Chapter Seventeen

Ariana stood in front of her mother and father in the throne room, Maddon beside her. Tiny dust particles floated in the light from the large windows. The King had asked to speak to them after the sudden departure of the Darrowmeres, and it was clear that he was in a bad mood.

“So it seems that you are both to be awarded prize money in the wake of the tournament,” said the King, looking down from his throne, which was several steps above them.

Neither of them said anything. It was clear that their father had something to say.

“Maddon, I must say I’m tempted not to give you anything at all. You acted selfishly in the arena, attacking your own blood without warning when you could have both fought together and even won,” said Berin, stern-faced.

“I’m sorry but it was a melee, and I won that fight on merit and training, not just because I struck first,” Maddon retorted angrily. “You cannot blame me for not beating Fendred just because Ariana didn’t fight well enough to defeat me.”

“It’s not about who won, it’s about how you literally attacked me when my back was turned,” spat Ariana. “You were the one who came to me to ask for a truce until the end of the melee. Do you honestly feel justified in what you did?”

Maddon reddened, and she could tell he knew he was in the wrong.

“I tried to win the melee by fighting the person I believed to be the bigger threat before I fought Fendred,” the prince replied evasively, looking to his father. “You wanted me to win, and I tried my hardest.”

Berin looked thoughtful.

“To come second is a remarkable achievement, especially when Ariana is well known to be the better fighter,” replied Berin.

A grin broke across her brother’s face, and he seemed to forget that she was there. It did not seem to matter to him that the King did not smile.

“I trained a lot with Falk,” he said. “As you know he is a very talented teacher, and I believe it paid off. I don’t think you should be angry with me just because I fought another competitor in an event devoted to fighting.”

“And was it Falk, who suggested turning on your sister?” asked the King.

Maddon shook his head, speaking hotly.

“Falk only trained me to the best of his ability,” he insisted. “When I asked him to help me with Ariana in particular he refused.”

Ariana flicker her eyes towards him at the mention of her name, but the prince was reluctant to meet her eye, perhaps ashamed. Coward.

“Falk shall be appropriately rewarded for his help,” said the King. “I can appreciate his good work without blaming him for your transgressions.”

Maddon looked down for a moment, then dared to raise his head again.

“You could put him in charge of the anti-miner force, or even make him the next Captain of the Guard,” said Maddon. “You know he can train men, he’s ex-Bloodsworn, and I know that without him I would have only embarrassed myself in the tournament.”

“You are not King yet Maddon, I shall decide who the next Captain of the Guard will be in due course.”

Maddon didn’t argue, and the room lapsed into silence. Nobody in the room had spoken directly to her since she had been called into the room, and it was making her stomach turn. How much did they know about what had happened and what would they do? While the King pressed his fingertips together in thought, their mother, a quiet and reserved woman, finally spoke up, turning to her husband.

“My dear, you know you can’t keep the prize money, he is not a child, and didn’t break the rules of the melee,” she said, before turning to Maddon. “However, it was poor form to do something like that for the sake of a tournament and I do expect you to apologise to your sister in private. For the moment, you can aid the Bloodsworn on tax collection duty out in the city. In the future you should remember that when in public you are representing the family, and the people need to see us as unified, even when you are competing against each other.”

Maddon looked down, not saying anything. Ariana thought he was lucky to get off so lightly. She understood why he had attacked. He always let the King get under his skin about performing as a prince was expected to. He cared too much what people thought of him, and it would get the better of him one day. He didn’t seem to realise that being seen as trustworthy and fair was far more worthwhile than the temporary glory of a tournament. But understanding was not forgiving, and she was far from that.

The King looked reluctant as he picked up the first of two chests next to the throne. Each was about the size of a log. Despite the fact that there were more competitors in the archery, making it harder to win, Maddon received the same amount of money as her for just second place, five-hundred gold pieces. It was only a minor grievance though, as she was obviously very fortunate to be getting anything at all.

“Five hundred crowns is a lot of money, so don’t make me regret trusting you with it,” said the King. “Now leave, Maddon, and count yourself lucky.”

Maddon hurried from the hall, too eager to leave to acknowledge her on his way out. Ariana swallowed. Her parents had yet to address her directly, and it made her fear all the stronger. Surely no outcome could be worse than what she had been agonising over in her head since the incident. The King turned his steely gaze on her.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

She was torn. How much had Fendred said before the Darrowmeres had left in their hurry?

“I’m sorry I attacked Maddon in the arena after he beat me,” said the princess. “It was not unsporting conduct and I-”

“That is not what we are here to talk about,” the King interrupted. “I was willing to let that go given the circumstances. I think we both know that the issue is Fendred Darrowmere ending up covered in blood and his father breaking off the marriage agreement.”

So their departure was permanent. She would not be forced to marry him. Ariana held back a smile. Her father did not seem to know how Fendred had become covered in blood. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Fendred had not wanted to spread word of what had happened to anyone but his father.

“I believe it was a nosebleed,” she said. “Did Fendred say otherwise?”

“Clearly you do not realise how fragile the peace is in this Kingdom,” said the King. “Breaking up this marriage alliance could rupture our entire agreement. Let us hope for your sake they accept your cousin as an alternative.”

“If that is all it would take then they are hardly the kind of allies we want,” she replied.

“I will not have war in my Kingdom!” shouted the King, his cheeks mottled with red. Ariana took a step back instinctively. “I have given you free reign for too long. Clearly it has made you headstrong and irrational. There shall be no more training with the bow or the sword. A few lessons on ladylike conduct would not go amiss either.”

Ariana looked beseechingly to her mother, but the woman only shook her head.

“My archery skills saved your life!” she exclaimed.

The King raised a hand dismissively.

“My guards were moving to intercept him, he would have been stopped without your help.”

She made a noise of disbelief. Her father was so wrong and deluded that it would be no use arguing.

“And my winnings?” she asked, desperate to claw back something.

“Those, you may take,” said the Queen, a hint of sympathy in her green eyes. “They were rightfully earned after all.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking at her mother. They had been hard-earned, though she had her suspicions about Florian’s last shot. The King did not look happy about this, but did not argue, handing her the chest. It was more money than she had held in her life.

“Is that all?” she asked her father coldly.

Berin opened his mouth to speak but Queen Helena interrupted him.

“Yes, that is all, you can go.”

Ariana nodded and left, the stomach-churning fear she had felt before replaced with a hot, bitter anger. Of course the King would seize on this as an excuse to keep her out of the training yard. She wasn’t so sure why she had been reluctant leave her home now. What was there for her here? A backstabbing brother, parents who would see her locked inside the castle. It might be a good thing to marry after all.

***

Ariana sat staring gloomily at the mirror in front of her while Katrina combed her hair. In her mirror were reflected the warm autumnal colours that decorated her room, absent of the Farhorn blue which she usually saw so much of around the castle. The windows were open, allowing a cool evening breeze to waft in.

“I wouldn’t worry, princess,” said her young handmaiden optimistically. “This will all be forgotten soon. Just be thankful that you don’t have to marry that horrible prince.”

She examined herself in the mirror, noting the fading bruises from fighting Maddon in the tournament.

“Horrible seems a harsh word,” replied Ariana. “I wouldn’t say he’s necessarily a bad person, but with a father like Uric, I imagine anyone would struggle. Perhaps I overreacted. He had been very kind before that.”

“You know you’re only saying that because you’re afraid you acted rashly, you wouldn’t have enjoyed living with him,” said Katrina, dragging the comb through some tough tangles. It felt nice. “Forget about all these men. It’s only causing you trouble. Most peasants your age aren’t married. There’s no rush.”

Almost as soon as she had finished speaking, there came a knock at the door. Looking annoyed, Katrina strolled over to the door, opening it to Quinlan.

“Good evening,” he said. “Mind if I have a word with the princess?”

“Actually, I was just-”

“It’s fine,” said Ariana, before Katrina could argue further. She could be a little overly defensive of her sometimes. Katrina straightened subject’s hair quickly, and walked haughtily from the room. Quinlan watched her go, a smirk on his lips.

“I sometimes get the impression she doesn’t like me,” he said.

“Shocking, there’s a girl who isn’t won over by your charm.”

Quin laughed, sitting down on the bed and swinging his feet.

“So what’s the damage?”

“No archery, no swordfighting, no anything. Father even threatened etiquette lessons.”

Quinlan smiled sympathetically.

“Perhaps in the future you can try not to punch a future King in the face? Just a thought.”

“Prince or not, he deserved a good punch,” she said. “At least I have my tournament winnings.”

“I have mine from the joust, too,” he replied. “Any plans for it?”

“There’s little I want to buy that would be any use to me now,” she said. “Although I think I owe Florian half my winnings from a bet.”

“Half?” repeated Quinlan, raising his eyebrows. “What kind of a bet was that?”

She felt a warm flush spread to her cheeks when she remembered the other part of the bet.

“It was before the tournament, while we were practising. We challenged each other to a few archery tricks, and he won.”

“Well that’s a blow, now that you’ve actually gone on to win something,” Quinlan paused. “Do you think he deliberately missed that last shot?”

Ariana shrugged.

“I’ve been wondering about that, but I don’t know if even Florian could make it miss by such a fine margin deliberately. And I don’t see why he would.”

Saying that though, Florian had won that bet with a near-perfect shot at one hundred yards. If he had done the same in the tournament he would have won.

“Men do crazy things for love,” Quin smirked.

“Piss off,” said Ariana. “He’s only just come back, and he’ll be leaving before long.”

“Will he though?” asked Quin. “Is the marriage agreement with Fendred off the table now?”

She nodded, glancing out of the window.

“Doesn’t look like I’m a suitable match,” she said. “Father said he would offer Seraphina instead. Seems an appropriate pairing.”

“They what?”

She looked back and saw that Quinlan’s face was suddenly drawn and he was on his feet.

“It’s not that surprising, really,” she said, confused by his reaction. “She is the only other female Farhorn.”

Quinlan swallowed, trying to pull off a forced smile. He sat back down.

“No, that makes sense. I just…thought the Darrowmeres were gone for good, that’s all.”

“I hadn’t realised you cared so much,” she said, examining him. “Clearly you have a lot of concern for our cousin.”

“Your cousin,” he corrected instantly. His eyes showed that he had given himself away. He was no liar.

“Really Quin? Seraphina?”

“She’s a good person,” he insisted. “You can’t blame her for being a bit conceited as a child.”

“She was more than just stuck-up,” replied Ariana, a bitter taste in her mouth. “Her and her pack of girls shunned me and laughed at me just for wanting to get the same training my brother had been promised. It was humiliating.”

“That was years ago,” he said softly. “Nobody remains the person they were as a child.”

His eyes implored her, and she could see that nothing could break his rock-hard belief. He had fallen into an irrationality that could not be overcome. Perhaps her own beliefs were equally irrational, but Quin had not had to live through those years of torment. Even as a princess, what could she do? Complain that her younger cousin wasn’t playing nice? Even now, years later, it still felt like a betrayal by Quinlan to side with her.

“It seems your mind is made up,” she said. “Is this feeling mutual?”

Quinlan’s face softened in a way she had never seen before. It was almost sickening.

“It is,” he smiled, before a shadow crossed his face. “But if her father tries to force her to marry Fendred…I don’t know what will happen.”

It was hard to resist the savage surge of pleasure at the plight of the other Farhorn. It was only Quin’s worry which made her feel guilty.

“How were you expecting this relationship to end anyway?” asked the princess. “Her father won’t let a Striph marry his daughter. I’m sorry but that’s just the truth.”

“Maybe when Maddon’s King he can legitimize me, make me a Greentree,” suggested Quinlan. “If only Phina can stay unmarried until then…”

“My father won’t be dying anytime soon,” she replied, thinking as she said it of the execution ritual and the man with an arrow in his throat. “How long do you expect to keep it a secret?”

“We have up till now,” said Quinlan, the ghost of a smile on his face. “Once she even hid in the cupboard when you came knocking on my door. After that we were more careful.”

Ariana shook her head in disbelief, wanting to laugh.

“Nobody’s noticed anything then?”

Quinlan grimaced.

“Maddon knows, but he’s not said anything to anyone about it.”

“Maddon?” she exclaimed. “Maddon knows, but you never told me?”

“He worked it out, I never meant anyone to know!”

“Evidently,” she said frostily. “So much for trusting your friends.”

“I’m sorry,” said Quinlan. “But I know you never liked her, I didn’t think it would help anyone if you did know.”

“Well surely I’m more likely to be able to help than Maddon. Do you really think that if Maddon were King he would risk aggravating the Striphnem Lords by making you a Greentree?”

“I don’t know,” said Quinlan, running a nervous hand through his hair. “In truth, I’ve been trying not to think about the future. I suppose news like this was inevitable at some point. I just didn’t think she’d be married off already.”

It felt wrong, seeing her friend who was usually so self-assured and confident turn into this anxious mess. She tried to comfort him.

“It was just a throwaway comment by my father, who knows what will happen? The Darrowmeres may refuse, an even more likely scenario if she’s not a virgin. Seraphina might convince her father not to offer it. Fendred could fall from his horse and die! Anything could happen.”

“I suppose,” sighed her cousin. “I’m sorry about this. You took me by surprise.”

“It’s no problem,” she replied, trying to hide her disapproval. “At least someone’s enjoying the freedom to do what they want.”

“Actually now that you mention it,” said Quinlan. “If you do want a way out of the castle, I might know one which your father wouldn’t notice…”