Chapitre 15: Alone in a Crowd
The banquet seemed to drag on with no end in site. Camilla had endured the hostile, curious gaze of the court as she was placed in a seat next to the king. She had held her smile as she was introduced to the queen, princes and princesses, dukes, minor lords and royal advisors. Their faces and voices all blurred together in her mind.
She had to pretend to enjoy the rich food despite the pain in her belly and had been forced to raise her goblet for several toasts made to honour the victorious armies. She had been watched by dozens of narrowed eyes as her uncle had been lauded in the toasts, while her father had been derided by the increasingly drunk Islian lords.
It took all her strength to keep her face bland and not break down screaming.
The loneliness was unbearable.
Out of the corner of her eye she had watched as Prince William had eaten heartily, downed his wine without a care in the world and had then started exchanging flirtatious looks with a young lady in an extravagant fur trimmed dress. When the musicians had started playing and the courtiers paired up, the prince had challenged Camilla to dance in a mocking voice. She had shaken her head quickly, repelled at the thought. It would be one last insult to her father and brothers to dance at this banquet. She doubted William even wanted to dance with her. He had probably only asked to make her uncomfortable.
Camilla watched as he laughingly spun the young lady across the dance floor. She was a cool blonde beauty, exactly the kind of lady she expected William to be attracted to. They made a striking looking pair. The lady kept glancing over the prince's shoulder at Camilla, shooting her triumphant little looks.
Camilla felt drained by it all but knew she wouldn't be allowed to retire before the king did, and he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying the evening and the dancing. She tried to distract herself by talking with Queen Celia, who was a cheerful, matronly lady. Princess Blanche was also very kind, though Princess Violet made a point of snubbing her and seemed as haughty as her husband, Prince Leo.
Would this night ever end?
William eventually returned to the royal table, in high spirits and with slightly flushed cheeks. His smile was piercingly handsome as he glanced at Camilla and she resolutely looked away.
"Are you really going to sit here like a statue all night?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"There's no need to concern yourself with me." Camilla replied sweetly. "Besides, you seem to be having enough fun for the both of us." She tried hard to keep the edge from her voice but didn't quite succeed.
William looked bemused for a moment, then his face lit up with an idea. "Follow me. There's someone else you may enjoy meeting." He gestured for her to follow him.
Camilla couldn't bear to be introduced to yet another arrogant noble. Nevertheless, she followed the prince as he walked to a small table off to the side of the royal dais. Sitting alone was a bent old man in a sweeping grey tunic, who looked up when the young pair approached him.
Camilla aimed a dismayed look at William. Was he trying to humiliate her further by telling her to sit with an old servant? She was about to question him when the old man stood and spoke.
"Good evening, Your Highnesses." His voice was melodic and strangely soothing. He bowed to them both and then turned his full attention to the princess. "My name is Tession, my lady."
"A pleasure. Are you a knight, or a lord…Tession?" Camilla didn't know how she should address him. He was surely too old to be a knight? Then again, she found it impossible to guess his age. Though his long silver beard and bent frame suggested he was elderly, his face was barely lined and his eyes were full of intelligence.
Tession smiled kindly. "I am neither, Your Grace. I'm a healer." His rich, deep voice made Camilla relax a little. "Prince William has told me about your arrival in Islia. I hope you are being made to feel welcome."
"Tession has treated the royal family since the time of King Edwards's grandfather. He knows how to make all sorts of healing potions and concoctions. I swear he knows the name and use of every herb that ever grew." William gave the healer a genuine smile of admiration and it struck Camilla as rather sweet that he held the old man in such high esteem.
Those warm feelings quickly vanished at William's next comment. "Amongst many other things, Tession can make the most incredible sleeping tonic. I've used it myself on more than one occasion to escape an enemy or subdue a small feral animal." The prince's eyes crinkled as he tried to suppress his laughter and Camilla was tempted to grab a knife from the table and stab him.
"Tession is great company. He can have an intelligent discussion on any topic you can think of. And I think his character is as odd as yours, so I'm sure the two of you will have plenty to talk about." After concluding the introductions, William started towards the dance floor again. Before he was out of earshot, he couldn't resist throwing one last pointed barb in the princess's direction.
"Do me a favour please, old friend. Concoct a potion to teach this poor girl how to dance."
Camilla closed her eyes in embarrassment.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone