“Sorry, that took longer than I expected…” Evelyn looked back and forth between Hans’s wooden expression and Ava’s flaming cheeks.
“Oh,” she said, “sorry. Do you want me to come back later…” again she trailed off, seeming unsure what to say.
“Of course not,” said Hans, his voice brisk and professional, “now that you’re here, I can safely retire for the night. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
He gave the smallest of bows in Ava’s direction and strode towards his own door. Ava stared after him, struggling to recover from the surge of so many strong emotions. She kept her eyes trained on Hans’ back even while she listened to Evelyn move towards her pallet and begin to unload the several weapons she carried on her person.
As Hans stepped through the doorway he looked back into the room and, after glancing in Evelyn’s direction, he threw Ava a smile full of affection and a wink. And then the door closed behind him.
Ava wanted to laugh but she wasn’t entirely sure why and she was a little afraid it might come out hysterical. Suppressing it, she quickly prepared for sleep, carefully keeping her eyes averted from Evelyn. When she slid into bed, she forced herself to lie still.
It was difficult to do when her whole body was singing with energy. She couldn’t keep a smile off her face and she kept thinking of how it had felt to have Hans’ arms around her and to feel the glow of love returned.
For an entire hour she relived their conversation, basking in the relief: she had told Hans the truth and his feelings were unchanged. With the weight of pending separation gone, her mind kept circling back to their mornings at the Square of Fountains and how he had looked surrounded by the children or intent on the game of quickball. Just thinking about him made her heart beat faster and her mouth curve up involuntarily.
But inevitably her thoughts swung back to the Monarchy Trials. In the morning she would face her brother and Hans would fight in her place. The thought brought reality crashing back down. She couldn’t allow herself to get caught up in her feelings. Until it was all over, she had to maintain a razor sharp focus.
It took all of her considerable determination and training to force the image of Hans’ face from her mind and settle herself enough for sleep.
Chapter 27
Ava woke well before dawn and was instantly far too awake to think of returning to sleep. Her first thoughts were of Hans and the feel of his lips on hers but almost immediately her mind was consumed with the Trials. By the end of the day, one way or another, everything would be different.
She took her time getting ready, using the familiar routine to settle and steady herself. She was sure she had woken Evelyn with her movements but the other girl continued to lie quietly on her pallet. Ava suspected that the merchant knew how much Ava needed the space and was giving it to her the only way she could.
When Ava was ready, Evelyn quickly roused and completed her own preparations. Despite attending merely as an observer, she secreted a larger number of weapons than usual around her person. It was a wise move, since none of them really knew what the day would hold.
They had agreed to meet in the corridor outside their rooms at dawn and no one was late. They had all already consumed a simple breakfast and were dressed for the Trials. Aldric carried his black medical bag which Ava had seen only once before.
They made their way through the surprisingly quiet castle corridors. Ava was used to seeing many servants up and about in the hour after dawn.
When they reached the entry foyer, the anomaly became clear.
What looked like every servant in the castle was formed into two rows, in some places several people deep. They created a corridor leading to the front entrance. When Ava appeared, the servants closest to her placed their right fist over their heart in a gesture of respect. As their neighbours became aware of her arrival, they followed and soon the entire room was full of saluting servants.
Tears gathered in Ava’s eyes and all lingering doubts were stilled. Her father had been wrong. No amount of power was worth cutting herself off from other people. And here was evidence that it was possible to rule a people by wielding love and respect rather than fear and cold strategy. It was a heartening show of support.
Raising her own fist to her heart, Ava stood for a moment, gazing out at the castle’s inhabitants.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice ringing through the large space, “I will not let you down.”
And then she swept from the castle, her friends close on her heels.
She was still blinking away tears when she emerged into the city and at first the streets seemed as strangely deserted as the castle corridors had been. But as she moved forward, people appeared in all of the doorways and windows lining the street. Unlike on her morning rides, they called out no greetings, instead they just stood there, fists on their hearts. Their message couldn’t have been clearer. It wasn’t only the palace; all of Rangmeros stood behind her.
Even as she put her own fist back over her heart, she found herself shivering. This wasn’t just a few servants; it was an entire city. An entire kingdom. It was a burden they were giving her and she was terrified of letting them down.
A presence moved to stand beside her and warm fingers slid into hers. She didn’t have to glance up to know it was Hans. The weight lifted a little. It was a burden she didn’t have to carry alone.
No one in her small group reacted to Hans’ actions and Ava somehow doubted it was a real surprise to any of them. The people lining the streets, however, responded with subtle whispers and the rustle of small movements.
She wondered what they were thinking and then decided she didn’t care. In this moment she needed Hans beside her. No one else’s opinion mattered.
When they reached the steps of the Hall of Magistrates, Hans gently slid his hand from hers and took a small step back. She now stood alone, her friends a solid wall at her back. The huge doors were shut, marking the day as one unlike any other. Taking a deep breath, she climbed the steps and pushed them open.
Inside the large marble foyer was a small crowd of people but they all fell silent at Ava’s entry. Lord Iver stepped forward and bowed to her.
“Welcome, royal claimant.” His words were heavy with tradition. “Do you hereby agree that you will abide by all rules laid down by the Hall of Magistrates for the conduct of the Monarchy Trials?”
“I do,” said Ava.
“And do you hereby commit that if you win, you will rule Rangmere justly and fairly but if you lose, you will relinquish all claim to the throne?”
“I do.”
“Then I hereby declare that the Monarchy Trials are underway. Please follow my clerk.” He gestured towards a young man standing behind him. When the clerk stepped forward and flashed her a sheepish smile, Ava recognised him as the one who had been manning the desk when she had registered her claim. She smiled at him broadly to show she harboured no ill will.
He looked relieved.
Ava didn’t move.
“This is my team.” She returned her focus to Lord Iver. “I formally request that they be granted entry to the Trials with me.”
“Your team is recognised,” said Lord Iver, equally formally.
Ava silently released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding and turned to follow the clerk. The crowd fell apart before them and she carefully noted who was present.
It looked like most, if not all, of the Rangmeran magistrates were there. The heads of all the major guilds were present along with representatives from each of the noble houses. Lord Adelmar was prominent and he gave her a solemn nod as she passed.
As promised, the Arcadian and Northhelmian ambassadors had each brought along a small retinue. And Ava suspected that Max and Alyssa had been campaigning on her behalf since the Lanoverian ambassador was also in attendance. She bowed respectfully to Ava when the princess passed.
Once again, the clerk led them into the back section of the Hall. This time, however, they went through large double doors and e
merged into an open courtroom. Both side walls were lined with tiered seats and the middle area, which normally contained several desks and rows of chairs, was empty. Only the large throne-like judge’s seat remained at the head of the room with its solid desk in front of it. Ava strongly suspected both would be too heavy to move.
The clerk led them across this room, their steps echoing loudly and through another door at the back. This led them into a secondary foyer with a number of doors opening out of it. Gesturing towards one of them, he ushered them all into a small room. Several tables were pushed against a wall and one of them held a tray with various fruits and pastries and a large jug of water.
“This will be your rest chamber,” said the clerk. “For your use between trials. I’ll call you when they’re ready to begin.”
“Is my brother here yet?” asked Ava.
“He is,” said the clerk after a second’s consideration. He was obviously unsure how much information he was allowed to disclose so Ava refrained from asking any further questions.
When he had left, firmly shutting the door behind him, she took another deep breath and looked around at her companions.
No one said anything.
“Well, I guess this is it,” said Sarah finally, wearing a shadow of her usual cheerful smile. “I, for one, will be glad to have this entire saga behind us.”
“Yes, indeed,” agreed Aldric heartily. “I was pleased to see the Lanoverian ambassador looking so friendly.”
“You’re forgetting,” said Mathilde, “today you’re a doctor not a diplomat.”
“No, you’re the one forgetting,” said Aldric, with a fond smile, “I’m talented enough to be both at once.”
Sarah laughed at their comfortable banter and Ava found herself imagining what it would be like to wake up every morning next to Hans. To poke fun at him and laugh together at their insider jokes. It was an appealing picture but it seemed impossibly far from her reality.
She looked up to find Hans’ eyes on her. They were glowing with just a fraction of the fire of the night before but it was enough to bring an answering glow to her own face. She gave the slightest shake of her head at him and turned to join Evelyn at the food table. She wasn’t hungry but if she was going to keep her head straight, she needed to distance herself from Hans.
“This is good,” said Evelyn, her mouth half-full. She held part of a pastry in one hand. “You should have one.”
Ava shook her head mutely, pressing her hand to her roiling stomach. She had been able to get her breakfast down but she couldn’t imagine eating anything else now. She admired Evelyn’s unflappable calm.
Before she could get too worked up, the door opened. Spinning around she saw that the clerk had returned.
“Please follow me for the draw,” he said.
Filing after him, they all returned to the back foyer and from there he led them into the converted court room. The seats on either side of the room were now filled with the people from the front foyer and Lord Iver was sitting in the judge’s chair. Five large chairs had appeared from somewhere and Leuthar, Gumarich, Hartmann, Emmerich and Fastred were seated behind the table, two on one side of Iver, three on the other.
The section of seating closest to the judge’s chairs on both sides of the room had been roped off. The clerk gestured for the six of them to sit in the roped off area to the judge’s left. Sitting down, Ava looked across the room and straight into her brother’s eyes. She had been mostly successful in avoiding him in the past week so it was almost a shock to see him now.
The true shock, however, came when she saw who was sitting next to him. Princess Clarisse might be too sick to see her own miraculously returned sister-in-law but she was apparently well enough to attend the Monarchy Trials. They were the only two people sitting in Konrad’s section of seating and Ava wondered how complicit she was in his plotting.
Looking at her as carefully as the distance would allow, Ava concluded that she did, in fact, look unwell. Her beautiful features remained unchanged but her skin no longer glowed and she looked as sallow as someone with such golden colouring could look. She kept her eyes trained on her lap and never once looked up to make eye contact with Ava.
Lord Iver stood and the general murmuring of the audience quieted.
“The order of the trials will now be determined by draw,” he said in a loud, clear voice. Another clerk brought forward a tray containing five identical pieces of wood. They were small and polished to a high gloss. Each one contained a symbol representing one of the five trials. The blocks were placed in a large velvet bag and Lord Iver carefully shook the bag. He then reached in and drew out a block. There was a slight pause during which Ava attempted to read his expression.
“The first trial will be strength.” His tone remained neutral.
Glancing at her brother, Ava saw a satisfied smile creep onto his face. He was looking directly at her and she could read the murderous intent in his eyes. She swallowed and he looked even more satisfied.
He had no way of knowing that her nerves were not for herself and was probably congratulating himself on the opportunity to knock her out permanently during the first trial.
While this silent exchange was taking place, watched with eager interest by all the spectators within view, Lord Iver had been drawing out the second block.
“The second trial will be compassion.”
Ava refrained from glancing towards Aldric but she heard Mathilde move slightly in her seat.
The rest of the blocks were pulled out quickly and the remaining trials were announced as intelligence, resilience and strategic thinking. It was a beneficial order for Ava’s team since it meant none of them would have to compete in two trials in a row.
Once the order of all the trials had been determined, Lord Iver resumed his seat and Hartmann stood up to take his place.
“To demonstrate the virtue of strength, the two competitors will engage in armed combat. Each combatant will be permitted to use one weapon of their choice. The fight will continue until one combatant is disabled or concedes defeat. One minute’s break will be called at every ten-minute increment from the beginning of the match. Upon hearing the gavel sound, both combatants must disengage. Failure to do so will result in the violating competitor forfeiting the Monarchy Trials.”
Ava was sure Hartmann had included the rest break and the option of conceding defeat for her sake. She suspected many of the spectators were expecting her to concede well before the first break was awarded. She could see the smallest shade of disappointment in Konrad’s eyes and felt certain he had intended to kill her in the strength trial.
Konrad stood up and removed his cloak. Underneath he was wearing simple clothes, similar to the outfits of the Royal Guard.
“I choose a sword,” he said confidently.
Hans leaned over and whispered in her ear.
Standing, Ava announced that her choice was also sword.
“And for my champion,” she said, in a clear, ringing voice, “I name my personal guard, Hans.”
There was the briefest moment of shocked silence and then chaos broke lose as everyone began to talk at once, exclaiming and asking their neighbours if such a thing was legal.
Konrad stood frozen for a moment longer than the crowd before letting out a snarl and vaulting over the railing that separated him from the floor. He approached the judge’s desk with outrage visible in every line of his body. He must be very angry, indeed, thought Ava, to lose control like that.
“What is this nonsense, Iver?” he barked, loudly enough to be heard throughout the room.
Lord Iver replied in quiet tones that didn’t even carry to Ava, who was sitting closest to the judging magistrates. After a glance towards the foreign ambassadors and Ava’s own group, Konrad also lowered his voice. He was clearly still arguing, however.
Happening to glance up, Ava noticed that Clarisse was no longer staring into her lap. Instead she had fixed her gaze upon Ava and if Ava hadn’t known better she
would have said it was hope she could see in her sister-in-law’s eyes.
After several more minutes of quiet argument, Konrad stalked back to stand in front of his wife. He was no longer even attempting to conceal the murderous rage in his eyes.
Lord Iver stood up again and waved for quiet. When all the muttering and exclaiming had subsided, he addressed the crowd.
“The laws which govern the Monarchy Trials are ancient indeed. Although the provision is seldom used, the law does allow a royal competitor to choose a champion, or champions, from amongst their team. They may do so for a total of three of the five trials. If a competitor chooses this option, they are required, in addition to winning a total of three trials, to win a minimum of one of the trials in which they personally engage.”
He sat back down and the murmuring resumed although at a quieter volume than before. Ava could see many people in the crowd eyeing her companions, sizing them up and wondering who amongst them Ava intended to use as champions. She felt a glow of satisfaction. She could see a number of eyes resting upon her and knew that many in the crowd were reassessing their expected outcome.
Searching through the seats, she made eye contact with Lord Adelmar and received a subtle salute from him. His face said that he was impressed and Ava knew that this was the kind of subtle manoeuvring that Rangmerans loved. Far from losing points for weakness, she was gaining them for outsmarting her enemy.
And best of all, unless Clarisse had some sort of hidden skill, Konrad had no one in his own team to call upon even if he wanted to do so. He would have to compete against a fresh opponent in each trial and she could see that the knowledge had shaken him.
While all of this had been going on, Hans had calmly removed his own cloak and the various weapons he had on his person. When he had finished, he gripped his sword and leapt over the rail. Once on the main floor, he laid it down and began a series of simple warm ups.
Looking at him, Ava glowed with pride. He looked strong and capable and was possibly the calmest person in the room. She had already been surprised by how well known he was in the city but after this she knew he would be famous.
The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood (The Four Kingdoms Book 2) Page 23