Chapter 14 - Round One of the Jousting Tournament

Match Number One:Prince Martin Vs. Prince Pete
That morning I ws informed that Prince Pete and Prince Martin would be competing in the first match that day. I decided that I would visit Prince Pete before the first match. (That was a big mistake on my part. At least I think it was) I found him pasing around his camp. I came up behind him and he jumped when he turned around.
“Oh! You startled me,” he said, still a bit surprised.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to come and talk to you before the first match,” I said apologetically.
“It’s fine. Would you like a seat?”
“Thank you for asking, but I think I’ll stand. There was something I wanted to tell you.”
“Yes?”
I had a sad look on my face. “I’m very worried about you.” (I will explain in a moment)
“I’ll be fine, I promise.”
“I really like you, and I don’t want you to get killed.” I began to cry. (I know you may think me a crybaby but please, hold your judgment for my explanation)
He wiped my tears. “I’ll be fine.”
“Do you swear it?”
“Cross my heart and swear to die.”
I buried my face in his chest and sobbed. “You can’t let Prince Victor win.”
“I won’t let him win. Just look up and hope for the best.” He lifted up my chin and I looked into his eyes.
“Is there anyone around?”
“Uh, no, I don’t think so, why?”
“Well…it’s nothing, never mind. I should be going.” I backed away and my eyes filled up with tears.
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
I let a single tear escape my eye. “Is that all you had to say?”
“There is much more that I have to say, but I can’t say it now. Someone is spying on us.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I really must be going.”
“Alright.”
“Until we meet again.”
With that I walked away. I believe I promised an explanation so I will give it now. Before the jousting tournament began I talked to our resident magician, Candy. She told me that I would meet a prince whom I would become quite fond of. She also told me that the events of the jousting tournament would include his death. That was the reason for this great amount of worry that I felt for Prince Pete. I feared he would perish at the hands of Prince Victor.
When I was gone Prince Pete glared at a nearby bush.
“What do you want?” he asked the bush in an unfriendly tone.
Prince Victor came out from behind the bush, “I just wanted to warn you to stay away from the princess. Everyone knows I’m going to win and it would cause quite a problem for you if you got too attached to her.”
“You, win? That’s a laugh. You’re too full of yourself.”
“Are you challenging me? I don’t think that would be wise unless you can back up your words.”
“I’ll make my point at the match.”
“Alright, if you beat Prince Martin, I might give you a little credit, but in the second round you’ll have to face me, and you might not be so lucky.”
“Okay then.”
“So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and continue this conversation tomorrow, before the second round.”
He turned around and walked away before Prince Pete could say another word.
* * * *
Back at the castle Prince Martin was looking for Princess Hannah. (They had had plenty of time to get to know each other and there was something that he wanted to say to her) after a while he stopped looking and she showed up.
“Hello Prince Martin,” she said cheerfully.
“Hello Princess Hannah, I’ve been looking for you,” he said with a smile.
“Well, it looks like I found you.”
“Yeah, it looks like you did. Here, close your eyes and come with me. There is something I must tell you.”
He held out his hand and she took it and closed her eyes. He took her to one of the many gardens surrounding the castle and they sat down. Then he picked a rose from the rose bush and told her to open here eyes.
“For you, Princess Hannah,” he said holding out the rose.
“It’s beautiful, thank you,” she said taking the rose and blushing heavily.
He leaned in closer, put his lips to her ear, and whispered, “I love you.”
She blushed and looked into his eyes. “I love you too.”
“May I give you a kiss, Princess?”
“You don’t have to ask.”
He put one arm around her waist, his other hand on the side of her face, and kissed her softly on the lips. He held her in his arms for a moment, and then he realized something.
“I’m going to be late for my match,” he said, a bit worried.
“Well, you better hurry. Good luck,” she said hopefully.
“I don’t need luck to loose. I hope to loose. The only reason entering this tournament wasn’t a mistake was because I met you.”
He gave her one more kiss and ran to the jousting arena as fast as his legs could carry him. In the end his hopes were realized when Prince Pete won the first match, thus beginning probably the best day of Prince Martin’s life. (A few minutes later Princess Meghanchan announced that she received a letter from her parents that said the wedding was off)

Match Number Two: Prince Ed Vs. Prince Kyle
There was about an hour before the next match started so I went to talk to Prince Kyle. His camp was a bit hard to find so I searched for quite a while. Eventually he showed up out of nowhere. (So like him)
“What are you looking for?” he asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Oh, there you are,” I said as I turned around and put my arms around his neck.
“Were you looking for me, princess?” he lightly brushed his lips against mine.
“Of course I was. Who else would I be looking for?” I smiled and looked into his eyes.
“You might have been looking for someone else.” He laughed.
“I just wanted to wish you luck. I know you will win. I love you, Prince Kyle, I always have, and I can’t imagine the sorrow I would feel if you ended up loosing.”
“I can’t imagine what life would be like if I end up loosing.”
“Well, your match starts soon. I should probably go.”
“Hold on a minute. I just got you in my arms and I have to let you go already?”
I laughed and touched my nose to his. “There will be plenty of time for that tonight, after the ball.”
“Alright, hurry up and go before I change my mind.”
“I’ll see you tonight.”
I turned to leave, but I had not walked more than a few feet before he called me back.
“Princess Kel, wait,” he shouted when I kept on walking.
I suddenly ran back into his arms. “Yes?”
He kissed me ever so passionately, looked into my eyes, and grinned. “I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Well, I love you more than you love me more.”
“Really? Prove it.”
“How? How do I prove it?!”
“Tell the world…win. If you win that’s all the proof I’ll ever need.”
“I swear I will.”
“I’m going now.”
“Farewell.”
After he said that I left and returned to the jousting arena. With my departure came Prince Victor’s appearance. He walked up to Prince Kyle and stared at him.
“You must be Prince Kyle,” he said in his usual joking tone.
“Yes, I am Prince Kyle,” he replied confusedly.
“In that case, I want to warn you to stay away from my princess.”
“Your princess?”
“That’s right; you’re getting far too attached to her.”
“Am I? I hadn’t noticed.” (He was obviously being sarcastic)
“Well, not you know.”
“Why are you so rude?” I’m thinking that Prince Kyle was thinking something else that he wouldn’t dare say.
“I’m not; I’m simply stating the truth.”
“You’re really very rude.”
“You know what; I don’t want to talk to you.”
As usual, Prince Victor walked away without waiting for Prince Kyle to reply to his statement. Prince Kyle didn’t really need to say anything to Prince Victor. His jousting did the job for him. He defeated Prince Ed in the second match. Now, please don’t mistake my words when I say “defeated”. I mean he totally destroyed Prince Ed. He made a joke of him. His performance scared Prince Victor and caused him to take drastic measures.
I don’t have much to say about the third match. I wasn’t sure how skilled either prince was at jousting. They seemed to be evenly matched and it was very close. It appeared that the extra willpower that Prince Joe exhibited led him to victory. We may never know. (Oooooo!)
Match Number Four: Prince David Vs. Prince Victor
There wasn’t much time before the fourth match began. There was, however, plenty of time for Prince Victor to find Prince David. He suspected that Prince David was in love with Princess Sammy and thought him an easy target. I believe he was mistaken.
“So, you must be Prince David,” he said after he had found him.
“That is correct,” Prince David replied.
“Ah, then I believe this is the part where you agree to throw the match.”
He placed his hand behind his back and crossed his fingers. “Agreed.”
“Oh really? Show me your hands.”
“He uncrossed his fingers and held his hands out in front of him. “Is there a problem?”
“Are you going to lie and say that you didn’t have your fingers crossed?”
“What would I gain by doing that? I have not lied this entire time.”
“I’m tired of this. I have other things I could be doing right now.”
“It looks to be like you have nothing better to do than quarrel with me.”
“Well, no one cares what you think.”
Once again Prince Victor left yet another prince with a thought unsaid. The match began shortly after their quarrel. Much to my horror, Prince Victor defeated Prince David even though he was at his best. Prince Victor’s performance was similar to that of Prince Kyle’s. (Did he really love money that much?) After that match I deemed Prince Victor mentally unstable and a threat to Prince Kyle’s success. (You cannot, however, deny that Prince Kyle was quite a virtuoso when it came to jousting)
The Ball
After the fourth and final match of the day my father announced that there would be a ball to celebrate the tournament. This was yet another chance for me to get to know the princes. (As if I hadn’t been through enough already) I had a feeling that this night would reveal many things about the princes.
I danced with all of the princes. I am not, however, going to write an account on each interaction I had with the princes. Instead I am going to write an account of my interactions with Prince Kyle and Prince Pete only. Prince Kyle was the first prince I danced with.
“Hello, Prince Kyle,” I said cheerfully.
“Hello, Princess Kel,” he said taking my hand and kissing it softly, “My princess.”
“Are you going to dance?”
“With you, I am.”
“Then shall we dance?”
“Yes, we shall.” He took my hand and put his arm around my waist and I put my free hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll let a rope down for you tonight,” I said as we danced across the floor, “You do intend to come, don’t you?”
“Of course I do.”
“The important thing is that I get to spend more time with you.”
“Soon we will get to spend even more time together.”
At that moment, Prince Ed cut in and I had to say goodbye to Prince Kyle. I danced with Prince Ed for a while then moved on to another prince. I did this until there was only one prince left. That was Prince Pete. I found him walking and humming in tune with the music.
“Prince Pete, aren’t you going to dance?” I asked curiously.
He laughed, “I’m not much of a dancer.”
“You mean you wouldn’t even dance with me?”
“If you want me to, I will.”
“I won’t mind if you step on my foot.”
“Alright, I’ll dance with you.”
We assumed the dancing position.
“So, you’ve never danced with a princess before?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“I’m a bit surprised by that. You’re very good looking. What do the princesses in your kingdom think of you?”
“Well, they think I’m just another pretty face.”
“You are so much more than that…I have an idea, come with me.”
He followed me to a secret door in the ballroom and we went inside.
“This is my secret garden, no one can come in here,” I said happily.
“Woah, this is nice,” he said as he looked around.
I smiled. “I knew you would like it. Now you can tell me what you wanted to say.”
“Honestly, I’ve forgotten everything since that match. I got hit on the head.”
“Oh, but if it was something important, surely you would not have forgotten so easily.” I rubbed his head until my fingers came across a big goose egg atop his head and he winced.
“I wish I could remember, but I got hit really hard.”
“That looks like it hurts.”
“It does.”
“Hmm, is there anything you want to say to me right now?”
“I just remembered.”
“Alright, tell me.”
“I’ve been very happy ever since I met you.”
“That’s good to know. Was there anything else?” I began to feel worried.
“Yeah, there was. I’d rather be with you than with anyone else.”
He smiled and I frowned. I didn’t want this to happen. I was trying hard not to show it on my face but it wasn’t working. I knew that falling in love with Prince Pete would leave me heartbroken. I had to admit that I was a bit fond of him, but I would never choose him over Prince Kyle.
“Prince Pete, I’m worried,” I said quietly.
“Huh? Why?” he sounded confused.
I had to make up a lie. “Well, I thought that when you love someone…”
“What? You want me to kiss you?”
“Yes.” (That was more like a ‘we’ll go with that’)
“Some people need to know when it is a good time. One example might be myself.”
“When is it a good time for you?”
He grinned. “How about right now?”
I blushed. “If that’s what you want, now is fine with me.”
He leaned in close, kissed me, and wrapped his arms around me. I was a bit surprised but it didn’t show. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sounding a bit concerned.
(Time to lie again) “Nothing is wrong.”
He smiled. “I’m glad.”
“We should probably get back.”
“Yeah, okay.”
“You don’t want to go back?”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
I put my hand on the side of his face. “I can tell you don’t want to go. I don’t want to either.”
“Well, do we have to?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Then, let us go.”
* * * *
I was standing at my balcony when he came. I looked around, but I did not see him. Then he was calling out my name from beneath the balcony.
“Princess Kel, I am down here,” he called out ever so sweetly.
“I let the rope down for you, Prince Kyle,” I called back.
“Oh, right.” I saw him climbing the rope I had let down from the balcony.
I reached down toward him. “Hurry, I need you.”
“I’m coming.” he took my hand, leaped over the railing, and took me in his arms.
“I missed you.” I put my hands on his chest.
“I missed you too. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” he smiled.
“Oh, I found out something.”
“What is that?”
“Hmmmm…what if I told you that Candy said that if you don’t kiss me more, I’ll die?”
“Well, I’ll show you.” He kissed me.
“Oh no, I fear our time has ran short. I’m afraid you must go.”
“I wish I could stay with you just one more moment.”
“A guard comes and stands beneath my balcony at about this time every night. He stays until morning.”
“Then I will go. Farewell, my dear princess.”
“Farewell.”
He gave me one last kiss and leaped back over the railing. I watched him climb down the rope and run into the darkness. The guard arrived just as I pulled up the last bit of the rope. I worried that Prince Kyle hadn’t made it. It would probably bother me all night. I tried not to think of it so much as I slowly drifted off to sleep.

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