III. Useless
“Everyday I’m living proof I don’t want to be used,
I want to be useless.”
“Everyday I’m living proof I don’t want to be used,
I want to be useless.”
-Tiny Animals
“Excuse me,” I stopped a young man passing by after five minutes of searching for the person that would give me the information I desired, “have you seen Prince Giorgio anywhere?”
“The last time I saw him, he was walking by the river with Sir Benjamin and Lady Madeline, “he replied in accented English.
I thanked him with a smile before swiftly walking away. I found Giorgio exactly where the young man said I would.
He was sitting by the riverside with Benjamin Tempur and Madeline de Luc. All three of them sat with their feet in the sparkling river, watching the sunset and laughing as if they had no care in the world. A courtier’s laugh.
Benjamin saw me approaching out of the corner of his eye, tapping Giorgio lightly on the shoulder before standing up with a flushed grin. Giorgio and Madeline followed his gaze and hopped up too when they saw me.
“Tell me that my eyes are not betraying me!” Giorgio said with a blinding smile, striding toward me.
“I can say that you are not, cousin,” I said, a smile spreading on my own face in response to his.
I’d forgotten how delightfully handsome Giorgio was. His dark brown eyes were always radiant with laughter – much like his father’s – his dark curls were forever unruly, but in the best way, and his ivory skin was always flawless. He stood before me in a white button down shirt with the top four buttons undone, his hair windswept, and his black trousers cuffed to his shins with wet, bare feet: The very picture of ease and relaxation.
“Isabel! Lovely Isabel!” Giorgio said while sweeping me into a giant hug and spinning me around. He kissed me deeply on the mouth before pulling away.
“If you had not been standing here in front of me, I would not have believed it,” said Benjamin mischievously.
“Believed what?” I asked, playing along.
“That you could have become any more overwhelmingly beautiful than the last time I saw you,” he finished grandly, kissing my hand with a flirtatious wink.
I laughed, unbelieving, and swatted him away. Madeline giggled at the exchange.
I then remembered why I had scouted Giorgio out in the first place.
“Would you mind if I borrowed George for a moment?” I asked hurriedly, using the name that Giorgio had insisted people call him by ever since he was five.
“Of course, Your Highness,” said Benjamin with an easy smile, “your wish is our command.” He bowed lowly as Madeline curtsied. He offered Madeline his arm which she took without hesitation and flashed George a private smile before leading her up the path towards the palace.
Giorgio took my hand and placed it lightly in the crook of his arm. We started walking along the length of the river.
“I didn’t expect you to arrive so early,” George began with an impressed look on his face, “those guards sure are fast. They should be for what we pay them.”
“So, I expect you know why I’m here?” I pressed, listening intently.
George hesitated. “I’m not really sure. All I know is the king has been having a lot of private meetings lately, mostly with French ambassadors. I’m not sure what it’s all about exactly but…it’s not small,” he finished warily, sneaking a glance at me.
I moaned. French ambassadors? Private meetings? What the hell was going on? But from George’s innocent face I could tell he honestly didn’t know anything, so I changed the subject to keep my mind off things.
“So, how are things holding up here?” I asked in what I hoped to be a light tone.
George looked taken aback, “So you know, then?”
“Know what?” My heart sped up at the seriousness in his tone. Giorgio was rarely serious.
George hesitated again, stooping down to pick up a stone and skipping it into the river before he turned to me and said, “Things are not at all well between James and Maria.”
I was suddenly on alert. The King and Queen’s relationship always seemed to be in good condition to me. They were always sweet and loving to each other. Of course, that had been my opinion when I had visited last summer.
“What do you mean?”
George looked around before he spoke, and for some reason I copied his action. I noticed George had us on the path back to the palace, a place that I didn’t really want to be at the moment.
George decided it was safe and continued in a lower voice, “James is drifting away from Maria. He doesn’t like to admit it, though. He likes to say that he is simply “associating with more women.”
“He can drift as far as he desires, but he always returns. Always. He has to,” said a sure voice behind us.
I jumped, startled, but George turned calmly toward the follower.
“Spying, Annamaria?” said George humorously.
“I was on a stroll, George.”
I turned. “Anna?” I asked, recognizing the figure before me.
“In the flesh,” she replied darkly, looking me up and down.
“Look at what the guards dragged in,” she continued with a smirk.
I’d remembered why in the past I had avoided my cousin, Annamaria. She always was unnecessarily cold towards me.
“Drag they did,” I replied, matching her cold tone, “do you have any idea why?” I tried not to sound hopeful at the end. Annamaria was the king’s eldest daughter, if anyone knew anything about what was going on, it would be her.
She only shrugged in response, slipping gracefully in front of us and into the palace. I rolled my eyes as I walked into the palace after her, pulling George along with me.
“Don’t worry, she probably doesn’t know anything either,” said George reassuringly while watching Anna’s retreating back, her dark, think hair swaying seductively at her waist.
“Doesn’t matter anyway,” George continued while checking an antique clock mounted on the wall, “we should be having dinner in a few minutes. James told me he would be announcing the news then.”
As if on cue, a young page rounded the corner.
“The king requests your presence for dinner in his privy chambers,” he said while bowing to me, Giorgio, and Annamaria.
“Finally,” I muttered, picking up my pace.
The king’s privy chambers had been transformed to host a dinner for ten people. A beautiful rectangular cherry wood table had been placed in the middle of the room and servants carrying pitchers of aged wine and various dishes were stationed around the room. It seemed that Giorgio, Anna and I were the last to arrive. It also seemed that almost all of my Italian family was there.
I saw that James sat at one head of the table while Jane sat at the other. My aunt, Queen Maria, sat to my uncle’s right while my cousin, Nina, occupied his left. Anna went to sit beside her little sister and was greeted by my aunt Camille and her young daughter, Olivia, who were stationed beside her. I rushed to get the seat between my father and Maria so I wouldn’t be stuck by Jane. George glared at me as he took the unwanted seat, and I smiled back triumphantly.
I studied James and Maria as the waiters served the first course. It didn’t look like anything was wrong: she was perfectly sweet to him and he was perfectly sweet to her.
Halfway through the dinner, my uncle cleared his throat meaningfully and the room fell silent. I ceased my conversation with Maria and turned towards him.
“Isabel, Charles,” my uncle started with a wide smile, “I have brought you here to inform you of the greatest of news.”
“Italy is in great need of an alliance with France. I have been meeting with French ambassadors, envoys and even the king and we have all decided that the best way to join our two countries…”
I suddenly felt thirsty. I picked up my freshly filled wine glass and chugged Amarone.
“…would be through the marriage of Francis, the Dauphin of France, and our very own, Princess Isabel,” my uncle finished with a hopeful smile, the way a child would after handing their parents the painting they drew in class.
I chocked on my wine and soon it came all the way back up and out of my mouth, spraying Annamaria who sat unfortunately across from me with red liquid. Anna gasped and glared at me, George coughed up a penne, and little Olivia giggled and clapped her hands.
“I’m sorry, Anna,” I said truthfully while handing her a cloth napkin. She snatched it from me and started drying herself off, and then I turned on my uncle at the same time as my father.
“What?!” we both exclaimed at the same time.
Charlie and I rotated between protests:
“You can’t do that!”
“She’s too young to be married!”
“I don’t even know this person!”
“She doesn’t even know this person!”
“We’ve covered that dad,” I mumbled to him.
“Yeah, right,” Charlie replied sharply.
“The Dauphin will be arriving with his father, King Louis, within the next three days,” said my uncle, something flashed in his eyes.
“Yeah, you are sort of missing the point here James,” I said, fury rising, “I barely just got my driver’s license and you want me to marry some Dutch boy?”
“He’s French,” my uncle said as if I should care.
“Whatever!”
“Yes, I do expect to marry the Dauphin! For your family, and more importantly your country!” said my uncle, leaning forward in his seat.
“Oh, yeah? Then why not use one of your daughters as French bait? Why not them instead of me?” I challenged him. I was not usually one to point fingers but I actually wanted to know how this had landed on me.
But he did not answer. I noticed that James, Maria, Nina, and Anna could not even look at each other.
“Do not question me! I am king, and you will do what I say without issue!” yelled my uncle, now on his feet.
Maria reached for my hand comfortingly but I shook her off, getting to my feet too.
“Well you can go to hell!” I yelled back, while walking to the door.
I paused to curtsy sincerely to Maria and sarcastically to James, “Your Majesties,” I said coldly before walking out yet again, and slamming the door.
I didn’t feel like going to my room. I needed to get out of here, out of the palace. The walls along the darkened corridors were closing in, the ceiling was getting lower. I found my way into my favorite garden where my grandfather and I used to spend so much time. I lay on the lush grass with a throbbing head. I didn’t think; I couldn’t if I wanted to keep sane. I would save the thinking for tomorrow, after a good night’s sleep.
For now, I just looked up at the glittering stars, just like I used to do with my Nonno a lifetime ago. I felt myself wishing fervently that I could be amongst the twinkling orbs, untouchable by the ambition of kings, instead of here, staring at them with envious awe.
. I liked this description, I thought it was very well done!
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