Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 2-2

With the cooler weather came shorter days, and by the time Eli climbed atop his black stallion, Aeros, to face off against Cassius in the final match of the tournament, streaks of pink and orange painted the horizon. They’d both earned their way to the match through tough battles, and at one point, Eli thought perhaps Reeve might defeat him when the other man had won the first two points, but Eli had recovered, and much to the queen’s dismay, he was ready to square off against Cassius.

Across the arena, Cassius brought his enormous beast, Snowduster, to the starting line. Dressed all in white, astride a white steed, Cassius looked like a noble warrior of the goddesses come to do battle with a villain. Eli was wearing red and blue, the colors of his province, but his horse was black, and in his darker colors, he may as well have been a malicious entity squaring off against the man sent to protect the valor of the princess. The idea that good always triumphed against evil was generally one of Eli’s mantras, but today he’d just as soon see the man in black win the day.

He took a moment to take Kit in before he lowered his visor. She was a bundle of nerves, as she had been most of the day, but this was even more pronounced than earlier. She was having trouble sitting still. Her hands were clenching and unclenching, her foot tapping, and her face was scrunched up to one side like she was chewing on the inside of her cheek. He would’ve thought her distress endearing if he didn’t realize she was actually fearful that one of them would be injured. As much as he wanted to win, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Cassius’s safety, and he felt confident in saying that his opponent felt the same way. A glance at the queen told him she would love to announce this was a battle to the death—and then allow Cassius ten or fifteen brutes to help him to victory.

But the queen bit her tongue. Eli knew he’d pay for this one way or another, though he had no idea what she might try. The fact that he had a chance to win when she’d already told him not to come anywhere near reaching this point was enough to make her see red. He was certain she’d find a way to tamper with something so he’d kept a close eye on his horse and all of his equipment all day. Still, it wouldn’t surprise him if Aeros suddenly pulled up lame, or his jousting pole was made of a different substance than Cassius’s.

Nevertheless, he’d gotten this far, and he needed to do whatever he could to win, regardless of the consequences. The knight marshal gave his signal, and Eli moved into position. Another word from the man in charge, and the two horses began to move toward each other.

Eli was always cautious on the first pass, particularly against a new opponent. He didn’t have a lot of experience in official tournaments, but he had jousted unofficially several times in the army when they had little else to do. This equipment was certainly different—more professional and sturdy—but it was the same concept. He needed to get a read on when was the best time to strike, and in order to do that, he had to be vulnerable to attack on the first pass.

Cassius was weighing him out as well. It was apparent by the way he held his lance, the way Snowduster ran at only three-quarters speed down the lane. When it took Cassius just as long to get his lance into position to strike, Eli thought he might be calling for a mercy pass, but just before he reached the center of the tilt, Cassius lowered his lance, and the levee indicated he was ready to engage.

Eli lowered his as well but not squarely, not in position to hit Cassius’s ecranche unless he pivoted it at the last second. Scoring wasn’t Eli’s intention this pass, though. By the time the two were on top of each other, he felt as if he had a good indication of Cassius’s style, and when his opponent hit him squarely in the shield and splintered, Eli wasn’t taken aback at all. He’d seen what he needed to know.

The queen joyfully announced, “One point for Cassius of Warchester Keep!” The crowd cheered, though Eli heard several boos as well. He wasn’t surprised that Cassius had won the hearts of many onlookers, but being from Eastbury, one of the closest provinces, and having lived at the castle most of his life, Eli was aware that many people were pulling for him. He turned Aeros around, handed off his spent lance to be checked, and prepared for another pass.

This time, he wouldn’t be giving Cassius anything, nor would he be holding back on Aeros’s speed. The two horses were similarly matched in quickness, though Snowduster was far larger. There wasn’t another horse in the realm that could out-do Aeros when it came to speed and agility. Eli would’ve bet anything on that. So when the knight marshal gave the word, he pressed Aeros on and went flying down the lane, lowering his lance across the tilt at just the right second.

Cassius wasn’t expecting Eli to have already figured out his technique, so when the commander’s lance came down precisely before Cassius lowered his, it hit squarely on the shield, shattering into a thousand pieces. Cassius didn’t have the opportunity to line up his hit correctly and missed. When Rona announced the point, all of the enthusiasm from before had drained from her voice. “One point for Eliason of Eastbury.” Still, the crowd went wild with cheers, any boos drowned out by those in favor of the hometown Representative.

When Eli turned back around at the end of the pass, he could see that Cassius was actually laughing. His fist thumped the chainmail over his chest twice, quickly, which Eli assumed meant “you got me.” He was glad the other Representative wasn’t taking this too seriously because he genuinely liked the man and knew he was important to Kit. Thinking of her brought his head around for a moment. She looked whiter than freshly fallen snow. At least the tournament would be over soon, regardless of who won. He took the new lance from the squire standing nearby and awaited the signal, thinking the same trick wouldn’t work twice. He’d have to change it up a bit or give the third point over to Cassius.

As soon as the knight marshal gave the order, Eli took off, just as he had the time before, but this time, right as he and Cassius were about to collide in the center of the tilt, Eli pulled back on Aeros’s reins just slightly enough to throw Cassius’s aim off, and when his lance came down, it was no longer in the proper position. Eli used the change in speed to his advantage and landed a second blow on Cassius’s ecranche.

When the queen made the announcement this time, Eli didn’t even have to turn his head to know she was seething. The tone of her voice when she announced the point for him was enough to tell him he was already in more trouble than he’d ever been before.

May as well make it worth it.

If he won the next point, the match would be over. If Cassius won, then it would be down to the final point. While it might make it more entertaining for the onlookers to reach the fifth point, he was ready to end this, and by Kit’s expression, he could tell that she was ready as well. She looked like she might be sick to her stomach at any moment.

Eli took the offered lance and got back into position. He could tell Cassius’s disposition had changed slightly after the last pass. While he didn’t seem hostile, he wasn’t laughing anymore. When Eli turned his attention to his opponent, he could see an air of determination rolling off of him and knew this was going to be the most difficult pass of all.

The knight marshal made his announcement, and Eli plowed full speed ahead again, pushing Aeros to charge even faster than the second pass. Cassius was pressing Snowduster as well, and Eli could see before they even collided that Cassius would try to change up his own timing so that it would catch his opponent off guard.

That might’ve worked if Eli wasn’t expecting it. But since he saw the tactic coming, he was able to strike a split second before Cassius was ready, and at such high speed, his lance shattered, and Cassius went flying off of the back of Snowduster, landing with a hard thunk on the torn up earth of the lane.

Half of the onlookers cheered while the others gasped, but the only sound Eli heard after the reverberation of such a large body hitting the ground was Kit. Even amidst hundreds of similar shocked inhales, he knew hers anywhere and imagined she was envisioning the worst.

Eli pulled Aeros to a halt and leapt over top of the tilt before the squires and other jousting assistance could reach his opponent. Cassius wasn’t moving, not an inch. A glance at the riser let him know Kit was already headed for the stairs, likely making her way to the arena, though such a bold move would be completely unprecedented in Eli’s experience. Still, he understood her concern. The blow with the lance had been hard; the collision with the ground had been far worse.

When Eli reached Cassius and pulled his visor up, he could see that he was gasping for air, and it became apparent he’d simply had the wind knocked out of him. He was already moving his arms and legs as Eli helped him to sit up, but he could see the struggle to get a deep breath in his opponent’s eyes.

“Inhale as deeply as you can, Cassius. Please accept my apologies.” Eli was able to give first hand advice having experienced the horrific sensation of not being able to pull in a breath a few times before. “It’ll get better in a moment.”

Cassius nodded, and a few seconds later, he sucked in air. He made a motion with his arm that he wanted to stand up, and while Eli didn’t necessarily think that was the best idea, he helped him to his feet anyway. Cassius rested his hands on his knees for a moment, doubled over, and Eli held on to him as the others who had rushed to his assistance stood off a few feet. Eventually, Cassius stood and motioned to the crowd with one arm.

Applause filled the air. Even those who were thankful Eli had been the victor still cheered Cassius’s recovery. Eli glanced over at the side of the fence where he imagined Kit had been stopped by the Queen’s Guard and saw her standing there, doing her best to fight her way through.

“Where’s Kit?” Cassius pressed out, his eyes up on the riser that was now a few seats empty as Avinia, Isla, and Seph, Kit’s ladies-in-waiting, had followed her.

“Over there.” He pointed her out, and when Cassius saw the princess, Eli could tell he felt awful for giving her such a worry. Cassius waved to her, and Kit seemed to calm down slightly, but Eli knew the princess well enough to be certain she’d be in a state of disarray for several hours after this. Hopefully, she’d find a way to keep her composure while she faced the queen, a woman who was definitely not happy at the moment. He didn’t even want to look in Rona’s direction.

But when the knight marshal gave the signal that the match was over, everyone in the stands turned their attention to Queen Rona. Not only would she be announcing the point, she’d also have a winner to name.

Rona was standing in front of her seat, which resembled a throne, her lips drawn into a tight line, and her nose pointed up to the heavens. “One point for Eliason of Eastbury,” she said, each word carefully metered out. And then, before the crowd even stopped clapping, she added, “Match and tournament to Eliason of Eastbury.”

A squire brought Eli his horse so he could take the customary victory laps around the arena as the queen and the princess got themselves into place to properly salute his victory. There was normally some sort of small crown made of flowers or something of that nature presented by the queen to the victor, but Eli wouldn’t be shocked to hear Rona shredded it while he was making his way around the circle. The crowd was cheering, which was invigorating, but the reality of what he’d just done was starting to sink in, and part of him thought perhaps it wasn’t worth it.

Had he jeopardized everything they’d been working toward because of his l**t for victory?

By the time he reached his position next to the knight marshal in front of the dais, Kit was standing next to her mother. She looked as beautiful as ever, but her cheeks were flushed, and he imagined her heart was beating out of her chest.

The queen did have a corona of small red flowers in her hands, which she handed off to Kit with an angry thrust. Rona cleared her throat and beckoned him forward. Aeros took a few careful steps, and Eli could tell even the horse knew this wouldn’t be good.

“Ladies and men, I present to you our winner, Eliason Goedwig of Eastbury.” The crowd cheered again, and Rona offered her ring, which Eli kissed. Before he could back away, she leaned forward, and under the pretense of embracing him, something he knew she would never do unless it involved stabbing a knife in his back, she whispered sharply in his ear, “Before the sun rises, I will see you.”

He knew exactly what those few words meant. Before the sun came up in the morning, he was to be present in her chambers. He’d been summoned this way many times before, though never in a harsh whisper in front of hundreds of onlookers. As the queen managed a false smile and looked to the crowd, Eli tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Kit stepped forward, and he could tell by her countenance she had no idea the queen had spoken to him, though she did seem slightly puzzled over the embrace. Nevertheless, she had a duty to perform. “Eliason Goedwig of Eastbury, I crown you with this corona of carnations for your victory today.” She was smiling, though he could tell her cheer was masking the fear she’d felt earlier still coursing through her veins. He leaned forward, and she placed the flowers on his head. “Additionally, you have won a visit to my chambers this evening.” The audience went mad for that announcement, cheering and catcalling, until the queen stopped them with a dirty look.

One other tradition needed to be fulfilled, and Kit leaned down over the railing to find his lips. It was a quick, simple kiss, nothing worthy of fanfare, though even the slightest brush from her lush lips made him quiver inside. Still, in front of all of her Representatives, nobility, and those few fortunate citizens who happened to gain attendance, Kit kept her modesty.

There was one more loud cheer before the trumpeters signaled the queen was leaving and everyone bowed in respect as she made her way to her waiting carriage pulled closely behind the riser. The guardsman who opened her door was no stranger to Eli. Tall, dark, with a jagged scar that covered one side of his face near his chin, Vin had recently become one of Rona’s favorite guardsman. He glared at Eli for a moment as the guard helped the queen into her carriage, but the evil grin that took over his expression once she was inside let him know Vin had an idea that Rona would not let this championship lie.

Kit was making her way down off of the riser now, her own guards waiting for her, and Eli desperately wanted to accompany her back to the castle, but he needed to tend to Aeros. He watched her go, a few of the Representatives who had been eliminated earlier falling into step with her as she made her way to her carriage. At least he’d have the opportunity to spend the evening with the most lovely lady in all the land before her mother ended him in the morning.