Favorite of the King

Chapter 4

    "You'll call it off immediately. You will apologize to King Edmund and tell him you never should have joined the duel. You'll tell King Hakan the same thing!" Batur fumed, pacing back and forth.

    Yvaine was sitting on the sofa in one of their many drawing rooms. She crossed her arms and watched her father angrily. "I know you don't approve, Father, but what else was I to do?"

    Batur scrubbed at his face, then dropped his hands. "You could have asked me, Yvaine. I could have arranged something."

    "No, you couldn't have. You wouldn't. I'm not sorry I did it, Father. I thought you might at least be a little proud of me."

    "I am, but it was too dangerous. If not for King Edmund's interjection yesterday, I think Hakan would have ordered you arrested or executed. You know the laws, no matter how unfair they might be."

    "I'm not altering our deal," Yvaine said firmly.

    Batur sat down beside her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Daughter, you cannot have a king of Narnia in this house. Too many people will see him coming. There will be rumors. People might suspect that we are plotting with the Narnians. It could jeopardize everything."

    Yvaine sighed and knit her brows together, thinking. "I won't call it off, but I think there may be a way to make King Edmund less conspicuous." She stood and grabbed a paper and pencil off a table nearby. Yvaine bent down and began to write.

To His Majesty, King Edmund,

Your Majesty, my father has expressed concerns about our mutual arrangement. I don't wish to upset him, and I have realized that his concerns have merit. Therefore I have a few requests. When you come for our meeting, please dress as a Telmarine page boy. Come in by the back servant's door directly beside the stables. I'll meet you there. I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience. I promise there's an explanation for it.

~ Yvaine Shula

    She read the letter aloud as soon as she finished, then folded and sealed it. Batur took it gingerly. "It's still dangerous, but I can see that you're not giving up anytime soon. I'll deliver this to King Edmund myself. You, in the meantime, will go to your lessons. Madame Tanith claims you've been skipping them again."

    Yvaine let out a groan, but nodded. "Yes, Father."

    He pulled her close and kissed her forehead, before shooing her off. She ducked out of the room and headed towards their dance hall. Yvaine longed for Evolet's company, but her friend was away at her family's home for the day. She entered the dance hall.

    Madame Tanith whirled towards her. "There you are! I have been searching for you for days!" Her shrill and heavily accented voice filled the room. "You have been skipping again. It shows. I saw you at the ball. You stepped on King Edmund's toes. That is embarrassing for you, but more for me!" She grabbed Yvaine's arm roughly and positioned her in the center of the room.

    Madame Tanith clapped her hands and a few servants began to play a waltz. She motioned for Yvaine to begin. Yvaine rolled her eyes but obeyed. She moved through the dance steps stiffly, but she didn't falter. Madame Tanith watched her with a scrutinizing stare.

    At last, she waved her thick arms. "Enough! Quiet!" The servants ceased playing. "You are being difficult, Yvaine. Stop. Just do as you're supposed to for once. You make enough trouble for your father already. I wouldn't want to add to that burden."

    "Well, maybe we could do something I'm actually interested in learning, for once?" Yvaine retorted. She bit her lip a second afterwards.

    "Like what? Your Narnian Faun dances? The Calormen jigs? Perhaps you want to copy the sand dunes next, or even the trees!" Madame Tanith scoffed. "Get your head out of your fantasies and back into Telmar. You have two jobs here. Learn to be a proper lady and marry into a wealthy family."