The following day the tournament grounds were even more boisterous and crowded than the first day; a feat I had not thought possible. It seemed that all the people in Pharyss had come out for the first official day of the tournament games. The blacksmiths were still in their forges, however today many were sharpening swords and arrows. In the colorful tents that housed the competitors I could see men getting ready. Some were being strapped into armor by their pages in preparation for the sword fights. The archers wore a variety of outfits from armor to thick leather to normal peasant clothes and were carefully selecting their arrows. My stepsisters and I passed through them all. Giselle and Victoria were more intent on getting to where the royal family was sure to be waiting so they paid little attention to what was going on around them. I wanted to see everything there was to see here for I had never been to a tournament before. The only appeal of the tournaments for my stepsisters was the two men we could now see through the crowds of people in the stands.

As we climbed the few steps that led up to the royal box, I noticed two familiar giggling faces. The two girls from the previous day were hunched together near the box, no doubt trying to get Christian's attention. I smiled at their silliness. It seemed that most of the ambassadors that had occupied the box previously were not present today. The couple from Darios was gone along with Pernyx and Reginald's sister. I noticed two other faces were also missing when Christian rushed to guide me to where we would sit in the very front of the box. "Ebony, you are here. I was starting to think that you would miss the beginning of the archery contest."

"I don't want to miss any part of the tournament," I said as I sat down. "I see that your younger brother and sister seemed to have been freed from their punishment."

Christian glanced at where there were now two empty seats by his father. "Yes, father decided that they suffered enough yesterday by having to sit quietly and the day before when they had to miss going to Etvor. They are around here somewhere with that annoying son of Captain Rydell. The three of them get on rather well despite his sour disposition. I am just thankful the three of them are not here causing trouble. I wouldn't want them to ruin your day."

I ducked my head when I felt a deep blush cover my face. Christian was so wonderful. "I'm sure there is little that could be done to ruin my day."

Christian smiled. He turned back to look where people were setting up large straw targets in the arena. Soon the first group of archers would come and take their places. I saw the archer Christian favored enter the arena with a few other archers in his lineup. It seemed that they would be going first. Despite being competitors, the men were laughing and joking together. The prince saw them as well, "Look there, Byron Galway enters with Lord Jory, George Naller, and the Haddy twins. The twins are new to formal competition, but Lord Jory is their uncle. Byron, Jory, and George have been in many other archery contests together and are now good friends. I think with a bit more training from those three, the twins will be formidable archers later on in life."

"They don't let the competitions get in the way of their friendship?" I asked. The three older men seemed to be teasing the two younger ones as they checked their quivers and bows.

Christian shook his head. "No, it is strange for many in the same games to feel anything but competition for others in their event, but for those three it is all like a big game. I have heard that they even bet on each other to win and celebrate afterwards no matter the outcome."

"Ladies and gentlemen," A short man in a royal tabard shouted from the center of the arena. The targets had been set up and the other archers had arrived and were standing on their marks. They all looked focused on the targets that sat across from them already. "The archery competition is about to commence!"

The man waited for the roar of cheers and shouts died done somewhat before continuing. "There will be three separate groups of archers to start in a randomly-seeded double-elimination scoring process with the last two standing facing off on the final day of the tournament to determine the grand champion of the bow. Archers take your marks!"

The archers drew their bows and took aim. I did not understand what the man had said about how the competition would be carried out and I turned, hoping that Christian would explain it to me. I was surprised to see him standing at the very edge of the box and leaning over the railing. He was shouting encouragement and critiques at the archers. He was not the only one who was shouting. His elder brother and Sir Brockton were also jovially calling to the men in the arena along with many people in the crowds around us.

"Aim true, Galway!" Christian called. "Fix your stance Lord Barrymore; you couldn't hit the ground if you tried holding your bow like that!"

"Be sure to hit the target, Ellison, I've got three silver coins on you!" Brockton called.

"Miss, Ellison!" Hector countered his friend. "Close your eyes and spin 'round. I have three silver coins that you miss!"

I heard Victoria laugh at the pair's playful banter. Christian seemed to be more focused on the archers as they loosed their arrows at their targets.

"Yes!" Christian hissed as he raised his arms in the air. Byron Galway looked to have hit a near bull's eye. "Barrymore, you fool! You didn't even hit the target."

"Aha," Brockton shouted happily at Hector. "That's three silver coins, if you please."

"That cannot be considered a hit; the arrow is barely even in the outer ring." Hector argued. "Brother, tell Brock here that Ellison did not technically hit the target and therefore his shot should be considered a miss."

Christian turned to look at his brother. "The arrow is embedded in the target, so I would say it is a hit. It is not a very good hit, but a hit nonetheless. It looks like you are out three silvers, Hector. Perhaps next time you might actually bet on someone who wins instead of putting money on the losers. See there, Byron has done better than almost all the others. That's at least four silvers in my pocket when the day is done."

Hector waved his hand in his brother's direction as he dug into a coin purse and pulled out the coins. "You are no help at all. I don't bet with the masses like you do, Ian. Placing bets with Brock is enough for me. I'm sure I'll win the next one."

"Will not," Brockton snatched the coins from Hector's out stretched hand triumphantly. Christian went back to watching as the group of archer's took their places and the arrows were removed from the targets. The archers had taken a second shot while I was watching Brockton and Hector. Two men had been eliminated from the first group and now the archers that took their place raised their bows.

"The boys really like their games, do they not?" I heard Empress Pandia say as she took a seat next to me.

I turned to face her. Ojera and Giselle were both with the princess and her fiancé. "They do seem rather invested in it." I agreed.

Pandia laughed. "That is a kind way of putting it. Hector and that Brockton are such children when they attend tournaments. I have only attended one or two other tournaments with them but they were just the same. They place bets on the silliest of things. I believe they have a bet today that someone in the fourth round of competitions will be wearing a blue scarf and he will hit the third ring of the target. I do not have any idea where they come up with these outlandish things. Christian is also very fond of the competitions."

"Oh, yes, archery is his favorite. He is hoping for Byron Galway to win." I explained to Pandia. "I'm sure that if you were competing that those men would have a tougher time winning."

She smiled, showing the sharp pointed canines in her mouth. "It would be unfair to pit me against these mere men when I was trained by a master of the Mektous. No, I will let the men have their fun and not have their pride damaged by losing to a female."

I laughed. I would have liked to see people's faces when they saw how easily Empress Pandia of Mekt trounced the archers in their own event. She would no doubt take her place among them wearing a very feminine gown to emphasize the contrast between her and the others. "Perhaps whoever wins will allow you a match to see if you could best him."

"I think I will keep my archery talents to myself outside of Mekt." Pandia winked. "Or if the men are getting to big headed and need to be put in their place like at the beach."

I nodded and turned back to watch the archers continue to take aim at their targets. After the third group of six took their two shots, I tried to make sense of the scoring system. I did not fully understand how the archers knew when they were to return to the fore. Pandia tried to explain it to me, but it all seemed terribly confusing even after her careful explanation. After the first round it seemed that the losers went up against each other separately from the winners. After the first three groups had gone, the losers from those returned and took their places. The winners from the previous round follower the losers and so it would go: a group of the losing archers followed by a group of the ones who beat them. I decided to just watch for Christian's favorite and note his progress. So far he was doing well and was in the winning portion of the archers. Christian, Hector, and Sir Brockton called at the archers constantly. Sometimes even Victoria would shout some remark at the archers Hector and Brockton placed bets on. I talked with Pandia about what she thought of the tournament so far while everyone else watched the men fire their arrows again and again.

So about this archery contest- I spent a good fifteen minutes writing it all out on paper. The whole complicated thing is drawn out on paper with plenty of confusing squiggles and arrows. Let me tell you, organizing a tournament is hard.

I think I may be done writing for tonight. I don't want to be because the story is finally starting to get to the good part, or at least that is what I think. Alas, while having a day off leads to all this in writing, I do not have another one until next week and every day I will think of little else other than this story. It has become quite addicting and thought consuming.