My Envied Lady: Chapter 11

Chapter 11
Like a small child, Maenad was led around the merchant's stalls by Peewit and the two squires, Gauvain and Joachim.

"Look, Maenad, in that stall over there, bagpipes! I've got just enough to buy them!"

"Never mind that, Milady, have you been to a joust before? Did you know that a Lady is supposed to select a champion so that he can fight in her honor?"

"Like how male wolves will posture and fight when they want to mate with a she-wolf?"

"Um…sort…of…."

"Come on, Maenad, you don't understand how it works. Let me show you the lists…"

"Hey look at this! It's called a shawm, and it's like a flute only louder!"

Between the shrill droning of the shawm and the smell of hormones filling the air, Maenad was beginning to get slightly annoyed, but at the same time, she was secretly enjoying being human again. This was not the human world she was used to; the smells, sounds, and customs were different, but these humans at least treated her with kindness. She could have escaped in the woods while the Johan, Peewit, and Sabina were distracted, but she chose not to. Because they are the only ones who could rid her of the binding spell, she told herself.

"Tell you what, Gauvain, I'll go and have a look at this musician's stall, and then you and Joachim can tell me all about this gladiator joust or whatever you call it."

The squires mostly ignored Peewit, and she felt a bit bad about neglecting him. It was no fun being at the bottom of the pack, as she knew. She looked around the stall Peewit was so fascinated by.

"Come on in, lovely lady" said the merchant. "I have exotic instruments from far and wide. My merchandise comes from the far reaches of the Silk Road to the Kingdoms of Africa!"

"I want that," she said, pointing to a double flute with reed tops. To modern eyes, it might look like two oboes stuck together.

"An excellent choice, Milady!"

She dropped a couple of coins into the vendor's hands and tried to play. It was not the aulos she was used to, but the basic idea was the same. It would do.

"That's amazing! Let me try!" said Peewit, putting down the shawm.

"You will not" she replied, holding it out of his reach. "I can teach you some techniques, but  this  is mine. I've waited a long time to get another one of these."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Any instruction would  have  to be an improvement."

"Then I can teach you some new songs, ones I've composed myself!"

"Fine."

So Peewit settled on the bagpipes and they went with Gauvain and Joachim to learn all about how jousting works and how she should chose one of them to be her champion. The following day, the joust officially began. After a winter of confinement indoors, the people of Hauvon were alive with pageantry. It was as much a social event as a martial competition, with Ladies and members of the courts in their best finery there to observe and socialize. Most of the talk centered on which of the four princes would become the lovely princess Sabina's betrothed.

The princess distracted herself from this choice by coaching Maenad on what jousting was and how she should act for it, since Maenad had picked up some strange ideas about how it worked. The gallery where the royals would be seated was far enough from the horses that Maenad's presence would not spook them, and far enough from the crowd that she could also have the Smurfs present without anyone seeing them. Sabina really wanted a friend there with her other Peewit, who would be busy placing bets with the other spectators. Besides her uncle, cousin Gerard, and Dame Barbara, they would be seated with the parents of Prince Andrew, the suitor she disliked the least.

The main joust was structured as an elimination tournament, taking place over the course of the festival. Separate competitions for other martial arts and a squires' joust were also scheduled. Gauvain had convinced Maenad to let him be her champion, and strutted around like a gamecock during the opening procession. She seemed to be under the assumption he would fight his opponents to the death, but he assumed she was either joking or confused, being a foreigner and all. As it happened, his first pass was against Johan, who unhorsed him immediately. It was too easy, actually, considering Gauvain was more interested in showing off for his rivals than paying attention to what he or his horse was doing.

Sorry Maenad, but it had to be done, Johan thought with a chuckle. He glanced at the gallery and saw that the girls were laughing, too.

Johan was not the only one who noticed the princess's companion. Lothar, ever with his eyes on Sabina, noticed her too, and had been.

Those yellow eyes. Where had he seen eyes like that before? On the old Viking mercenary he had hired, of course, the one with the wolves. Was this girl one of his kind, with her long braids and tightly laced long gown? What was she doing in Court with the princess? After shattering a lance on a knight, he dismounted and trotted to one of his pages.

"Sire, that knight you went up against was injured by a splinter from your lance. Shall I go check on him?"

"Not now. I have a more important business. I need you to take this to my steward and have him pass it along to the one who calls himself Fenris." Lothar handed the boy a scroll with a wax seal. The boy bowed and ran to deliver the message. Lothar was very interested in getting his special mercenaries back, but for now his first priority was to go an make a final good impression with the princess. She and her uncle would have to choose him of course; he was the only one of the suitors with the maturity, drive and bearing to make a good King.

He looked at his competitors with a sneer. There was Otto, a lazy overindulged child; Andrew, a young man who showed absolutely no interest in her or in being a king; and Casimir, who they barely understood due to his accent. He apparently had some alliance to King Pepin despite his own kingdom being far away. That was no life for Princess Sabina. No, her best bet was with him. "I think I've made my decision on which suitor," Sabina whispered. She had arranged to meet with Johan on an isolated balcony under the guise of needing "fresh air" at the feast following the tournament. The sun was setting, giving the castle walls a purple, red and gold cast.

"Oh, really?" This was the last thing Johan wanted to discuss with her alone on a shadowy balcony.

"I spoke to Prince Andrew earlier this evening. We sat down and had a long chat. He said I seemed like a nice girl and was very lovely, but that he had no interest in marrying me. He is only here because Queen Maud and King Randolph are pressuring him so that our kingdoms can be allied," she said, sitting close to him.

"And this makes him a good choice for husband and King?"

"Yes! We have a plan. I pressed him as to why he didn't seem interested in me, and he finally admitted he's in love with someone else, someone who he can't marry."

"You didn't tell him…"

"No, not yet. But I did tell him I had no interest in marriage either, at least not to any of these suitors. I think if I were to convince my uncle to have him betrothed to me, it could buy some time for all of us. And he'll be the last person to have a problem with you, when the time comes for him to find out."

"You realize that if you go through with this there is a real chance you will have to marry him after all."

"It will give us more time together. And he  is  very nice. He's handsome, courageous, and chivalrous, just like you are. Did you see how well he did in the joust, and how he helped that injured duke off the melee field even though it cost him points?"

"I did notice that, but I still think you should think this over more. There's a lot riding on this decision. For everyone. "

She pulled off the stiff wire snood and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her hair cascaded down and smelled like rosewater perfume, and her eyes were the color of a clear sky.

"I just…I don't want anything to change. I want to go on adventures like you and Peewit do, I want to stay with you…" she said, looking up. "You've still got a lot to teach me, you know."

You shouldn't be doing this, he thought as he put his arms around her and held her close. You need to think of what's best for the Kingdom, and for the King, that's your first responsibility. But god, how he'd longed to kiss her and run his fingers through her hair. After all this time, it was finally happening.

"You're making a mistake," he whispered before he kissed her on the cheek.

"So are you," she replied, bringing her lips to meet his.

They stayed on the balcony together as long as they could, as the sun set and torches and lamps lit up the countryside below. When total darkness fell, a mist rolled over the land, and the sound of footsteps echoed behind them.

"Where are you? Sabina!"

"Um, over here, Dame Barbara. Just getting some air." Sabina quickly replaced her snood and smoothed her dress.

"I've been looking for you, it is far too late for a proper princess to still be out at a banquet, skulking on a dark balcony. Not when you have your big announcement to make tomorrow! Now off to bed!"

"Yes, Dame Barbara," the princess sighed, glancing over her shoulder into the darkness, over the banister of the empty balcony.