Page 139 of Arrows and Gems
It hurt. But of all the decisions he’d made the past few months, he was the most certain of this one.
He loved Helena. So much. But he couldn’t risk the safety of his people to be with her.
CHAPTER 52
Helena
I’m sorry; could you please repeat that?” Lord Carolus blinked at her across the council table.
“Certainly.” Leaning back in her seat, Helena ignored her brother’s grimace and settled an elbow on the armrest. “You don’t want to deal with another scandal. I don’t want to be forced into marriage with a nobleman who spends the day counting the buttons on his jacket.”
Papa’s teeth ground together, but he and Axel had agreed to support her proposal. And she couldn’t express how grateful she was for that.
Smiling sweetly, she continued, “Therefore, I suggest a deal: let me design an archery contest for my hand. You will admit any and all competitors, and I will marry the winner without protest. However,” she stressed, leaning forward, “if the winner is unwilling to marry me, you will free me from the requirement to marry.”
Lord Carolus frowned and leaned over to whisper to his neighbor. “Surely you cannot protest too strongly,” Axel commented. “Is it not preferable for my sister to marry willingly, regardless of whom the competition favors?”
“And if we do not agree?” Lord Carolus asked, his frown growing more pronounced.
“Then I may disappear again.” Helena raised an eyebrow. “Or I may submit to the marriage you choose for me. But really,do you wish to take that risk?”
It was fun to watch the council members squirm. Theycouldset a guard outside her window, ban the grooms from giving her a horse, and so forth, but that would make people talk.
“If you’re worried that a peasant might outshoot your sons,” Katy cut in from the guest chairs along the wall, “then set the date for a few weeks from now. That will give them time to brush up on their skills. Besides, shouldn’t competitors from across the kingdom have the opportunity to attend?”
Helena hid her annoyance behind a smile. She would rather get on with her Rafe-less life, but if Katy’s suggestion convinced the council to agree, she could deal with it.
“A fine idea,” Lord Carolus replied. “Yes, a delay of a few weeks would be acceptable.”
As the other council members added their opinions for or against, Helena allowed a tiny smirk to surface. Tobias hadn’t returned from Daraigh yet. His father was giving him time to make the trip home.
An annoyingly long time later, the council granted Helena’s request. She felt Axel’s and Katy’s eyes on her from time to time, but they waited until they were safely ensconced in her room to say anything.
“Are you sure about this, Helena?” Her brother’s eyes were full of the passionate concern that she loved about him. Throwing an arm around her shoulders, he continued, “I still don’t understand how this is an improvement. Wouldn’t you rather ask the council for more time?”
“They’ve already given me more time,” she replied flippantly. She leaned into her brother’s side, appreciating his nearness in a way she hadn’t in years. “And I’m sure they won’t give me another year.”
She didn’t know why she said it. A year was a long time to wait for a wild princess who ran around the forest for a fewmonths. Now that he was king, Rafe would have dozens of women clamoring for his attention.
Katy accepted her son from Liesl and deposited him in Helena’s arms. Amadeus wiggled, wanting to crawl around and pull himself up on his little feet, but Helena took a moment to hug him and stare into his happy brown eyes before setting him free.
“A few weeks is better than nothing,” Katy said briskly. “But an archery contest is an interesting way to choose a husband.”
“Or no husband,” Helena replied, watching Liesl kneel down next to Amadeus. Her friend had changed, but she wasn’t sure why. “If the winner chooses not to marry me, then I will be free from the council’s demand. Which means certain noblemen should also be free of the pressure.”
Liesl gave her a tiny smile. “But who wouldn’t marry a princess if given the chance?”
“I imagine that’s the council’s reasoning,” Helena said lightly. She tossed herself into an armchair. “But I can think of one or two men who wouldn’t.”
She hoped for Liesl’s sake that Tobias was one of them.
CHAPTER 53
Helena
The morning of her marriage tournament dawned bright and clear. There was a light breeze, enough to make a cloak acceptable but not enough to complicate shooting. Unfortunately.
Looking around the blue furnishings of her suite, Helena reflected on how different it was from living in the woods, sharing a tent barely big enough for two people. Life had been harder as a member of Cap’s band, but it had also been simpler. Peaceful. And best of all, Cap had been in it.
