The King's Mistress

Chapter 120: On The Windowsill

After quite the journey through the forest, Opal finally reached Alistair’s side. When Roxine glanced over to see who or what Alistair was talking to, she was surprised to see that it was Opal.

"What’s she doing here? Shouldn’t she be with Sierra?" She asked, confused.

Diane looked over too. She gasped in surprise to see Opal.

"She’s pretty isn’t she? I don’t think any of us had ever seen a snake-like this before," Roxine commented.

"You’re right. I think I’ve only ever heard of one but I’ve never seen one in person before."

"You’ve heard of it?" Roxine gasped in surprise. freewebnσvel.cѳm

Perhaps there were other snakes just like Opal out there. Diane further explained that Opal belonged to a species of snakes known as prism serpents. Unlike regular snakes, they were extremely rare and were rumored to have magical abilities.

"Magical abilities?" Roxine gasped in shock.

Alistair gently caressed the top of Opal’s head, feeling her smooth color changing scales beneath his finger. After Roxine related the story of how the snake had received a blessing from the Patron Sea Serpent, Diane was surprised.

"There was once a legend of snakes being able to take on the form of a sea serpent to assist humans in their times of need. Perhaps those snakes were blessed by the Patron Sea Serpent. At least, that’s what we’ve been led to believe."

"Fascinating," Alistair mused, "She’s just as unique as her owner."

Glancing over the scoreboard once more, Sierra finally topped the charts much to everyone’s surprise. She now had over 367 points, while Princess Cassandra had 331 points.

"Seems like it’s going to be a close fight," Roxine mused as she pointed over to the clock they were using to keep time for the event.

There were only a few minutes left.

Back in the forest, with a bit of luck, Sierra had found another herd. This one was smaller than the tusk boars, there were only 6. It was a herd of deers. Carefully taking aim at them, Sierra shot her arrows one after the other.

The first fivehit their marks and the deers collapsed one after the other. However, the final arrow hit one of the deers as it turned to try and escape. This allowed one final deer to make haste through the forest for cover.

Sierra kicked into action at once. Based on her calculation, she was down to her last minutes, perhaps even her last few seconds before the test came to an end. She was not about to let this final prey go.

She mounted Midnight at once and gave chase. While maintaining a good galloping rhythm she readied her bow and arrow. She could see a low-hanging branch coming up before her.

There was no time like the present.

Sierra shot her arrow and bent backward to avoid the low-hanging branch. She closed her eyes as she waited for the sound she was searching for. But she never heard it.

Because at the very same moment, a final bell for the end of the contest ring. Sierra opened her eyes to check on her kill. She had successfully shot the deer square in its head, killing it instantly.

A smile formed on her face as she made her way out of the forest, to gather with the rest.

"I hope that one counts, good work Midnight," She muttered to herself before caressing the neck of her horse. freёweɓnovel.com

"You deserve all the carrots you want and more," she mused.

Midnight seemingly understood what she said and hit her cloven hoof on the ground twice in delight. As they emerged from the forest, they were greeted with resounding applause from the spectator stand. Sierra was the sixth princess to emerge from the forest.

She smiled as she looked for Alistair in the crowds. It was at that moment that she realized alongside him, Roxine, and Diane were standing too. All of them were clapping.

Roxine pointed excitedly to the board diagonally behind Sierra, beckoning her to take a look. Sierra wiped the sweat off her brow as she turned to look at it. She scanned for her name from the bottom of the list.

"Where is it?" She wondered to herself. Out of the ten slots on the board, every princess’s name was on it except for hers and Cassandra’s.

She looked up, it was for the two spaces right at the top. The scorer was on a ladder, changing the scores and the names to determine the final ranking. The scores were close.

The top score came up to 468, while the second-place score was 461. Sierra held her breath as the scorer placed the names.

Sierra got the top spot.

She won.

"Congratulations, Princess Sierra. You did well," Cassandra’s voice rang out loud.

Sierra turned to face her, stunned to see that she had held out her hand, ready to shake hers. Even Princess Agnes, who watched it all from the side-stared at them in shock.

Myra and Taita were stunned too.

"Than... thank you. You did great too," Sierra replied as she shook her hand.

"You’re too modest," Cassandra replied.

~

After the hunt was over, came the feast and celebration. The end of the archery test also marked the end of the concubine choosing. Though the final situation would still take a few days, the celebration was also to celebrate all the effort the princesses had put in.

Everyone was ready and excited to turn up in their best dresses. Sierra sighed as she mulled over what to wear at her dressing table. She glanced back at the options she had hanging on the hangers.

A knock suddenly caught her attention. Ida and Sierra both froze in their position and looked over at each other. Sierra was almost certain the knock did not come from the door.

Ida was facing Sierra. She also happened to be facing the window.

"It came from the window," she whispered to Sierra as she pointed toward it.

She had kept the window open to allow the cool evening breeze to blow in. Sierra carefully turned over as she saw a shadow move by the window. A large box was left on the windowsill.