“How dare you!”

The king, who had raised his hand with a confident “Of course”, froze. In an instant, eight knights surrounding him leapt forward, their swords pointed at the challenger. However, being on the raised platform, none of them posed a real threat to the knight still standing in the arena. Smiling, the knight spoke.

“To the king who bears my name.”

“You insolent scoundrel! Remove that at once!”

But none of the knights dared touch the lance for fear of tearing the king’s veil. Behind the barricade, injured knights scrambled to re-enter the arena, causing a commotion. Ignoring them, the knight calmly removed the banner from his shoulder and threw it to the ground.

“Boldly, I stand here today with all the courage I can muster.”

“Do you think you’ll live after showing such disrespect?” the king shouted.

“I trust, Your Majesty, that you understand the meaning of honour.”

With a dramatic flourish, the banner fell to the ground.

The tip of the lance did not rise any further, but slid gently away from the veil. Below, Malyn stood motionless, her gaze fixed on where the lance had floated before finally turning back to look at the knight. But it was too late – the knight was already riding away from the arena, calm and collected.

“Stop him!”

The king shouted, but the knight’s mastery of his horse was remarkable. With one swift movement, the horse cleared the barrier, and the rhythmic pounding of hooves echoed as horse and rider quickly disappeared into the forest.

Only the king’s trampled banner remained on the ground, mercilessly crushed by the horse’s hooves.

Trembling with rage, the king ordered all his knights to get after the man. Through the night they searched the countryside until dawn, but none could find him.

***

Despite the knowledge of the king’s curse, there was much speculation about the mysterious knight who attempted to remove the veil. Was he planning to kill everyone present, or was he simply trying to humiliate the king? There was no shortage of theories.

With the king visibly angry, it was no surprise that the lords found it uncomfortable to remain there. The post-tournament feast was cancelled and the lords quickly left Veldam Castle.

The king seemed to think that one of the lords’ knights had disguised himself as one of his own. He desperately tried to stop the lords from leaving, but there was nothing he could do.

Troy, the first of the lords to leave, spoke coldly to the king who tried to stop him.

“I am a man of honour, bound by the pact with my late father. I have no interest in your veil. If I cared about your honour, wouldn’t that make me your enemy?”

With Troy leading the way, the lords left one by one. The king raged, taking out his frustration on the surrounding servants. It was his way of venting after the knights had failed to find the mysterious man for several days. It felt like the whole castle was skating on thin ice.

The knights searched the area for three days and nights before coming to a different conclusion.

“The person seems to have left the capital of Veldam, so I will search further afield.”

Said the commander of the knights, bowing to the king. The commander had been one of the king’s most persistent questions.

“Why was a commoner wearing the armour of the king’s knights? Where did he get the king’s banner?”

All these suspicions came from the commander. The king could not shake off the feeling that the commander might be involved.

“How do you know he’s in a faraway place?” the king asked.

“We have his description,” replied the commander.

The thief had stolen the armour of a knight who had been disqualified because of a broken leg. The armour was stored in the knights’ storeroom, making it difficult for anyone but a knight or someone familiar with the storeroom to access it. The challenge of putting it on alone suggested the involvement of an accomplice. However, another witness soon emerged: one of the servants revealed that he had helped the thief put on the armour.

“Someone of high rank called for me early in the morning… I helped him put on the armour. He said he were here to check the equipment before the joust…”

The servant bowed repeatedly. The king’s knights were violent, and since servants were always cautious around them, it was an unfamiliar task, but he had helped this knight.

“The king’s knights are few! There are only twenty of them, and yet you say you helped one with a foreign face?”

At the commander’s harsh rebuke, the servant’s knees buckled and he fell to the ground. He begged for mercy several times, and after being scolded several more times, he finally stammered out his words.

“He spoke in a tone accustomed to giving orders, sir. He called me as if it were only natural and ordered me to do various tasks…”

The servant was scolded again for stating the obvious. Could someone who was so good with a sword and horses not belong to the ruling class? Finally, the king ordered the servant’s legs to be cut off. The servant was dragged out screaming. The commander knelt before the king again.

“He can’t have gone far.”

“I will give you three days.”

The king glared coldly at the knights’ commander.

“If you do not find him within three days, your head will roll with his. The same goes for the rest of you.”

The commander and his knights bowed their heads. Soon after, a knight who had been unable to join the expedition because of a broken leg was dragged forward. In front of the assembled knights, the king smashed the man’s arm.

“Someone who can’t even control his own body and has caused this disaster should never wield a sword again and instead live as a beggar!”

The knights’ eyes widened in shock at the king’s unnecessarily brutal behaviour. But no one dared speak out.

The knights quickly left through the castle gates.

* * *

Malyn watched from the castle walls as the knights split up and scattered in all directions.

“The wind is cold.”

Someone talked from behind, draping a shawl over her shoulders. Malyn turned to see her maid, Layla’s long hair beautifully braided and draped over his shoulder. His face was still pale. Malyn held the shawl for a moment and looked up into her maid’s bright blue eyes.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

Without further ado, Malyn turned back. Layla followed in silence.

Tap, tap, tap – the sound of their footsteps echoed off the stone floor inside the castle. One was Malyn’s, the other Layla’s.

Malyn was walking down the most lavish corridor in the castle. Everyone else held their breath, wary after the terrible event.

Portraits of the late King Veldam and the former Queen hung along the lavish corridor. Strangers to her, she’d never seen them in person, but the portraits were familiar from the countless times she’d passed them. They were a handsome couple, as portraits of nobility always seemed to be.

She looked up at the portraits, then turned her eyes forward again. She didn’t even look back at Layla until she reached her room. And just before Layla could enter, Malyn turned and closed the door to her room.

Layla didn’t knock on the door or try to follow her inside. Malyn locked the door that connected Layla’s room to hers, then lay down on her bed. Her room was empty. Neither Anessa nor Nadia were in there.