The Druid Wielder

Chapter 22

The morning sun arrived slower than I had hoped. A yawn took over my face as I prepared to leave. My eyes spotted what seemed to be Carther's spare clothes, sitting on a stool next to his bed. Without making a sound, I grabbed them. Never had I stolen anything before. A bit of guilt slid into my thoughts but I pushed them out. Right now I had to think about doing what I had to survive. So without looking back, I left Carther and the tavern behind.

I made my way north towards the castle. My plan was a bit wild, but after thinking it over all last night, I decided it was my best bet at avoiding the king.

Approaching the castle, I took out what Carther had given me to block out the sand during our travels here. Before I reached the castle's gates it was securely wrapped around my head, covering all but my eyes. I felt a bit like an assassin. At least this way I could hide my long girly hair. If I could win the tournament, perhaps when I revealed my gender they would still accept me.

"Are you here for the tournament?" A guard standing beside the tall black gates asked. I nodded then followed him to the arena. It was a bit bigger than the one the slave traders had, but it looked mostly the same. Rows of benches lined the arena, however, they were all empty. The only people who were here were me and two knights. I wiped the sweat that drenched my face. The sun felt hotter than normal today.

"Welcome! Seems you are the first one here." The taller of the knights approached.

"Are you sure you want to fight? You are a bit tiny to be fighting the best knights in Galasia."

The other knight followed close behind the other.

"Now, now, we don't want to scare him away." The tall one scolded. He gestured for me to come to him. I did.nOnce in front of him, the other knight gave him a sword.

"May the better knight win." The shorter knight backed up but did not move too far away.

The knight in front of me bowed. I did too. As I lifted my head the knight was already upon me. I cursed but ducked under his attack. I managed to jump to my feet just in time to block a swing to my neck. The muscles in my arms tightened, causing me to let out a slight moan in discomfort. Kana had done well to sow it and wrap it. However, I could feel it stretching with each quick jerk of my sword. The injury wasn't going to make this easy but I had no other choice. I had to keep fighting. I had to keep moving on. Regardless of how much pain I was in. Debynn taught me better than to act like a wounded animal.

The knight charged at me again. Instead of blocking, I dropped down, slid to the left, and swung at his legs. The knight hopped back but still managed to swing his sword at my face. I tried to jump back up but my foot caught itself on the ground and before I could react I fell forward. My eyes traveled to the knight's sword which was pointed at my neck.

"How dare you mock the Prince, you wench!" The other knight took off his helmet and began to storm over to where we were. He had short black hair and an angry scowl painted his face. "No woman is allowed to sword fight in Galasia. So how dare you come here. Did you wish to try and make a fool of the prince? You ought to be hanged for this!" The scowling man spat at me. My hand reached up to my face and my eyes caught a glance of my shawl several feet behind me. It must have come off when I fell.

The knight who had his sword to me stopped the other soldier in his tracks. He too took off his helmet, revealing a face she had seen in many books. It was the Prince of Galasea. Had I been fighting him the entire time? If only I hadn't tripped.

"Waryn! Calm yourself."

"My prince, she is a girl!"

"That is enough, Waryn!" The Prince knelt down and extended his hand. I took it graciously. He was quite beautiful for a man. "You are quite the sword fighter. What is your name?"

"Ezailia." The name escaped my lips before I could decide whether to tell him my real name or not. It had become so easy to say as of late.

"Well, my mother would have been honored." He chuckled. A nervous chuckle escaped my own lips. I should have told him a different name. "Well, you are a pretty good fighter. Would you be interested in joining my knights?"
"We haven't even seen the other contenders yet. Prince Andrion, what will the kingdom say to a girl standing beside you?"
Prince Andrion frowned at the knight named Waryn.
"I can cut my hair." I blurted out. I hadn't really thought about doing such a thing, but these were desperate times.
"It's settled then." The Prince grasped my uninjured shoulder.

"My Prince!"
We all turned toward the entrance where a man stood out of breath. It was Carther. I quickly turned away. Had he seen my face? Why was he here?
"Carther!" Prince Andrion exclaimed. "What a surprise."
"Let me explain," Carther begged. I saw him approach from the corner of my eye. "This is Emilea."

I shot a glare over to Carther. Way to blow my cover.

"Her?" Waryn asked. "You must be tired as well as confused, Emilea. Why don't you go get showered up and we will explain everything after." The Prince whistled and seconds later a young lad was showing me the way through the castle. How did the prince know about me and how did he know Carther? Hopefully, things would be explained as the Prince had promised. For now, a bath sounded absolutely lovely.