___________________________________
T W O
___________________________________
"Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."
—Harvey Fierstein
___________________________________
No one cheered.
Alessandra tried to look grateful that after so long an engagement finally fell through, but the severity of it situation was far too great to be happy. She couldn’t touch a person who wasn’t her mother and she sure as hell couldn’t consummate a marriage. The thought of never being able to produce a child and become a mother felt depleting. She wouldn’t be able to show a child the same love her mother showed her all of her life and the thought made her weary all over again.
“What a fine match,” Elizabeth chimed through gritted teeth. She had to remain calm, cool, and collected, but when the event was over then she would kindly remind her King how a marriage was a bad idea. She’d persuaded the King only once before to hold off on marriage proposals until she was older, and this surprise engagement had been done without her knowledge.
“Fine, indeed. The Prince will arrive in two days time to meet his bride and the wedding will proceed soon after.” He informed the guests filling the room. That’s when everyone decided to cheer and some even chanted, ‘Hail to the Princess!’.
Alessandra smiled, although it was a little forced, she had to maintain her poker face until the Christmas party was over. Elizabeth was distraught because she knew what was going on in her daughter’s mind. She knew of Alessandra’s constant anxiety and her fearfulness to be around innocent people. How was Elizabeth going to convince the King to call it off?
“Now,” the King said, rising from his throne. “Enjoy the rest of the festivities!”
With that, the party resumed. People continued their conversations and the dancers moved in time to the musicians’ songs. Alessandra couldn’t be still any longer. If she left then she’d be disrespecting her father because only the King could leave first. That would be a signal that the party was over, but it would last until King James decided it didn’t anymore. Alessandra needed to move. She stood from her chair and heads bowed in her direction.
“My lady!”
Alessandra stopped at the sound of Greer’s voice. She was a lean woman and extremely a joy to look at. She moved gracefully through the crowd to make her way to Alessandra. When she finally came face-to-face with her, she kept a healthy distance away. Greer was a dear friend that Alessandra didn’t see often like she wished. She even respected the Princess’ request for space and she didn’t try to push her boundaries.
“A congratulations are in order.” She said.
Alessandra shook her head. “If you must, but I have to tell you that I am not pleased with this engagement.” They’d been friends for a long time and she was her most trusted friend. When they weren’t in the palace together, they sent notes back and forth sharing their stories, but Alessandra mostly read her letters of how Greer travelled the world because she stayed confined in the palace all of her life. She saw the world through Greer’s eyes.
“Why? Prince Daniel is a fine young man and his dowry is worth a fortune. He will be an asset to the King.”
“Exactly, Father only arranged this marriage for himself. He wants to get me out of this palace and for that I don’t blame him, but this was the wrong place to announce it.” They’d walked together through the ballroom until they found a small hideaway to sit.
“You will like him. I’ve met him twice before and he remembered me each time. He is handsome and so nice and all the women of his kingdom have set their sights on him. He’s refused three marriages, but he agreed to the one your father proposed!” Greer squealed.
Alessandra wanted to be excited. However close she and Greer was, Greer didn’t know about the princess’ curse. It saddened her even more that she couldn’t confide in her dearest friend.
“How long will you be at my father’s court?” Nick Winston, Greer’s father, was previously married to Alessandra’s aunt, but when she passed, Nick had sent his daughter all over the world mostly so he wouldn’t have to raise her on his own. Nick wasn’t a bad man; he just wasn’t the best father. Alessandra knew of Greer’s unhappiness at not being able to spend time with her father and that’s where she bonded with her cousin the most. Both of them didn’t know the men they called their father.
“I don’t know. Father usually lets me stay longer because it is Christmas, but where he sends me next is unknown. The last time he talked to me he told me that he was looking for suitors for me. It is time for me to be married.” Greer informed her.
“That is happy news, Greer.” Alessandra said, meaning every word. Greer deserved a permanent home with a husband and children.
“What is happy news?” Theresa interrupted, announcing her appearance. At first sight, Alessandra wanted to jump up and hug her, but she remembered her circumstance and she refrained. Instead she beamed at the beautiful friend she’d also known all of her life.
“Greer might be getting engaged as well, soon.” Alessandra said.
Greer rolled her eyes. “It’s up in the air.”
“Nonsense, there is always a time to be merry about an engagement.” Theresa scolded and she took the seat on the bench next to Alessandra. Thankfully, she kept her distance. “My mother made a fine dress for you, Princess.”
Alessandra looked at the dress that Theresa’s mother made. It was a fine dress, indeed. She even appreciated that her mother made Alessandra custom gloves to match with her wardrobe. She didn’t ask questions about Elizabeth’s request, she just did what she was told and didn’t treat Alessandra like she was different.
“I’ll have to thank her when I get the chance.” Alessandra said. She scanned the sea of guests crammed in the room in search for one person in particular, her mother. Queen Elizabeth was a Godsend. She conducted herself with ease as she mingled with everyone according and she gave all of them fair chance to speak as they conversed. Even though she was calm, Elizabeth was anything but. She had to think, to act, and fast.
Across the room, King James had been conducting his own conversations. The way he acted was exactly the same way he acted in private. He pretended like his wife, the Queen, wasn’t in the room as well as his daughter. He’d grown tired of the woman that’d failed to deliver him a son and the daughter he had was a hermit. She’d been a strange child growing up and Queen Elizabeth tended to her every need and began to neglect her duties as a monarch.
They’d barely communicated in over two months and that’d been the perfect time to secure a marriage for his daughter without having Elizabeth constantly badgering him out of marrying her off. In his mind Alessandra needed to leave, he wanted her to go and a marriage with Daniel helped secure a strong trade of goods with Daniel’s kingdom. His father was a prominent king in which he needed to ally himself with for future purposes. Maybe Alessandra would make some good of her life and give her new husband a son.
“Ah, I knew I’d find you three kittens curled in a corner somewhere.” Priscilla Trescot said, startling the girls.
Ever since King James made her father a duke, she’d been parading her status about. She had grown in grace and participated in the life that Alessandra wished she had. Sure, Alessandra was a Princess and that was a status higher than Priscilla’s, but she was jealous of her. She knew Priscilla had the best teachers around and she was fluent in many languages and she interacted with the people of Evyon more than Alessandra.
Priscilla stood tall and true and she projected the kind of image that Alessandra wanted to portray, but she couldn’t compete. Priscilla even wore purple—the color of royalty—to the event. How presumptuous of her?
“Oh, dear, now that the she-wolf herself has graced our presence, why don’t we all gravel at her feet?” Theresa said.
Priscilla sneered in her direction. “Lovely dress, your mother made it I’m sure, scraps looks very good on you.”
“Enough, you two.” Greer interjected. “What do you want, Priscilla?”
“Can’t I come to congratulate the Princess on her engagement?” Priscilla turned to Alessandra, but the Princess wasn’t falling for the classless act.
Priscilla had hoped to have an engagement that upstaged Alessandra, but she was once again reminded of her second rate status. She wasn’t a true royal and that’s why Alessandra knew she would always be better than her no matter what. So, Alessandra rose from the bench, smoothing out the skirts of her dress and for the first time, she smiled with dignity. “I accept your congratulations, Lady Priscilla. Perhaps if you spent more time off of your knees and get to know a man for more than his anatomy then you’d be married yourself.”
She walked away, leaving Priscilla fuming behind her. Greer and Theresa didn’t speak; they didn’t have to. Their amusement was plastered all over their faces. They were proud of their friend.
Alessandra may have been fearful of a lot of things, but she was not an invalid. Perched against the one of the columns decorating the ballroom, Hades watched in disguise as Alessandra swaggered through the crowd. He admired the way the dress hugged tight against her bodice and all the while enticing to the God of the Underworld. He couldn’t wait to claim her.
At midnight, the party began to disperse. The King finally left with the Queen in tow and many had begun to retire to their chambers or take their leave back to their homes outside of the castle. Servants began to tidy the ballroom, gathering the remaining food.
While guards patrolled the halls, Alessandra retired to her own chambers. She was exhausted even though she never got to dance with anyone. She kept her skin guarded knowing that it would be the hardest thing to do when the time came for her to marry Prince Daniel.
She should’ve seen the arranged marriage sooner; her father had been too quiet about his efforts unlike how he’d been in the past. He’d constantly pushed her to open up and show the people that she was indeed not sickly and yet she continued to be guarded. Not for her sake but for the sake of any unfortunate soul that found it within themselves to touch her.
Still she kept her spirits high and continued to think of ways to avoid finding a husband. Her mother told her that one day she would find happiness, that one day she would be able to touch a man who could touch her in return but she found it harder with each passing day to keep her good faith.
Queen Elizabeth had wanted to tell her daughter about the deal she made, wanted to tell Hades she would gladly give her life if her daughter could be spared the rest of her life without the mark he bestowed on her.
It was useless. No matter how often Elizabeth prayed to the Gods, no matter how often she begged for it to end nothing changed.
"The marriage is a necessity. We need to alliance.” King James said. He’d ordered a servant boy to bring him more food from the kitchen and placed before him was a large assortment of the same food that was prepared for the Christmas party.
Elizabeth had requested a meeting with King in his private quarter to which her husband granted knowing full well where the conversation as going. “You could’ve told her in private instead of ambushing her in front of a room full of people.”
“Would that really make anything different? You would’ve gotten defensive and tried to convince me to hold it off. She is twenty years old. I’ve waited long enough.” King James reached for a turkey leg and began to devour it along with a roll of bread.
“She’s not ready.”
“She’s not ready because you won’t let her be. She is too old for you to continue to coddle her over some superstition. She embarrasses me enough as it is.” It annoyed him that she wore those damn gloves everywhere they went. Even in the summer time she wore them like she was cold. He had to deal with questioningly stares and the mockery he’d have directed towards her. Even when she was a child, she was strange, but she was never this withdrawn. As a young girl she was brighter and she acted like someone who would become a young Prince’s wife and then Queen. Now, she hardly left her room.
“Your Majesty, if you would please—”
King James slammed his hand on the table, the shock so strong that it shook the wine in his chalice. “No! This has carried on long enough and soon there will be no one for her to marry. I had to practically beg the boy to consider marrying her."
He tossed the turkey leg back on the plate and sighed. Leaning into his seat, he rubbed his tired eyes with his hands. Why did he have to have a girl? Why hadn't the Queen been able to conceive another child? The Pope wouldn’t grant him a divorce so he was stuck with her and the girl—his daughter. He was stuck between a rock and a boulder because at one point he considered marrying one of his mistresses, but any children he had with that woman would be deemed illegitimate.
"She has reason." Queen Elizabeth stated defensively for her daughter yet that caused alarm for James.
He was also tired of hearing the same excuse over and over again, but not really given a specific reason. She wore those damn gloves all the time and it’d only started happening seven years ago when he began to notice her wearing them. Perhaps there was something wrong with her; the King only knew that he had to find out to truly know.
"What reason could she have? She is the only damn heir you gave me and yet she can't do her job any better than you!" The king snapped. His temper was always a bad one but he was growing anxious with the inability to run the kingdom as it was meant to.
"There is a good reason she wears long covering clothes. There is reason why she has no friends. There has always been a reason." She admitted with a harsh tone towards her husband. For a moment she considered telling the truth, but the confession was on the tip of her tongue and refused to come out. She had grown tired of years of the same conversation with him about their daughter.
“So, you will not tell me?”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty. I do not wish to displease you, but I can’t.” She bowed her head to avoid the cold dark stare of his eyes.
"We will see about that." He growled and began to stomp towards the exit of his quarters. The servant boys posted at the doors didn’t open them fast enough.
“Where are you going?” Elizabeth asked, but the King had already made up his mind. He needed to find out what was making his daughter withdrawn from society.
By duty, guards followed the King until he stopped at the door leading to Alessandra's chambers. The two guards posted at Alessandra's door greeted the King but moved aside for him. "Your Grace."
He ignored them as he barged in.
Alessandra was sitting at her vanity, brushing the curls out of her hair when the King abruptly entered. She immediately stood. “Majesty.”
"Take off your gloves. Now." He demanded. Alessandra’s brows rose in alarm and her eyes found that of her mother’s who’d entered a little while after. She was breathing heavily from running in her dress with all the layers making it hard to move as fast as she wanted. The dress wasn’t made to do recreational activity, just walking.
“Your Majesty, please—”
“Enough!” James snapped. "Do as I say."
"Father, please . . ." Alessandra pleaded as slowly stepped away from him. She knew this wouldn’t end well if he continued to make these advances. She could still see the horror on Mary's face when she viewed her body. Mary had bled from her nose, eyes, ears, and mouth and Alessandra feared the same would happen to her father.
He just needed to understand. If she told him then maybe he wouldn't pursue her any further. Then again, if he did know then he’d condemn her as a witch and she’d be put to death. She knew he’d do it to his own daughter.
"Father, I am cursed. Anyone who touches me dies, you don’t understand." She blurted, looking to her mother for help. She felt a weight lift from her chest to finally admit the truth, but she didn’t know how the curse came about because she didn’t have all the answers.
Maybe this would help her case.
Maybe he would listen.
Maybe—
The King laughed.
Actually laughed at her.
"You don’t come out of your room for years and now you tell me it is because you can’t touch anyone or they will die." He laughed darkly. "Take. Off. The. Damn. Gloves. I will not repeat myself again."
He marched towards her with a hardened gaze. The fuel in his dark brown eyes sent chills down her spine. Had he really come all the way to her chambers just to demand she remove her gloves? What caused him to be this aggressive now? It's been years of barely a word and now he comes to her with such hatred for her.
“No!” Elizabeth shouted and moved to stand in between them, but James flung her towards the bed.
“You, at the door, keep her back.” He ordered the guard appointed at the door. They were permitted to interfere with private affairs unless they were ordered to. The guard was large and he easily captured Elizabeth and held her in his arms as she watched in terror as her daughter backed into a corner.
Her father reached her quickly and snatched the soft white fabric from her hand. Holding the glove in his hand he tossed it aside into the hearth where the fire began to burn wildly. The glove slowly began burning away, turning black around the edges as the flames worked their way to the middle of the fabric. "You will learn to do what I say. You will learn to fear me. One thing you failed to learn as a child is obedience."
Alessandra hung her head low, her free hand now exposed. She had hoped he would throw a fit and leave, but he wanted to make a point. Her skin was smooth to the touch and nothing happened. King James turned her hand over, grasping her wrist into his hand where he squeezed and shook her arm. "I'm not dead Alessandra! Do you see this foolish game you have played?"
He released her wrist.
“No . . . please . . . no . . .” Alessandra cried.
“You will marry Prince Daniel in two days time and you will not wear those gloves again.” He shook his head in disbelief. "Damn fool."
He turned on his heel to leave her chamber with a settled anger.
Alessandra sat on the desk where she remained frozen in fear. What has she done? What would happen when he dies?
The guard that’d been holding Elizabeth finally let her go when the king made his exit. She extended her arms toward her daughter and cradled her close. “I am so sorry.”
Alessandra buried her face in her mother’s chest and cried. “What am I going to do?"
Smoothing her hair from her face, Elizabeth held her daughter at arms length to look at her. "I will fix this.” She promised.
But she didn’t know how.