Realm of the Chosen: A Reverse Harem Romance

Chapter 13-1

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, her mother arranged a large meal for every Representative to join them in breaking the fast and celebrating the ban on interaction—speech anyway—between the princess and her suitors. While Kit thought sitting out among the men would’ve been more fitting for such a situation, she was positioned up on a dais in the middle of the room where she could see all of them but not speak to a single one very easily. Still, she’d had the opportunity to greet each of them again, and it was nice to chat with the men as they came in and found their assigned seats in the dining hall. Her mother had spared no amount of trouble in having fancy name plates created that showed the crest from each of the provinces, and the gentlemen were impressed at the lengths the queen had gone to make them feel at home.

She sat next to her mother and Duchess Zora on the riser, more interested in the men before her than the fare on the table. Some of them seemed nervous, hardly eating a bite, while others shoveled the eggs, meat, and pastries into their mouths like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Of course, the kitchen had kept them all well fed, even increasing the amount of cooks and other crew members on hand for the Choosing. Still, the larger the man, the more food he seemed to take in, and Kit was certain that a few, such as Merek of Calster, were about to burst at the seams.

Kit quickly found Jecobian in the group. He was far down on the other end of the room, and it was difficult for her to see him from the dais, but she was certain she had his attention, and thinking of their time in the garden the night before had her blushing. She wished she could sneak off with him again at the moment, escaping the proprieties of sitting through breakfast, unable to easily interact with any of them.

“Have you tried the strawberry pastries, my Princess?” Cassius shouted at her from the table across from where she was seated, still a good ten yards away. He would’ve been sitting directly in front of her if the arrangement had been more intimate.

She laughed at his pluck, but by the time she began her response, the room was much quieter as all of the men waited to hear, even those who had also found Cassius’s question comical. “Not this morning,” she replied, not even sure which pastries he spoke of, though she assumed they were the ones she liked most of all that had a sweet strawberry jam in the center.

Before she could say more, he was up and around the end of the table, grabbing a basket of pastries from the center of it, and bringing them with him. “Here you are, my Lady. I think you shall enjoy it.” He smiled at her, and Kit felt a blush creeping up her neck.

How could she resist? Of course, she took one of the strawberry pastries, nodding, and said, “Why, thank you, Cassius. Strawberry has always been my favorite.”

He held her gaze for a moment before hopping down from the stage and returning to his seat. Kit took a bite of the pastry and caught his eye, smiling to let him know he was right as the delightful taste of fresh strawberries spread across her tongue.

“Bold, that one,” her mother muttered, but she hadn’t said a word to stop the transaction or to correct him, and Kit wondered if this meant the queen actually wouldn’t try to interfere. She thought for certain her mother would attempt to dictate who she interacted with, who she invited into her chambers, certainly who she Roomed and who she sent home, even though Yewforian law strictly forbid any sort of influence whatsoever by any member of the nobility, or anyone else for that matter. The idea that her mother would let her choose her favorites and dismiss those she found unpleasant—such as Merek who was shoving an entire scone into his face at the moment—seemed almost too good to be true.

After breakfast, her mother kept her at the table until the gentlemen had all cleared out, giving her opinion about who was the best looking, who had the best manners, and who she thought most worthy of bedding. Kit listened, nodding and giving a polite, “Yes, Mother,” whenever appropriate, but she truly wasn’t paying too much attention at all. Her Choosing hadn’t even truly begun yet, and the last thing she wanted to do was think about who her mother thought she should be Rooming and who she thought she should be letting go.

Once it seemed her mother was finished, she asked, “May I go now, My Queen?”

Rona nodded, and Kit shot up out of her chair quickly, before Her Majesty might change her mind. She thought she had heard some of the men talking about going out to the back fields near the garden and barns, and since it was a lovely day, not too warm, she decided she would join them. Now that she could speak freely, she was looking forward to learning more about each of them. It would take some doing with a crowd so large, but she had all the time she needed.

As soon as she stepped out into the hallway, the two members of her guard that had accompanied her that morning, standing by the doorway as she ate, fell into step behind her. It surprised her when she saw Eli coming down the hall toward them as well. He didn’t look as if he needed to speak to her, and after their interaction the evening before, she had nothing to say to the commander. She headed for the door just down the hall from the dining room, hoping that’s where the Representatives had headed as well.

She had pushed her way through the double doors when she spotted Jecobian standing on the wide porch waiting for her. He turned with a broad smile on his face, and taking her arm, led her down the wide, marble steps, a little way away from her guards. Behind him, she could see groups of Representatives dotting the yard. Some of them were sitting on the grass carrying on conversations, others were headed in the direction of the largest barn, while Cassius and about half of them were standing in a group not too far away. He held a slingball in his hand, and Kit assumed he was organizing a game. As intrigued as she was that Jecobian wanted to speak with her, it had been ages since she’d watched a good slingball match, and she’d love to see one again.

“My darling Princess, how are you?” Jecobian said taking both of her hands and spinning her to face him. “I wasn’t able to sleep a wink last night for thinking of you.”

Kit would’ve raised a hand to her neck if she’d had a free one. She hoped her ladies’ attempt to cover the red splotch she’d still had upon waking had worked, and it wasn’t visible beneath the layers of paint and powder. “I am well, Jecob, thank you. I’m sorry—you must be exhausted.”

“Just seeing your face is invigorating,” he replied with that sly smile that made her knees weaken. “Come away with me.” He pulled her a little closer as he stepped back, eyeing the guards who had stopped next to the foot of the stairs as if he dared them to try to follow.

“While that does sound enticing, I’m afraid I’d like to spend my time getting to know some of the other gentlemen today—and getting to know you better as well—through conversation.” She said the last word as pointedly as possible. As much fun as the night before had been, she needed to gauge personalities before she could determine who she wanted in her chambers.

“Princess,” he beckoned taking another step back and pulling her to his chest. “There will be plenty of time for that. Today, we shall share more intimate moments in the shade of the wisteria.”

“Jecob…” Kit began, but the door at the top of the stairs opened, and Eli walked out. He looked at her questioningly, as if he wasn’t sure whether or not she was content to be in Jecobian’s arms, and she noticed his eyes narrowed slightly as he took in who she was with. She had a feeling the two of them did not get along. Eli said nothing, only walked down the stairs and went to stand a little way on the far side of the other guard.

Kit turned back to Jecob but saw someone else had come to her aid this time, not that she necessarily needed rescuing, only that Jecobian didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. Over his shoulder, she saw Cassius quickly approaching, the yellow slingball still in his hand. “My Princess, we are putting together a game of slingball, and we would love it if you’d be our judge. Won’t you come and watch us play? We’ll move a bench over so you can sit, if you’d like.”

A row of benches sat near the castle wall, where her mother and the other nobles were meant to come and spend some time outside, though none of them ever did, as far as she knew. “That sounds lovely, Cassius,” Kit replied as Jecob let go of her so that she could walk past him. His fingers seemed reluctant and slipped from her sleeves as she began to move.

“I should like to play as well,” Jecob announced, following along behind them.

“I’m afraid we already have even teams,” Cassius said quickly, offering Kit his arm, which she took. As muscular as Jecobian’s bicep had felt the night before, Cassius’s were like tree trunks, and she did her best not to squeeze his arm just to test it out.

“That’s no matter. We’ll find someone else to play on the other side, to even it out,” Jecobian replied, looking around.

“I’m afraid we’ve already asked everyone else. Perhaps someone will endeavor to sit out.”

“Or perhaps the princess can lend us her commander.” Jecob had a sly smile on his lips as he spoke, his eyes staring over Kit’s head back at the porch.

She turned to see that Eli was aware they were discussing him, but he hadn’t quite figured out what it was they were enlisting him for. She remembered how irritated she’d been with him the night before, and a smile that matched Jecob’s slid across her face. “I think that’s a fine idea. Commander! Come here, please!” she called, and she could see Eli let out a long sigh before his feet started heading her direction.

Once he reached her, he gave a slight bow, as he usually did, and waited patiently for her to speak her piece. “The Representatives have put together a slingball game, and they need another player to make the teams even.”

Eli looked around, his forehead crinkled. “There are several other Representatives right over there. And there. And there.” He gestured at each group with his head as he spoke.

“Yes, I know, but they don’t want to play, and since I already have two capable guards, I have decided that you can play in their stead.”

“Your Majesty….”

“What’s the matter, Eliason? Are you afraid we’ll embarrass you?”

Kit turned with arched brows to see Jecobian had quite a cocky expression on his face, and while she had no idea if he was simply jesting or was truly trying to get Eli’s dander up, it worked. When she turned back around, her commander said, “Fine. I shall play. But if your mother sees this and wants my head….”

“I shall offer mine in your place.” She winked at him, knowing her mother would never dare come outside and that she was so busy planning festivities for the first week of the Choosing, she’d scarcely leave her chambers. “Very well, Cassius, it is settled.” Kit flashed him a broad smile. “How shall you choose teams?”

“We have decided that I shall be one team captain, and Landon shall be the other.”

Kit turned her attention to the other men and spied Landon standing near the front of the pack. She hadn’t gotten a chance to speak to him since his arrival, but she grinned at him now, thinking it was an even match, though Landon wasn’t quite as broad shouldered as Cassius. He certainly had the strength to defend against someone the size of the man whose arm she currently held.

A few of the men moved one of the benches near where they’d already marked off two areas that would serve as scoring zones, and Kit made her way over, still on Cassius’s arm, with Eli and Jecobian on either side. One seemed ready to prove his manliness and the other likely wished he was still out on an adventure as far away from the castle as possible.