Ruled by the Princess

Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

The sound of arrows whizzing toward their targets grated at Kit’s brain like the buzz of a swarm of flies as she sat on a bench next to Avinia, Isla, and Seph, pretending to pay attention to who was winning and who was not. Her mind was in another place, though. How could what Cassius had disclosed to her possibly be true?

On one hand, it made perfect sense that Remont would be the first person to rise up against Rona. She had been horrible to him for as many years as Kit could remember. In fact, never in her life could the princess recall a time when it even appeared as if her parents were happy together. But she would’ve never thought her father capable of inciting a revolution. Perhaps she had been underestimating him this entire time.

“Katrinetta, are you going to watch? There are only six archers left. One of them will be joining you in your chambers this evening. You may want to select one to cheer for.”

Avinia’s voice brought her mind back around, but it couldn’t keep it there. She noticed Pierce was still in the competition, as were Jate and Eli. Cassius had been out for some time, which was no surprise. The other three were Gavin, Asher, and Drake, but none of them truly had a chance at winning. Kit secretly prayed that Pierce would lose but didn’t say anything aloud.

“It’s clear he’s been cheating,” Isla whispered in Kit’s ear. “His arrows are not shaped the same as anyone else’s, and that call earlier, that he had hit the bullseye when the arrow was obviously on the line, was absurd.”

Kit decided it would be in her best interest to start paying attention after all. If she was to protest the result, she would need to know what to say. Still, she was more concerned about her father at the moment than finding a way to keep Pierce out of her bed. She was ready to throw down the most effective card she had, should it be called for—an outright refusal.

Her eyes flickered to Avinia. She knew, of course, had probably known all along, that Remont was the mastermind behind the revolt. Why hadn’t her cousin told her? Why hadn’t Eli, for that matter? All of this time, she’d thought Eli had been the one running the show, with assistance from Avinia, Junno, and possibly some of the other council members. Never in her wildest imagination would she have surmised it was really Remont.

Pierce drew back his arrow to fire, and several of the Representatives who were out of the competition and sitting on the ground nearby let out a collective cough. Kit’s eyes widened, and Pierce’s arrow went wide of the center, hitting in one of the outer rings. Jate could best that shot with his eyes closed.

“That’s not fair!” Pierce screamed. “You did that on purpose!” He wheeled around and glared at the men sitting nearby. Like an angry child, Pierce tossed his quiver to the ground behind him and dropped his bow as well.

“Yes, that was very unsportsmanlike,” Rona agreed.

“Unfortunately,” Kit chimed in, her voice carrying above her mother’s, “the rules do not allow for a second shot because of sudden noises.”

“We can amend the rules.” Rona turned and looked at her daughter, her eyes narrowed.

“I was raised to believe the rules are the rules, just as the law is the law, and since the only way to amend a law is through proper petition to the council, and the only way to amend a rule is through proper petition of the woman who’s Choosing the contest affects, I have determined this rule may stay in place. You must just hope that three other Representatives shoot more poorly than you have, Pierce.” Kit finished with an air of finality she hoped would carry past the nasty glare her mother was shooting her way.

“Princess Katrinetta,” the queen began, her voice bordering on her disposition failing her. “I believe we should allow Pierce to take another shot.” Every word was measured as she completed her sentence.

While Rona was making her demand, Kit noticed Eli exchanging the discarded quiver with his own and handing the one with the optimal arrows designed to cheat to Jate, who handed it back down the line to one of the Representatives who was already out of the contest. That man handed over his quiver so that Eli wouldn’t be cheating either.

Kit took a deep breath, not wanting to give her mother an inch and change the declaration she’d already made. Pierce was staring at her so intently, one of his eye was beginning to twitch. She looked at her mother again, who seemed very close to coming unhinged. “Very well. If the queen believes you should have one more shot, then so be it.”

Rona’s impression of a smile widened. Satisfied, she returned her attention to the competition, and Pierce bent down and picked up his quiver, not noticing it wasn’t his own, plucked his bow from near his boot, and turned as one of the attendants removed his first attempt from where it had struck the target.

There was no need to throw Pierce off this time. With a regular quiver of arrows, he wouldn’t be nearly as apt to hit the bullseye as some of the others who were still in the competition. Everyone was silent as he readied his shot. He let the arrow fly, and it landed near where his last had entered the target, several circles away from the center.

Furious, Pierce balled his hands into fists and screamed a curse word. “How can that be?” he asked no one in particular. The queen also made a rumbling sound in the back of her throat Kit only picked up on because she’d heard it so many times before.

“I suppose it wasn’t the noise after all,” Junno said loud enough for all to hear. Rona glared at her mother beside her, but everyone else chuckled, and Pierce stepped aside, his arms folded, as the next Representative took his place.

Drake towered over Pierce as the man from Metfirth moved out of the way. As Drake pulled his arrow back to send it on its way, Pierce started a furious coughing fit, but Drake held steady, not even giving him the side-eye. His arrow landed within the second circle, much closer to the bullseye than Pierce’s. With only Eli and Jate left to shoot, the chances of Pierce making it to the next round were slim.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kit watched her mother as she prepared to find some way to advance the Representative of her choosing. The queen was wringing her hands as her eyes darted around. Eli fired, hitting the bullseye on the right side, near the bottom, and everyone cheered, except for Rona. “Fault!” she shouted. “That was a fault! You crossed the line.”

Eli hadn’t moved from where he stood when he let the arrow fly, and his foot was well behind the foul line. He considered the queen for a moment before looking at Kit.

“Whatever do you mean, Mother? Clearly his foot is behind the line, and he hasn’t taken a step.”

“He has. He’s scooted back quickly. I’m afraid that shot doesn’t count, and he is disqualified.”

Kit caught Eli’s eyes and saw that he didn’t seem too concerned about the matter. She took in a deep breath and said, “Fine. Let’s compromise. That shot doesn’t count, but the Representative from Eastbury may have another shot.”

Rona opened her mouth to disagree, but since she’d just insisted that Pierce have another try, no argument would come to mind that wouldn’t show obvious favoritism. Eli took a large step back so that he was nowhere near the foul line, notched another arrow, and took his aim. This time, the shot landed even closer to the center of the bullseye than the last, and everyone cheered again as Rona began to mumble quietly to herself.

Jate’s arrow also landed inside of the bullseye, gaining more cheers, as Pierce took his quiver off, dropped it on the ground, and began to stomp it. Kit couldn’t believe her eyes. Never had she seen someone act so childish in front of the queen—except for maybe the time she’d nearly scratched Blankka’s eyes out in the hallway for telling Rona that Eli had kissed her in the library....

“I’m surprised he never checked his quiver,” Isla whispered as it was announced the three to advance to the finals would be Drake, Jate, and Eli. Between the three, Kit would accept any of them into her chambers, gladly, but it had been a while since she’d last shared her bed with Jate, so part of her hoped he would be the victor.

Pierce took a seat, far away from the other Representatives, his quiver and broken arrows beside him on the ground, and the final round commenced. Drake shot first. His arrow landed within the first circle, but not in the bullseye. Eli stood far back from the foul line, not that the queen would protest now that Pierce was out of the competition. Even if she cared which of the final contests won, she wouldn’t go to the trouble to cause another scene. His arrow landed near the center of the bullseye, and a round of applause filled the air. It seemed Eli would be the winner this time.

Jate took in a few deep breaths as he approached the line. He studied his arrows carefully as if looking for the perfect one. A silence fell across the field as he drew back the string, one eye closed. Kit held her breath and watched as the arrow’s trajectory sent it right toward the center of the bullseye, where Eli’s already stood. Jate’s arrow split Eli’s in half! This was the second time Jate had managed to split another arrow in a competition, and it was just as astounding this time as it had been the first. Shouts and cheers went up all around him as Eli was the first to congratulate Jate on an amazing victory.

The queen stood and clapped politely, but Kit could see she was still irritated. She wouldn’t let her mother’s sour disposition get to her. She ran to Jate and flung her arms around him, glad to have the opportunity to spend some time with him that evening and relieved that Pierce would not be spending the night with her. In fact, she decided enough was enough. As soon as she had the opportunity to send Pierce out of her life for good, she would do so. If there was a risk associated with it, she’d have to take it in stride, though something told her that the queen already had a scheme in mind for keeping Pierce at the castle.

Kit planted a kiss on Jate’s lips. He was surprised at first and recoiled for a moment, but unlike the last archery contest, once he’d regained his composure, he returned the kiss. The taste of salt from his exploits greeted her tongue, but she didn’t mind. It mingled with his manly scent and left Kit feeling slightly lightheaded by the time her feet returned to the ground.

The trumpeters blasted them all back to attention, and Kit turned to see her mother wanted to make an announcement. “Congratulations, Jaterius. We can all agree that you are skilled with a bow and arrow. You have won your prize, a night with the princess, though others have not yet had that opportunity.” The queen added that last bit beneath her breath, but it was still clearly audible. “I shall see you all at dinner.” She whirled her cape around, stirring the fallen leaves from the ground, and everyone bowed their heads as she was escorted to a waiting carriage which would transport her the short distance back to the castle.

Once she was gone, Kit could breathe more easily. Others wanted to congratulate Jate, so she stepped aside. Drake had a solemn look on his face, though he was smiling in Jate’s direction. “You did quite well, Drake,” she said, squeezing his arm. “Better than most.”

“Thank you, Princess. I knew it would be difficult to beat Jate, but I had dreamt of doing so.” He exhaled loudly and then shrugged, as if it didn’t matter.

“Perhaps you will win next time.” Kit smiled up at him, and he nodded, though somewhere in the back of her mind, Kit wondered if there’d be a next time of any sort. If it were up to her, this part of the Choosing would be over. And once she was down to seven, that would be the end, as far as Kit was concerned.

Eli was already on his way back to the castle. Part of her thought she should just let him go. The last time they’d spoken, the conversation had not gone well. Avoiding him seemed like a safer bet. But she couldn’t do that. He had been the one to foil Pierce’s scheme, after all. She took a few hurried steps in his direction, thankful others parted to let her through, and managed to catch his arm.

He turned around slowly, recognizing her touch. His eyes softened as he read her expression, and Kit hesitated, not sure what to say. Finally, she settled on, “Congratulations on shooting so well. And... thank you.”

“Not well enough.” He looked over her head, back in Jate’s direction, but his tone didn’t convey he was too upset about the loss. “It’s no matter. For a miner, that man can certainly shoot an arrow.”

“Yes, he can.” She laughed nervously, thinking she should say more but having no idea what words to form together to complete her thoughts.

He nodded and said only, “You’re welcome.” Then, he started to turn back around, and Kit automatically released his arm, letting him go.

But she wasn’t finished. There were so many other thoughts crowded inside of her head, words that wanted to spill out of her mouth, ideas she needed to share. She tugged on his arm again, and once more he stopped. But when she looked into his eyes, once more, her tongue failed her.

“What is it, Kit?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just know there’s something.”

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. “There needn’t be.”

“I think the need is there.”

“Kit, we have soared above the boundaries of speech. Anything you may feel compelled to say to me isn’t necessary because I already know.”

“You do?” Of course he did. Just as she could read every nuance in his face, every shift in his eyes, so, too, could he understand the slightest differentiation in her disposition.

Eli leaned down and kissed her forehead, and Kit let all of her worries go for a moment, certain that no matter what befell her, Eli would find a way to overcome every obstacle, even the ones Kit put there herself.