Pirate Princess (54 page)

I rubbed my temples. “I agree.”

“Let everyone here be witness to our agreement,” Jared said, “At the end of the match we will reveal the winner’s prize.”

Finn looked at us in confusion, but he already knew we were making a bet so he didn’t probe. Jared drew his sword and faced Finn.

“You sure you don’t need more time to recover?” Finn asked him.

Jared smiled. “I’ve been waiting for this fight for a month. I’m ready.”

Finn bowed to Jared and drew his sword.

“Full power and speed,” Jared said, “Or I won’t ever forgive you.”

“As the King wishes,” Finn said with a smirk.

“Fighters ready?” the announcer asked.

“Ready.”

“Ready.”

“Fight!”

Jared stared at Finn expectantly and Finn spun his sword once and then disappeared. Jared tried to sidestep and block, but Finn was now behind him and Jared was already bleeding. Jared spun, but Finn was gone again and Jared bled from another cut. Jared snarled and began spinning his sword to try to create a shield around him which Finn couldn’t pass without getting cut. Finn watched Jared a moment and then dirt began rising higher and higher around Jared in a circle.

Faxon leaned forward and Esmeralda did as well, their eyes glued to the fight. I knew the dirt was caused by Finn running around Jared incredibly fast and yet my brain refused to believe that something like that was possible even after witnessing so many feats by him.

Jared grunted repeatedly and I knew it was from Finn cutting him despite his attempt to keep him at bay with his spinning sword. Jared dropped to one knee and then to his back and Finn stood over him with his sword pressed to his throat. “Submit?” Finn asked.

Jared stared at him with rage, surprise, and pride, the same look he had given me when I beat him a few months ago. “You were really holding back before,” he said.

Finn smiled. “You can’t let all of your secrets out or your opponents will find ways to counteract you.”

“Submit,” Jared said, “I could probably find some way to counteract you, but not in this fight.”

Finn stepped back and sheathed his sword. The crowd erupted in cheers, clapping and stomping.

“It’s over already?” Esmeralda asked in shock. “He’s never been beaten and to be beaten so quickly…”

“You knew he was this fast?” Faxon asked me.

I nodded my head.

“What else can he do?” Faxon probed.

Jared stood up and clapped Finn on the back. “Well done.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Jared looked up at me and said, “As promised, my bet with the Princess of Crilan will be revealed.” The crowd silenced expectantly.

I chewed on my lip anxiously and Finn stood there without realizing that everything was about to change.

“As of today I, the King of Crilan, pardon all pirates in my waters from all of their crimes and hereby announce their welcome invitation to the Kingdom of Crilan, including the former Pirate King, Captain Rocco.”

The crowd gasped and chattered in shock.

Jared raised his hand and the crowd quieted to hear him. “Tilia, come here please.” I obeyed him, walking down from the viewing area and hopping over the fence to stand beside him as I clutched the pin in my pocket Jared had given me. The pin was polished gold and shaped into two swords crossed over each other. It had taken a week to make a new one since we hadn’t bothered to take back Griffin’s from his corpse. I couldn’t look at Finn despite the smile he was giving me as I tried to stay calm. What would Finn say?

“Finn,” Jared said, making Finn turn towards him, “I proclaim you Chief of Crilan and a member of the Order of Elders. Do you accept?”

Finn’s eyes were wide in shock, but he nodded his head and said, “I accept.”

I stepped in front of Finn and secured the pin to his shirt with an encouraging smile for him as the crowd cheered wildly.

I turned to face Jared who walked around my other side, pushed me so that I was standing beside Finn, and then grabbed each of our wrists in his hands.

What was he doing? There wasn’t anything left for him to announce. That had been the end of our bet.

Jared joined Finn and my hands and said, “I hereby announce the engagement of Princess Tilia and Chief Finn.”

My joy at the initial bets turned to shock and disbelief at the final one. I turned and looked at Jared in shock. “What?”

The crowd was gossiping loudly and everyone’s shock was clear. How could he announce our engagement like that without telling me first? This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. I wasn’t the only shocked about it as I watched Marquez march out of the arena grounds without a word to anyone.

“And one final gift,” Jared said. “This was not something we bet on for this tournament, but I have decided that Tilia is worthy.”

What was he talking about? I let go of Finn’s hand to give Jared my full attention. He was making me incredibly nervous with all of these unannounced gifts. What had gotten into him?

Jared unbuckled his sword belt, held the sheath in both hands, and held it out to me. “The Dragon’s Tooth,” he said in a booming voice, “has a new master.” He set it in my hands and I drew the sword out slowly. The Dragon’s Tooth had the head of a roaring dragon on the end of the pommel, a wing that crossed over your fingers, and a claw on the bottom. The greatest sword master in the history of the Kingdoms had created this sword and it was said that it fed on the sweat and tears of its owners as well as the owner’s enemies’ blood.

“Thank you,” I told him sincerely. This was the greatest gift I had received and I would treasure the weapon as long as I lived to carry it.

The crowd cheered in excitement while I stared at Jared in disbelief and glee.

We headed to the stands and I plopped down on the bench beside Faxon with my new sword strapped to my side.

Faxon leaned back in surprise and looked over at me. “Did you ask him for that?”

I shook my head.

Esmeralda smiled and said, “The two of you will make a great ruling pair.” She turned to me with a smirk and said, “Almost as good as Jared and I.”

I would have teased her back, but I was still too shocked to do more than stare at Finn who looked bewildered by everything that had happened.

“What happens now?” I asked finally as I stroked the dragon’s head on my sword.

“We teach you both as much as we can over the next ten years and we start planning your wedding as soon as things calm down,” she said.

“My wedding?” I asked in surprise. “Can’t that wait? I don’t think we have to work on that so soon.” I wanted to marry Finn, but it was also frightening to think about being a married woman so soon.

“This is going to be an interesting decade,” Faxon muttered.

“It’s the start of a new era,” Esmeralda said, “And I know there will be a lot of changes and new adventures in it for us.”

“I can’t wait,” I said honestly. As long as I had Finn by my side, I could face anything. Everything before us was uncertain, but my family and Finn were with us and with them I knew we could do whatever we set out to do.

“Chief Finn!” someone in the crowd yelled.

“Chief Finn!” they chanted.

Finn looked at me and his shock turned into happiness. “Now you’re stuck with me forever,” he whispered from beside me before my mind registered he wasn’t standing in the arena anymore.

“Now you’re stuck with this family forever,” I told him with a smirk.

He hugged me and said, “I think I can handle that.”

My family laughed and I felt my heart full and content. The events before were nothing, but a memory and my body was so full of love and happiness that my prior sadness was a fleeting moment upon the life that I knew would continue to be full of joy. I felt invincible and couldn’t wait for our future adventures together.

“We have one more matter to attend to,” Faxon said.

I turned and looked at him in shock. “What?”

“You have to take your Master test.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Where?”

“Here, once we can get everyone dispersed.”

My nervousness at Finn’s fight was now nervousness for my test. I had never witnessed a Masters test and had no idea what it consisted of. What would they require me to do?

“No fainting,” Esmeralda chastised me.

I sat down and Finn rubbed my back. “Why are you worried? You’ll pass it no problem.”

“I have no idea what the test entails,” I told him. I had been practicing every night and free moment that I could, but I still didn’t feel ready.

“You’ll be fine,” he said confidently.

The crowd slowly began filing out of the grounds and Faxon headed to the center of the arena Finn and Jared had just fought in. He walked around the outer edge of the arena, looking down at the ground as he walked in a circle. Once he had completed his lap, he looked up at me and said, “Okay, come down.”

Finn kissed my cheek and whispered, “Go crush this test.”

I took a deep, steadying breath and walked down to the center of the arena where Faxon was waiting. “Any chance you’ll go easy on me?” I asked with a smirk.

He smiled at me and said, “Have I ever gone easy on you?”

“Good point,” I muttered.

“Your first task is to create a protection barrier,” he instructed me.

Simple enough. A protection barrier required drawing a specific set of symbols around the area you wanted the barrier to be. “How big?” I asked.

“This arena.”

Figured. I took my time walking around the arena and drawing the symbols with fire since that was my favorite element. As soon as I finished the last symbol, a flash of light lit up the circle I had created and a dome formed above us.

“Esmeralda, if you’ll assist please?” Faxon requested as he inspected the symbols.

She stood up and her body started glowing. My eyes widened in fear and before I could object she began hurling fire at my barrier. I held perfectly still despite my desire to cower down and cover my head. I had to act confident. I was supposed to be confident that my barrier would hold. She altered her aim and it only took a second to realize she was going to try to destroy the drawing to break my barrier. I ran towards the spot she was aiming at and put up a small shield of fire that would hopefully absorb the ball of flame heading towards it. Her fire hit my fire shield with an audible thud and then my shield absorbed it.

“Nicely done,” Faxon praised me.

I released my shield and stood up. “Thank you.”

“Summoning spell,” Faxon ordered me.

I had proven that I could do a summoning spell for my Conjurer test, but I knew better than to question Faxon. I closed my eyes and pictured the special symbol I had created for my summoning. When I opened my eyes the symbol was carved into the air in front of me. “I summon thee, Titania,” I ordered. The symbol blazed bright white and slowly the hilt of a sword protruded from it. I grasped the hilt and pulled the giant sword from the symbol. Once it was all the way out, the symbol disappeared and I held the sword out in front of me. It was almost as tall as I was, but luckily lighter than it should have been thanks to special materials Jared had found for me.

“She summoned a sword?” Jared asked in shock.

I turned and smiled at him. “There’s nothing in the rules that says you have to summon an animal or person. I prefer being able to summon extra weapons when necessary.” I pet Titania and said, “Plus, this sword deserves its own special location to rest.”

“Now I wish I had magic for the first time,” Jared mumbled.

“Send it back,” Faxon ordered.

I held the sword out in front of me, horizontally to my body with the tip resting on my left hand. “Return to rest and recover, Titania.” The sword glowed and then disappeared.

“I never knew you could do that,” Finn commented.

“I learned it last year and haven’t really had a chance to use it in front of you yet.”

“One final test,” Faxon said.

The serious look on his face was terrifying. I swallowed as my throat grew tight and then almost stopped breathing when he summoned a Cockatrice, part bird and part reptile. They were fast movers with sharp beaks, talons on the tips of their wings, and extremely sharp talons on their feet. If you got caught under their feet it was all over. Faxon teleported out of the protection barrier and stood in front of my family who had all moved down from the stands when the beast had appeared. “No one can interfere,” he ordered them.

The Cockatrice cawed loudly and then snapped his beak together.

“Birdie want a cracker?” I asked it with a smirk.

Its tail slid back and forth in irritation as it watched me. I drew my sword and hoped the new blade was as sharp as it looked. The most important thing was not to panic. I had fought chimeras, pirates, and many other things that others would scream and run from in fear. I wasn’t weak. I was a member of one of the toughest royal families in existence! I had claimed a kingdom! I was the one and only Pirate Princess! I could do this!

I ran forward, releasing my best battle scream with my sword raised. The Cockatrice tried to peck me with its beak, but I dodged to the right and sliced open its shoulder just in front of its wing, leapt up and over the top of it, and tried to stab it in the side. It spun faster than I thought it could move, the talon on its wing barely missing my legs and its head right next to mine. I stabbed its eye and cut its chest as I jumped sideways to avoid the beak. It screeched in pain and began attacking wildly. I knew better than to try to plan the next moves out and acted on instinct alone, dodging, ducking, slicing and stabbing as fast as I could. A talon sliced open my shoulder as I buried my sword in its shoulder. I pictured flames coating the Cockatrice and it disintegrating into ash. I barely jumped back in time to avoid the fire I had created.

I knelt on the ground to try to slow my breathing and heart beat and smiled victoriously.

“Open the protection barrier,” Faxon ordered.

I walked over to the edge of the arena and erased one of the symbols which then erased them all and made the barrier disappear. Faxon walked over to me and beamed at me proudly. “Well done, Tilia.”