Hand of the Heart | S. Rogers x Reader - Royal AU

Ch. 3 - The First Dinner

All the competitors were gathered at your large oak table that was enough to seat a small village. You waited until the servants set all the food onto the table and everyone was seated for you to stand up and clank your fork against your glass goblet. The noise gained the attention of the room.

"Thank you all for volunteering for my Tournament. I wish you all luck in each of the competitions, but before I disclose what the first game will be, I'd like to go over all of the rules and offer everyone here a chance to withdraw."

You paused before continuing. "First, the sole winner of the Tournament will be immediately engaged to me and therefore will be King of Evradia after the coronation. Depending on your country and title, you will either join your country with mine, be double-titled, or simply be given a higher rank."

"Second, under no circumstances will any of you be given an unfair advantage compared to your opponents. That means I will disclose nothing about future games during our times alone together. Yes, there will be a brief, two-day period between each of the games so I have the chance to get to know all of you better. The winners of the games will spend more time with me than the men that fall short, but pass still. I warn you against trying to manipulate me into telling you anything about the competitions."

"Third, if somehow one of you manages to sabotage another competitor, this will be considered treason. For you would be interfering with your own or another country, a future queen's marriage and therefore, the Kingdom of Evradia itself. You will be tried and sentenced to death for treason."

"And most importantly, anything that I say or do goes. You are all powerful men in your countries, but I have brought you all here and this is my Tournament. That being said, enjoy your wins and learn from your losses. I wish you all the best, and to finish, I will disclose the first game, which will take place tomorrow afternoon."

"Before I do, would anyone like to withdraw from the Tournament?" You were met with dead silence. The whole dining room was quiet, hanging onto your every word. It made you feel powerful. You continued, "The first game is archery."

Mumbles broke out between the volunteers. You picked out a few things like, "Archery? I'm no good at that." and "Now I wish I had volunteered, I'm the best archer in all our kingdoms."

You clanged your fork against your goblet until they were quiet again. "The rules of this particular game will be run through before it's played. There shall be no discussions between any of the competitors after dinner, you may eat now."

You spared no expense when it came to the first feast of the Tournament. With cooked pheasant, geese, and chicken. Various side-dishes from all around the world and many local, from Evradia.

The meal looked delicious, but you ate very little, your appetite small because of the anxiousness for the first game the following day.

You engaged in conversation with Princess Shuri as she talked about the metal mining in Wakanda, and how it was thriving. She confided in you about her worries about her own engagement. You reassured her that she had nothing to worry about.

Prince Brock spent the entirety of the feast making you uncomfortable by staring at you. It was intense and made dinner seem longer than necessary. You figured he thought he held some sort of entitlement or authority over you, being a man of the same station. When this was false in your eyes.

You found yourself glancing at Captain Rogers and more than once did you meet his gaze. He was having a discussion with his knights and with the princes of Asgard. The knights were still in their armor, and you wouldn't lie and say that none of them looked pleasing to the eye.

Every time his ocean blue eyes met yours, your heartbeat picked up and your breath hitched. He kept on looking, but you simply smiled and returned to your conversation with the Ladies. It was important for him not to think you had bias already.

By the end of dinner, your corset felt as if it were suffocating you, even though you'd been wearing the same one the entire day and you hadn't eaten much in the past hour. You stood at the doorway and wished each man a good night's sleep before the game tomorrow.

After everyone left the dining room, you went back to your study and made sure everything was set for the game. Once you were sure, you retired to your chambers and let your servants undress you and redress you in a nightgown.

You found it hard to sleep that night, but eventually, you closed your eyes and didn't wake until the sun peeked through your curtains.