In a row in an upright position were the swords of Prince Jamie, Prince Eric, King Stephen and King Anthony, fixed to the Ephesus, which could compete in elegance and beauty, but were supposed to serve as a weapon of battle, followed by a huge hunting knife, more like a sword, sharp and deadly - it belonged to King James; the sword was also there: Curved, with a richly decorated hilt, King Noor probably had it perfectly; finally, the last two thin swords of King Wade hung, it seems that their flat surface was not thicker than a sewing needle, but there was no doubt that they were able to disassemble the opponent in parts, finding themselves in the right hands.
This time, Prince Charles was one of the first to arrive, personally checking all the weapons, even cutting himself against Prince Eric's sword, because his curiosity made it impossible for him to pass by and make sure that the blade was as sharp as it seemed. He only had time to wrap his finger around his lips and be glad that no one had seen it. To be more precise, he thought that no one had seen it, but in fact, Xavier was being watched by a couple of very attentive eyes
Counsellor Shaw still had no hope of being the first to the young prince, weary of desire and spending hot nights with Charles in his fantasies. Each day of the tournament, the young Xavier blossomed more and more like a beautiful white rose surrounded by attention, and this blush of his... Sebastian almost tore his rosary when he saw Prince Charles's tender smile to someone else, but he had to put up with it. And that's why now he was following the prince tirelessly, citing the fact that the big emotional loads of the Tournament can have a bad impact on his health.
And now Shaw was standing in a silent shadow in the royal box on the tiltyard, closely following the movements of the prince. It was necessary to hurry, it was necessary to hurry until someone else did not pick this beautiful flower, and there were a lot of applicants. But it wasn't enough to fool Charles, to make him either forget what had happened or be afraid to tell anyone, Sebastian had a way with his head.
- The young prince loves guns, but he does not like violence, - a voice right next door made such a cold-blooded Expert Advisor tremble.
King Stephen arrived a little earlier than the others and also went up to the box, not daring to distract Xavier from his fascinating occupation.
- His Highness appreciates beauty, - Shaw quickly pulled himself together and looked serene again. - In all its forms. Weapons can also be an object of art.
- Of course, but it is unlikely that something can be compared to his beauty.
The king's counselor looked at the guest from the Riverlands with the edge of his eye and inwardly flashed: he smiled, looking at Prince Charles, and certainly had views of him too. Obviously, he did, and at that moment Shaw regretted that he hadn't slipped him some poison instead of medicine, one competitor would have been less...
- The beginning is soon, - the river king corrected his beautiful cloak and nodded a little to the interlocutor. - I'm sorry, I have to leave you.
He left the box as quickly as he appeared in it, and the king's advisor only had to show the man a cold look. There were too many of them, wishing for the prince's affection, if the participants of the Tournament only wanted to get hold of his body, just to become the winner of the Prize, everything would have been easier, but no - young Xavier seems to have charmed everyone. And Shaw wanted them dead more and more every day.
* * *
Unlike the first fight, the rules of the second one were far from being the most sparing. Yes, the draw of the equestrian competition could and should have been called fair, because the second test was a test of endurance, and the most ruthless.
The prize had to pull two coins out of the cherished bag - and these participants started the fight, each with his own weapon. Yes, sometimes the kind of weapon already implied some advantage, but that was the beauty of this competition - in its complete unpredictability. The collision ended when one of the rivals was unarmed, of course, once the condition for stopping the battle was to inflict wounds, many in ancient times died on this test, now it was enough to exhaust the enemy and make him admit defeat. And the more incomprehensible it was to Prince Charles - why use real weapons, because it was damn dangerous!
- It's a tradition, - said the King of the Central Lands, ignoring the way his son frowned on his eyebrows and pressed his lips.