Dueling Kingdoms - Part 3

Part 1, written by Rowan Finley:

Part 2, written by Sibley Shamra:

Part 3, by Rowan Finley, below:

It had only been three days since the attack and the negotiation that had taken Kris from the castle. Of course, Roy tried to be stoic, as any prince would strive to be. However, inside he was experiencing utter turmoil. He was used to Kris being around and the three days had felt more like three years.

To make matters even worse, his mother, the queen, had arranged for a feast. Lady Helena and her aristocrat father were invited to the feast in order for Roy and Lady Helena to become better acquainted. Queen Grundel, Prince Roy, Lady Helena and her parents sat at a large banquet table.

Roy sat with a dismal expression on his face, as if he was bored out of his mind. He held a turkey leg in his right hand and he was about to devour it, with little attention to having any manners. There was no need to leave a good impression, as he was secretly wishing that Helena and her parents would change their mind about the whole idea of the arranged marriage. He could care less about the arranged marriage that his mother was trying to contrive. The queen kept trying to make conversation between Roy and Helena but it just felt painfully awkward.

As they continued to eat the feast, the queen cleared her throat and glared at her son with quiet, motherly annoyance.

"Roy, since it appears you have had your fill, why don't you take Lady Helena out for a stroll through the courtyard while I visit with her dear parents?"

"Ahh, yes. But of course..."

His eyes narrowed at his mother and he looked over at Helena and offered his hand to her stiffly. They walked out to the courtyard. In silence, they walked. She broke the silence, trying to make some form of conversation that he would be interested in somehow.

“Did you expect your brother, Prince Coy, to take knight Kris?”

He tensed up at the sound of her name; he hadn’t expected Helena to ask such a question. After a pause, he answered without looking at her.

“No. It was very unexpected…”

“Rumor has it… that you and her are close friends.”

He started to shake his head.

“We’ve trained as knights for many years…”

Helena nodded.

“Kris sure does sound brave! I can surely tell.”

They continued to talk but Roy just felt as if he had so little to offer to the conversation. Helena was sweet… too sweet… too agreeable. She just didn’t feel right to be with. He was used to verbal sparring with Kris who always kept him on his toes in a way.

After Helena and her parents had retired to their guest chambers for the evening, the queen got her son’s attention. She appeared to be flustered.

“Son, what on earth has gotten into your head? You’re clearly uninterested in the beautiful, and most elegant, Lady Helena. Don’t you understand what a strategic opportunity this is?”

“Mother, I can’t marry Helena! I would just end up as you are… and look where that’s got us… two feuding kingdoms, chaos and divided people all these years!”

He gritted his teeth in anger and before she could respond, he stormed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That exact moment, in the presence of King Murphin, Kris was standing in front of several knights ready to train them. She had been assigned the task of training some of the newer knights. She was unafraid in the moment, even though she was surrounded by the enemy. How could she stomach the assignment of training the enemy? Deep down inside, she stuffed down the questions and moments of doubt. She knew the best way to defeat the enemy was to learn their tactics and weaknesses on their turf. Clearly, they had plenty of weaknesses if they had called on her to be the one to do the training. They didn’t have anyone else good enough for such a role? She held back her amusement. At some point, she expected the knights of the kingdom of Grundel to do something. Besides, she knew Coy was arrogant enough and that he would likely not keep his word with keeping peace. Surely, he had more schemes up his corrupt sleeves… All she could think about was Roy having victory over his pompous brother and father.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Queen Grundel summoned for Prince Roy, but he was gone without a trace. The queen pursed her lips. She knew exactly where he’d gone. Knight Nathaniel had also disappeared from the castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note:

Part four is written by Sibley Shamra. To read it, follow the link below: