Before Beauty (13 page)

“
I was raised in a house in the
city. And as I only know as much about the Fortress as any other
commoner, I don’t see any other way to learn about it. I cannot be
expected to break a curse that I know nothing about!”

Everard gave a low chuckle before
putting his spoon down and leaning towards her over the table.
“Miss Isabelle, I am proficient in four languages, including the
two dead tongues that existed before the birth of this land. I was
trained to read the markings of the ancient symbols that were
carved into the tombs of my forefathers. I have had access to the
sacred writings all of my life, and I have been living alone in
this great crypt for six months. What do you think I have been
doing in all of that time?”

To that, Isa had no
response.

“
Believe me,” he continued more
seriously, “if the curse could be broken by reading, I would have
found it by now.” Holding her resentful gaze, he added, “I have
ordered my servants to give you full access to the Fortress so that
you know my good will. Except the Tower of Annals. The Tower of
Annals is mine, and even the servants have restricted access to
that place. Only a few are allowed to accompany me
there.”

Isa wondered how he knew which
shadows really did accompany him there, but she didn’t ask.
Instead, she found herself still protesting her lack of
books.

“
I still know nothing of this
place or its true history. I can’t even begin to consider how I am
to break the curse if I am completely ignorant!”

At this, displeasure seemed to
surface on the prince’s face for the first time, which up until
now, had been a mask of cool reserve.

“
Ask the servants for any specific
books you require, but by no means are you to enter the Tower of
Annals. Do you understand?”

Isa nodded. For a moment, the blue
fire in his eyes flashed, and in spite of herself, Isa felt a bit
frightened. Briefly, she could see the warrior prince. The warrior
quickly disappeared, however, when the flashing dimmed and he
slowly stood. As he shuffled towards her, Isa was again reminded
her of her aged grandfather.

The prince extended Isa a black
gloved hand. “Miss Isabelle, would you do me the honor of dancing
with me?”

Isa felt her mouth drop open in
horror, and panic filled her. All of the confidence she’d fought so
hard to convey slipped away in that instant, and before she knew
it, she was begging, pleading not to dance. Tears ran down her face
as she looked up at him.

“
Your Highness, I have come here
in accordance with your will! I have worn the dresses, eaten your
food, and agreed to live in your home! Please don’t humiliate me in
this way. I beg of you!”

As she wept, surprise showed in
his eyes again, but he did not relent. “This is something you must
do if you wish to help me break the curse,” he said quietly, but
firmly, as she sobbed.

Still, she could not rise, so he
reached down and took her hand, leading her out of the tall dining
hall doors to an outdoor balcony.

The balcony was larger by far than
the entire dining hall. Even more strange was its floor. Instead of
the typical stone, it was covered by a beautiful, clear crystal, as
smooth as a pool of water. Unlike anything else Isa had yet seen in
the Fortress or its grounds, the crystal floor was completely
spotless. A hundred couples could have danced upon it.

As they approached the center,
invisible musicians began to play, their beautiful, haunting melody
echoing over the mountain. As magnificent as the music was,
however, Isa could not enjoy it.

They were an awkward couple, able
to do little more than sway back and forth, and not even in time to
the music. It seemed as if the prince’s knees were as stiff as Isa
had suspected from the beginning. Her own ankle throbbed with pain
as the little slipper left it completely unsupported. As the dance
went on, Isa, to her horror, was forced lean against her partner
more and more. The dancing she had done earlier that day had
already used most of her ankle’s strength, and without her boots,
it was all she could do to cling to the prince’s arms and pray not
to fall.

Worse than the pain, however, was
the acute knowledge that Prince Everard was only the second man who
had ever been willing to dance with her. The warmth of his gloved
hand on her waist and the closeness of his body to hers was nearly
unbearable. It was too much like the last time Raoul had danced
with her. They had been at a town festival, and his eyes had
gleamed with joy as he’d twirled her in circles over and over,
despite the disapproving looks of his parents. It had been the
night he had proposed.

Tears began once again to run down
Isa’s face, and she knew the prince was watching her curiously.
Yet, he said nothing. By the time the dance was finished, Isa could
continue no longer.

“
I beg of you, Sire, if you have
any pity in your heart at all, please just let me go. I cannot go
on tonight.” Isa hated appearing this weak in front of the prince.
Her goal from the start had been to appear strong, to let him know
that she was not a coward, nor was she coming willingly. But the
pain of her ankle and the pain in her heart had grown too great to
bear.

Nodding, he stepped back and bowed
slightly. Isa didn’t even attempt to curtsy as she did her best to
begin limping back to her room.

CHAPTER NINE

Something that
Can

Ever left the balcony tired and sore, but pleased
nonetheless. It had been worth the physical aches to know that his
plan might actually succeed.

The dance itself had been a
disaster. Ever had never danced with a partner so unwilling that
she wept, and never had he felt so pathetic or inept himself. And
yet, while they had dance, he had seen what the girl’s untrained
eyes could not, especially as she had spent the entire duration of
the dance crying.

Beneath her shuffling feet, the
crystal floor had given off the barest hint of a blue glow. It
certainly wasn’t the bright shine that Ever’s ancestors had used to
find their wives in the stories, so clearly she was not yet ready
to be queen.

But she could be.

There was
some
sort of strength in her,
enough, perhaps, just perhaps, to awaken the power of the Fortress
that had all but disappeared since the curse.

Back in the Tower of Annals, Ever
stiffly sank into the warm bath his servants had prepared for him.
He had long ago ceased caring about the dirty water. The relief
that it brought his body was too great to sacrifice for some grime.
Two of the shadows removed his gloves and began to gently rub a
potent salve into them. He closed his eyes and leaned his head
back, not wishing to ruin his good spirits by the sight of his
claw-like hands, or any part of his body for that
matter.

He was no longer used to the
physical strain it took to dance, and the pain was enough to make
his eyes prick. His pain reminded him all the more of why he must
succeed in preparing this strange girl to carry the Fortress’s
power. At the rate his strength was leaving him, he would not
survive the next spring.

After getting redressed, Ever
slowly moved to his pallet, which had been laid out on a low sofa.
Although his mood had improved with the revelation of Isabelle’s
potential, the fires at the northern foot of the mountain sobered
him once again.

Ever lowered himself to his side
where he could watch the fires from the pallet, but could not keep
his thoughts on the princess’s militia for long, despite his
efforts. Instead, his mind kept wandering back to the strange girl
across the castle.

He had been right when he’d first
guessed that she despised him. The flash of her eyes had not been
lost on him when she spoke, and it seemed he was incapable of
pleasing her.

Strangely enough, Ever found that
this disappointed him. Of course, her willingness to carry the
power of the Fortress would speed her strength, and that was enough
reason in itself to try to gain her better graces. Still, he had
hated her for so many years. Why was he interested at all in what
she thought of him?

The odd desire for her respect had
tugged at his heart earlier that day when he’d seen her dancing in
the rose garden. She was by no means a lovely dancer, but there was
something about her that had made him watch a few moments longer.
He had happened to look out of the tower window just in time to see
her fall to the ground, and had nearly sent a servant to check on
her, when she had gotten up and tried again. Why would she try
again?

After spending so many years
hating her for haunting his dreams, it felt wrong to see her as
anything but a means to his end. And yet, he had to admit that
after one day of having her as a guest in his home, he could see
what her father had meant when he’d said she had a strong heart. A
woman who would willingly turn herself in to live as a servant in
an accursed castle with the man that had made her lame as a child,
that woman was worthy of respect. Getting up and continuing to
dance after falling so hard was worthy of respect. A small voice in
his head wondered if perhaps, he had taken even more from the young
woman than just her ability to walk. But this wasn’t something he
was yet ready to consider.

He also found himself wondering at
her reaction to dancing on the balcony. She had spent her entire
morning dancing. Why would she be so upset at dancing with him? It
couldn’t be that she was embarrassed. His bent back and weak knees
made it obvious he would dance poorly, too. But then, he hadn’t
missed the way she had shuddered when he had touched her hand, or
how her eyes had widened when he’d stepped into the bright
moonlight.

This also bothered him more than
he wanted to admit, that of all the important pieces of the puzzle,
his vanity was meddling with his mind. But, he shook his head,
there was nothing more he could do than go on with the charade.
Whatever he felt about her, he would need to convince her that his
desires were true.

“
Garin,” he called
quietly.

“
Yes, Sire?” Garin’s shadow
flitted to stand before him. Keeping his eyes on the fires below,
Ever asked,

“
What do you think of
her?”

The steward paused a moment before
answering. “In truth, Sire, your question isn’t an easy one to
answer. I have known young Isabelle since she was a child, before
the accident even.”

Ever couldn’t conceal his shock as
he whipped his head around to look for the familiar face that
wasn’t visible.

“
You never told me
that!”

“
My apologies, Your Highness, but
you were young, and struggled greatly with the incident yourself. I
didn’t want to make you even more anxious about it.”

Ever let that sink in for a
moment. “She was the one you went to warn on the night of the
coronation, wasn’t she?” he asked softly. He hadn’t missed the
sudden disappearance of his steward, as well as many of his other
officials after his crazed order had been issued. Ever had been
drunk, but the details of all that he’d said and done that night
were burned into his memory.

“
Yes.” Garin’s voice was quiet,
too. “I knew her father.”

A few quiet moments later, Ever
asked him another question. “How can I win her heart? I need her to
accept the Fortress and myself in order to best carry the strength.
It will be very difficult to do that if she hates me as she does
now. If she can develop the strength, however, we can be married,
and our strength can unite to end all of this.”

“
Be careful, Everard.” Garin’s
voice had a sudden edge to it. “She is not like the court women you
are familiar with. Her past and her present have put her in a very
precarious place.”

Ever didn’t bother asking how
Garin knew such things. Just as Garin’s origins were unknown, his
methods of getting information were mysteries best untouched as
well. The steward continued speaking though.

“
And if the Fortress has brought
her here, then it has an interest in her, and nothing good will
come of meddling vainly with her heart. She is one who cannot be
easily purchased.”

A moment later, Ever heard Garin
sigh, and when he spoke again his voice was more resigned. “Her
father was here on a business matter not long before the Fortress
went dark. He told me that a young man had recently begun to draw
her from her sorrows, but from the look in her eyes tonight, that
future she envisioned with him is no more, broken curse or no.
Reaching her…It will take time and sincerity. Pushing her before
she is ready will only hurt you both.

“
I don’t have the time for
sincerity,” Ever retorted.

“
And what will you do, Sire, if
she refuses you? Will you force her into wedlock against her
will?”

“
Garin, I am asking you for your
help so that is never a decision I have to make!” Ever huffed. The
conversation had taken a turn he didn’t like, and Garin’s tone of a
loving mentor was grating on his ears.

“
She is strong. She must be the
one to bring the new strength, to heal me, to make me ready to face
death again and break the curse! Besides,” he added sulkily, “even
if she’s not madly in love with me, I will be giving her more than
any woman from her station could ever dream of. She will be queen,
surrounded by every luxury she could ever imagine, and the
Fortress’s strength, too.”