Page 92 of Slippers and Thorns
“Great!” Justin exclaimed. “Then how about joining me for some target practice?”
Ella blinked at him. “Target practice?”
He smiled conspiratorially as he leaned closer. “I know my older brother taught you how to shoot, and I know you’ve been to the fields here a time or two since. I want to see firsthand how good of a teacher he is.”
“I think you need a better example,” she replied, letting out a slight laugh. “I don’t think it’s fair to anyone to judge their ability as a teacher by my proficiency.”
Justin threw back his head and laughed with her. “I suppose you might be right. But I’d still like to drag you down there, unless you don’t want to.”
Up until Helena awoke to disrupt their lives, Ella had only ever practiced archery with Michael. Excluding her initial disastrous lesson with Charlie, of course. Would it rub salt in her wounds to return to the sport without him? Would she spend the whole time remembering the happier days at Reineggburg?
There was only one way to find out…and she had to admit, while she would never be an expert markswoman, she did enjoy the activity.
“That would be nice, thank you,” she finally said.
“I assume you’d like to change first,” Justin replied. “Meet you by the Hartshorn door in, say, ten minutes? That way Father and Michael can’t complain about you being unescorted in the training grounds.” He winked.
Ten minutes later, dressed in a more practical outfit and wearing her archery gauntlets and a heavy cloak, Ella was exiting the castle via the Hartshorn door with her brother-in-law. He was in the same leather outfit that he had worn when she caught him wandering the market with Lady Lucinda the day that she bought Michael the dagger.
She allowed herself an internal sigh. The hopes she’d had for that dagger… While she’d seen it in Michael’s room every day after when she snuck in to straighten his things, she’d never seen him carry it. She must have miscalculated. But because he didn’t care about the gift, or because the dagger wasn’t the right type?
Not that it mattered at this point. She was still in the castle because Charlie had convinced her it was the right thing to do – at least, until Michael made his preference for Helena official and Ella was no longer welcome there. After what Michael had said during their fight in the hall, though…what hope was there? She was simply awaiting the inevitable.
“So, I’m sure you know this already, but my brother is an idiot,” Justin casually remarked as he fit an arrow to the string.
Ella’s mouth dropped open. He had secured the farthest target for them, and there were few enough guards practicing archery at the moment that the next few targets over were empty. However, it was still rather shocking to hear such a statement coming out of his mouth.
He raised his eyebrows. “You don’t agree?”
“I—um, I mean I—” she stammered, trying to compile an appropriate response.
“It’s fine, you can say it,” he drawled. He lined up his shot and released the arrow, striking just outside the bullseye. “I’m not going to take offense to you putting words to just how big of a jerk Michael is being.”
“Yes,” she admitted, nocking her own arrow. “His behavior is very upsetting.” Her shot was barely on the target; she needed to focus more. She could do a little better than that.
“Upsetting?” he snorted, shaking his head. “If you’re only ‘upset’, I’m concerned for either your sanity or the level of your commitment to my family.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “Fine, perhaps I would like to punch him in the nose, assuming I knew how and could actually work up the courage.”
“Just picture his face on the target,” Justin said softly, leaning towards her. She laughed, and the shot she had been lining up went so wide that she may as well have been aiming at the next one over. It wasn’t funny enough to warrant it, but she doubled over still laughing, unable to stop. Then the laughter switched to tears, and she sank down to the ground, sobbing.
“Hey, woah!” Justin soothed, kneeling next to her. “I was trying to cheer you up, not turn you into a human fountain.”
Ella hiccupped a laugh. “Thank you, Justin. You’re the best.”
“Hmm…I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re supposed to say to my brother,” he mock-frowned. Ella laughed harder through her tears. “Clearly, he’s doing something wrong. Maybe I should give him tips?”
“Maybe you should,” she agreed. “To start with, choosing someone of your own station.” Her face crumpled again. “Maybe then a princess back from the dead wouldn’t have as much appeal.”
It was Justin’s turn to drop his jaw. “You think that’s what this is about? The fact that you weren’t born to one of our noble families?”
“Isn’t it?” she sniffed. Dimly, she hoped the rest of the men currently taking advantage of the practice fields were engrossed in their training and ignoring her breakdown. “I’ve never been good enough.”
“Yes, you have!” Justin said earnestly, gripping her arms. “The family you were born to does not define your worth. If my brother had married any one of most of our noblewomen, even ifhehadn’t been miserable, I would have been. I amgladmy brother chose you. My mother and my father aregladmy brother chose you. She may not say it because she never says anything, but my sister isgladmy brother chose you.”
“You are?” Ella looked up at him in surprise. “But why?”
“I admit, my parents were concerned at first, but once they knew you, they changed their minds. You are sweet and gentle and married my brother not for his position, but because you love him,” he replied, meeting her eyes with full sincerity. “Those things are more important than any title.”
