Bab 30: Princess Mariela

It took promising Al we would play cards after dinner to get him to let me go. By the time I reached the gardens Mariela was waiting for me on a bench. She greeted me with a genuine smile.

"Katie! I thought you might not be able to make it."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry for being late. My fiancé held me up a bit."

Surprise lit her beautiful violet eyes. "You were with Alpheus?"

I was confused by her reaction. "Is that so strange?"

"I hardly see Franz…and Rosenia sees Sigmund even less. They are both terribly busy. I suppose I assumed Alpheus was the same," she admitted.

"Can you keep a secret?" I asked, trying to gain her trust and broach the topic at hand.

Mariela nodded, a slight pleased smile on her lips, so I continued. "Alpheus has way too much free time on his hands. I was actually hoping I could convince him to work together politically with your husband."

Her brow furrowed. "I do not have much to do with my husband's political aims. All I know is that he does not agree with many of Sigmund's policies. In truth, I am a pretty object for him to bestow his affection upon and little more. Franz does not talk to me about anything of actual importance."

I had my suspicions about the purpose of Mariela marrying into the royal family but this was worse than I anticipated. In the novel Franz respected his wife's input. She may not have been the most important character but she was involved in the overthrow of Sigmund's regime and ruled jointly with her husband when he became king.

"I'm sure he would tell you what was going on if you asked," I said, a bit desperate. "He dotes on you."

Mariela sighed, letting go of some of her primness. "He does, I cannot deny that. As far as political marriages go I consider myself lucky. My situation could have been far worse. Women in my home country have a bit more power than they do here so I was trained in diplomacy and politics as a princess but my only purpose here has been to be a porcelain vase with rich parents."

Wow. She was really airing out her dirty laundry and she didn't even know me. Sensing my shock, she smiled self-deprecatingly.

"I am sure you are surprised I would tell you this much. I suppose it is because I have been lonely and you are quite easy to talk to. It is no wonder Alpheus treasures you so."

I was quick to refute. "It's not like that between us. To be perfectly honest, I was about to be married off to someone else I didn't like and he offered to step in and help me because he wanted a friend and thought I was interesting enough to relieve his boredom."

"Is that so? Hmm, I would not have guessed from what little I have seen of the two of you. He seems much happier in your presence. I have been here less than a year and do not see him often but whenever I do it seems like the entire world is weighing him down. He is different when he is with you, as if he is lighter somehow," Mariela said thoughtfully as she stopped to examine a rose bush.

She had a point. Al was a gloomy guy when I met him and now he smiled and laughed every time we hung out.

Obviously, I wanted him to be happy but he was supposed to be happy because of Marcy, not me! I couldn't just shut the poor guy out though; I was his only social contact.

"I hadn't noticed," I lied, wanting to get the conversation back on track. "Could you talk to Franz and let me know what he thinks about working with Alpheus? He needs a sense of purpose and direction. He's a bit aimless at the moment and I want him to feel accomplished."

This wasn't entirely false. I did want him to have a sense of fulfillment but more to the point I wanted him to stop being so ridiculously apathetic for a hero in a novel and actually DO something other than sit around waiting for me to alleviate his boredom. Yes, he was isolated and excluded from any actual responsibility as a royal for some reason I had yet to discover, but he needed to get on his feet and take on the role he was always meant to and help the common people.

Mariela's smile turned bitter. "Is this the only reason you wanted to meet with me?"

Ah, I pushed too hard.

"Of course not," I said sincerely. It was only part of my motivation. The other was that I felt sorry for her.

"I also thought you could use someone to talk to. I could too since I'm new here. Even if you can't convince your husband to work with my fiancé I'm still interested in being your friend."

Appeased, her smile returned to its usual gentleness. "You are a very interesting person, Katie."

Back home I was the most boring person alive but I had heard that a lot since coming here. No one in this world thought or acted like me.

Even though there were many people who liked or admired me I would never belong because of my 21st century American mindset. I couldn't help but wonder if anybody in this dumb novel world would ever be able to truly accept me once I managed to escape.

Would I have to pretend to be something I wasn't forever?

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