Nate gazed longingly after Kiara as she and Sir Claude walked across the yard and into the great hall. His eyes pleaded silently out to Kiara for her love and affection, but he knew that he would receive no reply. The glorious days of their relationship were over and the realization of that was heartbreaking. She would marry Sir Claude, the knight who didn’t deserve her while Nate would pine away for her for the rest of his life.
Justin approached Nate with the jousting armor in hand and regretfully offered it to his squire. “I truly am sorry about him,” the prince said softly. “Sir Claude is a good man, but he is very judgmental about anyone of a lower class than him. Underneath it all, he is an arrogant man, but he doesn’t show it often.”
Nate took the armor and stared at it for a long while, debating whether to actually put it on or not. “No, he’s got a point. How do I expect to survive in a battle against Deceiver when I can’t even win against him?”
Silence fell between the two, but Justin shook his head. “No, you will live to see the end of this battle. I know you will fight valiantly besides us, whether Sir Claude likes it or not… Who knows, maybe you’ll kill Deceiver yourself.”
The rogue looked up to Justin and mimicked his grin, but did not hold his breath for that future. Nate donned his armor and continued to practice his jousting until breakfast was served.
The rest of the day was tedious for both Kiara and Nate.
Nate practiced outside in the hot sun with Justin for the better part of the day, only taking breaks for water and food. He learned everything from jousting to superior horseback riding to wielding an axe and spear correctly in combat. With luck, he would be a master of fighting within a few days if they had that much time afforded to them.
Kiara, on the other hand, was stuck indoors, welcoming knights who traveled in for the fight against Deceiver. In most cases, the knights would only bother to meet the king, but since the girl had been missing for so long, she was frequently asked for. Sometimes, when Kiara would finish greeting one knight, she returned to her chamber, only to be summoned again for another knight who had arrived. Her father suggested that she grab a book from the library and stay in the throne room for the remainder of the day so she would not tire herself out from going up and down the stairs all afternoon.
From all over the kingdom, knights came with their squires, servants, men at arms, spearmen, axe men, and any men that were able and willing to fight - which usually included all the men of their estate down to the stable boys. There was only room for a few hundred in the soldier wing, and those places were often reserved for either high ranking knights like Sir Claude and his squires or beds in the wing are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. Everyone else was forced to take up lodging in the town or to camp just outside the castle grounds. By the end of the day, the field on all sides of the castle was littered with multicolored tents from all corners of Malcolm’s kingdom. When all accounted for, there were over six thousand soldiers and men of war.
That evening, only the knights, squires and Kiara’s honored guests were allowed to enter the banquet hall to the feast. All others were to eat at their leisure outside or in town. This significantly helped the businesses of Aleph.
After finishing his rigorous training day, Nate took a bath to wash off the sweat and dirt and dressed in his old pair of clothes that he was more accustomed to. Justin advised him to wear something more adequate for a banquet feast, but he had to admit that he had nothing suitable to wear for the occasion.
When no one was looking, Nate snuck out of the soldier wing, through the armory, around to the courtyard and up the grand staircase as everyone invited was making their way into the great hall. Nate had another destination in mind. He climbed up the left staircase and crept down the royal ladies’ corridor, looking for the door that had a large “K” over its frame.
When he found Kiara’s chamber door, he took a deep breath, straightened out his clothes and hair, and then boldly knocked.
“Just a moment,” Kiara’s radiant voice called out from behind the door. Nate’s heart was quenched by her melodious voice and he felt the edges of his mouth twitch into a smile.
There was a bit of rustling coming from inside the room, then the door slowly opened to reveal Kiara, wearing the dress that Nate had bought her. Breath escaped from his lungs and for a moment, he marveled at how stunning she was. But, as soon as she laid eyes upon him and smiled, Nate found his strength again.
“My lady,” he greeted, bowing low before the princess.
“Oh, come on, Nate. We know each other better than to be that formal,” she laughed.
Nate stood up straight and chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right… You look beautiful, Kiara.”
His words made Kiara’s cheeks blush as red as apples. She grinned and tried to hide her face, but it was pointless. “You look very handsome yourself, Nate,” she managed to giggle out.
The rogue only shrugged and looked down to his casual outfit. “Your brother suggested I wear something nicer, but you know very well I have nothing else.”
Kiara looked up to him with a beaming countenance. “I think what you’re wearing is fine. No one is going to chop off your head for not wearing something fancy.”
Nate rubbed his neck, remembering how close he had come to such an end. “Yeah, I guess so… How does the dress fit?” he asked, motioning to the gown.
“Oh, it fits very well now. I had my seamstress come up and tailor it a bit, but it is very lovely,” she replied, looking to the dress with admiration. “Thank you very much for buying it for me.”
Nate smiled. “It was no trouble at all.”
The two fell silent, gazing at each other with love struck eyes, both wishing that the rules of society would bend for just a few moments. Kiara felt like she could be less free within the castle walls than outside in the wilderness.
Finally, Nate cleared his throat. “I just came to ask if you needed someone to escort you down to the banquet.”
“Why, as a matter of fact, I do…” Kiara felt giddy and light, almost childish when she was in Nate’s presence.
“Then, may I escort you?” he asked formally, holding out his arm for her to take. Kiara gladly accepted it and they began their descent down to the hall.
“How was your training today?” Kiara inquired.
“I hope never to do it again. Your brother is a harsh trainer.”
Kiara giggled and nodded. “Yes, but it’s all for a very good reason. He was trained by my father and he used those same training methods on him.”
“All I know is that I’m going to be seriously sore tomorrow.”
“And what do you think of Sir Claude?” the princess asked softly, truly wishing to know his opinion, especially after the horribly unfair fight that took place that morning.
Nate sighed and a scowl faded into his expression. “I think I’d like to string him up by his toe nails and chop each one of his digits off one at a time.”
“Oh, now why should you be so cruel to him?”
“Because he was rude and cruel to me.”
Kiara gave him a small smile and shook her head. “You can’t go about hating everyone who offends you. Otherwise, you’d end up hating a lot of people. That’s just the way he is and you will learn to tolerate is as much as I have to.” A shadow passed over Kiara’s face at the thought of having to live with such a man.
Nate looked down to her with compassion beyond explanation. “How can you go through with this? Can’t you talk to your father and say you don’t love him? There has to be someone better out there for you than him.”
As they came down to the courtyard, Kiara’s voice lowered into a hushed whisper. “I told you why… And I do know someone who may be worthy of my hand.”
The two exchanged bashful glances, each knowing what she meant. But, before they had a chance to say more, Justin came up and interrupted them.
“My lady, you are late. Come,” her brother ordered, taking her arm in his an
d giving Nate a reprimanding look to teach him not to step out of bounds like that. Her fiancé or a member of the family was meant to escort her to banquet, not a squire that is not even courting her.
Nate nodded in understanding and followed behind them into the banquet hall, finding himself suddenly lost in a sea of people he didn’t know. Kiara was his only link to these strangers and now she was busy walking towards the other side of the bustling hall. As she walked away, he could hear her guests greeting her warmly and saying how much they were glad to see she had returned home. It was like Nate didn’t have anything to do with it in their eyes. Of course, they didn’t know the whole story.
The rogue slowly walked to one side of the room as the people were gaily mingling amongst themselves. And now, more than ever, he wished that he had taken Justin’s advice. Everyone who was of noble birth or had any kind of wealth, was dressed in their best. Nate looked like trash compared to them.
As his anxious eyes scanned the room, he saw no familiar face except that of Kiara, Malcolm, Eshean and Justin who were congregated near the head table. Sir Claude stood nobly beside his fiancé like she was some trophy that he had won.
Nate kept his distance from Sir Claude, knowing that it would only lead to conflict. But, he did watch their group closely. He saw Miss Heather from the orphanage come up and hug Kiara and chat with her for a very long period of time about who knows what. He noticed the sneer of contempt of Sir Claude’s face when Kiara mingled with her old friends.
Then, an unsuspecting guest arrived. It was Gwen, the seamstress. No doubt Kiara invited the lady. It came as a pleasant shock that the supposed peasant girl from the tournament was actually the princess. Gwen seemed thoroughly surprised. Kiara then referenced her over to the elder princesses for commissioned works.
Nate also noticed something peculiar about Kiara’s behavior. She was constantly looking about the room as if searching for someone, but unable to find them. Nate hoped that it was him she was looking for.
Then, all of the sudden Nate felt a heavy hand upon his shoulder. He turned around to see Sir Ethan, dressed in his best, with a wide grin.
“Nathan! I didn’t know you would be here!” Sir Ethan exclaimed, clamping his mighty arms around Nate in a bear hug. Nate returned it and laughed with the old knight.
“I didn’t suspect you’d be here either!” Nate replied. When the knight let go of the boy, he patted his back in a very fatherly manner and grinned.
“Well, Malcolm called everyone out for the fight, so here I am. How is Kiara?”
Nate sighed and gestured towards the front of the room. “See for yourself… She looks happy with him, doesn’t she?” he said mournfully, referring to Sir Claude.
Sir Ethan gave him a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry, lad. All things will work out. Did you tell Malcolm about the idea of you being my squire?”
“Actually, he positioned me as a squire under Justin, his son.”
“Oh, that’s a greater honor than being my squire,” he exclaimed with pride.
“I suppose so. But, I met the man Kiara is to marry this morning and he’s not right for her. He’s judgmental and mean-spirited.”
Sir Ethan poked his head up over the crowd and squinted towards Kiara’s fiancé, then shook his head ruefully. “I know him. He’s a very arrogant man. But, he knows how to switch the two faces back and forth very efficiently… For Kiara’s sake, I do hope that something can be worked out.”
Nate’s solemn eyes watched Kiara, a longing burning within him like never before. “I just hope she can get out of it. I don’t care if she marries me or not, but as long as she can be saved from a lifetime of misery, I’d be content.”
The old knight nodded his approval of Nate’s maturity over the issue.
“Where is Lady Elsie?” Nate asked, turning back to his old friend.
“Oh, she’s around here some place. I sent her off to chat with the other ladies… She’s going to have a nice little shock when she discovers that Kyra is actually Kiara.”
The men chuckled in agreement and talked on about Nate’s excruciating training day and the impending battle ahead. Sir Ethan suspected that it will not last long, but no one knew for sure.
After about an hour more of talking and mingling, one of Malcolm’s servants announced that dinner would be served soon and for the quests to take their seats. Nate was not sure if the tables were assigned or not, so he followed Sir Ethan to one of the middle tables, where most of the knights and squires were assembling. Lady Elsie soon joined them and began exclaiming how cruel it was of them to conceal from her the true identity of the princess. The two men only grinned to each other and sat down. Unfortunately, the dreaded Sir Claude, sat down directly across from Nate, no doubt so as to make sure the rogue did not steal any silverware.
Knights and their squires sat beside each other in the three middle tables, while servants and special guests sat on the two outside tables, with the curved head table situated towards the front of the hall. The entire royal family was gathered for the occasion.
Once everyone took their seats, the king stood up and raised his goblet. The hall fell silent as all turned their eyes to their king and listened.
“I have gathered you all here for three reasons. The first reason is an unpleasant one. The Deceiver has decided to try and wage war upon my kingdom and I have assembled the strongest, most valiant soldiers to Aleph to prepare for battle, if it can not be avoided… The second reason, is to celebrate the return of my daughter, the princess Kiara. I know the whole of my kingdom shares in the immense joy I feel knowing that she is home safe and sound.” Malcolm gestured to the lovely princess sitting just on the other side of Justin. She smiled and bowed her head to everyone as they clapped and shouted for joy. Nate only smirked and gazed upon her beauty with untold rapture.
“And the third and final reason, is to honor her preserver.” Nate’s heart got caught in his throat. “This young man, risked his life on more than one occasion to save my daughter’s life. The story of their journey is a long and very adventurous one. But, without this man, she would not be alive and with us today. It is with great pleasure that I present to you all, Nathaniel de Hunt.” Malcolm tipped his goblet towards Nate and everyone looked around for the brave hero.
Nate was content upon sitting and staying anonymous, but Sir Ethan nudged him to stand. With trembling legs, Nate did stand up before the assembly and bowed deeply to the king. The room burst into applause for the hero and all cheered, calling him a noble man and honorable fellow. Kiara applauded as fiercely as she could, unable to hold in her grin. Nate had never been so praised in his life. He bowed to everyone and took his seat humbly, moisture forming at the edges of his eyes. Their applause touched him much more deeply than any words could do justice.
Sir Ethan patted Nate on the back once more and everyone raised their goblets for the toast. Nate glanced to Sir Claude, who looked to be the only person in the room who did not enjoy the fact that Nate was being congratulated so warmly.
“To Kiara, Nathaniel and a swift victory!” Malcolm shouted above the crowd, then took a sip of his drink. Everyone followed suit and the feast began.
The courses were much the same as at the tournament, but the options were much more varied and the dishes more exotic, featuring types of foreign birds and fish as well as a larger variety of fruits and vegetables were available.
At the head table, Kiara watched Nate with intense interest. And if anyone noticed her stare, she would be thought to have been staring at Sir Claude rather than Nate anyway. Justin, however, was not fooled.
About half way through the meal, he noticed that both Kiara and Nate had been exchanging little glances and furtive grins. The prince had to say something.
“Nathan certainly is a man worthy of praise and admiration, is he not?” he asked, leaning in so that the conversation was private.
Kiara looked up to her brother with speculation. “I believe so. How did he fair today under your tr
aining?”
“Very well, actually. He is a skilled fighter. From years of living in Deceiver’s territory, it’s no surprise.”
The princess smiled and returned to watching the love of her life while he ate. Justin sighed and glanced from one to the other, wondering if there was any way to stop this scandalous behavior. “You are still going to go through with your engagement to Sir Claude, right?” he questioned.
Kiara turned back to Justin and her countenance fell. She turned her eyes away to her plate and sighed. “Yes, I will still marry Sir Claude.”
“Do you want to?” Justin asked.
“I would rather be eaten alive by lions than have to marry someone I do not love.” Kiara scrunched up her nose as she realized that she had spoken the wrong thing. “I mean, yes! Yes, I do because he is as honorable a man as Nate is and it is what father wants.”
The troubled, distraught look on his sister’s face did not convince him. “You are horrible at lying, Kiara… What are you going to do?”
Kiara fell silent in thought. “I don’t know… I know what I want to do, but it would not be right… What do you think I should do?”
Justin had so much love and compassion for Kiara, but he could not make this decision for her. “Do what your heart says you should do. Tell father how you really feel and things will work out if this love is really true.”
The princess looked up to Nate with a frightened, but loving gaze. She really did love him, not for his looks, but for the good soul that coursed within him. Kiara knew that she would never be happy until she had Nate for herself. All she could think in that moment was: “I love him. I love him and I don’t care what anyone else says.” And the more she thought it, the more she felt a fire of passion burn inside of her.
Soon after, her maidservant came over and curtsied before Kiara, handing her a little folded up piece of parchment paper. Kiara glanced from the note to the servant.
The Princess and Her Rogue Page 49