Page 142 of Arrows and Gems
Helena jumped. When had someone approached her? She turned, expecting one of the guards overseeing the competition, but she found her cloaked competitor instead.
“Don’t know what you mean,” she gruffly replied. “Shooting for the hand of a princess sounded like fun. Thought I’d give it a try.”
“And I wanted to see the competition a princess woulddesign,” John said carelessly. “It’s disappointing so far.”
Caught off-guard, she let her jaw drop for a moment. She quickly recovered so as not to give herself away. “S’pose you’re right,” she replied lightly. “After all, I’m still in.”
Her opponent smirked. “Indeed. And may the best man win.”
As he turned away, Helena tugged her hood a little lower. Was it her imagination, or had he stressed the word ‘man’?
“Where are you from, John?” she asked, trotting to catch up. He didn’t look at her, but he slowed his stride a bit. “Not a very Ralnoran name you have there. Or accent.”
His right hand drifted toward his waist, then settled on his sword belt. “You’re right.”
“So you hail from...” she prompted when it became clear he wasn’t going to finish.
He stopped at the line for the next event. “Your name isn’t very Ralnoran, either,” he calmly pointed out. Helena could hear his amusement as he looked away. “I expected your name to be Gunther.”
“And why would you think that?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow that he couldn’t see. “Do you think every young man in Ralnor bears that name?”
Instead of replying, John simply curved his lips and turned to listen to the instructions.
Helena ignored them. She had written them, after all.
“Are you an old man?” she asked boldly. “It seems unkind to saddle the princess with someone twice her age.”
“I am not.” He selected an arrow from his quiver. “But I am saving her from spinsterhood. She should be grateful.”
“Are you a farmer? A merchant?”
He spun the arrow in his hand, considering her. “A son and brother.”
“Awfully tight-lipped, aren’t you? Whatwillyou tell meabout yourself?” she pressed, standing next to him as he stepped up to the line. She wanted to flip his hood off, but what if he responded in kind? It was too early to reveal herself lest the council insist she forfeit.
He didn’t even look her way. “You won’t beat me. I am very motivated to win this contest.”
A laugh bubbled up, but she suppressed it. Her laugh was unlikely to sound like a young man’s. “And you believe motivation will bring you through the next trial?”
His lip curved farther, but he whipped off five quick shots before answering. “That, and the fact that I’m the best archer in the kingdom.”
Helena stared at the empty strings for a few moments as she processed his words. She cast a glance at the spectators. Liesl was watching her with a worried expression. Axel’s eyes drifted between her and John with a curious look that she couldn’t define. Katy wore a self-satisfied smile.
Returning her attention to John, Helena allowed a smirk of her own to cross her lips. “Maybe in your kingdom, whatever that may be. But not in Ralnor.”
“Are you sure?” he challenged. He took a step closer, but Helena fought his nearness as she approached the line and studied her bouncing rings.
His breath disturbed the wisps of chestnut hair that had pulled free from her braid. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. John’s voice was too deep, and his accent was wrong.
But his shoulders were right. So were his height and his skill.
Helena drew her bow, but the rings bounced again, and she held her shot. Confounded man, distracting her from her task.
She watched for a moment longer and began firing. The first shot took its ring.
“Do you know why else you won’t beat me?” he whispered.
She released her second arrow, and another ring was whisked away.
