Chapter 22

So went her day, and Kit wondered at how long it took for the first dozen Representatives and their delegations to arrive and come through the line. She knew she wouldn’t see any of the Representatives again for a few days because she would be spending her time here, and while they did have two more weeks to arrive, her mother said she didn’t believe it would take any of them that long. She thought they would all be there within the first week, which would leave the second week for entertaining the Representatives before the Choosing itself would begin, assuming the queen didn’t alter the timeline of activities, which she could at her own discretion.

The setting sun ended the welcoming for the first day, and Kit returned to her chambers to freshen herself before dinner. She wouldn’t dine with any of the Representatives this first week as that might give them an unfair advantage. Their quarters were on a hall near her own, and there was a small possibility some of them might see her in the hallway, but her guards were meant to keep her from interacting with any of them. Still, of the twelve she’d met that day, the only one she’d recognized was Pierce, and the only one she was truly curious to see again soon was a tall, broad shouldered blond by the name of Landon who had arrived with the delegation from Brendrake late in the day. As soon as she’d laid eyes on him, a familiar warmth had spread throughout her abdomen, and she thought she’d surely see his light blue eyes in her dreams later that night.

“How did it fair? You must be exhausted,” Blankka asked as Kit made her way immediately to the cushioned chair in front of her window.

“I am utterly drained.” Kit propped her feet up on the end of her bed despite the looks doing so earned her from her cousins.

“I can only imagine. Let me get you a cool drink.” Blankka smiled and set off across the room to pour Kit a glass of something—wine or water, she didn’t care at that point.

The blonde handed her the goblet and Kit took a long swallow of strawberry wine before nodding in thanks. Avinia and Isla had been on their feet all day, too, and they sat now on stools across the room, trying not to look tired. Luckily for Kit, Blankka was not nobility and hadn’t had to attend the welcoming ceremony. She looked fresh as a daisy as she hurried to get the other girls drinks as well.

When Isla had begun her Choosing ceremony, just as Kit started her Exploration, Blankka had been selected by her mother to take her cousin’s place temporarily. However, the girl had become such a good friend and companion to the princess, she’d asked her mother to let her stay on, and the queen had agreed. Isla had chosen her husband, Frano, in three months from a candidacy of ten noblemen selected by the council. Shortly thereafter, Isla had returned to Kit’s service, but having three ladies made things much easier, and the queen prided herself on her good choice in Blankka.

“Well, darling,” Avinia said sipping from a goblet similar to the one Kit had nearly drained, “did you find any intriguing characters?”

Kit’s eyes sparked, thinking of Landon. “One. But I won’t say who.” She winked at her cousin, and Isla began to giggle.

“No matter. I can guess,” Avinia said with a matching grin. “The tall one with shoulders so broad we could both sit on one of them? From Brendrake?”

Kit began to laugh as Blankka asked, “Is she right?” over and over.

“My cousin knows me well,” Kit nodded. “He reminds me a bit of our sweet Terrowin, don’t you think?”

“Is he that powerful?” Blankka asked, a dreamy expression on her face.

“Not quite,” Avinia replied on the princess’s behalf. “But he is younger and most charming, I thought.”

“He seemed very excited to be here,” Isla agreed.

“We must get you dressed soon,” Blankka reminded her, and Kit let out a groan, not even wanting to think about dinner or ever standing up again.

“One of the others looked familiar to me,” Isla said, thoughtfully.

“Pierce de Lunge,” Avinia nodded. “He has been to the castle before.”

“For the celebration of my eighteenth birthday.” Kit remembered a few other men from that night, but the one she would’ve most liked to see was only a faded memory in the back of her mind most of the time. Allowing him to be anything more than that was too painful, so she kept him locked away.

“Did Eastbury arrive yet?” Blankka looked as if she were seeing straight into Kit’s thoughts.

“Oddly, no,” Kit replied, setting her goblet on the windowsill, which made Avinia growl in protest. “They are closest. Why wouldn’t they be here?”

“Perhaps by the time they prepared to come, the road was already so congested they couldn’t do so.” Isla looked around for confirmation that her idea made sense, and Kit nodded. She could see that being a problem.

“Oh. I was curious to see who they might bring,” Blankka said with a nonchalant air Kit could see right through.

“Do you know anyone from Eastbury?” Avinia asked, and Kit shot her a sharp look. Another memory from her birthday night came to mind—Blankka staring after Eli as if she wanted to snatch him up and keep him in her apron pocket. That had been back when the girl worked in the kitchen, before she and Kit had become so close, and while she knew Blankka wouldn’t be pining for Eli if she knew Kit’s history with him, it still made a tinge of jealousy well up inside of her to think of the pretty blonde longing for him. Surely, that’s not why she was asking about Eastbury now.

“I know a few people from there,” Blankka nodded. “Back when I worked in the kitchen, if we ran out of certain items and there were none to be found in the castle, I’d be sent to one of the villages there to fetch them from the market. I met a few kind folks that way.”

Kit believed her. It was silly for her to think that Blankka might still be longing for Eli after all of these years. As far as she knew, he was still in the army, and he could be as far away as Iceforge. She seriously doubted her mother would allow him to come back now—or ever, for that matter. Her stomach rolled as she thought of the injustice, but she couldn’t dwell on it. Having Eli back during her Choosing would only complicate matters anyway. If he were to have come back during her Exploration, perhaps that would’ve been a different matter. But now, she was bound to only the forty-two Representatives. A distraction of that magnitude would be torture.