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After my night of espionage, I spent the day in my suite, cooped up in an attempt to sort through my thoughts, to decide whom to trust, whom to test, and whom to deceive. Upon overhearing her conversation with Armando, it had become clear that Dulciana was working at some sort of plan involving her beautiful sister. Based on the many times Ana-Cristina had been thrown into my path, I assumed that distracting or marrying me was the task she was to undertake, the "lengths to which she would go," to use Armando's words.
That left no doubt in my mind that I needed to avoid her, especially if I didn't wish to invoke the wrath of King Felipe.
Then there was the question of Prince Frederico, who seemed more intuitive than I'd assumed. He'd warned Dulciana that I was no idiot and, even though he'd said it in Ardal, I had the distinct impression that he had seen through my principe idiota ruse. Especially if Beatriz' final comment to me at dinner was to be trusted, the pair of them seemed to be keeping a closer eye on me than any of the other royal siblings.
But the fact remained that I needed to choose a bride. While the easy thing to do would simply be to fall for Dulciana's trap, to pursue Ana-Cristina and leave on the first vessel for Pretania, that path was not at all in the best interests of my country. Even without me as Dulciana's betrothed, Frederico still stood a chance of ascending the throne, especially based on Dulciana's comments about her father's deals with the other duques.
But Dulciana was clever. More clever than I'd given her credit for, which was most worrisome since the king had surely also underestimated her. To underestimate an opponent like Dulciana was to play into her plan. Unfortunately for me, besides escaping Ardalone a single man, my most important goal was to ensure that whoever ascended the Ardalonian throne was a friend to Pretania.
Something Dulciana most certainly was not.
If I hadn't guessed at it before, it had now been made irrefutably clear to me that I would have to keep my cards close in order to keep the Ardalonians guessing. The king and Prince Frederico would have to believe that I would remain true to my word and marry Dulciana. Dulciana would have to believe that I was still interested in Ana-Cristina.
Or another of her sisters.
Fear of what "lengths" Ana-Cristina might go to in an attempt to force me to show my hand had me approaching Inés at the ball that evening. Perhaps all the frightened princess needed was an escape from the pit of vipers she'd been raised in.
And what better escape than with a foreign prince like me?
Inés lingered behind one of the banquet tables, seemingly trying to disappear into the nearest tapestry as she ate, her eyes following her two older sisters as they danced with various nobles. When I approached with a smile, I could've sworn Inés choked back a sob, drowned out by the swell of the music.
"How are you this fair evening?" I asked her, innocently knitting my hands behind my back, keeping a decent distance between us, as one would with a frightened animal.
She said nothing, her wide eyes glancing from me to the dance floor, as if gauging whether she could dart away without being intercepted.
"I hope I haven't frightened you," I said, once again earning nothing but silence in response. As I smiled my gentlest, least smirking smile, I wondered whether perhaps she didn't understand me.
But right as I worked up my nerve to reveal some of my Ardal, she took a breath as if to steel herself.
"You need to leave here," she said, her voice even more accented than Beatriz', "For your own sake. Please."
I blinked, taken aback.
She used my surprise to duck away, nearly throwing her plate towards the buffet table as she hurried through the crowd of nobles. I watched her emerald green dress disappear, the whispers of the surrounding nobles reminding me that my disguise had slipped as I attempted to puzzle together the younger princess' warning.
I strode away from the buffet table, walking purposefully even though I had no destination. Ana-Cristina was still safely waltzing with another of her suitors, while Dulciana had made such efforts to avoid me all evening that I didn't doubt she'd stop now. I was halfway to the starlit windows at the edge of the ballroom, eager for a moment to process Inés' warning, when a voice stopped me in my tracks.
"You certainly know how to charm princesses."
I whirled around to find Beatriz not two paces away, lurking in the shadows behind one of the ballroom's massive marble columns, still veiled and dressed entirely in black. In the sea of colourful gowns and silks, she'd have stood out like an ink stain, but tucked behind a column, she was nearly invisible.
I wondered how much of my conversation with Inés she'd overhead.
And whether she'd been instructed to follow me to eavesdrop on such conversations.
"I was warned that Inés was shy," I admitted, slipping on a rueful grin in a bid to maintain my disguise, "Apparently I was not wise enough to listen."
One of her eyebrows twitched as she watched me with a look that I'm certain must have been a smirk underneath her veil.
"You dislike listening, it seems," she said. "So I feel inclined to offer you a word of counsel, even though you will likely not heed it: do yourself a favour, foreigner, and stay away from princesses who are not your betrothed. Especially while my father is watching."
She fixed me with a look to be sure I'd understood, before slipping back around the column.
I couldn't help but follow.
"Does that mean I should stay away from you as well, princess?" I asked, coming around the other side of the column to stop her.
She didn't edge away or step back, she simply leaned against the marble, holding her ground and peering over my shoulder as if I were the most uninteresting thing in the world.
"My father doesn't much care what I do," she replied, "But Inés does not deserve to be dragged into Dulciana's dramas."
"Your brother certainly cares what you do, though," I said, seizing on the way Frederico had so abruptly interrupted our conversation the night before.
That dragged her eyes back to me, her dark gaze dancing across my face as she assessed me.
"My brother is keenly aware of how much trouble princes can cause in foreign kingdoms," she replied, her gaze unwavering on mine as she addressed someone behind me in Ardal, "Have you come to check on me?"
"Good evening, your Highness," Frederico said from behind me, adding in Ardal, "Are you some sort of fool, speaking to him like this where everyone can see?"
"Someone had to keep him from chasing Inés and, last I checked, you were too busy flirting with the Duquesa Dellanos," Beatriz fired back.
I pursed my lips to keep from grinning at her cheek, but she was still watching me, her eyes dropping to my mouth as it moved.
When her gaze returned to mine, there was nothing friendly in it.
"Good evening, Frederico," I said, cursing myself for allowing my ruse to slip. "I trust you are having an enjoyable evening."
Beatriz pushed off the marble, folding her arms.
"Almost as enjoyable as yours, it seems," Frederico said, his eyes sliding from his sister to me. He seemed to have picked up on the shift in her body language, the change happening the moment I'd so clumsily allowed my lips to twitch with repressed amusement.
"Oh I very much doubt that. You seem to command far more attention among the beautiful ladies of Ardalone's court than I do. Though perhaps that is all simply a ruse meant to distract from a missing ring around an important finger," I said, wrenching back control of the conversation by dropping a hint about what I'd noticed during my first meeting with the crown prince and his father.
The ruse worked, the pair of them stiffening. Beatriz' eyes narrowed.
"Careful," she muttered in Ardal, though I wasn't sure whether it was meant for me or for Frederico.
Had it been meant for her brother, however, she hadn't spoken soon enough. Again, the crown prince's thumb brushed his ring finger and this time I couldn't fight my grin.
Yes, there most certainly was a ring that belonged on that finger, but not one that he dared to wear in public. If he was so careless as so check for it as soon as I'd brought it up, it must have been quite the secret indeed.
"I can't help but wonder, was that ring the cause for your delayed return?" I asked, sliding my hands into my pockets as I watched the prince with amusement. Gone was the polite smile he'd worn while greeting me, cool calculation in its place.
"I'm afraid you must be mistaken," he said, "But I wear no rings, save that of my family crest."
For the briefest of moments, Beatriz pressed her eyes closed in irritation, clearly annoyed by how poorly the prince had delivered the lie. I remained silent, unable to stop from grinning that I'd succeeded in discovering one of the prince's secrets.
"Yes, of course. I must be mistaken," I said sarcastically, my grin and tone indicating that I didn't believe him at all.
We stared at each other in silence, Beatriz glaring while Frederico's face was completely unreadable. It was clear enough that I'd shaken him, the ease gone from his posture, but I remained silent to see what he would say next to fill the void.
It wasn't Frederico who spoke next, however.
"Good evening, your Highnesses. I hope I'm not interrupting an interesting conversation," Armando said in Ardal, bowing to Frederico and Beatriz.
The princess' reaction was instantaneous, whirling around and sinking into a fighting stance, angling her shoulder between Frederico and the guard as her hand went to her hip.
To her hip, where a sword would normally hang on a man.
Armando's smirk didn't waver, as if he'd expected such a reaction and delighted in earning it. Frederico was the one to rest a hand on Beatriz' shoulder, the touch reminding her of their surroundings. Her hand dropped, but her fingers remained tensed, her body still between the two men.
If I'd thought the glare she'd levelled at me was intimidating, the one she now fixed on Armando was positively murderous.
"What do you want?" Frederico demanded, nothing polite in his tone.
"Him," Armando said, nodding at me. "Unless his idiotic prattling has your little kitten spellbound."
There it was again, the very same nickname Dulciana had called Beatriz that had sent the veiled princess reaching for a knife at the dinner table.
"If you had any balls at all, you'd dare to say that to my face outside this ballroom," Beatriz snarled. Frederico's fingers tightened on her shoulder as Armando laughed.
"To your face?" Armando began, leering, "Certainly. But only if you keep that veil on. I couldn't bear the sight-"
"Goodness, I really must brush up on my Ardal," I said, cutting him off. "Is something the matter?"
"Not at all, your Highness," Armando said, the first to recover after my interruption. "I was simply hoping to extend an invitation."
"An invitation?" Frederico repeated warily.
"Prince Thomas has gone to great efforts to visit Lower Relizia," Armando said, turning his smirk to the crown prince. "I thought only to invite him along since a group of us is going gambling tonight. It is safer in groups, you see."
"I doubt that he would be interested in the sorts of places you frequent," Frederico said.
"With respect, your Highness, I was asking the Pretanian," Armando fired back. His jaw set, Frederico glanced back at me over his shoulder.
"Are you a gambling man?" he asked.
I assessed the situation quickly. I didn't trust Armando in the least, but he must have had a reason for such an invitation. Clearly Frederico was against the idea, though if forced to choose, I'd trust the prince over the guard, especially in Beatriz' reaction to Armando's presence was any indication. But the chance to escape High Relizia, to finally see with my own eyes exactly how the Ardalonian commoners were forced to live...
It was too good an offer to pass up.
"I am," I replied, smiling my idiotic smile. Frederico huffed a sigh, his eyes meeting his sister's.
"Then it's settled," Armando said, grinning wolfishly. "Follow me, your Highness. You're going to enjoy yourself."
He bowed to the prince and princess, before gesturing for me to follow. I nodded my farewells to the twins, wishing them a good night and wondering what I'd just gotten myself into.
"He'll be gambling with his life," Beatriz muttered to her brother as I passed.
"Good luck, Prince Thomas," was all that Frederico said.
**A/N: Apologies for the delay in uploading this chapter today! I got tangled in a web of my own plots and the chapter I'd originally wanted to post didn't make sense any more...I figured that this one, as loaded with suspense as it is, would serve a decent replacement though!
As always, if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to vote and comment!**