Betrothed

Chapter Seven: Spies in Andjety

After several hours of sitting in court, Malcolm finally tapped his bass scepter on the floor, declaring the end of the day's court. Both Henry and Audrianna let out a deep sigh of relief. Audrianna was tired and starving! She had nothing to eat since six o'clock that morning. Normally the royal court was brought fruits and breads to freely eat during proceedings to tide the royals over until supper time. However, not every day did this happen, and that particular day was one which a snack was excluded.

The Rozelle, Castalia, and Ethlyn led the tired and hungry princess to her chambers and quickly stripped her of her royal court formals, then redressed her in supper attire. Audrianna wanted to lie down on her bed and sleep until morning, but her Ladies in Waiting recognized that much of her fatigue was due to malnourishment.

Audrianna's supper attire was somewhat like her breakfast attire regarding her shorter sleeves. However, the fabric was sturdier and thicker, and the color was darker. Audrianna almost cried when they refused to remove her bustier. So, the three ladies decided to try an experiment and see if the fabric of her supper dress was sturdy enough to mimic her wearing a bustier. So, they removed her constricting undergarment, and put her supper dress on the princess. It almost seemed to work, except when she sat down for her hair to be brushed out, it sagged in the front, exposing the lack of her usual accessory.

"Sorry, Your Highness!" Rozelle admitted. "Your Highness is going to have to wear her bustier this time." Audrianna let out a loud exasperated sigh. "But we'll try something else tomorrow when you're... when Your Highness is not so sleepy and hungry."

"Thank you, Rose," Audrianna answered. "I know the three of you tried. Thank you for taking care of me." Her grateful answer made the three ladies want to strip her again and put her bed gown on her and bring her supper in bed. They wanted to pick her up in their arms and hold her all night while she slept. But, alas! It wasn't proper!

Audrianna was brought to the dining room for supper. This was a different room than where she ate breakfast. The dining table was long, and the room was huge. The walls were decorated with hung paintings, frescoes and lavish drapes. The meal was not as extravagant as breakfast was. Mostly soups and breads. Four different soups were served, including a potato soup, a type of seasoned tomato soup, a beet soup, and a lentil soup-which was more of a beef stew, than a soup. There were flat breads, white breads, sweet breads, and several different types of pastries. The breads and pastries were on platters, sat in the middle of the long table.

The soups were brought one at a time, each in a small bowl to each of the three at the table. Audrianna liked the potato soup, of which she ate rather quickly. She thought the tomato soup was too spicy, but still ate every drop of soup. She noticed that the king and Henry both enjoyed the tomato soup with flat bread. She tried the two together and discovered the flavor was not as strong or overpowering when ate with the bread.

When the red, beet soup came out, she took two sips, and discovered she didn't much care for it. She shut her eyes and wrinkled her nose. She tried a third sip, but couldn't stomach any more. The lentil and beef stew was most to her liking. It reminded her so much of the food her birth parents served and ate on a regular basis. She dipped some of the white bread in it, which was like sourdough, but cut in long strips.

No one seemed obliged to talk during the meal. Henry was still angry over the fact that his orders to imprison the old goat farmer were countermanded by his ten-year-old wife. On top of that, the court began calling the princess, "Audrianna the Tenderhearted", initiated by the old man she had helped. Now, his father having a nickname, "The Merciful", and his betrothed nicknamed, "The Tenderhearted", and Audrianna calling him, "The Horrible" made him out to seem a cruel and heartless person. He didn't see things like that. He saw himself a victim of his father's insidious joke to betroth him to an adolescent, rather than an eligible maiden.