KEEPER OF THE DESERTED ISLAND

THE ARCHERY

The sun rose beautifully that morning as everywhere in the palace was filled with flowers and other decoration instruments. The maids woke up as early as they could to set up everything that would be needed for the event taking place that day, they were moving tables, setting chairs, tumblers, plates, cups and cutleries of different types as the men erected the large tents and mounted other things necessary. 

The palace which has four gates; blue, yellow, black and red gates as labeled was heavily guarded with huge and able men in orange uniform and black tall caps on their heads as helmets, they were marching around in their knee boots with their swords in place ready to come out of their sheath anytime. 

The yard which was round in shape has beautifully mown grasses and flowers of different beauties around the paths where humans threads, the men were sweating furiously even though it was still early morning due to the hard time they had fixing the tents and making sure everywhere was clear and neat. 

They finally erected the last white tent and it stood proud and taller than other tents, the inside was decorated with flowers of the rarest types and the maids rushed in to set the silver chairs by the side of the huge golden chair with Crown emblems engrossed in all corners of the huge chair, it would take someone over two hundred meters tall to sit on the chair and be the same with the height, anything lower than that will just be sitting with the chair still raised higher than the fellow.

Two maids held the golden linen and stretched it over the huge long table made of the rarest Rosewood, the table itself was art but the clothing was needed for more beauty. It had all legs in a curvy manner and the top was as smooth as the face of the moon. Everyone made sure they had something doing as they walked from one point to the other to set the table for the event.

One of the maids came out from the east side of the palace with loads of cutleries in her hands which she was trying to take to the event venue but was stopped by a tall woman in a green robe tied with yellow belt at the waist, her robe was having a layer signifying her rank in the palace and she was taken aback by her sudden appearance

“Why are you still here with the cutleries? Won’t you run to the place now?” the woman yelled at her which made her shudder but a voice cut through from the back by someone also putting on the same outfit but with two layers

“What are you doing here when her highness is waiting for you inside?” she asked with her upturned eyes looking at her as if it could strangle life out of her any moment

“Can’t you see she’s working for the event right now?” the first woman countered turning to the second woman

“And can’t you see that she’s part of the princess’ personal maid” the second woman replied with an eye roll

The first woman turned to check the lady in question and the red tag was indeed on her clothes but she was still not ready to let her go that easily

“The king is more important here, let her finish this and I’ll release her” the first woman insisted and the second woman placed her hands in akimbo with immediate effect

“What? Are you trying to say the princess is irrelevant? Can you repeat that in front of her and the King? Should I make sure you stand trial? And also why is someone of your rank bickering with me?!” the second woman yelled at her and everyone turned to see what was happening

“You can go then” the first woman signaled to the maid who passed the cutleries’ box to the nearest maid before walking towards the second woman

“I’ll be watching you” the first woman whispered to the poor maid but it was loud enough for the second woman to hear her

“Don’t worry I’m better at watching over” the second woman remarked and some other maids snorted at her response before everyone ran to do what they were doing

As soon as they placed their legs on the corridor leading to the Princess’ chamber, the second lady grabbed the ear of the maid and pulled her along as she walked faster to the chamber

“I already told you to stick to this side of the palace, you are for the Princess and not a general maid” Lady Carolyn scolded her as she pulled her along

“I’m sorry ma’am, I went to check on my friend before I got nabbed” Debra said trying to defend herself but Lady Carolyn was not ready to let her go

She successfully dragged her to the front of the Princess’ chamber before letting go and they both fixed their clothes, hair and even their expressions before Lady Carolyn motioned for them to open the giant door leading to the chamber.

They entered the chamber which was like a mini garden on its own as they walked through the flower path leading to the place where the bed was placed. There were naturally soils at both sides where different types of cleansing plants and flowers like Aloe Vera, Lavender, Sage, Mint and Rosemary were planted and a green cage hung down from the roof which housed a beautiful parrot.

They both walked in with their hands folded in front of them with respect till they reached the huge bed where the Princess laid as wide as she could. Her eyes were half opened, her mouth parted while snoring heavily, half of the sheet were already on the floor as she was as slanted as a stroke on the bed

“Still the same Zero sleeping habit” Lady Carolyn commented before shaking her head and motioned with that same head for Debra to wake her up

Debra moved closer and gently tugged the small rope beside the bed and a bell ran through the room which caused the Princess to stir but didn’t wake up, instead she increased her snoring speed and volume but another nod from Lady Carolyn caused another tug from Debra who pulled it harder this time making the Princess jolt up in surprise

“it’s a beautiful morning my Princess” they both greeted in unison while she sat up still lost about what was going on

“Is it morning already?” she asked with her mouth opened while trying to doze up again but another clap from Lady Carolyn brought her to her senses

“You should get ready Princess Shirley” Lady Carolyn said sternly and the Princess yawned loudly as she stretched left and right before overdoing it and snapped a bone which made her yell out in pain but neither of the two maids paid attention to her, that must not be her first time

At the blow of a whistle from Lady Carolyn, a line of maids came in with each of them carrying different items, the front person was holding a big bowl of water prepared from the esthetician department, it was prepared with the freshly squeezed lemon and rose water for ultimate skin care. She placed the bowl at her feet and the second with the towel bent down to soak it in the water before proceeding to gently mop her face with the towel which eventually got rid of the dried drool laced on her cheeks

The processes went on from cleaning to applying lotion and taking care of her nails which lasted for about an hour before they all disappeared with items they brought

“You should go take your bath now, My Princess” Lady Carolyn announced and Shirley sluggishly moved to the bathroom by the right side of the room to get ready for the day

The event kicked off with seven shots fired into the air and by now everyone needed for the days’ event has been seated. The king was putting on his royal outfit made of red embellished tunic with gold work thread all over the edges and his black leather boot was basking in the sun that shone on it as he walked into the tent made for him while dripping royalty as much as he could with the queen by his side putting on a powder blue robe folded at the chest and arm region and parted by chest, her beauty was radiating as her flawless white skin matched the energy of the morning sun. Her silver crown was sitting on her woven hair and her deep lipstick didn’t go unnoticed making her look like a doll, she was too beautiful for her age.

“I know you are all aware of the reason why we are here today and I hope we all have fun, let the event begin” the king signaled and the flag was wielded for a kick off

The dance group started the event with outstanding performances of stunts using different objects and no one from the crowd seemed unimpressed except a restless soul sneaking a glance towards the Princess’ chamber any moment he got.

“She’s always late to every event” he muttered and the father beside him stopped to ask if he was talking to him

“Never mind father, I was admiring the performance” he lied with a smile and his father resumed the watching with a big smile

At last, Princess Shirley came out in her fitted orchid purple dress which was sewn in a beautiful Toga style and a big black belt was tied to it at the waist which was knotted into a bow at the back. Her black shoe could actually be used as a mirror with the way it glistened in the morning sun

“Your seat is over there” Lady Carolyn informed her as she led her to the place while she followed with Debra holding the yellow royal umbrella over her head.

Everyone was now in their seats as they waited for the King to address them so the event could begin

“I welcome you all to the celebration of my birthday week, as we all know today is about archery and my beautiful Princess will also be partaking as usual, anyone who wins will have the chance to ask me whatever they want” King Edgar announced and the drummer beat the drum to signify the start of the event

“You won’t lose like last year, will you?” Jerrick teased Shirley as he got his bow ready with other contestants, he is the only son of the Prime Minister who is second to the King and his trusted right hand man

“What? Are you suddenly afraid that you will lose to a woman?” she replied and he chuckled

“You should know how much I hate losing” he remarked and she scoffed before they both positioned their bows.

All sons of the other ministers shot their shots and finally it was Jerrick’s turn, they both shot their arrows and all was bull’s eye which made the Princess nervous already, he beat her last year which made her practice hard all year round so she could win over him this time around. Her eyes were unsettled as she watched him pick the last arrow in his pouch, with confidence he shot it but it hit the ninth circle instead which made him curse under his breath

She positioned herself for the last arrow too and the murmurs coming from the people under the tent was distracting her so much she had to seal them off with her powers immediately, she closed her eyes, drew a long breathe and exhaled before releasing the arrow which made everyone stood up in anticipation

“Phew! Baam!” it hit the bull’s eyes and the queen tried hard not to scream in happiness but she still managed to shriek her joy outside while the King smiled so hard his cheeks could tear

“Yes! She did it” Carolyn said jumping for joy before exchanging a high five with Debra who was jumping in joy although they quickly composed themselves, they still stole happy smiles at each other whenever they had the chance

“You this cheating bastard! You were trying to manipulate the wind?” she cursed at him as they walked back to the tent

“It would be unfair if you won over me but I guess the universe strongly got your back” he scoffed in reply and she rolled a stone towards his leg with her eyes

“I hope you break some teeth” she stated as she watched him trip because he couldn’t see the stone due to the suddenness

“You love to use your witch powers to bully people” he gritted between his teeth

“And you love to cheat with your own wizard powers” she slammed him before Debra and Lady Carolyn called upon her to notify her that the King and others were watching

“So my beloved daughter, what do you want?” the king asked with joy painted all over his face

“Your Highness, I don’t know what I want now since I didn’t expect to win but I will make sure to ask for it the day I have one” she replied respectfully and the King agreed

“Good job my son, it’s okay to lose sometimes so don’t let it bother you” the King said to Jerrick patting his shoulder with a smile

The event continued and food were served for everyone present before the King dismissed the event and they all went home to prepare for the King’s birthday which will come up the next day.

*** 

The Prime Minister and Jerrick rode home in their horses and as soon as the dropped down from the house, the Prime Minster, Avery, gave Jerrick a loud slap which made everyone present shudder

“How can you lose to a lady? The Princess of all people at that? How will you claim superiority over her as a man?” he lashed out on him and Jerrick just hung his head

“Get your bow and arrow and get to training now, you must never stop until you have hundred arrows in the bull’s eye” he instructed before marching in and Jerrick just walked off to the yard in anger

By the time he was through with the punishment, all his hands were bleeding and full of busted blisters so he had to get it treated.

*** 

The princess woke up the following morning and refused to bath in her room, she insisted on going to the river to have her bath that morning

“No! you can’t do that My Princess” Lady Carolyn refused flatly and Princess Shirley pouted to make her cute

“No matter what you do, I will not allow that. You will be late for the King’s birthday party and that will be a disaster” Lady Carolyn insisted

“Are you trying to oppose the Royal Princess now?” she threatened with her hands in Akimbo but Lady Carolyn was not shaken

“I have no choice then” she sighed as she started breaking vases and glasses with her eyes closed

“She will end up breaking everything in the room at this point” Debra panicked as all breakable materials came crashing down

“Okay! Okay!! You have only an hour” Lady Carolyn said in defeat which made the Princess’ eyes fly open with a wide smile

“You should have just let me go before I resulted to this” she remarked patting the Lady’s shoulder as she marched majestically out of the room

“She will be the end of me” Lady Carolyn sighed as she signaled for Debra to get her bathing kit as they head outside the palace with two other female guards.

They got to the river with their horses and the Princess yanked her robe off with immediate effect before sprinting inside the river

“Gosh! I feel so alive” she stated with a blissful expression all over her face as the cool water refreshed her entire system

“The river has an entirely different feel from the bath house at the palace and the environment is very calming” she added dipping herself into the water

“Come in and join me” she said to the maids but they refused immediately 

“Don’t worry, we can bath together” she said easing their nervousness but they all turned to glance at Lady Carolyn who fixe her gaze on the Princess with her hands on her belly

“Come on Lady Carolyn, it’s not like something will swallow me in the river, you should have fun while you are here” Shirley called out to her 

“I’m fine My Princess” she replied with all seriousness

“I know you are allergic to fun but at least let the girls have some” Shirley said and Lady Carolyn nodded her head for the girls to go ahead

Immediately they yanked their clothes off and jumped into the river to play with the Princess while the Lady watched them with all her body alert.

They were having their fun in the water when the Princess suddenly stopped and looked around with all seriousness, the two guards quickly got out of the river and drew their swords ready to attack while Debra ran out and stood at their back for protection

“Is something wrong my Princess?” Lady Carolyn asked looking around

“You can’t hear a groan?” she asked and they all shook their head 

“Am I the only one hearing it?” she wondered as she walked up to the river shore before grabbing her robe to put on

Debra quickly came to her aid and put it on for her while she started to walk towards the forest by the riverside

“My Princess, let’s just go home, we can’t hear anything and that place is dangerous” Lady Carolyn said walking behind her but she didn’t answer all her naggings

They walked deeper for a while and saw nothing which made Lady Carolyn resume her nagging

“My Princess, let’s just go back eh?” she said once again but the Princess placed a hand on her lips to keep her shut

“Shush, you will hear it soon” she said and truly, a groan was heard the next second

“Don’t you think that’s a wild boar?” Debra asked already getting terrified

Shirley tuned her ear to the direction of the sound before she ran towards it while the other maids followed her too, she got to a place with thick trees and saw the shock of her life

“What in the world is this?” she gasped at the sight of what was making the groan and Debra fainted at the back as she saw it.