On the third day of the Jubilee, Greg kicked my ass at fencing. Grandmother was a big fan of the sport so she made sure we both participated in the annual competition. I was not particularly great at it, but my brother was. He took the game way too seriously. I was grateful for the distraction, especially after what happened yesterday with Nathan. His words wounded me deeply. They haunted me during the race and I ended up losing to the bastard from Waverly. His horse won first place while Xena was pushed to third place. She deserved to win. My heart suffered two losses in one day. It felt heavier than a massive boulder.

“Danny! Focus.” Greg pulled me out of my thoughts with a straight jab to my left shoulder. He lunged at me with his sharp foil. I moved just in time to avoid getting struck in the arm. I swung my sword in a circle and deflected his strike with ease.

“Sorry.” I offered him a smile and matched him strike for strike. It was hard to keep up with him. He lunged at me on the narrow piste and jabbed me in the shoulder once more. Our grandmother booed him from her chair. I knew she had a soft spot for me. After all, she did trust me with decorating the palace for her birthday. I heard from a bird that she had a brief conversation with Nathan yesterday. She probably tried to talk some sense into him. I should have asked her to throw him in the dungeon for me. Maybe if he spent the night down there, he’d change his mind about everything. He was annoyingly stubborn and defensive, but God I missed him. I loved him.

I was too distracted to notice that Greg had dropped his foil and was headed straight for my mask. He ripped it off, startling the hell out of me in the process. “What the hell, Gregory?”

“Hello? You just stepped out of the piste.” He grabbed my sword and held it to my chest. “Face it, brother. You are a million miles away. You might as well fly to America and get your man.”

I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous suggestion. “No. Nathan needs to make the first move.”

He tucked both our swords under his arm and motioned for cousin Tommy to take over. He was an excellent swordsman. I gave Queen Emmeline an apologetic smile on our way to the changing room. She winked at me in return.

“So, tell me, would you take him back if he returned to Raplen?”

I shrugged. That was a big if. Nathan was a stubborn cookie.

“Don’t give me that look.” Greg chuckled. “You have plenty of room for him in that big heart of yours. You’d probably take him back in an instant.” He added with a snap of his fingers. “You’re hopelessly in love and it makes me want to vomit.”

He pretended to throw up. “How very mature of you.” I elbowed him in the gut. “Of course I love him. Everyone in this palace knows I love him. There is nothing I can do about it. My main concern right now is Aunt Edith. I talked to her earlier but she won’t commit to not talking to anyone about what she saw in the garden.”

“And what exactly did she see in that garden?” My brother asked out of curiosity. We both changed out of our fencing gear in separate changing rooms but kept our conversation going.

“She saw us kissing and then went into evil witch mode. It was quite frightening.”

“Leave it to me. I will gladly take care of it. In the meantime, go get your man. And if you really love Nathan and he loves you back, then please give him the time to come out on his own. Do not break up with him for it. Listen to your brother. I give the best relationship advice in this country.” He boasted.

“You should start your own Youtube channel.” I jokingly said. His words made me feel so much better. I felt incredibly lucky to have a support system and siblings who actually cared about me. I suddenly remembered Nathan and his lonely upbringing. Growing up in foster homes and struggling to make ends meet must had done a number on him. He had a hard time trusting people. We both had issues that needed to be resolved.

I glanced down at the itinerary and headed over to the dome shaped arena. A friend of mine from Kitson was waiting for me at the chess wing where the annual tournament was about to begin. We took part in the game and I ended up winning. All those years of playing against father finally paid off. The Jubilee games had a special place in my heart. I only wished Nathan was here to watch me battle those Kitson dragons. There was a big envoy representing our neighbors. They took the game very seriously. Greg and I found it incredibly hard to keep a straight face when they showed up in matching red outfits.

“Well, look who showed up dressed like a boy band.” I snickered.

Ruppy and my cousins showed up late to the tennis court. We were supposed to team up against Kitson. My grandmother walked all the way here in her custom made Adidas sneakers. She looked like a trendy old lady.

Once again, I changed into my tennis outfit and joined Tommy on the court.

Our parents and relatives showed up to watch the tournament. I was a bit distracted since I wanted to get to Nathan as soon as possible, but at the same time, I couldn’t just bail on my grandmother’s big day. Her official birthday party was scheduled to take place in the evening.

“Earth to Danny. Are you with me?” Tommy waved his racket in front of my face.

“No. He is somewhere else.” Greg teased me. “Somewhere that starts with cock and ends with Nathan.” He added before sitting courtside. He was our referee and a royal pain in the butt.

“You are an embarrassment to us all.” I gave him the finger while grandmother was busy putting on her eyeglasses. He laughed and signaled for the game to start.

I was a bit rusty when it came to tennis but Tommy was one competitive bastard. He almost made team Kitson cry. Tennis was clearly not their forte. They did, however, manage to strike me in the shoulder. I stumbled backward and fell on the ground. Greg whistled and gave us an extra point. Team Kitson went ballistic. They accused us of cheating. Grandmother intervened and told them to calm their tits. It was hilarious.

I rubbed my bruised shoulder and decided to take a short break. I drove the short distance to Lockridge Palace and grabbed a bag of ice from the kitchen. Our family chef was busy preparing our dinner for tonight. The heavenly smell of slow cooked meat and truffles made my mouth water. Ben, our pastry chef, was applying the finishing touches to the seven-tier cake. He decorated the dark chocolate cake with a rainbow of edible flowers. Most of them were tulips of course. The Queen was obsessed with them.

Ben also made one of our famous local desserts. The apricot stuffed hoof was a hit among tourists. It was both a lucky charm and a delicious combo of apricot jam and powdered sugar. Chef Dominic also prepared another savory dish of ours. I practically begged him for a plate of bacon stuffed dumplings. He was an expert at making them.

I ate an entire bowl before heading back to the sports complex. Families from all over the country showed up to cheer on their favorite royals and take part in the fun Jubilee games. There was a special arena dedicated to kids and the elderly. The games encouraged everyone to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Queen Emmeline walked the football track every year on her birthday. She always advised us to set a good example and show the world just how health-conscious we were. That was the main reason why I participated in those games. It was a brilliant opportunity to connect with our citizens.

I returned to the sports complex with a full stomach and a heavy heart. Like I would ever take money from him! His words burned me like the flames of a wicked candle. I can still feel the pain they inflicted on me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to think of something other than the matters of my heart. I needed to put this behind me before it ruined my whole day.

I parked my car next to the indoor Olympic pool and decided to clear my head with a bit of swimming. I ran into a childhood friend of mine in the locker room. She suffered from a broken heart and a bruised ego. She caught her boyfriend cheating on her and kicked him out of her apartment. Her usual confident demeanor was replaced by a fragile shell. I used her as a distraction and listened to her story. Apparently, she toyed with his feelings on several occasions. She was afraid of getting hurt, so she lashed out at him and pushed him away. He retaliated by sleeping with a random woman. He told her it was meaningless sex but the damage had been already done. I felt like the universe was trying to tell me something. Maybe Nathan lashed out at me because I pushed him out of his comfort zone.

She definitely gave me food for thought while I showered and changed.

The final game for the day took place near the complex stables. Raplen was famous for its many traditions, including Medieval joust. Nowadays, it was more of a theatrical game rather than a violent practice. Decades ago, jousting led to the downfall of many foolish kings. King Henry VIII suffered a severe head injury after a serious jousting accident of his own. My great grandfather also broke his arm during a tournament in France. Today, the armor was much lighter and the lances we carried had soft, harmless tips. It was all for show but we still made it count.

The prince of Waverly was my well dressed rival. He was such a showoff. The ladies loved him because he rode his horse around the arena and handed out roses to everyone. I yawned and waited for him to finish. His diamond studded armor was too flashy. Mine was black with our royal coat of arms on the front. Thunder dug his hooves into the ground. He was my go-to horse for this particular game. The prince was too distracted by the beautiful women surrounding us to block my attack. I ended up unhorsing him and snatching his armor. He fell into the mud with a big splash and gave me the finger.

“Daniel! You’re going down next year.”

“Bite me, Prince Augustine.”

Needless to say, I was happy to bring him down a notch. I rode Thunder back to the stables and ran into Aunt Edith along the way. She looked awfully grim for someone who took pleasure in other people’s misery. She approached me with a sour expression on her face and told me something unexpected. “I won’t say anything about what I saw. In fact, I did not see anything.”

I knew she was referring to my kiss with Nathan at the royal gardens.

Aunt Edith spun on her heels and left before I could ask her about her sudden change of heart. Blackmailing fellow aristocrats was her favorite pastime. “That was weird.”

“Hey, brother.” Gregory came up to me after she left. He grinned from ear to ear and leaned against the wall while I removed Thunder’s saddle. “So, did the wicked witch of the east apologize for her misdeeds?”

“Not exactly, but she did promise to keep her mouth shut about Nathan. How did you convince her to keep such a juicy secret to herself? She was pretty unhappy about it.”

“I simply went to a certain someone and told her everything. It worked like a charm.”

I laughed. Only one person could have gotten Edith to be quiet. Grandmother must have threatened to cut her off. We all knew my aunt had a thing for gambling. She spent her allowance at the many casinos of Monte Carlo. “I owe you one, brother. I really do.”

“Good, because I might cash in this favor sooner than I thought.”