Bridal lessons started the next day under the direction of a very strict tutor the queen had chosen for me called Madame Chalaise. She was a tall, painfully thin woman whose appearance reminded me of a hawk. Apparently, she had tutored Mariela and the unnamed princesses of Annalaias who had been shipped off to marry foreigners as well.
When we met the royal ladies for tea Mariela flinched at the sight of her. That made my impression of the rigid woman even worse.
I needed to gain Mariela's trust. She and her husband were meant to become the benevolent king and queen of this nation with Alpheus' and Marcy's help. I still needed to find a way to get Marcy back in the picture but in the meantime the least I could do was get this particular plot point back on track.
"Mariela, once my lessons are complete for the day, shall we take a walk together in the gardens?"
