Chapter 12

Every time Alexandra was sure she had him cornered he would find some way out that she hadn't seen.

Dinner was torture even worse than the day spent in the Great Hall greeting the visitors. At dinner Alexandra was expected to talk to the competitors whether they were earnest, nervous or macho. Some of them vacillated from one pose to another. None of them would make any intelligent conversation with Alexandra. Apparently, they all thought that if she had ever thought about anything other than needlepoint and clothes, it was only about who she was going to marry. The only person she wanted to talk to was seated on the other side of the room. Herbert looked just as lost and uncomfortable as she felt. Just to finish her evening off, her new dress didn't fit any better than the first one. She kept pulling up her neckline, and trying not to breathe too deeply. On one side of her sat a Prince Jordon who was smooth and refined. He had a considered opinion on everything under the sun, likely Alexandra thought, borrowed from his father. He wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise.

She did manage to ask Jordon about why she had never seen him at school.

"Oh, my father, King Charmant, doesn't hold with the school. They are always teaching something new. He feels that we can learn what we need at home. My brothers and I have a tutor who teaches about the breaking of different enchantments and the proper fairing on quests. Besides, at home our father can make sure that we don't get too far away from what we need to know."

Alexandra was sure that he was making a veiled comment about her eventful time at the school so she turned to the prince on her other side.

Prince Albert, it seemed, was apologetic about breathing. He didn't think at all, it seemed, and was shocked that Alexandra did. Farther away she could hear arguments about who had the best chance of winning the tournament. The food sat in her stomach like lead.

The final part of the ordeal was the ball. Even with all the visiting princesses and maids, they were vastly outnumbered by the princes, all of whom wanted to dance with Alexandra. The only high point of the evening was that she got to dance with Herbert and catch up on her friend and his life. She found that he was just slightly taller than her now. He had grown in more subtle ways as well. Much of this, Herbert told her, was due to the fallout from Alexandra's 'graduation.' He had defended his friendship with the princess to everyone from his parents to his prospective bride. He had explained again and again the reasoning behind her actions; in the process, he arrived at a better understanding of how she thought, and incidentally how he thought. He no longer became red faced with anger he couldn't express, and for some reason the people he was talking to resented it.

Alexandra reveled in the chance to finally converse with someone who took her seriously. Somehow she ended up dancing more with Herbert than any of the other young men. At least until she noticed the jealous looks of the others, then she forced herself to move around more. She gritted her teeth and gave thanks that she wouldn't have to marry any of these sorry specimens. She found herself glaring at the Princess Alithias. Alexandra told herself it was because Alithias didn't properly appreciate this new and confident Herbert. At least she wasn't completely empty headed like so many princesses. Herbert was lucky. She hoped she would be as lucky when her turn came.

When she was finally allowed to go to bed, Alexandra simply collapsed. Drowsily she wished she would dream of her future husband, just so she would know. She dreamed instead of a tremendous swamp filled with foul smells and strange creatures.