"You are definitely the center of attention, Your Majesty. I am simply blind." she played along with a smile.
Alistair chuckled and she did so too.
"Blind and mute? My my, I am beginning to worry if you can become a suitable criteria concubine. I might have to demerit you, Princess Sierra," he continued.
At that moment, Sierra felt as if there were no barriers between them. It did not take long for her to read between the lines of his statement, confirming the fact that he was indeed the man she had saved on that dark moonlit night.
He had cleverly made it known to her, she had to give him credit for doing so. She could hardly believe it. On the other hand, Alistair was getting more and more intrigued by the young woman before her.
It did not help the fact that he had not been able to find out much about her. Though the Kingdom of Cair and Drakin were not far, Cair was not a large kingdom. It was pretty insignificant. Information about their princess seemed even harder to procure.
But nothing was impossible for him. His Minister of Whispers would be able to find anything he needed.
"Congratulations on your win, Princess Sierra. Would you like to claim your prize?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
As soon as those words left his lips, it seemed to have caught the attention of everyone in close vicinity. If only they had known there was a prize to be offered by the King! All of them would have clamored to participate.
It was a double blow for Agnes who lost. She was fuming with anger and jealousy knowing Sierra would be getting it instead of her.
"A prize? I didn't know there was going to be a prize involved." perhaps if she knew what it was, she might have opted out of it.
Sierra did not want to attract any unnecessary attention to herself. Her fights with Agnes already did that but she did it to defend Myra. Whatever Alistair was about to offer was going to earn her the jealousy of all the other princesses for sure.
That was something she wished to avoid. One enemy was more than enough. Alistair took a step closer. Now they were barely inches apart and all eyes were on them. Sierra could see their eyes oozing with jealousy.
She could feel her heart palpitating in her chest. She could smell the scent of Alistair. It smelled of pinewood and cypress which she found a little off.
Why would a King smell like the forest?
"I would offer you one. But remembering the fact that you were supposed to be punished, I think the best reward I can give you would be to be pardoned," he declared.
"Oh, that would be great. Thank you, Your Majesty. You're too kind." Sierra said as she bowed deeply.
Alistair wanted to speak more to Sierra, especially in private. But he had to go. The sun was setting soon which meant it was time for him to attend the evening court session before dinner.
He gave Sierra a simple nod and left with his guards on his horse. Everyone who was still present in the archery grounds got down on their knees and watched as King Alistair rode off into the distance. Once he was out of the Celestial Lodge premises, everyone got back to what they did before.
Myra came over to Sierra, excited to know how she felt about the entire exchange she had with Alistair. Some of the other princesses came forward to listen too.
"There's nothing much to say, all of you were there too," Sierra chuckled, uncertain of what they expected from her.
"Didn't you feel anything? If I were you, I would have swooned or fainted just to see how he would react!" one of the other princesses exclaimed.
"I think my heart would explode with happiness."
"I would not be able to speak!"
Sierra could not understand half of what they meant. Why would she want to fake swoon in his arms? What if he did not catch her? But she resonated with the other half.
Her heart was palpitating the entire time she spoke to him. She worried she might accidentally say something wrong or offend him. But was that not because he had a reputation for being a cruel king?
Was there another reason for it after all?
Sierra pushed it all to the back of her mind as she returned to the Celestial Lodge's main building. Her stomach was growling by the time she got through the main doors. Aromatic fragrances of savory and sweet smells permeated her senses.
It was beginning to make her mouth water too.
"What is that amazing aroma I'm smelling?" Myra spoke what was on Sierra's mind as she stepped into the main building too.
"My princesses, that would be your dinner," One of the kitchen maids explained while keeping her eyes on the ground.
Ida rushed up to Sierra, "Your Highness, I have prepared a hot water bath for you!"
She greeted her maid with a smile and appreciated how thoughtful she was. Even the maids she had back home whom she grew up with would never have been able to accurately predict what she needed as Ida did.
"That's perfect, thank you, Ida," Sierra thanked her with a smile as she placed her hand on Ida's shoulder.
The palace maid beamed with pride as she led Sierra up the stairs. Upon entering the room, she was stunned by how clean it looked. While it was not very dusty when they first arrived, now it looked almost as good as new.
If she had not known better, Sierra would have assumed a group of servants came into the room to give it a make-over. She turned to look at Ida, She looked like she needed a break and a good long bath too.
"I think we both need a bath," Sierra teased.
Ida blushed in embarrassment as she glanced over to the full-length mirror and caught a glimpse of her appearance.
"Oh dear, please forgive me, Your Highness! I wanted you to have a clean place to rest during your stay here so I cleaned the room but it seems like I'm the one who needs cleaning now." she chuckled.
The bath helped Sierra to relax. The smell of lavender lingered on her body even after she got out of the water. Changing into the fresh set of clothes Ida had set out for her, Sierra got ready for dinner.