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Florinda came and found me during lunch. I’d changed into my black fighting outfit, and had taken the time to quickly wash and rebraid my hair. I felt better as I ate and listened to the Valerians crow over how much money they’d made so far. “And we’ll double it by tonight!” Keeton said, grinning evilly.
“You’ll have a harder time of it,” Samson said. “After that match, all betting odds against Joan dropped.”
“Yes, but that was in hand-to-hand combat,” Quinn pointed out, counting his money. “They only dropped one point in firearms.” Suddenly he rose to his feet, as did Samson and everyone else.
I was startled, and saw Florinda approaching. I stood and she smiled at me. “My dear, I have just heard that you have defeated the previous champion of freestyle.”
“As a matter of fact, I have, Your Highness,” I said, and I couldn’t help my smug grin. “Much to the previous champion’s displeasure.”
She turned to the other Valerians. “And I have also heard that Valeria remains at the top of the board for group archery and individual archery.” Her gaze went to Pierson. “You’re still the current winner, Pierson, but Grati is in close second.”
“He’ll stay in second,” Pierson said, a hint of a smile touching his serious face. “I don’t intend to give a Pailioan my title.”
“How are the royal competitions going, Your Highness?” Martin asked.
A light laugh entered Florinda’s tone. “Alan and Mari are winning in archery, as expected. I have been doing some staff work.” Her eyes glinted with the light of a warrior. “And if I may say, doing fairly well. Martin, I didn’t get the chance to check on swordfighting. Your place?”
“Tied with Frondionian’s Champion. Our match is set for tomorrow at nine. I’m also looking forward to reclaiming my title.”
“I hope that you do.” Her gaze swept over all of us. “And now, to the bad news. I have had a complaint that our Champion is not legally allowed to participate in the contests. If that were proven, she would no longer be allowed to compete, and all competitors would be granted a change in score. Not a win, but the losses would be removed,” she said as a growl ran around the table.
“Geidy,” Larson said, eyes alight with anger. “Can’t handle losing.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s not Parkton; that’s not his style. It’s Davis and the Untilians.”
Florinda nodded. “Now, when I inquired as to why our Champion was not legally allowed into the competitions, it was pointed out to me that she was not officially our Champion.”
“All guards may enter the competitions, no matter what rank,” Martin said, tone snapping. “And she is a guard.”
“So I mentioned,” Florinda said calmly. “And it was then mentioned that Joan claims to be from Valeria, while she is really from the Flip Side. You must be a member of one of the thirteen countries in order to compete.”
“She’s Valerian,” Martin snapped out again. “She swore fealty to you.”
“I did?” I asked.
That was ignored. “And she wears the tattoo of Valeria, both she and her sister. She is a guard for Valeria. One who is a member of our guard must first be Valerian, and if she is a transplant, according to the rules, she must live among us for ten weeks after being accepted as a member of our country, which she did. She has been Valerian for over a year and has received a commendation from Valeria, which only a Valerian can receive!”
“Calm yourself, Martin,” Florinda said, unruffled. “Those were the very reasons I gave, as well as the reason that there was nothing in the rules prohibiting members of the Flip Side from joining our ranks. The officials ruled that Joan was able to compete and all wins and losses stood as they were.”
“Good,” Liam huffed out. “The nerve! Sore losers are what they are! Lousy Untilians. Whining, snitching, weak, little cowards!”
Florinda’s mouth twitched. “Please try to remember that we are at a peace conference,” she said gently. “And that all bets would have stood no matter what the ruling. Joan’s record is clear, and although she is not our official Champion, she has been proven to be Valerian.” She gestured with her hands. “As it is, I wish you all luck and will, privately, encourage you to make sure that it is known that our Champion defeated Untili’s within, what was it, a minute fifteen?”
“It was, Your Highness,” Neal said, calmer now. “And we will be sure to let that fact be known.”
She nodded. “Good luck, Valerians.”
“The nerve!” Liam huffed again as we took our seats. “Accusing us of cheating!”
“It worked out,” I reasoned. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” Martin snapped. “You could have been disqualified!”
I shrugged. “And I would have gotten over it. This is fun for me, Martin, whether or not I compete officially or unofficially. I’m sure I could find plenty of people to fight outside the competition. I’m not here to win any medals or set any records. Had I been disqualified, I would have had more time to watch you, and you would have just had to settle for the money you’ve earned already.” I sipped from my glass.
They accepted this, but grumbled.
“I do recall, however,” I said calmly, “that Davis Dravidian jousts. Isn’t that so, Liam?”
Heads swiveled to Liam, and Liam gave a slow, evil grin. “I do believe you’re right, Joan. And seeing as he’s a Champion, it would increase my prestige immensely if I managed to defeat him.”
“It would increase it much more if you managed to unhorse him,” Remy said darkly.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to unhorse him,” Liam said cheerfully, already brightening over this idea.
“Davis has never been unhorsed,” Samson pointed out.
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“Any chance you could take Celcin down while you’re at it?” I asked.
“Actually, Celcin isn’t competing.” Remy’s tone was sly. “Rumor is he’s about to lose his job. There have been complaints from enough of the guardsmen under him that they say he won’t be Captain by the end of the summer.”
“Yeah?” I felt pleased. “Any word on Green?”
“He isn’t here either. He’s making sure the peace is held until the royal family gets back. There’s been a strong wave of support for moving him up the ranks. The Cantralin guards say he actually listens to their complaints, and that several problems that were ignored in the past have been resolved since the royal family started listening to him. They think he’ll be made a royal advisor soon until they get a position lined up for him.” He winked. “And they even say the royal family was relieved that diplomat from the Flip Side handled the potentially embarrassing crisis with the train so competently. Publicly, they’re saying they’re honored that you would take the time to care for their subjects, and privately, they thank you for not exposing their country’s political and financial problems further.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know where the ambassadors drink.”
Simon strolled over and joined us by shoving Neal over. “Don’t hog all the space, giant. You’re all bones; you don’t need this much room.”
Neal didn’t take offense. “What are you doing here, old man?” he bantered back easily.
“Watching Joan take over,” Simon said dryly, his Lendian uniform still neatly pressed. “I was sure I wouldn’t be the only one making money off her today.”
There were chuckles all around the table.
I couldn’t help but smile. “My family would have fit here. They were champion drinkers, fighters, and gamblers. They’d bet on anything.”
“What did they fight with?” Quinn wanted to know.
“Fists and guns. Everyone in my family could fight with their fists, and my uncles liked their guns, and liked to use them. I hunted with them from the time I could learn to walk and keep quiet.”
“Then where did you get your knife skills?” Simon asked.
“My aunts.” I smiled as Quinn choked on his drink. “Knives were the ladies’ weapons. My grandmother was reputed to be able to skin a deer in a matter of minutes.”
Samson helpfully pounded on Quinn’s back until he could breathe again. “Your mother?” Quinn got out after a minute.
“Why, she arm wrestled, of course.” I couldn’t help but laugh at Quinn’s look. “I’m just kidding about that one. My mother was more lady-like. More like Cathy,” I decided. “She introduced me to archery because of our Native American roots.”
“I would have liked to meet your family,” Remy said wistfully.
“You only want to see if you could fight better than them,” I teased, taking another drink.
“Well, there’s that too,” he said, winking.
After lunch, we returned to the training center. Martin took me over to the firearms part of the room. “What type of shooting would you like to do?” he asked me.
My eyes lit. “There’s more than one?”
He chuckled. “There is. There are steady targets and mobile targets, for starters.”
“Can I do both?”
“You can.” He spoke to the man at the desk briefly while I watched some of the others warming up. “Joan, would you like to try steady sharp-shooting as well?”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t ever good enough at the distance they want. Just sign me up for steady shooting close range, and mobile targets.”
“Lady Ilion,” the man said, managing to hide most of his awe. “Your times will be listed along the side. Your first competition will be in fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you,” I said sweetly, amused as I watched him blush.
“Are you looking to add heartbreaker to your list of titles as well?” Martin murmured as we joined the group.
“No. I just couldn’t help myself.”
A page came forward, about age twelve, with sandy hair and a freckled face. “Lady Ilion?” he asked, blue-green eyes latching onto my knife for a moment before meeting my gaze. He was holding my gun and a box of bullets. “I have your weapon for you.”
“Thank you,” I said, accepting them from him. “You are?”
He started to stutter, flushed at everyone listening, then began again. “Terris Slide, milady. Page to the country of Geidy.”
“What exactly are your duties during the peace conference?”
“I’m to help with the firearms competition, milady. Deliver the weapons to their owners and store them when they’re done with them.”
I mused for a minute, considering it. “Is there a way that I can request you assigned to the care of my weapon personally and to assist me today?”
His eyes widened. “Would you?” he blurted out, then his freckled face flushed again. “I mean, yes, there is a way, milady. You would have to tell my superior that request, and he would have to agree to it.”
“Why don’t you go get him then, Terris?”
“What’s that all about?” Remy asked.
“I like him,” I said as he dashed off, an eager expression on his face. “I figure I can give him something to look back at and brag about.” There was also the tiny little fact that I’d seen him being picked on by a couple older boys. “He’s trustworthy enough, and I don’t suspect he will try to steal my gun or mess with it. It will be nice to have someone nearby when you all go do your thing.”
“One of us can stay with you,” Martin pointed out.
“I don’t want you to stay with me all the time. I want to be able to go watch you swordfight and joust and shoot arrows and so on. Terris will be a great help, I’m sure.”
Terris was returning, nearly dragging an older man about fifty years old. “Lady Ilion?” he asked me.
“That’s right.”
“I’m told you would like Terris as your personal page?”
“If it won’t inconvenience you, I would like Terris. I’m new here, and I don’t know all the rules yet. Terris looks like he would be trustworthy enough and old enough to be able to assist me in the firearms competition. And since the pages are in charge of the weapons, I would like Terris to be in charge of my weapons, if at all possible.”
“Are you certain you wouldn’t like an older, more experienced page?” the man asked, pointing out one of the boys I’d seen picking on Terris earlier. “I’m sure Mart would be more than happy to assist you.”
“I wouldn’t want to take a more experienced page from his duties,” I said smoothly, calling on my recent diplomatic training. “Mart and the older pages surely have more important duties than to waste time attending the whims of a single competitor. Terris will do just fine.”
He pursed his lips, but gave in. “Very well, Terris, you are assigned to Lady Ilion. Do your duties well.”
“Yes, sir!” Terris couldn’t contain his joy. “Thank you, milady,” he said, bowing low to me.
“I may be from the Flip Side, but I’m pretty sure that’s too deep a bow for me,” I said, but I was smiling. “All right, Terris, show me where to go and give me the layout of the rules.”
Terris tried to be formal as he explained the rules, which were fairly simple. Hit the target. Like in archery, the target would be moved back five yards after the first five shots, and then after each shot. Judges would look at each shot and judge the distance from the center of the target. There was, however, only one chance to reshoot. And as in archery, the only time they cared about was the time limit. It didn’t matter how fast I shot, only that I made them good.
I listened as I loaded my weapon, noting the line of rifles down the row. “Are there other close-range shots?”
“Yes, milady,” Terris said. “Close-range pistols.”
“Interesting,” I murmured. “This one is strictly rifles then?”
“Yes, milady.”
“Just call me Joan, Terris. Drop the formalities.”
“Okay,” he said cheerfully. “Here are the earplugs and the protective glasses. Everyone has to wear them.”
I inspected the glasses. They were clear, flawless. I trusted they wouldn’t mess up my aim and put them on. My vision seemed unchanged and I rested my gun on my shoulder with satisfaction. “Thanks, Terris.”
“Good luck,” he said, moving back as the referee called for all of us to get into position.
The first shot landed dead center and I smiled in satisfaction. The glasses didn’t affect my vision at all and I had no problems hitting the target. After four more shots, they started to move the targets back. My aim stayed steady, and only started to waver after the target was farther than fifty yards back. After one shot that edged off the middle, I pulled one earplug out and motioned to Terris. “How many days of this are there?”
“Two. Today, and the day after tomorrow.”
I nodded. “All right. Thanks.”
I took my time with the remaining few shots and landed the last one dead center. Satisfied, I pulled off the glasses and pulled out the earplugs. I turned to hand the gun to Terris and saw a guard wearing an Unti uniform waiting just outside my box. “Good shooting,” he said, smiling. “You’re a real Annie Oakley.”
I was surprised, and then I grinned. “I wasn’t aware that story was known here. Thanks. You are?”
“Marco. Champion of Unti.” He offered a hand. “We have a gate, and I’ve been through several times. I know some of your culture.”
I shook his hand. “You know, ever since I heard of Annie Oakley, people would always say that I couldn’t catch a man with a gun, but I don’t think that applies here.”
He laughed. “I don’t suppose it would. We appreciate a woman who knows her weapons.”
“Clearly they appreciate the men who do as well. You’re top of the board.”
“Tied with you.” He flashed a grin. “I wasn’t aware that people in the Flip Side were this talented in so many areas. Top of the board in freestyle and firearms, and I’ve heard rumors about you and knives.”
I shrugged. “I’m just having fun. Do you do anything other than firearms?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. Jousting. Do I need to worry about encountering you?”
I laughed. “No, I don’t joust. I would, however, watch out for Liam Vega.”
“Yes, I remember Liam.” He rubbed his back ruefully. “I remember learning to fly when he popped me out of my saddle a number of years ago. It was a very painful lesson.”
I nodded. “I’ll bet it was.” Now Terris came forward for my weapons. “Thanks, Terris,” I said, smiling at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
He nodded eagerly. “Thank you, milady.”
“My pleasure,” I said, then watched him race away.
“An eager young man,” Marco commented.
My eyes narrowed as Terris encountered Mart. “Yes, he is. Excuse me, Marco. I believe I need to handle something.”
*
MARTIN WAS COLLECTING bets over Joan’s impressive skill when he looked around for her. She was talking to Terris and the Champion of Unti, and she watched the boy run eagerly off with a smile on her face. Then, her eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked back at Terris. Terris had encountered trouble with two older pages. As he watched, Terris stubbornly stood his ground while one of the older boys invaded his space.
“Joe? What are they saying?”
Joe was paying attention as well. “The older pages want to know where Terris thinks he’s going. They want to know where he gets off taking their jobs and didn’t they warn him about getting too uppity?”
Martin looked back at Joan crossing to Terris. “Now I understand,” he said quietly. “It was more than she liked him. She knew he was being picked on.”
“It appears she did,” Joe observed as Joan rested her hand on Terris’s shoulder and the two older pages stepped back in shock and fear. “Should we intervene?”
“No,” Martin said, putting the money in his pocket. “She can handle it without us.”
*
I RESTED MY HAND ON Terris’s shoulder seconds after Mart had poked him hard enough in the chest for Terris to stumble back. “Terris, is there a problem?” I asked quietly. My eyes were hard and cold as I watched Mart and his companion.
“No, problem, my lady,” Mart said smoothly.
Mart’s companion was smarter. His eyes landed on my green knife and he gulped and squeaked out, “No, no problem at all, Lady Ilion.”
Mart’s face immediately paled. “Lady Ilion?” he stammered.
“Yes,” I said calmly. “And Terris is my page, by my request. That means he is in charge of my weapons and assisting me if and when I require it.” I made my gaze cold. “And it would appear that you are preventing him from doing his duty.”
They stepped back hastily, spilling apologies, but my words stopped them. “No, don’t leave just yet. Terris, go finish up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, milady,” Terris said, and I caught the touch of the smirk in his voice, and the touch of embarrassment as he hurried past the two of them.
“We’re going to get something straight,” I said in a calm voice, but I kept my gaze icy, watching them squirm. “I like Terris and I don’t like you two picking on him. Don’t deny it, this is the third time I’ve seen you do it. You’re going to leave him alone for the duration of this peace conference. I can’t stop you after that, but I can stop you until then.” I stepped forward and made my voice whisper soft. “And if I find that my weapons have been disturbed, if I find that Terris is still being harassed, or has bruises, or is in some type of trouble, then I will be talking to you two and it won’t be a friendly talk like this one. Understand me, Mart?”
Mart gulped at my knowledge of his name and nodded. “Yes, my lady, I understand.”
I turned my gaze to his companion, who immediately nodded and blurted out the same.
“Good. Now, go do whatever duties you’ve been assigned and leave Terris to do his.”
Both boys rushed off and, satisfied, I turned back to find Martin. He was waiting by the stands. “Anything wrong?” he asked as we started walking together.
“Not much,” I said absently, thinking about ways to help Terris against the bullying going on.
“Anything I can help with?” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “Anyone you want me to speak to regarding hazing?”
He knew me too well. “I want to see if Terris can handle it. It won’t help him much unless he can get them to back off himself. I might be able to help with that.” I took his hand and intertwined fingers. “But I might see if you can help,” I murmured. “Thank you.”
“I love a woman who wants to save the world. What else am I to do but offer her assistance?” He directed me towards the archery section. “Come on. We’ll check the scores and then clock out for the day.”
“No one else is fighting?”
“Jousting starts tomorrow, archery is done for the day, firearms is finishing with the last group after yours, hand-to-hand has a couple more matches, and swordfighting is done. We only go until four o’clock each day.”
“Shame,” I said regretfully.
He chuckled. “We have a whole two weeks, Joan. You’ll have plenty of time to play.”
“So how much money did you make off me today?”
“Roughly fifty thousand.”
I jerked. “Holy cow!”
“There you go with the cows again,” he mused. “You’re sure you don’t swear by holy cows in the Flip Side?”
“How did you manage to get that much money off of me?” I asked, appalled. “Everyone else must be broke!”
“No, but not as rich as they were when they came in. You had seventeen-to-one odds when you beat Parkton, and I’ve been winning money off you all day.”
“I thought the odds were twelve-to-one.”
“They went up before the match. The Geidyians who hadn’t bet before bet big on their man, and the Valerians and a few other wise people got lots of money off of that. Of course, I didn’t make near what Randall did today. He won’t be well-liked if he keeps this up, or the guards will stop betting against him on you.”
“I can’t imagine he’s making this much money off of me.”
“Of course he is. You’re an unknown, a wild card, and even after Parkton, they’re still not willing to believe you’ll be as good as we say you are. Betting odds will go down on you tomorrow and more people will start expecting you to win rather than to lose.”
I shook my head. “Whatever. Enjoy your money.”
“I intend to put it to good use,” he murmured.
“Joan!” Cathy came running at me before I could ask what Martin would do with the money.
I swept her in my arms. “Hey, sis. How was your day?”
“Randall says you’re top of the leader board in freestyle fighting and tied for first in firearms,” Cathy blurted out. “I wanted to congratulate you. Everyone’s talking about your match against some Geidy guy and an Untili guy.”
“Parkton of Geidy and Davis of Untili.”
“Yep.” She hugged me. “You’re the best, sis.”
I smiled. “Why, thank you. And how was your day?”
“I watched Mari shoot arrows. She’s the best out of ages fourteen and down. And I hung out with Alex.”
“How is Alex?”
“He’s good. We had lunch with Mari and another of his brothers. They’re all curious about you,” she said matter-of-factly.
“I’m sure they are.”
The evening raced by. I spent it with Mari and Cathy, and when they went to bed, I went to find Martin. We spent two hours in his room, talking, teasing, laughing together. It was with reluctance that I said goodnight.
The next morning I dressed in my guard’s uniform, since my black outfit was being cleaned, and went with Martin and the other Valerians back to the training center. Grace was my first fight. It was evenly matched for a while, then I got the advantage when she tried to connect her foot to my chin and I swiped her other leg out from under her. She landed on the ground, and then I had her pinned.
“Good match,” I said, offering her a hand to help her up after the referee called the match.
She grinned at me and took my offered hand. “I agree. I’d like to try you in just boxing sometime.”
“You’d win,” I said dryly. “I don’t box well.”
“I’ll remember that.”
I went back to watch the second portion of archery. Crossbow started day after next, and we had several people joining that one. I knew Pierson would win that one as well, and watched him win the regular archery contest. True to Martin’s prediction, Remy made second, but Randall and Grati tied for third. Still, Valeria was the clear winner in archery this round, and the Valerians were smug about it as we went to watch Liam start jousting.
His first match was with Davis. Davis sent a sneering scowl to me, which I ignored. “Good luck, Liam,” I said as he urged his horse past us at a trot.
He winked and slid the helmet on his head. He looked a medieval knight from his head to his feet. “He won’t know what hit him,” he promised.
“Do you joust?” I asked Martin.
“A little. Why?”
“You wore that red helmet when I first met you. I just wondered if you actually used it.”
“I do. I’ll be using it during my matches.”
“When do you joust?”
“Tomorrow. This event takes four days, since we can’t do many people at a time.”
“I’ll be sure to be there to cheer you on. Am I supposed to give you a token to wear?”
He looked confused. “What?”
I giggled. “Never mind.”
Jousting took three rounds. Each rider would send their horse galloping across the grass, padded lances angled across their horses, and slam their lance into the other’s shield. If they hit just right, and it had to be just the right amount of strength and the perfect angle, then the opponent would pop out of the saddle and go flying across the ground. Liam had a reputation for being able to do just that.
The first round, both riders galloped at each other, and then, to my interest, both rose out of their saddles slightly, before impact. Neither one went flying, but both spears shattered as they struck each other.
“Ouch,” I commented as Liam went back, shaking his arm.
“Jousting is brutal business,” Martin said. “Can be deadly, but it rarely is nowadays with padded lances and shamans around. Just very painful. Liam will have plenty of bruises before the day’s end.” He watched with approval as the riders went thundering down the path again. “I believe he has it this time. Good angle, shift just a little, and...pow!”
Pow is right, I thought as I marveled at the scene. Liam had taken a hit on his shield, but so had Davis, and Davis had soared out of his saddle and slammed into the packed dirt. “Ouch times two,” I said. Then I started to worry because Davis wasn’t moving. “Is he all right?”
“He’s fine,” Joe assured me as the Untili shaman hurried towards Davis. Liam had circled around and pulled his horse to a stop, holding the lance in his hand as he watched the shaman check Davis. “Just got the wind knocked out of him. Might have hit his hard head on the ground, but he’s not too badly injured.”
To my relief, Davis got up a moment later, a little groggy, but he was moving. Someone pulled the helmet off so he could breathe. His eyes weren’t quite focused, but he looked to be okay. I blew out a breath in relief and relaxed against the rail we were all leaning on, the rail keeping the crowd away from the jousters on the field.
“Like I said, jousters rarely die,” Martin said, watching Davis stagger, with help, off the field. “And we could have sent Joe if it were life or death.”
“He’s an arrogant jerk, but I don’t want him to die for it,” I said.
“Look who’s up,” Remy commented. “Samson and Simon.”
I jerked my head to look. Sure enough Samson and Simon were settling at their respective ends of the field. “Aren’t they too old for this?” I asked worriedly. “Or at least, isn’t Simon too old?”
“And when you get to be that old, do you expect to lay down your knives and guns and stop fighting?” Randall asked mildly.
“There’s a difference between shooting a gun and pummeling yourself to death.” I winced as they crashed together. “And I haven’t thought that far ahead. No one in my family lived that long. Grandma was the only one who lived much past fifty and she was so sick for the last ten years of her life that she really couldn’t do much of anything, much less fight.”
“Didn’t you say your grandmother took care of Cathy for the first year?” Remy asked as Simon and Samson both went back to their respective ends. “Wouldn’t Cathy have gotten sick?”
“Chemo and radiation were what made her sick the most.” I winced as they crashed together a second time, but they both stayed on their horses and trotted down to their own end for the third run. “She caught pneumonia the last three weeks and she stayed as far away from Cathy as she could. She was very careful. If she had to go near Cathy, she wore a mask over her face and washed her hands and arms.” My heart ached, remembering that. “She was so sick, and she knew we needed her so badly,” I whispered.
Silence stretched, then Martin’s hand covered mine. “It’s in the past,” he murmured. “She isn’t sick anymore, and you got through it all right, you and Cathy both.”
“Yeah. Yeah, we did.” I let out a slow breath, then winced as Simon and Samson crashed a third time. “So, if none of them go flying, how do you decide who wins?”
Martin started to answer, then stopped. “It’s complicated,” he said at last.
Simon won.
After that, we went to lunch, and I hissed over their growing bruises. They both refused to let Gabriel or Joe heal them, saying they wanted the bruises, although Liam had no such qualms. Cathy came and pleaded for me to eat with her and Mari and Alex, and I gave in. Prince Alexander was slightly nervous, remembering our last encounter, but after figuring out I wasn’t going to bite his head off, he relaxed. Cathy had also made a new friend. Prince Paul of Pailio chatted with her cheerfully, despite his brother, Prince Colin, who was sulking for some unknown reason.
After lunch, everyone started to head their separate ways, but I held back a moment. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?” I wanted to know.
“There’s a children’s party this afternoon,” Mari chirped. “We’re all going on a ride. There’s going to be lots of guards. It’s only supposed to be royalty, but Cathy gets to come too. And Aunt Hillarie’s going too.”
“Joan, are you coming?” Cathy asked.
I shook my head. “No. You two go have fun. I’ll be in the training center.”
“Okay,” Cathy said, not bothered in the least. “Have fun.”
I smiled and gave her a hug. “Love you, sis.”
“Love you too,” she said cheerfully. “Bye, Joan!”
“Behave!” I called after her as I went through the door.
I spent the afternoon in the training center, trying my hand at accuracy shooting with the mobile targets. It was just like in the Flip Side. They launched clay disks into the air, and I had to shoot them. It was what I loved doing the most and I did exceptionally well, considering I hadn’t done any hunting in weeks. As it was, I was in the top ten when my round ended. Terris was by my side, offering me bullets to reload, sweeping my empty cases away.
“Terris, how long have those boys been after you?” I asked quietly as I emptied my gun and took care to clean it.
Terris scuffed his feet, clearly not wanting to say anything that would make him a snitch.
“A while then.” I spoke carefully. “What if there was a way for you to make them back off?”
He looked at me. “Me? They’re bigger, and they’re always together.”
“You heard about my fight with Captain Parkton?”
He nodded. “He was mad you won.”
I smiled. “Well, you know that I’m good at fighting. I might be able to teach you a couple tricks to make them back off. If it comes to a fight, you might not win.”
“I can take a beating,” he boasted. “I’m not weak.”
I nodded. “Then maybe I can help you.”
“When?”
“I’ve got two weeks. We’ll try tonight, eight o’clock. Do you have a curfew?”
“Ten.”
“Plenty of time. Meet me in the castle. I won’t be hard to find, I promise.”
Satisfied with that, I wandered through the building, watching matches, admiring technique or shaking my head at the clear lack of it. I was watching Grace take down a man twice her size in boxing when the first sign of disaster came.
A murmur spread through the room, but it took a minute for me to hear it. As people heard, their faces turned grey or white and they rushed out. I caught a shaken-looking Quinn. “Quinn, what’s going on?” I demanded.
“An attack,” he said, his face pale. “They attacked the children’s party. The Light Bearers, we think.”
“They did what?” My voice was a shriek that caught the attention of half the room. I gripped him tightly. “Are they all right? Are they hurt?”
“They were kidnapped.” He looked shaken. “All of them were kidnapped. The guards were injured, but not killed, and they took all of the children’s party.” He wiped his hand over his mouth shakily. “All of them,” he repeated. “Including Hillarie.”
I couldn’t breathe. “Mari? Cathy?” I whispered.
He nodded silently.
I couldn’t move for a long minute as that registered. When I spoke, my voice was flat and I saw people who’d crowded near me to listen now edge away. “I’m going to kill them, Quinn.” My eyes blazed. “If they hurt a single one of them, I’ll kill them.” I let go of Quinn and stalked towards the door. I slammed the door open and the sound it made was like a gunshot that rang through the room as I headed towards the castle.
*
THE INSTANT MARTIN was notified, he went to the king and queen. Alan and Florinda were pale. “They attacked the children’s party,” Alan said, pacing the room, unable to be still. “The guards were taken by surprise and overwhelmed. None of the children had any weapons to speak of, not even Mari or Cathy, and they couldn’t fight back. The guards were bound and blindfolded and gagged while the group took the children. They sent the horses back to the castle, which alerted the guards on duty. Searching, they discovered the guards, and what had happened.”
Florinda’s hands were clenched together to stop them from shaking. “She was supposed to be safe,” she said hollowly. “This is a peace conference. Who would do this? Why would they take the children? My daughter, my sister...”
Alan turned to her, pulled her to him in comfort. “The royalty is meeting as soon as possible to try and discuss this and figure out who is responsible,” he told Martin as he smoothed his wife’s hair. “Captains and Champions have been included in this meeting. I need you to inform our people as to what’s happened, and I have to trust you to help us keep a level head at this meeting. This is personal, and it’s going to be rough. There’s not going to be a level head in that room, but I need you to do what you can. Tell Joan she’s allowed in, but keep her calm.”
“Yes, of course, Your Highness,” Martin said. “I will go tell them.”
He went outside, where all the guards were gathered.
“And?” Neal asked.
Martin repeated what King Alan had said. “The guards have been questioned, and are being kept out of sight,” Martin said. “We are not certain of what is coming, so be prepared. We need to be ready to move in a moment’s notice if we get word. I am going to the meeting with King Alan and Queen Florinda. Joan, you are allowed...” he broke off and cast his gaze around sharply. “Where’s Joan?” he demanded.
No one knew.
“Randall, Liam, Mark, find her and keep her with you,” he ordered immediately. “She doesn’t leave your sight for a second. I’m not going to repeat last summer.”
*
THE SHARP KNOCKING on my door alerted me to who it was. “Come in,” I said flatly.
Randall, Liam, and Mark burst in, pausing when they saw my outfit. “I guess you know,” Randall said.
The blazing look of fury on my face was enough for them to know. “Where’s Martin?” I demanded, strapping the green knife to my waist. I’d try to follow the rules this time, but if he said no I was still going and nothing and no one was going to stop me.
After once last check to make sure I had everything, I strode off with Randall, Liam, and Mark in my wake, fury plain on my face.
The guard at the door tried to stop me, his face stern. “You are not allowed inside.”
“You’re going to let me in,” I said flatly.
He sniffed with superiority. “If you are not a Champion, Captain, or someone of higher rank, or royalty, then you are not allowed inside.”
“I am the Champion.”
“You’re not the official Champion, and therefore not allowed inside.”
I had him on the ground in five seconds and my eyes blazed into his while he tried to recover his breath. “Don’t mess with me,” I warned. “Not today.”
The instant I strode into the meeting room, all eyes went to me. “Where?” I demanded of Martin. “Where are they? Where would they be going?”
He stepped to my side, resting his hand on mine. “Slow down a minute, Joan,” he said quietly. “Give us some time.”
My eyes blazed but I kept my mouth shut. Time was something we didn’t have. Martin gestured to a chair, but I shook my head. “I’ll stand,” I said flatly. Martin stayed by my side as I seethed. I was more furious at myself than anything. I was the guard for Mari, and Cathy was my sister. I should have gone with them, but I hadn’t. I’d stayed to play trophy and now they were gone. I wasn’t going to let my baby sister get hurt. I wasn’t letting Mari get hurt either. And if the Light Bearers had laid a hand on either of them, then they were going to regret it.
Demetri was the most calm of the group, not having any children or family taken. I could tell he was shaken though. Florinda and Alan both had vulnerable looks, afraid for their daughter. Everyone else was in an uproar, completely furious, except Corin. Corin looked haggard and drawn, frantic in his need to get his wife back, pacing back and forth.
“We don’t know that anything will happen to them,” Commander Nelson of Geidy said, attempting to start the meeting off with a calming statement. This was the first time I’d seen the second-in-command of Geidy, and he looked like he was trying to impress us with all his medals.
I wasn’t impressed, or calmed. “Oh, please,” I snapped. “Do you honestly believe that?”
Captain Parkton shot daggers at me with his gaze. “And what would your input be, Guardswoman?” he said tightly as Nelson narrowed his eyes at me for stealing his spotlight.
“That they’re not safe and there’s no sense in pretending they might be,” I said hotly. “Face the facts here. The leader of the Light Bearers has no concern for children’s safety. He sends children out to do his dirty work, and puts them in the line of fire to die. Of all the attacks, at least half of them were under eighteen, weren’t they?” I could see this struck a nerve. “For whatever reason they’ve kidnapped our families, they’re not going to hesitate in hurting the hostages to get what they want.”
“There’s no need to jump to conclusions,” another captain objected. “We don’t even know if this is the work of the Light Bearers.”
“Yes, there is,” the elderly King of Untili argued. “We must look at the worst case scenario in order to best protect our families. We have to realize that our families may not return to us.”
This produced much discussion and argument, and none of it was getting us anywhere. I was fast losing patience, knowing the kidnappers were getting farther away with each passing minute. Finally, I took over again. “Hey! Shut up!”
They quieted, shocked at being told to shut up.
“Please,” I added as an afterthought. “To do anything, we have to know why they did this and where they’re going and what they’re doing. What do they want?”
There was absolute silence and I felt suspicion rise the longer the silence lasted. “What do they want?” I demanded. “You’re the rulers of the continent, how can none of you not know?”
There was still silence from them and I let my temper loose for an instant. “You don’t get to keep me in the dark!” I shouted at them. “This isn’t just you anymore! This is my family, and I deserve to know why my sister is suddenly in danger! I want to know what these people want so I get to know if there’s a chance that I get to see my sister alive again! I may not be the ruler of a country, but I’m calling on whatever diplomatic status I have as a member of the Flip Side and I want to know now! What do they want?”
“They want us to step down,” Corin said suddenly. He was at the window and no longer pacing, simply staring through the glass across the manicured lawns. “They want us to step down from the thrones and allow the Light Bearers to take over as rulers of our kingdoms. Then the kingdoms would be united and there would no longer be wars and they would ensure that we no longer abuse Mother Earth and learn to live in harmony with nature and all its beings.”
“But that’s out of the question,” the darkly tanned queen from Frondionian snapped.
“They can’t just step down,” Captain Celcin interjected, also glaring at me. “They can’t risk the harm it will be to all their subjects and their lives, all the possibilities that would happen from such a clearly psychotic group.”
“Not so psychotic,” Martin corrected. “They knew how to get to us and they knew how to take the children without bloodshed on their part. The fact that not one of them was injured means someone among them knows what they’re doing. Our guards didn’t live because they were afraid to kill, they left the guards alive to send a message, both verbal and symbolic; they can strike us whenever and wherever they want, and it is at their whim whether we live or die.”
This sparked more discussion, but this time I didn’t say anything. The captains argued back and forth about the strategies to use and the negotiations to take. I wasn’t sticking around for that. Cathy didn’t have the luxury of time like their families did. I wasn’t a ruler, there wasn’t anything I could do, and if Cathy was worthless then she would be the first killed. I fought the cold seed of panic inside me at the thought of losing Cathy.
“Hey,” Martin said softly in my ear. “Joan, we won’t let anything happen to her. I promise. Cathy will be safe and we’ll get her back.”
“Not like this you won’t,” I said tightly, completely tense. It seemed like a lot of useless debate to me. Everyone but Demetri had family missing, but I knew Demetri had no part in this. He simply didn’t have any family left; his father had executed them all thinking they would try to kill his son. Everyone else looked genuinely worried, as diverse as their reactions were. Most were angry and scared, a few were still too stunned to comprehend what was going on, and a couple were focused on how to get their children back to hold off the panic. Commander Nelson kept jumping in, trying to be the mediator, which just irritated me every single time. Perhaps I might have appreciated his efforts, but it just seemed as if he were using this to give himself more attention. By the shortening tempers, I wasn’t the only one to see it that way.
“Enough,” Florinda said finally as the discussion had fallen to shouting and arguing. Her quiet voice cut across the room. “We need a break, time to think and get a hold on ourselves before we can focus on rescuing our families. We won’t be able to help them arguing like this.”
People left, simmering, speaking quietly among themselves. Alan and Florinda approached us along the wall. “I’m going after them,” I said shortly. “Will you stop me?”
“My dear, we know better than to try to stop you,” Florinda said, a trace of humor in her sad eyes. “You need more than us to hold you back. Please bring our daughter back.”
I nodded and Martin gripped my hand tighter. “Not yet,” he said softly. “Wait.”
“Wait for what?” I hissed. “Wait for brilliant Nelson or genius Celcin to come up with a plan? Because if I have to hear their accomplishments one more time, I’m going to use Celcin’s uniform to straightjacket him and stuff Nelson’s medals up his nose!”
“That’s why you have to wait,” Martin murmured. “You’re upset. You’re angry. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be,” he continued before I could inform with choice words how angry I was, “but you need focus, and right now you aren’t focusing on anything but how close you are to panicking.”
I had to give him that and huffed out a breath before brooding. Florinda covered my free hand with hers, offering a shaky smile. “I know, dear. Just remember that there is always hope.”
I didn’t like depending on hope, but I nodded. Alan’s pale blue eyes showed understanding as he read the sinking despair in mine. “We have resources, and most of a continent willing to work together if we call up our allies. It gives us power. With that, I believe we’ll get them back. The Light Bearers may have numbers, but they overestimated their strength. We’ll get them back. And then the Light Bearers will pay.”
That I could hold onto. I nodded again. Pulling his wife to his side, Alan guided Florinda back to the table, gesturing for one of the servants who had come in to bring him water, keeping his gaze on her. Florinda’s hands shook as she tried to take a drink, and I thought I saw a tear fall. Despite their brave words, they were scared too. I shifted anxiously and impatiently as time continued to pass.
As everyone was slowly gathering back to the table, tempers cooled somewhat, a guard from Geidy dashed in. “My lord! Your Highnesses!” He stopped at the end of the table, gasping, a roll of paper in his hand. “They sent a message by arrow, Your Highnesses, for all of you.” He handed the message to his king and King Irvin read it aloud.
“I know at this moment you are planning ways to rescue your families and children, and I will say how utterly predictable you are. No doubt you can do nothing but argue; I expected nothing less. You were warned about what would happen if you continued to ignore us, but you will ignore us no longer! The Light Bearers are in control, and you will do exactly as we say or there will be no heirs to your thrones.” King Irvin slammed his fist down on the table, the paper crumpled in his hand, eyes blazing. “It’s the same demands as before.”
“Keep reading,” his queen whispered.
“In addition to my instructions, you have one added rule to follow: You may not follow us. Should you try to rescue your families, then the child of the ruler who sent their armies out to attack will be the first to die, and I will send you their bodies. Any attempt will be met with such action and there will be no mercy shown should you continue to resist. There will be no negotiations. Either you surrender, or your families’ bodies will be returned to you. Signed, the Leader of the Light Bearers.”
The room exploded in sound and rage and fury. Amidst this, I ripped myself from Martin’s grasp and stalked for the door. “Joan, hold on,” Martin urged, grabbing me again.
“I need out of here,” I said, nearly out of control. “I need out.”
Martin realized how close I was to losing it and instantly let go. “Don’t leave without me,” was all he said before I stalked out and slammed the door.
The instant the door shut behind me, I was sprinting down the halls. I needed privacy. I ran up the stairs to Martin’s chamber and slammed the door. Anger was the first to break through and I slammed my hand against the stone wall over and over until I felt a searing pain. My anger dissolved and I sank to the floor, bursting into tears.