I glance around, looking for the princess. I haven’t seen her, but word has it she and her Lord Archer slipped away.
“How awful,” I say to the table, feeling awkward.
“She wasn’t my love,” Galinor says and then motions around the hall. “But this is a reminder of my greatest failure.” He lays his head on the table.
I glance at Irving and cringe. Irving grins and slaps Galinor on the shoulder. “Don’t be fooled, Anwen. This man here is one of the best you’ll ever meet.” Galinor groans, and Irving leans down. “Tell me, Galinor, how much have you had to drink?”
No response.
“Have you ever had mead before?” Irving prods.
“First time,” Galinor says, still not raising his head.
Irving grins and slides the empty chalice away. “Wonderful. You see, this is Lady Anwen’s first night as a tambourine girl, and it’s obviously not going well for her either. How about you tell her all about the tournament? You’ll feel better, and we’ll keep her here so she can’t cause any more casualties this evening.”
“Irving,” I protest. “I don’t—”
Irving winks and disappears once again into the crowd.
“You don’t have to stay,” Galinor mumbles.
“I don’t mind.” I sigh. “I really am a terrible performer.”
Master Draeger clears his throat from behind me, and he extends his hand. “The tambourine, please.” Like a scolded child, I give him the instrument. He snaps it out of my hand. “Don’t expect pay for the evening.”
I attempt a smile, but I’m sure it looks more like a grimace. “I don’t, sir.”
Master Draeger scowls at me, his bushy eyebrowsdrawing tight, and then he leaves. Feeling foolish, I set my head on the table as well.
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” Galinor says.
I look up and find him sitting again, this time with his elbows propped on the table. “What leads a lady to the path of a tambourine girl?”
What leads a man that looks like Galinor to cheat in a tournament?
“I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours,” I answer.
He shares his tale with me—of how Princess Pippa chose him as her knight so she wouldn’t have to marry Prince Lionel of Vernow, who at the time was favored to win. It started with Pippa and Archer helping with the scavenger hunt, but Archer also collected the dragon treasure when Galinor could not. And it was Archer who donned Galinor’s armor and won the joust and competed in the hand-to-hand when the prince was poisoned by Lionel.
The story isn’t a short one, and by the time he’s finished, the wedding feast is nearing its end.
“Feel better?” I ask.
He doesn’t look as forlorn as he did before. He even smiles a little. “No.”
I laugh, but it’s soft. “What you did for Pippa and Archer was kind. You were the only one who knew the extent of Archer’s involvement in the tournament. You may still have won if you hadn’t shared it. You are a good friend.”
He stares off into the crowds. There aren’t as many guests as there were earlier. People are retiring for the night.
With a distant expression, he says, “If I could have won the scavenger hunt myself, things would have gone differently.”
“Archer found all the items?”
I’m sure Galinor found a few.
He sighs. “He found all but the eldentimber resin. Pippa retrieved that.” A smile plays at his lips. “She held a fairy king at knife-point for it.”
I inhale sharply. “A what?”
