Donkeyskin - ON HOLD

Of Preparation

*Of Preparation*

 King Stefan's study was quiet as Elodie rose to her feet. Beside her, Alex took her hand. "Your Majesties, Your Highness, my lords and ladies," she began. Her voice shook. She took a breath and steadied it. "Prince Alexandre and myself have an idea we would like to share with you."

Alexandre nodded at Belle, who stood by the door, an ornate scroll in hand. "Cousin?" he asked. Belle came forward and set the book upon the king's desk. "This is the betrothal agreement between myself and Princess Elodie, here. I signed it ten years ago, making it official."

Elodie spoke again. "We have agreed that it is still valid, and I propose that, here, today, I add my signature to it, and we–meaning myself and Prince Alexandre–become officially engaged, to be married as soon as possible."

Queen Annika smiled. "I agree," she said to her husband and the gathered advisors. "This is excellent timing. It will give us a legitimate excuse to invade North Avalon, since we've already agreed to support South Avalon in this endeavor." She nodded to the ambassador of the latter kingdom. The man smiled at her.

"It is decided," King Stefan said. "Crown Princess Elodie shall wed my son, Crown Prince Alexandre, as soon as possible. Moving on, we must now decide how and we shall strike. It is imperative that we remove North Avalon's ruler before he kills another innocent bride."

"Your Majesty!" One of the advisors called out. "Is it truly so wise to marry your heir to this woman?" he asked, fixing Elodie with a glare. She lifted her chin, her gaze steely. "By all accounts, she is mad!"

"Not by all accounts." The study door swung open. The ambassador from North Avalon stood in the opening, his hair disheveled. He shook off the hand of a guard who tried to detain him. He turned to King Stefan and bowed. "Your Majesty, I knew Her Highness as a child. She was well-read and poised, if a bit sheltered. I also knew her father, then. He was a jealous man, and the death of Queen Elise broke him. He sent me here because I tried to stop him when he turned his madness against our princess, and told me never to return."

Elodie stepped forward, shocked. She hadn't thought that anyone had stood up for her. "My lord," she said wonderingly. "I thank you for your support. I know my father is mad." She raised her voice so that the whole room could here. "And he must be stopped. Will you all support me if I bid for his throne? Can I trust you to assist and advise me?"

"Your Highness," said the ambassador. He knelt before her. "Allow me to swear myself to your service." He bowed his head. "My princess, I pledge myself and my sword to you, if you will have me."

The room was silent as everyone waited to see what Elodie would do. "I gladly accept your service, my lord. Arise, please." She lifted him to his feet and, rising onto tiptoe, kissed his greying cheek.

Elodie wasn't sure who began it, but a wave of applause built up, swelling until it filled the room with sound. Elodie shrank back, heat rising in her cheeks. Alex wrapped an arm around her waist, and she leaned into him, taking strength from his touch.

"Thank you, Lord Robert," King Stefan said patiently. "I, personally, give my support to Princess Elodie, and my decision is final. Our sources," he added, nodding at Belle, "tell us that the king will be married on Midsummer. That gives us a little more than two months, so I propose that, following Her Highness's signature of this contract, we move to muster our armies. Following the marriage, we will move out. Your Highness?"

He held out a pen to Elodie. She took it, her hand shaking a little. As soon as she put her signature to that paper, there would be no turning back, no more running. She stepped up to the king's desk, dipped her pen in the inkwell, and traced her signature onto the parchment, next to where Alex had signed years ago. She stared, in detachment, at her name. Her signature was at once alien and familiar, though it had been years since she'd used it. She smiled.

After that, the meeting passed in a blur. Elodie felt separate from the rest of the world, floating inside it all, and outside as well. With her signature she had become, finally and completely, Elodie. Plans for the coming war went over her head, as did plans for her wedding. Only Alex's hand on her waist anchored her and kept her from laughing aloud, or dancing through the spring gardens, or floating up to touch a cloud.

Slowly the room emptied out, until she was left alone with the royal family. The king and queen were still in discussion, poring over a large map. Belle leaned up against the door, frowning, deep in thought, and Gabriel paced about, his hair disheveled. Elodie wandered over to join the king and queen at the desk, studying the map. It showed the topography of North Avalon and the border region. She ran her finger along the road she'd taken to arrive in Northmoor. 


The king and queen had paused in their debate, and watched her now. "There," she said. "That's the best way to approach the capital unnoticed. The city is nestled between mountains, and that road passes through uninhabited forest. If we're going to move an army into North Avalon unnoticed, that's the way to do it."

The others stared at her in dumbfounded silence. After awhile, Belle spoke up. "Your Highness, you do know that we're planning to attack what will become your kingdom, don't you?"

Elodie shrugged. "That's why I suggested that route. There aren't any towns to sack, or people who will see us coming and alert the king. Also, the castle isn't properly in the capital. It's five miles out. We can surround it without anyone in the city knowing we're there. That way, we can take the kingdom without massacring its people. I doubt they're overly fond of having a mad king anyway."

Queen Annika laughed. "Elodie–may I call you that?–I think we would do wise not to underestimate you, don't you?" She took her husband's hand. "Now, let's start planning the wedding!" She linked one arm with Elodie's and the other with Belle's. "We have until the first of next month, which is quite soon! Come on."

She hustled the girls through the hall and into her boudoir, where they settled and got straight to business. "Now, Elodie, dear, let's start with the guest list. I'm assuming you'd like to have your ballet company come, wouldn't you? Is there anyone else you'd like to invite?"

"Ninon and Birch," Elodie said automatically, without having to think about it. "They're friends from the village I first arrived in, and they took me in and saved my life. Ninon knows who I am."

The queen took up a piece of parchment and jotted down their names. Elodie went on. "I don't know if it would be possible–actually, it might sound mad–but everyone in the village was so kind to me. Perhaps... could we invite them all?"

Queen Annika nodded. "We always invite all the people of the capital to any royal wedding," she said. "It's not a large city, and we can't invite the entire kingdom, but we can most definitely include that village in the invitation."

Elodie smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty.'

The queen reached across the table. "Annika, please. What about bridesmaids?"

Elodie thought about it. She wanted to invite Mattie, but she knew it was too great a risk, to expose her cousin to that kind of scrutiny. "I'd like Ninon to be my maid of honor," she decided. She turned to Belle. "And you, Belle, if you don't mind. And Manon and Fleur from the ballet company."

Earlier that day she had admitted the truth to the other dancers, with Manon and M. Beaufort standing at her back. Manon's baby had been born a week earlier, a baby boy she had named Jean. Elodie thought the company had taken the news surprisingly well, though some of the dancers she knew less well had seemed disgruntled. Fleur had squealed and exclaimed that she knew Elodie was more than she had claimed to be, and Noah had hugged her tightly and murmured, "I wish you'd told me," which seemed to be the prevailing sentiment among everyone who found out.

"Done," said the queen. "There's just one other matter. You need someone to give you away."

Elodie thought about it. "M. Beaufort," she said, after some time. "M. Beaufort can give me away."

Annika reached out and took Elodie's hand. "M. Beaufort it is. Now! Let's talk about the color scheme."