The Princess And The Guard

Nicholas - The Tests

Chess had been one of the things that I liked to do when I am bored, so I am pretty good at it. During the round, I told her my story. She didn't speak much in comparison. When I won the first match, she didn't look mad or anything.

I lost the second round. She, once again, didn't react.

During the third round, I swear there was a lot of tension. And I won.

For the first time, she react.  Although not in a way I wanted.

"Guards!" She shouted. A squad of guards, not the royal bodyguards since she didn't have any, came running in. "I want you to lock this man in the prison under the tightest security! Don't feed him or anything for one week!" She pointed at me.

I was frozen in shock as they dragged me away.  Just as I was about to get dragged out of the throne room.  I finally remembered to defend myself.

"Wait! I didn't commit any crime! All I did was win two rounds of chess! I'm innocent! Wait!"

That didn't do any good. I was locked in prison under the tightest securities anyway.

One of the prison guards asked me, "What exactly did you do? Did you cheated?"

"No! All I did was to win two rounds of chess!"

"Whatever, don't worry too much. Our queen may have a temper, but she's too soft hearted to let you starved." Soft hearted, huh?

"Yeah, yeah," another guard agrees. "She's a good queen. She listens to the peasants and passes laws to help farmers. She even personally visit schools."

"In that case," I said. "Why is she so cruel to me?"

"You must have done something."

An hour later, the butler, Stefan, came to visit me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Hungry." I grumbled. "Did you came to bring me some food?"

"No, sorry. I came to explain something."

"Like why I'm imprisoned?"

"No, but to tell you about Clarabella's past."

I walked closer to him so I can hear better, which is hard since my hands and legs are shackled to the wall.

"As you heard, her family was murdered three years ago by her tutors and maid. Her sister was also guilty."

"But why?" I asked.

"Her sister was envious of her. She wanted to marry Clarabella's betroth."

"Clarabella is betrothed?"

"Not anymore."

"How did Clarabella survived?"

"She used her royal powers to escape. For a few weeks, we thought she was killed too because she ran off. Then she returned and accused the ones behind the murder of treason. We were shocked at first about her own sister behind it but she brought proof. She had spent all those time gathering evidences."

He paused a moment to let it sink in.

"But why am I here? She's not a sore loser is she?"

He smiled without any humor. "I'm afraid the information is confidential."

I raised my arms to show off the shackles. "Is this really necessary?"

He shrugged. "If I were you, I would break out of there."

"Won't that get me in more trouble?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." then he leaned in and whispered to me,"It's all a test. Get out."