Throne of Hearts (girlxgirl)

Chapter 4

Tournament Grounds. Silva, Ahigarth

Rhys

I tumbled down to the dirt, the weight of the armor dragging me down along with my exhaustion. I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes trying to focus on taking deep breaths. 

Fighting against trained Knights was more difficult than I anticipated but I held my own against them. At least to me, it felt like I had. 

From the first moment I made eye contact with Queen Rose, I did everything I could to make sure to impress the beautiful Royal. She noticed me and even went as far as to talk to me, in an across-the-room-silent way. I expected her to ignore me that first day when we made eye contact across the jousting area. I don't even know why I did it, but something about her compelled me to act without reason. I took a chance and—very informally, I might add—asked her if she was doing okay. Imagine my surprise, and delight, when she not only answered me but even asked me in return. It made my stomach feel like I had a bunch of little butterflies fluttering around.

"Are you okay, Rhys?" Anaya asked, her voice coming from above me.

I squinted up at her and saw her grin. "So tired," I groaned, my whole body beginning to ache. A soft feminine chuckle nearby made me bolt upright, much to my body's dismay, and looked around for the speaker.

"Are you okay, fighter?" Oh Gods, it was the Queen. I could not panic in front of this woman. It was one thing to be friendly from afar but her being this close made me beyond nervous. I started to get up when she held up a hand, attempting to stop me. "No, no. Don't get up, it's alright. I'm just passing through, checking on the injured. Are you okay or are you injured?"

I slowly stood up anyway, my dignity not allowing me to stay seated while I spoke to the Queen. "Um, yes. I mean, no," I fumbled and bit back a groan. Great, I sound like an idiot, I thought. I took a deep breath and tried again. "I mean, yes, I am okay. And no, I'm not injured. Just tired," I clarified. A second later Anaya elbowed me hard in the side. I frowned and gave her a questioning look. Her eyes were wide, slightly panicked, flicking from me to the Queen. "What?" I asked, confused.

She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "That's the Queen!" It took a moment before I realized what she meant and when I turned back to the Royal, she was watching us with an amused smile.

I flushed hotly, and quickly bowed, embarrassed. "Sorry, Your Majesty. It seems I forgot my manners for a moment. Must have been hit in the head today, my lady," I added, trying to make light of my mistake.

The Queen chuckled, the soft sound causing those butterflies to start flying again in my stomach. "Don't worry about it, Rhys. I will see you tomorrow at the tourney ceremony. Get some rest." With a small wave and polite smile, she moved on and headed toward the healer's tent. The tall slender man behind her gave us a polite, albeit amused, smile as he passed us.

"Gods, you're such an idiot, Rhys. Forgetting your manners like that!" Anaya scolded me but I barely heard a word she said. I was too caught up in the fact that she had remembered my name.

"What happened?" Rory asked, coming into the conversation late, glancing between us.

Anaya pointed at me, waving her finger around. "This one! The Queen stopped by and when Rhys spoke to her, she completely forgot to use her title!"

He laughed. "Oh man, that's rich! Can't believe I missed it. Hope you won't get penalized for being a dummy."

Ugh, how annoying, I thought with irritation, their words ruining this moment for me. "Help me get this shit off, Rory," I grumbled. He continued to chuckle under his breath but did as told, quickly undoing various buckles and snaps.