Chapter Text
Katarina had first fallen in love with the prince when she was 7 years old.
Her maid Anne had been reading her romance novels recently, after she had thrown a tantrum about how boring being a duke’s daughter was with all her lessons and etiquette. But the stories Anne read made the lives of women so interesting! They got to marry princes, who loved them and smiled for them alone, and all because of how they stood above the rest.
She was once again eagerly going to her lessons, knowing that she would get to meet a man at a ball and enchant him with her perfect manners, and he would love her. She had been working hard for a year straight when she saw Prince Geordo’s portrait, and knew he was for her. He was the perfect prince.
She practiced for days with her mother before she went to the palace to meet him, and her mother amusedly corrected her manners telling her how great she was for an 8-year-old.
She knew she impressed Geordo with her curtsy, when he smiled so warmly at her. She got so excited that she ran ahead of him towards the tea--
And when she woke up days later, and Geordo proposed, and told her he’d marry her even with the scar on her forehead she knew he really was a perfect prince.
Life really was just like it was in the stories
So it didn’t really surprise her when her father introduced her to what was clearly his bastard.
She patted her father’s hand and talked about that since she was going to be a princess, it makes sense that her Daddy would be happy too with his bastard son.
Keith and her father stared at her in shock. Her mother took her aside, clearly to remonstrate, when the child stuttered “I’m not Duke Claes son, my father is from the branch family.”
Her mother looked at her father, “Is this true Luigi?”
He smiled at her, “Of course, my dear Miri, I’ve only ever had eyes for you”
Her mother blushed like the ladies in the novels that Anne read her. Katarina knew that those stories had to be true!
Her parents were staring at each other like they were the only people in the room, so she walked over to the boy, who was clearly super uncomfortable. "I'm glad you're here, I didn't know what I'd do if I had to deal with Mother's full attention on only my lessons".
Keith still looked a little apprehensive, "You're not mad that I'm becoming the Claes heir?" Katarina held her head up high, "Of course not! I'm going to be a princess instead!" She poked him with her fan, "Unless you steal the prince from me, which you can't because I'm older and he was engaged to me first."
Keith suddenly started laughing, and once she had gotten over the fact that he seemed to be laughing at her, she laughed with him too, until her mother finally looked over to admonish the children who had fallen onto the ground laughing. Her father was still smiling at them all though.
Her father must love her mother’s devotedness to the role of Duchess. She never let anyone question her, she was the pinnacle of a lady.
And so Katarina was too.
She was the picture of elegance, and she could spot an error 10 feet away. She was the only lady that deserved to be by Prince Geordo’s side.
She dismissed the women that approached his side with one glance, and when he smiled at her, she never doubted how worth it it was. She didn’t mind the dirty stares, because she was beside her prince.
She read every book he did, she made Keith’s tutor show her proper swordsmanship too, just so she could get that smile from her prince, her Geordo, and every time she saw it, she pushed herself harder to be the perfect princess that could be by his side.
She had fallen asleep after bride lessons at the palace one day when she was woken up by Prince Alan at her shoulder. She didn’t know why. He basically ignored her on principle.
It wasn’t like she cared, at least he never whispered behind her back about how proud she was, and then smiled and praised how perfect she was at everything in the next breath.
She stood up and immediately bowed, and muttered her apologies and attempted to gather up her books and leave when he stopped her.
“You know you’ll never catch up, right?” Alan looked directly at her for once.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ll never catch up with him. Everything you’re doing is natural to him.”
She glared back at him, “You’re not one to talk.”
He looked stunned.
“You’re trying to catch up to him too! You don’t even need to, but I do, I’m going to be his wife. I have to match him.” She did the closest thing to yelling she’d done since she was 8 and learned that a woman should always moderate her tone.
She tried to regain her composure, curtsied, and walked as speedily as manners allowed from a prince that stared as she walked away.
When she arrived home, and walked into the dining room Keith looked at her in surprise, “You’re home early.”
“You finished magic studies early too.”
He smiled, but he looked tired “It was magic and Dukedom today.”
She nodded sympathetically and stood up. “I learned how to prepare a new foreign tea today...” She brought out a bag of tea leaves. “Would you like to try it?”
He nodded, and she brewed the tea, and they sat in silence drinking it. It felt nice, a reminder of how hard life would be even if she wasn’t trying to match Prince Geordo. Keith squeezed her hand, and when she got to smile imperfectly back, that felt even better.