Chapter 48

The gathered crowd quieted at Nicholas and Julian’s declaration. The King narrowed his gaze.

“You are saying that Piper did this.”

“Yes,” Nicholas said without hesitation.

Around us, the speculative gazes of the onlookers were more than enough to tell of their disbelief. Yet before they could make me nervous, Julian’s easy laughter claimed everyone’s attention.

“Have you all forgotten how talented Piper is with a bow? She nearly matched me shot for shot during our archery event.”

No one could deny the truth of that. Soon the speculative glances returned more to ones of annoyance and jealousy.

“Very good, Piper.” The King studied me closely, draped over Nicholas’s back as I was. “Though it seems you have gotten injured.”

“A twisted ankle,” I said.

“I will have the physician make certain she is well,” Nicholas added.

The King moved his probing eyes to Nicholas. “Send a servant to do so.”

Nicholas tensed beneath me. “Yes, sir.”

Moving from us, the King approached Nathan. “Send some servants to retrieve the boar for the barbecue tomorrow.”

“At once, Your Majesty.” Nathan quickly directed others to move.

“My wolf companion will guide you to the location.” Nicholas looked down. “Night, if you could.”

Night, who had diligently taken position at Nicholas’s right, stood and followed his command.

“You can lower me now,” I said to Nicholas. I spotted the cameras coming closer. I really didn’t want them to have close-ups of me hanging all over Nicholas.

Slowly, he lowered me down. I could stand on one foot, but I was wobbly. Nicholas stayed at my side, ready to catch me. When I leaned a bit too far in one direction, he placed his hand under my arm and held me more firmly.

The girls began to separate into smaller groups to talk. Olivia came over to Nicholas and me.

“Congratulations, Piper. It must have been an impressive shot you made. How fortunate you were that two princes were able to find you when you were hurt.”

I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, or why she was being so nice. Likely she was only acting this way because Nicholas was beside me. In private, I highly doubted she would be so kind. Regardless, for now, I accepted her words.

“Thank you, Olivia,” I said.

She nodded, then moved on.

Not to be outdone, Linda quickly moved into the place Olivia had vacated.

“Yes, congratulations are in order,” Linda said, sneering slightly. “So… nice that you are now the hero of the event. So… deserved.” The words came stiffly, like it physically pained her to pay the compliments.

“Thank you,” I said, mostly to make this encounter stop.

Linda pressed her lips hard together. “Yes, well… Hopefully you will be more careful next time so as not to hurt yourself and bother our princes.”

“I had no issue assisting Piper,” Nicholas said, voice neutral.

“Most magnanimous of you to say so, Prince Nicholas.” Linda gave a little bow, then excused herself.

I was happy to see her go.

Meanwhile, nearer the cameras, the King was smiling brightly.

“We are so proud of the young women of our kingdom for providing such a good showing today. Piper, as hero of the event, has earned a high amount of ranking. But there are many notable persons that we should highlight…”

I wasn’t hurt that he would so quickly turn attention away from me. I knew I was only here for the publicity stunt, and that the royal family had no actual wish to have me stay in the competition.

Thusly, it made sense for the King to try to guide the public into liking the candidates he preferred, like Olivia and Linda.

Plus, I felt a measure of guilt for having gained such undeserved attention. I had not actually killed the boar. All I had accomplished was nearly getting myself killed.

Granted, if my bow hadn’t been sabotaged, I maybe could have felled the creature on my own. But that possibility still did not seem like enough to warrant all I was now taking claim for.

I knew this had been part of Julian and Nicholas’s plan to make me untouchable. With the credit of the kill, I became the hero of the hunt. This surely made whatever scheme Lena and Joseph planned backfire spectacularly.

Vindicating, truly, but I wasn’t sure how it made me invincible.

Nicholas had said to trust him, and I did. But I really hated lying like this. I was keeping too many secrets already, I didn’t want anymore.

When the spectacle was mostly over, Nicholas led me to a stone bench in the gardens and had me sit.

“I will return with the physician,” he said.

A few minutes later, the physician appeared without him. He’d kept his word, and I was honored that he cared enough to seek out the doctor to begin with.

Yet I couldn’t deny the twinge of disappointment I felt inside when he had not joined her.

The physician checked me over. “You should stay off of your ankle as much as you can. I will have a wheelchair brought in to help you to your room. I’ll make sure you are provided with crutches as well, if you’d prefer.”

Fortunately, outside of the barbecue tomorrow, not much was on the schedule for a few days until the night of the first elimination ceremony. This would give me enough time to recuperate without much issue.

I thanked the physician. Once the wheelchair was brought, she helped me up to my room. I thanked her for that too.

Elva was worried for me initially, when she saw me in the wheelchair. But when she learned I was more or less fine, she was excited to ride the chair around.

Looking around, I noticed that only the quiet maid was there to attend us now. The stranger maid was nowhere to be seen.

“Did something happen to the other maid?” I asked.

“She won’t be returning by royal orders,” the maid said. “I hope that I will be enough to serve you from now on.”

“Of course you are enough,” I said quickly. My mind reeled. “’Royal orders…?’”

She leaned forward. “Prince Nicholas gave the order himself.”

My heart pounded against my ribcage. He was personally seeing to my protection yet again. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying for calm. It didn’t mean anything. I couldn’t quite get my heart to slow, however.

“Tell me your name,” I said to the quiet maid. When she hesitated, I added, “I know it’s not proper, but… you have aided me when few others would. You are more than a servant to me, you are a friend. I’d like to know how to address my friends.”

She seemed embarrassed but she said, “Charlotte.”

I offered her the kindest smile I could. “Nice to officially meet you, Charlotte.”

After I learned her name, Charlotte became much less quiet. “We watched some of the hunt on television. The two princes Nicholas and Julian lost the cameras and the crowds very early on.”

“I heard they did that,” I laughed.

Charlotte gave a soft smile. “So much of the hunt itself didn’t make it into the program. But, from what I saw of the finale, and the public reaction, everyone is behind you, Piper.”

Her words filled me with a sense of pride. I was so pleased that people had begun to cheer for me, and even wanted to back me in this competition. As foolhardy as it was.

Even with my good showing, I knew the end was neigh for me on this competition.

The royal family didn’t want me to win. They just wanted my presence.

It didn’t matter how well I did, I knew when the time came for eliminations, I would be sent home.