The Wild Swans (Timeless Fairy Tales #2)

The Wild Swans (Timeless Fairy Tales #2) Page 13

Steffen whistled. “Not good. Does she know about the treasury?”

The treasury was the storehouse of royal treasure. Elise carefully built it up since the day she first took office. “No. I don’t think so, or she would have demanded to know why she couldn’t enter that too.”

“Let us keep it that way. We’ve spent too many years working towards expanding Arcainia’s monetary power to let a spoiled harpy ruin it now,” Steffen said, his voice and expression pleasant in spite of the hostility of his words.

“Prince, Princess!”

Elise and Steffen halted their horses, letting a courier on the back of a lithe horse overtake them.

“Where is Prince Rune?” the courier asked as his horse pranced in a circle.

“Further ahead. What is it?” Steffen asked, pointing to the glob of royal brothers and their mounts.

“A giant attacked one of the villages. Everyone is safe. The villagers fled to an army fortification, but the creature is flattening every structure in the area,” the courier said before he kicked his horse, which shot forward like flying bird.

“A giant,” Elise repeated. “Has there ever been a giant in Arcainia before?”

“I don’t think so. Not for a century at least,” Steffen said.

“There were hellhounds last week, and a pack of goblins two weeks before that. What is going on?”

Steffen shook his head. “I’m not sure. But it is not a good omen.”

Elise hurried down the hallway, wincing when she heard a harsh, raised voice.

“Carful, Fürstin. She’s worked herself into a tizzy,” a washerwoman warned as she thumped down the hallway, carrying a load of clothes.

“It certainly sounds like it. Thank you,” Elise said, giving the washerwoman a brief smile before she rushed to the royal apartments.

Elise hesitated at the door. The shouts were coming from inside, and there was an expensive sounding crash as something shattered against the wall.

Elise knocked, and the door opened to her father. In spite of Clotilde yelling and pacing behind him, he had a pleasant smile. (Steffen had to inherit it from someone, Elise supposed.) “Daughter, how good of you to join us,” King Henrik said.

“How may I be of service, Father?” Elise asked, dipping into a curtsey before she entered the royal apartments.

“My dear Clotilde has some concerns over her wardrobe.”

“I apologize, but I am not involved in the actual usage of goods. I only deal in their purchase,” Elise said.

“Yes, it is the financial aspect that seems to be the problem,” King Henrik said.

“Why must I have a budget for clothing? Would you have me dress like a peasant? Am I not sufficiently royal enough for you to concern yourself with letting me look presentable?” Clotilde demanded, twisting an expensive, imported paper fan in her hands.

“Not at all. Every member of the royal family has a budgeted amount for their clothing. We must be held accountable for our spending, My Queen,” Elise countered with a steady, pleasant voice.

“Then why is mine so little? Gabrielle is only the wife of the crown prince, and she is dressed better than I. I should dress like a queen, not like a…maid!” Clotilde said before carelessly tossing the fan.

Elise bit her tongue to keep from uttering a sharp reply. She very much wished she could tangle her hands in Clotilde’s pretty blonde hair and drag her from Brandis, kicking and screaming. The new queen was dressed in an expensive gown of lavender silk. She wore strings of sapphires and pearls around her neck and woven through her hair. To top off the look, her slippers were made of white silk and embroidered with real gold thread. No one in the royal family dressed so lavishly. No one but Clotilde.

“Princess Gabrielle’s wardrobe expenses are significantly less than yours. If you feel she is dressed better, perhaps you should ask who tailors her dresses,” Elise said.

“Do not lie to me. She wears jewels and gems of the likes I have never seen before,” Clotilde said.

“It is very likely that those jewels are her personal property. Before she married Steffen, she was the Marquise of Carabas. She still owns those lands and the wealth they accumulate. The Treasury Department is not responsible for her personal finances and how she wishes to use her income from Carabas. However, though I do not know Gabrielle well, I can assure you that she spends a great deal less on her wardrobe than you,” Elise said.

“Then why are visiting ambassadors dressed better than I? The ambassador’s wife from Loire is dressed how I should be dressed. I will not stand to be upstaged by an ambassador!”

“Again, My Queen, I am forced to remind you that I am responsible only for Arcainia. I do not busy myself with other country’s business and budgets,” Elise said.

“Fine. Then I want an increased amount for my wardrobe,” Clotilde said.

“It cannot be done,” Elise said without hesitation.