The Princess and Her Rogue

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  The two ladies arrived to the camp as the servants were setting up a lovely picnic setting with a short stable and many blankets. Seeing as it was a sunny, cheerful day outside, this did seem like an appealing idea. Lady Elsie escorted Kiara through the camp and dropped her off close to the tent before excusing herself to go attend to the luncheon arrangements.

  Kiara, though melancholy and contemplative, sighed and entered the tent to rest for a while. She had much to think about.

  Towards the armory tent, whose sides were rolled up to take advantage of the cool breeze blowing through the camp, Nate was distractedly grooming Sir Ethan’s new steed, a beautiful buckskin stallion, freshly broken just for the occasion. Nate thought of how nice it would be to buy a horse for Kiara, but quickly shook the idea out of his head, disregarding it as a mere fantasy.

  “So, she just ran off after that?” Sir Ethan asked for clarification. Nate had just told the whole story of how Kiara had rejected his company outside the arena.

  “Yep. She said she would rather have taken that route and then just bolted off,” he replied with certain resentment.

  “Perhaps you frightened her?”

  “No, I doubt it… I believe she doesn’t want to be around me, but I don’t know why…”

  “Oh, come now,” Sir Ethan looked to Nate in disbelief, “women are not that cold. There must be something the matter with her. Perhaps, she was just feeling ill? Sickness tends to make people act strangely.”

  Nate shook his head. “No, she can’t be ill. If she is ill, then there is no explanation for it… I think asking forgiveness at this point is hopeless.”

  Sir Ethan chuckled as he packed up his armor onto a cart. “Nothing is hopeless.”

  “She doesn’t want to be anywhere near me!” Nate exclaimed. “How can I ever ask forgiveness from her if she won’t even speak to me?”

  Sir Ethan paused in thought, then looked up with an idea. “Maybe you could write her a note?”

  “I can’t write.”

  “Oh… Perhaps I could write it for you?”

  Nate sighed and looked back to the horse as if he were speaking to it. “What would I say to her? How would I begin?”

  “Well, first off, you tell her that you’re sorry and you wish to make amends for offending her last night. It doesn’t have to be long or poetical.”

  “But, she likes poetry… Do you know any?” Nate asked, turning to the knight.

  Sir Ethan gave a hearty laugh and shook his head. “I don’t know if any man knows poetry as well as a woman would. Women are very sentimental and emotional. They like the poetic stuff. It makes them swoon and dream of romance.” The knight chuckled to himself and walked off to continue packing.

  Nate blinked thoughtfully, “Hmm… Maybe Lady Elsie could help me write it? Does she know poetry?” he asked, gently brushing the horse’s pelt.

  “Oh, yes, she loves poetry. But, I’m not sure if asking someone to write a romantic love letter for you is the wisest choice,” Sir Ethan replied, carrying a box of practice knives to the cart.

  “Why not?”

  “Consider this,” Sir Ethan stopped and leaned against the cart. “If you had Elsie write the world’s most romantic, poetical apology letter and Kiara read it, she may forgive you, but she would expect more poetry out of you if she was under the impression that it was thought up by you personally.”

  Nate paused and nodded in agreement. “You’re right… Well, what should I do then? We have to leave either tonight or tomorrow morning, so this has to be resolved within the next few hours.”

  “Well,” Sir Ethan strode towards Nate and the horse. “there are two ideas we have not considered, which you may not like.”

  “Go ahead and tell me,” Nate said bravely.

  “The first is to just bide our time and wait for her to confront you about the issue. This saves you a lot of hassle and thought. Women in love can never stay away for too long… The second is that I can have one of my more trusted servants to take your position as her escort and have him take her back to the king. This way, you never have to make up and you can go on being a coward forever, regretting what you could have done to make it all right.”

  “What?” Nate was startled by that last insult.

  Sir Ethan shrugged. “Not confronting her at all, in my opinion, is cowardice. You are not afraid of hurting her, but afraid that she will hurt you.”

  “I want to confront her, I just don’t know how. But, I don’t want to force anything on her if she is unwilling to even be with me.” Nate felt a knot of anger and frustration well up inside him over this conflict.

  “Then, I suggest, you make amends with her after lunch. I will write you a letter, if you wish, but it must be in your words alone, with no help,” Sir Ethan challenged.

  Nate nodded. “Fine, I will. After lunch, you will help me write a letter.”

  The two men shook hands on the deal and went back to their task at hand.

  Lunch was announced soon after their conversation and everyone was present at the picnic table, including Kiara. Nate was directed to sit across from her. Sir Ethan sat next to Nate, while Lady Elsie sat across from him, next to Kiara. The two adults grinned to each other, but the two youngsters seemed awkward and uneasy. Kiara was less than graceful with her goblet, almost knocking it over several times. Nate only occasionally glanced up to Kiara, but otherwise kept his gaze fixed upon everything else but her.

  The knight and his lady carried on merry conversations while they ate, but Kiara and Nate did not speak a word to each other.

  As soon as Kiara finished her meal, she was the first to leave the table. Nate was soon to follow, but they did not cross paths afterwards.

  Lady Elsie gazed desperately across the table to her husband. “What are we going to do about those two?” she asked.

  Sir Ethan only shrugged and bit into his apple. “I haven’t the foggiest idea. Nate wants to apologize for upsetting her, but in his eyes, she wants nothing to do with him.”

  “That’s not true though. Kyra wants to apologize for her own rudeness, but is too nervous to even be in his presence… I fear that if we don’t do anything, they may never amend the issue.” Lady Elsie sighed and looked off towards their guest tent, where Kiara was now seeking shelter. “Has Nathan confided in you about his affections towards her?”

  Sir Ethan nodded. Such news brightened Lady Elsie’s mood. She leaned forward eagerly to listen.

  “Nathan has told me that he, indeed, does love her. The poor boy has been stricken with this infatuation for as long as he can remember. They knew each other as children and they just recently reunited out of necessity. She needed an escort home, and he wants to perhaps gain some reward or favor with her family. But, he is afraid to even make his affections known because she is a part of a much higher social class than either of us…” Sir Ethan pursed his lips together, “And I regret to inform you that he also hesitates due to the fact she is already engaged to someone else.”

  Lady Elsie gasped and sat back, startled. “Really? That poor girl, she must not love her fiancé at all, because she has confided in me that she, too, loves Nathan. No wonder the girl is scared out of her mind. She never told me she was engaged.”

  “Yes, she is engaged and, yes, to a man she does not love. It’s a tragic thing too, because she has told Nathan that she will not be happy if she marries the man. Apparently, the only reason she is agreeing to this marriage is because the match would please her father.”

  “Oh, the poor dear,” Lady Elsie mourned, holding her hand to her chest as if her own heart were breaking. “How on earth will this work out? I would hate to see them go off on bad terms like this.”

  “Well,” began Sir Ethan, “I have offered the idea that if Nathan goes to her father and presents himself as a noble man, which I believe he is, and says that he is training to be a knight, then the father might approve of a trade between Nathan and the other man. Of course, I would be his mentor. And, I happen to know t
he girl’s father, which would make me a perfect reference for Nathan. He seems confident in that area for the moment. However, they will never get that far if they don’t come together and apologize soon.”

  “I totally agree and that is a brilliant idea, my love. I have really taken to Kyra. She is a wonderful girl. And Nathan seems like an admirable man. Don’t you agree they would be a good match?”

  “Yes, I agree…” Sir Ethan glanced over his shoulder to see if anyone was eaves dropping. “Nathan has agreed for me to help him write an apology letter after lunch. Don’t tell her, though…”

  Lady Elsie nodded in understanding and grinned from ear to ear about their scheme. “So, what tournaments are taking place this afternoon?” she asked, wiping her mouth with her linen napkin.

  “There are two tournaments left. The first, which starts in a few hours, is a contest between squires. I’m debating whether or not to invite Nathan to compete. He needs to do something with himself besides just lie around and mope. At the same time is an archery tournament…” Sir Ethan’s eyes brightened with another clever idea, “Say, Nathan told me that Kyra wanted to compete in the archery tournament… Perhaps you can get her signed up for that while Nathan is fighting with the squires?”

  Lady Elsie’s smile couldn’t widen anymore than it already was. “That’s a wonderful idea! That will help them stay out of each other’s hair long enough for her to receive the letter and think about it. It may also put Nathan at ease in some way… Alright, I’ll go talk to her about that right now. I’m sure it’s not too late to register.”

  And with that, both adults fled to their corresponding youngster to set their plan into motion, both feeling strangely confident that all will work out fine.

  Chapter 19

  After lunch, Sir Ethan did assist Nate in writing an apology letter to Kiara. It read as follows:

  My dearest Kiara,

  I behaved very rudely last night and I am sorry for the way I acted towards you. I hope you may accept my sincerest apology for offending you and upsetting you further. Please know that it was unconsciously done. I just hate to see you upset and I want to make things better. Please forgive me?

  Your obedient servant, Nate.

  Sir Ethan folded and sealed the letter with a satisfied grin and handed it into Nate’s trembling hand.

  “When should I give it to her?” he asked the knight.

  “As soon as humanly possible,” Sir Ethan said, putting away his calligraphy supplies. “She may be competing in the archery tournament this afternoon, so giving it to her before then would be advisable. If she reads it before the tournament, it will give her time to think. Then, wait for her to approach you after the tournament. Don’t just rush in, thinking that she has accepted your apology immediately. Give her time and space.”

  With a sigh, Nate nodded and hurried off towards the guest tent, where he last saw Kiara flee to. When he arrived, however, Kiara was just leaving the tent with Lady Elsie, both of them wearing wide smiles and dashing out of the camp.

  Nate stood still, not noticed by either lady, holding the small piece of parchment paper. He watched them leave and a faint smile graced his lips. Kiara seemed happy and that’s all that really mattered. This also meant he didn’t have to give her the letter right away. So, he tucked the letter in his belt and walked back to Sir Ethan.

  Both Nate and Kiara were overjoyed to be invited to participate in the tournaments. Kiara was ecstatic, because that gave her time to be away from Nate and be distracted from her woes. Nate was glad to sign up for the squire competition under the belief that it would help him get to know what kind of level of skill is common for squires. Lady Elsie was there to cheer Kiara on, while Sir Ethan served as Nate’s sponsor - which was required to compete in his tournament. Kiara was loaned a sturdy bow by a kindly merchant, who thought it a good advertisement opportunity and Nate was allowed to use a spare suit of armor belonging to Sir Ethan, which fit him snuggly enough to not get in his way, nor inhibit some of his unique techniques.

  The two were disappointed to find out, however, that they were superiorly more skilled than their competitors. Nate grew bored after defeating four other squires within the first half an hour of the contest. The inexperienced pupils still had much to learn. Nate attributed their lack of ability to their young age. Some boys he fought against were half his age and did not belong in the same ring with him. In those instances, he went easy on them and tried not to hit too hard. This tournament was run in the same way as the others, where the victor had to earn three points in order to continue to the next round. Nate never had a point drawn against him.

  Kiara was more equally matched, but she was the only female in the line up of archers. This made her wary of any favoritism on the judges’ part, but she believed they began to take her seriously when she made it to the final round. To win the tournament, one would have to shoot their arrow closer to the target than their opponent. The contest was so easy for her that they had to set the target back an extra few yards. Regardless, she scored a bull’s-eye every time without fail.

  Nate was the victor of his tournament, earning four gold pieces. Kiara won her contest and earned ten gold pieces.

  When Nate’s tournament was over and he received his prize, he and Sir Ethan went back to the camp.

  “Did you give the letter to her?” Sir Ethan asked as he was untying the leather straps that held the suit of the armor together.

  Nate let his gaze fall and shook his head. “No, actually, I didn’t get a chance. I went to the tent right after we finished the letter, but she ran off to get ready for the tournament. I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Do you wish for one of my servants to deliver it, instead?” the knight asked.

  “That would make it much easier. I feel she’s still trying to avoid me. Do you remember how at lunch she didn’t speak one word to me?” Nate asked in disbelief.

  “Yes, I remember… Give me the letter, I’ll have it sent to her.”

  Nate nodded and when his chest armor was finally removed, he pulled out the now tattered and sweat-stained parchment paper and gave it to Sir Ethan. The knight, then turned around and gave it to a female servant with strict orders not to open the letter, but to immediately give it to Kiara as soon as possible. The servant curtsied and hurried off to look for the girl.

  Meanwhile, Kiara and Lady Elsie were walking about the market place, giggling and laughing, having a good time. Kiara hadn’t completely forgotten her anxieties concerning Nate, but they were not in the forefront of her thoughts anymore. She was more intent on finding out how to spend her ten gold pieces. She knew that if she gave the money to Nate, he would just put it into his coin pouch and keep it. Kiara didn’t work very hard to earn that money, but she felt she could afford herself a bit of luxury while she could.

  Kiara immediately went to Gwen’s clothing tent. The lady was still stationed in the same place and from what Kiara could tell, the dress that she admired was still available. But, upon hard thought, she stopped outside the tent and applied some wisdom she learned long ago.

  Lady Elsie, who was content upon entering the tent and buying the dress that Kiara had been rambling about, turned and looked back at her with a confused look.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “Well, I’m trying to use some common sense. If I buy this dress, I’d immediately want to wear it and if I did, then it would get very dirty by the time I get home and possibly ruined. We will be walking through the woods, after all. And if the dress costs as much as I have, then I will have nothing left over… I think I should just skip on this.”

  Lady Elsie smiled at the girl. “That all makes perfect sense. But, why not go and see how much it is? I’m curious myself.”

  The two ladies walked into Gwen’s tent and were greeted by the happy seamstress. “Why, hello! I didn’t think I would see you again so soon. What can I do for you?” she asked cheerfully.

  Kiara, with all politeness and deco
rum curtsied to the lady in greeting. “I was just wondering how much that dress was that I was admiring yesterday.”

  The three women walked over to the dress and examined it. “Well,” began Gwen thoughtfully, “I had originally priced it at three gold pieces, but I was told earlier this morning that someone was interested in buying it. I’m sorry.”

  Kiara nodded in understanding and gently ran her fingers across the silk fabric as if saying goodbye to it. Lady Elsie browsed around the finely crafted garments and marveled, just as Kiara had, at Gwen’s excellent skill in making even the simplest dresses look lovely. Even Lady Elsie was compelled to buy an evening dress from Gwen.

  While Lady Elsie was having her dress fitted and tailored to her exact size, Kiara excused herself to go browsing to another tent not too far away. If she could not have the dress, then she was determined to have the ring she had admired the day before.

  But, to her dismay, the ring was gone. When she asked the vender what had become of the ring, he informed her that it was purchased earlier that morning. Kiara walked out of the tent in utter discouragement. The only two items that she was interested in buying, and they both were gone.

  Kiara didn’t want to get lost in the market place, so she hurried back to Gwen’s tent. For the next half an hour, Kiara sat and watched as the seamstress and lady conversed about the dress, working together to make it fit the way she desired.

  “Did you find anything else interesting to buy, Kyra?” Lady Elsie asked from her place on the stool while Gwen sewed up the bottom hem of the dress.

  “I had a ring in mind, but it had already been bought. Seems like I’m having no luck today,” Kiara said very dismally.

  Lady Elsie peered at her curiously and pursed her lips together. “What would the ring have been for?” she asked suspiciously.

  “It was very pretty and it fit my finger perfectly, so I thought it would have been nice to have, but it’s ok. I’ll probably end up giving most of the money to charity,” Kiara answered with a shrug.