The Princess Who Went to War

Chapter 16 - The Border Banquet

[Calysta]

Gwen and I have breakfast with Gabriel and his team. I invite Kalah to join us, but she turns us down, and leaves. 

"Aren't you going to have breakfast with the Prince?" Ulysses asks as we take our seats. 

"I prefer having breakfast here." I reply. The men look at each other at my response. 

"It's not that we aren't close. We are. My brother can just be frustrating at times." I tell them. Gwen scoffs from beside me. 

"At times? He can be frustrating all the time." She tells them. Ulysses' mouth almost drops open as he looks around, worried that anyone may have heard her. I laugh.

"Gwen and my brother are the same age. Gwen came into the Palace grounds when they were 8 years old and I was 4. It's like they grew up together." I tell them. The men seem to be amused by this information. 

"You're close friends with the Prince?" Randall asks. 

"Used to." She replies.

"When Atticus was named Crown Prince at 16, he started to prioritize the work expected of him, and became a stickler for the rules. That's why he's much..., stricter now." I tell them. 

"Strict is one way to put it." Gwen comments.

"Which," I say, changing the subject as a thought comes to mind, "Is why I was surprised to have found out that he knighted the youngest to ever be knighted in Raziem." I say as I look at Gabriel. 

He only looks at me for a moment, and goes back to eating his breakfast, without answering. 

"How did you come to know my brother?" I ask Gabriel, pressing the subject. 

"He was on his way back to Raziem from Vys." Gabriel answers. I furrow my eyebrows at his answer, confused. 

He notices the confusion on my face and elaborates. 

"He had broke off from his guards, wandering into the forest during a break. I don't know why. But he ran into a baby dragon. I helped." Gabriel tells us. 

Gwen and I look at each other in shock, as Atticus has never told us anything about this encounter at all. 

"Were you knighted in the Palace?" I ask, wondering how I've never heard of the knighting ceremony. Gabriel simply nods. 

"It was a small and private event, just as I had asked." He replies. 

This strikes me as odd, as a lot of those who are knighted usually ask for an audience of family and friends, and presence of the members of the Royal court. 

But if even Randall and the others weren't present, the audience must have been very few indeed. I do not push any further, as it looks like Gabriel was not comfortable with this topic of conversation. 

After breakfast, Gwen and I find Ser Remnand talking to the head cook and receiving wagon upon wagon of deliveries of ingredients. 

"Is this for the whole month?" I ask as I approach him.

"Your Highness." He acknowledges my presence as he bows. 

"This is for the banquet." He replies. 

"Banquet?" I ask, confused. A banquet has never been held here. 

We have them often in the Palace, and when we visit castles of Dukes in their duchies, but I've never heard of a banquet in Raziem's border. 

"Prince Atticus will be leaving tomorrow morning and has asked for a banquet." He replies. 

"With what budget?" I asked, afraid that Ser Remnand is spending the budget for the border just for a banquet for Atticus.

"My budget." I turn back to see Atticus approaching.

"You don't think I'm that selfish now, do you?" He asks as he stops by my side. 

"People here have much pressing matters." I remind him. 

"It's just a small banquet. To thank everyone for the accommodation and for working tirelessly for our defenses." He tells me. 

I only glare at him as Ser Remnand panics over our argument. 

"Please, Princess Calysta, it really is not much." He assures me. 

"I heard about your spar with Kalah this morning." Atticus says, changing the subject as he looks at my burned sleeves. 

"I am looking forward to training more with her." I reply truthfully. 

"Well, I surely cannot watch." Atticus comments, and I know what he means full well. 

Every time I spar, Atticus has the tendency to stop the fight midway when the odds turn against my favor. This is very reason I train on the Palace's training grounds in the morning while he trains in the afternoon. 

"If you'll excuse me, Prince Atticus and Princess Calysta. I need to work on the preparations." Ser Remnand says as he excuses himself and heads to the kitchen.

Just as Ser Remnand leaves, Atticus suddenly exclaims, "Ah, Ser Elwood." 

I turn to see Gabriel passing by, with the rest of his team following him. Gabriel and the rest immediately stop and approach us. They all bow. 

"I've been meaning to talk to you since my arrival. You are a busy man." Atticus says as he smiles widely at Gabriel. 

"Being a knight has its responsibilities." He simply answers. 

"Except teaching your men proper courtesy." Fenwick comments. Gabriel glares at him, but Atticus quickly raises a hand, shushing Fenwick. 

"We've become quite close friends, Atticus." I tell my brother. 

"How so?" He asks, looking confused. 

"We have been on some missions together, and Gab— Ser Elwood has been of huge help since my arrival." I tell Atticus. 

"Ah, as expected from the youngest to ever be knighted in Raziem." Atticus says as he smiles. 

"Well, I'll be off to take care of a few things. I will see you all in the banquet tonight." Atticus says as he leaves. His guards bow to me before following him. 

"I'd love to beat that guard to a pulp." Randall comments as he watches Fenwick walk away. 

"The Commander would have a fit." I reply, almost laughing. Gwen chuckles. 

The men all look at me in confusion. 

"Fenwick is the son of the Royal Guard's commander. Hearing that his son is beaten by a soldier with 'lesser training' would send him off the edge." I tell them. 

"That explains the arrogance." Ulysses comments. Gwen and I laugh. 

"You'll meet much more arrogant people in the Palace." I tell them. 

"We'll have to take our leave. We were tasked on a clearing mission." Gabriel tells me. 

"We are on our way to get our guide stone." Randall adds.

I have prepared a number of guide stones for the teams. They are quartz with my magic, making sure that teams that carry them are guided through the thick fog that I have set on the forest. 

"I'll see you later." I tell them as they head to the armory. 

Gwen and I head to the training grounds to train for some more, and we spend the day like this as we wait for the banquet to start. 

Once the night gets dark, and the torches and candles are lit, the banquet heads for a start. I change into fresh gear, as requested by Atticus. 

"If not a dress, at least change out of your sweaty clothes." He told me. 

So here I am, standing by the doorway of the dining halls, in fresh gear and hair neatly braided down my back. 

Once we get inside, the sight of Atticus seated with some knights and soldiers shocks me. He is laughing with them, and having beer. 

"Caly!" He exclaims as he raises his hand to get my attention when he sees me by the door. 

I reluctantly walk towards him, unsure if my brother had already gotten drunk so early into his own banquet. 

"I ought to enjoy myself too." He tells me, as if reading the confusion in my face.

"Please, sit." He tells Gwen and I as he gestures at the seat in front of him. A knight and some soldiers who were seated there immediately moves to give us space. 

Gwen and I sit right in front of Atticus, who has Fenwick seated to his right and Mordeyn, his other guard, seated to his left. They look visibly uncomfortable, probably forced by Atticus to take their seats and enjoy the banquet. 

"We aren't in the Palace after all. We can enjoy an informal banquet." Atticus says as he hands me a cup of wine. 

"Well, if this is informal..." I say as I reach for his cup of beer and finish the whole thing in one down. 

Atticus' mouth is wide open as I put the cup down. And I laugh as I look to see both Fenwick and Mordeyn looks shocked. 

"Is this what you have learned from the few weeks that you've been here?" Atticus asks. I scoff at this.

"I've been drinking beer for years now, Atticus." I tell him honestly. This shocks him more. 

Gwen and I simply laugh at his reaction, proud that he has never caught us sneaking out of the Palace. 

"Ser Elwood!" Atticus exclaims as he looks to the door. I turn to see Gabriel and his team coming in, looking like they have just arrived from the mission. 

"Please, come sit!" He tells them as he offers the seat beside me. 

Gabriel must be confused with the set up, just as I was earlier. He must have thought that a table would be set up for Atticus up front instead of Atticus being seated on one of the long tables. 

Gabriel and his team comes forward and they reluctantly take their seats. Gabriel sits beside me, Randall takes his seat beside Gwen, Ulysses sits right beside Gabriel and the rest of the team take their seats wherever they can. 

"How was your mission?" Atticus asks, striking a conversation as he orders a server to fetch beer for Gabriel and his team. 

"It was a success." Gabriel answers. Atticus looks rather disappointed by this answer, looking like he was expecting for a whole story. 

"Was it a group of Goblins?" I ask as I hand him a beer that the server had handed from Atticus' side. 

"Yes. A small group, but we encountered a few problems when another group unexpectedly showed up." He tells me. 

"I ought to do something. They are starting to find their way through the forest even with the fog." I comment. 

"We will be on a mission together tomorrow. We can head over and decide the best action to take." Gabriel tells me. I only nod. When  I look at Atticus, I see him looking at the both of us.

"Have you been on missions together often?" Atticus asks. 

"We've been on two missions together." I tell Atticus.

"We've trained with their team as well." Gwen adds. 

"And have you been winning?" Fenwick asks, suddenly sounding competitive. 

"So far." Randall replies. Fenwick and Mordeyn scoff at this. 

"Gwendolyn has been trained by the Royal Guards since she was but a child. It will not be easy to defeat her, not even when you're an army site commander." Fenwick confidently says. 

I know he can say this in great confidence, as I've only seen him defeat Gwen in sparring a few times before. 

I look at Randall, and he looks like he's stopping himself from challenging Fenwick into a duel. 

"Please, let us just enjoy the evening." I tell them. 

"Agreed." Atticus says as he takes a bite from a piece of lamb on the table. 

And so, we go through the night like this. An occasional banter with the Fenwick and the team, and exchanging small bits of stories with each other. 

I take time to enjoy this, no matter how much Fenwick's arrogance irritates me, as I know it may be a while before I can enjoy dinner with my brother again.