Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Waking up to an empty bed didn’t surprise Kit too much, though it did disappoint her. She had a feeling Eli wouldn’t be there when she awoke. Unlike the other Representatives, he usually wasn’t. She knew it was because his duties had never allowed him to sleep much, and by the time she awoke, he was usually hours into fulfilling whatever tasks needed to be done in order to ensure her safety. Still, this particular morning, finding the other side of the bed empty alarmed her, and Kit had a sinking feeling in her stomach that something was the matter before her feet even hit the floor.

Kit gathered her discarded clothing from the night before and put it on thoughtlessly before she headed back down the hallway to her regular chambers. The hall was mostly empty, save the two guards who walked along with her in silence. She looked into their eyes to see if either of them might give away a secret, something awful that might’ve happened while Kit slept, but neither of them looked particularly knowledgeable.

Once in her room, Kit’s ladies dressed her with tight lips. Despite her questioning as to what was wrong, they all three insisted nothing was amiss as far as they knew, but they were either lying or all had a similar feeling in their gut as the one Kit was having because it wasn’t like them not to chat and giggle while they prepared her for the morning meal.

Kit took her place next to her mother on the dais. Even the scent of the food set on the table before her was unappetizing and made her stomach churn. A brief glance around the room told her immediately her intuition had been correct. Nearly all of the Representatives were in attendance, but not all. She’d seen Gavin and Zane coming down the hall and knew they’d be there momentarily. But Eli’s chair was empty. And he’d never arrived at the morning meal later than Kit—ever.

An overwhelming sense of panic began to well up inside of Kit, but she wasn’t sure what she should do. Was now the time to pull the wool off of her mother’s eyes? To let her know Kit and several others were on to her games? Or should she try to remain calm and sort it out civilly? The latter would be difficult, particularly if her mother admitted to knowing anything about Eli’s whereabouts and she had done something to him.

A quick sip of water did nothing for the lump in her throat or her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth. Kit tried again, clearing her throat with a hand pressed to her neck, but the lump remained. She’d have to learn to speak around it.

The queen was blathering on about something inconsequential, décor for an upcoming ball. Kit wasn’t listening at all. She was looking for an opening. Finally, one came, not because the queen was done listening to the sound of her own voice but because she paused to take a bite of egg. Kit tried to keep her voice calm as she asked, “Do you happen to know where Eli is?”

For a brief moment, she saw a flicker across her mother’s face before her expression morphed into her usual snarl. She did know something, whether she cared to admit it or not. The queen finished chewing before saying, “Do you think it’s polite to interrupt our discussion with such questions? How should I know where he is?”

Kit’s best efforts to keep her pulse from racing were losing out. Still, she needed to try harder. Without any tangible proof that her mother had done something to Eli, she could do more harm than good by calling the queen out in front of everyone, particularly if there was another reason for his absence. Despite the flicker on her mother’s face, Kit had no evidence.

“You weren’t pleased that he was crowned the victor yesterday. You didn’t call him to your chambers to discuss it?” Kit tried to keep her tone light and innocent but even she could hear the accusatory tone underlying each word.

“Why ever would I want to do that?” Rona asked, scoffing. “No, I wasn’t pleased. You know how I detest the man. But... he won. That’s that. Wasn’t he with you last night?”

“Yes, but....”

“And was he not there this morning when you awoke?”

Kit shook her head. No reason to explain to her mother that Eli usually wasn’t there when she woke up.

Rona shrugged. “How should I know? Perhaps he’s off pleasuring one of your ladies.”

“All of my ladies are here!” Kit’s tone lost any pleasantness.

Once again, Rona snickered. “Then maybe he’s found a chambermaid, or a scullery maid. Who knows? You can’t honestly think he isn’t stepping out on you, can you? He has a reputation, you know.”

Kit’s blue eyes narrowed of their own accord. The queen was just making things up now to upset her. How could someone’s own mother be so cruel? Unable to look at her anymore, Kit turned her head back to the Representatives seated in front of her, thinking perhaps a wink from Cassius would make her feel better, or a smile from Jate. But when she looked up, neither of them were present either. When they’d left, she didn’t know. They hadn’t asked the queen’s permission.

Rona noticed, too. “Where are Cassius and Jate?”

It took a few seconds for her question to make it down the table, but eventually, Kit’s grandmother, Junno, replied, “Oh, they asked me if they may be excused for a moment, since you and the princess were in conversation, Your Majesty. They shall be back shortly.”

Rona wasn’t happy with that response but she said nothing, only went back to her eggs. There would be no more discussion of the ball as clearly the queen was no longer in the mood to talk about such happy affairs.

Kit held her breath for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. Her eyes met Reeve’s, and he gave her a supportive smile. Landon’s expression was reassuring as well, and she hoped that wherever Cassius and Jate had gone, they’d told their friends, thus the explanation for their contentment.

It seemed like an eternity passed before they returned—and when they did, Eli was with them. Kit could tell immediately something was wrong. He wouldn’t look at her, didn’t even lift his eyes as he walked in, and when he took his seat, Cassius was more than a little accommodating, helping him sit down.

Staring at him did her no good as he refused to glance in her direction, but she could tell by the pallor in his face and the sweat beading his forehead he wasn’t himself. He made an attempt to eat and drink something, but it was clear he wanted to do neither, and Kit’s insides tangled up again.

Since Eli wouldn’t look at her, she returned her attention to Cassius, hoping for an explanation. When she caught his eyes, he shook his head slightly, as if to say, “Don’t do it, Kit.” Her breath was still caught in her throat, and a rage began to boil inside of her like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Her mother had done something to Eli, but what it was, she didn’t know. How could she sit next to this woman and pretend everything was as it should be?

The queen didn’t mind pretending. “There he is. Must’ve overslept.” She giggled in a malicious way and took a swig of wine. “It’s too bad he decided to show up. Technically, this is an event associated with the Choosing. He could’ve been dismissed for being absent.”

“I do believe only I can dismiss a Representative for missing an event,” Kit said, her fork clambering against her plate as she dropped it abruptly. The queen turned her head to look at her daughter, and the gleam in her eye was anything but friendly. “This is my Choosing after all.”

Once again, Rona was amused. She chuckled and took another sip of her wine. “Don’t begin to forget who is in charge here, dearest daughter. It may be your Choosing, but it’s my realm. I rule over everything.”

Kit had to turn her face away as angry tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. The last thing she wanted was for her mother to see she could still make her cry. She was gripping the sides of her chair so tightly her hands began to ache.

She couldn’t leave—not without her mother’s permission--and she wasn’t about to ask for that. So she continued to sit there and stare at the wall across from her as the queen joyfully finished her breakfast. “Aren’t you going to eat?” Rona asked snidely. “The eggs are perfect today.”

“I no longer have an appetite.” Kit’s words were measured. She hardly recognized her own voice.

If her mother laughed again, Kit would not be able to hold back her fury anymore. Surprisingly, she didn’t, only sighed. “Oh, Katrinetta. I thought you understood my wishes and were going to be compliant. If you insist on making this difficult, I will have no choice but to bring you back into line.” The weight of her mother’s eyes on the side of her face forced Kit to turn and look at her. “Make careful consideration before you take any action you can’t take back, Katrinetta. You may think you are powerful because you are young and beautiful, but I have been queen of this realm for many years.”

Kit’s eyes widened. She had no idea her mother would’ve ever suspected Kit was considering an attempt at de-throning her. But then, perhaps she was only being overly cautious. Kit was well aware the throne meant everything to her mother.

She didn’t respond, only watched as her mother tossed her napkin onto the table and pushed herself up from her seat. Everyone else stood and bowed immediately, but it took Kit a second to rise out of her chair.

Rona left the room, followed by all of her advisors. Many of them glanced in Kit’s direction sympathetically on their way out, and her grandmother paused a moment to squeeze her hand, but they would do nothing to contradict Rona, not now anyway. Though Kit had been assured there were members of the council, in addition to Junno, who would side with her, it was difficult to know for certain how many of them would be willing to risk everything in order to take the throne from the queen.

Once they were gone, Kit felt as if she might be able to suck in a breath again, but then she realized Eli was struggling to stand. He didn’t sit back down. After the queen left, he whispered something to Cassius, and the two of them walked out together, slowly, as if there were some reason why they could not walk faster.

Kit wanted to follow, to see what was the matter, but she knew if she left right that moment, she’d draw even more attention to Eli, and she didn’t think he’d appreciate that. Instead, she stepped down off of the dais and rushed over to Jate.

He was standing on the other side of the table, speaking quietly to Reeve and Landon. Drake and Danyen stepped over as she approached. She wasn’t sure whether or not to speak to the entire group or pull Jate away. When she got close enough, the decision was made for her, and Jate took her gently by the arm and led her to a nook next to the wall.

“What’s happened?” Kit’s voice was trembling such that she sounded nothing like herself. The tears from earlier were threatening again.

“He’s all right.” Jate’s voice was soothing, though Kit could hear concern as well. “He’s asked us not to tell you what transpired, but it isn’t anything... life threatening.”

Kit couldn’t stop the tears now and a solitary drop trickled down her cheek. Jate reached up and brushed it away. “She did this, didn’t she?”

“Take some deep breaths, Kit. It won’t do to have you crying.”

Kit glanced around and saw that all of the Representatives were watching. A few were still eating, but most of them had their eyes glued to the princess. All of them looked concerned, though when her eyes trailed past Pierce’s face, she swore she saw something else there. It wouldn’t surprise her if he didn’t already know exactly what had happened.

“What do I do?” Kit asked, her hands clasped in front of her.

Jate didn’t answer. Instead, he looked over her head, and Kit realized Cassius was back, standing behind her. It took everything she had to keep from launching herself into his arms and letting the rest of her tears escape. But she didn’t. She did turn to face him, hoping he’d heard her question so she didn’t try to voice it again.

“I don’t think we should do anything right now.” Cassius didn’t seem sure of himself, though, and Kit could tell he was angry over the situation. “If we show our hand immediately, before we have a plan in place, the entire operation could be in jeopardy.”

He sounded more like a military strategist than a wooing courter, but Kit understood this wasn’t about her Choosing anymore. There was so much more, something so much bigger than who she would marry. “What if she does something else?” Kit whispered. “What if she...”

“We need to take it one step at a time,” Cassius replied, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek. “Eli knew there was a risk when he won the tournament yesterday. He did it anyway. Rona certainly isn’t one for not following through on her promises.”

“So she’d threatened him before the tournament even began?” Kit’s despair turned to rage again, and she was glad to have Jate’s strong hand on her shoulder.

“I believe so. I’m not certain. He wouldn’t say anything specific. He’s asked us not to tell you what happened. I’m sure if you ask him, he’ll tell you himself, but it’s not our story to convey.” Cassius managed a meager smile. Kit knew it was a sympathetic gesture and underneath, he was just as outraged as she was, if that was even possible.

Kit took another look around. Landon, Reeve, Danyen, and Drake were standing a few feet away, clearly trying to decide whether or not they should come over. The other Representatives at the table were talking quietly, but all of them knew something dreadful had happened. Up on the dais, her three ladies continued to sit next to each other at the far end, waiting patiently for her directions.

“Is he in his room?” Kit asked Cassius, who nodded. “All right. Then, I shall go see for myself.”

“Would you like us to accompany you down the hall?” Jate asked, his hand still on her shoulder.

“No, thank you,” Kit replied, drawing in as deep a breath as her restricted lungs would allow. “I need to do this myself.”

“We’re here if you need us,” Cassius reminded her, and Kit reached for his hand, giving it a tight squeeze, before she did the same to Jate and then headed for the door. Every step felt as if her feet were encased in stone as she imagined what Eli might disclose once she reached his room. How she would ever sit next to her mother again and pretend nothing was the matter was beyond her.