The False Princess

Chapter 8

The next day, I was woken up early, untied, and ordered to take a bath.
"How on earth am I supposed to take a bath!?" I screamed at them. The vigil shrugged and Kohen told me to figure it out. I scowled at Kohen, but obeyed. I propped my foot up on the top of the bath, screeching in pain the whole time. Gabrielle washed me this time, heaven knows I couldn't do it myself.

After Gabrielle was cursed by me many, many times, I apologized for the names I called her and let her help me get dressed. She let me wear tights and a dark blue tunic that matched my eyes. I didn't go to fighting today. I was in no condition. I spent the time getting medicine from Jaron.

"Sorry if this hurts..." Jaron said. He was trying to take the pain away from my wound. He sprayed something on it and put los of bandages on it. It burned like crazy, but felt better. He said if I had a better splint (which was being made) I would be walking fine in 4 days. It felt a lot better. I could finally get up and walk around by myself. They said I will be wearing boots when I'm presented to the Queen and King in 2 days. I had to catch up on lots of work.

My teachers were helping me until midnight trying to catch me up. I was a fast learner. When it came to cooking, I was horrible. I burnt all my bread and undercooked the stew. We would present our dishes to Kohen tonight.

Let me just tell you, Kohen loved my dish. I have absolutely no clue why. It was horrible. But alright. I was wearing the converse that I got a visit to the dungeon for. Kohen obviously noticed, but said nothing. I guess he gave up on me.

I got to sleep in my own bed that night.
"Your feet smell horrible!" Bria yelled at me.
"Sorry, I forgot to thoroughly spray them with Febreeze after my trip to the dungeon." I said mockingly.

I pulled the cozy blanket over my face. After about half an hour had passed, I se up on my bed. I was about to go sit on the windowsil like I always used to do. As I was starting to sit up, I felt a knife at my back. I didn't dare turn back to see who it was, because the knife would pierce my skin.

"Hey, Myla." said a sweet voice in a deadly tone.

Clair.

"What do you want, Clair?"
"I want you to stop winning!" she said.
"Winning? I was just tortured in a dungeon." I retorted.
"You know what I'm talking about! Kohen likes you. He knows you never give up and think on your feet." She shoved the knife a bit deeper. I yelped.

"I'm going to win. Like it or not. I'll take over Fryna. Now, stop winning. I could kill you any second." she said.
I snorted. "You? Kill me?" I wasn't winning anyways. I would gladly 'surrender' but I want to see where this goes.
"Yeah. Scared?" She let out a giggle with a smile tugging vogorously at her face.

The next day, my leg felt so much better. I went to fighting class just fine, and beat the vigil once again. I was great in running too. We ran a mile and I barely broke a sweat while the others were panting. Then I remembered what Clair said. I had to stop. In reading class, I bombed everything. I knew how to read. Tonight we were being presented to the King and Queen.

Great.

Gabrielle was helping me dress. I was dressed in an elegant red dress. It was long to cover up my knee. I also had long boots on. My hair was done with a small braid in the left side and the rest was down.

The others were dressed really pretty. Bria was in a green dress with her hair in a long braid. Clair was in a light pink dress with her hair in a bow that matched her dress. She had ugly shoes on that matched her dress color too. When I was getting dressed, I forgot to tie the bow, again.

Remind me why there are bows on every dress?

Kohen got a wagon prepared for us. It was small but pretty. We were being presented to the King, Queen, and Prince. We all got inside the wagon. The guards tied a rope on my arms so I wouldn't escape.
"Really? Me and not them?" I asked.
"Well, you are the one who would run." Gobi said to me.

Kohen asked us los of questions on the way.

"If you were in a battle and your opponent was much better than you, and you knew you were going to lose, what do you do? Beg for mercy, or keep fighting?" he asked us.

Clair answered first. "Beg mercy. I want to learn more rather than die, and maybe next time me and my opponent meet, I will be more skilled."

Then Bria. "Finish the fight. I won't look like a fool. If it was my death or my opponents, I have to at least try."

"What about you, Myla?" he asked.

"Beg mercy." I said. Many whispers were going around throughout the wagon. I grinned.
"Then, when my opponent is celebrating his victory, off his guard, I would finish the fight." I finished.
Kohen laughed.

Finally, we were there. I climbed out of the wagon as I was untied. These vigils really hate me.

When we got inside, we all walked out one by one. Clair went first, then Bria, and then I came. I felt Kohen's threatening eyes on me. Only me. They didn't seem to notice my knee. I limped forwards in agony, trying not to scream as I walked with pain in my knee.

"What were your names again?" the Queen asked me.
The other two answered simultaneously their names.
"And you?" she asked.
"Myla." I said.
"Ah. What's your full name, Myla?"
"Myla Conor."
"Yes, Myla Conor. Well, if you will all excuse me, I have to go to the little Queens room. Myla, come with me."

This was odd.