by Sidney Gray
It turned out she had one of the last matches of the day, by then the crowd was getting rowdy, and a lot of the men were drunk. She was also up against a popular man from the city, well, Sofia assumed so, judging by the cheers that went up when he was announced.
The girl was fast, incredibly fast and although Sofia had been expecting it, she was still as amazed as everyone else. She darted in and out so quickly it was hard to keep track of where she was, and she was making her opponent look like a fool as he scrambled to defend himself. The crowd was going crazy. Sofia had never seen anyone move that fast before.
The King whistled, impressed. “Who is that girl?”
Blake’s father answered, never taking his eyes off the match, “her name is Alyssa, I believe she is from a small seaside village up the coast.”
“Where did she learn to fight like that, surely not in a small village,” Alex asked leaning forward in his seat.
“You would be surprised at how many soldiers and guards chose to retire in a small village,” the King replied.
Alex looked surprised then suddenly frowned, Sofia suspected he was probably considering how Alyssa would affect Cole and Jack’s chances. Alyssa finally finished off her opponent after a couple of well-placed blows.
Parker’s match was the last of the day, and it did not take long. He was clearly determined to win, and the match soon got out of control. Parker took his opponent down within the first couple of minutes but didn't stop there. He slammed the poor boy’s head into the ground knocking him unconscious and then continued to hit him repeatedly over and over, blood pouring out of the boy's nose. Mal and a handful of guards rushed to the boy’s aid, yelling at Parker to stop but he didn't listen. Mal motioned to one of the guards, and two long ropes appeared from the guard's hands and wrapped themselves around Parker, pulling him off. The crowd was deathly silent as healers rushed in to take care of the boy. The King rose to his feet and stormed out of the box, yelling at his Guards to follow, Alex was close behind him. Performers rushed into the arena to distract the crowd from what had just happened. Sofia turned around to check on Lucy, she looked pale and frightened and was gripping Evelyn’s hand tightly.
“Don't worry Lucy,” Sofia said quietly leaning towards her, “the healers will take care of him.”
“He didn't look very well,” she insisted sniffling.
“He will be fine,” her mother hissed, “dry your tears, Lucy, you’re much too old to be crying.”
The others in the box were whispering amongst themselves now, but the Queen remained stoic, focused on the performers. Sofia turned back to the front, following her lead. Parker would have to be punished for his actions surely, she thought. A long time ago the tournament had once been a battle to the death however now the rules were very strict.
She had trouble focusing on the performers in front of her, and she shifted uncomfortably in her dress, it was a warm day, and the dress was far too tight. A couple of fans levitated in front of her, which gave her a slight reprieve from the heat. She had now lost any excitement she had for the tournament and was ready for it all to be over. After what seemed like forever Alex eventually came back to the box. However, he looked, if possible, even angrier than when he had left.
“What is it?” she whispered.
“They're still letting him compete.” He said furiously.
“What?” She hissed, outraged.
“Parker’s father convinced my father that Parker had just been caught up in the moment and it wouldn't happen again. I can’t believe he trusts his guards’ opinion over his son’s.”
“That is ridiculous, he could have killed that boy!” she protested.
“Yes, I know,” he snapped, “but it's not my decision.”
Sofia sat back, still fuming. “What did Mal have to say about it?”
“He was furious. Obviously, you should have seen his face. He looked like he was going to strangle Parker, but even he couldn't change my father's mind.”
Alex sat silent for a moment before he turned to her, looking worried. “He's up against Jack tomorrow.”
“Don't worry, Mal won't let anything happen, he’ll keep a close eye on him.” She said, trying to reassure him.
Before Alex could respond the King arrived back, followed by his guards, he immediately stepped up to the front of the box, and the performers all stopped and turned towards him, causing the crowd to do the same.
“I would like to apologise for the events you just witnessed, the contestant has been reprimanded for his actions and has assured me it will not happen again,” the King spoke in a calming voice, “however, tomorrow two of my own Guards will be present during every fight to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
The King didn’t wait around to hear the crowds response, he left as quickly as he had arrived with the Queen followed close behind. A few in the crowd booed as the King left but the performers were quick to distract the crowd and soon they were cheering again before the results of the day were revealed.
Cole, Jack, Claire, and Kyla had all made it through to the third day. Stephanie and Daniella, as Sofia had suspected, hadn’t made it through that day. It didn't necessarily knock them out of the running, although she guessed in her mother's eyes it would but being a Queen’s guard wasn’t just about physically protecting the Queen.
Megan also hadn't made it through to the third day, which was probably a good thing, she was incredibly powerful, but like her mother had said, she had a temper, and she had let it get the better of her, and she made mistakes. After she lost her second match, she stormed out of the arena yelling at the guards escorting her.
Sofia stood up to leave with her family, but Alex grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
“I'm going to go and check in on Cole and Jack, do you want to join me?”
“Yes I would love to,” she replied immediately, she was curious to see what was underneath the arena and also she was secretly hoping she might run into Alyssa, she was incredibly curious to meet the girl now. She quickly informed her mother and followed Alex through the crowd of nobles leaving their boxes, they were stopped often, but eventually, they made it to the competitor's preparation area. Alex spotted Cole and headed over, but she was distracted by the sight of all the wounded competitors. They were all gathered in one area, and she was surprised at how serious some of their injuries looked, the injured competitors were rushed out of the arena as soon as the match was over, so she hadn’t taken much notice, but apparently, the tournament was more brutal than she had thought.
She was about to follow Alex when she noticed a tall, slim girl weaving her way through the competitors and clearly she wasn't the only one. Heads turned as she walked, it was impossible not to notice her, she was certainly pretty, but it was the bright smile on her face that seemed to captivate everyone she directed it to.
“That’s Georgia Tyson,” Hayden spoke quietly from behind her.
She startled slightly, she hadn't realized he was there.
“Of course it is,” she said with a snort, “is she really as nice as people say?” she questioned suspiciously.
Hayden chuckled, “actually yes, not only is she loved by everyone she meets but she also heals the poor for free in her spare time.”
Sofia groaned under her breath, “she wouldn’t last a day at court.”
“I wouldn't be so sure,” Hayden replied with a smile. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Wait, you know her?” she asked, hurrying after him.
Georgia looked up when she heard them approaching and gave Hayden a huge grin before rushing over and throwing her arms around him. Sofia stared at them surprised. Apparently, they knew each other quite well. Hayden pulled back and turned to Sofia, “Lady Sofia, I would like to introduce you to Georgia Tyson.” She was surprised at how happy Hayden looked, normally he was so serious.
Georgia curtsied to her, still smiling, “your highness, it's such an honor to finally meet you, I have heard so much about
you, all nice things, of course, I love your dress, by the way, you always wear such lovely dresses! How are you enjoying the tournament? It’s such a perfect day for it, don't you think.” She gushed, all in one breath. Sofia watched her, amused, she wasn’t sure which question to answer first.
“Ahh, thank you, yes, I am enjoying the tournament. How do you two know each other?” She questioned gesturing to her and Hayden.
“Oh, we actually grew up on the same street, before Hayden moved to the palace of course, now we only see him when he has a break, which isn't as often as his parents would like but of course it's such an honor to be a guard, they are just so proud of him,” she looked at Hayden affectionately.
Hayden just laughed, “yes, and every time I visit, you talk my ear off.”
She smiled sheepishly, “well someone has to do the talking,” she teased.
“Yes, Hayden is a man of few words.” Blake interrupted, winking at Georgia, she hadn’t noticed him wander over, but she shouldn’t be surprised, Blake always showed up when there was a pretty girl around.
“You know I actually hurt my arm the other day in training, would you have a look at it for me?” Blake added, he couldn't help himself, he was such a flirt.
Sofia rolled her eyes, “your arm is fine Blake, in case you hadn't noticed there are others who are actually in a lot of pain,” she said indicating to those around them.
Georgia started, “oh yes, I should get back to work, it was lovely meeting you, your highness.”
She winced, “I wish people would stop calling me that.” She muttered after Georgia had rushed off to help a contestant.
“Well, you should get used to it, it won't be long before everyone is calling you that, your highness.” Blake teased.
“Argh don't remind me,” she groaned.
They found Cole and Jack and left the arena. Unfortunately, they hadn’t seen Kyla or Claire at all, but at least she had been able to meet Grace. It was only as they were leaving that Sofia realized there were no carriages, they had all ridden there on horses. Sofia looked down at her dress, knowing it was going to get filthy, “oh well, I’ll just tell mother it was your fault,” she said to Alex with a smirk as she strode to his horse, Rain, and hoisted herself up.
“Well hurry up, or I’ll leave without you,” she said patting the horse’s neck. Alex pulled himself up behind her and grabbed the reins from her hand.
“I’d like to see that, what would your mother think, I wonder if word got out you had ridden a horse back to the palace on your own?”
She laughed quietly but didn't reply as she was suddenly distracted by his arms around her. She had never been this close to Alex in a long time. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, and she felt a shiver down her spine. She tried to ignore it as they rode, joining in on the guard's conversation.
As they rode, she noticed there were still some stalls set up along the road back to the palace so quickly, before Alex could stop her, Sofia slide from the horse, ignoring his cursing. Unfortunately, Jack dismounted in front of her, catching her arm before she could go any further.
“Come on Jack, just a quick look,” she pleaded, smiling sweetly.
He raised an eyebrow, “don't bother, that doesn't work on me,” he said dryly.
She rolled her eyes and turned quickly when she heard Alex dismount behind her, but before she could even open her mouth, he spoke, “be quick.”
She laughed with delight and ran to the nearest stall before he could change his mind, Jack and Alex close behind her, the others chose to stay on their horses until Blake noticed a couple of the stall holders daughters hovering nearby and dismounted with a wink at the others.
Sofia turned her attention to the items in front of her, trying to take it all in, she had never seen so many beautiful things all at once, handmade jewelry, tapestries, woodwork, it almost made her wish she hadn't stopped as she didn't have any coins to buy anything. The stallholders were all incredibly excited and didn’t seem to mind that they didn't buy anything, they were just happy to meet the prince.
They reached the last stall full of beautiful handmade jewelry, and the stallholders wife couldn't stop babbling excitedly to Alex. Sofia was immediately drawn to a beautiful necklace, she picked it up carefully, it had a delicate gold chain with tiny diamonds hanging from it like little droplets and in the middle was a sparkling sapphire.
She put the necklace back carefully with dismay, but to her surprise Alex reached out and grabbed the necklace, asking the woman how much it cost. Sofia stood back, slightly stunned, she hadn't expected Alex to buy it for her, he had given her gifts over the years but she suspected the Queen picked them out, this felt a lot more personal. He turned to her and carefully placed the necklace around her neck, she couldn't help but wonder if it was her imagination that his hands seemed to linger, she thanked him quietly before they went back to the others.
They rode back through the city joking and laughing, Sofia couldn't stop glancing down at the necklace she wore, smiling. As they entered the city people came out to watch them as they wound their way through the streets, all of them cheering for Cole and Jack. The guards instinctively spread out around Sofia and Alex, but people were more interested in Cole and Jack. Jack seemed uncomfortable with all the attention and even Cole, while he waved and smiled at them, wasn’t his usual self. They arrived back at the palace and found Olivia waiting for them, tapping her foot impatiently.
“We need to talk,” she said to Alex, ignoring the others.
Alex immediately jumped down and strode after her, leaving Jack to help Sofia down from his horse. Lex and Hayden rushed to follow Alex, leaving the others to deal with the horses.
She could barely hide her hurt expression at being dismissed so easily.
“I’m sure it must be important,” Jack said quietly.
“It always is,” she said bitterly, she quickly turned away from him and focused on Rain. She led her back to the stables where a couple of stable hands were waiting for them, she wasn’t surprised to see Taylor Prescott was with them. Because of her ability, Taylor was highly regarded by the stable master and was in charge of the royal family and their guards’ horses.
“It must be nice getting to work with the horses every day,” Sofia commented when they had settled Rain in her stall.
“Yes it is, my Lady, honestly I prefer them over people most days,” Taylor said jokingly.
“I know exactly how you feel,” Sofia replied with a laugh as she studied Taylor and wondered what type of guard she would be. “I wish I could just stay here all night instead of going to the party.”
“Yes, I definitely don’t envy you that.”
The way she said it made her wonder if Taylor would even want to be her guard, it would mean a lot less time with animals and a lot more time surrounded by nobles.
She hesitated before suddenly deciding to just ask. Taylor seemed surprised at her question.
“Honestly I had no idea I was even in the running, but it’s not the type of offer I could say no too,” she replied hesitantly.
She seemed to choose her words carefully, and Sofia wondered what she meant by that. For the first time, she wondered if any of girls on her list even wanted to be her guard, she had just assumed they would, but perhaps she was wrong.
Blake soon came over to flirt with Taylor, and to Sofia’s surprise, she flirted back. She had met Taylor a few times but she was usually so serious and focused on the animals, it was nice to see a lighter side of her. Sofia led Rain into his stall and ran a brush over her back, enjoying the peacefulness of the stables.
CHAPTER 15
Her peace was soon disturbed by Evelyn, who their mother had sent to fetch her. She seemed happier than usual and chattered the whole way back to their rooms, apparently, the Queen has decided the party that night should be to celebrate all those that had made it through the tournament so far, because of that those competitors and their families had all been invited to attend. The nob
les were predictably entirely against the idea of being forced to mingle with commoners. Their mother included. Evelyn told her in great detail their mother's reaction, and Sofia was soon in hysterics over her impression. They had been getting on well lately, and it was a nice change, she hoped it would stay that way but she worried it wouldn’t, they were just too different.
They reached their rooms and were greeted by a handful of servants, their mother was too busy complaining about the Queen’s decision to question where Sofia had been, and she was thankful for that.
Secretly, Sofia was also happy about the Queen’s decision. Hopefully, this would mean she would have a chance to actually meet Claire and Kyla and possibly Alyssa. She hadn’t seen any of them in the competitors’ area under the arena, although she wondered now if they had a separate area for the women.
“I can't believe the King allowed it to happen,” her mother grumbled, “it is ridiculous and embarrassing. What are they even going to wear? Do they know there will be a dress code, they can't just turn up in anything.”
“I'm sure they are aware, Mother, and what is so bad about meeting the competitors and having a conversation with them?”
“What could we possibly talk about?” she said aghast.
“I don't know!... The weather?” Sofia replied sarcastically as she pulled her necklace out from under the neckline of her dress.
Her mother looked horrified at the thought before noticing the necklace.
“Where in heaven’s did you get that?”
Sofia’s hesitated before reluctantly telling her, she knew she would make a big deal about it.
“Well I expect it will be the first of many.” her mother said smugly, fiddling with the necklace until it sat perfectly.
“Sofia it's time to go.” Her father strode through the door, interrupting them, he was escorting her to the dinner as she would be arriving with the royal family. He didn’t say a word the entire way, Sofia wasn't sure if that was good or bad, needless to say, she was relieved when they arrived at the small room off the side of the ballroom where the royal family waited to be announced.