"Aggie, I'm cold."
Agatha opens her eyes to blackness, but she knows the voice.
Sighing, she sits up and lights up her hand-- and lo and behold, she finds Sophie standing over her bed, shivering in her silk nightgown and hair curlers.
"Wearing that stupid thing in winter will do that to you." she says.
Sophie pouts.
"It's fas--"
"It's fashion. I know." Agatha throws the duvet back bad-temperedly. "Get in, bother."
Beaming, Sophie scrabbles in beside her.
"This is nice."
"I'm not your personal furnace." says Agatha, shaking her hand out and plunging them back into darkness.
"I never said you were, darling."
"Your opening line was I'm cold."
Sophie pretends not to hear her.
"So," she says, pointedly.
"So what?" Agatha isn't really listening, battling with the will of the fireplace, trying to relight it without touching it. Or leaving her bed. With enough aggressive hand-waving, she just about succeeds in producing enough light to see Sophie's smirk.
"Monday's revelation solves a few problems, doesn't it?" she says innocently.
Agatha is honestly surprised she's gotten this far without Sophie confronting her about it, but Vanessa has been lurking for most of this week, so they've not really had the chance to talk privately. Agatha suspects this is why she's actually come here, not because she was cold.
"The 'what if I accidentally assassinate Tedros' problem?" snorts Agatha. "Suppose it does. But who told you--"
"Oh Aggie, I put two and two together the second I saw neither of you were wearing gloves. Don't think Mother noticed, thank god, but I assumed, since neither of you looked pained..." she leans forwards conspiratorially. "So... you can't hurt one another?"
"Seems that way." mutters Agatha, rolling onto her side to look Sophie in the face. She's impressed that Sophie seems to be already willing to keep it from Vanessa. "I mean, if he were to impale me with an icicle, that'd probably be goodbye Agatha, but in terms of body temperature... no. It's more like what I assume ordinary cold is like. Like cold water, but it doesn't hurt like water does."
"Hmm." Sophie considers this. "Well, that makes the wedding easier."
"What? How?"
"Well, you can kiss him, now!"
Agatha's eye twitches. That hadn't even remotely entered her worries, but apparently Sophie had taken it very seriously.
"...right." she says. "Yeah. That."
She tries not to look as panicked as she feels. She's not thought about that at all, not since the revelation that he was young and hot and probably acceptable to kiss--
"Heard Callis caught you in a compromising position." says Sophie sweetly.
Agatha snatches the pillow from beneath Sophie's head and clobbers her with it.
"I was choking on ash, you meddling--"
Sophie kicks her and swipes it back.
"Ow! Well, why did he have to grab you around the waist for that?"
"Because, darling, it appears he's cold enough to stop it."
"Really." says Sophie, unconvinced.
"Yes! And I didn't do it on purpose!" hisses Agatha. "Just because you would use it to get close to him doesn't mean I would! And I can't make it happen on command!"
"Well, it would have been very convenient if you had." sniffs Sophie. "I'm sure he's very noble--"
"He nearly saw my face." says Agatha. "I pulled my veil back to try and breathe."
That stops Sophie short. She looks sharply at her, tension suddenly lining her face.
"Did he?"
"I don't know." says Agatha quietly. "He claims he didn't, and said he respects my wishes to keep the veil on until the wedding. He put it back on for me, but he could have seen..." She trails off.
This has been the issue that's been bothering her, not the revelation that they can't hurt one another. That's that. It's a surprising, albeit helpful, development, but it's done now. But her face...
"He was definitely looking away." she says. "And I was facing away from him. But he's been very eager to know, so... I can't be sure."
There's a pause.
"He's not mentioned it since?"
"No. I've seen him every day since and he hasn't said a thing, and his attitude towards me hasn't changed, but..."
She trails off.
"I don't think he'd lie." says Sophie.
Agatha doesn't respond, because she isn't so sure. She doesn't believe he'd lie to her to be malicious, but he might if he wanted to make her feel better, or if he'd wanted to pretend to himself that he'd not seen...
"I'll ask Beatrix." Sophie says. "And get Hester to ask Dot. He'll tell them the truth, won't he?"
Agatha purses her lips.
"Probably, but he knows they serve me, too, so... he might not."
"Hester can ask Chaddick too, then." says Sophie firmly. "We'll find out."
Agatha doesn't respond.
They fall into an anxious silence. Agatha has rolled over to face away from Sophie.
Then;
"I don't think he'll mind, Aggie." says Sophie softly. "It's not really so bad. It just makes your mouth look a little odd, sometimes."
Agatha makes a non-committal sound. She knows that despite her attempts to be blasé about it, Sophie never will get used to it. It's always unsettled her slightly, though it's unclear if the actual look of Agatha's face, or the knowledge of what caused it, is what scares her. Probably both. But either way, the contrast with Sophie and Vanessa's flawless faces-- and now Tedros's, too-- is always going to make hers look worse.
Sophie is still going;
"I know Mother's an old witch about it, but I promise it's not that terrible--"
"I appreciate the sentiment, Sophie, but I know you're lying through your teeth." snaps Agatha. Sophie falls silent. They're clearly both thinking of Sophie's comment from their argument the other month;
I think he'll turn tail at the wedding, the second he takes that veil off.
"I didn't mean it." mumbles Sophie. "I promise I didn't mean it."
"I know. It doesn't matter."
A beat.
"It's so tiring." says Agatha, voice cracking. "Having to think about it constantly. Always having that damned woman on my back about leaning too far forwards, or lifting it to eat, or having it on straight. For eighteen years." She pauses. Swallows. "I just know Tedros is getting the wrong idea." she says, quieter.
"He said he didn't care--"
"No." rasps Agatha. "I mean that I sort of... get the impression he thinks I'm beautiful. And if that's the case, he's going to be so aghast at the wedding--"
God, the wedding--
Agatha puts her hands over her face, disturbingly close to tears. All this time, she'd thought the issue of her magic was the main reason she was so stressed, but now, with that out of the way, she realises that's not it at all.
"I hate her." Agatha chokes. "I hate her so much. I know you don't, but--"
"Oh, no. I loathe her, Aggie." says Sophie into the dark.
"...what?"
"She's a mad old harpy and I wish every day she'd get the dosage of that magic wrong and poison herself."
Agatha turns over to stare at her, mute with shock. She's never heard Sophie speak like this about Vanessa. Ever.
"But... but you--"
"Just because I loathe her doesn't mean I don't want her approval." says Sophie grimly. "Sometimes, when she's complimenting me, or buying me pretty things, or trying to set me up with Dukes, I almost forget it. I get caught up in it. But then, I can suddenly see your face after that Peace Ball. And I remember it again."
Agatha knows which Peace Ball she means. Nearly three years ago, they'd hosted a particularly elaborate gathering, with a plethora of dukes and barons sent from the surrounding kingdoms of Ginnymill, Ooty, and Hamelin-- people who never usually came to Gavaldon, and who didn't know much about the kingdom.
As such, Agatha had attracted a fair bit more attention than she usually did. The Gavaldon people were bored of her, by now. Sixteen years to speculate with no resolution? It gets old quickly. Agatha was more of a minor interest to people when they were drunk and in the mood to make up elaborate rumours, trying to top the ones that already existed.
But to the people from the outside, she was a mysterious veiled Princess, the daughter of a beautiful mother and a handsome father, entrusted to a stoic nursemaid.
It made sense that they'd jump to the wrong conclusions.
So, when the Duke of Ooty had implied a marriage settlement between his son and Agatha, Vanessa had looked at the family-- a graceful mother, a handsome father, and their son, a tall, elegant boy with long black hair and perfect skin-- and burst out laughing.
"Oh, no, my lord! I appreciate the compliment, and so does my daughter, but-- hah, excuse me-- but I must disappoint you. Agatha is already promised to the Prince Tedros of Camelot."
She'd grinned as she'd said it. Someone nearby Agatha had muttered something disapproving about Vanessa revelling in the Duke's misstep.
But Agatha knew better. She wasn't laughing because they were wasting their time or because the Duke looked foolish.
She was laughing because it was funny. To her, the idea that Agatha could marry into such a gorgeous family was absurd.
There'd been some more talk bandied around about Tedros and the marriage settlement-- agreed since Agatha was two, apparently-- but Agatha hadn't really listened, hot with humiliation and staring at her lap.
Then it had happened again, this time with the Marquess of Hamelin's handsome daughter. Same reaction from Vanessa. And again, with the Baron of Ooty's son--
By the end of the night, Vanessa had gleefully rejected four suggestions of engagements, and although Agatha had tried to escape, she'd still had time to turn to her, just as Agatha was standing up--
"Well! They were optimistic, weren't they?"
It had sounded innocent enough; a reference to her already being betrothed.
But it wasn't innocent, and it wasn't a reference to her already being betrothed. And everyone listening knew it.
Agatha had gone straight up to her rooms, thrown her veil at her mirror, and shattered the glass with the headpiece, sending Callis and Sophie bursting in, worrying she'd fainted.
She'd not been aware she'd looked a particular way, and, in all honesty, she'd started using Vanessa's quote as an inside joke, but it seemed that it had stuck with Sophie. Agatha had only remembered it briefly when she'd met Tedros for the first time, but even then, she'd dismissed it with a sneer.
"Odd thing to remember." says Agatha, now. "She's done worse."
"It was the first time I'd ever seen her actually upset you." says Sophie. "You always argued with her or laughed in her face. It shocked me. You just looked so... crushed."
"And yet you play her little game anyway." says Agatha.
Sophie has the decency to look ashamed.
"I am trying to stop. I'm trying to avoid her. But after chasing her approval for so long... it's hard."
Agatha sighs. She'd bring up their argument, but she doesn't really want to open that wound again. She's yet to be thoroughly convinced that Sophie is completely disloyal to Vanessa, but this is a very promising suggestion of it.
"Well," she says. "It might be useful to have you as a spy on the inside, anyway. I don't trust her to be in charge of the logistics of the wedding."
"I'll tell you anything she tells me." promises Sophie.
"Mm."
Sophie tuts at her.
"I know you'd rather not think about it, darling, but you have to accept that it's imminent."
"Can I worry about the ball, first?"
"Oh, naturally. But it's only three weeks after the ball."
"I know." mutters Agatha.
Sophie grins, suddenly.
"How's the dancing going?"
Agatha shoots her an irritated glance.
"Tolerably. Tedros is a lot more patient than you ever were, and some of the dances aren't so different to ones at home. I still think I'll step on his feet a few times, but it'll be... average."
"And that, naturally, is what you're happy with." mutters Sophie. "Well, fine. Ball, and then we panic about the wedding."
They lie in silence for a while.
"Who are you going to dance with?" asks Agatha, mostly to take her mind off the fact the wedding is in less than a month. "Hort?"
Sophie snorts.
"Don't be ridiculous, darling, I have standards."
"What if he asks you? He likes you."
"Oh, no he doesn't." pooh-poohs Sophie. "He thinks he does, but he keeps mentioning this Ravan, it's clear he just thinks I'm on a more acceptable social level, even though we all know I'm far above a Lord, really. But Ravan's probably a peasant or something else grubby and unkempt..."
She yawns. Agatha considers this.
"What if Tedros asked you?"
"As you pointed out, Tedros is your betrothed, and even if he did, Teddy is for admiring from afar, not for dancing or being in close proximity with."
Agatha props herself on her elbow to look at her, incredulous.
"Did you ever actually like any of these men?"
"Oh no, not really." Sophie adjusts a curler. "I just felt that pretending to would keep Mother off my back. I had a tryst with Belle, the other year--"
"The miller's daughter?" splutters Agatha. "You kept that quiet!"
"Of course I did, Mother would have had a stroke." sniffs Sophie. "Besides, I knew about you and Hester and never told anyone--"
"There was nothing between me and Hester." says Agatha sulkily.
"Sounds like you wish there had been."
"It was impractical." says Agatha.
"So it wasn't you two that I saw kissing in that snowstorm--?"
"It was the only time it'd work!" hisses Agatha. "Besides, she actually liked Anadil, she just wanted to make her jealous and--"
"You agreed because you liked her?"
Agatha shrugs, flopping onto her back again.
"Suppose so. Either way, I knew it wouldn't be a permanent thing. Arranged marriage and all."
Sophie nods, considering.
"How are you feeling about that?" she asks.
"Terrified." says Agatha, honestly. Sophie huffs impatiently.
"Putting the whole veil and magic issue to the side, how do you feel about marrying Tedros?"
Agatha frowns, uncomfortable.
"What are you, my therapist? It's horribly awkward and I feel guilty because I'm getting the impression he quite likes--"
She stops, realising what she's saying.
"He quite likes you? Despite your churlish attitude and complete lack of fashion sense, I think he does have a little crush on you, yes." drawls Sophie.
Agatha stares at her, stupefied.
"Absolutely everyone apart from you has noticed." says Sophie. "Callis, Beatrix, Chaddick... everyone. It's sweet, really. He's like a puppy."
Agatha is still staring. Sophie arches a brow.
"Surprised it's taken you so long to work that one out, really. Been suppressing the thought, darling?"
"No," says Agatha, even though she's been suppressing the thought. "No, no, I just--"
"Well, lucky Teddy, because you're betrothed to him and you can't get out of it, no matter how much you might want to." says Sophie, grinning.
Agatha rolls onto her back, incredulous. The idea of Tedros actually liking her outside of just being polite to his future wife has been nagging her for a while, but she's been ignoring it. Her only previous admirers have been Hester (odd taste in girls) and various suitors (all believing she's veiled because she's beautiful). This is very new. And very odd.
"Well," she says, deciding not to try and decipher how she feels about that right now. "That crush is going to die abruptly on the day we're married, which feels very poetic--"
She trails off in a yelp as something hits her very hard in the ribs.
"Ow!" she bolts up indignantly, wheeling to Sophie. "Did you just punch me? What are you doing, you'll burn yourself--"
"And if you say that again, I'll do it again." says Sophie sweetly, trying to get a clear shot at her head.
"I was joking!" barks Agatha, pushing her hands away.
"No, you weren't. Be quiet. Stop saying things like that."
"Sophie--"
"So, what are you going to wear to the ball?"
"Uh--"
"Because I was thinking you should wear red. I saw a red version of your veil and thought it was so chic." says Sophie, burying herself back under the covers again. "Can you lie back down? You're letting all the heat out."
Agatha shakes her head at her for a second, utterly bemused.
"Um... sure." she drops back again. "Red sounds good."
"Doesn't it?" says Sophie brightly. "And you could have white or gold or even your classic black in the sleeve slits, but personally I think gold is best. It is a celebration after all, even if neither of you asked to be engaged in the first place--"
----
"King Tedros."
Tedros turns to find Callis standing in the doorway, already in her ball finery (which is really only a dove grey, more embellished, version of her usual attire). He's still in his undershirt and breeches.
"May I speak with you for a minute?" she says.
Beatrix and Chaddick, ironing his ball doublet, glance nervously at one another.
"Um. Yes, but I'm still only half-ready--" Tedros starts--
"It's not as if you're going to get cold." says Callis, unimpressed.
"...true."
"It shouldn't take long. Shall we go into your drawing room?"
"...of course."
Tedros nervously takes the lead into the drawing room. Callis shuts the door behind him and stands against it. Tedros feels distinctly like a hostage. He's not sure he likes how suddenly Callis can turn from faintly amused to faintly terrifying.
"Um--"
"How much did you see?" says Callis blackly, eyes boring into him.
"I... how much did I see of what?"
Tedros desperately racks his brains, trying to work out if he's been privy to anything gossip-worthy recently.
"You know what I mean." says Callis.
"I'm not sure I--"
Callis leans forwards.
"How much did you see of Agatha's face, you twit!"
"Oh!" Tedros frowns. "Nothing, ma'am."
"I don't believe you."
Tedros stares incredulously at her.
"But-- I'm not lying, I didn't look-- she didn't want me to see, so I looked away. Either way, she was facing away from me--"
Callis takes a deep breath.
"With all due respect, majesty, I find it incredibly hard to believe that you, who have been trying to find out why she wears the veil for months, wouldn't have taken the opportunity--"
"Well, believe it, because I didn't!" argues Tedros. "I might keep asking, but it's not as if I'm trying to yank it off her or something! I'll only find out if she tells me! Which she hasn't!"
Callis purses her lips.
"Did Queen Vanessa tell you anything?"
"No!" cries Tedros, furious. "I don't like Vanessa, I avoid her, and anything she says is probably a lie anyway!"
He genuinely is telling the truth. He'd only realised Agatha had pulled the veil back when he'd reached her and realised both parts of it were thrown over the back of her headpiece, and he'd immediately looked away.
This revelation about Vanessa seems to mollify Callis, because she sighs, anger leaving her face somewhat.
"If you saw by accident, I won't be angry." she says tiredly. "I just need to know.
"Callis." says Tedros emphatically. "I didn't see anything. I promise."
Callis pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Alright. Alright."
"I don't understand why it's such a big deal." mumbles Tedros.
"You will." sighs Callis. "Whether you agree or not is another matter."
Tedros still doesn't know what to think.
"...I feel like this is a Vanessa problem." he admits, finally. "Has it got something to do with her?"
"Oh, it's all to do with her." sighs Callis. "One way or another."
She pauses. Tedros gets the impression she's trying to decide whether to tell him something.
Then Callis adjusts her headpiece, and Tedros catches sight of a flash of brown roots in her harsh black hair.
"Do you dye your hair to match Agatha's?" He asks, before he can stop himself.
Callis glances at him.
"Now, your majesty, how would you be able to tell that?"
Tedros squints at her. He's sure she's noticed his white roots before, because he's caught her looking. But Callis doesn't seem to be wanting an answer.
"Well." She says. "If her mother doesn't want to have anything in common with her..."
She pauses.
"I've been in the post since the day she was born." she says finally. "All of the other candidates for nursemaids dropped out after the news."
"...News?"
"That Vanessa was furious. So, of course, we all knew immediately that the baby looked how she'd used to look. Dark hair, the like. Several people backed out then and there. Then someone who'd assisted with the birth said the Princess was hot, too hot, they thought she might have a fever. The palace was in chaos, but nothing actually happened for hours. More people got cold feet and dropped out. We got no news. No one sent for any of us." Callis purses her lips. "Truth be told, we started to worry the girl had died."
Tedros doesn't say it, but the black note in Callis's voice makes him wonder:
Died or disposed of?
"There were only about three of us left. I volunteered. Went to the nursery, got most of the way, before I heard people start screaming, and a baby crying. Ran the rest of the way, burst into the nursery, and saw Vanessa in the corner, clutching a screaming maid, and the cradle in flames."
Tedros stares unseeingly at her. It's so similar. Eerily so.
One born so cold they feared he was dead, one so hot they thought she was dying. One who sent the cradle up in flames and one who turned it to ice so it collapsed in the heat of the room.
"She'd been left too long." Murmurs Callis. "They'd left her there, whilst Vanessa and Stefan argued, and she'd got her hand around one of the bars. Set it alight and no one noticed until Vanessa returned."
"Was Agatha--"
"Still in it when I got there? Yes. She was."
Callis pushes up her wide sleeves, and Tedros follows the line of scarring, from her palms and fingers all the way up to her elbows.
"That's from--"
"Snatching her out of the cradle while her own mother wailed uselessly in the corner? Yes."
Callis lets her sleeves down again.
"Ran her down the corridor to the doctor and the midwife. We didn't know, then, that Agatha had done it, let alone that she's immune to burns--"
Callis stops.
"What?" Presses Tedros.
"Doesn't matter." Says Callis tightly. "I'm saying too much, really. She might not want you to know. But I just thought you should know. The extent of it. "
"Why didn't Vanessa do anything?" Tedros asks quietly.
"Well, do you think she would willingly risk her life?"
"I don't know." Mutters Tedros. "But that's her daughter."
*A very inconvenient daughter." Points out Callis smoothly. "To tell you the truth, Tedros, I rather think she hoped it would finish her off."
They look at one another, for a minute.
"Why are you telling me this?" asks Tedros, finally.
"The battle's not over once you're married." says Callis grimly. "In fact, I fear it'll get worse. Vanessa knows her hold over Agatha and what she does is slipping, and she'll fight to keep hold of it."
"Agatha says she'll send Vanessa home as soon as she's Queen."
"Oh, she'll try, but it'll be as soon as possible, which is not all that soon. Vanessa will claim she's helping her settle in, so that'll be at least another month."
Tedros groans.
"Really?"
"Drag out the marital bliss thing for as long as possible to avoid her." advises Callis, glancing at the clock. "I should go. She can never do her dress laces herself, she has no sense of how hard you have to pull them--"
She opens the door and Beatrix and Chaddick leap back.
"Thought so." she says thinly. "Lucky Beatrix already knew most of that, really."
She swoops past them without another word, shaking her head.
"You can explain how you know everything to Agatha." she says. "I'm sure you'd rather face her wrath than mine. See you in the ballroom."
The door snaps shut.
"I dunno," says Chaddick weakly. "Callis doesn't have fire magic."
"Oh, as if she'd waste it on you." mutters Tedros, going to fetch his ball clothes. Chaddick kicks him in the backside and sends him stumbling into his wardrobe.
--
"The Baron Hamish of Drupathi!" Announces Weatherford, as a tall, lean young man with naturally long, golden hair marches towards them, smiling with perfect teeth set against a perfect complexion. They're still doing introductions nearly three hours later, and all the faces are just blurring in Tedros's head. Agatha has been steadily slouching in her throne more and more. Callis keeps kicking the back of it to get her to sit up.
Baron Hamish bows deeply to Tedros. Tedros, too busy envying his natural gold colouring, smiles vaguely at him.
"Your majesty. I must offer my sincerest congratulations to the both of you."
"Thank you." Says Tedros distractedly. "And I thank you for coming so far to attend."
"Oh, no, it's no trouble, it's a pleasure..." his eyes flick sideways, and his expression suddenly becomes eager. "Of course, I must pay my respects to your Princess."
Agatha silently extends her hand to him, and he takes it too quickly, bowing too deeply considering Tedros is of a higher rank than Agatha, and talking too informally, considering they've never met before.
"Your highness, such an honour. I've waited so long to meet you. Such a beautiful gown for a beautiful lady."
Tedros, who has slowly been learning to read Agatha's body language, sees the embarrassed, confused tension slide across her shoulders. She plucks at her skirts.
"Thank you, Baron." She says awkwardly. "You're very kind."
"Not so, my lady. Merely truthful." He smiles winningly, and bends down to kiss her ring-- the one Tedros had sent her, as a token-- lingering slightly too long.
"I must ask, my lady..." he says, ignoring Tedros glaring at the side of his head, "Why the veil? It's the subject of so much speculation... to hear it from you would surely put an end to it. There are thousands of loyal subjects who would love to see your face..."
Tedros, lost in a daydream of ripping all the Baron's stupid, beautiful hair out of his stupid, beautiful head, nearly jumps at how suddenly Agatha responds, and notices he's frozen the inside of his gloves.
"Noble as that was, Baron, I must decline." Says Agatha, immediately. "My reasons are mine and mine alone."
Not that Tedros thought they were. Vanessa's and Vanessa's alone was more like it.
Tedros suppresses a scowl, trying to unfreeze his gloves.
"Of course." Says Baron Hamish, looking rather disappointed. "Of course. Well then, I bid you adieu, my lady. Good evening, King Tedros."
He bows and disappears back into the crowd.
"So he believed that one, did he?" Murmurs Agatha, watching him go. Tedros stares at her, finally vanishing the ice in his gloves.
"Which one?"
Agatha turns towards him.
"What?"
"What did he believe?"
"Oh." Agatha hunches a little. "Doesn't matter."
"Not a conspiracist or something, is he?" Presses Tedros.
Agatha takes a breath--
Tedros notices that the crowd of nobles has finally dispersed, and Vanessa has started to advance towards them.
"Let's go dance." Tedros says abruptly. Callis nods approvingly at him from beside Agatha's throne.
"Do we have to?" says Agatha reluctantly.
"It'll look bad if we don't. It's just a waltz, come on--"
Agatha follows his gaze, sees her mother fighting through the crowd, and is immediately accepting his hand up.
"Suddenly, I feel like dancing after all." she says dryly.
"Damn woman." Tedros growls, making pace towards the dancefloor, people parting for them. "Won't leave us alone for a minute--"
He turns, wondering if Vanessa has followed them--
Only to see her waylaid by an-even-more-charming Baron Hamish, who's new tactic seems to be winning the favour of Agatha's mother.
"I like him more now." Says Agatha, watching as he leads Vanessa away to the opposite end of the dance floor.
"I don't." Mutters Tedros, pulling her into hold, just close enough to the centre of the floor for it to look proper, but far away enough from both the crowd and other couples to mean they can talk without being overheard. Hopefully if he does a good enough job of looking enamoured, people will give them a wide berth anyway.
"Now will you tell me what he meant?" he asks.
Agatha huffs, making her veil flutter, but doesn't answer. Tedros waits, carefully guiding her through the steps. She's doing a good impression of being distracted by doing the dance properly, but he's not fooled. He knows she's managed to get this one down pretty well.
Agatha seems to notice he's anticipating an answer, and sighs.
"You basically already know." She tells him finally. "There's two main theories about the veil at home, and they appear to have followed me here. They think I don't know them, but I do. He clearly believed the second one."
"What are they?" Tedros pulls her closer, watching two women shuffling towards them, clearly interested.
Agatha slightly stumbles over a step, but recovers herself quickly.
"The first one is that I wear it because I'm horribly ugly, hellishly so." she says sardonically. "So I won't show you my face before the wedding, because you'd call it off if you knew what your lovely new wife looked like, and I want your good looks and money."
"Oh." says Tedros, surprised she doesn't seem more upset.
"I don't want your money or your abs, by the way."
"...Okay."
"Just thought I'd clear that up."
"Right. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"What's the second one?"
Agatha grips his shoulder slightly tighter, clearly looking away from him.
"...That I'm so beautiful I have to veil myself, lest people try to kidnap me. And I will continue to do so until I'm married to you, from which point you're responsible for me, and it's not mother's problem that everyone might try to kidnap me anymore."
"...ah."
"Fun speculation, right?" Says Agatha dully.
"So he believed that one?"
"Seems that way."
A pause. Tedros glances over at the musicians.
"They're going to change to a Minuet. Think you can handle it?"
"...I think so."
"More opportunity to talk." points out Tedros.
"What's there to discuss?" grouches Agatha as they take their places. "I've told you."
"And I was going to tell you that that's not what I thought."
"You thought I used appearance magic." says Agatha, unimpressed. "So clearly you either think it went wrong or worked."
"...no." says Tedros.
"Mm." Agatha is pulled away by the dance, and Tedros quietly watches her skirts fan out as she turns, wishing he hadn't told her that. Truthfully, he doesn't know what he believes, not after Callis's confrontation.
She's back soon enough though, and he grabs her hands--
"I like your dress," he says, briefly catching a piece of her skirt in his fingers. "Red suits your complexion."
He's not lying-- it looks good on her. A gown of red velvet, sleeves and skirt slit to expose gold silk beneath, jewels on her neckline, headdress and around her throat. Her gloves and veil are matching scarlet silk, and she's wearing the dragon ring he'd sent her on her right index finger.
"Sophie was mostly the mastermind behind it." admits Agatha, but Tedros doesn't miss how her shoulders come back a little bit, and she stands up a little straighter.
He smiles at her, and he hopes she smiles back.
----
"Let's go outside." offers Tedros, later. The hall is quickly becoming oppressive, most people are drunk, and Callis has been watching him from beside a tapestry for the better part of an hour.
"Is this about Callis?" snorts Agatha. "She's not going to actually confront you."
"Um." says Tedros, thinking of his interrogation earlier. "No. It's just too loud."
"Won't they miss us?"
"I don't think so." sighs Tedros, watching Duchess Linton high-kick on a table. "Besides, it's our engagement party. They're practically expecting us to sneak off."
"Fair enough."
They emerge onto a veranda, where a young couple appear to be breaking up, and quickly take the right-hand stairs down into the snowy gardens, hoping not to be noticed. Luckily, the break-up seems to be absorbing all the attention, and most people seem to be avoiding the gardens, since there's a biting wind lashing through the trees.
"We're very... obvious." says Agatha, eyeing their matching scarlet outfits, stark against the snow. Tedros grimaces, casting around for some shelter--
"We'll go down here." he says, ushering her down the conifer walkway-- tall enough to mean any view of them will be obscured from the ballroom. "Here--"
He stops in front of a stone bench, strips off one of his gloves, and carefully vanishes the layer of snow that's settled on it.
"Very slick." says Agatha, amused.
"I try." says Tedros, indicating she should sit down. She does, and he sits next to her, crunching snow under his boots--
"It is kind of about Callis." he blurts.
Agatha snorts in disbelief.
"She's a mean shot with a crossbow, but she's not going to try and kill you--"
"She came to see me before the ball." says Tedros, watching her out of the corner of her eye.
"Oh, did she?" groans Agatha. She tips her head back, revealing the outline of her nose and chin as her veil settles against her face. "What did she say?"
Tedros stares at her for a moment.
"...Hm?"
"What did she say to you?" asks Agatha, leaning forward, her face becoming indistinct again.
"Oh." Tedros hesitates, suddenly realising he probably shouldn't be telling her this. "Um, she kind of... interrogated me, and demanded to know if I--"
"If you saw my face." deduces Agatha, suddenly sitting up straight. She's not looking at him, he can tell.
"...yes." admits Tedros. "She didn't believe me when I said I didn't."
Agatha remains silent.
Tedros looks at her.
"... you believe me, don't you?"
A pause.
"...yes." says Agatha, but she's clearly lying. Tedros looks helplessly at her.
"Why does everyone think--" he cuts himself off. "Agatha, I wouldn't lie."
No response.
"I wouldn't!" insists Tedros, grabbing her hand, trying to get her to face him. "I might be desperate to know what's going on, but if I had seen, I'd have admitted it--"
"I did think you probably weren't a good enough liar to pull it off." murmurs Agatha. "But I wasn't sure."
She sounds faintly relieved.
Tedros sags, glad she believes him--
"She was gone for too long, though." says Agatha contemplatively. "Did she tell you something else?"
"Um, no." says Tedros, a little too quickly.
Agatha's head snaps towards him.
"What did she say?"
"Just... warned me about Vanessa, and things--"
"This is exactly what I meant." Agatha stabs a red-gloved finger at him. "You can't lie. Tell me--"
Tedros, panicking, tries to work out how to phrase it--
"Well..." he says weakly. "It's funny, because I was struck by how similar your birth was to mine-- what's the matter?"
For Agatha has gone still.
"She told you about... my birth?"
Tedros frowns, wondering if this is a sore spot, but he knows he's too far in to back out, now.
"She... told me that you set the cradle on fire and Vanessa didn't save you. And Callis pulled you out herself. Showed me the scars on her arms."
"That was it?" asks Agatha tightly.
"Um, and that they thought you might be feverish when you were born. And that Vanessa was kind of furious..." he searches for any more details. "No, that's it. I was just thinking how funny it was, because when I was born, they actually thought I was dead for about ten seconds because I was so cold, until I started crying. And then I managed to turn the cradle to ice overnight, but the fire melted it and it shattered. Scared the life out of my poor mother."
Agatha is still looking at him.
"That's all she told you?"
Tedros shrugs awkwardly.
"Yeah. Not much, I know. Not sure why she told me it, apart from to make me hate Vanessa even more. But that was nothing new. Still, it's kind of shocking."
The tension in Agatha's shoulders is gone, somewhat.
"Well," she says, after a minute. "It's not really surprising."
"But it's terrible." says Tedros, bewildered that she doesn't seem bothered by it. Agatha shrugs.
"I've never thought of her as a mother. She's just like a particularly hateful headmistress." She taps her necklace thoughtfully, gazing at him. "You turned an entire cradle to ice as a newborn?"
"I had about 10 hours to do it." points out Tedros.
"True." Agatha pauses. "Did you get hurt?"
Tedros shakes his head.
"Absolutely screamed, but no, somehow. They said I was really lucky to not have been cut by any of the collapsed cradle."
"Yeah." murmurs Agatha. "Really lucky."
They sit in silence for a while. He's got no idea what Agatha is thinking about, but he's thinking about Vanessa.
"I'll get rid of your mother." he proclaims, finally. "I'll remove the court to Tintagel, or I'll... take you on holiday, or something. Or maybe I'll suggest she ought to return to her kingdom, or someone from your court can make up a fake diplomatic emergency, or--"
But Agatha is shaking her head.
"It's very sweet, Tedros, but it won't work. You know we can't go anywhere alone, and she does nothing about diplomacy anyway. She probably hasn't read a bill in about thirty years. She'll only go home if she wants to, or if etiquette demands she should, and there's so much to do after the wedding that she'll probably be here for at least another month."
Tedros stares helplessly up at the lights of the castle.
"Callis said the same thing, but... I can't stand her being around."
"You get used to it." says Agatha blandly.
Tedros doesn't respond, still desperately trying to think of a way out--
A snowball hits him in the back of the head and knocks his crown off.
Tedros turns an unamused gaze on Agatha, retrieving his crown from a bush.
"You're really going to try and use my own element against me?"
"Stop brooding." says Agatha calmly, brushing snow off her gloves. "She's not some malevolent fairy, she's just a pain."
"You--" Tedros decides he's not going to win an argument about Agatha's own mother against her, and gives up for today. Then his face clears. "...Fine. If you want to play like that, we can play like that--"
Agatha looks at him.
Tedros takes his gloves off.
Agatha leaps up, trying to yank hers off--
"No, no-- hey, you can't do that, that's practically a snowdrift, that's not fair-- play fair--"
She shrieks and shatters it in mid-air with a burst of flame as Tedros throws it at her head.
For a minute, they just stare at each other.
"I think we invented a new game." says Tedros.
"Oh, you're gonna lose--" Agatha casts around for pockets, finds she has none, and shoves her gloves down her bodice. She ignores Tedros's raised eyebrows as she goes running over to steal flames from a nearby brazier, and is just in time to shatter his next attempt.
From a balcony on East Tower, Weatherford and Vanessa watch them sparring.
Weatherford looks worried.
Vanessa doesn't.
She looks furious.