Chapter 7
Sails on the horizon had the alarm bell sounding as a small boat made its way to the beach from beyond the reef.
Santiago watched the guardsmen, including those who would be contestants, spring into action. Katarine dismounted her horse, and he moved to put himself between her and whoever approached.
“Freen, what is going on?” she asked the adviser who had questioned him several times over the last two weeks.
“A visitor, my lady. Perhaps word of the contest has spread, and we have another contestant.”
Katarine said nothing in reply, and Santiago knew she would not be pleased.
“Can you make out the standard?” Santiago asked as a blue banner flapped in the wind.
“My eyes are not what they once were,” the adviser replied.
“It is blue with yellow,” Santiago offered as assistance.
Katarine’s breath caught. “The House of Kydon. Is it a dragon?”
Santiago didn’t know who that was, but from her tone, it was decidedly unwelcome.
He waited a few moments more as the banner waved in the breeze. “I think so. There appears to be a yellow tail on blue.”
“The prince of Kydon was an ardent suitor some months back,” Freen said. “I am surprised to see him again, given how firmly you indicated your lack of interest, My Queen.”
“As am I,” Katarine replied.
The guardsmen covered the beach as a jolly boat came closer to shore.
Santiago made out a man in royal blue and several others in uniforms less fine.
“The contest must start in moments. Surely, he cannot participate,” she whispered to Freen.
But the man jumped from the small boat into knee-deep water and ran up to the beach. He planted his standard in the sand. “I declare my candidacy for this contest for the hand of the queen!”
The men in the boat behind him cheered.
“Freen, handle this,” she said.
“Gladly.”
“We had not expected you, Prince of Kydon,” Freen called as he crossed the sand. “We were under the impression this was an internal contest only.”
“Do the rules prohibit outsiders? That wouldn’t be so very egalitarian of you, Your Majesty.”
“You do not have to let him participate,” Santiago said under his breath to Katarine. “But if it keeps the peace for you to allow it, I will win anyway. God has destined me for you.”
At that moment, the high priest of Kataria stepped on to the beach. “Prince of Kydon, why have you come?”
“To seek the hand of the queen.”
“Have you not done this already? And been rebuffed.”
“I seek another chance, Priest. Surely God gives second chances.” He looked past Santiago to Katarine. “And so must a fair and just queen.”
“How did you learn of this contest, Prince of Kydon?” Katarine asked.
“From a passing merchant. Fortuitous, was it not?”
The slaver. Santiago would place his bet on this prince doing business with that scum. They put off the same air of superiority and disregard for others.
“What kind of merchant?” Santiago asked.
“Who are you to question a prince?” he replied with a sharp look.
“Santiago Villa Ponto Fresca, chieftain and warlord of the Clan of Wind.”
The prince paused at that. “Quite a mouthful. I thought your people were dead or enslaved.”
“And yet here I am.”
“Queen Katarine, surely, you would not let a barbarian like this man compete for the honor of your hand in marriage. This man is not fit for a queen.”
Santiago stilled, knowing the man who spoke those words was the one who was not worthy of her.
“He is honorable and risked his life to save others. I believe that makes him worthy, along with many fine men—warriors and tradesmen—from my own lands.”
“Tradesmen? How undignified.”
“You need not compete if you feel it is beneath you, Prince.” This came from Freen, and Santiago could have hugged the man.
“Nonsense. The competition will be easier than I thought, Adviser.”
Not a single person standing on the beach wanted the prince there, and yet the man was too arrogant to notice.
“Then take your places on the beach, contestants! First, we read you the rules, and then our honored queen will declare this contest begun!”
As soon as she said the words, “This contest for the queen begins now,” Katarine wanted to skip the next two weeks and go right to the end, where she could once again be with Santiago.
Against all odds, the man had her heart. Watching him carry stones and toss trees during the first phase of the contest had her marveling at his strength, but as impressive as it was to see his muscles ripple and flex as he easily surpassed all other contestants, it wasn’t at all why she loved him.
He was strong, but gentle. Capable, but also capable of listening. His muscles might have been rock solid, but his heart was soft. The dichotomy of such a man was its own thing of beauty.
She noted the prince struggled through this portion of the competition, barely finishing within the allotted time to carry the stone that weighed as much as a man across the line.
The tanner, the sailmaker, and two of the young warriors faltered, but the remainder of the men passed, gaining them a place in the second day of the contest.
From beside her, the high priest laughed. “As if God has not already chosen the victor. You shall have a fine husband, Queen Katarine.”
It took Katarine all of her queenly composure not to ask him if he already knew who the winner would be.
“I pray you are right,” was all she said.
He reached down and squeezed her hand. “Fear not, child. All is well.”
Her heart had been in her throat since the prince had arrived on their shores hours before. And now that day one was over, she was ready for the whole contest to be done.
As the captain of her guardsmen was competing, his second-in-command appeared before her. “May I see you to your horse, My Queen? I am told your sons await you for dinner.”
She squeezed the hand of the high priest back and said, “Thank you, Jonathan.”
She allowed herself to be led to her horse and assisted in mounting.
She stared across the sea of men on the beach toward Santiago.
His gaze was upon her. She wished he were returning to the solarium, but even more understood that two weeks of focus was a fair trade for a lifetime together.
As she pretended to scan the rest of the crowd, she noticed the prince staring at her.
She moved her gaze along, trying not to look as though she had any particular interest in any of them.
“Congratulations, my good men, on a fine first day. We continue on the morrow with a test of wits. I bid you all good eve.”
A cheer went up, and she wheeled her horse around and rode toward the palace.