The Gauntlet

Most of the Are Alright... Most

Chapter 6:

(Hildegard POV)

I walked down to meet the tributes that were left. I had heard of the princes: Prince Edward, Prince Arthur and Prince Jacob. From what I know Prince Edward courted Clio at one point but, it apparently wasn't a good courtship but, Clio wouldn't tell me more than that. Amber had spent some time with Prince Arthur, she cautioned me that he enjoys talking about himself and is interested in sports and flying derby (He couldn't say enough about Sofia apparently). I didn't know much about Prince Jacob, other than he was the Crown Prince of Nealaria. The nobility and the knights were more of a mystery, I hadn't heard anything good or bad about any of them but, I sent word to Clio to ask James about some of the knights so that gave me some peace of mind. I didn't want to enter this with rose colored glasses and knowledge was power in this powerless position.

The 10 of them were lined up in the order that they made their way out of the maze. I stood in the middle, "Congratulations to all of you. You will be competing in the final day tomorrow. I will be spending time with each of you based on the amount of time that you had leftover after getting out of the maze." I turned to face Prince Edward, "Crown Prince Edward you completed the maze first in 1 hour and 13 minutes so you are rewarded 47 minutes of my company, chaperoned by Crown Princess Astrid and Prince Axel." He nodded and extended his hand for me to take. I took his hand but turned back to face the others, "Someone will come and retrieve each of you when it is time for me to take my walk with each of you." The all nodded and I brought my attention back to Prince Edward. He brought me over to the library where we sat down.

He looked me up and down and I immediately felt uncomfortable. We made polite conversation mostly regarding him, his kingdom, his interests, his family. He didn't seem that interested in learning more about me. He also never let go of my hand. He wouldn't let me move it away from the table or release it even when I had asked him to. I was grateful for the fact that Astrid and Axel were nearby because something warned me that was the only thing keeping him from going further than just holding my hand hostage. Finally his time came to an end and we stood up. He removed my glove from my hand and kissed the top of my palm, "You are much more agreeable than the last princess I courted. I can't wait until I win your hand." "If you win my hand," I corrected. He brought his hand to my face tilting my chin back as he stood on an angle blocking view from Axel and Astrid, "I meant when I win." He moved his finger across my lips sending a shudder down my spine. He took a step back, "Until we meet again Princess Hildegard."

I met with the two knights who had worked together, Prince Arthur, Prince Jacob and Lord Bartleby they all just kept trying to impress me, telling me about their accomplishments, wealth and kingdoms. Each walked me to a different section of the palace from the library, interior gardens, exterior gardens, dinning hall etc. They seemed nice enough and I could see myself living a good life with them. The only person who I was scared to end up with was Prince Edward. Now it was time for Zandar he had 36 minutes with me and I was curious to see what he planned on doing with it.

(Zandar POV)

I had written James and Desmond to find out more about my competition. I was still waiting to hear back but I knew that there were some problems with two of the Crown Princes that each of them had. I thought about where the best place to take her was and then I realized I knew the perfect place. I waited for her to meet me in the hallway and saw her walking with Astrid and Axel. She went down into a curtsey, "King Zandar." I smiled over at her and bowed, "Princess Hildegard." "So where are you taking me?" She asked. "Well, I figured you have been dragged all around your own castle today by people who don't live here so I figured I'd let you choose." Surprise washed across her face and a smile was there for a minute, "I know the perfect place." She guided me down to the hallway where I saw her my first night here. She opened the door and there was a room figured with fabric and designs all across the table. She turned to Astrid and Axel, "There is a chaise where you two can sit over there." She pointed in the room near the back where there was a staging area with mirrors.

She sat down at the drawing table where her sewing machine was along with a bunch of papers scattered across the table. It was so un-Hildegard like. She always had been a perfectionist and having everything in a place seeing a bit of chaos here was refreshing. She seemed more relaxed and I could feel her stress dissipating. "So what should we talk about this time?" I asked. She shrugged, "I don't know I am kind of in the midst of an information overload so if we can just relax..." "Princess Hildegard wanting to relax I never thought I'd see the day." She looked over at me, "Were you always this sarcastic with everyone or is it reserved only for me?" I shrugged, "You. All of it is for you."

She didn't have a response too that so she changed the subject, "You know, I am not sure if you were the most awesome escort at Amber and Desmond's wedding." I gaped open my mouth and brought my hand to my chest, "I'm wounded Princess Hildegard. How could I not have been the most awesome escort at the wedding?" She laughed a little, "Well you walked down the aisle at a good pace, you were polite, you were a pretty good dancer but, I think that King Hugo had you beat" I gawked over at her, "King Hugo? He ditched his bridesmaid and spent the night dancing with Queen Sofia." She glared at me, "You mean his wife, who was maid-of-honor." "Pft, like that is an excuse and Prince James was the same ditching the maid-of-honor for Princess Clio. I am the only groomsmen who stuck with my bridesmaid the entire wedding." "We danced once," she said. "For four songs." She sighed, "Fine you were a pretty awesome groomsman." "I knew it. I always win." "Always?" She asked. I looked her in the eye, "That has been the trend so far." "Do you think that it will still continue?" She asked looking up at me. Her eyes were wide and it looked like they were laced with tears, "Remains to be seen."

We continued talking and eventually Astrid and Axel came over to us, "Hildegard it is time to go to the next person, Sir Myles." Hildegard nodded her head and turned to face me, "Good luck tomorrow." She stood up and left walking arm in arm with Astrid. As they walked Axel turned around and gave me thumbs up. I smiled to myself and set down a small gift on her table and walked out of her space. Hildegard was hard to read most of the time but, I was hoping that she was warming up to me.

(Hildegard POV)

I met with the knight Sir Myles, Count Julian and Duke Vladimir. The two members of nobility had a little over 10 minutes each so I was able to finish quickly. I went back to my design room to relax for the rest of the evening when I noticed a small, white box with a blue ribbon. I removed the ribbon and opened the box and there was a spools of gold and silver thread and sky blue tulle fabric and two gold hair clips. I realized what it was and smiled to myself.