Before Beauty (4 page)

Ever had been out riding his
horse, training with some of the archers, when a distant figure
waved him down from a great distance. As he approached, Ever could
see Garin’s thin frame, and something in his stomach had turned
uneasily. While he’d obeyed his father and cut sociable ties with
most of the servants, he’d not been able to tear himself from
Garin. Out of respect for his father, they didn’t flaunt their
communication, however. If the steward was coming out to find him
personally, something had to be wrong.

“
Your Highness,” Garin had bowed
in his saddle as he rode up to the men. “I think you might want to
call today’s practice short. I have…a message for you.” Dismissing
his men, Ever guided his horse over to walk beside Garin’s. The
older man’s graying hair was messy, as if he’d pulled it back in a
hurry, and his clothes, for once, were rumpled. “Your
Highness…Ever,” he finally turned to the prince. “I’m afraid I am
not quite obeying your father’s order, but I thought you should
know before he called you.”

Ever gawked at the steward. While
Garin often stretched boundaries and rules, he had never disobeyed
King Rodrigue outright.

“
Your mother has died,” Garin
continued in a quiet voice. “You know she hasn’t felt well in
weeks, and today she slipped away from us while she slept. Your
father wanted me to wait until he could tell everyone, but I
thought you should at least have time…” His voice faded, but Ever
nodded unhappily. As much as Ever had become his father’s protégé,
he still was unable to completely block feelings like Rodrigue.
Garin had known he would need time to think before he was called
before the entire court to hear the news.

Garin had gone after that and left
Ever time to be alone before the courtiers were gathered for the
official announcement. He struggled to pin down a name for the
emotions that flooded him. That there were emotions was undeniable,
and none of his father’s training could banish them. Many feelings
swirled around in his mind as he thought. Strangely, what bothered
him most, he finally decided, was that he was not sad.

Ever had spent years watching his
servants interact with their families, and as a young child, had
even interacted with them when his father wasn’t looking. The
parents would call, and the children would respond with shrieks of
delight, running to their parents for hugs and kisses. It had never
been so with his family. His father had shown him affection in his
own way throughout the years by preparing him to be the best king
he knew how. Queen Louise, however, had never seemed to feel the
maternal affection he saw in the servants and even the mothers of
noble blood. Ever and the queen were amiable, and greeted one
another always with respect and kindness, but there was never
anything more. Guilt, he realized, was the emotion that ran through
him. He felt guilty because he recognized very quickly that her
death did not bring him pain. He would have felt more pain if Gigi
had died.

On the night of his mother’s
death, the girl’s face had visited him in his sleep for the first
time in years. The pain in her eyes and her look of utter
heartbreak broke his heart. He might have been able to ignore her
in his wakeful hours, but at night, he was hers.

He wasn’t yet completely recovered
from the queen’s death when his father had announced that it was
time for him to pick a bride. All the eligible women and girls of
proper status and bloodlines from the surrounding kingdoms were
invited, and within a week, they had arrived at the steps of the
Fortress, each aspiring to be the next princess of the most
powerful kingdom in the land. Ever had watched them descend from
their great coaches, each girl glittering more brightly than the
one before her, decked with diamonds and pearls and
silks.

“
You look as if someone has just
handed you a prison sentence,” Garin had teased him while they
prepared.

“
Any chance my father will rely on
the Fortress tradition to choose one?” Ever had asked glumly.
Garin’s smile vanished, and he shook his head.

“
I doubt it. As much as your
father loves the Fortress, there hasn’t been a queen chosen the old
way in three generations. Your father will be evaluating the
political strengths of each union, rather than the girl herself.”
Ever could only nod. He’d suspected as much.

His mother had been a duchess from
a neighboring country, and her marriage to his father had joined
their armies as allies. It was a wise political match, to be sure.
Still, Ever was decidedly against having the same relationship with
his wife as King Rodrigue had fostered with his mother, one of
polite greetings and farewells in passing. And yet, it seemed an
unavoidable fate. Within an hour, he was presented to the court and
was obligated to begin dancing.

The weather was fair, and the moon
shined brightly on the balcony on which dozens of couples twirled
in time alongside him. Fortunately for Ever, though there were
many, many girls, he was a good dancer, and making conversation was
easy for him. Beautiful faces and lovely smiles surrounded him, and
sweet greetings and giggles filled his ears, blending together
despite his attempts to remember which princess or noble lady
belonged to which land. He’d had no idea as to how he would choose
one, but as always, he worked to honor his father’s wishes. His
confusion aside, the evening was fairing tolerably until he
suddenly found himself face-to-face with a woman he more than
recognized.

Princess Nevina was indeed a
beauty, but not in the typical sense. Nothing about her was
delicate. Her dress, made of black, silky feathers sewn together
tightly with gold threads, was cut low to reveal her generous
proportions. Her arms were also bare, and boasted sturdy muscles,
not large, but rock solid. Her hair was dark like her dress, and
her eyes were a surprising green against her bronze skin. Every
move she made was lithe, and her eyes glowed brightly as she looked
Ever up and down shrewdly before accepting the hand he’d
automatically extended.

“
Everard,” her low voice was
smooth. “It has been a long while since we’ve met on such amiable
terms. I think in our separation you might have outgrown your
father.

“
Perhaps so,” Ever’s voice sounded
strange in his own ears, tight. He had not expected the Tumenian
princess to be among the invited guests that night. As they began
the dance, he dared an accusatory glance at Garin, who shook his
head ever so slightly. That meant his father had invited her. Had
he lost his mind?

The princess of Tumen and the
prince of Destin had not last parted on pleasant terms. Introduced
as young children, as most of the royal children were at this ball
or that tournament, they had gotten to know one another well
enough. Nevina was unlike the other children, however, in that the
moment Ever had laid eyes on her, he’d realized she had a deep
strength akin to his own.

But where Ever’s strength had
always been one of light and life, the young princess’s power was
heavy, nearly sickening. She’d seemed to be aware of her effect on
him, too, as she’d smiled when Ever had to ask Garin to accompany
him back to his chambers early that first night, away from the
tournament festivities.

He’d been seven then. As they got
older, not only did he train himself to resist her powers, but to
even mute them as well. They didn’t see each other often, as
Tumen’s continuous push for influence among the surrounding nations
strained its relationship with Destin. It wasn’t until they were
eleven that the two young royals met again, and much to Nevina’s
outrage, not only did Ever stop her attempts at tormenting him,
he’d stopped her attempts at tormenting anyone else at the
gathering as well.

Their encounters had been sporadic
after that. When he was a young man, diplomats had begun to report
that Tumen had given up its ambitious goals, and desired nothing
more than peace, but Ever was skeptical. Even if her father was
seeking to give up his ancestors’ dark power in order to obtain
peaceful relations, Ever never doubted for a moment that the
princess had every intention of keeping and using those powers to
boost Tumen’s strength, with or without her father’s blessing. Only
recently, her schemes had been interrupted by an unexpected
arrival.

“
Come now, Prince,” Nevina gave a
little laugh, jolting him out of memories and back to the present.
“Let bygones be bygones. Our kingdoms have grown beyond their
conflicts, have they not?”

“
I certainly hope so,” Ever
responded curtly. He doubted it, however, as he watched the gold
fire dance around her green eyes.

“
Then dance with me as you would a
woman who might actually deserve you.” She drew herself closer to
him.

Ever’s heart beat even faster as
he tried to keep a chivalrous distance between them, looking
desperately for his father over her shoulder as they
turned.

“
I hear things have changed in
Tumen.” Ever tried conversing again, desperate to keep her from
continually pressing her body against his. It was distracting, and
he could see people beginning to notice. Court gossip was
inevitable, but this was one tryst he did not want gossiped
about.

“
If you are referring to the birth
of my brother, then yes.” Her eyes tightened just enough for him to
see the gold fire roar in spite of her calm appearance.

“
I’m sure there are many men
desirous of your hand.” Ever’s voice was polite, but he made sure
Nevina didn’t miss his words’ significance. “You have much to
offer.”

“
Pray tell then,” the princess
purred, “why exactly am I here?”

“
Sire!” A small voice interrupted
their spin. Sending up a prayer of thanks, Ever stopped dancing and
released the princess so he could turn and talk to the boy who
suddenly stood beside them. It was inappropriate behavior for a
servant, but the boy was young, and Ever was grateful for the break
in the conversation.

Before he could appropriately
reprimand the boy, however, Nevina had reached down and slapped him
across the cheek. Ever couldn’t keep the indignation from his face
as he turned to look at her.

“
You dare touch my servant?” His
voice carried loudly, and for once, he didn’t care. The music
stopped as everyone watched.

“
Prince Everard!” She gaped back.
“His impertinence was an insult to me and my kingdom. If anyone
should be apologizing, it should be you. In my country, our
servants know their place!”

“
I do not care how you abuse your
useless Chiens! My people are in the service of the Fortress, and
you will not touch them!”

“
So this is the strength you boast
of, you who are revered far and wide.” Her voice had suddenly
become cool and quiet, and somehow, even more unnerving. “And yet,
you do not have enough control over your own to allow you a single
dance with me. Your Fortress is weakening, Everard Perrin Auguste
Fortier.”

Her mouth had curved up in a
strange smile, and her eyes were nearly closed as she spoke. Ever
had realized in that moment that she had been waiting for this, the
opportunity to test and push him. She wanted his kingdom, and was
searching for any chance to challenge him for it. This revelation
had infuriated him even more.

“
Get out of my home. Leave my
kingdom, and do not return,” Ever had growled.

“
Oh, we will be leaving.” Nevina’s
captain of the guard was suddenly at her side, glaring at him.
Nevina’s golden flames blazed even more brightly as her captain
spoke. “We cannot, however, allow this insult to our sovereign to
go unchallenged.”

“
Soon,” Nevina’s voice had become
a purr once again, “as you watch your men fall, Everard, remember
who it was that caused the bloodshed. Know that it was your own
weakness and cowardice that was your undoing.”

Ever had gritted his teeth as she
then waved her hand dismissively.

“
Let’s take our leave of this
place, Captain. We will be back soon enough.” With that they’d
turned, Nevina’s skinny Chien girl hobbling along behind them as
quickly as she could.

And that was where it had all
begun. Within an hour, the guests had been dismissed, none of them
announced as his bride. For that, Ever had been grateful, but he’d
been given little time to revel. He was immediately called to his
father’s study to choose spies, run through battle scenarios, and
where they had agreed to break the army into two camps, one on the
mountain and one in the valley. It was on that eve that King
Rodrigue had insisted they have no communication between the camps
before they engaged their enemy from the north.

“
Father, there is one thing I
don’t understand.” Ever had hesitated before returning to his
chambers when they were through. “Why was she even invited? Was I
supposed to ask for her hand in marriage?”

His father had sighed. “It was a
foolish hope on my part. Our relations have been better these past
few years. I believed we could forge a union between our powers
that would prevent future wars of this sort.”

“
But their power is not like
ours.” Ever had frowned. “It’s one of deception and darkness. The
Fortress would never abide that sort of queen.”

“
Everard,” his father had fixed
his gaze on him in a strange way, “I will be honest with you. Where
I once felt the strength of the Fortress run through my blood,
there is emptiness now. I do not feel its direction anymore. It is
up to us now more than ever to protect our home in these strange
times.”