Upon her return she heard whispers of the servants and she assumed that they spoke of the commotion that Annette caused. Isabelle looked down in shame as if they spoke about how Cassian had a mistress behind her back. She reminded herself that she was no one and the spreading gossip was going to happen at some point.
After placing parchments of paper in the library she went to the dining room, burning gazes still on her as she passed through the hallways.
Near the door, Samuel was walking in opposite direction. Once he spotted her, a smile crept onto his lips.
"Your highness." Samuel bowed his head as a welcome.
"Sir Asselin." Isabelle replicated the sentiment.
"I hear the news is spreading." Samuel noted as he saw two servants whisper and move quickly away.
"Uh-huh." Isabelle nodded. "You can't hide anything in the castle made of thousands of eyes and ears."
"I suspect that you know that Cassian has been on edge since he received the news."
"What news?" Isabelle furrowed her brows.
"King Artorius send the letters out to all kingdom leaders to inform them of his upcoming abduction and he named Cassian as his successor, and you as Queen Felicia's successor. The news that you will be the Queen of Ariadna in about two weeks, and Cassian will be the King. The very news that you already knew about."
"No." Isabelle uttered. "I cannot be a Queen." A realisation dawned upon her as she now comprehended the meaning of being by Cassian's side when he is the king.
"I thought that this was an obvious outcome of your marriage." Samuel smiled at her as Isabelle walked back and forth next to him nervously.
"Obvious? I didn't think I will be here long enough to ever have a chance to be a Queen."
"You're panicking." Samuel stated as he watched Isabelle pace back and forth.
"Yes!" Isabelle raised her voice. "I am. I am hardly a princess. I cannot be a Queen. No." She shook her head and her waves of blue danced.
"There you are." Cassian walked toward them. He quickly noticed Isabelle pacing and Samuel standing back and watching Isabelle with amusement. "What's the matter?"
"Her highness just realised that she might be a queen of Ariadna in a very due course." Samuel smiled. "Apparently, it wasn't obvious from the start."
"From the start?"
"Since she married you, and then since she found out that you will be the king." Samuel shrugged.
"I-…" Isabelle stuttered and blushed in embarrassment. "I just never thought about this possibility."
"Yeah, it's funny." Samuel chuckled.
"Samuel, I need you in the next meeting." Cassian said sternly as he rolled his eyes. "Adeline, I will speak with you later." His voice softened as he looked at distraught Isabelle. "I am sorry to miss our dinner tonight. But I promise to speak with you later." He walked over to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it. "Do not worry. Everything will be just fine."
Isabelle was about to protest but Cassian already walked away with Samuel in tow.
Dinner was particularly quiet and lonely that night. For the first time in a while, Isabelle sat to her meal without any company beside a single servant who brought her plate in.
Isabelle didn't have much appetite. Too much has happened in recent days. And now, she was going to be crowned a queen beside Cassian instead of Adeline. She was a fraud.
And after dinner, Isabelle distracted herself in the library, at first with the ball planning and after with some books on herbs. Her tiredness clouded her mind but the echoes within her and millions of worries wouldn't let her sleep.
"Good evening, Adeline." Cassian's voice resonated through the large empty room, startling her. Isabelle jumped up to her feet and curtsied to him. Her fingers clenched the book tightly and she looked down.
"Good evening, your highness." She spoke quietly.
"I'm sorry for missing the dinner." He let out a tired sigh as he approached her, reminding her of how tall he truly was when the distance between them closed. His shadow seemed to dim the lights.
"There is no need for an apology. You must be extremely busy." Isabelle said quickly.
"I did mention that I was going to talk with you later. I do not like making you wait." Cassian sat down on a chair by the nearest table and pointed Isabelle to do the same. The lights shone onto his face making his skin seem a tone warmer and his hair shone with streaks of brown. But even in the softness of the candlelight, Cassian's eyes were bright, overshadowed with his burdens that Isabelle could see only recently and which she overlooked in her naivety when they first married. "I understand that you were worried about my father's announcement." Cassian spoke with his usual stoicism, leaning back in the chair. His cheeks were sharp and shallower than weeks before. His chin was covered in dense but short beard.
"I admit, it was quite unexpected." Isabelle still couldn't bare the weight of his gaze as the guilt of her own lies started to weigh her down.
"I wanted to reassure you that all will be well. In fact, very little should change." Cassian automatically picked up pieces of paper with Isabelle's notes on them as he spoke. "At first, people will want reassurance and will want to see us. I suspect that there will be a high number of requests for audience and meetings. But once it all settles, everything will be back to normal." He furrowed his brows briefly at a single note beside his handwriting, surprised about how well Isabelle managed to organise his mess of a notes. "I have been managing the kingdom on behalf of my father for some time now, so nothing should change in that aspect." Isabelle nodded but her face still seemed to show worry. "My expectation of you is to continue as you wish. I wish for your happiness the most. Is there anything in particular that worries you?"
"No, your highness." Isabelle shook her head. "But…"
"Yes?"
"I wish to be of help." Isabelle became more animated as she said it, leaning forward. Cassian was surprised. He straightened in the chair and put the notes down, looking directly at Isabelle, intrigued and excited about her sudden energy.
"Of course." He nodded. "You can help in whatever way you want. We can tailor your duties to what is right for you."
"Annette taught me a lot about royal visits, hosting balls, and social gatherings. Although I do not mind doing it as part of my royal duties, I want to do more than that."
"Whatever you wish for." Cassian agreed again. "What do you have in mind?"
"I had a few silly ideas…" Isabelle backed out suddenly, aware that her requests were going to be outrageous. Her body language changed instantly and she went back to being the timid and withdrawn woman that Cassian came to know in the last few months.
"Go on." Cassian encouraged her.
"I know we have a few excellent healers, physicians and alchemists from noble backgrounds in the royal court. But their care is inaccessible to most of our kingdom."
"That is true."
"I had an idea to open a healing centre, funded by the taxes. The healing centre that would be open to anyone who needs it. I wish that we could have more people trained, including commoners, in those centres. I know that it is a silly idea…."
"No, this is a splendid idea! Is that something you'd like to be involved in? Would you like to run community projects?"
"Very much so, your highness. I would love to be able to set it up and recruit the right people. I want to be of help to the people of Ariadna. All of its people."
"Of course." Cassian nodded. "And, you do not need my permission to do things like this. If you have an idea, just do it. You are about to be the queen of Ariadna."
"Thank you, your highness." Isabelle blushed at a reminder but she seemed to perk up again.
"And you're going to do amazing."
"I-…" Isabelle wanted to protest.
"You are. You are the princess of the people." Cassian decided to change the topic seeing that Isabelle was about to protest again. "What were you reading?"
"I've read a book on the law related to the responsibilities of monarchy. I was trying to find out more about my future duties. And then I have read a bit about some herbs."
Cassian couldn't stop smiling. "What herbs?"
"There might be a herb in the northern area of Ariadna which can help with the cold sores."
"Uh-huh." Cassian listened attentively as Isabelle showed him the drawings of the herbs that she spoke of, and then some other herbs which she found fascinating. Minutes have passed and Isabelle didn't even notice that she spoke to Cassian freely. They somehow seemed fine together alone, uninterrupted and not overshadowed by anyone else.
"Are you planning to retreat to your chamber soon?" Cassian asked in the next natural pause of the conversation.
"Yes, your highness." Isabelle nodded.
"I shall walk with you then."
And they have walked back upstairs together, continuing their conversation, both exhausted from the recent events, but also both were much more comfortable in each other's presence - at least on the outside.
Cassian bid Isabelle good night by her chamber, watching her blue locks vanish behind the closed door, before he retreated to his chamber. He stood in the middle of his room, once again getting infuriated by the memory of Annette and what she did. He changed to his nightwear but sleep didn't come. Still filled with rage, he left his chamber and made his way to his study where he read books to distract his mind.