Ellie," Veronica whispers, softly stroking her sister's messy bangs. Elizabeth groggily opens one eye, and winces.

"Veri... My head hurts..."

Veronica smothers a smile. "It's my fault, Ellie. I shouldn't have snuck Father's brandy."

"What...what happened last night...?" Elizabeth struggles to sit up, and Veronica gently pushes her back down.

"Don't push yourself, Ellie. It was quite an evening for you." She smiles now, lopsidedly, mischievously. "You...told us that Arthur said he loves you."

Elizabeth closes her eyes, visibly cringing.

"And...you told us that you want to date Meliodas."

"Oh..." Elizabeth wriggles back down into bed and tugs the covers over her head. "No..."

Veronica pulls them away. "Yes. Ellie, is that true? Do you like Meliodas?"

"I... I mean... He is cute, and we work together on a project for our history class, and he's been really sweet...and Arthur seems skeptical, I guess, but I feel safe around him, too..."

"I take it you didn't tell Arthur you love him, too, right?"

"Not...yet."

"Ellie." Veronica knits her brows together as her face becomes very serious, and she perches on the edge of the bed. "You have to be honest with yourself, and then with each of them. If you don't love Arthur, you can't tell him you do. It's not right."

"Veronica, I don't know what to do!" Elizabeth wails.

"You'd better figure that out before tomorrow night, Ellie. Father says he has a business dinner with Arthur's father, and Arthur will be there, so he expects you to be, too."

"Oh, great." Elizabeth blows her bangs off her forehead.

"He said you can stay home from school today, because we said you're not feeling well. Also not to disturb him in his office. Look, why don't you take today to sort everything out? You don't have to decide anything now, but you need to at least figure out how to handle yourself at dinner tomorrow night, right?"

Elizabeth nods.

"Get some more rest, Ellie, and when you feel like getting up, take a shower, and have some aspirin and orange juice. You're gonna need it."

❤︎

Veronica was right, Elizabeth realizes as soon as she swings herself out of bed, and the sudden rush of blood to her head makes her woozy and nauseous. Carefully she descends the stairs one step at a time, one hand gripping the railing, and in the kitchen she chases three aspirin with a full glass of fresh, sweet orange juice that tastes like sunshine on her tongue.

Down the hall from the kitchen, next to a modest library, the thick mahogany door to her father's office is closed and locked. Undoubtedly he is returning phone calls or emails this morning related to his wine business, or—hopefully not—finalizing elaborate plans for this dinner tomorrow night. The very thought twists her stomach into knots.

Upstairs, Elizabeth locks herself into the large hall bathroom she shares with her three sisters, and fills the garden tub to brimming with scalding water. She dumps in a generous amount of bubble bath scented with lavender and vanilla and then steps carefully into the tub, sinking into the bubbles that envelop her in a warm, comforting hug. Ah...

Silence. Glorious, sweetly perfumed silence, for more than an hour, until the water cools, and Elizabeth massages the bubbles into her long hair. Meanwhile...eyes closed, her mind wanders, and she contemplates which boy it settles on first.

Arthur. Arthur, with his sweet smile, warm violet gaze, and gentlemanly disposition. The "perfect Pendragon pedigree," as her sisters like to refer to it. Father's approval, and Mother's approval, as well, which means so much to Elizabeth.

But.

And there it is again—that singular, confusing, monosyllabic problem, that morphs into a cocky, quadrisyllabic problem with green eyes deep enough to drown in.

"Oh, Elizabeth, what are you going to do?" she moans to herself, sliding completely beneath the surface of the water and forcefully blowing bubbles out of her nose in frustration.

Time to get out of the bath.

She wraps herself in a thick, plush, ruffled robe, and towel-dries her hair. Then, prolonging her self-indulgence, she perches on the velvet chaise beneath the frosted window, and slowly, deliberately, moisturizes her fair skin. Once finished, she trades the robe for a clean pair of panties and comfy romper, combs her hair into a high ponytail, and curls up on the window seat in her room with her diary and a pen.

She has a lot to work through.

❤︎

By the time her sisters arrive home, Elizabeth has penned more than a dozen pages in her diary, and when she finally closes the book and looks around the room, it feels just like coming up for air, and she can't believe how quickly the time has passed, even as she hears her sisters pounding up the staircase and down the hall, straight for her bedroom door.

"Ellie!" Veronica bursts through in her customary fashion, while Margaret follows, less in a state of excitement.

"How are you feeling, Elizabeth?" The eldest smiles warmly, her light brown eyes glimmering with love and concern.

Elizabeth sucks in a deep breath. This is it. "I have to break up with Arthur."

Margaret says nothing, though she knits her brows together, while Veronica opens her mouth to say something and then closes it, clearly not sure of how to respond.

"Veronica, everything you said this morning was true. I have to be honest, and if I do want to be with somebody else, then I have to be fair. But I have to do it in a way that he won't suffer more than he has to, and in a way that Father's business with Mr. Pendragon will not suffer, either. So I can't do it until after the dinner tomorrow evening."

Margaret and Veronica exchange a look. Finally, Margaret nods. "If you truly believe that's best."

Elizabeth nods resolutely, even as tears glisten in her eyes.

"Oh, Ellie." Veronica wraps her arms around her sister's shoulders, drawing her close, and Margaret finishes the protective circle around Elizabeth.