Tarnished Crown

"What do you mean you accepted?!"

Belle stared at her older brother in disbelief as he shrugged and paid her little attention, too focused on holding Lucian away with one hand, while the little boy laughed uncontrollably and tried to push forward and climb onto his father, only to get pushed back again. It was all a game to him, and instinct had taken over Alec. He didn't even have to look at Lucian to know he was about to pounce.

"They said you were friends," he said coolly. "Stephen said you had lunch with them the other day."

"Oskar Everhart is not my friend," Belle told him. "I can't believe you would set me up on a picnic with him without asking first."

"Mrs. Everhart didn't give us much a chance to ask questions," he said. "Not even Lily could get a word in, and you know her. She will always get a word in. Helene has a talent few possess."

"Tell them I'm sick," she demanded.

"Tell them yourself."

"I can't, they'll see that I'm not sick!"

"Sick sock sick sock sick sock," Lucian repeated over and over, climbing onto Alec's shoulders and holding onto his hair like reigns. "Daddy can we play horse again?"

"My scalp is still sore from last time," Alec said.

"Do you want to come to the lake with me?" Belle asked, hoping that at least she wouldn't have to be alone with Oskar and Helene, who'd graciously agreed to chaperone.

"No," Lucian said, wrinkling his nose. "I want to play knights and horses. Uncle Rhett gave me a real slingshot with metal pellets and-"

"He did what?" Alec snapped suddenly.

"Oops," Lucian whispered. "I wasn't supposed to tell."

Belle sighed, knowing that there was no escape. She hesitated a few moments, the turned to Alec again.

"Did any letters come for me?" she asked him.

"No," he said. "Are you expecting one?"

"From a friend, yes," she said, not telling the whole truth. "The letter should have arrived a week ago. It's strange. Perhaps it got lost."

"Well, if it's found, you'll be the first to know," Alec promised her.

She eventually met Helene and Oskar by the lake, where she always met with Caspian. It was unusual for them to choose that exact spot for the picnic. Especially since Oskar's eyes were red and he kept sneezing, whining about bugs on the ground and his allergies. He started eating before Belle was even seated on the blanket, while Helene 'took a stroll' several feet away from them. Far enough to give them some privacy, but close enough to keep an eye on the situation.

"Hate nature," Oskar muttered, picking at the sandwich in his hand.

"Funny you suggested picnic, then," Belle said slowly.

"You like nature," he said. "I don't know why, since there's nothing to but sit here and stare at each other like cavemen."

"Well, you could look around," Belle said, trying to keep herself calm. "The breeze blowing through the trees, the soft rippling of the water... It could be quite soothing. I like to read here."

"You like to read?" he frowned. "Read what?"

For a moment, there was a glimmer of hope for Oskar. Maybe he could be enthusiastic about books, and these forces picnics wouldn't be so bad. She handed him one of her books on Elbian history, which he barely flipped through before wrinkling his nose and tossing it aside.

"You're really quite dull," he said. "Reading history books. That's not interesting at all."

"I fought in a revolution," she mumbled.

"Did you kill anyone?"

"That's none of your business," she snapped, glaring at him.

"Dull," he repeated, picking at his sandwich. "See, you're too delicate and fragile to fight in a revolution. You probably just sat in a corner and hid the whole time. Did you make these sandwiches? I don't even like lettuce. It's like eating a bug."

"You should feed it to the geese, then," Belle found herself saying, eyeing the geese a little ways over. "I do that sometimes. It's one of my favorite things to do."

"What?" he grumbled, but his expression changed when he saw his mother frantically waving and encouraging him to do it. "Fine. I'll feed the dumb geese."

He stood up and started throwing them breadcrumbs. Belle watched as his sandwich grew smaller and smaller. Let the games begin. Once the sandwich was gone, the geese became aggressive, pecking at Oskar for more food. Soon he was screaming as four of them chased him, much like what had happened with Lucian. This time, however, Belle stayed in one place instead of helping. She took out a pad of paper and a pen, only half-acknowledging Helene as she hurried over.

"Oh, my darling boy!" she gasped. "We need to help him!"

"I wish I could," Belle said casually, "But I'm too 'delicate and fragile'. They'd kill me if I tried. Oh well. A strong man like him can fight them off easy."

Helene's eyes widened as she ran after her son. Belle turned her attention back to the paper in her lap.

Dear Caspian,

You won't believe where I am. Mrs. Everhart has somehow managed to set me up on a picnic with Oskar. I convinced him to feed the geese, and now he's running for dear life. I wish you were here to see it. I want to hear your laugh, instead of trying to imagine it.

I hope everything is well in Rehan. I haven't heard from you yet, but I'm sure you're just busy. It's so hard, not hearing from you. I know you'll write back to me as soon as you can, and I hope your family is alright. Your mother must have been so excited to see you again. I had a dream that I'd gone to Rehan with you. We were on the beach together, and your mother was there with us. She has no face in the memory of my dream. I hope I can meet her someday.

Lucian misses you almost as much as I do. He's been clinging to Rhett quite a bit, and Alec is concerned about it. He's worried that Lucian might become some scoundrel, like Rhett. Lucian is already quite the little scoundrel.

No one misses you more than I do. I keep reliving our days together in my memories. The good ones, at least. That night in the rain, when you kissed me for the first time. I can still feel the kiss, and I still get giddy about it. I can't wait for you to come home, so I can kiss you again.

Yours,
Belle

P.S. Oskar just fell into the lake. He's not happy. You'd love this.

Belle slipped the letter into an envelope and hid it in her bag to send off later. Helene was approaching, helping Oskar back. He was acting like he'd just returned from war. Belle couldn't help but roll her eyes at how weak he was.

"I'm afraid I have to take Oskar home," Helene said. "I do hope you don't mind."

"I can walk back by myself," Belle said, a little too eagerly.

"We'll try this again tomorrow," Helene announced, not really asking for Belle's opinion on it. "Good day, your highness."

"Wait," Belle said, stopping her. "Just a quick question."

"Yes, anything," Helene said, smiling gently.

"Have you heard from Caspian, since he left?"

Helene's expression hardened at the mention of Caspian's name.

"Yes, he's written to his father once or twice," Helene said. "I didn't bother reading it. I've been unsure of that boy, recently especially. He's probably trying to reunite that whore woman to his father."

Belle felt a hundred different emotions at once. She was angry about what Helene said about Caspian, but mostly hurt that he'd written to his father, but hadn't responded to her. He had time to write, clearly. She shook the thought from her mind, giving a small nod to them as they left and looking to the letter in the bag. She was going to send it anyways. Caspian would never drop her like how Helene seemed to think. He was probably just busy. That's all.