Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 88: The Colour Green

12 May, 1359. Magdaline Castle, Islia

The Banquet of Love had started as a tradition in the first year of marriage between King Edward and Queen Celia. The two had wed in a relative hurry, as a way of trying to broker peace between two Islian provinces that had rebelled against the crown and were at odds with each other. A short but fierce civil war had racked Islia before their wedding. A lavish celebration would’ve seemed like a slap in the face to the exhausted country. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Instead, the couple had married in front of only a few witnesses and the newly crowned king had taken his bride to the ancestral palace of Westerhaven. The young queen had been terribly homesick and had wept when they had to leave Westerhaven and head north, before the spring heatwaves began. She had cried that she’d only just gotten used to the palace and she was being forced to move to a new place again.

To appease his wife, the king had declared they would hold a magnificent banquet within the first few weeks of arriving at Magdaline Castle, to celebrate spring’s new life and the love between them. Everything would be decorated in green, which also happened to be Queen Celia’s favourite colour.

The tradition of the banquet had continued uninterrupted through rebellions, lean years and the births of six living royal children. More recently, there had been bouts of ill health and several short term mistresses. The king and queen would both be attending yet again, dressed in green and presenting a unified front.

In Princess Camilla’s presence chamber, her three ladies-in-waiting stood in their green formal gowns. They called out though the firmly shut bedchamber door, begging for her to come out or at least even open the door and let them see her. Camilla stubbornly refused, repeating that she was still unwell and not fit for company.

"Princess, you must make an appearance tonight!" Meg beseeched. "Even if it’s only for a little while. Their Majesties will be deeply insulted otherwise."

"Please, my lady!" begged Katerine, close to tears. "You’ll fade into nothing if you keep locking yourself away without any fresh air. You’re doing your health no favours!"

It was no use. After almost half an hour of begging, only to be responded by deafen silence, the three ladies conceded defeat and started walking toward the banquet hall.

In the crowded hall, they crossed paths with Prince William as they headed towards their seats. The prince locked eyes with a downcast Katerine, who gave him a tiny shake of her head to indicate things were no better with the princess. William gave her a quick nod of understanding in return.

- - -

Ignoring the several fawning ladies who had been following his movements all night, William pulled up a chair at the table where his friends were sitting. The young men wer drinking and nibbling on sugared fruit. Prince Thomas slid a full wine goblet in his direction.

"Thanks Tom, but not tonight. My head is already pounding." William gave his cousin a wan smile and shrugged out of his dark green coloured outer tunic.

"Why the low spirits?" Richard observed.

"My spirits aren’t low, I’m simply tired." William lied. "I’ve been nothing but the king’s obedient pet these last few weeks. I’ve stuck to Princess Sarai’s side without a break, introducing her to anyone and everyone. I even managed to not tear my own throat out while spending time with her. So yes, I’m fucking tired."

"But she’s en route back to her home country now. And you managed to not get dragged into any of His Majesty’s marriage agreements."

"Yes." breathed William. "And I couldn’t be happier. That little bitch was insufferable."

Richard nodded cannily. "Agreed. I still say you let a great dowry slip through your fingers though."

After a few moments, Richard spoke again. "Speaking of haughty little bitches...I noticed the Princess of Moraigth isn’t here tonight. In fact, I don’t recall seeing her around for a few days."

William gave his friend a hard look for his choice of disrespectful language towards a royal, then uttered a long sigh. "That’s because she’s allegedly ill."

"Allegedly?"

William scowled and lowered his voice. "I think there’s something else going on with her. I suspect her telling people that she’s ill is simply a lie to cover up the truth."

"Is that so? What makes you say that?" Richard’s voice was cool.

"Because it’s out of character for her to shut herself away from everything and everyone like this. She won’t even speak to her ladies-in-waiting."

Richard snorted. "Out of character? She’s a woman, for fuck’s sake. Their ability to think is no better than that of children. You can’t expect their behaviour to make any sense."

William tugged at his collar, unconvinced. "I don’t really know what to think, Rich. She refuses to see anyone anyone and her own ladies are worried. When I managed to speak to Camilla yesterday-"

"What? You spoke with her?" Richard’s voice came out loud and harsh, startling them both. He cleared his throat and spoke more calmly. "You actually spoke with her?"

"Yes. Well, at least I spoke. She barely said two words and wouldn’t even look at me. Just kept repeating she was ill and all but pushed me out of her rooms." William felt unsure about his next words but he had to confide his worries to someone. "She also looked terrible. Not sick terrible, just...miserable. I guess."

Richard rolled his eyes. "Well, you’re the one who thinks she’s this exceptional beauty. I’ve always found her decidedly average looking."

William decided not to call his friend out on this blatant lie. "I’m being serious."

"And so am I." Richard sighed and clapped the prince on the shoulder. "Your problem is that you’re looking for logic where there’s never going to be any. Women make no sense, Will. She probably had a fight with one of her ladies about who had the prettier dress or something equally useless. Just leave her alone. She’ll wake up one morning soon as if nothing ever happened."

"You think?" William aimed a dubious look his way.

"I really do." Richard’s tone was firm. "Just don’t waste your time bothering going to see her again. You have better things to do."