“In addition to these three tests, contestants shall also be judged on grace and decorum and, above all, a desire to be here for the purpose of winning the hand of Prince Arris,” said Queen Yzara.
After this, his mother took a step back and, to Arris’s surprise, his sister moved forward. Yvlle surveyed the gathered crowd with a dispassionate air.
“There are those of you who might have come harboring notions beyond marriage,” said Yvlle. “Notions, perhaps, of murder.”
As she spoke, Arris noticed that the monstrous statues had begun to tremble alive. The cat yawned. The stag tilted its head. The hawk blinked. Arris watched the ivy writhe with new purpose.
“This cannot be helped. Perhaps it is simply the nature of marriage,” said Yvlle. “But any outright display or revelation of such motives and you shall find that the Isle will respond swiftly.”
Yvlle snapped her fingers.
At once, Arris heard several cries as a dozen or so contestants were hoisted into the air by the ivy vines. The monstrous statues snarled and leapt through the crowd, snatching maidens in their jaws who… upon closer inspection… did not look nearly as innocent as Arris had imagined. The cat, for instance, had grabbed hold of a green-haired beauty with flowers strewn through her locks. It shook the girl in its jaws and a few rusted and cruelly shaped knives clattered to the ground. Another girl—with close-cropped hair and wild eyes—ripped free of the stone hawk’s beak. The moment she dropped to the ground, she hurled a dagger to the balcony.
“That throne is mine!” she yelled.
Before Arris could move out of the way, one of the vines shot through the air, knocking the dagger off its path. A moment later, the girl found herself pinned by the paw of a huge stone cat.
“What a trite declaration,” muttered Yvlle. “At least she spared us one of those villainous monologues.”
“I actually like those,” said Arris. “Knowing someone’s motivations allows me to forgive them and find peace.”
Yvlle sighed. “This is part of the reason why women keep trying to kill you, Brother.”
King Eustis cleared his throat and clapped his hands. Atonce, the statues dropped the weapon-bearing candidates to the ground. An instant later, the vines grabbed hold, dragging the would-be murderers down the strip of green, where they would be tossed out of the gates.
“Only detects weapons, I’m afraid,” muttered his sister. “Still, it’s better than nothing.”
Arris watched as the statues shrank back to a diminutive size. The snarls melted into docile expressions. The vines peacefully slouched and a few even put forth little yellow flowers. He scanned the crowd of remaining contestants and felt a leaden weight settling in his chest. The ones who were left were the only ones who hadn’t physically threatened him. He had no idea what they were thinking. These girls were completely indecipherable and possibly dangerous.
Fortunately, they were very beautiful, so at least there was that.
“Well,” said Queen Yzara, smiling at the contestants. “Now that we have that out of the way, let us proceed to your new residence for refreshments.”
She waved her hand and the great gates of Rathe Castle began to creak. From the balcony where the royal family sat, a staircase of frost and silver braided through the air, spiraling to the lawn—and the girls—below. Arris had hardly placed his foot on the first step when a loud cry rang through the grounds.
“Wait!”
Arris felt the girl before he saw her. A warmth suffused him at the sight of her. She reminded him of a bird… aswan, maybe, for she moved with unnatural grace. The girl looked scorched and her white dress was torn and covered in brambles, as if she had run a great distance. But her bedraggled dress could not hide her beauty. Her wide, dark eyes found Arris and a spark went through his chest.
“I have come a long way to find you, my prince,” she said, and then she swooned to the ground.
11An Unexpected Encounter
Considering the number of contestants who had entered Rathe Castle determined to kill him, Arris should have been in a somber mood. But between reviving the scarlet-haired girl and dodging the flailing limbs of a number of maidens who then swooned at his feet there simply hadn’t been enough time to ponder his death. Perhaps he would have found time when he arrived at the glass boat, but by then Arris found himself exceedingly distracted.
At a distance, the glass boat looked small and ornamental, its prow carved into the shape of a wyvern with its jaws flung open while its stern resembled a massive, scaled tail that narrowed into a sinister crescent. But magic had bent the boat’s proportions. Upon boarding, Arris was greeted by a translucent deck the size of a palatial courtyard. Silver fish darted beneath the glass floor, their bodies so swift and luminous that it looked as if the depths of the lake had been lit up with candles. In the center, a long, crystal table groaned beneath the weight of a sparkling wintry feast fitfor the hundred or so contestants who were making their way to him right that second.
Arris and Yvlle stood at the boat’s entrance. On the other side of a silvery veil, Arris could see the hazy, glimmering line of contestants waiting to meet… him. It was a rather dizzying feeling. Or perhaps it was the rug. They were standing on a silver carpet embroidered with freshly caught shooting stars. The stars wiggled angrily, bucking against the enchanted thread and casting flickers and sparks along the boat’s frosty hull.
Tonight was for introductions and impressions before the competition began in earnest, and neither King Eustis or Queen Yzara wished to cloud Arris’s perception of the contestants. Yvlle, however, had every wish to do just that, and though Arris wouldn’t admit it, he was relieved his sister was there. His judgment, after all, was famously fatal.
“Hmm… curious,” said Yvlle, eyeing him.
“What?”
“You don’t match the decoration this time,” said Yvlle. “Considering mother chose everything to be transparent, a rather pointed metaphor in my opinion, I was deeply concerned you’d show up naked.”
“I didn’t wish to start a riot,” said Arris, primly.
