In Which Jeda Speaks of Stepmothers

April 26, 1162

Though she was too polite to voice the thought, Jeda's opinion of Queen Laralita was precisely the same as her opinion of perfume: pretty, elegant, and above all, best absorbed in small quantities. While she was pleasant enough, after a few minutes, she seemed to become simply too much. Too much of what, exactly, Jeda couldn't say--just too much.

And already today, Jeda had experienced far too much of the her. It seemed that Queen Laralita--delighted at the prospect of having the same girl as a future stepdaughter-in-law, a first cousin, once removed, and a stepniece by marriage--had decided that she did not particularly care to talk to anyone else before the ceremony began. Though flattered, it hadn't been long before Jeda had grown desperate for some space; she vaguely wondered how Ietrin, Leara, and Camaline managed to live with her.

She had managed to get away by telling the queen that she wanted to give her father a quick hug before he headed to the chapel, but she realized that it was only a matter of time before her absence would grow to a little long for that--then, the queen would start looking for her.

If that was the case, then maybe she wasn't exactly well-served in sitting around--she could either run or hide.

And where better to hide than her father's study? People only came to the study when they wanted to speak with her father, and today, everyone knew he wouldn't be there--it was his wedding day, after all. No one would even think to go into that particular room, and certainly not to look for her.

But she was wrong; not only would someone think to go into the study, but someone had. And not just any someone--a very beautiful, very important someone wearing a white gown and flowers in her hair.

"Holladrin?" Jeda addressed the bride as she pushed herself from her lazing position. "What are you doing in here? Are you all right?"

Holladrin laughed. "I'm not getting cold feet, if that's what you're thinking--I'm just hiding from the queen. I'm glad that my brother is happy with her, and I do think she is a good person, but sometimes she can be a little..."

"...too much?" Jeda finished for her.

The princess nodded. "Exactly. Oh, but don't tell her I said that," she pleaded softly.

"I won't if you don't tell her I said it."

She giggled prettily. "Fair enough."

What a fine thing it was, to have a princess for a stepmother! True, Holladrin was not quite her stepmother yet, but after the ceremony, she would be. And not only was she a princess, but she was the nicest, loveliest, and most fun princess there was--and of all the men she could have married, all the men who would have gladly taken her as a bride, she had chosen Jeda's own father! She almost couldn't believe her luck--perhaps it was magic.

"Do they need me down there soon?" she asked with a smile, her blue eyes flickering to the glint of light streaming from the window.

"Lady Alina said about fifteen minutes," answered Jeda eagerly; she wondered how Holladrin could contain her excitement so well. Perhaps it was because she was a princess--perhaps Jeda too would be capable of such poise when she became a princess. "Oh, Holladrin! You're going to be my stepmother!"

"I promise I won't be a wicked one," she teased.

Jeda shook her head. "Oh no, I don't think you'll be a wicked stepmother at all. Only girls who had good, loving mothers get wicked stepmothers, and I never had a mother, so I know you'll be a nice stepmother."

It seemed that Holladrin had no reply. Perhaps she was running through the old fairy tales in her head, just to make sure that Jeda was right--which, as a five-year-old girl, she would have been.

"Perhaps we should go to the chapel now, Jeda," she said at last; she must have found no proof that Jeda was wrong. "I know we have a bit of time, but I don't want to keep the queen and the duchess and Lady Alina waiting if I can help it. Perhaps you would like to see the flowers?"

Jeda felt herself beaming. She hadn't been to a wedding since the king and queen's, and that had been when she was a little girl; there were so many wonderful things about weddings she didn't know about! "Yes! Holladrin, I'm glad you're going to be my stepmother."

"I'm glad I am too, Jeda," Holladrin assured her with an embrace. "Now, let's go and see the flowers, before your father can catch a glimpse of me--you'll recall that it's bad luck for a groom to see his bride before the wedding."

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