Chapter 7: Deal Or No Deal

“There they are.” King Alaric smiled as Isana approached the table. She carefully set the board down and glanced gleefully at her father. He knew then that she was alright. All she had needed was a moment with her friends, focusing her attention on a minimal task to help take the anxiety away.

“Your majesty.” Edith, Gwenyth, and Arlo all greeted adequately.

“Thank you.” King Alaric acknowledged the staff with a polite nod after they had finished laying out the plates and boards. Arlo bowed, while Edith and Gwenyth both curtsied in response. Satisfied, they all turned to leave and grant the royalty with the privacy they needed, with the privacy that Isana had admitted she was nervous for.

The guests, both Bastian and Salvador, did not seem fazed when King Alaric addressed his staff with such kindness. All Bastian did was raise his head and glance towards him before calling out to Gwenyth, Edith, and Arlo, seeming to address all three of them with one compliment.

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“Yes, thank you all.” King Salvador nodded, even if he was staring directly at the chicken breast.

The staff stopped in their tracks, flustered. None of them had ever been thanked, let alone acknowledged by anyone except their own King. Having a compassionate King was in itself a rarity and a blessing. Bastian had suspected this, which was why he had spoken. It would be wise to befriend the staff on the same level that Isana had, as he, too, treated his servants back home with as much consideration.

Bastian was finally greeted with a young, hardworking Princess who did not see herself as better than those hired to serve her. It was in the way she held herself with such innocent grace, the same class that she had shown him despite his crude remark and his lingering reputation.

Bastia felt welcomed in the Slasian kingdom. He had heard tales of their unmatched hospitality yet had never experienced it himself. He grew up believing he would never be able to. Slasia was the one kingdom that had offered his ancestors a deal, while the other domains in Ordana had merely wanted to exterminate their race and way of life. All because of one unruly King that wanted nationwide domination, completely disregarding the people he had sworn to protect. And now, decades later, Bastian was still picking up those pieces. Desperate to make peace for the sake of his suffering populous.

The Slasian King, Alaric, was the only King that had reached out to them in hopes to relinquish the decade-long feud in the most romantic, indisputable way possible--marriage.

“You are very welcome, Your Majesty.” Arlo looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“Yes, thank you.” Edith curtsied again, unable to contain her smile as she noticed King Salvador already reaching forward to sample the soup she made.

Gwenyth was also trying to remain stoic yet failed as her excitement was revealed through her giddy tone of voice. “We hope to serve you both again in the future!”

Isana raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. She had never seen her elders blush before by such a simple compliment, especially one that was expected from their talents. It was understandably a shock, though, coming from the royalty of a distant land.

They were acting childish, acting like she should be. The Princess was very fond of that moment, knowing she would tease them for it later. As the three of them turned to walk away, Isana reached over her father’s shoulder and began to pour wine into his goblet. When she moved to pour the liquid into King Salvador’s cup, he raised it to meet the tip of the wine’s bottle, ensuring that there would be no spillage.

Another generous gesture. Isana smiled and filled his glass halfway.

She hated how moved she was by the most spartan accommodations. Admittingly enough, she knew it was because not a single man but her own father had ever shown her the amount of respect she deserved. Especially from royalty, the very people she was supposed to be equal with. Her own people, those under her, had continuously been blinded by greed and the promise of power. Most men that paid attention to Isana were so overwhelmed with pleasing her that they had neglected her staff in the process. The Kaarella’s were the first guests that had walked through their doors to even show an ounce of hospitality in return.

It was strange, for the Kaarella’s had to work much harder for respect, yet they took the time to exhibit compassion in the process. Those with far fewer troubles and far more riches could not even take the time out of their day to appreciate and abide by the traditions of the Slasians, even if they were considered foreign and unusual to them.

Everything Isana suspected, everything she had expected to happen because of her unluckiness in the past, had yet to happen. She was impressed.

And because of Bastian’s stellar first impression, she found herself growing nervous as she rounded the large wooden table to approach the side where he was seated and where she would eventually sit beside him.

Isana leaned over the Prince’s shoulder, steadying her hand as she poured the wine into his designated goblet. Though the gesture had been completed by her many times before, her stomach flipped from the idea that it was for Bastian. She was so close to him she could feel his warmth.

“Fill it all the way.” He encouraged.

“Are you sure?” She asked as the wine poured over halfway.

“I can take it.” Bastian chuckled, tilting his head back to gaze at her features with newfound closeness, at an angle that put him at her surrender. Isana’s eyes flickered to his as he shifted. She blushed, averting them within the next movement.

“I would think you prefer ale.” The Princess whispered after she had topped his glass off to the rim.

“Both make me feel the same at the end of the night.” He said, sultry-like, almost as if he had already awarded himself with a full glass.

Isana sat beside him, shaking her head lightly, even if there was a smile upon her lips. She spoke to him softly as she organized the plates in front of her, following the King’s lead as she served herself a piece of the chicken breast. “It would not be smart for you to become drunk on your first night here.”

“If you think one full glass of wine will make me drunk, you are mistaken, Princess.”

He was right. For one glass would inevitably make her tipsy; it would make her stumble over her words. But for Bastian, a glass of red wine would pass right through him. He was a man with staggering height and strength.

She smirked at him. “I apologize then, my Prince.”

“Bastian is just fine.”

“Isana is just fine.” She mimicked him once again, taking pleasure in the way his energy seemed to dance along with hers. He took her calculated insults head-on, unafraid to send them right back her way. It felt right, conspiring with him, for she could tell that Bastian saw her as his equal, not as someone he could walk over.

He was the dominant one, his very nature commanded that part of Isana's attention, yet there was still established respect and care. His brutish demeanor was only for show. Bastian was a young man who cared deeply for his people, his land, and his future wife.

And at that moment, he was pleased with the young woman sitting beside him. He knew it would be unwise to ask for anything else, for he knew there would be no woman better than Isana. That did not mean he had to refrain from messing with her. She was headstrong, perhaps more than him. Isana had the advantage; she was the Princess that had the entire country wrapped around her finger.

Bastian could not resist his own nature. He, too, was upset with the situation he had found himself in. Though his heart had not been sealed by another, the idea that he needed to do something for someone made his blood boil.

Despite that, he was going to try his best. He was going to try and resist the temptation of the Princess beside him. He wasn’t an idiot. He could tell that she was attracted to him despite her heart being closed off. She, too, was not fond of being forced. Neither of them had experienced such rules; their words both held weight for more lives than they cared to admit.

The Prince sighed, smiling as he gazed at Isana’s doll-like, blemish-free face. It was a face that had the potential to rid his entire heart of all condemnation.

It did not matter. Bastian knew she would be his in the end. He had everything she was searching for. Bastian could, and would, provide her with such priceless adventures and experiences that whoever had her heart at that moment would never be able to fulfill. He never lost, and the last thing he would do was lose her.

His own revelation scared him into a brief moment of silence. The Prince had never felt so strongly about a woman in his life.

“Thank you, daughter.” King Alaric raised his glass of wine. “To a brighter future.”

King Alaric’s statement caused both the Princess and the Prince to lift their glasses in return, bringing them forth to the conversation at hand, a conversation that needed to be held. A conversation that scared them both deeply.

Isana took her first sip of the dark, troublesome liquid. It was bitter, and it cascaded down her throat vigorously. It also gave her a boost of confidence. This was the first time she hadn’t despised the man next to her. She wanted to talk to him, pick his brain, craving to know more about him and the people she would be required to serve under the marriage.

But first came the conversation she feared the most—the conversation where her father would decide her future.

“I was surprised when I received your letter.” King Salvador started. “That’s why we came so quickly. We left first thing.”

“And I was surprised that you responded.” King Alaric chuckled from deep within his belly. “It’s been years since either of our kingdoms have corresponded.”

“What made you reach out to us?” Salvador asked after he had swallowed the food he was chewing. “I think that is reasonable enough for me to ask. The other kingdoms have been rather cruel, to the point where we stopped reaching out for help.”

“A rather selfish purpose,” Alaric admitted. “My daughter has despised every suitor I have arranged for her. I was running out of options and remembered that your son was also searching for a bride.”

Isana and Bastian both listened quietly, not daring to interrupt.

“-But” Isana’s father continued. “I have also been searching for peace throughout all four kingdoms. And unfortunately, the Kaarella’s are the odd one out. I am offering you a way into a treaty, the easiest way possible, a way that will even upset the Legan and Circea kingdoms. They were unable to please my daughter and offer a deal worthy of equal exchange.”

It took King Salvador a moment to reply as he pondered on what Alaric had confessed.

“Interesting, Alaric,” he said. “Please, tell me how this will benefit Kaarella.“