The Bronze Mage (11 page)

Now that everything was "back to normal", Tabitha was compelled to make appearances with her family at the usual social gatherings. She hadn't minded when the goal had been to dispel rumors. Now that she knew that wasn't going to happen, it became a chore. But she loved to dance, and these occasions almost always involved dancing. She did not love the fact that she'd only ever had partners because she was the King's daughter, and Melanie's friends were only kind to Tabitha as long as Melanie was around. But since she'd been attending dances nearly every fortnight since her birthday, Tabitha was somewhat used to that. The fact that now half the population was looking askance at her, and that she spent the greater part of such evenings watching from the sidelines because parents weren't about to force their boys to dance with a girl like her even if she was a princess, was making her more recent appearances uniformly awful.
 

On the rare occasions when someone with magical abilities was present, it was even worse. James' spell was readily visible to those with the ability to see it. Rumors began to spread that she was "marked" by the Xentian mage. Soon no one would approach her, as if it might be contagious.

These experiences led her to dread her family's planned foray to Xentia for the Autumn Ball. If the rumors were flying here, what would it be like there with James physically present? She had no idea if he had resumed his typical behavior or not. She dare not ask about him, and her parents never mentioned him around her. Had he already broken another dozen hearts? Had he forgotten all about her? Would he single her out or ignore her? Which was she hoping for?

Tabitha wasn't the only one with misgivings. Her parents were debating it, too. Her mother had sat her down yet again for another detailed account of everything that had happened or been said during the three weeks Tabitha had been alone with James. Tabitha hadn't withheld information during any of these sessions and the repetition was somewhat insulting, but she gave her mother the benefit of the doubt. The queen was worried. Whether she was worried about James trying something inappropriate, or her daughter making a fool of herself, Tabitha refused to speculate.

King Rhys had no questions about whom he didn't trust. One day while Tabitha was trying to focus on her schoolwork in the solar, she heard her father exclaim from his study: "He invites that serpent into his castle, then expects ME to feed MY daughter to him, so he won't go prowling after his nobles' wives, or his own child. As if THAT would be likely to stop a man like him!"

Tabitha's heart lodged in her throat. She had to know what he meant.

Luckily her father's office was deep in the family living quarters, so only the family and their most trusted servants heard his outburst. Queen Bernice quickly sent one of these to fetch Mage Crandall, then hurried in to join the king herself. Tabitha quietly followed her.

The King stood, fists clenched at his sides, glaring out his northern window.

"What have you heard?" the queen asked.

"I suggested to Rhys that if he wanted to keep a man like that in his court, he could do it when he didn't have company."

"Not in those words, of course?" the queen interjected.

"No. I had Frederick write something very polite, suggesting that Mage James," King Rhys's voice ground out the title, "might travel the week of the ball."

"I take it Fenril refused."

As the king turned to answer, he noticed Tabitha standing behind her mother. "You weren't supposed to hear this."

"But I have," her mouth was dry, but she kept her voice steady, "and since it concerns me, I'd like to stay."

King Rhys considered his youngest child for a moment, before turning his eyes back to his queen. "He had the gall to suggest this dance as an opportunity to announce a betrothal."

"Does he honestly think a forced marriage will change the mage's character?" Queen Bernice sounded incredulous.

"He assured me the man has 'turned over a new leaf'," the king replied drily.

"Have you replied?" The queen voiced the question Tabitha was dying to ask. Well, one of them. The one she really wanted answered was why King Fenril had thought of such a plan. Had James been talking about her? It wasn't likely.

"Not yet." King Rhys met Tabitha's eyes. "Don't worry. The answer will be 'no,' I just haven't figured out how to state it strongly enough without declaring war."

Mage Crandall arrived then, followed by Frederick, King Rhys's scribe. Tabitha settled herself in a corner, keeping as still and quiet as she could, to avoid being evicted. There was some animated discussion about the wording of his response.

"Don't say anything that can't be unsaid, Sire," cautioned Mage Crandall. "No one knows what the future may bring. There is still his spell on her...."

Frederick, whom Tabitha suspected would end up as one of the king's advisors, suggested, "You may get more cooperation from King Fenril if you merely put him off for now. Say that she's too young to be betrothed, or that it's too soon since she returned home. It would give the wrong impression...."
 

"There must be some way to convince King Fenril that Mage James cannot be in Salbren for the ball," Tabitha's mother insisted.

While they were still debating, a letter appeared on King Rhys's desk. "Ah, maybe Fenril has come to his senses," the King said as he picked it up, noticing the Xentian royal seal. He flicked it open and scanned the letter, then read through it more carefully.

"Rhys," the queen chided, "what does he say?"

The king looked up. Tabitha wasn't certain what emotion was on his face. He said, "Mage James has suggested he visit Mage Graehm the week of the ball."

There was a moment of silence as everyone digested the news. For her part, Tabitha now had confirmation the betrothal had not been James' idea. Evidently, he wished to avoid her altogether. She should feel relieved.

Mage Crandall broke the silence. "Old Mage Graehm retired to an estate far from Salbren when he was told he would be replaced by Mage James. They've been butting heads since King Auguste's time. I cannot imagine he
invited
Mage James to stay with him."

King Rhys nodded. "My friend does not have as much control of this situation as he thinks. The mage will not be so easily tethered."

"Well, that makes the betrothal a non-issue. Good. I'm certainly glad of the result, however worrisome its implications for Fenril and Anya."

And so the decision was made, Valstadt would once again attend Xentia's Autumn Ball.

Lying in her bed that night, Tabitha admitted to herself that she wasn't certain James's absence from the ball would be an improvement. Not that she'd had any expectations, but she'd been curious to see him in a "normal" setting. She wanted to watch how he interacted with people. Well, part of her just wanted to see him again. Especially there. As infuriating as he'd been, he'd also made her feel special. That didn't make any sense. Tabitha reminded herself that whatever she'd felt was going on must have been fake. It's not like he'd had any interest in courting her for real. He'd just proved that. Those three weeks he'd been toying with her. If she had showed up in Xentia with expectations, he would have humiliated her. It was definitely better that she wouldn't see him. Definitely.
 

But as she fell asleep she remembered his hands in her hair. She could hear him saying, "Nothing has changed. Remember that."

That was ridiculous, she thought. Pulling away, she turned to look at him. "What are you talking about? Everything has changed. My whole life has changed."
 

But her reaction roused her from the dream, so if James answered, Tabitha didn't hear. He wasn't real anyway, she thought. Why did she keep dreaming of him?

FOURTEEN

Autumn In Xentia

When the time arrived for Xentia's Autumn Ball, Tabitha was tempted to wear her blue riding dress on the trip north. She was feeling even more than usual like the runt in the litter. Her father was still handsome, her mother beautiful. Girls just seemed to melt around her brother. At least Melanie was away at school. Although Tabitha missed her, she didn't miss the inevitable comparisons. Wearing a beautiful outfit given to her by a man who had once kissed her seemed like a good way to combat the feeling. Especially if she could wear the gorgeous necklace with it. Oh, and ride the gelding. It occurred to Tabitha that the whole package had matched -- the black horse with the jet from the necklace, the sapphire with the blue dress, the silver on the necklace and the embroidery of tack and dress. It certainly would make an impressive entrance. Of course, the idea was ridiculous. Then she really would appear like a jilted lover. She wasn't trying to make the rumors worse, just to ride them out.

She picked her next nicest riding dress. It was a soft brown. She would blend in with her horse, but that wasn't such a bad thing on this trip. Maybe she could hide in the stables for the week. She laughed at that thought.

The journey was pleasant enough. There was no rain, the air was brisk and the trees were colorful. They stayed in nice inns and took four days for the journey instead of three -- evidence that Tabitha wasn't the only one less than anxious to arrive. Tabitha rode her mare until just before they came within view of Salbren. Then she transferred into the coach with her parents. Her brother remained on horseback. The crowds who had gathered to gawk at the visiting royalty were probably not all whispering about her, but Tabitha wanted to avoid them for as long as possible.

King Fenril, Queen Lynnette and Princess Anya welcomed them warmly. The first night was just for the two families. Tabitha found that she liked Anya very much. When she asked her for information about the upcoming ball, she discovered they shared a love of dancing. The remainder of the night was spent discussing the two kingdoms' differing customs, variations in the dances and dress, and a flood of other trivia that was of great interest to them both.

The next few days grew successively worse. The gatherings included various collections of those with social or political prominence. The political ones were mostly focused around her father and mother, though her brother paid rapt attention and discussed everything with their parents when they returned to their suite. Despite the fronted plan of making Tabitha an ambassador someday, she found politics both boring and incomprehensible. So much of what was meant was the opposite of what was said. The true meanings had to be deciphered from posture, phrasing or other subtle clues that Tabitha couldn't interpret. Her parents usually allowed her to excuse herself while they and her brother continued their discussions well into the night.

The social gatherings were horrible. James had not re-established himself as a consummate womanizer and when she initially heard this, Tabitha was pleased. Surely that would mean fewer rumors? People here would therefore undoubtably accept his motivation for abducting her as political. Evidently not. James's change in character had actually increased speculation about him and Tabitha. The gossipers were evidently hoping for some kind of storied romance. They'd imagined a delicate beauty had captured his heart. So whenever Tabitha was introduced there was always an air of disbelief. She overheard more than one lady whisper to her neighbor, "Surely it was the other sister?"
 

Often during these affairs, a few of the bolder scandalmongers would try to corner Tabitha so they could question her about her abduction, while pretending to offer sympathy. The first night they succeeded.

Tabitha's mother was supposed to be glued to her side. She had partially turned away to answer a question. Within moments, Tabitha found herself expertly herded just beyond earshot of her parent.

"My dear girl, you must still be in shock from your awful experience," a middle-aged lady cooed at her.

"Indeed, it's amazing you had the strength to make this visit," added another.

"Practically back into the lap of your enemy." That one was younger and had actually giggled before receiving an elbow in the ribs from her neighbor.

"Were you really alone for a whole month?"

"It must have been horrible."

"I heard he kept you in his hunting cabin."

"The hunting cabin?"

"How did you convince him to release you?"

"Did he use magic on you?"

"How else do you think he captured her?"

"I hear she's still ensorcelled."

"Are you?"

"What does the spell do?"

Suddenly everyone was waiting for an answer. There was no point lying, since anyone with magical ability could see the spell, but she wasn't about to discuss it with this group.

Luckily, Tabitha's mother re-inserted herself into the growing horde and maneuvered the two of them back out of it. After that she and Tabitha were both more careful not to get separated. Unfortunately, the damage was done. It was taken as confirmed that James's spell on Tabitha meant he claimed her as some sort of property. After that, the only people who wanted to be near her were those seeking gossip.

Even Princess Anya kept angling for information about her relationship with James. It seemed she had refrained from mentioning him that first night out of courtesy, but she was as curious as the others. Perhaps more so. From the sound of it, Anya and James were spending time together. Maybe Anya was trying to determine whether Tabitha was competition? Perhaps James really would become Crown Prince as well as Court Mage of Xentia. Well, Tabitha could never hope to compete with the beautiful, talented and eloquent Xentian princess. No wonder he had left. He couldn't risk Tabitha saying or doing anything that would jeopardize this courtship. No wonder King Fenril was hoping to saddle James with Tabitha. Her father had been right: he was trying to protect his own daughter.
 

Tabitha tried to feel relieved that James had set his sights elsewhere. Wouldn't the rumors die down once he was actively courting someone else? Maybe, but she felt more bitter than relieved. At least she wouldn't have to watch James dancing with Anya.