by Sidney Gray
They exchanged worried looks.
“Relax,” she said grinning, “I just wanted to spy on some of the competitors.”
“Ahh,” Hayden said nodding in understanding.
Lex still looked confused. “But that's cheating.”
“Well it's a good thing I'm not competing.” she replied rolling her eyes, “I just want to check in on a couple of potential guards.”
“Ohh,” Lex said, finally understanding. Lex was a man of action, he wasn't good at the planning and scheming side of things, he was too kind-hearted.
“Why?” Hayden asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.
“I just want to see them as themselves.” She replied evasively, she was hoping seeing them on their own in their rooms would give her some insight, some idea of who would be the best guards for her. She had always found it helpful in the past in determining what kind of person someone was.
He studied her for a minute. “Okay I'll help, Lex can wait here.”
‘Wait, why?” Lex asked.
“No offense, but you're not very good at being quiet,” Hayden commented dryly.
Lex glared at Hayden while Sofia chuckled.
“Just wait here, we won't be too long,” Sofia said.
Lex hesitated before he nodded. Sofia grabbed Hayden's hand and together they disappeared down the hallway.
“So why did you agree to help me,” she asked curiously as they walked.
“Well, honestly I feel bad for you,” Hayden replied. “I mean, It was different for Alex, he grew up with most of us. You should have been allowed to get to know these girls a lot sooner.”
She was surprised by his kindness, Hayden didn't speak a lot so it was hard to know what he was thinking and she was beginning to realize there was a lot about him that she didn't know. That and her conversation with Cole earlier made her wonder if maybe she didn't know the other guards as well as she had thought either.
She smiled. “Thank you, Hayden.”
They made their way to the competitor's rooms, ducking through secret passageways to avoid anyone out late. The servants were busy cleaning the palace so every now and then a handful of brooms would whiz past them and they had to press back against the wall to avoid the servants rushing after it. Luckily, Hayden's enhanced hearing helped a lot with that.
“So there is actually one competitor I really would like to choose, although I don't think anyone else will like that,” she trailed off, uncertain.
“Of course, trust you to pick someone who wasn’t on the list.” Hayden teased as he nudged her smiling, she reluctantly smiled back.
“How do you know she's not on the list? I didn't even tell you her name.” Sofia asked curiously.
“Because I know exactly who you're talking about and since she is not from the city or from a noble family I assumed she wouldn't be, am I wrong.”
“No,” she admitted. “Can I ask you your honest opinion of Alyssa?” she was curious to know what Hayden thought.
“She is an incredible fighter,” Hayden replied.
“Apart from that,” she said rolling her eyes.
“I don't know a lot, other than that,” he said shrugging, “I haven't heard anything bad about her if that helps, unlike Meghan,” he added sourly.
“Yes, she is definitely not in the running,” she said darkly. According to Chelsea, after Meghan lost her match she threw a fit and destroyed a section of the competitor's area under the arena, everyone had been talking about it at the party. Her mother had made it very clear to her she should not be choosing Meghan and so had the Queen, to her frustration, they clearly didn’t trust her to make her own decision. She had expected that from her mother, but she thought the Queen might have a little more faith in her.
They arrived at the competitor's rooms and snuck in, although Hayden couldn't make himself invisible, he could hear where the guards were so it was still fairly easy.
“Alright let's go to Claire first and make our way from there,” he said, she was glad to have Hayden with her, it would be nice to have someone else’s opinion.
Getting into the rooms would be the biggest hassle as no servants would be going in and out the door, like the Hallewells’, that they could sneak through.
“It’s a pity Blake isn't here, he would probably come in handy right about now,” she whispered. Hayden paused for a moment concentrating on something before he suddenly broke into a grin,
“Wait here, I’ll be back in a minute,” he said as he turned back the way they had come. Sofia raised her eyebrows but didn't say anything. A minute later Hayden came back with Blake in tow, looking quite rumpled and pleased with himself.
“Nice night?” Sofia asked smirking.
He grinned and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Oh Sofia, don't be jealous, you know you’ll always be my favorite,” he teased.
“Uh huh, who was the lucky girl tonight?”
“A gentleman never tells, now Hayden said you were in need of my particular skills,” he said with a wink.
She rolled her eyes with a groan.
Hayden laughed, “we just need your help getting onto some balconies.”
“Oh spying, does Alex know about this?”
“No,” they both replied at the same time.
“In that case, I would love to help,” he said grinning.
Sofia laughed as she grabbed his arm and pulled him along. With Blake’s help, they were able to climb from a nearby balcony onto Claire's, lucky for them the occupant was still out.
Claire was alone in her room; neither of her parents were there, which surprised Sofia. She had expected her father to be there, giving her last-minute advice or going over her mistakes. It made her wonder if they had had a falling out.
She had to hand it to Claire though, she was very dedicated, even now she had a sword in hand and was practicing against two duplicates. She appeared to be having a hard time as if she had been doing it for a while, there was sweat dripping down her face. It must be confusing controlling two duplicates while trying to fight them at the same time, she thought, and she wondered how Claire managed it, but then again she had been training her whole life.
She looked around Claire's room, her dress was thrown over the bed, but apart from a small bag, she didn't appear to have any other belongings with her. They stayed a while longer, but it was clear Claire wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.
“Well, we can always come back later,” Hayden said as they climbed back to the balcony Blake was waiting on.
“I don’t know if there’s much point, it doesn't look like she's going to do anything but practice,” Sofia replied with a sigh.
They moved onto the next room, which belonged to Kyla, her mother was with her, pacing around the room as well as a boy she assumed had to be her brother, running around making a mess although Kyla didn't seem to mind.
“You have done well so far Kyla, but you should be more careful, that girl almost knocked you out today, you let her get too close.” she scolded.
Kyla nodded wringing her hands together nervously, “I know mother, I'm sorry, I'll try harder I promise but at least I have made it this far.”
“Yes of course.” her mother replied absently, her attention had turned to Kyla's brother who had started climbing the walls.
“And it won't matter if I don't win as long as I’m chosen to be a guard,” Kyla added uncertainly.
“Kyla, the princess has hundreds of girls to choose from, if you win then she will have no choice but to choose you.” her mother snapped as if they had already had this conversation.
“Of course mother, you're right,” Kyla agreed quietly.
“Your father is looking after the shop on his own just so I could be here to support you,” her mother continued.
“I know mother, but you told the princess that we had already had job offers, so it doesn't matter if I win does it,” Kyla said although it sounded like a question.
“O
f course it matters Kyla,” her mother was growing increasingly agitated, “don't you want to win!”
“Well yes,” she said, although it didn't sound convincing, “but I'm up against two of the Prince’s Guards tomorrow who have spent their whole lives training,” Kyla continued quietly. It was strange seeing Kyla so unsure of herself when in the arena she was the exact opposite.
“Yes but neither is as powerful as you,” her mother stated, frowning and Sofia wondered if she really believed that, “right now you just need to focus, you should do some meditation while I put your brother to bed.”
“Maybe we should go,” Sofia whispered to Hayden, she felt like she was intruding but it had given her some insight into Kyla’s family. They obviously put a lot of pressure on her, they shared that in common and at least she knew Kyla could perform under pressure but she wasn’t sure if Kyla’s family would get in the way of her guard duties, she didn’t seem able to say no to her mother.
They went to Alyssa's room last only to find it empty, the balcony doors were thrown wide open but she was nowhere in sight, and there were no clothes or anything personal at all that she could see.
“I wonder what she's doing,” she said, disappointed.
“Maybe the same thing we are,” Hayden said with a mischievous grin.
“Really, you think so?” she asked smirking.
“Well she seems like the type, maybe that's why you like her so much.”
“You’re one to talk, why don't you tell me what you and Jack get up to when you disappear for days at a time!” she retorted. “Wait, why didn't you tell me her room was empty?”
He shrugged, “I thought there might still be something interesting in there.”
Blake raised his eyebrows in question when they came back after only a few minutes
and she just shook her head in frustration.
“Well if you don't need me any longer, I'll just be on my way,” he said grinning.
Sofia rolled her eyes again, but it made her smile.
“Thanks for your help anyway Blake.”
“Of course, I've got to keep my favorite girl happy.” He replied with a wink.
He strode off, whistling as he went, Hayden shook his head at her smiling. They left the competitors rooms and were just walking back down the corridor outside when they almost ran into Lex.
“Lex what are you doing here,” she hissed without thinking, wincing when Lex jumped in surprise, she had forgotten they were still invisible.
“I was just coming to look for you, you’ve been gone a long time, what were you doing?”
“We haven't been gone that long Lex, honestly,” she said shaking her head, he was so impatient.
They suddenly heard voices up ahead, and Sofia quickly grabbed Lex and Hayden, making them all invisible as she pulled them back against the wall before two people rounded the corner. Mal, she recognized straight away, but it wasn’t until they got closer that she realized the other was Alyssa.
“You shouldn't be wandering the halls alone at night. If you're not careful people will think you're spying.” Mal admonished, and she felt Hayden nudge her in the side.
“Competitors are restricted to this area.” Mal continued.
Alyssa rolled her eyes, “I was just looking for the kitchens,” she grumbled.
They reached the door leading to the competitor's rooms, and Alyssa went inside grumbling the whole time.
Mal turned around and looked right at the wall they were pressed against, “that goes for you three as well. You shouldn't be wandering the halls either.”
Sofia winced and let the invisibility drop around them.
“Yes, but we aren't competing! besides what we are doing is important.” She said defensively.
“Really? well, perhaps I should inform the prince.”
“Really Mal.” Sofia said annoyed, “I was just... gathering information about potential guards.”
“And what did you find?” Mal asked.
“Nothing, really,” she replied dejected, she still wasn’t sure who she was going to choose.
“Well… not nothing,” Hayden interjected.
“Really, what did you find out?” Lex asked curiously.
“We didn’t find out anything,” Sofia said glaring at Hayden.
Hayden just shrugged. “Well, what were you hoping to find?”
“I'm not sure.” she admitted, “A reason to choose them or not, I guess.”
“Well I’m afraid you are running out of time, this choice was never going to be easy, Sofia, trust your instincts,” Mal said leading them down the hall, she reluctantly followed.
“That’s easy for you to say, you have great instincts,” she muttered.
“So do you, you just don't listen to them.”
“Well I can't help it, I'm distracted by everyone else telling me what I should do,” she said furiously.
“This isn't their decision, Sofia.”
“Really? Because it doesn't seem like it!”
“Give us a minute,” Mal said to Lex and Hayden, they nodded and went on ahead.
“Sofia, you will be Queen someday, and that gives you a certain amount of power. You need to learn how to use that power and stand up for yourself, make people listen to you and what you want.” Mal was being surprisingly kind; it made her feel bad for taking her frustration out on him.
“But I don't know what I want,” she said sadly.
“I think you do.”
She lay awake that night thinking about Mal’s words. She realized he was partly right, she did know what she wanted, well at least one thing, Alyssa. She also knew it would be hard to convince everyone else of that which was why she was so hesitant. But Mal was right, she needed to stand up for herself, and she wanted guards who weren't afraid, to be honest with her and question her decisions. She realized that ruled Kyla out. If she couldn't stand up to her mother how could she stand up to a queen, she thought. And if Sofia was going to stand up for herself, the first thing she needed to do was face her own parents.
She also decided that she would choose Grace. Both Hayden and Bree liked her, and she trusted both of their opinions. Although she still wasn't entirely sure about Claire, she wanted to wait and see what happened the next day, she felt good about her other two choices, she just hoped the Queen would agree with her.
CHAPTER 17
The third morning of the tournament was dark and gloomy, perhaps she should have seen that as an omen of what was to come but she ignored it, too focused on her task. She strode into her parents sitting room full of determination, to her surprise her father was there as well, sitting in an armchair reading some papers. He was normally training at this hour of the morning and Sofia had actually been hoping to avoid him. She had planned to tell her mother first and then let her explain it to him, but it was too late to back out now. She took a deep breath steadying herself.
“I have decided to choose Alyssa Lindsay as one of my Guards.” She announced then held her breath as she waited for the backlash.
Her father just frowned at her disapprovingly.
Her mother, on the other hand, scoffed. “You have to be joking Sofia, she's an orphan from a town nobody has even heard of. She is a completely unacceptable guard, and I won’t hear any more about it.” she turned back to her needlework, dismissing her.
Sofia gritted her teeth in frustration. “Haven't you been paying attention at all to the tournament, Alyssa is incredibly talented, and I believe she will make an excellent guard. It’s my decision, and I am going to choose Alyssa.”
“Don’t be silly Sofia,” her mother replied with a laugh, “it’s the Queen's decision, and I have no doubt she will agree with me.”
“Queen Juliet chose someone outside the city as one of her guards, once I explain my reasons...”
“That was completely different, the girl came from a respectable family.”
“Why does that even matter? why are you always so concerned about lineage.” She replied exa
speratedly.
Her mother stood up from her chair and stalked towards her, she looked ready to deliver a lecture, but her father suddenly chose that moment to speak up.
“Sofia your mother is right, the girl may be talented, but we know nothing about her, the King will never allow it,” her father said dismissively.
“it's not up to the King, it’s my decision,” she insisted, although she was starting to doubt it.
“Not normally but if you insist on pursuing this, then I will have no choice but to bring it to his attention and the Prince’s.” He finally looked up from his papers and glared at her with narrowed eyes, she flinched but stood her ground, her mother shifted uncomfortably between them.
“No, this is my life, it’s my decision! besides I'm sure if I talk to Alex, he will support my decision.”
“Do you really believe that?” he asked coldly.
She hesitated, suddenly unsure of the answer, she had been sure Alex would support her but now trapped under her father’s gaze she was starting to have doubts.
Her father continued, “the Prince cares more about your safety than keeping you happy.”
The way he spoke made her wonder if he knew about her little excursion the other night. Her worry increased.
“But it's not up to either of them anyway,” she insisted, she had been so sure of her decision when she walked in, but now her confidence was fading. Would they really not let her make this decision?
“The King always has the final say.” her father replied simply before he strode out the door. Her heart sank, and she walked back out the door fuming, she ran back to her room and slammed the door in frustration. She could feel tears burning her eyes but she was still determined to talk to Alex about it, he would take her side, he had to.
It was a tradition that at the start of the third day the royal family would wish all the competitors good luck before their final matches. Sofia had been invited to join them and rode in the Queen’s carriage to the arena, it was actually a relief for her to have a break from her mother after their conversation that morning. Lucy had begged to be allowed to come along, their mother had surprisingly agreed, she suspected she had grown tired of Lucy’s constant chatter about Cole.
