Before Beauty (8 page)

“
So you thought it would be
acceptable to trespass on sacred ground for this?”

At this question, Ansel swallowed
hard, praying his response would not be considered
impertinent.

“
I beg your pardon, Sire, but was
the Fortress not a place of asylum for the weary in the days of
old?”

The prince was silent for a
moment. “It does seem that the Fortress has spared you, though I
cannot understand why. But perhaps,” the prince spoke slowly, “you
can be of use to me.”

Ansel’s heart skipped a beat. What
on earth could the prince need with him?

“
But first, I need to know why you
were willing to enter a place that is cursed. What makes your life
so worth living that you are willing to risk meeting with
phantoms?”

Ansel’s words became lodged in his
throat. After narrowly escaping the royal edict meant for Isa, he
could not tell the prince about his family. So he remained
silent.

“
You would defy your prince?” For
the first time, the terrible voice rose, which made it only more
awful. Still, Ansel would not speak.

“
If you are unwilling to answer
me, I will have no choice than to find out for myself. I suppose
you have heard of my strength?”

Of course Ansel had. Though few
knew how the monarchs’ power worked, everyone knew that their
kings, and sometimes their queens, wielded a special gift. It had
been the very reason Destin was the most feared kingdom in the
realm. And it was most definitely not the kind of power Ansel
wanted involved with Isa.

“
It wouldn’t be difficult for me,”
Everard continued, “to find whomever or whatever you’re protecting.
It also would not be difficult for me to share the sickness of this
place with them.”

This was more than Ansel could
take. Defenseless against such a threat, he closed his eyes and
spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. “I have a family, Your
Highness. I promised them I would come home safely.”

“
Tell me about this
family.”

“
You wouldn’t be interested in the
family of a common merchant, Sire. We are much like other families
of our kind.”

The prince paused again for a
moment before replying. “No, I don’t think you are. You’re too
careful, too protective of them. Oh come now, don’t be so
surprised. I’ve given my life to studying strategy and defense, and
you, Tradesman, are putting up all your defenses. Now, I truly do
wish to hear about your family. As you can guess, I get few
visitors at the moment. Entertain me.”

Ansel swallowed hard before
answering. King Rodrigue had despised weakness, and after his son’s
attempt to weed out Ansel’s daughter, it appeared the prince
despised it as well. Ansel chose his words carefully.

“
My wife is a shrewd woman, and
runs my store as well as I do. She has also taught all of the
children to be of use there. The youngest, Megane, is just a child,
but she already shows a talent for weaving. Launce, my boy, is
nineteen, and he’s training to take over the mercantile one day. My
oldest daughter…” Ansel’s voice faltered for a moment. What if the
prince knew her name? What if he remembered her? “My oldest
daughter has a strong heart and a quick mind like no
other.”

The prince held up his hand, and
Ansel stopped.

“
A strong heart, you say. What is
this daughter’s name?”

Ansel faltered again before
answering. “Isabelle, Sire.”

“
And what about her heart makes it
so strong?” The prince’s voice was cynical, but Ansel detected a
keen interest in it. His heart pounded as he struggled to answer
the prince’s question.

“
She…suffered an injury as a
child, but she never gave up. She was determined to be strong once
again, and she is. Isabelle never gives up hope.” Ansel prayed that
would be the end of the prince’s interest in his daughter, that the
assurance of her strength and productivity would be enough, but he
had no way of knowing. The prince’s expressions were hidden in the
dark. It seemed like a very long time that the two men sat there in
silence, one kneeling and the other hunching in his throne.
Finally, the prince spoke.

“
So, Ansel Marchand, I have an
assignment for you.” His voice was quiet and terrible again, and
for the first time, Ansel could just make out two glowing rings of
fire what watched him through the darkness. It sent a shudder down
his spine.

“
Yes, Sire?”

“
When the road is clear enough to
return, you will go back to your home. Isabelle will gather her
things and say goodbye to her family and friends. Then you will
bring her back here to me before dusk on the third day. Three days
should be more than enough time for her to do so
properly.”

It was as if Ansel’s heart had
stopped and his lungs had collapsed. He fought for his voice as he
threw himself at his prince’s feet.

“
Your Highness, please! There must
be some mistake! Take me! I will stay here in the stead of your
servants! I will do anything you ask of me! But this I cannot
do!”

“
You can,” the prince said
testily, “and you will.”

“
No!” Ansel rose to his feet, his
voice shaking as rage overcame his fear. “I will not give my child
to you! You may sit here in the darkness of your great Fortress,
but outside of it, you are nothing! If you were still in power, the
trade routes would no longer be filled with robbers and vagabonds,
and Destin would once again thrive! You, Sire, cannot make me do
such a thing!”

“
Oh, but I can. Have you forgotten
my threat? I may not leave the Fortress, but that doesn’t mean my
power is limited by gates or byways or walls. With just a wave of
my hand, I can send this dark sickness upon your whole family as
well. I’m sure your daughter who is strong of heart wouldn’t want
such a thing to befall her brother or sister or mother. No, sir, I
do not think you are willing to risk your entire family’s
well-being for that of one.”

Ansel’s knees gave out, and he
collapsed onto the cold stone floor, cursing himself for ever
setting foot in the wretched citadel. It would have been better if
he’d died in the storm.

“
Take him away.” The prince
flicked his hand, and invisible beings grasped Ansel by the arms
and dragged him out of the throne room. The unseen hands were
gentle as they laid him in a bed that smelled of dust. He struggled
to get up, but they firmly held him in place. Eventually, he could
fight no longer, and his fatigue won. But even in sleep ,he could
not escape the torment of the guilt that consumed him.

In the middle of the night, he was
awakened by an idea that had slipped into his dreams. Cautiously,
he sat up. It appeared the shadows had left him alone once he’d
stopped struggling. Silently, he hurried to put on his boots and
winter coverings. They were not entirely dry yet, as the fire the
shadows had built in his room was very weak, but he hardly noticed.
There was a way to keep Isa safe.

In three days’ time, she and the
rest of the family would be far away, and the prince would have to
end these vile, continuous attempts on her life. Ansel wondered if
the prince knew about his attempted escape as he sneaked out to his
horse. The animal stamped its feet when he arrived, seeming as
desperate to leave the place as he was.

Less than an hour later, they were
on their way home. Snow had made the mountain road nearly
impassible, but the merchant could not have cared less. Isa would
be safe, his family would be together, and Heaven help the man that
tried to stop him.

CHAPTER SIX

Something
Terrible

In the months since the almost wedding, Megane
had tried her best to stay out of Isa’s way. Launce had stopped his
teasing and replaced it with muttered threats about what he would
do if he ever got his hands on Raoul. Deline had taken over Isa’s
hardest chores, and had suggested as many ways as she could think
of to get Isa out of the house. Picnics were planned, the horses
were taken for rides in the country, and Isa’s favorite dinner was
made more often than ever before. Despite their well-laid plans,
however, outings were quiet and awkward, as the other three
attempted to draw her into their jokes and stories.

To Isa, there was simply little to
say, and everything that should be said could be spoken at home.
Leaving the house was perilous, fraught with reminders that other
people were still living their lives, happy, continuing to move
through time. That Raoul was still living his life in the city
without her. To Isa, time would stand still forever.

Despite Isa’s objections, however,
four months after Ansel had set out on his journey Deline continued
to insist that life would go on. And she insisted also that Isa
move along with it.

There had been a snow the night
before, ridiculously early for the season. Still, the ground looked
pretty all covered in white, and Deline seemed to think the new
scene might cheer her daughter. So Isa was goaded into accompanying
her mother to the tailor’s shop, much to her disdain, where she had
been forced to answer trivial questions as to how she was
faring.

They were just returning when
Margot, their neighbor, caught up with them. As the plump little
woman ran towards them, the look on her face promised juicy gossip.
Surely enough, before any greetings could be exchanged, Margot was
speaking.

“
Have you heard?” Her voice nearly
squeaked with excitement. “Have you heard about young Master
Raoul?”

Though she managed to keep her
eyes on the ground, Isa’s heart beat unevenly. Out of the corner of
her eye, she saw her mother give her an uneasy look.

“
Isa, why don’t you go inside and
prepare some tea? I could use a warm drink, and I believe our guest
could use one, also.”

But Margot shook her head, her
words tumbling out faster than Isa could walk. “No, I believe Miss
Isa should hear this, and she’ll know just how fortunate she is not
to have married that horrible young man.”

“
Margot, I–” her mother tried to
interject, but the older woman just kept talking.

“
I was just down to the butcher’s
shop this morning, when Harriet Bissette skipped into the town
square to show off her ring. Can you believe it, Isa? He gave her
exactly the same ring that he gave you!”

His grandmother’s ring. Isa’s
thumb instinctively moved to rub the spot that, for two months, had
been occupied by the silver band. Not so long ago, he’d placed that
ring on her own finger. Suddenly, it was hard to
breathe.

“…
less than a year, and he’s
already proposed to a second girl!”

“
Really, Margot!” Deline
protested, but their neighbor babbled on.

“
Isa, you should count it a
blessing that you two were not wed! You have a lovely face, my
dear, but with your lame leg and hand and all, you wouldn’t have
been able to hold him. Better to be alone and keep your dignity
than to know your man is off chasing other women because you can’t
satisfy him!” And with that, she spotted another neighbor, and was
gone before Isa or Deline could say anything else.

Isa bolted for the door before any
other well-intentioned friend or relative could find her, and ran
upstairs as quickly as her ankle would allow. Deline was faster,
however, and she followed her daughter into the attic before Isa
could get the door closed.

“
I don’t want to talk about it!”
Isa threw her things down on the bed and went to stare out the
window.

“
Isa, you knew it was bound to
happen.”

“
That doesn’t mean I want to hear
about it. This is why I don’t leave the house!”

“
You can’t stay locked up in this
attic forever,” Deline said. “We have tried to be kind to you, to
be sensitive to things that remind you of him. But you can’t live
the rest of your life hiding from the world!”

“
What if I don’t want to be part
of the world?” Isa finally turned and faced her mother. “Thanks to
our hero prince, the world thinks I’m good for nothing anyway!
There is a reason all the women my age are expecting babies, and
their little sisters are getting married, and I’m not. Is it so
much to ask that my nose not be rubbed in my loss? That I get to
simply remain where at least I know I’m wanted?”

“
But you can’t do that!” Deline
was now just as loud as Isa, her voice quivering.

“
And why not?”

“
Because you were born for more
than that!”

Before Isa could reply, however,
Launce burst into the room, out of breath.

“
Mum, Isa, Father’s home.
Something is wrong.”

In a flash, Deline was downstairs.
It took Isa longer to make her way down the wooden steps, but when
she finally did, she could see that something was indeed wrong.
Ansel’s face was pale, and no matter how many blankets Megane and
Launce piled on him, he shivered. What frightened Isa the most,
however, was the wild feverish look in his eyes. He looked like a
dog cornered in an alley.

It was ten minutes before his
teeth stopped chattering enough for him to speak a single sentence,
which was directed at Megane, asking her to take care of his
horse.