Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 2-1

Chapter Two

The princess was anxious. She was trying to hide it, but it was still obvious to those who knew her best. Since Eli had known her most of her life, he certainly fit in that category. Even from the far end of the arena, he could see how white her knuckles were as she squeezed the railing in front of her, and even when she sat down, the rigidity in her back let him know she was tense.

He wished she would calm down. While there was always a small amount of danger involved in a jousting tournament, none of the Representatives were willing to actually harm one another as Landon’s gesture to help Gavin up off of the ground should’ve assured her.

But Kit wouldn’t be able to relax until they were all back at Castle Wrenbrook safe and sound. He hoped there would be no more jousting tournaments during the Choosing if Kit was going to be so concerned the entire time. The point of the event was to give her an indication of the strength and sportsmanship of each of her remaining men, not to give her heart palpitations for an entire afternoon. Kit’s consternation was a genuine sign of how much each of the remaining Representatives meant to her.

She was gorgeous. It was difficult for him to take his eyes off of her at all, and jousting in front of her had proven to be challenging with those sparkling blue eyes burning into the side of his head so intensely he could feel them through his helmet. Princess Katrinetta looked lovely in anything, but in a long orange gown, her hair blowing in the autumn breeze, and her cheeks pinked from the sunlight, he couldn’t imagine her ever looking more beautiful. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that thought, though, and she’d surprised him many times by proving him wrong. Thoughts of the first time he’d seen her undressed came to mind. He pushed them away before his state of distraction became even more burdensome than the unbearable condition from before he thought of her nude.

All he had to do in order to change his disposition was turn his head to the right and take in Queen Rona. His stomach churned just thinking about her, let alone looking at her, sitting there on her royal dais, that look of smugness about her. At least she wasn’t glaring at him now as she had been earlier, when he’d won his second match. He was well aware that Rona hated to be ignored, and since she’d gone to all of the trouble to send for him early that morning, to make sure he understood his primary objective was to lose as quickly as possible, it was no surprise she was angry now.

Of course, he had said he would do his best to honor her wishes, but even before he began the tournament, he knew he couldn’t possibly throw it. In the past, there had certainly been times when he’d done whatever Rona asked in order to protect Kit. Now, with the opportunity to actually compete in a jousting tournament, something he’d never gotten to do before, his pride wouldn’t allow him to roll over and die, especially since he was fairly certain the only person who would be punished was him—and not the princess.

Rona was out of hand anyway. He shifted back and forth slightly on the balls of his feet trying not to let his muscles tighten up as Danyen and Drake prepared for their first pass at each other. In the past month, Rona had been biding her time, trying to detect exactly how deep the duplicity within the castle ran, and while she was starting to figure some of it out, there were people she would never guess could possibly be plotting against her who would be the first to stab her in the back. Eventually, this would all come to a head, and Eli only prayed that Kit wouldn’t be harmed in the process, though he was certain it would take an emotional toll. How could the princess plan a coup against the crown when she couldn’t watch a jousting tournament without squeezing the armrests so tightly she was bound to have bruises on her hands?

They’d find a way, though. It had to happen. The more investigative work Eli did, the more he began to realize just how dire the situation was in the realm. Money was coming in by the carriage load, but it appeared as if very little was being used for public works. It may have been going out just as quickly but not to take care of the citizenry. Exactly what Rona was doing with it, he couldn’t be certain. But he’d find out. And as for the citizens who were being taxed beyond their breaking point without benefit of a queen who would do what was needed to make sure they had what they needed in order to survive—navigable roads, clean water, enough money left over from their hard work to keep a decent home, feed their children, and survive—many of them were beginning to grow weary of an inefficient crown.

Kit was the hope of the realm, and now that she was beginning to see that for herself, Eli would do whatever was needed to ensure that she was able to claim the crown, sooner rather than later, even if it meant the ultimate sacrifice for him.

But not today. Today, he wasn’t doing the queen’s bidding. He would fight for his own honor and his family name, and while he was fairly certain he could beat just about any of the other Representatives, a quick glance at the man standing to his right made him nervous. Cassius was much taller and broader than Eli. It was also apparent he’d been around horses his whole life. Eli was sure he’d have to face off against the Representative from Warchester Keep eventually, and when he did, defeating him would be a real challenge.

The two contestants currently at odds collided on opposite sides of the tilt, and Danyen’s lance splintered into the air. Drake’s fell from his hand and skidded along the top of the tilt before falling to the ground, almost tripping Danyen’s dappled stallion. The horse recovered, and the queen awarded one point to Danyen. It annoyed the hell out of Eli that the princess wasn’t allowed to score the match herself, but at least she’d been allowed to choose a victor in the last round.

“I would’ve put my money on Drake,” Cassius said, leaning in and talking closely into Eli’s ear without pulling his eyes away from the match. “He’s so much bigger than Danyen.”

“Yes, but Danyen is lithe and quick,” Eli reminded his competition. “Size and strength isn’t always everything.”

Cassius let out a low rumble of a chuckle and pounded Eli on the back hard enough to jar him forward from the waist up. “True, true. Suppose we’ll find out.”

Eli hoped that would be the case. Despite Cassius’s observation that strength and girth were most important, Eli would be willing to take him on—in the joust anyway. A fist fight might be another story.

At least Cassius was on his side where it mattered most. Eli stole another glance at Kit whose worried expression concerned him more than he could let on. He wished he could go remind her that she would be queen soon enough, and she needed to act like one. How many times had he whispered those words in her ear? Lately, she’d been owning that position more and more, but the current situation did not lend itself to her sweet disposition.

Cassius wasn’t the only Representative who would take up arms against the crown on behalf of the princess. In fact, most of them had already come to Eli at one point or another and sworn their allegiance to the princess. Many also spoke of secret pockets of resistance at home, those who would be willing to rise up against the queen if needed, or at the very least throw their strength behind Katrinetta should she seize the throne on her own accord. For some, there had been lengthy discussion about the risks and dangers, coupled with the opportunities and potential for a better life for the citizenry of Yewforia. For others, it had just been a quick nod, a secretive look, and the mouthing of the two words that had become code for their clandestine operation--“le atsa”—ancient Yewforian for “with you.” Eli wasn’t exactly sure who had come up with the phrase, but it was fitting.

Kit had only known about the resistance for the last moon phase or so, and even at that, she had no idea how deep it went. She also didn’t have a clear understanding of how awful the conditions were, particularly in some of the poorer provinces. Rona kept her daughter sheltered from the truth for a number of reasons but most importantly because the queen was aware of Kit’s tender heart. Kit would’ve never allowed this sort of treatment to go on, not if there was anything at all she could do about it. The fact that Rona had allowed Kit to travel into the village near the castle where the princess had seen how the families of her own guard lived was either a slip up on the part of the queen or part of a deeper plan that hadn’t revealed itself yet, and since Rona seldom made mistakes, he doubted it was the former.

Rona wasn’t invincible, though. He glanced over in her direction as Danyen and Drake shook the ground again with their collision. Once again, Danyen stole the point. The queen didn’t seem particularly interested in this match. He imagined she’d rather Drake won since her husband, Remont, the duke, who wasn’t even invited to this tournament, hailed from Danyen’s home province of Farlington, and it was no secret that the queen was no longer interested in her husband in any capacity—not that she ever was. The only thing Remont could give her was an heir, and he’d done that.

Rona had no idea that several of the women sitting near her on the very riser where she observed the tournament were part of the party planning to bring her down. In fact, Eli wouldn’t have been surprised if there were more who would come over to his side, given the information he had. There were some who would never question the “rightful queen” or raise a hand against the crown, but others understood that Rona had already broken the law countless times and needed to be stopped. And the most suitable person to bring her reign to an end was sitting across the stadium from her, anxiously watching two men she cared about hurl themselves at each other, pointy sticks in their hands.

It didn’t take long for Danyen to defeat Drake. Cassius clapped Eli’s shoulder again and admitted he was wrong, and the knight marshal announced the next round. “Jaterius of Rockdale versus Reeve of Erast Hollow!” his deep voice bellowed, and Eli’s eyes immediately flew to Kit’s face.

She looked like she was about to cry. Clearly, she cared very deeply about both of these men and was having trouble envisioning who she might hope would win. He almost laughed at how she wore her heart on her sleeve but bit it back.

Cassius let his chuckle fly free. “She sure is struggling, isn’t she? Poor little bird. I hope this is our first and only jousting tournament. She doesn’t seem to be too fond of the sport.”

“She used to be,” Eli said before he realized it might be offensive of him to share stories about Kit from when they were younger, but Cassius looked curious, not put off. “She used to love to come and watch, back when her father was allowed to attend. She’d sit next to him and hold his hand, and they’d cheer for whoever Kit thought had the prettiest horse.”

Laughter spilled from Cassius’s mouth. “I can see that being the case. Did you ever participate?”

Eli tried to bite back his own bitterness. “Not as a knight. As a shite collector.” Cassius chuckled again. “And I did my fair share of handling the horses. It was more entertaining for me to watch her than the joust, though.”

“I can only imagine.” Cassius was smiling, so even though he was likely jealous of the relationship Eli had always had with Kit, he wasn’t bitter about it. “You’re so lucky to have already gotten to spend so much time with her.”

“I know,” Eli admitted. “I thank the goddesses every day that I’ve had the opportunity to be close to her for as long as I have.” He didn’t mention that he’d also begged those same deities for years to give him the opportunity to win Kit’s heart in a way that wouldn’t be subject to laws or rules of the realm. The fact that he was part of the Choosing at all was nothing less than a miracle. Still, he prayed there was enough heavenly graces left to help them with their current operation because they would need it. Despite the numbers and the strength behind the resistance, Rona wasn’t going to be easily defeated, nor would she be willing to play by the rules. She was underhanded, sneaky, and conniving. More reasons to get rid of her, and more reasons to plead his case to the goddesses at every turn.