Chapter 14
Cai
“This is going to be wonderful.” Thatcher rubbed his hands together as if he had some kind of diabolical plan in mind, and I chuckled.
“Why would you say that?”
“Your previous suitor against your current suitor. Don’t tell me you don’t love a cat fight?”
“I’m also competing in the archery competition, and in case you forgot, so are you and Gwen.” I tested the string of my bow, not bringing up the fact that Meredette was not my suitor. It was a cloudy day but there was no wind. A large target had been set up in the distance. The thick rope was rolled into a disc, with a white dot, the size of a saucer, painted in the middle.
“Yes.” Thatcher rolled his eyes at me. “And we all know Gwen is going to win anyway. Unless your Elara has a hidden talent up her sleeve.”
“I’m afraid not when it comes to a bow and arrow, unfortunately.” I pretended I didn’t hear him say my Elara. Like the sound of it didn’t stir something primitive in me.
“If she’s not good, then why is she participating?” We looked to where Elara stood next to Rhen, observing the tip of one of her arrows.
“I could be wrong, but I do believe she’s trying to prove a point.”
“And that point would be?” Thatcher cocked an eyebrow.
“That is the question.”
“Do you know if Lady Meredette is any good?” he ventured.
“I didn’t even know she could shoot with a bow and arrow at all.” I shrugged. “We didn’t exactly cover that topic at our last meeting.”
“Then what did you talk about?”
“Gardening, mostly.”
Thatcher muffled a laugh at my response. “I have a feeling this is going to be very interesting indeed.”
“When was the last time you had any practice?” I held up the bow in my hands.
“Don’t fret, my friend.” He placed his hand upon my shoulder. “Who needs practice when you were born with raw talent?”
I laughed. “Very well, may the best man win.”
“Indeed, may he do so.”
My eyes shifted to Elara, who appeared to be in serious conversation with Anesta. Her expression was coated with worry. So she had been practising the sword but not the bow and arrow.
“Are you ready to proceed, Your Majesty, or do you fear a little competition?”
Meredette boldly spoke up, making all our eyes turn towards her. She wore a deep red gown, her lips once more painted the colour of rubies to match.
“On the contrary, I was simply trying to be a gentleman and let the ladies go first.”
Thatcher cleared his throat next to me, hiding a smile behind his fisted right hand.
“Very well.” Meredette shrugged nonchalantly and stepped forwards, her weapon in hand and ready to be drawn. The target wasn’t set at an impossible distance, but still, one would require definite skill to hit the white circle.
The air became deathly quiet, all eyes on Meredette as she pulled the bowstring taut. By the sheer confidence and focus on her face, one could tell it wasn’t her first time. She let go and the target sounded as the arrow impaled it. Not quite dead centre but not far off either.
Thatcher let out a low whistle and Gwen stiffened next to me, her face blank. “Looks like you have some competition,” her brother said, almost in satisfaction. She sent a look of disapproval his way.
“Who would like to go next?” the assigned judge dared to ask, but when no one volunteered, I had no choice but to step up.
“I guess I’ll go, then.”
My arrow managed to hit the target almost dead centre and there was a small round of applause.
“Well done, Your Majesty,” Meredette said. “I had no idea you were such a skilled archer.”
“Nor I you,” I admitted. Over her shoulder, I saw Elara watching us carefully.
Gwen took her turn and hit the target in the middle of the white circle. She turned and made a vulgar gesture towards Thatcher, who’d been trying to distract her throughout the whole process.
Next was Elara. Even from a distance, I could see her hands shake. This was not going to go well. She bit her lip in displeasure as the arrow hit near the outer edge of the target.
Thatcher was the last to go and he managed to hit the target a little further off than Meredette had. We continued for another few rounds, gathering points with each.
Unsurprisingly, Gwen came first and I second, with Meredette a very close third.
“This was certainly very entertaining.” Meredette handed her bow to a servant before we started making our way back to the palace’s veranda. “We must do it again sometime, Your Majesty.”
“I’m at your disposal,” I replied, without thinking. “You name a time and place.”
“I quite like the idea of that,” she said, with a hint of flirtation, before I caught Elara staring. Was she jealous?
“In that case, would it be too much to ask you to host a ball? I’m sure the whole court would be very pleased,” Elara asked sweetly, but her tone wasn’t entirely sincere.
“I suppose it’s possible,” I agreed, not quite knowing her motive. Was she trying to win my affection or simply peeved that my attentions had been elsewhere?
“Yes, please host a ball.” Gwen jumped into the conversation. “It’s been forever since we’ve had a proper ball at the palace.”
“I think a ball is a great idea.” Thatcher slapped Gwen on the back, causing her to elbow him. “And since poor Cai is so terrible at planning them, I think he should leave the planning to us. Don’t you ladies agree?” he asked, looking at Elara and Meredette. He didn’t wait for a reply to continue. “We should all convene for lunch in, say, an hour or so?”
“I could do with something to eat,” I agreed.
“Me too. All that winning has built up quite an appetite,” Gwen joked.
“Then it’s settled. I shall see you at lunch.” He gave an exaggerated bow before strutting off, leaving me shaking my head at him.
I turned to speak to Elara, but she was gone.
“Something the matter, Your Majesty?” Meredette asked.
“I just remembered something I need to take care of, if you ladies will excuse me.”
I presumed she’d taken the long way around through the gardens. And I walked along the hedges and around the potted ferns until I reached the path where the majority of the flower beds were planted.
It was there that I spotted Elara. At first, she didn’t notice my presence and I watched in amusement while she scolded herself. After a moment, she let out a heavy sigh and took a seat on the waist-high wall that formed part of the path. She leaned her bow against it and brushed her fingers through her hair.
“Enter the archery competition because that will be a good idea,” she mumbled to herself.
“I didn’t think it was that bad.”
Elara’s cheeks coloured as she noticed my presence.
“How long have you been standing there?” she asked as I walked over.
“Long enough.” I chuckled while she attempted not to blush further and failed miserably.
“Well, I hope you enjoyed having me join in on the archery.” She straightened her dress, trying to regain some composure. “As it is unlikely to occur again.”
“Do you want to go for a walk?”
She looked up at me with pleasant surprise.
“Very well.”
We walked slowly and in somewhat of an awkward silence. I could see her forming sentences in her head and tensing herself to say something before thinking better of it. I was equally unsure of how to begin the conversation.
“As you can clearly see, I have not improved at archery.” Elara finally broke through the quiet.
“You weren’t that bad,” I replied too quickly, not sounding quite sincere, though I was only trying to make her feel better.
“Not that bad?” she exclaimed. “You’re such a terrible liar.”
“And here I thought you were letting me win for my ego’s sake.”
Her lip twitched as she attempted to hide a smile.
“I appreciate you trying to lift my spirits, but we’ll just have to accept that I’m a lost cause when it comes to a bow and arrow.” She crossed her arms. We’d stopped walking.
“Such a shame.” I shook my head in a teasing manner.
She moved to lean back against one of the walls overgrown with ivy. It had been like that for as long as I could remember, but my grandmother always insisted we keep it that way.
I’d opened my mouth to speak when Elara suddenly fell backwards, through the wall, head disappearing in the ivy. I hurried over to help her up.
“There’s a door there.” She stood up, dusting off her skirts. I took out a twig that had got caught in her hair. Her eyes followed my hand and then she looked back to meet my gaze. She stared for a moment before looking away somewhat self-consciously.
“Yes, it would appear so,” I stated rather obviously, with a smile on my face, taking too long to look away from her eyes and mouth.
“It’s a private garden,” Elara mused.
I recognised it as one of the places where I used to play and hide as a child. I hadn’t been there in so many years, and I’d practically forgotten where the door was. I was so focused on Elara, I didn’t even realise we were in that part of the garden.
“Why do you think it’s sectioned off from the rest of the gardens?”
“It was done during my grandfather’s reign.” It was clear that no one had been here in a very long time and nature had taken its toll. “He made many changes to the palace and this part of the garden was cut off.”
“You can tell it was pretty at some point, though.”
The garden was like a small courtyard, containing broken water features, and the remains of what had once been flower beds with trees creating a canopy above. There were weeds everywhere, the grass almost reaching my knees. But yes, at some stage, before I was born, it must have been beautiful. It was a shame, really, that everything was now in such disarray and that the garden was no longer in use. Perhaps I needed to speak with my mother about getting someone to clean it up.
“It’s the kind of place one can go to be alone with one’s thoughts.”
“I don’t know if that’s such a good thing,” Elara admitted earnestly. She stepped further into the garden, picking at one of the weed flowers.
“Maybe, maybe not,” I agreed. I was so far gone into my head these days, it seemed like the last thing I needed was more time to overthink. “Either way, it would be nice to get it reclaimed from the weeds and overgrowth. Then at least the garden could be put back into use.”
“With discretion, of course.” She looked around as if she could already imagine the water flowing from the water features again and the rose bushes that would no doubt be planted.
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you say you had a secret hiding place like this as a child?”
I’d forgotten I’d told her about this place. It seemed like it was a lifetime ago. Much less did I think she would remember.
“You’re right. It used to be my secret hiding place, but I haven’t been here in ages.”
Elara looked around again, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “If I had a place like this to hide as a child, I don’t think I would ever come out.” That I could believe.
“I’ll see what I can do about getting it cleaned up.”
“I bet it’s going to look really beautiful.”
“I had a thought.” I changed the subject before my nerves got the better of me.
She looked over her shoulder at me. “Yes?”
“Maybe we could go for a picnic sometime? Only if you want to, of course.”
“You’re not otherwise occupied with your duties?” She referred to the schedule that had been keeping me from spending time with her.
“They can wait,” I assured her.
“I’d like that very much.”
“Excellent, I’ll have a servant arrange it.”
“I’ll arrange it,” Elara suggested, surprising me.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to.”
“I want to,” she affirmed.
“Very well, then. I look forward to it.” I couldn’t help the smile on my face.