The Royal Seamstress | ONC2020

Chapter 16: Archery

After speaking with Lord Surry, I went to the public room to see the King. He was already in an audience about the first matters of the day. I waited quietly for the turn to be mine. The King looked upset, like the matter before him was everything else than pleasing. He also yelled out in frustration a couple of times.

As he sent the man before him away, I stepped forward and a smile spread across the King's face.

"Elizabeth," he said. "What a pleasant surprise. Finally, a pretty face to look upon. What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to tell you, that I have finished all of the three dresses, you wanted me to make for the Queen." I smiled at him encouragingly, though he said nothing. He just looked at me, right into my eyes. His breathing was uneven, like the desire to take me right on the spot was almost to appealing for him. His self-control was dangling in a thin thread. It was only a matter of time before he would do something irrational. Suddenly, he recovered, and it twitched in his body, like he came out of a trance.

"Good," he said. "Let me see them."

"Of course, your Majesty," I said in a teasing tone because I knew he didn't want me to call him by his formal title. I noticed the raise in his brow. He wasn't content with my address, but I couldn't care less. I was going to blow him away with my three marvelous creations.

I brought in the three dresses. One by one. While I smiled at the King, observing his every move. I was trying to find out whether he was content or not with my work. He looked troubled. I had to ask him what was on his mind and hopefully, he would enlighten me.

"Your creations are absolutely marvelous," he said, clasping his hands together and rose to approach me. "I knew you could do it, Elizabeth. I am more than content with your work, and I'm sure the Queen will also think so. Now, your reward."

The doors opened and a couple of servants came in. They carried a large box. As they placed it on the ground, Henry asked them to open it to reveal the content of the box. As the lid came off a large bunch of colored fabric came into sight. Henry walked towards the box and dragged the fabric from the box. As he walked back to me, he showed me a big expensive dress in a pattern which showed both gold and richness of materials.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" I exclaimed. "Is that for me?"

"It is. I promised you a dress and here you have an Italian creation, but you need to do me a favor before having it."

I looked at him with a strange look. What in the name of God did he want now?

"You have to change into the dress now and meet me in the garden for some practice with archery."

"You want to teach me how to use a bow?"

"Yes."

I smiled and answered that of course I would come, but before I left, I had to ask him why he seemed so downcast.

"Henry, why are you in bad spirits?" I tried not to seem too sneaky. "I saw your downcast face when I came to see you and I just wanted to know what's bothering you."

"Oh, it's nothing," he said, taking my hand. "Sir Leigh has just been found dead this morning. He died from the sweat apparently."

I almost gasped. Sir Leigh had been on the list Lord Surry had given me. Another noble was gone to my great luck, but Henry could never find out and I had to seem surprised and unhappy about his loss.

"I'm so sorry, Henry, for your loss."

"He was a dear friend but sometimes God is cruel and take the good people from earth."

I had an urge to feel sorry for him, though I needed to think of myself firstly. I had no space inside me to have such sad feelings. This was also a question of my own survival, otherwise my head was going to be separated from my body.

I turned around and walked out the room, down the sewing room to change my dress. I was to meet him in the gardens in just a quarter of an hour. I had hoped to have him alone, but I knew some other nobles was going to be there. The King was never alone, only in the evening when he was with a lover or with the Queen. The evening was the only time he was my own.

As I walked into the garden, I saw Henry standing together with Lord Hereford and Sir Bamburgh; two of the other men Lord Surry wanted me to kill. I needed to think fast. I had to kill one of them now when I had the chance.

"Elizabeth, come and meet these two gentlemen," Henry said as I approached the little group. "The dress suits you perfectly."

I smiled at him and thanked him for the kind words. He presented the two gentlemen as possible new lovers in the most indirect way, but I got the message. He wanted to make my options greater for finding a husband.

Henry held a bow in his hand and waved me over to him after the introduction. With small movements I walked to him. As I reached him, he embraced me into his grasp, letting him show me how to shoot. As I slipped the arrow and I hit bulls' eye. I was ready to kill the next man. The next to shoot was Henry and he shot an arrow right beside mine in the middle of the target.

"Very good, Your Majesty," Lord Hereford said. "You must be the best archer in the Kingdom."

"God is just with me today, and now it's your turn, Hereford," Henry replied and gave him the bow. Lord Hereford reached out and took hold of the bow. He reached for an arrow and as he pointed it towards the target I pretended to trip over a little rock in the grass and fell into Lord Hereford who fired the arrow in the moment our bodies came into contact. The arrow hit Sir Bamburgh right in the heart and he fell to the ground immediately. Henry looked at him with a surprised gaze.

"You idiot, what are you doing?" he yelled and knelt down beside the fallen noble man. He checked on the poor Sir Bamburgh. "You've killed him!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Miss Webb fell into me and I slipped the arrow in shock."

Henry looked at me instead. I was still sitting on the ground, still pretending to have fallen over a rock and complaining over a false pain in my foot.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I took a step and tripped over a rock. I think my ankle is sprained."

Henry rush to my side, picking me up at once.

"I will take you to a physician. It's not your fault Sir Bamburgh is dead," he said tenderly before turning to Lord Hereford. "And you are going into the tower. You will lose your head for this!"

Word count: 1235 words.

Total word count: 18509 words.