Emerald and the Elf King

by Becky Biggs

  “Maybe they’ll just think you’re a prince from the islands,” Maple suggested as they looked doubtfully at Emerald’s disguise. “They do dress pretty strangely.”

  Emerald shrugged. “I’ll be so fast and good, no one will even notice until I take off my hat.”

  “That’s the spirit!” Maple cheered as Porter helped Emerald mount Allegra. She handed Emerald the princess’s bow and arrow. Emerald grinned, kicked her heels, and confidently rode out of the stables.

  “Be careful,” Porter called after her.

  When Emerald reached the archery field, the crowd grew hushed to see a new prince approaching the field on a stunning gray mare. The king and queen looked at each other in surprise. They weren’t expecting another prince. The queen narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the horse and rider. There was something familiar about them.

  The grandmaster, who was the head of the royal knights and in charge of the birthday competitions, looked sharply at the new arrival. He liked everything in order and hated when something disrupted his carefully organized plans.

  “And you are?” he sniffed, disgruntled at having to introduce someone unexpectedly. He added belatedly, “Sire?”

  “Em…uh, Emmet,” responded the disguised princess in as low a voice as she could muster. She wracked her brain to think of a kingdom that wasn’t yet represented. “Prince Emmet from the kingdom of West Arden.”

  The grandmaster looked disdainfully at Emerald but nodded at the herald to announce the new entry.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a latecomer to the competition—Prince Emmet of West Arden,” called the herald loudly.

  Emerald raised her hand and the crowd cheered. The grandmaster put his hands on her horse’s reins.

  “Shall I take your horse, sir?” he said through gritted teeth.

  Emerald shook her head and pulled the reins back, much to the surprise of the grandmaster, herald, and other princes.

  “A showoff, eh?” the grandmaster muttered. “Let’s hope you’re better at archery than you are at telling the time.”

  Emerald ignored him and kicked her horse into a gallop, firing at each target full-speed. The first arrow landed perfectly. The second arrow landed perfectly. The third arrow hit the bullseye with such force it drove through the target and stuck halfway through each side.

  Emerald reared her horse around and faced the shocked and silent crowd. A drip of sweat ran down from her hat and she quickly brushed it away. She nervously awaited a reaction from the audience. Everyone just seemed to be staring at her.

  After what seemed like an eternity, the lords and ladies filling the stands, including her own parents, stood and cheered wildly. Though it wasn’t forbidden to use a horse in this archery competition, none of the other princes had even thought to demonstrate such daring skill. Even the grandmaster was clapping, though the look on his face said he’d rather not be.

  The herald gestured for all of the princes to gather together, so Emerald slowly dismounted and joined the group. She was several inches shorter than even the shortest of princes.

  “I wonder who Emerald gave her kerchief to,” murmured the queen to the king as they watched the group line up. The herald would be announcing the winner momentarily, not that anyone doubted at this point which prince that would be.

  “Speaking of. Where is she?” King Argos looked around the stands for any sight of his daughter. “I hope she didn’t miss Prince Emmet’s performance. She might actually be impressed by him.”

  “Yes, or think him a horrible show off,” remarked the queen dryly. The king and queen exchanged a look that said they wouldn’t put such an assessment past their daughter.

  Back on the field, Emerald was being jostled roughly by a couple of the princes standing near her. One or two others made rude remarks about Prince Emmet showing off, but Emerald kept her eyes forward. They wouldn’t be so bold if they knew they’d just been beaten by the princess.

  After a brief consultation between the grandmaster and the herald, the herald stepped forward and called in a loud voice,

  “The winner of our archery competition is . . . Prince Emmet!”

  The audience once again went wild. Emerald took a deep bow, taking her cap off as she did so and letting her fiery red locks loose. As suddenly as the cheering had started, it ended in a deafening silence.

  The king and queen rose in the stands. Queen Willow was white in the face with shock and fury. King Argos clapped a hand over his mouth, unsure whether to laugh or be upset. The crowd stared back and forth between the royal couple and their daughter. Everyone was nearly on the edge of their seats wondering what would happen next. Finally, the king stepped forward and spoke in a loud voice.

  “What a fun little treat from our fair princess,” said King Argos heartily, hoping to diffuse any anger before it started.

  “Not only is she beautiful, she is a true shot. Perhaps she has even struck one of you fine gentlemen through the heart, eh?”

  “Oh Daddy,” Emerald muttered under her breath while doing her best not to roll her eyes.

  “After so much excitement, I think it’s time for a little refreshment,” the king continued. “The picnic tents are open and a delicious feast has been laid out. Please help yourselves. The queen, princess, and I will join you in a few moments.” He raised his hand in dismissal and the crowd began to drift toward the delicious smells coming from the big white tents on the lawn.

  The princes from the competition stared at Emerald and whispered amongst each other. A few strode off angrily, but the rest just looked a little shocked and confused.

  Not really caring about what the princes thought, Emerald turned to guide her horse back to the stables. Porter was already there, though, with Allegra’s reins in his hands. He shot Emerald a sharp look that said, “I told you so.” She sighed and turned to head toward her family’s private tent.

  Suddenly, Emerald felt a hand firmly grip her arm. She spun around to find herself face to face with a tall young man with sparkling blue eyes. It was the favorite prince from the competition.

  “Nice shooting out there,” he said humorously. “I hope your parents go easy on you. It isn’t every day you meet a princess who can show up a bunch of spoiled princes.”

  He bowed deeply to her and then walked away. It took Emerald a moment to realize she was holding her breath and that her heart was pounding. She shook her head to clear it. She must still be feeling the adrenaline from her ride and the anxiety of facing her parents. Still, that prince was kind of cute and his reaction wasn’t what she had expected.

  “Ugh, cute? What’s wrong with you?” Emerald muttered to herself as she continued toward her parents. She knew their reaction wasn’t going to be quite so positive.

  When she entered her family’s tent, her parents jumped to their feet from the wooden chairs on which they’d been sitting.

  “Emerald! What in the world—” the queen started, but Emerald interrupted.

  “I won the archery competition fair and square, so I . . . I feel I have won my own hand. I choose to marry myself!” Emerald stood defiantly with her hands on her hips.

  “Oh, Emerald,” Queen Willow said testily. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t marry yourself. Hopefully you haven’t offended all of your potential suitors.”

  “With luck, maybe one or two of them will stick around.” The king chuckled, winking at Emerald before catching a dirty look from his wife. Chastened, he swallowed and took on a serious expression.

  “Encouragement is the last thing she needs,” the queen grumbled. “Emerald, you need to apologize to each and every one of those princes.”

  “For what? For showing them what it really takes to be a winner?”

  “For making a mockery of what is a very serious occasion for our kingdom!” the queen snapped before taking a breath and sighing. “Don’t you see? We are doing all of this for you. We want to know that, after we are gone, you are taken care of—that our kingdom is in good hand
s.”

  “Why can’t I do that myself?” Emerald’s voice rose with each sentence. “I’ll be a great queen—the best one ever! I don’t need a husband to be a great ruler.”

  “I know you don’t,” the queen responded more gently. “But it’s never been done before. And besides, it’s more than just tradition. You need to have an heir of your own. Someone to pass the kingdom down to after you are gone.”

  The king watched the conversation between his wife and daughter with silent amusement. If there were any two who were more alike in the room, it was the two of them, even if they refused to see it.

  “Fine,” Emerald finally conceded. It looked like she’d have to go back to being “public” Emerald. “I’ll apologize. And I’ll try harder to see if I like any of them. Not making any promises, but I’ll at least try to give them a chance.”

  “Thank you.” The queen smiled. “That is a very regal response.”

  “By the way,” the king said. “How did you learn to shoot like that?”

  “I . . . uh . . . I . . .”

  “Yes”—the queen spun around and fixed her with a steely look—“how did you?”

  “Well, you see . . . I just had to!” blurted out Emerald. She flushed uncomfortably and looked back and forth at her parents who were watching her intently and waiting for an answer.

  “I suppose if you won’t tell us who helped you, we’ll have to send away all of our castle staff,” Queen Willow threatened darkly. “We can’t have traitors in our midst.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Emerald shot back furiously, though inside she was starting to get scared. “Just because someone taught me some survival skills doesn’t make them a traitor.”

  “It does if it puts the future of our kingdom at risk,” the queen responded. “And teaching you skills that could make you unsuitable for marriage falls in that category.”

  Emerald and her mother stared hard at one another, each willing the other to break first. King Argos cleared his throat uncomfortably. Knowing how stubborn her mother was, Emerald started to feel her conscience prick. There was no way she could get everyone in the castle fired for her transgressions.

  She let out a long breath. “It was Porter,” she admitted, quickly continuing as she saw her mother’s face turn the dark shade of red it always did when she was furious. “You can’t be mad at him, though. I made him.”

  “What else has Porter been teaching you?” the queen asked quietly. Emerald gulped. The quieter her mother became, the more upset she was. She was like a teakettle boiling softly before it erupts with steam.

  “Just some horseback riding things . . . and maybe . . . how to use a sword,” Emerald said in a tiny voice.

  “Have you lost your mind?” the queen exploded. Emerald and the king looked at each other as Queen Willow quickly gathered herself and repeated more quietly. “Have you lost your mind? What prince will want you now?”

  “I don’t know and I don’t care!” Emerald retorted, starting to turn her own shade of angry red. “Any prince who wants to rule with me can rule by my side!”

  The queen suddenly sighed, collapsed in her chair, and put her head in her hands.

  “We’ll continue this conversation later,” she said wearily.

  “For now, it’s time you change back into your dress and meet us for dinner.”

  Emerald stared in surprise that her mother was not going to argue with her more. She wasn’t going to try her luck and stick around, though. She turned toward the front of the tent to leave when her mother added, “Oh, and Emerald, please just behave like a princess for the rest of the events. The eyes of many kingdoms are upon us.”

  “Yes, Mama,” Emerald said softly and slipped out of the tent before her mother could say more.

  The king stared after his departed daughter and back to his wife in surprise. “That’s all? You’re going to let her go with a request to behave?” His wife never gave up so easily.

  “No,” responded the queen. “I’m just buying time. If Emerald isn’t going to choose a prince, we are going to choose for her. And as for Porter, he is out of here at the first light of dawn tomorrow.”

  Chapter Nine

  A PROPOSAL

  Prince Eustace was a tall young man with brown hair and blue eyes. He was very handsome and was used to the ladies of the court fawning over him. Emerald was a bit wild for his taste, but when the king and queen approached him about getting betrothed to her, he readily agreed. An alliance between his kingdom of Arecia and that of Medina would be beneficial to both. Also, as he was the second in line to his throne, he really needed to marry into a kingdom that would put him first in line to being king.

  Emerald’s parents cunningly sat him next to her at dinner that night. Though she was determined to not show favor to one prince over another right now, Emerald couldn’t help but flush when Prince Eustace flashed her a brilliant smile and took his place next to her at the table. Much to her dismay, her tummy was full of butterflies to be sitting next to the same prince who had complimented her after the archery competition.

  “My lady,” he said, bowing, his soft lips brushing the back of her hand. “May I?” He gestured at the empty seat next to her.

  “Of course,” Emerald responded a bit shyly. Prince Eustace gracefully sat down and turned his sparkling blue eyes on the princess.

  “So tell me, how does one so fair learn to shoot so well?” he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

  “Oh, I don’t think beauty has anything to, um, do with it,” Emerald responded, flustered. She fidgeted unnecessarily with her napkin and utensils.

  Prince Eustace chuckled. “Perhaps not,” he said with a smile, “but it isn’t every day you meet a princess of such beauty and . . . talent.”

  “Oh, er, right.” Emerald could feel her ears burning as red as her hair. “A friend trained me,” she admitted, cautiously.

  “Indeed. Well, your friend is a good teacher,” Prince Eustace said sincerely, raising a glass to toast Emerald’s teacher. She shyly raised her own in return. “Perhaps I’ll have to train with him—or her—myself.”

  One of the serving girls came to the table then and offered Emerald and Prince Eustace cuts of juicy turkey. The girl batted her eyelashes and smiled coyly as she served the prince. He simply flashed her a charming and kind smile.

  “You’re quite popular with women,” Emerald remarked. She felt a bit of jealousy creeping up within her, catching her quite off guard. Why did she care if this prince had one or a dozen other ladies fawning over him? You’re being ridiculous, she told herself. Now is not the time to start liking one of these silly princes. Still, she could feel her cheeks going pink as if Prince Eustace could read her mind.

  “I think that’s part of the territory of being a prince.” Prince Eustace sighed. “Let’s not talk about that, though. Let’s talk about you.”

  The rest of the meal flew by for Emerald. Prince Eustace was charming and kind with all the guests and servants, but he paid particular attention to Emerald. He asked her dozens of questions about herself and it wasn’t until the end of the meal that she realized she didn’t know much about him. She decided to invite him for a walk through the gardens to see if he would be more self-revealing in private.

  “How do you feel about female warriors?” Emerald asked him as they wandered through the royal rose garden. The sun was beginning to set, sending streaks of red and gold across the sky, and the perfume of the colorful flowers was heavy in the air. It was actually pretty romantic, Emerald thought, despite herself. The perfect setting for a fairytale proposal. She groaned internally. Why was she turning to mush again?

  “Female warriors? Such as a woman knight?” Prince Eustace stopped dead and stared at Emerald, his perfectly groomed eyebrows nearly touching his equally coifed hair. It was clearly a topic he’d never considered before. Emerald nodded.

  “Yes, my great-grandmother was a warrior,” Emerald explained. “She saved her—my—kingdom—Medina—from a dragon.”r />
  Prince Eustace nodded slowly. “Did she have a husband?”

  “Eventually,” Emerald responded and then added proudly,

  “But even after she got married, she still went to battle for her kingdom from time to time.”

  “I see,” Prince Eustace said thoughtfully. “Well, I suppose a woman can be a warrior if the need arises.”

  “Yes!” Emerald fairly bounced with enthusiasm. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell my parents. My friend’s—Maple’s—kingdom is under attack by an evil king. My father doesn’t want to get involved yet, but I told them I would go fight for the people of Eseland.”

  “You are obviously very passionate about this mission,” Prince Eustace said. “I would like to offer my services to go and fight for your friend and her people.” He bowed gallantly.

  “Your services?”

  “Yes, I will be your champion.” Prince Eustace puffed his chest up a bit. “After all, when we are married—”

  “I’m sorry—married?” Emerald choked, stopping suddenly. Prince Eustace halted as well. Next to her, a fountain gurgled happily, sending a stream of water from the pitcher of a cherub into the basin below. She could feel her heart dropping just like the water falling from the pitcher.

  “Yes, I know it’s a bit soon, but your parents assured me—”

  “My parents assured you what? That I would marry you? No one asked me what I wanted,” Emerald said, her voice rising steadily. Slowly the realization of what her parents had done crept over her.

  The prince looked abashed. “Oh, I’m sorry. Where are my manners?”

  He dropped to one knee and grabbed her hand.

  “Emerald Aurora Rose, princess of Medina—”

  Emerald yanked her hand from his.

  “No, no, no!” she cried, cutting him off. “This is not happening. YOU are not happening.”

  “But we-I-I thought you knew . . .” stuttered Prince Eustace, looking shocked at her reaction. It was the first time she’d seen him less than confident the entire evening. She spun on her heeled foot and stormed away from the prince as quickly as she could.