Princess Clara's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Clara pushed through the great doors and found her father waiting. King Charles did not sit. He stood by the tall window, one gloved hand on his sword hilt, the fur of his cloak dark against the light. He was not a man who fidgeted. Today he turned the moment she entered, quick and eager, and that alone made her stop on the threshold. "There you are," he said. "Sit. I have news that cannot wait a day longer." Clara did not sit. "What is it?" Her father smiled. He crossed to a small table and lifted a folded letter sealed with pale blue wax. "A prince rides here from another kingdom," he said. "He comes as a suitor. His people speak well of him.“ The words landed like a door swinging shut. Clara felt the walls draw close. A suitor. Chosen for her, sent for her, arriving whether she wished it or not. She had climbed the wall that morning to escape a life other people planned. Now her father planned the largest part of all. "You decided this," she said. "You picked a man I have never met." "I decided he could visit," her father said. "Nothing more." "It does not feel like nothing." Her voice shook. "I want a love like yours and Mother’s before she passed away." King Charles set the letter down. He took Clara’s hands in his, and he spoke plainly “I want that for you too, but you are a princess and you have duties.” Clara's heart pounded. "Fine I want to meet him as I choose," she said. "Not as a bride already promised." She waited for anger. It did not come. "I loved your mother because she chose me," he said quietly. "I would not steal that from you. The prince comes as a guest, nothing more. Refuse him, and no one will force you. You have my word." Clara let out the breath she had held. The corner she had felt herself pushed into opened into something wider. She was not trapped. She was invited to test a stranger, and free to turn him away. "Then let him come," she said. "I will decide for myself." Her father squeezed her hand and released it.