The King's Mistress

Chapter 115: I Hope You’re Right

The final test, archery, was just on the horizon. Everyone grew increasingly nervous as rumors on details of the test began to surface rapidly. Parts of the forest near Vargos Castle were barricaded for the preparation.

"I heard that we’ll have to hunt some sort of beast? How scary!"

"I heard it’s going to be a race to capture a flag."

"Yesterday, someone caught a glimpse of a bear they were bringing in! What could they possibly want with a bear?"

There was much speculation amongst the princesses. Sierra listened to them all and wondered which ones were true. In the time leading up to the test, she had spent most of it helping Taita and Myra perfect their skills.

Both princesses improved tremendously under her guidance, so much so, that some of the other princesses came to Sierra for advice. This caused instructor Victor in particular to be sour with jealousy. Ever since she humiliated him in front of everyone, he did not like her very much.

All of this was closely monitored by Princess Agnes. She knew this was the perfect opportunity to use him as her perfect scapegoat for the plan she had in mind.

"Myra, you seem distracted these days, is everything alright? Is it something from home?" Sierra asked worriedly when they took a short break from practice.

At first, Myra did not reply. She did not meet Sierra’s gaze. She was staring off into the distance. When Sierra tapped on her arm, she jolted in her seat.

"Sierra, you scared me!" she exclaimed as she placed her hand over her heart.

Taita and Sierra glanced at one another, then back at Myra. The look of concern on their faces said it all.

"What’s wrong? Why are the both of you looking at me like that?" Myra asked, confused.

"Myra... did you not hear the question Sierra just asked?"

"What, no. I didn’t, my apologies. What was it?"

"I asked if everything was alright. You seem distracted these days. Did something happen back home?" Sierra repeated her question, now a little more concerned than before.

Myra darted her eyes around. She was trying to ensure no one was around them before she voiced her concerns. At first, Sierra had assumed perhaps Myra was just nervous about the upcoming test. But when she began to explain, she quickly realized her theory was false.

"I’ve just been thinking about something..."

"About what?"

She bit her lip and looked up at the both of them, "Could you two promise me to keep this a secret?"

Without hesitation, Taita and Sierra agreed.

"Our lips are sealed, Princess Myra," Taita declared.

"Our lips are sealed," Sierra echoed her words.

Myra nodded as she took in a deep breath.

She squinted her eyes shut, and curled her hands into fists as she blurted it out, "I’m thinking of forfeiting the archery test."

"What? Why?" Sierra couldn’t understand why she would do so.

The princess had steadily improved her skills over the last few weeks. She was getting really good at it and the chances of scoring well were high.

Myra bit her lip as she signaled both Taita and Sierra to lean in close so that she could whisper a secret to them. The princesses did as she asked. Upon hearing it, Sierra was taken aback. Myra looked over at them. Though they had only known each other for a short period of time, she felt like she could trust them.

They’ve been there for each other all this time, Myra did not know anyone else who would have done the same for her should they end up in a similar situation. But her little secret was a shocking one.

Myra had a childhood friend and growing up, they were inseparable. Needless to say, they had fallen in love over the years. When Myra was summoned to Drakin, their relationship was put on pause.

They knew there was a chance she would not get chosen to be a concubine and she had been riding on that. But there was also the possibility that more than one princess would be chosen. In the time they had been apart, both Myra and her childhood friend had done a lot of thinking and self-reflection.

Together they came to a conclusion. They wanted to be together.

Myra did not know how Taita and Sierra would react to this news. She held her breath as her heart pounded in her ears.

Sierra reached out and held Myra’s hands in hers.

"Myra, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you!" Sierra exclaimed with glee.

The positivity Sierra gave came as a surprise. Myra was half expecting negative responses from both of them. But instead, it was all positive. Taita congratulated her too, all smiles.

"You... aren’t you going to convince me to reconsider? To not go through with..."

"Why would we ever do that?" Sierra mused.

"Sierra is right. We would never do that! As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters," Taita added.

Myra could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. The unconditional support they had shown her was more than she could ever ask for.

"I don’t want to be a wet blanket in this situation, but I think it would still be best for you to take part in the test, Myra," Sierra suggested.

If she chose not to, it would only make the situation more suspicious. Should Myra choose to escape on the day itself, an investigation would be launched for sure.

Myra listened silently while Sierra explained her theory on the situation. She bit her lip as she weighed her options.

"I agree with Princess Sierra, Myra. Perhaps waiting till after the archery test is completed would be better."

"If you don’t get chosen, the situation works in your favor. If you are, I’ll help you find a way out. We can smuggle you out of Drakin. There’s always a way," Sierra said reassuringly.

"Smuggle me out? I don’t want to jeopardize any of you. I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to any of you," Myra cried with tears in her eyes.

Sierra caringly wrapped her hand around Myra’s shoulder and brought her close. Myra had been a close friend, one of the few she’s ever had in her life. She would do anything if it meant she was happy.

"You don’t have to worry about anything."

"I think it’s safe to say out of all of us, you stand the highest chance of being chosen, Sierra," Taita mused with a smile.

Myra nodded, agreeing with her statement.

Sierra knew how the situation looked to others, but they didn’t know the truth of it all. She can’t be picked. Not if her real identity was exposed. Furthermore, the princesses were going to be ranked based on the points they had received from each test.

While those results had not been announced or updated to let them know who stood a higher chance, for fairness, Sierra was fairly certain she did not have the highest spot. freēwebnovel.com

"There are rules to this," Sierra sighed as she looked away in the distance for a moment, "Whatever we have might become a thing of the past when the results are announced."

Sierra got up from her seat and walked over to the window. She gazed out into the night sky, allowing the cool evening breeze to lift her hair above her shoulders. She remembered the times Alistair and her flew across the sky without a care in the world.

It stood to be one of her most cherished memories to date. If only that moment never ended. If only it could last forever.

"I’m sure his Majesty would have a huge say in the end result. It’s not all just politics," Taita reasoned.

"Taita’s right. Kingdom politics... plays a role in these things, but so does the King’s choice."

Sierra smiled a little, hoping her friends were right.