Giselle had stayed with Joslynn, yet I could still feel her furious eyes on me from time to time. I decided to ignore her because I was the one the prince was talking to so I wasn't going to worry about her. By the time the two winning archers were determined it was after midday. Christian's Byron Galway was one of the two which made Christian raise his arms and shout in triumph. Hector and Brockton placed bets on each round and by the end Brockton owed Hector ten copper coins and a chicken. Victoria had spent her time laughing at their antics and giving them new and more ridiculous things to bet on. She seemed to be having fun with the two men and I caught Giselle glaring at her own sister more than a few times. Giselle did not like that her sister had something she did not. I enjoyed talking to Pandia, but I wished that Christian would sit down so I could talk to him some as well.

The announcer shouted the outcome of the day's archery contest while other men prepared the field for the sword fighting. People in the stands around the arena were getting up and moving about. The food and drink vendors were shouting over the masses and a few shouted back at them to pay for their wares. By the looks of things, there would be a break before the sword fighting Christian sat back down and explained again about how he knew that Byron would make it so far and would likely go on to win the tournament. I listened patiently before I asked him, "Perhaps you would like to take a walk around the tournament grounds. I would love to see what goes on outside the arena in a tournament."

"I can assure you that tournament grounds are no place for a lady such as yourself. They are dirty and stink of sweat and horse stench. It would be much better to stay here. The servants have even erected the awning so we get to sit in the shade out of the blazing heat of the day. They are sure to bring a cold luncheon to us at any moment. You must eat something. If we leave now, we will miss it." Christian explained. The servants had put up a sun shade a while ago at the request of the princess. It was cooler in the shade, but it did not diminish my want to see the rest of the area.

Perhaps Christian was right, however. He had been to more tournaments than I had and knew what he was talking about. I did not want to leave the comfort of the royal box if everywhere else was smelly and dirty. "Surely it can't be all bad outside of the arena." I coaxed. It would be wonderful to be escorted around by the prince himself.

Christian shook his head and smiled at me. I found that I rather liked his smile. "I don't want you to get hurt and the men can be a bit rough outside the area between the weapons and the big war horses. Maybe on the next day of the tournament we can go exploring."

I returned his smile and nodded. While we were talking, Pandia had stood and went over where Ojera, Joslynn, and Giselle were seated. I saw them talking together with Reginald, even though Giselle was not as chipper as the other three. I turned back to Christian and opened my mouth to speak when a shout made me nearly jump out of my chair. "I am here!" A woman yelled from behind where we were seated. "I am so very sorry that I could not have attended you all yesterday. My son tells me what a wonderful time you all had."

"Aunt Marge!" Joslynn excitedly called as she stood to give the woman a hug.

The woman was stout and rather garishly dressed. Her short stature was made all the wider by the red and green stripes that ran the length of her overly-frilly dress. The only part of the gown that wasn't striped was the massive puffed white sleeves and a broad sash that was tied jauntily at her hips. If her clothing weren't enough, her graying blond hair was piled very high on her head and covered in bows and strings of pearls. To add to the rainbow that was Aunt Marge, she also had bright blue over her eyes and very pink spots on her cheeks. Escorting the strange woman into the box was Dewey who immediately motioned to Giselle to come over and meet his mother.

"Careful, darling, you will smudge my make up." Marge batted her niece with a large yellow-feathered fan she held in one hand. Joslynn smiled but stepped away. "Dewitt, where is this charming creature you have told me about?"

Giselle had not moved from where she sat and was staring rigidly ahead. Dewey eagerly led his mother to Giselle. Now the attention of the people in the box and a crowd of people outside had all turned to watch the strange shouting woman. "Good gracious, child!" Marge exclaimed when Giselle stood up. "You are looking rather pale and sickly. Are you well? I should send a servant to get you some chicken head soup that should fix you right up."

"Thank you for your consideration, miss, but I think I should just return home and rest for the remainder of the day. I hope it will not be too much to ask for an escort home." Giselle smiled weakly. It seemed she was giving up early today.

"I will be happy to take you back to the Gilded Leopard, Miss Giselle!" Dewey was quick to volunteer.

Giselle shook her head and I began to wonder what she was up to. "You have just arrived, I would hate for you to miss the tournament. Perhaps Prince Christian would be so kind."

My eyes widened and I swallowed when Giselle turned toward Christian. She was crafty, but maybe Christian would refuse. He wouldn't want to miss any of the games either. "My dear, you are so kind to think of my boy in such a way!" Marge gushed. "You are absolutely right. Chrissy dear, come and escort this poor girl home. No, now don't give me that look, the tournament will still be here when you return. Now up, up, up!"

Christian grinned at me. "I suppose I will return in a bit." He stood and went to offer his arm to Giselle which she gladly took. I could nearly feel the waves of smugness that were coming from her. The king and queen also stood to greet Marge as did Hector. It seemed for all her oddities, she was still well liked in the family. Hector introduced his aunt to Sir Brockton and Victoria and she shook both of their hands enthusiastically.

"Come, mother, we can sit right here in the front." Dewey helped his mother down to the front row. Hector followed his aunt and took her other arm as she stepped down.

To my horror she was seated almost directly next to me. With Christian gone I suddenly felt out of place and wasn't sure what to do. I had hoped that I might be able to go unnoticed or maybe talk to Pandia until the prince returned. Marge had different plans. "You there, girl, who are you?" The woman said as soon as she was seated. "I saw you talking to my nephew."

I stood and gave her a small curtsy. "I am Ebony Valix. Christian is my friend and I am Giselle and Victoria's stepsister."

Marge batted her fan at me. "Sit down, Ebony, you don't need to be as formal as all that. I remember my son mentioning you a few times. You look nothing like either of your stepsisters. How did you come to meet my nephew?"

I sat back down. My brain was racing, trying to find things to say to this exuberant woman and not sound a complete fool. I told her the story of how our carriage had broken a wheel on the way to Pharyss and the royal carriage just happened by. She listened and quieted her son when he tried to interrupt. It seemed that with his mother there to shush him, Dewey did not talk nearly as much.

"And how are you enjoying your stay in Pharyss here so far?" Marge asked. She was so attentive that I felt talking to her was much easier than it was with most people. She simply listened to what I had to say with no judgment or boredom clouding her eyes as happens so often. I was too hasty in judging her on first sight. Once I was passed her exuberant way of dress and speaking, I found that she was a wonderfully pleasant person to converse with.

"It has been mostly wonderful, but scary at times." I told her as I remembered running for my life only a few days ago. I would not tell her about that though.

Marge clucked and fanned herself. "Miss Ebony, fear is a part of life and it is something to be faced and overcome. You must never be afraid to put your best foot forward no matter what is coming your way. If you do not then you may miss out on some wonderful things. That is the way I raised my son and I couldn't be more proud of him for being who he is." She pinched Dewey's cheek and he smiled.

"Isn't my mother wonderful?" He beamed. "People have often told me that the way I speak is bothersome and that I should stop, but mother always tells me that it is who I am to talk as much as I do and not to change one bit. So I let the unsavory remarks of others roll of my back like water off of a duck and continue on because it is just how I speak and I will not change myself to please someone who has faults of their own. Why one time I was at a tea party with mother and her friends and their families and this one woman…"

"Dewitt, while I love you just the way you are perhaps you can tell us this entire story later when there are not games to watch. Look, in comes the first two fighters." Marge commanded and pointed her fan at the armored me who had just entered.

To my surprise, Dewey stopped talking immediately and did not look as if he was going to launch into another speech anytime soon.

"Look at those men, that armor must be so heavy." Marge remarked. "I wonder what swords they are carrying. Blast it all, I know nothing about sword fighting. I cannot truly enjoy something if I do not understand it. Hector! Come here and explain to your old aunt what is going on!"

I turned to look at Hector. He was smiling broadly and quickly got up to sit near his aunt to explain what is going on. Victoria and Brockton followed him. "You aren't the only one who is hopeless in sword knowledge, auntie. Victoria here has never seen a sword fight in her life and poor Brock is the worst swords man I have ever fought."

"It is lucky that we have you here to explain it to us then," Marge exclaimed. "Do you like sword fighting, Miss Ebony?"

I shook my head. It seemed that having Marge around wasn't going to be bad at all. I rather enjoyed her company. I did not feel awkward and out of place anymore. "I can't say that I do, having never seen much of one before. Sword fighting isn't really a common practice in Lyscos. Hector will have to explain it to me as much as you."

"Well then, Hector darling, you have all of our attention," Marge exclaimed. "Now go on and educate us."

Hector explained what was going on as the two fighters began circling each other. It was much more enjoyable now that I understood what was going on more. The archers had been so dull and monotonous. After some time, Christian returned and his aunt had him help his brother explain things. Christian was more than happy to go into detail about each of the swordsmen as Hector explained their techniques. Both brothers seemed very knowledgeable about swordfights and the rest of us who did not know much at all kept up a steady stream of questions. We laughed and joked together as we watched and listened to the clang of swords. The time passed easily and before I knew it the sun was setting and the final two swordsmen were being announced.

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!