The Dead Queen

2 - Ines

Since she was a child, Ines had heard unbelievable stories about Queen Isabel. But the main one scared her: the queen prevented a bloody war between the current Prince of Portugal, D. Afonso IV, against his father, the King D. Diniz and Afonso Sanches. 

Sanches was Ines' adopted father, illegitimate brother of Afonso IV. They would fight again against each other after their father's death.

During the battle, men on both sides already had orders to kill, when the Queen suddenly appeared, dressed in white on a simple mule, and stood alone between the two armies of father and son. That was how she interrupted the famous Battle of Alvalade. While the litter fluttered, Ines remembered that she was going to live in the same castle as her father's great enemy.

After all the bad things she had heard about Afonso IV, Ines thought she should have listened to her mother's advice, Theresa and refused the invitation to be Constanza's lady. But it was too late. 

Ines started to get nervous, almost as much as Constance, whose hands were shaking. She had heard that the Portuguese royal castle was the largest and most imposing, impossible to invade. But did they walk towards a fortress or an abyss? Ines wondered.

Constance's marriage promised to permanently establish peace between the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, enemies for centuries. But would it be enough? Did the king forgive Ines' adoptive father after he died? She held her Constance's hands, intending to calm her down, but realized the intention was to calm herself too.

"Is the miracle of roses true?" Asked Brites.

"A King like Denis would never lie about it," said Constanza. The ladies-in-waiting already realized that the Princess was idealizing her future family.

The ladies remembered the miracles attributed to Queen Isabel, which impressed everyone in Castile. She wasn't officially a saint yet but was regarded as one. 

It was said that she had turned bread into roses before her husband; that at an advanced age, she had wandered through entire cities, on foot and on a mule; and that her body remained until today intact and incorruptible in the tomb.

But what marked Ines for life was everything she did for her adoptive father, Sanches, whose life was so short. She would always miss him.

Ines lost her mother very early, she barely remembered her. For this reason, her natural father, the noble Fernández de Castro, main Minister of the Castilian court, handed her over to his friends Teresa and Afonso Sanches, to be educated by them in Albuquerque. They became her true parents, whom she adored. 

Sanches was also an illegitimate son like Ines, but he was quickly legalized by King Denis, also the father of Afonso IV. Even betrayed by her husband, Queen Isabel determined that the King's illegitimate children would all be raised with her own and treated equally in the Portuguese court. She was truly a saint, the ladies said.

Sanches was the King's favorite son and that was the real problem. The one who most resembled Denis: both were troubadours, poets, incorrigible romantics. All infuriated Afonso IV. They composed and played the lute together for days, he had told Ines. Sanches would play the same songs for her when she was little, teaching her Poetry, Music, Greek, Latin. 

But while Sanches inherited the gift of art from the King, Afonso IV inherited the gift of war. Contrary to Denis, who left the throne in testament to Sanches, Afonso IV assumed power and fought for years against his brothers.

The Queen Isabel managed to stablish peace between Alfonso IV and the heirs. But he would end up killing his own brother, João Afonso, and taking from Sanches all the goods and lands his father had left him. Only Theresa's castle remained in Albuquerque, where Ines lived a good part of her life.

"I heard that it was thanks to Queen Isabel that King Afonso IV did not kill Ines' father," teased Catarina in her litter.

"Or was it thanks to Queen Isabel that my father did not kill King Afonso?" Reacted Ines.

"Would your father be able to win the great Afonso IV? Nobody has ever done it!", smiled Catarina, ironic.

The cause for laughter was that everybody knew how violent and cunning was Afonso IV, who fought with everyone in his family, foreigners, Moors, having won all the battles.

"Stop it! And stop this litter now!" Constance interrupted irritated.

Ines recalled that Catarina, Constance's best friend, was always jealous of her with her cousin, and treated her badly very often. Brites sometimes tried to copy her. The two were legitimate daughters of Castilian Nobles and considered Ines to be an illegitimate woman unworthy of being a Princess of Portugal's court lady. 

But the strongest reason was jealousy, and the fact that they were not as pretty as Ines and Constance.

The litter stopped, and Constance walked quickly towards the bush, holding the veil. The ladies supported her, and she threw up. She took a deep breath, and the group continued the journey. Constance tried to fix her hair, veil and dress, all at the same time, quickly and awkwardly. The ladies have never seen her so anxious.

Ines adjusted the princess's braids, the veil and looked into her eyes fondly. The dress was a little wrinkled. But the face was flushed, well made up by the ladies. Despite the tired look, she was beautiful.

"Look at my condition! I'm not ready for the ceremony, Ines!", Constance pleaded, showing the crumpled veil. She was visibly exaggerating. Constance liked to dramatize everything.

"You look beautiful, my dear! And you will be more loved than the daughter of the King's archenemy," Ines joked about herself. They both smiled. Constance felt a little better. But no one imagined what awaited them.