by Rachel Angel
I looked into the large room. Dozens of small tables had been set up, each flanked by two small wooden chairs.
Atop each table, a chessboard with its black and white army. Several games were already underway. Many of the men, these young princes so ready to go to battle, were frowning over their chess pieces, uncertain of the next move, unable to strategize further than that very move.
Axel, Avery and Ollie seemed to be doing all right. They seemed confident as they moved their pieces across the board. Reggie had already won a match and was preparing to greet another contender.
Prince Barnaby of Borax and Prince Gerr of Glencoe were quietly battling it out, while Prince Merck of Merryville sat waiting to be challenged. Prince Flamish of Battleguard was beet red as he fumbled his way around the chessboard and Prince Lach of Lockland stood as he greeted an older knight who had challenged him.
On the one hand, it was wonderful to see them all there. They were all so handsome, so muscular and strong. I knew what they were capable of out on the field. I’d seen them practicing and training. I’d been there when they had at times sparred against one another.
Many of them I’d know since childhood and had even been witness to a few boyish skirmishes; fistfights that ended with a bloody nose and a bit of crying.
“This is a high speed competition,” Honeywell said to me. “You must go through as many opponents as you can, as quickly as possible.”
He hadn’t mentioned that earlier. I looked out at the playing princes and other nobles.
“You’re one match behind,” Honeywell said with a grin. “You have plenty of time to catch up.”
Confident in every way, I slowly walked over to the table where Prince Merck sat. No matter how focused they were on their game, all eyes glanced my way as I passed by. Even Sir Norman, who typically showed little interest in the opposite sex, looked at me with an appraising and approving eye.
Though no one commented, I heard a few gasps and sighs as I continued on toward Merck. I had to smile when the young prince looked up at me and immediately let his jaw drop.
“Ah… Miss… Oh… My. Yes, Miss Violet,” he said nervously as he stood and bowed awkwardly. “Are you… I mean, do you challenge me?”
“I do, my young prince,” I said. “Do you have any objections?”
He turned so red, it was adorable. At only sixteen, he was by far the youngest competitor. So young, I questioned his illegibility at all. How could a sixteen year old possibly choose a king?
“No, Miss Violet,” he said as he took his seat. “No objection at all. Please. Do sit down.” His gaze repeatedly dove into the depths of my plunging neckline.
In backing up my chair to sit down, I deliberately leaned over, allowing him a deeper view. I didn’t think he could turn any redder, but he did.
Poor thing.
I sat down and heaved a long deep breath, almost pushing my breasts to pop out of my dress. “Now,” I said, looking at the chess pieces with a frown. “How does this game go again?”
When no answer came, I looked up at Merck. His eyes were glazed over and he had a wistful smile on his lips as he caressed my breasts with his gaze.
“Merck?” I said, snapping my fingers in front of him.
He shook himself out of whatever fantasy that had taken over his brain and looked at me. “I’m so sorry, Miss Violet, but my, how pretty you look today. This competition is so boring and tedious, so dreary, and here you come, lighting up the room like the sun. Brighter than the sun. You are a delight.”
“Thank you, Merck. You are very kind, but I think we had better start the match.”
“You have the white pieces,” Merck said softly. “You can start.”
I looked up at him from under my lashes as I reached for my king’s pawn and brought him forward. Raising his eyebrows, Merck advanced his rook’s pawn. Having liberated my bishop, I brought him forward. Merck came back with the advancement of his queen’s pawn.
I could sense his nerves, sense his uncertainty as we continued to move our pieces over the board. When I made a silly move, I giggled, knowing it would throw him off. Indeed, without even realizing it, he’d left his king entirely defenseless.
Looking at him, I almost felt sorry for him. He was making this too easy.
But this was a competition.
I brought my rook up beside his king. “Check,” I said.
With a victorious grin, he took the bait. He moved his king and took my rook. He didn’t even realize what he’d done. He was cornered.
I advanced my queen diagonally, face to face with his king, one space apart. He couldn’t back up; my remaining rook controlled the row. He couldn’t move to the left or right without being eaten by my distant bishop or nearby knight. And if he moved forward, my queen would devour him.
“Checkmate,” I said sweetly.
“Checkmate?” he said, stunned. “Are you certain? We’ve just begun.”
“These things can sometimes go fast.”
Pouting, he leaned on the table and looked dreamily at me. “Well, if I had to be conquered, I’m glad it was by you. Although I would have liked to play with you longer, I’m happy to have spent this time with you.”
“You’ve always been so sweet, Merck. Always a compliment and a friendly smile. You must be the most courteous and thoughtful boy I know.
“You really think so?” he said eagerly.
“I’m certain.”
“You know, the last time I saw you, you were sixteen and I was thirteen.”
“Yes,” I said, smiling. “I remember.”
“Gee,” he said shyly. “I’m really surprised. At sixteen you were already an elegant lady, so mature and worldly, and I was just a kid… a child.”
“Even back then, you had a very sweet disposition.”
His gaze dipped to my breasts then slowly made its way to my lips and finally my eyes. “You’ve always been so pretty. I still remember the first time I met you. I was dazzled. I was certain I would never see another woman as pretty as you.”
I stood, prepared to bid him goodbye. “I must hurry and contend with the next competitor.”
He reluctantly got to his feet and shook my hand. “It’s been a pleasure.” With a final glance at my breasts, he walked off.
I looked up to see Lach approaching the table. In his early twenties, he was a dark and brooding young man with jet black hair and a thick black mustache.
“Well, hello,” he said, giving me a very deliberate up and down glance. “What a lovely ray of sunshine in this otherwise drab competition.”
Smiling, I nodded and sat down.
“What a treat to sit with such a luscious treasure,” Lach said as he took a seat. “It is a delectable reminder of how much I long for you. You’ve been sidestepping my invitation to my palace for such a long time. When will you accept to dine with me? My palace awaits you.”
“Will Princess Sabrina await me as well?” I said with a sly grin as I pushed a pawn forward.
He seemed startled by my question. Nonetheless, he moved his bishop’s pawn forward.
“You are engaged to the beautiful young princess, are you not?” I moved my king’s knight.
“Well,” he said as he moved his rook’s pawn forward.
“Well,” I said, moving another pawn. “I cannot dine with a man who is promised to another.”
“You’re just looking for excuses,” he said as he made his move. “Say the word and I shall break my engagement to the young princess. Anything to be with you.” Licking his lips, he looked pointedly into my bosom. “Of course, that would mean letting go of this idea of becoming the Kingmaker. A prince of my standing could never marry a Kingmaker.”
“Marry?” I said with a chuckle as I took up his king’s rook.
He frowned, apparently surprised that I would take any of his pieces. Befuddled, he moved his queen to a nonsensical square.
Much to his chagrin, I scooped up his beloved queen with my knight. “Besides,” I s
aid. “Even if I do not become the next Kingmaker, I assure you, Prince Lach, that I would never contemplate being with you.”
He sheltered his king. “Why?” he said, his voice harsh and uncompromising. “Is it because of Axel? Rumor has it that he’s been courting you.”
I chased his king. “Check,” I said.
Frowning, he glared up at me, suddenly realizing that this wouldn’t be an easy win. He moved his king back.
“Actually,” I said sweetly. “It has nothing to do with Axel.”
“Then what is it?”
I moved my queen, cornering his king. “Checkmate.” I stood up. “You’re simply not my type, Prince Lach.” I glanced around and called out, “Next!”
Prince Barnaby came to stand beside the table as Prince Lach slowly stood up.
“I will become your type,” Lach whispered as he leaned forward.
Prince Barnaby nudged him away from the chair and sat down.
“I will be your type!” Lach cried out as he left, defeated in every way.
“What’s that all about?” Prince Barnaby said brusquely. He didn’t smile or offer any conventional greeting. He simply set his gaze on the chess board.
His dark brown hair was pulled back from his face in a severe fashion that made him look uptight and unfriendly.
I made my first move, advancing a pawn. “Are you upset with me, Barnaby?”
He shrugged and moved his pawn.
“I realize I didn’t properly greet you when you first arrived at the castle,” I said, advancing my queen’s bishop. “I do apologize. So many people arrived at Kingsbury at the same time. I didn’t have time to meet everyone.”
Again, he shrugged and moved his knight. “I understand. I mean, you were very busy with Axel and Avery… as usual.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I moved my queen.
His fingers on his king, he glared up at me. “Haven’t you thought of the ramifications should you become Kingmaker?” He released his king and moved his rook.
“What ramifications?” I took his rook.
“A Kingmaker must be completely impartial.”
“I am impartial.”
“No,” he said bluntly. “You’re biased.”
“Because I’m friendly with Axel and Avery? That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Barnaby, I would never use my power as Kingmaker to do a friend the favor of naming him king if it is not fully deserved.”
Pursing his lips, he took my knight.
As far back as I could remember, he’d always been a very surly child. Always sour and bitter, and only smiling on the rarest of occasions. In fact, the few times I had seen him smile was in the presence of someone’s pain. I suddenly remembered a maimed horse that had had to be put down, and how Barnaby had reveled in its misery.
We had never been friends but had often attended the same events over the years. He was always a cold person and had never treated me like a girl, but like any other prince. Come to think of it, he had always treated me like a lowly wench.
“Really?” he went on as he moved his chess piece. “You think that you can get all cozy with Axel and deny him the throne? You think you could cuddle all night with Avery and tell him that he would never be king… not so long as you were in control?” Grimacing, he moved his queen. “Check.”
Looking at the chessboard, I realized I’d allowed him to distract me with his accusations. I analyzed the chessboard and tried to find a way to save my king. “Clearly you don’t know me very well,” I said, blocking him with my bishop.
He hissed, causing me to look up at him. “How could a future Kingmaker play chess so badly? You have no forethought, no vision, no manner of seeing the next move come.”
Again, he put my king in peril.
“Check,” he said with satisfaction. “So, you see, Violet, the control needed to win at chess is the same control one needs when being asked to make a decision such as the choosing of a new king.”
I stared disbelievingly at the chessboard and felt a wave of panic sweep over me. He couldn’t win. I couldn’t let him win.
“I have what it takes to be both king and Kingmaker,” Barnaby said. He moved his queen. “And that is why I challenged you. At first, I realized I’d prefer to be Kingmaker than king, but then thought, hey, why not both?”
I slid my rook over his queen, cornering his king. “Because you seem incapable of doing two things at the same time.”
“What?”
“Checkmate.”
“What!?”
For a moment I thought he would upturn the table.
“It appears you can’t play chess as well as you thought. Nor can you strategize, and talk at the same time,” I said, standing to bid him farewell. “I win. You lose.”
Without even looking at me, he stood up, turned and stormed off. I watched him walk away, his fists clenched and his face an angry mask. He had never liked me, and I still couldn’t understand why. Was he threatened by me? Was he unable to accept that a girl, a woman, could be strong and smart? That a woman could beat him?
One by one, the losers of each match left the chess tables to stand along the walls of the room to watch the others play. Only a handful of winners remained, and we would now be pitted once against the other. Things had quieted down considerably, but the tension was high. Higher. Palpable.
I played and beat another nobleman who was a formidable opponent, but who lost his concentration when I began to play with the pendant between my breasts as he considered his next move.
Soon, he was out.
After another opponent, I found myself facing off with the last player of the tournament.
Avery.
“I bet you never thought we’d be playing chess today,” I said with a friendly smile.
“The day has, indeed, been filled with surprises.” He sat down across from me. “While I do believe that I would make a better Kingmaker than you, I do wish you the best of luck.”
“Ah, Avery,” I said. “This is chess. Luck has little to do with winning here. You’d better keep your head clear if you want to win this game.”
Smiling, he took a good long look at me. “You’ve pulled out all the stops, haven’t you?”
“I’ve enjoyed watching the gleam in my opponents’ eyes.”
“I’m certain that you have.”
“Ready to get started?” I said as I caught his fleeting glance into my décolletage.
He nodded, and the war began.
We were both cautious, thinking through every move. When he took my rook, I knew I’d made a mistake, but I made up for it by snatching his knight. With only a few pawns left and one rook and the queen to protect his king, Avery soon found his king retreating. There was no escaping it.
One move at a time, I backed his king into the corner until there was no place else to go.
“Checkmate,” I said gently.
“Indeed,” Avery said with a conceding grin. “I should have called it quits a few moves ago. It was inevitable.”
“I did question your tenacity,” I said with a teasing smile.
Avery stood up and held out his hand to me. “Well, I guess congratulations are in order. You won, although I’m not sure how fair it was,” he said, glancing at my breasts. “You know, you didn’t have to be so… well, so distracting.”
“Consider it my way of testing my opponents’ concentration,” I said with a smile.
“And clearly, they have all failed.”
“If concentration is the name of the game, indeed, they did fail. No man, when in a situation as important as this, should be distracted by the flesh of a woman. And, yet… every man here, every man who claims to have what it takes to be Kingmaker, was thoroughly distracted.”
“Including myself, I guess.”
“You know, I’m quite pleased with the effect my attire has had on the young men here today. Perhaps I will take to dressing move provocatively more often.”
“You’re going to give me a lot of work,” Avery said.
“How is that?”
“Fending off all the men who will be desperately undressing you with their eyes. I will have to protect you against the men who would eagerly bring you to their bed. Worse still, those who may force you to their bed.”
“That, I assure you, will never happen. I only lay with a man of my choosing.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
I laughed and giggled, amused by his overall reaction to my winning, and his desire to protect me. I’d feared he’d resent me, but he was cheerful and upbeat.
After a moment, my smile faded, and I looked more solemnly at him. “Avery,” I said. “Why are you competing in the Choosing?”
“No need to get into that now,” he said cheerfully. “Let’s go celebrate your victory.”
“But, Avery…”
“I promise,” he said. “I’ll tell you all about that later.
I looked at him, wanting to know more.
“Look,” he said. “Let’s just say that, if you are to be surrounded by men who want to have you in their bed, I don’t want to be left out.”
Chapter 14
Violet
To say that Honeywell was reluctant to announce me the winner of the chess tournament is an understatement. If anything, as I watched him at the head of the room with a few other nobles, he seemed to challenge my victory.
Finally, after much head to head discussion, he came to speak to all the contestants who had been standing by to learn of the results.
“Our first challenge is complete,” Honeywell said. “You all showed great strategy…”
Not really, I thought.
“And sharp focus throughout this tournament. Many of you showed great promise, and some of you were actually quite brilliant.” He looked out at us. “We are going to ask the top six competitors to join us for the next challenge.”
Looking straight into Honeywell’s eyes, I dared him.
“Our next competition will be in the gardens of Kingsbury Castle,” he went on.
Was he really going to ignore the fact that I had won this first competition? That I had beat everyone?
