54 The Funeral XIV (1/2)
The man named did as he was asked. Seeing Theodar's face this closely for the very first time, Hilde… laughed. She covered her mouth quickly with her free hand, but she could do nothing about the lingering humor in her eyes, which were still red-around-the-edges due to her recent bout of crying.
At Theodar's look of hurt and confusion and at his sister's frown, Hilde sobered.
”I beg your pardon,” she said in an apologetic tone. ”I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at myself.” With a self-deprecating smile, she further explained, ”I think you were aware, I'd been terrified of an illusion all this while. But it's only the distance that had created it. I only needed to look closer to see the illusion for what it's not.”
As if he understood Hilde's meaning fully, the man's expression eased. He did not answer, however, and beside him, Sieglind was still frowning.
Hilde smiled with a little more cheer. ”I'm glad to finally meet you, Theodar. Truly. Was there anything I could help you with?”
Through their linked arms, she had been aware of Gisela's tenseness since before. Hilde had little idea what she or anyone else had made of the recent exchange – she herself only spoke as candidly obscure as she did because somehow, in the moment that their eyes met, she'd felt an instant kinship form between them. They WERE the same, that connection had told her, and not only in the obvious ways.
As if to drive home this point, Theodar's upfront answer was: ”Will you please permit me to speak to Princess Gisela?”
This was not something he should ask of Hilde, but sensing the direction of his thoughts, she was inwardly impressed. Gisela, meanwhile, had tensed up even more, and Hilde worried that she might have stopped breathing. She felt a little bad at not being able to readily give him the response he sought – the response the woman in question seemed to also crave.
”I am not my cousin's keeper,” she said with a small smile. Privately, she continued, 'It is that She-Bear under the tree who's currently staring daggers your way.' After noticing the direction she had glanced towards, she felt Gisela deflating beside her. Hilde sighed. 'And after slaughtering you, she'll probably come after me for this…'
She ignored how Theodar's expression fell again and turned to her cousin. ”Would YOU like to speak to him?” Gisela swiftly looked up at her as if she'd grown two heads. Hilde lifted one corner of her mouth in a wry, slightly apologetic smile before adding, ”Your will, Princess.”
It was as if the sun suddenly rose behind her cousin's eyes. Her eyes shone, her cheeks bloomed, and the reactions weren't merely due to the man she seemed to have formed an infatuation for.
She truly was beautiful, Hilde thought. She was so beautiful that it was almost painful to look at her. But that wasn't Gisela's fault at all. She didn't ask to be born with that face, and she'd never been the type to lord her appearance over others. Half the time, she doesn't even seem to be aware of how others saw her.
Gisela quietly nodded in response. With a final grateful look up at Hilde, she unlinked their arms so she could lead the lost-looking man towards the tree. After giving Hilde a confused stare that she returned with another laugh and a sideways nod, indicating he should follow, Theodar grimaced but went. Hilde stayed where she was.
So did Theodar's twin sister.
”Princess – we've met once before, I believe?” said Sieglind, looking steadily at Hilde with a pleasant, lopsided grin on her pixie-like face, which was also beautiful in its own exotic way.
Returning a polite smile, Hilde answered, ”Twice, I think?”
”Ah…” Sieglind's grin widened. ”I only recall the second time.”
Hilde maintained her smile. If she had found in Theodar a kindred soul at first meeting, in Sieglind, this was the third time that she was finding… an enigma.
It was really the strangest thing. There was this odd sense that they SHOULD be getting along, but for whatever reason, whenever she tried to, Hilde couldn't manage to form a good opinion of Lothar's little sister. And each of the previous times they'd met, which were exceedingly brief instances, it had seemed like the resistance towards thinking well of each other ran both ways.
”I see you've been crying, Princess Hilde,” Sieglind suddenly observed, her expression more solemn. ”Father would be sad to hear it.”
'He told you about that?' Hilde thought, hiding a flash of anger and hurt. Aloud, she asked in a bland tone, ”Can I not cry for my brother?”
”Of course you can,” the older woman answered readily. Then she cocked her head sideways and continued in a considering tone, ”He WAS much like a brother to you, wasn't he? Certainly much more than he was to me. Or your real brother to you, for that matter.”
Hilde's ears rang. 'Did she just…'
”Would you like to go see him again?” Sieglind asked while her listener was still reeling. ”It might really be for the last time, Princess. You should take this chance.”
Hilde had indeed been debating it before the subject up was brought up, but now, hackles raised because of Sieglind's abrasive manner, she snappishly decided against it.
”I'll be sure to find the chance later,” she said with a politeness that bordered on being dismissive. ”Right now, I should still be with family. Shall we go see if your brother's business with my cousin is over?”
With one eyebrow raised as if to indicate she didn't care either way, Sieglind nodded and fell lightly into step with Hilde as she continued her delayed return to the tree. Though Frieda had stepped to her other side to assist her in place of Gisela, Hilde didn't take her arm again.
How puzzling it must have all looked, young representatives of two of Arnica's most powerful families – whose heads had had a public confrontation just hours before – mingling and being all friendly with each other. It was a ”unifying” sight if ever there was one. Even Lady Ilse seemed to be holding herself back for the sake of maintaining that image.
In truth, of course, they were all just going along with it. Not even the Queen could have accounted for the whirlwind of extreme earnestness that was Theodar. He had given his painfully sincere apologies to the young woman he'd offended, a feat made more difficult and prolonged because the other was sincerely insisting – in front of her equally offended mother, no less – that the fault was really, truly hers.
Lady Ilse was forced to step in and resignedly say both parties seemed to have been at fault and they should all leave it at that. Predictably, Theodar looked lost on what to do next or how to extricate himself from the scene after that, and it became apparent that Sieglind had accompanied him precisely because of it.
The Lord General's graceful and magnetic daughter made their temporary goodbyes to the royal women. Feeling somewhat out of breath for the whole experience, they then watched the twins return to their parents.
”So…” said Queen Heloise all of a sudden, surprising the others. ”He defeated my son in a chess match, did he? It seems Lord Alfwin had another prodigy hidden away.”
Hilde snorted lightly and replied, ”I think it was more that Theodar hid himself away, Queen.”
The Queen turned to her with a small smile. ”Interested, after all?”
Hilde showed a noncommittal look. ”I doubt I'd ever want to marry.”
”I suppose the Queendom must bear the shame of two spinster Princesses, then?” asked Queen Heloise in a false bantering tone.
Unfortunately, Lady Ilse mistook it for the real deal. ”And of a divorcee Queen,” she rejoined, tittering.
'Oh, Aunt…'
Hilde smiled as if she truly found the situation amusing and added, ”Let's not forget the widowed Royal Consort. But…” She met her sister's eyes. ”Queen, I never said I WON'T ever marry.”
'Only…' she vowed silently, 'I'll be sure to wiggle my way out of anything YOU might decide for me.'
”Good,” the Queen replied. ”Because your beloved cousin seems to be set on someone already.” Hearing this, both Gisela and her mother looked stricken, but for vastly different reasons. Hidden to all, Hilde was also fighting down shock – why did THAT possibility only occur to her now…? In an amused tone, the speaker continued, ”But perhaps that's only the shock of the first plunge. If we're to allow her to explore further, I'm sure she'll come across much better specimens and choose among those instead. Dear, I'm afraid the one you think you want has already been earmarked.”
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