62I claim no credit to these characters, their world, the dialogue, or the storyline. They are the wonderful creations of the awesome Shannon Hale.
Geric stood waiting next to the king in the shadowy throne room, partially hidden behind other members of the royal party in an attempt to conceal his nerves. He swallowed and shuffled his feet.
You've got to fulfill your duty, Geric, he told himself. You've known about this for a long time. There's no good in thinking about – but he cut himself off at that thought.
Princess Napralina-Victery's surprise arrival had only heightened his apprehension of his nuptials that afternoon. He stilled his twitching hands by placing them in his pockets, awaiting the Kildenrean princess's entry into the audience hall.
His betrothed, Princess Anidori, swept into the hall, an easy smile on her lips. She was trailed by her Kildenrean guards and her sister, Princess Napralina. Napralina, strangely, wore a grim, determined expression, and Geric felt a flicker of suspicion. Beyond the expression, Geric thought her face looked familiar and – dear. Why would that be? Napralina's hair was also yellow, but of a more golden shade than her sister's. Geric concentrated on her face, wondering.
Princess Anidori and her guards joined the royal party on the dais, leaving Napralina alone in front of the king. The gesture seemed wrong, somehow. Not affectionate, not sisterly. Geric straightened his shoulders, much more suspicious, concerned, and tense. His instincts rarely failed him.
Napralina had not lost that stern expression, but it faltered momentarily, betraying acute fear. Thoroughly worried, Geric glanced at the king as she curtsied.
"Princess Napralina-Victery," the king said. Geric pressed his lips together. The king's tone was less than welcoming. But then again, war with Kildenree was fast approaching.
"No, I am not she," she said with a Kildenrean accent.
"Not Napralina?" The king questioned fiercely.
"No, I am not, but – "
Guards, at the king's signal, approached her. Geric flashed a glance towards Princess Anidori, who was smirking. Geric recoiled in distaste.
"No, wait," the unknown maiden choked, falling to her knees. "Please, wait, listen to me. Please."
As she huddled on the floor, her hair fell into shadow, and her beseeching face was all that was visible. Startled, Geric realized that the maiden resembled Isi strikingly. Her hair had always been covered by a hat. Her hair had been yellow? His heart began to pound fiercely, and, without a second thought, Geric pushed forward from the crowd.
"One moment, sire," he insisted, approaching her. She remained huddled in the shadows on the floor, but as he came closer, he saw that she was, indeed, Isi.
His thoughts were a cacophony of exclamations and questions, but the confusion subsided as he spoke her name.
"Isi?"
Yes, she was. Geric suddenly felt a sense of contentment, happiness, even in that tense and strange situation. This all had to be some sort of joke. He smiled as he asked her, "Isi, what's going on?"
Isi did not smile back. She looked small and frail. Geric stifled the urge to gather her in his arms, to make her feel safe.
"Isi was my grandmother's name, among friends," she answered. The fear had not quite left her eyes, but she rose slowly and faced the king.
"Sire, I am Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, first daughter of Kildenree."
She pointed at Princess Anidori behind the dais. "That girl was my lady-in-waiting."
!
Geric realized that his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it.
A high, piercing laugh rose from the gasps and murmurs, as the accused laughed delightedly. It almost sent a shiver down Geric's spine and bolstered his suspicions of her character.
"My compatriots and I stood here in silence, Your Majesty," said Anidori confidently, "eagerly awaiting what word this lost bird would bear, and it has proved more entertaining than we had imagined. She is the princess! This is the little runaway I told you of, sire, the serving girl who decided in the Forest that she no longer wished to serve and slipped away in the night with one of my gowns and a bag full of coins. It would seem she still has the dress but has spent the coins – though how she managed that in just these few months might be answered only in a gambling hall or tavern. At any rate, it would seem she still does not wish to serve."
She left the dais and approached Isi, touching her shoulder. "But really, Selia, is not crying 'princess' taking one step too far?"
After a brief hesitation, Isi responded, "No."
"Come now, my dear. Being a princess is more work than a lady-in-waiting. You should know; you have watched me most of your life. You have told me how you have felt being consigned to a life of servitude. I sympathize. I know you feel trapped by your birth and have seen you talents go wasted by the narrowness of your occupation. To wait. To sit and wait and serve your mistress. I can understand it must be frustrating. But, princess?" She laughed. "And as much as it is a burden at times, I'm not going to resign on your behalf. So, please, for the friendship we once shared, admit the truth."
Isi shook her head back and forth several times. "No. I mean, yes, I have told the truth. I am who I say I am."
Geric's glance had flickered between the two as they spoke. He hid his churning thoughts behind a mask of forced calm and reflection.
The prime minister interrupted. "Enough of this. Sire, we waste time here on this runaway thief while there are pressing matters of war."
Geric pursed his lips at "runaway thief."
Isi began to speak. "War. You started all of this, Selia, in the Forest. The guards, you murdered them. She murdered them all, sire, she and Ungolad and the others. And I ran, so she could not kill me, too. I have been hiding these months as a goose girl. I have witnesses who saw these men try to kill me just as they killed my guards."
Isi glanced at Geric. He met her eyes slowly.
The accused responded, "Now, dear, don't be silly. All my guards are right here."
"No, the others," said Isi. "Where are Rashon, Ingras, Adon, and the others? And, and Radal, and Dano. Poor Dano, who looked up to the warriors as to older brothers and only ever carried a dinner knife in his belt." Isi released a sob. "And you killed him anyway. All of them, sire, all. Except Talone."
Feeling upset and confused at Isi's tortured expression, Geric caught the king's unwaveringly fierce and angry expression.
Isi continued to speak, smiling grimly at Princess Anidori, "You did not know that, did you? That he survived your slaughter?" She turned to the king. "Sire, I beg you to ask my escort Talone. He is just outside the gates. Your guards would not admit him, but he stands ready to testify to you that what I say is true. He was there. He witnessed the massacre in the Forest."
The Kildenreans began to mutter amongst themselves. Geric's suspicions increased. If only there was a way to expose the truth, he thought. His instincts were increasingly believing Isi and disbelieving Princess Anidori. But, is that just my feelings clouding my judgment? Abruptly, the Kildenreans silenced.
"Ah, Talone, your cohort, said Princess Anidori. "Is he still with you?" She looked angry. "Of course, you would not be so brazen as to make these claims unless you had a false witness to improve the odds. He is so fickle, however, I would not have guessed him to stay with you since the Forest, once you lost your coin."
"Sire," declared the prime minister, "the young prince is tired from the hunt, and this Kildenrean's spy's lies are none of his concern. I recommend he be saved from this raucous tedium."
Geric looked at his younger brother. Always delicate, he seemed to be sick again. His face was pale, and he seemed weak. His brother seemed to want to lean against the enormous tapestry behind the dais, but he did not, or rather, he could not. In a flash of remembrance, Geric recalled the hollow opening behind the tapestry. It was a passageway that both he and his brother had played in as children. He had almost forgotten about it, but, clearly, his younger brother had not. Geric began to formulate a plan.
"Yes, I grow rather tired of it myself," answered the king. "Would that I had youth as an excuse to withdraw." He waved his hand, and the young prince's guards escorted him gently away.
Isi's face suddenly seemed anxious and confused. "Wait," she stuttered. "Shouldn't the prince stay? After all, this is the matter of his bride."
So, Isi still thinks I am a guard, thought Geric. What does that mean?
The prime minister laughed. "You see, Your Highness? She doesn't even know what she's saying," he said to the king with disdain. He turned to Isi. "The princess, of course, is betrothed to our elder prince, Geric."
Geric suddenly wished that he had been honest with Isi about his identity. But, then again, had she been honest with him about her identity?
Isi turned a bewildered face upon Geric. Her eyes were wide, and the light seemed to go out of her face. "Geric?" Her voice weakened. "Geric is the prince?... You are?"
Geric nodded slowly, feeling concerned and guilty. "Isi, are you truly Kildenrean? Truly Anidori?" he asked.
"Yes, I am," she responded. "I swear, I – "
"What's all this, Geric," the king asked gruffly.
Without taking his eyes off Isi, Geric answered, "I knew this girl, before, as a goose girl." She continued to look into his eyes, her face sad.
"You called her Isi," the king stated.
"Yes, that's what she – that's what I thought her name was," Geric replied.
"And did she ever claim to you that she was the princess?"pressed the king.
"No, but – " Geric intended to say but I did not tell her I was the prince, but he was interrupted.
"Oh, sire," Princess Anidori sighed, "clearly she was try to use the prince to win her little game."
Geric felt sadness and doubt press in on him for the first time. Isi might have always known I was the prince and used me. Isi flinched from his gaze. No, no, I won't pass judgment yet, he assured himself.
"Sire," said the prime minister, "there are other matters that beg your attention."
"The war," Isi stated urgently. She looked at Geric again with an anxious face. "It is her idea, the war. Kildenree is not plotting. There is no conspiracy. She invented it all to hide her bloody deeds."
"Sire," the prime minister said firmly.
"Please listen to me," Isi pleaded. "Geric, you know me. You must believe that what I'm saying is true."
I thought I knew you, Geric thought. But I still – still love you. His heart thumped unevenly. He returned to his plan. If we make the Kildenreans think they are alone, we could listen to what they say from the passageway behind the tapestry. They might reveal the truth.
The prime minister rolled his eyes and sighed with annoyance. "This is obviously a Kildenrean spy sent to thwart our endeavors," he insisted.
"She is fraud," said Isi. "All she says is a lie."
"Sire, don't let this yellow-haired wench craft doubt on our war!" the prime minister exclaimed.
"Enough!" growled the king, glaring at Isi.
Geric placed a hand on his father's arm. "Sire, we should listen to her."
"We have listened enough," said the king, shaking Geric's hand loose. "This girl announces herself as Napralina, then says she's Anidori, then you call her Isi, then she's Selia. It appears that she's also the goose girl who curtsies so prettily and was found spying around the royal stables last winter. Whoever she is, she'd better decide quickly so we know what to engrave on her tombstone. I smell treason."
Geric felt his gut twist with dread, as the king stomped away from him towards Isi. "Anidori, my dear," said the king.
Geric noticed Isi's mouth open to answer, but Princess Anidori cut in smoothly. "Yes, my lord?"
"What's the punishment for treason in Kildenree?" asked the king.
Geric looked at Princess Anidori whose eyes seemed to sparkle with merriment.
"My lord," answered Anidori, "It is a grave crime and thus a public castigation. To be placed naked in a barrel full of nails and dragged through the streets by four white horses, I believe."
Sickened by her response and expression, Geric sought an opening to put his plan into effect.
Isi looked petrified.
"You believe?" said the king. "Be sure. We've heard enough. She's not our citizen or our concern. I'm seriously considering leaving her in the dungeon here until this war is through and I've a free moment to deal with such nonsense."
Geric interjected, hoping that his words would not reveal how desperate he felt. "Oh, there's no need for that, Father. No one has proved she's done anything criminal."
"It's wartime, Geric," the king answered. "I don't need proof." He waved his hand for the guards to take Isi away.
This was the moment. Geric put up his hand to stop them. "A moment," he said. "As you said, she isn't your citizen or your concern. Leave the girl here with her compatriots, and together they can arrive at a suitable resolution. Maybe the reminder of what her punishment might be will encourage her to tell the truth." And Father and I will listen to what you have to say, thought Geric.
"Fine," the king answered, satisfied. He looked at Anidori. "Send for my chief guard in an hour. If you haven't convinced her to tell the truth, we'll lock her up until we've time for this."
The Bayern citizens began to walk toward the throne room's main doors. Isi, wringing her hands, followed them, a breathless desperation in her voice.
"No, Geric," she said. "You don't understand them. Please don't leave me."
"It's for the best, Isi," Geric answered. He turned and looked about the hall briefly, scanning the faces of the Kildenreans. Anidori and her guards seemed pleased. Too pleased, perhaps, Geric noted. He frowned, and then exited. Some of the king's guards restrained Isi from following, before they, too, exited.
"No," she pleaded. "Don't leave me here with them. They are murderers. Come back, please!"
Geric, his heart pounding, wished he could comfort her with the thought that he would not go far – she would be safe. His heart wrenched as he heard her sob to the last departing Bayern guards, "Don't leave me. Please. Just you two stay."
The doors to the throne room were closed and locked, but all could hear her pounding fists and muffled cries as they walked away.