Ava felt a sinking sensation in her gut. She had always known her brother’s nature, of course. But in the two years since his marriage, she had never once put aside her resentment of his beautiful new wife to consider what effect his cruelty might have on Clarisse.
“He never abused me outright.” Clarisse shrugged. “He wouldn’t have risked the fall out with Lanover. But he had a thousand small ways to make my life miserable and remind me who held the power within our relationship. I responded by disappearing into myself. I’m not quite sure where I’ve been living for the last two years but it certainly hasn’t been Rangmere.”
Ava’s guilt grew. Clarisse could have been a friend and a companion but instead Ava had turned her back on her. She had left the other princess to deal with her new life and new family alone. And from what Ava knew of Lanover, Clarisse could hardly have been prepared for the royal family of Rangmere.
“And then came the night of your father’s assassination. Konrad never talked to me about it, he just assumed I had been cowed into complete submission. But killing his own father? That was beyond the pale. He must have been mad to suppose that I would accept it. He told me that his father was dead and that, as far as the court was concerned, we had also been attacked. It was quite obvious what had happened.
“Unfortunately, in my shock I was far from circumspect and he realised that I didn’t intend to go along with him. He immediately locked me in my room and stationed his own loyal guards outside the door. I have been stuck there ever since.”
Ava shook her head, thinking of the guards who had turned her away from Clarisse’s suite.
“Thankfully for me,” Clarisse continued, “he was so certain of his victory today that he decided I should accompany him in a show of support. He figured if I didn’t have the opportunity to speak to anyone, I couldn’t do any harm. But when I saw him put the poison on his blade, I knew it was my one chance to escape him for good. As soon as we had returned to the room and his back was turned, I made a run for it. And here I am.”
“We are very glad to have you,” said Ava, with feeling. “And I cannot apologise enough that you have suffered alone for so long. One day, when this is all over, I will tell you the story of what has happened to me in the last few months. I think it will explain a lot.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” said Clarisse, in what Ava thought was a surprisingly forgiving tone. “If we both survive today, that is.”
Chapter 31
While she had been speaking with Clarisse, the rest of her team had been deep in discussion at the other end of the room. When she glanced in their direction, they broke off their conversation and moved towards the two princesses.
“The next trial is resilience,” said Evelyn, with a quick glance at the sleeping Hans.
Ava gasped. In all the chaos, she had forgotten that Hans was meant to be competing in the next trial. For a second she saw all hope of victory fade and then Evelyn spoke again.
“There’s really only one option. I’ll compete in his place.”
It was the ideal solution. But then Ava’s gaze was once again drawn towards Hans and she remembered that was the old Ava.
“I can’t let you do that.” She shook her head. “We know it’s going to be some sort of physical competition. There’s every chance Konrad will try to poison you, too.”
“Forewarned is forearmed.” Evelyn shrugged. “I just have to make sure his blade never gets close enough to nick me.”
Ava didn’t want to question Evelyn’s skill by suggesting this was easier said than done but she was unconvinced by the other girl’s words or her blasé attitude. She had to be at least a little nervous.
“You didn’t even want to come to Rangmere, Evelyn,” she said, instead. “You came to protect Sarah, not support me. I can’t ask you to risk your life for me.”
“You’re not asking,” said Evelyn. “I’m offering. You’re right that I’ve resented you for what you did but we’ve been travelling and living together for weeks now and I can see that you really have changed. Besides,” she grinned at Ava, “if it makes you feel better, I’m not really doing this for you. Everyone in the Four Kingdoms will suffer if Konrad becomes king.”
Ava could hardly argue with that.
“Thank you,” she said. “I won’t forget what any of you have done today.”
“Make sure you don’t,” said Sarah with a wicked grin. “I have all sorts of requests I’m planning to make of my friend, the Queen. And they start with a gown as amazing as the one you gave Evelyn.”
Everyone laughed, more loudly than the joke warranted. It was just like Sarah to try to relieve the tension with good-natured humour, despite her inevitable concern for her cousin.
The chuckles were still dying away when the door opened and the clerk reappeared. He didn’t even have to say anything; they all knew the drill by this point.
Leaving Aldric and Clarisse, the remaining four filed out of the room.
When they entered the makeshift arena, Ava wondered if she’d stepped through the wrong door. The room looked completely different. The large open area in the centre was gone and had been replaced with a complex obstacle course. Ava recognised many of the objects from the guard’s training ground at the castle. There were hurdles and tunnels and climbing walls and other items Ava couldn’t even name.
As well as the objects, the floor was also littered with rather reluctant looking clerks who were dressed in long quilted jackets and padded helmets. Some of them wielded lances and others held balls the size of rock melons, similar to the ones used in quickball.
Evelyn paused for a fraction of a second before continuing on to their assigned seating. Once they were seated, Sarah leaned over to say something to her and the taller girl smiled with amusement.
Once again, Konrad had beaten them back into the room and the magistrates were quick to begin the trial. It was Leuthar who stood this time and announced the commencement of the resilience trial.
Ava stood and named Evelyn of the travelling merchants as her champion. Konrad looked contemptuous and she guessed that he didn’t think a girl presented much of a challenge. But Ava had seen Evelyn in action enough times to know that he was in for a surprise. She looked forward to seeing Konrad proved wrong.
“The two competitors will complete the obstacle course, beginning here and ending there,” said Leuthar, pointing at the beginning of the course which was directly in front of him and the end of the course which was several feet to his right. The course worked its way down one side of the room and then back up the other.
“The competitors will compete the course one at a time and the winner will be determined based on speed.”
Ava heard Sarah breathe a sigh of relief and turned in time to see her pleased smile. It was a strange test of resilience. Once again Lord Adelmar had proven his value. Just as he had predicted, Leuthar had skewed his trial towards the skills of a warrior. Ava was simply relieved there would be no direct contact between Konrad and Evelyn.
“Each obstacle must be cleared, no obstacle may be bypassed,” Leuthar continued. “To ensure that the second competitor receives no unfair advantage, they will have to wait in the back foyer while the first competitor completes the course. As the current front runner, Prince Konrad will perform first.”
Both Konrad and Evelyn stood and a different clerk appeared to lead Evelyn out to the back foyer. Konrad completed another warm up and took his place at the start of the course. He looked to Leuthar, waiting for the signal to begin.
Ava bit the inside of her cheek. Konrad had to be getting tired, mentally if not physically. Evelyn, on the other hand, was relatively fresh. Since many of the obstacles had come from the castle, though, Konrad presumably had more experience training on them.
“Go.” Leuthar clicked the button of a stop watch and Konrad took off.
He had taken three steps and was beginning to build some speed when the purpose of the clerks became clear. The one closest to the beginni
ng of the course was carrying a lance and he swung the long pole through the air at knee height, directly across Konrad’s path. Konrad’s gaze had been focused on the first obstacle and he wasn’t able to react in time. The lance hit him across the knees and knocked him off his feet.
Ava almost winced before she remembered who it was.
He was back on his feet within seconds and moving towards the first obstacle but he was going more warily now. He leaped over the hurdle without interference and then approached the climbing wall behind it. Grabbing the swinging rope, he began to haul himself up the wall, hand over hand.
He had nearly reached the top when a ball came sailing through the air and struck him hard on the shoulder. He cursed and looked towards the thrower and so missed a second ball coming from the opposite direction. The second one hit him in the head and he fell, hard, onto the floor.
Shaking himself off he had to begin again at the bottom of the wall and Ava could already see his tired muscles starting to shake. This time around he kept a wary eye out for balls but none came.
Twice seemed to be enough to put him on his guard and he was more prepared for the interference of the rest of the clerks as he completed the course. Twice more he was knocked down while scaling an obstacle but he successfully jumped the next lance.
When he reached a strange, circular platform, he leaped onto it and it immediately began to turn. As the spot he was standing on neared the opposite edge of the circle, he crouched, ready to leap onto an adjacent platform. His leap was poorly timed, however, and he wobbled, nearly falling off.
Ava gritted her teeth, willing him to fall but he managed to regain his balance and, when two determined looking clerks appeared out of nowhere and leaped onto his back, he was able to throw them off. Ava suddenly understood the quilted jackets and padded helmets.
He completed the rest of the course without incident but was sweating and shaking at the finish line. Leuthar announced that Konrad’s time was five minutes and seven seconds. He was directed to return to his seat while Evelyn was called into the room.
As she walked towards the starting line, Ava could see that the merchant was entirely focused on the course in front of her. Best of all, her gaze was darting back and forth between the various clerks, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Ava could only hope she was smart enough to see what was coming and prepare for it.
When Leuthar called ‘go’, Evelyn took off at a less headlong pace than Konrad had. Consequently, when the lance swung towards her, she was able to leap over it and continue without checking. Ava wanted to jump up and cheer but she restrained herself.
When Evelyn reached the wall, she gripped the rope with the same confidence that Konrad had shown and began to pull herself up. She appeared fully focused on the top of the wall and Ava found herself holding her breath and gripping her hands into such tight fists that her nails cut into her palms.
When the first ball came, it hit Evelyn in the shoulder as it had done for Konrad. Unlike Konrad, however, Evelyn looked, not at the thrower, but at the clerk lurking on her other side. When the second ball came, she was able to use the rope to swing herself wide. It missed her and in the next moment she was up and over the wall and jumping down the other side.
“Yes, yes, yes!” said Sarah under her breath and Ava would have smiled at the other girl if she could have torn her eyes away from Evelyn.
There was no question that without the two falls at the beginning of the course, Evelyn was making better time. She was clearly less tired and sore and she seemed to tackle the obstacles with as much ease as Konrad had done.
Until she came to the two round platforms. She actually checked in front of them, gazing at them quizzically and Ava suspected she had never seen one before.
Evelyn didn’t pause for long, though. She stepped up onto the first one and rocked violently when it began to move. She managed to recover her balance, however, and quickly transferred her focus to the second platform. She was obviously picking up the idea quickly.
When the first platform had nearly completed its half turn, she crouched and at the correct moment leapt onto the second one. The transition was even smoother than Konrad’s.
Before Ava could celebrate, however, the two clerks leaped onto Evelyn and she crumpled under their weight, hitting the platform hard and then rolling off. Both clerks also fell but they were quick to leap up and scurry away. One paused, clearly torn and wanting to help the prone girl, but after a moment he shook his head and departed. There was no doubt they had been forbidden to interfere in any way outside of their scripted roles.
Evelyn stirred and pulled herself back to her feet.
Ava and Sarah let out synchronised sighs of relief.
The fall meant Evelyn was forced to return to the start of both platforms and she must have still been dazed because she mis-timed the jump onto the first one and slipped off.
The third time, however, she made both jumps perfectly and was ready when the clerks attacked her. Dropping into a crouch and then springing up, she threw them both off without losing her balance.
Ava bit her lip and wished she had a watch with her. She had no idea how much time had elapsed but it felt like an age since Evelyn had started the course. Of course, Konrad had messed up several of the obstacles and Evelyn only one. Still, it was impossible to know if she was running ahead of his time.
Leuthar’s expression certainly gave nothing away and Ava was starting to wonder if one of the criteria for seniority among the magistrates was the ability to keep a straight face.
As Evelyn sprinted for the finish line, Sarah reached out and gripped Ava’s hand. She was holding on so tightly Ava thought she might lose circulation but she didn’t care. She was glad for the contact.
When Evelyn pulled up in front of Leuthar, she bent over and placed her hands on her knees, panting heavily. Leuthar paused for a long moment, staring at his watch and Ava suspected the staid man of relishing the drama.
“Five minutes and three seconds,” he said at last and Sarah jumped to her feet with a squeal of triumph.
Evelyn slowly straightened up, a restrained grin on her face. She strolled back over towards Ava, Sarah and Mathilde and the three girls rushed down to the floor to congratulate her.
“That was amazing!” Ava glanced over towards Konrad. “I think my brother is still reeling from losing to a girl.”
The two merchants shared a satisfied grin.
“I think it was because I’m a girl, actually,” Evelyn said.
Sarah laughed. “Who knew those horrible boys would come in useful, one day?”
“Boys?” asked Mathilde.
“When we were children travelling around with the caravan, Evelyn always wanted to be a guard. The boys wouldn’t let her train with them, though, so she used to set up training courses whenever she could and practice on her own. Some of the boys thought it was funny to hide along the course and throw things at her or jump out and attack her. They always claimed they were helping her to train but really they were trying to push her into giving up.”
“I won them over in the end.” Evelyn shrugged. “They all respect me now.”
“And not just them,” said Ava, nodding over Evelyn’s shoulder at the murmuring crowd. “I think all of Rangmere will respect you now.”
A flush crept up Evelyn’s cheeks and she smiled almost shyly.
“I’m just glad I won,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to make it at the end there.”
“Let’s go and tell the others the good news,” said Mathilde, leading the way out of the courtroom.
Chapter 32
When they entered the room, Ava’s first thought was for Hans but he was still sleeping.
“How did you go?” Clarisse was sitting at one of the tables drinking a glass of water.
“Evelyn won,” said Mathilde, looking around the room, “but where’s Aldric?”
“He’s gone to see the judges, you just missed him,” said Clarisse. “He wants to
formally register our complaint. About the poison. He thinks they’ll want outside medical confirmation before they’ll progress it but he figured it was best to at least register the complaint now.”
“It doesn’t really matter at this point,” said Ava.
“What do you mean?” asked Sarah. “If they disqualify Konrad from the strength trial, that means you’ve already won three. You’ll be queen!”
“Except you’re forgetting that I have to win one of my own trials,” said Ava glumly. “So either way, it still comes down to the strategic thinking trial. Whoever wins that will win the crown.”
“But what if Konrad wins and then is disqualified from the strength trial?” asked Mathilde. “Then neither of you will have qualified for victory.”
“That’s true.” Ava frowned, trying to remember the tales she had heard in her childhood of the last few Monarchy Trials. “It’s happened before, from memory, when there have been more than two competitors. In that case, they knock out the least successful competitor and run the whole thing over again in a week’s time with all new trials. I suppose that’s what they’d have to do if neither of us ended up winning.”
“All over again!” Mathilde sat down hard in a handy chair.
Sarah looked almost as appalled as Mathilde sounded but Evelyn just looked determined.
“It’s not going to happen,” she said. “Ava’s going to win the final trial and then she’s going to be crowned queen and then we’re going to get rid of Konrad for good.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” said Ava, strangely buoyed by the other girl’s certainty. “I’m certainly going to give it my all.”
The door opened again. Could it already be time for the next trial? But it was Aldric, not the clerk, who came into the room. He seemed moderately pleased and reported a receptive audience in Lord Iver.
The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood (The Four Kingdoms Book 2) Page 26
