As I woke up the next morning to the cooking outside my door, it still felt right. I turned over to Edana, laying in my bed fast asleep. I sighed and gave a smile, she is beautiful, she is perfect. As I got out of bed gently not to wake her and saw our clothes on the ground around us, I realized that I was the luckiest fool in the Kingdom. I put on my pink and yellow clothes, my jester attire and did my make up in the dirty mirror across from the bed. She woke up and looked over at me,
“What is that noise?”
“Its the main chef, Beta. She starts at six to get food ready for nine o’clock breakfast,”
“It takes that long?” She asked, putting her robe on
“Yeah,”
While I was dabbing the white paint onto my face, she came up from behind me and put her head on my shoulder, “Are your promises still true?”
I turned to her and gave a smile, setting my hand on her hip, “They always will be.”
I kissed her forehead, getting the white paint on her.
She smiled and wiped it off with her sleeve, “What are we going to do?”
“Well,” I reached for the yellow brush, “We both have an hour of free time from four to five, we could walk the gardens.”
“I don’t mean that, I do want to do that, but what about our future?”
“We might just have to take it as it goes. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never done this before.”
She sighed, “Speaking of going, I need to get up to my room without people seeing me.”
I immediately knew what to do, “Follow me,”
I peeked out of the door, my eyes went to Beta in the kitchen, making sure she was occupied with the eggs. With Eda’s hand in mine we left the room and went a little down the hallway to where the service stair was.
I turned the old knob, “The third door you see will be next to your room,”
She smiled, “The garden at four?”
I nodded back
Eda kissed my cheek before closing the door and scaling the stairs.
I turned on my heels back to my room; happy that she left without the others noticing, but I spoke too soon.
“I never truly considered you a fool,” Beta said, her arms crossed as she stood a few feet from the door, “But sleeping with the Queen-to-be is another level of stupidity that I didn’t think was possible.”
“Well, spitting in the Kings food is not smart either,” I grumbled, walking past her, the bells on my shoes jiggling along with each step
“I won’t tell him about this fling, but he will find out,” She said
“Thanks for your help,” I rolled my eyes, not wanting the disagreements of the old cook in my ear this early,
“It doesn’t mean I don’t support you.”
I turned my head back to her, “What?”
She uncrossed her arms and walked up to me, “We all know Reggie is an idiot who does not deserve her, let alone the crown, and I’m always happy when someone pisses them off. But this is dangerous. Love always is.”
“What can I say,” Giving an over-the-top bow, “I’m very dangerous,”
She sighed and went back to the eggs, “You are foolish.”
***
It was like torture watching her from across the room as I stood by the Kings side. The discussion about the wedding and respective countries’ futures was the salt in the wound. The Prince did not care for her as I did, he barely said five words to her. He was a stuck up kid who could not appreciate what was in front of him.
When four rolled around, I was sitting on a bench in the garden’s entrance, admiring the sprawling grounds. There are hedges that trace the walkways and walls, protecting flowers and trees from all over the known world.
“I had seen this from the windows of the castle,” Eda said as she came up from behind me, “But I never truly grasped it.”
I stood up and put my arm out for her, “Shall we?”
“What if someone sees us?”
“The only people who come over here are the ground keepers and they won’t tell anyone. And if some royal or loyal guard sees us, they would just think I’m trying to be nice and show you the castle. I’m nothing more than a fool to them.”
“Well, that is something we have in common,” She said, putting her arm around mine.
I turned my head to her as we walked and gave a smirk, “And that’s why we are perfect for each other,”
Eda gasped and pulled me to the side, “This is a rose Centifolia! They are my favorite type of rose!”
“It looks like cabbage to me,” I said, half joking, half not.
“Well it is also called a Cabbage rose, but I think Centifolia is prettier.”
“Then you will love this other section,” I said with a smile as I took her hand and guided her through the weaving trails.
“Mari, where are you taking me?” She asked with a grin
“Here,” I said, letting go of her hand as she walked forward.
I took her to the fruit tree garden where the staff grew food for the king. In this garden there was a sprawling fig tree that I didn’t know was a Celeste until a few days ago when she mentioned it.
“It’s massive,” She said in awe getting closer to the bark, “It must be at least eighty years old,”
“Eighty two,” I said, “Beta told me the other day,”
She looked back at me and sighed with a smile, “You only heard about this type of tree a few days ago, you romantic.”
I shrugged and walked closer to her, “Do you blame me?”
She laughed, “No, because it is a breathtaking tree.”
She placed a kiss upon my cheek in the shade of that tree and did so every day for three weeks. As the time pressed on, our bond grew stronger. I often thought about how I wasn’t truly living for so many years. It was like I hadn’t begun to breathe until her head was pressed against my chest.
“We need to escape these walls,” Eda said as the birds sang a tune above us, “The idea of being here for the rest of our years terrifies me.”
“Same, but thankfully for us I am a mastermind. In two years my service to the king will be done and I will be free to leave the castle. I’ll leave the castle when given the chance and will set up a house for us in a quiet town. After about three to four years this war should be done and your need to the Prince will be gone. At that time you can fake your death and come to me where we can live out entirety.”
“Do you think this would work? Faking my death sounds…difficult,”
“You’ll have a few years to plan it. “
She sighed, “It sounds crazy, but I think it could work. I’m in.”
The wind brushed through the fig leaves, giving glimpses into the blue sky above us.
“I’m getting married in three weeks,” Eda stated, “Three weeks to a person who can barely stand to talk with me beyond a simple ‘hello’. I’m just glad I’ll have you.”
“Me too.”
***
Three weeks after our first meeting in the garden a meeting was called in the throne room. The wedding dress was finally done and they wanted to show it to the royals. I was excited to see it, waiting by the king’s side with excitement I hid behind a veil of face paint.
The Prince could not care less, the idea of getting married to this goddess of woman was too much of a hassle to him.
The door swung open and Eda walked in. I let my face slip as she moved across the velvet. The fabric over top was a pearly white that glowed under the candle light, embroidered with gold along the hem and airy, bell sleeves. Under the white top was a blue like a cornflower. It was also reflected in the blue of her jewelry and the accents of the veil. She was a gift from the heavens meant to grace us with beauty we would never know on this earth.
I could tell by her face that she loved this dress. She loved the flowey fabric and blues. Eda told me the only way she could handle the wedding was the dress.
“What do you think?” She asked the Royals, her father, the king, and the prince.
I spoke first.
“A shine of sun, a dash of silver. This princess is more beautiful than all, but to the pig-nosed prince will this deliver?”
The room turned to Reggie as he stood up and walked to Eda. I stuck his nose up to her and pinched the skin of her arm, holding it between his fingers,
“Would it hurt you to lay off the food for once in your life?”
“What,” She asked, her voice like a deer at the end of an arrow
“This dress shows your glutinous appetite. I don’t want the country to see me marrying some pig.”
The King sighed, “Son-”
“No,” The Emperor interrupted, “I agree with the prince.”
“Traitors, traitors,” I hissed, “How could anyone but a fool hate her?”
“Watch your tough, idiot!” The Prince yelled, “Leave, Edana. We might be engaged, but you are no love of mine,”
The Prince went back to his throne, sitting there pleased with himself as Eda turned away, tears rolling down her face silently.
“Jester,” The King said, “I think it would be best if you left too.”
I bowed dramatically before walking off with a pep in my step that I had to force to my feet. As each bell rang, my anger for the Prince rose and my sorrow for Eda grew.
