It'd been nearly a month since that disastrous ball in which Lethe had tried to force a wife upon Ithacles only to have Ithacles turn the tables on her and announce that he'd marry Vedette. It only took a week of badgering Ithacles to find out that he was not marrying Vedette, or married to her already. That entire time Lethe hadn't left Vedette side, and since then had made sure Vedette was on opposite sides of not only the castle, but the city itself most of the time. Vedette was sick of it. The princess should have been satisfied with the fact that Ithacles was not married so she could continue to try in vain to set him up with one of their rich neighbors, or one of her friends. Instead Lethe was making it her personal mission to keep them as far apart as possible.

Not only was this troublesome because Vedette's main purpose here in Faustben was to protect Ithunvel's bloodline, but also because Ithacles was one of her closest friends. Life was relatively boring without him around and Vedette was beginning to wonder if Lethe would do this forever or if her temper tantrum over the ball would end by the time winter did. Of course, Winter was still months away from ending and Vedette could not stand being holed up here in Faustben for another month without Ithacles for entertainment. Lethe had forbade her from seeing him, which sounded like a challenge to Vedette.

( Vedette did enjoy challenges. )