Strangers in a Strange Land--A Pawns & Queens era novella--Chapter One

[Evie]

Strangers in a Strange Land

Chapter One

June 12, 1457
La Palais de Trebaçeaux
Kingdom of Joux

King Renier had his eldest daughter brought before him in the privacy of his personal study. Her chaperone Madame Dardenay stood just inside the closed door, behind her young charge, as the King's gaze swept up and down sixteen-year-old Alixa's budding form.

"You look ripe enough," he decided. "I have made a betrothal for you. You will be getting married in three days to Prince Cinhil of Gwynedd." He shoved a small bag of coins across his desk, glancing over at the chaperone. "Buy her a suitable dress and make sure she is presentable. The Gwyneddan Prince and his ambassador should be arriving on the morning of the fifteenth. I expect Alixa to be dressed in suitable finery for the occasion. See to it that she has some sort of trousseau to bring with her; a few changes of clothes suitable for a royal court should suffice. The two of you will be departing for Gwynedd right after the ceremony, so you will need to pack beforehand."

Madame Dardenay stepped forward, taking up the small pouch and peeking inside. She raised her eyebrows. "This might be just sufficient to cover the cost of the wedding dress, but not more, Votre Majesté."

He glared up at her before reaching into his own pouch, pulling out one more coin with a long suffering sigh. "That will have to suffice. It's already costing me the annual earnings of two manors to dower her. I refuse to spend another sou on the chit." He studied the chaperone with a sour expression. "I assume your present wardrobe will prove sufficient to needs."

Alixa only half listened to their discussion, her mind awhirl with questions she dared not ask about the marriage or her new affianced husband. She tried to remember what her mother had taught her about the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Fortunately she had managed to learn a little of their language prior to the Queen's death, for Alixa's mother had also served as her governess once the lady who had once held that position left Trebaçeaux quite suddenly, having had such a fright that she had unexpectedly packed her bags and fled in the middle of a sunny afternoon, not answering any of Alixa's increasingly more anxious questions in her haste to depart. Alixa could hardly blame her for wishing to leave the Palais; it was her own chief desire as well. If only she knew more about the situation she would be moving to, she might feel more hopeful about this new and unexpected turn of events, but knowing Renier, it was hardly to be hoped that he would have kept Alixa's personal preferences in mind when choosing a husband for her.

No, it wouldn't do to get her hopes up. The man was likely ancient, with skin like a dried-out prune and cold hands. But perhaps he would at least be kinder than Renier, or if not kinder, then at least less cruel. That would be some improvement.

She wondered if she dared ask to bring Cécile and Marthe with her, but the question died on her tongue. She knew very little about what marriage entailed, aside from the misery it had brought her mother, but she felt certain that having two children who were not his own imposed upon a new husband would be unlikely to improve his disposition towards her.

Alixa looked up to find her father frowning at her. Evidently she had allowed her mind to wander to the point that she had not noticed the two adults had finished their discussion. She flushed, curtseying swiftly in confusion as he shooed her out the door with a brisk, impatient wave of his hand, and turned to follow Madame Dardenay.

#

"Three days!" the chaperone exclaimed in the privacy of their shared bedchamber. "How am I meant to work a miracle in three days?" She pinched Alixa's face between forefinger and thumb, turning it this way and that. "I doubt I can get rid of those freckles, but maybe there is time to bleach them if I can get a lemon from le chef de cuisine. Your hair is frightful, and you're unfashionably skinny, though at least you finally have some curves to keep you from looking entirely like a boy. I hope your husband doesn't prefer them plump. Do you even know how to please a husband, or am I meant to teach you that too?"

"I have no idea," said Alixa. "I imagine I'm meant to just do as I'm told and otherwise keep my mouth shut?" That usually worked with her father.

"Well, it's a start, at least," Madame Dardenay affirmed. "I meant, do you know what to expect on your wedding night? In your marriage bed, comprends-tu?"

"Oh." Alixa didn't know much about that either, but she suspected it was similar to whatever happened on the occasions when her father used to summon her mother to his bedchamber late at night. She didn't know exactly what happened on those occasions, just that she sometimes heard her mother's return to her own chamber afterwards, if she hadn't managed to fall asleep before then. Usually her mother was crying, though only very quietly, not wishing to awaken her daughters. When Alixa was younger, she had simply assumed her mother was being scolded privately for some infraction on those occasions. As she'd grown older, she realized something else was happening instead, something that would sometimes cause bruises to darken Queen Éloïse's fair skin, or to shrink away from anyone's touch the following day. But maybe that didn't happen in every marriage. Maybe that was just because her mother had been married to King Renier. "I imagine I will be learning about that soon enough," she answered, suddenly feeling very anxious about the prospect.

"Hmph. Well, as you say, just do as you're told. And don't snivel afterwards."

That did not sound at all promising, Alixa was forced to admit.

"Votre mari will likely summon you often, at least at first, since he'll want heirs, and that's how heirs are made."

"But...." Alixa frowned. "Maman only had five children, and she was summoned a lot more times than that, I'm sure!"

"Espèce de vache stupide! That's because it doesn't always work! That's why he'll keep trying until it takes, but then maybe you will be able to rest for a bit until the baby is born." Madame Dardenay snorted cynically. "Not much resting after that happens, until the little brat learns how to sleep through the night, but by then your husband will be ready to plow you again. So you might as well learn to get used to it. Now let's have a look at your clothes chest. There might be a few old gowns of la reine ta mère that can be quickly altered to fit."

#

June 15, 1457
The Palace at Trebaçeaux
Alixa's bedchamber
Late morning

Alixa dressed with care the morning of her wedding, nervousness mixing with a tiny bit of curious anticipation. Her chaperone had told her to leave her hair down, which made Alixa feel a little anxious since she had worn it braided ever since she had started to develop a more womanly form, because once her father had happened to see it cascading around her shoulders as she was heading downstairs to the Hall with her hair unbound and had told her she looked like a strumpet. She had been forbidden to set foot in the Great Hall without prior permission after that, unless either her father or Madame Dardenay had personally approved her appearance beforehand. She had been only thirteen at the time, but had taken the admonishment to heart, for while she was not certain exactly what a strumpet was, she could tell from her father's tone that it was something bad.

But on this day, it was apparently not just permissible but actually mandatory to leave it down, so she carefully combed out all the snarls until her hair tumbled over her shoulders and back in a gleaming auburn mass. Even her chaperone had grudgingly grunted her approval as she finished lacing up Alixa's new gown. Alixa wasn't sure if black was really the color she would have selected for a wedding gown, given a choice.  She would have preferred a prettier shade, like maybe periwinkle or a soft rose, but Madame Dardenay had been insistent on picking something more practical that she could get repeated use out of. Why she couldn't have gotten multiple uses out of a periwinkle gown, Alixa had no idea, but when she'd asked, she'd just been told she was being a silly little girl and to stop being foolish, so there seemed little point in arguing.

"Here, wear this," said her chaperone, shoving a garnet-jeweled coronet into Alixa's hands, much to her surprise. It had been one that Queen Éloïse had been permitted to wear on very special occasions. She stood still to allow Madame Dardenay to pin the matching brooch upon her bodice. Clearly the King must be desirous of impressing this prince Alixa was about to wed!

Someone threw open the door, and to Alixa's utter lack of surprise, her younger brother stood in the doorway. "Are you ready yet? All our guests are waiting. I'm to escort you down, so be quick."

"Votre Altesse," said Alixa's chaperone, her voice dripping with disapproval, "you must knock before entering a young lady's bedchamber. Your sister is a young woman now, not a five year old!"

"So I see," said Rémy. "If she were still five, I don't think she'd be getting married. Or at least not bedded yet anyway," he added as he gave her form a slow appraisal that made Alixa's skin crawl. "Though you might need to wait on that, since your prince didn't show up. Seems he felt too unwell to make the trip, so his ambassador is marrying you instead. Maybe he'll do you."

"Que veux-tu dire?" asked Alixa, alarmed.

"I meant what I said," Rémy explained in a gloating voice. "Your darling prince couldn't be arsed to come get you because he felt too sick to make the journey. Clearly the very thought of marrying your scrawny little self made him too ill to wed with you in person, so he's having his ambassador do it instead. What part of 'You're not worth getting out of bed to come marry in person' did you not get?" He offered her his arm. "Come, little reject. Father's waiting."

#

June 15, 1457
The Palace at Trebaçeaux
The Great Hall
Noon

The betrothal contract was read out loud before her father's assembled court, much to Alixa's acute embarrassment, for while the Gwyneddan ambassador Bennett Ralson de Cosnac, the Baron d'Evering, standing next to her seemed to accept the terms with equanimity, she felt he must not be aware of how very little her father was offering up for the dubious privilege of taking her off his hands. She knew King Renier esteemed his daughters little, but this dowry was downright insulting! A one-time sum of five thousand livres and the annual income of two small manors for her upkeep? Certainly that would be great wealth if she was to wed a cobbler's son, but for the wife of a future King, it left her wondering if she was meant to wear her wedding dress for the rest of her days, or at least until it was in tatters, which would at least buy her some time to save up enough to buy other gowns suitable for a royal court. Perhaps she could add a crown adorned with paste jewels if she saved a few years more? And should her husband leave her widowed, what then? Would this be enough for her upkeep if she were to spend her remaining days in some quaint cottage, perhaps with the addition of a single cook and chambermaid? She hoped so. Upon further reflection, even that seemed preferable to returning to her father's court, though surely she would not be! The contract had further stipulated that she would receive her dower income contingent on her father receiving proof of consummation, whatever that might be, and that she would not need to be returned to Joux unless she failed to produce a child for the House of Haldane. So surely she could manage to produce at least one heir for her new husband! And then she would be safe, at least assuming Rhemuth's court was a better place to live than the one here in Trebaçeaux, but Alixa could hardly imagine it somehow being worse.

After the contract was read, the small wedding party processed to the Cathédral, where vows were exchanged on the porch before they entered to partake in a wedding Mass. It had felt strange exchanging vows with the elderly man Alixa knew was not meant to be her actual husband, although he seemed kind enough, giving her an encouraging smile every so often when it was her turn to repeat the vows the priest uttered. As soon as the Mass had concluded, the ambassador handed her into a coach, entering behind her and seating himself next to her for the short journey down to the docks where a ship awaited to take her to the Île d'Orsal. Her chaperone, after ensuring that their shared trunk of belongings was also en route to the ship, also joined them in the coach.

"We will be sailing to the port of Orsal, where your husband's brother will hopefully be waiting to bring you to your new home when we arrive," said Baron d'Evering once the coach was underway. "Prince Cinhil is very sorry he was not able to come to Joux himself. He started to feel ill yesterday morning just before he had planned to leave Rhemuth."

"He planned to leave Rhemuth only yesterday?" asked Alixa. "But...how...?" She knew her knowledge of geography was rather fuzzy, but she felt that a ship voyage all the way to Rhemuth ought to take a lot longer than that!

"His Royal Highness is Deryni, my lady, as are all of the Haldanes. Once I hand you and your chaperone over to his brother Prince Camber, he will escort you the rest of the way from Orsal to Coroth, where you will find a Transfer Portal that he will bring you through to Rhemuth. You should be settled into your new home by this evening. Have you ever been brought through a Transfer Portal, Votre Altesse?"

Alixa shook her head, although she did know what a Portal was. Her father and brother sometimes used one, though if they had ever brought her through one, she had no memory of using such a means of travel. She wondered why her father had not simply allowed the Ambassador to take her through their portal directly to Rhemuth, although at least this way, she would get to see a little bit of Orsal and Coroth, which was more than she'd ever been permitted to travel before. Even her knowledge of her own home city was quite lacking!

"What is it like traveling by Portal?" she asked, wondering if the Ambassador was also Deryni.

"I've only been brought through one a few times," the man beside her admitted. "It's a little disconcerting, but only for a brief moment. You might feel an odd sinking feeling at the pit of your stomach for about a heartbeat, but then you'll find yourself at your destination. So that part of it is highly convenient. I assure you that you will find it far less unpleasant than a longer sea voyage."

"What is my husband like?" Alixa asked. "I only know his name."

The ambassador looked briefly startled, but quickly masked it. He fumbled in his pouch. "I'm sorry, my lady, I forgot I was meant to give you his likeness." He fished out a small locket on a chain. "Prince Cinhil is a delightful young man, quite clever and witty. He might seem a little reserved at first, but I wouldn't call him shy, just someone who prefers to get to know someone slowly from careful observation and taking their measure. He is very much looking forward to meeting you and getting to know you better." He paused, apparently searching for the right words to say next. "Unfortunately His Highness suffers from an affliction which sometimes drains his strength and causes him difficulties, but you needn't worry about catching it, because it isn't that sort of an illness. He is able to participate in most daily activities unless he is having an especially bad day. Unfortunately it is difficult to predict when those are going to occur, but such a spell struck him early yesterday morning, which was why he was unable to come for you in person."

Alixa opened the locket to find a portrait of a dark-haired young man with gray eyes looking up at her, the faint hint of suppressed laughter in his expression. If this likeness was a true one, he appeared to be handsome, though Alixa had learned to be wary of judging men merely by their appearance, for there were many men at the Court of Joux who were fair enough on the outside yet foul on the inside, her brother being chief among them.

"How old is he?" she asked quietly, for the young man in the portrait didn't appear to be all that much older than herself, much to her relief. She had half expected to be given to a man closer to her father's age, someone stern and rough-mannered like Renier.

"Prince Cinhil is twenty-one, Votre Altesse. His birthday is in September, on the fifteenth, I believe. So he is not all that much older than you, my lady. You are how old now, sixteen?""

"Yes, my lord," she answered.

"So you are the same age as Prince Camber, the youngest of your husband's brothers. The princes also have a middle brother, Prince Nicholas, who I think is around nineteen now. And they have three sisters, two of whom are also in their earliest years of young womanhood as you are, so I am certain they will be glad to have another young lady at court who is close to them in age."

"And what are the King and Queen like?" Alixa asked.

"King Uthyr is well loved by his people and an able ruler," the ambassador replied readily. "He dotes on his family, although he can also be a bit stern with them at times, because he has high expectations of their behavior that he expects them to live up to. But I would say he is a fair-minded man."  Again, she got the sense the ambassador was weighing his words before speaking. "Queen Soraya is a handsome woman and a very efficient and accomplished Queen, a patron of the arts and culture. She was born of the Royal House d'Auxerre in Fianna. Her Majesty takes great pride in managing her household with high standards. She is a lady given to strong opinions, which can be a little unsettling for someone not well acquainted with her yet, but she is devoted to her family and to the Kingdom of Gwynedd."

#

June 15, 1457
Horthánthy
The Ile d'Orsal
Four hours later

Prince Camber was bored. He had spent the earlier part of the day making nice to the Hort, who after having maneuvered King Uthyr into accepting his offer for Camber's sister Miranda almost three years earlier, was just now getting around to making the necessary arrangements to finally marry her. Granted, Miranda had also used nearly every excuse possible to delay wedding Adémar, from begging their mother's intercession, pleading her desire to finish her education first in order to be better equipped for her new role as Queen of Orsal and Tralia, to begging to be allowed to finish her full womanly growth before marrying in order to minimize the risks of dying in childbirth. More recently, she had started claiming to be considering a possible religious vocation and needing more time to examine her heart and conscience. Privately, Camber thought it far more likely that he was the long lost Princess Rhetice than that Miranda had any sort of genuine call to the cloistered life, but he had done his brotherly best to be supportive, knowing his sister's distress over her upcoming marriage to be genuine enough, if not her supposed vocation.

But for a man who had claimed to be eager for the proposed alliance with Gwynedd, the Hort of Orsal was certainly doing his share of heels-dragging as well. Camber had originally harbored some hope that the Hort's apparent lack of eagerness to wed quickly might mean he was having second thoughts, and that the betrothal would end up being annulled on some pretext or another. While Father would have been less than pleased by that outcome, Miranda would be overjoyed. But no, Adémar had evidently come to the decision that it was high time for him to get around to the task of heir-begetting after all, so Camber had spent the morning as his father's emissary, working out the details of Miranda's move to Orsal, how many ladies she could bring with her, which week she would be expected to arrive, when the proposed wedding date was likely to be, and all those other tiresome details Camber could hardly be excited about, knowing how reluctant his sister was to wed Adémar in the first place, but which for diplomacy's sake he must feign some eagerness towards.

That had been Camber's morning. Now he was finally free of having to be pleasant to the officious ass who was about to become his brother-by-marriage, but he was not yet free to return to Rhemuth since he had one more duty to discharge in service to another sibling's matrimonial plans. At least hopefully this other marriage would be destined to have a happier outcome, though since the arranged match was with some Jouvian princess his brother Cinhil knew nothing about save that she was King Renier's daughter–and that in itself was enough reason to be deeply dubious–Camber had a few misgivings about this match also. But then again, he would reserve judgment until he'd met the princess. After all, the poor girl could hardly help who her father was.

Day by day, the priesthood was looking increasingly more attractive to Camber. At least if he sought a career in the clergy, his parents would be less likely to urge him to marry. He would still have that option, true, but they would be far more likely to want him to focus on his career and an eventual bishopric than to throw some foreign princess of their own choosing his way and expect him to start pumping out babies for the Haldane dynasty. Not for the first time, he was glad to be the third son and that he had a natural bent for scholastic life.

At last he saw the Jouvian ship had been fully docked and the planks had been laid down to allow passengers to disembark. Camber heaved a sigh of relief and headed down to greet the ambassador and the Jouvian princess.

#

June 15, 1457
On board the Duke of Corwyn's ship Gryphon
Between Orsal and Coroth Bay
Two hours from arrival

She was pretty, Cinhil's bride, with her vivid red hair and dark blue-gray eyes. Camber might even have been inclined to think of her as beautiful, were it not for the pinched, anxious expression that seemed habitually perched upon her delicate features. He frowned slightly, knowing if his mother were here, she would chide him for even noticing something so trivial as the young lady's appearance. A future priest should be above such worldly thinking, she would say, or at least she had done so on other occasions when he had made the mistake of commenting on some young lady's attractiveness in her hearing. He supposed he was meant to be blind to feminine attractions, completely abstemious in his thinking, but for the life of him Camber could not imagine how his mother, married at seventeen with an almost divine mandate to bear as many children as she could manage in her role as Gwynedd's Queen, could consider herself any sort of authority on living a life of ascetic self-denial. But he knew it was quite possible to merely admire a lady's beauty without throwing himself headlong down the road to a life of sin and degeneracy, or whatever the hell Maman was afraid would happen if he merely uttered the opinion that a girl was lovely to look upon.

Camber stole another glance at Princess Alixa, or at least he attempted to, but her chaperone had interposed herself between them, and if the Jouvian girl appeared to be slightly undernourished, her companion appeared to be well-fed enough for the both of them, making it difficult for him to see past her without appearing too obvious about it.

They were currently arguing about him in their native Jouvian. It did not seem to be the best time to inform them that he understood a great deal of that language, including some words and phrases perfectly acceptable in polite company.

"Vous ne devez pas vous tenir à côté du jeune homme! Vous ruinerez votre réputation," the chaperone was saying. Camber could not imagine how merely standing next to the princess while remaining in plain sight on the deck of a ship could possibly injure the young lady's reputation. Clearly she gave him a lot more credit than he gave himself if she thought he could somehow despoil an innocent maiden without so much as touching her.

"Mais Madame, c'est mon beau-frère!"  At least the princess seemed to recognize that no harm to her reputation was likely to result from a mere conversation with her new brother-by-marriage.

"Il est beau, oui, mais il n'est pas votre frère!" He supposed he ought to feel flattered the frightful old bat thought he was handsome, but as for pointing out to Alixa that he was not her brother, Camber hoped that was patently obvious. Rémy of Joux by all reports was an odious lout, so Camber devoutly hoped neither woman would see any resemblance between himself and Alixa's brother.

"Merci mon Dieu pour ça !"  Apparently the princess herself was also grateful to God that Camber was not Rémy. It was good to know he had at least one opinion in common with his new sister-by-marriage.

All right, this could go on for the rest of the four-hour sail to Coroth if he didn't speak up. "Je me tiens juste ici!" Camber informed the chaperone somewhat frostily. I am standing right here!

Madame Dardenay merely raised a cool brow at him, looking somewhat affronted that he dared to know their language, but Alixa turned scarlet, causing Camber a pang of regret for having embarrassed her. In truth, he had hoped his pointed remark would have found its target in the opposite direction. "I just thought you should know before you two continued further that I do know a fair bit of Jouvian." He smiled apologetically at his brother's new wife, having a slightly less obstructed view of her now that her chaperone had drawn away from him in distaste.

#

Alixa was mortified! Madame Dardenay had been unpardonably rude. "A thousand pardons! I am truly sorry," she whispered to the prince her beau-frère in Gwyneddan, ignoring the scowl her chaperone sent her way, for Madame's knowledge of Gwyneddan was more limited than she liked to let on. Truth be told, Alixa's was not nearly as fluent as she would have liked, but at least she had worked on it for longer than she had practiced the other languages her mother had attempted to teach her, and had even once owned a Gwyneddan book, Woolf's Lives of the Deryni Martyrs, until it had fallen apart from the number of times Alixa had read and reread it, hoping it would help her to retain what her earlier language lessons had taught her. When it had started to come apart, the threads holding the signatures together snapping and ruining the binding, Rémy had noticed her attempting to hide the book, removed it from its hiding place, and had tossed it into the fireplace, calling it rubbish. It had been one of innumerable acts she could not forgive him for, though she had tried.

"De rien," the Gwyneddan prince replied with a gracious nod and smile, crossing behind her chaperone to stand at Alixa's other side, looking out over the ship's rail with her and ignoring Madame Dardenay's outrage and attempts to move back between them. He simply took a small side step closer to her. "We are heading toward Coroth Bay, though we won't be able to see anything but the heights for a little while yet. Up there, however, you might be able to make out the shape of Coroth Castle, and that's where we will be headed once we disembark."

"Coroth," Alixa repeated, testing the sound of it on her tongue. The 'th' sound was often difficult for Jouvians to master, though she had spent lots of time practicing it and hoped she was saying it correctly.  "It is the seat of les ducs de Corwynne, non?"

"Quite correct," Prince Camber said with another quick smile. "Duke Alain is the current Duke of Corwyn, although he is not at Coroth at the moment. You'll meet his son Joscelin, the Earl of Lendour, when we arrive, or at least shortly thereafter. He's supposed to be arranging transportation for us from our berth to the Castle. Joss is a very close friend of ours, and especially of Cinhil's, so you will be getting to know him well."

"And from there, we go to Rhemuth?" she asked.

"Yes," he confirmed. "We should arrive fairly late, so for tonight you and your chaperone will be housed in a guest apartment where you can catch up on your rest. Tomorrow you will meet Cinhil, possibly after breakfast."

#

A faint shadow crossed the girl's features. At first Camber took it for mild disappointment that she would not be meeting her new husband that evening, but then she looked up at him nervously, and dropping her voice in an evident effort to prevent her chaperone from hearing her question, she said "I will not have to go back to Joux because of the delay, will I?"

He stared at her, perplexed. "No. Why do you ask?"

Alixa stared at the coastline with a furrowed brow. "There was something in my betrothal contract. Le roi mon père says that there must be proof of consternation tout de suite."

That was no more enlightening until he realized the cause for her confusion. Camber was hard pressed not to laugh out loud, but then he'd have to explain why, and he didn't wish to embarrass Cinhil's bride a second time in less than five minutes. At least he hoped she was referring to needing to supply King Renier with proof of consummation, because he wasn't at all sure how proof of her consternation could be supplied unless Miranda could be prevailed upon to paint a portrait of Alixa looking dismayed. "I am certain your father realizes that distant journeys can be of variable length, and he is also well aware that my brother's health condition might cause some short delay. You needn't worry about being shipped straight back to Joux." He felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the girl. What sort of life had she had thus far, that made her eager to flee it to marry a man she'd never met and live in a kingdom she'd never seen, and worry that the least bit of delay in fulfilling the terms of her contract would get her summarily sent back to Renier?

A worrisome thought occurred to Camber. "Ah...did your father happen to mention what such proof would entail?"

She worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "Non." She gave him an uncertain look. "I am hoping my husband will know."

"Yes, I'm sure he can answer any questions you might have about that, or perhaps Maman can." Sweet Jesú, he certainly didn't want to be in the position of having to explain to his brother's wife what she could expect on her wedding night! The mere thought was almost enough to send him fleeing back to the University of Grecotha well before the start of the next term!

The thought had occasionally crossed Camber's mind that it would feel very strange to be betrothed and wed to a complete stranger, which was one reason he had jumped at the opportunity to pursue a university education and a future in the Church when the idea had been presented to him. But he had not really considered what it would be like from an innocent young maiden's point of view, being neither a maiden nor quite as spotlessly pure as a young man destined for holy orders in theory ought to be, though since making the choice to go to seminary, he had mostly walked the straight and narrow, at least where the fair sex was concerned. Since then, there had only been that one night in Grecotha when he had imbibed far too much aqua vitae and had awakened the next morning beside a very pretty barmaid he had no memory of sharing the bed with the night before. But she had been mostly clothed, and had also been highly amused by his reaction rather than distressed to find herself beside him. He had very much hoped his friends had placed her there as a prank. The experience had taught him to be more moderate in his drinking the next time they'd all gone tavern hopping together.

But there seemed to be something more going on here than just the simple innocence of a well protected royal bride. His sister Miranda was also innocent, aside from some minor youthful escapades and whatever few stolen kisses she and Joss might have managed during the rare moments when she wasn't thoroughly chaperoned, but she was far from naïve. Alixa, by contrast, appeared to have been kept dangerously ignorant, likely by her father's deliberate choice, since the girl herself seemed intelligent, just woefully undereducated. Even his youngest sister Elisa, just turned ten, seemed to be more knowledgeable. It was a concerning realization, and one that Camber decided would need to be brought to Cinhil's attention at once, not simply so he could avoid frightening his young bride. Alixa might also need to be protected from others seeking to take advantage of her lack of understanding.

#

June 15, 1457
The City of Coroth
Kingdom of Gwynedd
Evening

The Earl of Lendour had arrived at the quay with a coach and coachman to pick up the new arrivals. Alixa found herself squeezed onto one seat between Madame Dardenay and the wall of the coach, while Prince Camber and the young Earl sat facing them. The trunk containing all her worldly possessions and Madame Dardenay's wardrobe had been loaded onto a cart that was following along behind them.

"How was your journey, Votre Altesse?" Earl Joscelin of Lendour courteously inquired. "I trust the seas weren't too rough this afternoon."

"Ze princesse talks not to young men que ne sont pas of la connaissance and approval of le roi son père," Alixa's chaperone haughtily informed the Earl.

Alixa turned swiftly towards Madame Dardenay, eyes wide with shock and chagrin. She might pay for her insolence later, but enough was enough! She could hardly start off her married life by alienating everyone in her new husband's kingdom. "Au contraire! This princess shall most certainly speak with her own beau-frère and with la noblesse of the Court of Gwynedd! Quelle honte, Madame! How else am I meant to learn about the people of la cour de mon mari?" As her chaperone glared at her, her expression promising punishment to come, Alixa turned back towards the Earl, forcing a smile onto her face and attempting to stop her trembling. "The voyage was smoother than I expected, my lord. I have never been on a ship before, but I have heard tales of sea travel and was very concerned I might have le mal de mer."

"I am glad you had a pleasant day for travel, then," said the earl, giving her a cordial smile before glancing briefly at Madame Dardenay with a much more measuring look.

Alixa searched for something else to say to this man she had been told was her new husband's friend. "It is to your castle we go, non?" She gestured out the coach window at the castle looming over the port city.

"It is the Duke my father's castle, but yes, I spent much of my boyhood there, when I wasn't either in Lendour or in Rhemuth," the young Earl confirmed. "We should be there in a few minutes, maybe fifteen or twenty at most, and from there Prince Camber and I will bring you straight to Rhemuth by means of a Transfer Portal. Your husband thought you would find that an easier and safer means of travel than spending a week or two sailing along our coastline, though your other dower goods should likely be arriving at the river dock in just a couple of weeks, if the weather remains fair."

Alixa glanced at Madame Dardenay, who simply stared fixedly ahead. "As far as I know, we just have the single coffre of belongings that we brought with us," she said, hoping that would be sufficient. She had not been aware it might be expected she would bring more with her, but in any case she owned little more that would have been worth bringing to Gwynedd. The leather-covered trunk had been quite large enough to hold all of her own clothing as well as Madame Dardenay's.

The two men exchanged glances. "That should make it easy enough to get the two of you settled into your new home," Prince Camber assured her.

Next chapter: https://www.rhemuthcastle.com/index.php/topic,3287.0.html

[DoctorM]

This looks like it'll be very interesting!

[Evie]

This looks like it'll be very interesting!

Consider it my Christmas present to the Castle. 

[revanne]

Poor Alixa.

[Evie]

Poor Alixa.

Well, you know, it could be worse. Instead of poor Alixa marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Cinhil in Gwynedd to live there for the rest of her life, it might be poor Miranda marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Remy in Joux to live there for the rest of her life....   

[DerynifanK]

And a wonderful Christmas gift it is. I get to look forward with anticipation to each new chapter. I feel for Alixa but at least she is escaping her awful father and brother. It's surprising how any two people can be so consistently disgusting.

[DerynifanK]

Poor Alixa.

Well, you know, it could be worse. Instead of poor Alixa marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Cinhil in Gwynedd to live there for the rest of her life, it might be poor Miranda marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Remy in Joux to live there for the rest of her life....   

What a horrible thought!

[Evie]

And a wonderful Christmas gift it is. I get to look forward with anticipation to each new chapter. I feel for Alixa but at least she is escaping her awful father and brother. It's surprising how any two people can be so consistently disgusting.

Awww, poor misunderstood Renier and Remy!

(Naw, you're right, they're both disgusting gits, aren't they?  )

[Evie]

Poor Alixa.

Well, you know, it could be worse. Instead of poor Alixa marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Cinhil in Gwynedd to live there for the rest of her life, it might be poor Miranda marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Remy in Joux to live there for the rest of her life....   

What a horrible thought!

Hey, at least her life would very likely have been short if that had happened, so I guess there's the silver lining.... 

[revanne]

Poor Alixa.

Well, you know, it could be worse. Instead of poor Alixa marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Cinhil in Gwynedd to live there for the rest of her life, it might be poor Miranda marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Remy in Joux to live there for the rest of her life.... 

In  fairness to Uthyr and Soraya, I don't think their concern for favourable alliances stretches that far as I'm sure Rénier and Remy's reputations have escaped the confines of Joux. 

[Evie]

Poor Alixa.

Well, you know, it could be worse. Instead of poor Alixa marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Cinhil in Gwynedd to live there for the rest of her life, it might be poor Miranda marrying a complete stranger and heading off to meet her husband Remy in Joux to live there for the rest of her life.... 

In  fairness to Uthyr and Soraya, I don't think their concern for favourable alliances stretches that far as I'm sure Rénier and Remy's reputations have escaped the confines of Joux.

Yes. King Uthyr had some faint hope (in vain, as it turned out) that maybe agreeing to an alliance with Joux would help to curtail some of Renier's ambitions in the Forcinn, but we all saw how well that turned out. Cinhil wasn't holding out much hope that the alliance would work in that respect, but having seen the poor little waif in Aoife's memories who was his proposed bride, he decided to go ahead and take the chance anyway, figuring that at least they could get the poor girl out of what seemed to be a very bad home life. Exactly how bad it was, he didn't discover until later, but given Renier's and Remy's reputations and how unwanted Alixa seemed to be in her own Court, he figured a marriage between them might be of mutual benefit, since other potential royal brides in the region weren't exactly queueing up to marry a prince who might not live long enough to be King.

[Laurna]

Imagine at the age of 16 being shipped off like a piece of heirloom furniture. For Alixa's sake, I am so very glad that she is going to wed Prince Cinhil of Gwynedd. Even though she is fully innocent of what her future may become, I perceive that even she finds the idea of it more acceptable than remaining in her father's home. I love that she stood up to her chaperon at the end. A little fire in her might just be enough to get her a place into her new life.

[Evie]

Imagine at the age of 16 being shipped off like a piece of heirloom furniture. For Alixa's sake, I am so very glad that she is going to wed Prince Cinhil of Gwynedd. Even though she is fully innocent of what her future may become, I perceive that even she finds the idea of it more acceptable than remaining in her father's home. I love that she stood up to her chaperon at the end. A little fire in her might just be enough to get her a place into her new life.

I don't think Renier would value her even as much as heirloom furniture. For him, it's more like sending some ratty old recliner off to the thrift store!

Though of course her new husband will have a completely different view of things and value her as the priceless treasure that he will recognize her to be, at least once they get to know one another better.

[DerynifanK]

The sooner that chaperone is out of the picture the better. Does Joux not produce any agreeable or nice people? They seem to be quite scarce. All the ones we meet are grumpy and disagreeable. Of course if the king sets the tone it is understandable.

[Evie]

The sooner that chaperone is out of the picture the better. Does Joux not produce any agreeable or nice people? They seem to be quite scarce.

There are some, of course! They are just pretty scarce among those who are currently in power, given that Renier and Remy would hardly attract the most decent people to their Inner Circle. But in Pawns and Queens, you saw the captive Blocker as well as the Jouvian defectors, at least two of whom seemed to be men of fairly high character. They were willing to risk their lives to go back to Joux and help out with the Blocker's rescue, at least. And there was also the Healer at the Palace of Trebaceaux who covered up for Marthe's attempted murder so that the little princess wouldn't face charges of regicide, because he had enough empathy to understand that she was too young and damaged to understand the consequences of her actions. There are likely many other decent people in Joux, it's just that right now it's not a very safe time for decent people to come to the Crown's notice.

Also, Joux produced Alixa and Cecile, and I think both of those ladies are pretty nice and agreeable.