Let The Games Begin

Chapter 9

The princes Brown and Silver watched the king instruct his men to search the flower garden. What did a garden have to do with anything? They used the opportunity to ride off getting a head start on the rest.

Silver and Brown were riding at a high speed. They were ahead of everyone. The king and the rest of his men were far behind searching in detail for the lost princess.

Suddenly, their horses collided with another horseman. The three of them hit the ground.

Shinja was totally covered from head to toe, leaving out only her brown eyes. The princes had on helmets as well leaving them unnoticeable. Shinja tried getting up, but her right knee was injured. The princes did not know the stranger that they had collided with. They chose to assist him before riding again. The victim whimpered. A girl? What was a girl doing in a dark place such as this?

Silver walked over to where the stranger lay and kindly requested that they remove the veil covering their eyes.

"You do not have to be afraid of us. We are sorry we hit you." He knelt behind the stranger with his helmet off.

Before removing her veil, Shinja turned to face them, she was taken aback to find Silver and Brown in front of her. To avoid suspicion, she had to grant Silver's request.

He bent gently in front of her to assist with the veil. Once the veil was off her head, both princes could not believe their own eyes.

“Shinja?!” both princes exclaimed in question. Shinja was sitting right in front of them! They could not believe their eyes. Her eyes were open wide in shock, she had not expected to run into them. She had not believed that her absence in the kingdom would cause alarm, much less bring the princes in search of her. Were they here alone? It was not safe if they were, this place was no place for strangers. Anything can happen. She had planned on coming and going back almost immediately.

After a long moment of silence and wonder, they hailed the king and his horse men when they were at a safe distance to scream. They made animal signals, howled and whistled until they got a response back that their alarm was heard. Squatting low by Shinja’s side, the princes tended to her scraped knee. All the while she winced in pain.

“It will be alright princess. Your father will be here soon enough.” Silver soothed. Brown nodded in agreement. If it had not been for the disguising veil over her face, this would not have happened. They had been in such a rush that noticing a whole human-being riding in front of them was not something they could notice quickly.

“We are sorry for doing this to you princess.” Brown apologized for the umpteenth time ever since the accident happened. Shinja said nothing back, she did not trust her voice. Her heart was racing. She blamed herself for what happened but also did not want to let off her guilt. Her eyes were glued to her knee that was torn at the knee-cap. That is going to take a while to heal. She thought. What is father going to think of me once he sees this?

With that thought, it was like she had summoned them to locate where they were. Horse gallops were heard in the near distance as Pink-White and his men approached where Silver and Brown crouched besides her. No sooner had the king and his men halted movement of their horses in front of the three, than Silver and Brown blurted out something that shook everyone present quite differently. Some it was with laughter, and others with shock.

"I'm going to marry her," both of them blurted. The king’s men found this amusing, they guffawed without hesitation. Pink-White turned and in their direction gave them a stern look. What was funny about that? He thought. By anything, the declaration made by the princes prevented a risky venture. He was too exhausted to go over the nitty-gritty, pros and cons of such a declaration so he called Bolton and gave him precise instructions on what to do next. The princes only gaped in annoyance at one another. Too tired to prolong the moment, they smirked daringly at each other. Their eyes spoke volumes. Those around felt the tension rise between both of them. Pink-White noticed this.

“Faster everyone, it is almost nightfall, we have to be back at the castle before that. Bolton?” he called his chief guard.

“Yes, milord.”

“Make haste, put the princess on the back of your horse and have her rushed to the royal physician at once.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Bolton made quick work of getting Shinja on his horse. There was a lot of fidgeting considering her tender knee. The pain had become excruciating which made the journey back to the Green kingdom a blister in the armpit. She fought back tears. The guard with whom she rode did not care much for how she felt. Maybe she was too silent and that is why he did not pick on the signs of how much agony she was going through.

Flower bender was tied to the king's horse as they rode back to the castle happily. Most of the folk at the palace were relieved to have the youngest princess back in one piece, her sisters of all. It took a lot of effort from the palace officials convincing the sisters that she needed rest and they would come back later. Shinja was rushed to the royal physician who had an entire section allocated to him and his services.

“What happened?” He asked immediately once Shinja was brought into the room.

“A scrape to the knee,” answered one of the guards who was lifting the princess, they stood before the royal physician in anticipation of where he wanted them to lay her.

“Put her over there,” he said pointing to a wooden bed at the front of the room in front of the herbal basket. He had been stirring something inside of it before they arrived. Having laid her on the bed, the guards curtsied and left Shinja and him all alone. He was first to speak.

“Princess, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she winced and nodded her head, “Yes I can.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Out of sorts but nothing that your healing hand won’t fix,” she made an attempt to smile which made the physician stooping over her laid down form smile too.

“Let’s get something for that knee. Shall we?”

“Okay,” she replied softly. Just as he was about to walk away from the bed, Brown and Silver came rushing in.

“Princess!” Brown exclaimed.

“Are you alright?” Silver asked in time as Brown spoke, then facepalmed himself, “What am I saying? Of course, you are not alright. How…how are you feeling?” He let out in a heavy sigh.

“We are sorry about what happened princess. Truly, we would have watched where we were going but…” Shinja cut in on Brown’s apology.

“It is nothing the physician can’t fix. And for the love of all birds’ white, stop apologizing. It was an accident. You did not plan for this to happen. There is no way you would have known it was me.” Her voice sounded tired. The princes worried. How could they not? Both of them were sitting on either side of her bed, brows furrowed, each holding a hand in theirs.

Shinja closed her eyes slightly and tried to breath in. It sounded both frustrated and relieved. The princes had to stop fussing, seriously. She was slowly losing it where she lay. In her mind she recalled their declaration while they were in the garden. So, it was two that she had to deal with. Pink-White walked in on them in that very position they were in, Shinja’s hands in theirs. He had hoped to have time with his daughter but…oh well. Silver put out his other hand and started stroking her hair, playing with the grey streak that always bemused him. She had to accept his proposal. He could not begin to imagine life without her, not now that he had found her. Shinja spaced out into a light slumber, her chest moving up and down. Her father watched as her pale face contorted in her sleep. She must be having a bad dream. It had been an interesting turn of events. He wondered if she would tell him why she had run off like that, watching the princes care for her, he thought to himself that it had something to do with them, both or one of them.

“Your majesty,” the physician called from behind him, Pink-White had taken a few steps into the room.

“You startled me there.” He spoke not taking his wary eyes off his daughter.

“I am sorry your majesty, it was not in my…” he got cut off by the king.

“How is she?” Pink-White asked with a thick voice.

“She lost a lot of blood. The guard said it was ‘a knee scrape’ but it was more than that. I have stopped the bleeding, in a few days, could become a week or so, she will be good to go.” Pink-White nodded in understanding. The physician did not want to call it a serious situation, the king felt that it could have been worse, if it had not been for rushing her here.

“How long have they been here?” He pointed his head in the direction of the princes who were gazing at his daughter’s sleeping form with unfathomable adoration.

“A few hours milord,” the physician curtsied, his greyed head bending slightly before he walked to the herbal basket and stirred its content once again. Pink-White did not proceed to her bedside. He trusted the princes were doing a great job of their own. Besides, the moment appeared too thick for interruption, he did not trust himself not crying before them so he turned and left the room. Silver and Brown had not noticed his arrival, his departure was treated in the same manner. They too were taken away by the sight before them.

Pink-White moved out quietly, careful not to make a sound lest he wake his daughter or catch the attention of the princes. While in his chambers, he had a hot bath made for him and then he softly sank into it. Thoughts about the day’s might-have-beens whirled around his mind. The declaration of the princes to marry his daughter being the most prevalent of all thoughts.

Two young men wanted his daughter's hand in marriage? It should shock him but it did not. Shinja was well-formed and alluring. It was the case with all his daughters. Their striking beauty could make the greatest of kings war for eternity. He hoped however, that it would not cause strife between the two kingdoms and his. He wanted his daughter safe. He also wanted what is best for her. A thought struck him as he dragged a damp cloth over his shadowed stubble, aha, that is why I like hot baths! He thought. I know what to do. He called an immediate assembly, it was late, he knew this but this could not wait. It was now or never.

"Peace be upon you," he greeted once they were gathered and went on, “It has come to my notice that princes, Silver and Brown, are in love with Shinja. Since they have proven their love for our kingdom, I honestly cannot choose who is more deserving to marry my daughter. This is why I have decided to organize a friendly fight between these two brave knights. The winner will marry my daughter. However, Shinja is to decide when this fight is to happen, therefore, till then."

The king left them gaping in bewilderment as he moved back to his chambers. The guards wore groggy expressions, the day finally taking its toll on them. Since the king’s announcement did not affect them directly, they gave it less attention and plodded back to their rooms to rest.

“What was that?!” Silver asked in confusion.

“I do not know either, but one thing I do know, I am winning that fight.”

“We will see Brown. We’ll see!” They walked in separate directions away from each other, putting as much distance between them as possible after that face-off. Each made determined strides as if the strength in their strides proved their might.

~*~

Training could not wait, it just could not. The king’s announcement had been made a night before, the princes began their training early the next morning. There was no time to waste. Bolton assisted them with the armory and training fields they asked for. It being an impromptu fight, coming for the celebration, they had not prepared for this. The Green kingdom They trained day and night. Each one of them wanted to win so badly.

Knowing that a great decision such as this lay upon her shoulders, Shinja kept playing sick as days went by. She wanted to see the reaction of both princes. Her puerile mind used this chance to gauge how each prince would treat her. She was transferred from the healing room to her own chambers.

When the princes heard of this, they visited frequently.

Her sisters agreed that they would help her test both princes. Their aim in this was to find out which prince had a calmer attitude and response to things.

Shinja and Shimki went to Silver's room, removed all his bed sheets and bed coverings leaving his mattress bare. Shinka and Shimpi on the other hand delayed bringing in dinner for prince Brown to see if it would make him furious.

Shimi was in her room confused because she thought that all along she had love for Silver but now, her heart longed for Brown. She refused to join her sisters on their stupid quest.

Brown tried to keep cool but, deep within, he was raging with fury. Silver had a hard time sleeping on a bare mattress.

He decided to go to Shinja's room, he knocked but nobody responded. Shinja was very much awake, only that she wanted no one, not even her sisters to bother her. He persisted on knocking and later she gave in and opened for him after what was like forever.

Although she did not look like it, Shinja was startled to see Silver on the other side of the door. With a searching glance, she decided to let him in. It was the first time Silver entered her room.

Before completely settling in he knew something unexpected was going to happen. He had learnt thus far that Shinja was full of surprises. She thought Silver knew nothing about her hiding his bed sheets and blanket.

"Can I sit here so I tell you the reason as to why I'm here?" he patted the side of the bed. She nodded.

She moved close to the door as if about to make a run for it. Then thought against it. You took his sheets, at least listen to what he has to say, you owe him that much. Ugh... in the feels.

"I am having a hard time sleeping Shinja. Do you know why?' she shook her head no, “A little birdie told me that you took my beddings. I have come for them. I cannot sleep well."

Out of shame she did not think about her next words. "Get out!"

"Just like that?" The prince asked in wonder.

"What do you want from me? It's like it is I who took your beddings. You are misinformed."

"Come close and you will find out what I truly want from you."

"Your highness please get out of my room."

"Back to that, now, are we not?"

"What do you mean your highness?"

"Addressing me as 'your highness'' he air-quoted, “You always do that when you are angry at me."

"Well then, get out of my room Silver!" She exclaimed, getting tenser by the minute. He was too close for comfort. How he had gotten that close, God only knew. One minute he was on the bed, and the next he was in front of her face. See what she meant when she said too close for comfort?

Silver turned to leave but quickly stopped himself and turned to peck her on her cheek. He caught her off guard. Shinja was red with anger, or blush. Maybe both, she was not sure about anything anymore.

"Goodnight my love."

Why does he keep tempting me like this? Coming to my chambers unannounced, pecking me here and there on whim. It is not fair. We cannot do anything further than peck before the wedding. He is making this so hard and yet I lo...'

What was it with the 'L'-word and sneaking up on her like a creep? Gosh!

She paced the room as she thought. She would return his beddings tomorrow when her nerves were not over the roof. She did not trust herself around anyone. She locked herself in the room and attempted the best she could to attain some sleep. Dreams about Silver and her together evaded her sleep. She tossed and turned until later in the night she slept off.