Chapter twenty four: Let's sell Jamie
"Princess Jamie of Namura....princess Jamie of Namura" he repeated.
Slowly the clapping slowed as everyone spoke in whisper about the whereabouts of the last princess. Annabelle lowered to the floor to hide her face and so did Edith. It was their job to produce Princess Jamie and they had failed.
The look on the king's face was annoyance and a hint that he knew something like that wasn't far off of what his youngest daughter was capable of doing. He turned to his oldest daughter and spoke with precision.
"Where is your sister, Arabella?"
"I don't know father. The guards should check the stables; maybe Jamie thinks she is one of the horses, now." Arabella smiled as she spoke of her ill mannered sister.
"Your sister is not a horse, Arabella. just... spirited"
"More like discourteous" Elliott quipped in.
"Insolent" Arabella countered
"Impertinent" Elliott said again.
"Enough! Both of you. Your sister might be a handful but she is none of those words. No daughter of mine will ever be" King Jared admonished his two children.
"Too late" Elliot pretended to cough and said.
"We should sell her, father" Arabella suggested
"Enough! We are not selling your sister" even king Jared smiled. He thought about it and for a second it was almost a good idea. It made him smile.
The king ordered for the festival to continue and it did.
The ten young boys fought valiantly but one by one many fell and were defeated. One by one, they were carried out of the arena either unconscious or seriously injured until the last four.
People cheered as the unveiling drew nearer and nearer. The four young boys were ordered to come before the king and they complied.
By the way their walked you could tell, they were exhausted and barely walking straight. One of the young boys had a deep cut on his right hand, courtesy of the red knight. When they battled, it was one of the fiercest to watch. All the knight, the red knight fought lost except the young boy with the deep cut and the battle would have gone on forever if the king had not announced it a tie because four knights were needed not three.
The red knight clutched his sword tightly like it would be taken away from him if he let go of it. His heart beat faster and faster as they came closer to the king. Even though he walked behind the three other boys, his steps were uneven and his pace faltered a bit, the repeated blow to his helmet must have left a terrible headache. He felt a surge of happiness as he joined the boys to kneel before the king to be dub knight of Namura. It was his lifelong dream and in about a jiffy it was going to come true.
The red knight watched as the king approached the first boy, he saw the boy's hand shake a little. Been up close to the king was intimidating and the boy was allowed to feel it. The red knight smiled a little, he wouldn't feel intimated by the crown or the giant man that wore it. He would be honored to be finally be recognized for being a true warrior, worthy enough to defend Namura.
"People of Namura! I present the four bravest boys of our great kingdom!" The king presented the boys and there was uproar as the people of Namura cheered.
"And now, it's time to unveil and induct into the realm of Knights" the king continued
"Unveil! Unveil! Unveil!" Everyone chanted
The king came down to the arena with the leader of the realm of knights' right behind him. He approached the first boy and he knelt down before his king.
"Unveil" the king commanded.
The first boy took his helmet off and people cheered especially his family. He had made his noble house proud and they will forever be honored. It was a great honor for a noble house to have produced a knight.
"I am Noah of the house of Randolph, your majesty"
"For your bravery, I thereby dub you as Sir Noah, Knight of Namura"
Noah stood up as everyone cheered for him. Even though he tried not to smile it was very difficult not to.
"Unveil" The King commanded the second boy.
The boy took off his helmet.
"I am Evan of the house O'Hare, your Majesty"
"For your bravery, I thereby dub you as Sir Evan, Knight of Namura" King commanded and people cheered the new knight.
"Unveil" The King commanded
The third boy took off his helmet
"I am Ramsey of the house of Zane, your majesty"
"For your bravery, I thereby dub you as Sir Ramsey, knight of Namura"
When the king got to the popular boy, the people called the red knight. The cheer became louder and louder. The remaining noble houses waited patiently to claim their heroic son.
"The red knight! The red knight! The red knight!" The people of Namura chanted in delight.
"You are quite popular, red knight. Unveil before your king"
Even the king wanted to find out, who he was.
"Do I have to?" The tiny voice behind the helmet queried the king.
"What insolence!" The head Knight drew his sword to maim the young boy but the king stopped him by using his sword to deflect the attack.
"Stand down, Sir Zadok" and the head Knight obeyed his king.
"Yes, you have to take off the helmet. It's why it is called unveiling. Boy, it's literally the definition of unveiling"
"Okay, if you insist" the voice told the King.
He knew that voice but before he could do anything about the voice, the helmet was off. The king felt his heart pound as the familiar long black hair fell down the young boy's back.
"I am princess Jamie of Namura"
The king felt his body stiffen as gasps escape from everyone in the arena.