The Princess and Her Rogue

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  “Ah…Hmm… Just out of curiosity, what finger did it fit perfectly on?”

  Kiara held up her left hand and pointed to her empty ring finger. Lady Elsie’s mind went wild.

  “My dear girl, are you planning to get married soon?” she asked in a panic, knowing the true answer.

  “Well… It’s complicated.”

  Just then, Lady Elsie’s maidservant entered the tent, very flushed as if she had been doing a great deal of running. She rushed over to Lady Elsie with a worn out piece of folded parchment paper. “This came from Sir Ethan, my lady. He said it was urgent, for Kyra,” the young maiden said, apparently not noticing that the girl in question was sitting no more than a few feet away from Lady Elsie.

  “Oh, thank you, my dear.” Lady Elsie examined the letter’s seal, then handed it over to Kiara with a knowing grin.

  The maidservant excused herself and hurried out of the tent as Kiara took the letter with a puzzled expression.

  “Who could this possibly be from?” she questioned, breaking the seal and opening the note, “It’s from Nate!” she exclaimed with a startled outcry, quickly dropping the letter onto the ground like it was some poisonous reptile.

  The two ladies giggled at the shocked, horrified look on Kiara’s face.

  “Well, read it, for heaven’s sake! It can’t be all that bad, can it?” Gwen said, still diligently sewing the hem of Lady Elsie’s gown.

  Kiara cautiously picked up the letter and read its few sentimental lines and let out a breath of relief. “It’s just an apology note… For a moment, I was thinking it would be a love letter or something.”

  “And if it was, would that be so bad?” Lady Elsie asked, giving her a sly smirk.

  “Yes, it would be. I’d still be terrified to face him again. But, now it’s not so bad…” Kiara scrutinized the letter further, “He called me his ‘dearest’! What does that mean? That I’m dear to him? Or do you think that’s just a formality?”

  “My dear, you can’t analyze the letter that closely. It looks to be in my husband’s hand writing.”

  “It would have to be. Nate doesn’t know how to read or write… Oh, bother! That means I’ll have to face him in person to accept his apology. I don’t have the convenience of writing a letter in return.” Kiara covered her face with the letter and groaned in agony at the very idea.

  “I thought you just said his apology would make it easier for you to confront him?” Gwen inquired.

  “Yes, it would make it easier… But, honestly, I don’t know what he’d be sorry about. I’m the one who did him wrong. I should have been the one to apologize first.”

  “I agree that you should have apologized first, but maybe Nate is so upset himself that he wants to right all the wrongs himself. He probably doesn’t expect you to be sorry for anything.”

  Kiara removed the paper from her face and gazed at the ground thoughtfully. “Then, I should probably go and apologize right now, shouldn’t I?”

  “I would recommend it,” Lady Else stated.

  “Me too. It’s very hard to be on bad terms with someone in such complicated situations. I’m sure it will all be made right by tonight if you go now,” Gwen advised, her lips curling into a knowing smile.

  Kiara nodded and hesitated in getting up right away, her knees weak from the intensity of the moment. “Where do you think he is?”

  “Probably at the camp. He can’t have much else to do but laze around with my husband all day.”

  Nate traveled through the town of Daleth, searching for some particular building. When he came to a small establishment next to a stable, he walked in.

  “Good afternoon, sir. How may I help you?” greeted the postal clerk.

  Nate cautiously stepped forward with his money pouch in hand. “Yes, I was wondering if there was any way I could get something delivered out into Deceiver’s territory?”

  The clerk looked at him strangely. “Uh… I believe there will have to be a slight extra charge for that kind of dangerous route. We don’t have riders go there much. May I ask what is being delivered?”

  Nate brought up his coin pouch and jingled out a few gold coins. “I need to get this to a friend of the family that is living down there. They normally keep to the mountain range and may be stationed outside of major towns. I assure you that they are harmless and will not harm the rider.”

  The clerk pursed his lips and nodded. “Yes, I suppose we can deliver this. Would you like to include a note with this parcel?” he asked, pulling out a small wooden box and some parchment paper with a pen.

  “Yes, I would, but I’m afraid you’d have to write it for me.”

  Nate was not too keen on giving away his money to Tasha like this, but he gave her a promise and he was determined not to break his word. He recited a short few sentences, addressing the package to Tasha and Danny, wishing them well and assuring that he would send more in time. The clerk kindly folded the note, sealed it and placed it inside the box with three gold coins. Nate was charged one gold piece for the fees of delivering the package and he described the recipient and her family and the gypsy caravan that she would be traveling with, for the sake of the postal rider.

  After the affairs were set in order, Nate walked out of the postal service building, with no money to his name. He had spent the rest earlier in the day before the tournament. He spent it as he thought he should have, but he silently wished he had something to sell that would have given him more money to spend on Kiara.

  Kiara and Lady Elsie left Gwen’s tent after her dress was completed and walked back to their camp to prepare for banquet that night. Lady Elsie had a particular gown in mind to have Kiara try on for the occasion, while she planned to wear the dress she had just purchased. Upon arriving to the camp, Kiara instantly saw Nate coming back from town. She thought this would be the perfect time to talk to him about the letter. All fear fled from her heart, leaving room for a genuine longing to make everything as it was before.

  She smiled and was about to burst forth in a run to reach Nate, but one of the lady servants approached Lady Elsie and muttered something. Then, Lady Elsie turned to Kiara with an apologetic, but pleading countenance.

  “My dear, my servant has just informed me that they are short a hand in preparing our portion of the banquet for tonight. I have to go help the other ladies with setting up the tables and serving arrangements, so I can’t help. Would you mind lending a hand or two for me? It shouldn’t take long.”

  Kiara glanced from Lady Elsie to Nate, who had just looked up to notice them. He seemed hopeful as he saw Kiara staring straight at him. She gave him a weak smile, then nodded to Lady Elsie and the servant girl. Kiara sometimes scorned her generous tendencies. She could never resist the invitation to help others.

  Lady Elsie and her servant smiled with appreciation and Kiara was instantly led away to help with cooking the feast.

  The banquet that night was to be reserved for the merchants, knights and their families. Each individual’s servants or the females of the family were assigned different tasks in order to get the feast complete. Unfortunately, some of the knights could not afford servants, so there were only a small handful of servants that were able to dedicate their time to creating the meal. Sir Ethan and Lady Elsie’s duties of the meal were to bake the numerous loaves of bread to satisfy everyone at the table - a total of thirty loaves - and large kettles of vegetable and potato stews. What they didn’t know, was that Kiara had no clue how to cook anything.

  The servant girl, Lauren, brought Kiara to the cooking tent, where the other maidservants were already working away at their task of mixing the dough, peeling potatoes and chopping up vegetables. With Kiara, there were only four women cooking in the tent.

  Kiara quickly told Lauren the truth that she had never really cooked anything in her life and would need help with helping. Having pity on her, Lauren set Kiara to peeling potatoes with another maidservant. With the fires and stoves burning inside the tent, it became unbearably hot
very quickly. Kiara had to pull her hair back with a leather cord just to keep herself cool while busily working away at the confounded potatoes.

  She found out very quickly that peeling potatoes was no easy job. The knives were as dull as twigs. This was good only because when Kiara lost control of the blade and accidentally bumped her hand with it, she wouldn’t be cut. But, it made the task of peeling one potato seem like a frustrating chore. Needless to say, by the time she had peeled three potatoes, the other girl was done with a dozen or more. Apparently, she was accustomed to this work.

  After the potatoes were gone, Kiara was told to help cut vegetables. That turned out to be just as difficult due to the fact the vegetables they were cutting - beets, cabbages, lettuce, carrots and squash - were all so oddly shaped and difficult to handle while trying to cut them. Again, the knives were worn out and sometimes refused to slice the vegetables as quickly as they should have. Kiara grew irritated many times and stabbed the blade into whatever vegetable she was cutting. Lauren saw her growing frustration and quickly pulled Kiara over to work with her on the bread, which she figured would be much easier for her.

  Kiara helped Lauren mix the ingredients the way she explained, but when the time came for her to kneed the dough into the desired loaf shapes, the substance stuck to her hands like thick grime, refusing to peel off no matter how hard she tried to brush it from her fingers.

  Lauren only laughed and dumped some flour onto her hands, instructing her to rub them together. Kiara did so and the bread particles flaked off easily. Taking the hint, Kiara coated her fingers and the table in flour and began to knead the bread the correct way.

  After the first four or five loaves, Kiara began to get the hang of bread making and even enjoyed it. She almost became as quick as Lauren was with turning out the bread loafs and before she knew it, two hours had past in that hot kitchen and their job was done for the time being. Of course, Kiara’s work was over with and she was dismissed to get ready for the banquet.

  When she left the cooking tent, she eagerly looked around for Nate, but was unable to find him at all. Farther down south, Kiara could see the merchants and venders beginning to pack up their merchandise, while more people were setting up and preparing for the banquet. Most of those who came to the tournament were gone, leaving only those invited to the banquet. It wasn’t a large crowd, but the children were rambunctious enough for everyone, running around and shouting in the thrills of their game.

  Kiara walked back to her tent, where she saw a very pretty green dress with golden trim laying across her bed with a note from Lady Elsie, saying this dress was for her to wear for the night, if it fit and if she was interested. Kiara wasn’t partial to the gown, but it was pretty and more appropriate for a banquet than what she was wearing at the moment.

  She tried it on and found it a perfect fit. With a light heart, she skipped out of her tent and towards the banquet sight, hoping she might find either Nate or Lady Elsie there.

  As she strolled gracefully through the crowd setting up the tables and chairs for the banquet, everyone turned to look at her with a peculiar look that made Kiara wonder if something was wrong. She eventually found Lady Elsie, wearing her new gown, conversing with a few other noble ladies near the serving table and quickly came to her side, happy to find a familiar face. However, when Lady Elsie looked at her, she excused herself and pulled Kiara aside.

  “What’s wrong? Is it the dress?” Kiara asked, looking at herself, making sure that everything was where is was supposed to be and tied up correctly.

  Lady Elsie giggled. “No, my dear, it’s not that… Here.” She pulled out a handkerchief and dipped it in a nearby goblet of water, then proceeded to clean off Kiara’s cheeks. “You didn’t wash the flour off of your face,” she stated with a faint chuckle.

  Kiara blushed in humiliation, but couldn’t help but smile herself and pull out the leather cord that was holding up her hair, which she also forgot as well. She immediately apologized for being absent minded as she shook out her long wavy locks.

  “Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure everyone thought it amusing as well. Banquet will begin in about thirty minutes,” Lady Elsie said, leading Kiara back towards the group.

  “Have you see Nate?” Kiara inquired softly.

  “No, actually, I haven’t. I last saw him talking with my husband before I went to change, but I haven’t seen him since. He’ll be along with Sir Ethan shortly, though, I’m sure .”

  Kiara nodded and gave her an uncertain smile. She hoped Nate would arrive in time so that they had a few moments before banquet began, in order they may talk about the letter. Kiara was introduced to a few other ladies that happened to be the wives of knights competing in the tournaments and she simply stood to the side, listening to the pleasant conversations. She was the youngest of all the other ladies, so she had little to say of importance or relevance. Kiara grew very bored with just standing, listening and glancing around for any sign of Nate.

  Then, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, she saw him. Nate and Sir Ethan came walking into the banquet, two strapping men clothed in dress garb for the occasion. Sir Ethan wore an ensemble of a blue tunic, black overcoat, a leather belt to tie it all together and black trousers to match his black boots.

  Nate, however, looked much more handsome and dashing in his outfit of a white tunic, black leather vest, black trousers and black riding boots. Kiara grinned from ear to ear. Her cheeks ached with the intensity of her smile and grew even pinker with each passing second.

  Sir Ethan and Nate approached Lady Elsie, Kiara and the group of ladies with an air of pride and dignity. Kiara never took her eyes off of Nate and he never took her eyes off of her. Naturally, this would have made her exceedingly nervous, but something in his eyes was calming and soothing to her soul. Kiara was no longer afraid, and it looked like Nate wasn’t either as he gave her a suave smile.

  “My lady, you look exquisite this evening,” Sir Ethan said to his wife, taking her hand in his and kissing the back of it.

  “Why, thank you, my lord. Kyra introduced me to a wonderful seamstress in the market place today who had it tailored for me,” replied Lady Elsie. Kiara finally had to bow her head and look away as Nate came to stand by her.

  “I’m so very glad she did… And Miss Kyra, you are looking very lovely this evening as well,” Sir Ethan said, bowing his head formally.

  “Thank you, my lord. Your wife has generously provided this dress for me to wear for the evening. I’m very grateful to both of you for your kindness.” Kiara was trained in the delicate art of formal conversation and found it both useful and obliging. Nate, who said nothing at all, was probably advised to keep his mouth shut.

  “Ladies, this is my husband, Sir Ethan. He is the tournament champion, if you recall.” Lady Elsie presented her husband, who bowed to the ladies in return. “And this is Nathan, my husband’s newest squire and Kyra’s escort to Aleph.” Nate bowed in a very gentlemanlike fashion to the ladies. Kiara could see the intrigued looks upon the ladies’ faces and expected much gossip to fly around the banquet table later.

  The ladies gave their greetings and curtsied to the men. Just as Kiara was about to excuse herself from the group to talk to Nate in private, the herald announced that the first course would be served momentarily. This meant that it was advisable for everyone to take their seats. The ladies all excused themselves and wandered to their seats next to their husbands.

  Kiara looked up to Nate, who was gazing down to her with a pleasant, expectant smile. Kiara grinned in return and followed Sir Ethan and Lady Elsie over to their designated seating places. Nate, in turn, followed behind her closely.

  There were three banquet tables, set in such a way to almost form a rectangle, with only one short end that served as the head of the table. At the head of the table, the barons and their families that sponsored the event were seated, while the knights, lords and ladies sat on either side of the table. However, everyone was to sit on the outside of the fo
rmation, because entertainment would be provided in the middle and later become part of the dance hall. Those with more nobility or wealth sat closer to the head of the table, while the less wealthy sat towards the far end. It was no surprise that the tournament champion, his lady and honored guests were seated rather close to the barons.

  Sir Ethan, Lady Elsie, Kiara and Nate took their seats in that order, with Nate and Kiara sitting next to each other. This would be the first time that Kiara would sit in a position lower than what she might have naturally deserved as a daughter of the king, but she didn’t mind in the least long as Nate was with her.

  The feast began with a speech of thanks and congratulations to all those who participated in the tournaments and who came out that day to watch as spectators. Kiara could feel Nate’s eyes fixed on her the entire time, but to be respectful to the host, she didn’t look in return, even though she so desperately wanted.

  Then, the first course began by distributing fresh water, bread and mead - if it was requested - along with bread and a small portion of vegetable and potato stew. The formality of the banquet was not strict upon the idea of conversation during mealtime, so Kiara found this to be her perfect chance to talk to Nate. When the dull roar of everyone else’s voice rose loud enough, Kiara chose to speak.

  “I heard you won the squire tournament… Congratulations,” she said softly to him, not looking up in case the sight of him staring at her would make her at a loss for words, which was very likely.

  “Thank you. And I heard you won the archery tournament. I’m glad you got to participate after all.”

  Kiara smiled to herself and took a sip of her soup. “I also received a very peculiar letter today.”

  Nate’s head popped up at the mention of his letter. “Really? Who from?”

  “A man I know,” Kiara answered slyly, looking at Nate mischievously from the corner of her eye. Nate chuckled and took a drink of his water.