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Lorenz wasn’t happy. Well, if Khalid were honest, Lorenz was rarely happy these days. It was only fair considering their parents had died recently, their home was burned to the ground by their enemies, and almost everyone thought they were dead.
There were a lot of things to be angry about. Even Khalid slipped up occasionally.
Still, they were at a party. A swayamvar , an engagement party. If they couldn’t laugh here, when would they? Khalid wrapped an arm around his brother’s shoulders and squeezed him tight. “Come on, smile a little.”
True to form, Lorenz glared at him. He gestured around the richly decorated palace, every inch of it declaring the wealth and status of the Raj. The walls were painted in bright reds and whites, images of the gods carefully etched out in small and large murals alike. The floor was covered in bright white marble, brighter still in places where the sun shone directly through the lattices above them. Hundreds of people stood about, all waiting for the same thing.
Lorenz hissed, “We shouldn’t be here.”
Khalid waggled his brows. “Is it cause we’re dressed poorly?”
“N-no.” Lorenz flushed. Despite his denial, Khalid knew that it had to be partially true.
Still, they were on the run. They had to go in disguise, and what better disguise than a family in ruin?
“We’ve known Jeralt and Byleth for a long time,” Khalid added, gently turning Lorenz’s chin so he could see the dais where the pair sat, greeting both rajas and commoners as they came to pay their respects. “Don’t you want to see who she picks for her groom?”
Lorenz turned an even brighter red. Despite how he acted, not even he was immune to Byleth’s charms. Cloaking his feelings in anger, he jabbed Khalid in the chest. “Everyone thinks we’re dead. Didn’t you say to keep it that way?”
“Did I now?” Khalid mused, rubbing his beard thoughtfully.
Not in the mood to be teased, Lorenz hissed, “You did. We should go.”
Rolling his eyes, Khalid spun Lorenz around to where the rest of their siblings stood. As usual, Marianne was rubbing her wrists anxiously, looking ready to bolt at any moment. Ignatz was equally shy. Yet, he was also curious, his eyes darting from person to person as he withstood temptation. Raphael had the opposite problem; Leonie had to physically restrain him from attacking the food, while Lysithea looked ready to burn people with her scathing looks.
Only Hilda looked ready to mingle, mischief sparking in her eyes.
“Who thinks we should go?” Khalid asked everyone in a low whisper, grinning when only Marianne lifted her hand.
As always, Hilda caught the message in his words immediately and whispered in Marianne’s ear. She flushed a bright red and reluctantly lowered her hand.
There was a reason Hilda was his favourite. “No one? Great! Alright, it’s a party, let’s have some fun!”
“Not too much fun!” Lorenz piped in, panicked. “Don’t give yourselves away!”
His advice fell on deaf ears. Immediately, Raphael pulled free of Leonie’s grasp, cracking his hands in front of him. “Man, I’m starved! There’s almost nothing to eat in the woods.”
Leonie punched his arm. “Rude. Nader’s fed us well.”
“Y-yeah,” Ignatz agreed nervously. “With the chital deer we’ve hunted and what we’ve traded at the village, we’ve had more than enough to eat.”
“For you guys, maybe.” Raphael rubbed his stomach sadly. “Definitely not for me.” Without waiting for a response, he lumbered toward the royal cooks and their many, many dishes. He’d probably clear the palace out in an hour if left unattended.
Khalid pursed his lips. If there was one thing he agreed with Lorenz, it was that they had to have some modicum of disguise and Raphael…well, he couldn’t hide himself if he tried. “We can’t leave him alone.”
“Don’t worry about that. I can handle it.” Ignatz adjusted his collar nervously before jogging after Raphael.
“Sure, but who’s going to handle you?” Khalid muttered, shaking his head.
Leonie rolled her eyes. “He can’t lie his way out of a chamber pot. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of them.”
“Thanks.” Khalid squeezed her shoulder. She grinned before trailing after them. That just left his sisters. Depending on Lysithea’s mood, this could go horribly or wonderfully. “What about you two?”
Lysithea crossed her arms and huffed. “Not to act like the big oaf at all, but our sweets have been non-existent these days.”
“Wait, so you’re saying Raphael is right ?” Khalid drawled. For as long as he could remember, Lysithea had always shot down Raphael’s ideas.
She frowned and looked away. “Every now and then he has a good idea.” Lysithea glared at him. “That’s it.”
Before he could say another word, she stomped after Raphael and the others. Khalid watched her with an amused smile. “She’s sulking.”
“She is,” Hilda agreed, laughing. “You’re going to suffer later.”
Khalid glanced at the moody Lorenz. “I’m already suffering now.”
“Well, let’s see what I can do about that.” Hilda wrapped an arm around Marianne, pulling her close. “If I play my cards right, maybe we’ll have two engagements out of this instead of one?”
Marianne squeaked. “Hilda!”
Putting aside his worries, Lorenz glanced at Marianne, then at Hilda. “What do you mean?”
“Well…” With a coy smirk, Hilda gestured at Byleth and Jeralt. “Did you see who’s with them?”
As embarrassing as it was, Khalid hadn’t. Neither had any of Byleth’s other suitors, he was certain; on the day of her swayamvar, everyone was vying for her hand. Even Edelgard was here, her purple eyes bright as she stood in a corner, quietly chatting with her retainer, Hubert. Despite her sharp intellect, she hadn’t recognized him yet, and Khalid thanked his lucky stars for that.
Standing near the dais, Khalid spotted the familiar green-haired Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn quietly talking to each other. He almost rubbed his eyes, surprised. Even the Nabatean gods were in attendance.
“I’m glad we’re seeing the Goddess Rhea, and not the Goddess Seiros,” he murmured. The duality of the goddess was terrifying—depending on how she presented, she could either be motherly and warm, or an angry warrior, axe held high.
It would be a very different party if she’d come as Seiros.
Marianne chewed her lip nervously, staring at the goddess as though just mentioning Seiros was enough to draw her out. “You d-don’t think…”
“Don’t worry.” Leaning forward, Khalid smiled reassuringly. He motioned for her to look higher, to where Byleth was sitting. “Lady Sothis is here too. She won’t change when her mother is around.”
“Oh!” Marianne sighed with relief.
As usual, Sothis was smiling mischievously, like she was telling some sort of scandalous secret. There were several times when Khalid was certain she had stared at him, but, fortunately, she hadn’t yet given away his disguise. Despite knowing her for years, he wasn’t good at guessing when the goddess was feeling playful and when she was vindictive instead.
“Anyways, that wasn’t the important part.” Hilda reminded them as she gestured at a very familiar blonde prince near the goddesses.
“Is that Dimitri?” Khalid asked, not really needing an answer. Marianne squeaked immediately, covering her face.
“I know he has been sweet on you, little sister.” Lorenz rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing if you found some happiness tonight.”
“I can’t break our cover like that.” Marianne shook her head, her ears red.
“I doubt he’d tell our secret. He’s very honourable,” Khalid pointed out wryly. Still, he was proud of her restraint and he ruffled her hair. “We’ll sort this out soon, don’t worry about it.”
A karna , a trumpet, called out, a single, long note that drew all of their attention back to Jeralt and Byleth. Jeralt clapped his hands and a servant he recognized as Catherine walked into the room, carrying a shallow, oil-filled dish. Khalid raised a brow. Whatever was happening next certainly wouldn’t be the usual suitor-picking.
Byleth stood up, her long green skirt swirling around her as she did. Her anklets chimed as she approached the dish. “Thank you for coming, honorable princes and princesses,” she said stiffly.
“I bet Jeralt gave her a speech to memorize,” Hilda quietly whispered.
“She wouldn’t say that herself,” Khalid agreed. Despite her famed beauty, the princess was also naturally taciturn. She rarely spoke at any social gathering, and when she did her words were often blunt and to the point. This didn’t sound like her at all. He resisted the urge to snicker.
Even Marianne nodded, unable to disagree.
“Since there are so many of you, to make it fair, we— I wanted to give a fair test of strength and intelligence.” Byleth gestured up and everyone looked up to find a small revolving wheel fixed to the ceiling. A fish was pinned to it.
Another servant, Shamir, walked in next, carrying a steel bow with several steel arrows that she set beside Catherine’s dish on the floor. It glinted in the bright sunlight, the string loose.
“Using this bow, I want you to use the reflection in the bowl to shoot the fish’s eye. I will marry the winner.”
A hush fell over the crowd. Hilda stared at the murky reflection in the bowl and shook her head. “Nope, no way, that’s impossible.”
Even the ever-competitive Lorenz looked doubtful. “It will certainly be difficult.”
“Difficult and fun.” Khalid grinned, his mind already working at the problem. It felt like the competition had been designed for him; there were very few that could compete with him in archery. Looking up, he caught Sothis’s eye and while she didn’t react, her smile grew broader.
Maybe it had actually been designed for him. That would explain her expression earlier.
“I think I’ll try it,” he murmured.
Lorenz immediately looked aghast. Grabbing Khalid’s collar, he hissed, “How is that keeping a low profile?”
“Well, we can’t just let Byleth marry anyone ,” he replied easily, gesturing at the people surrounding them. “I mean, what if Edelgard wins?”
“Ew.” Hilda wrinkled her nose. “Then she’ll have those Slither people as her in-laws, right? They’re creepy.”
“And unjust,” Marianne pointed out rightfully.
Lorenz flinched. “They’ve let their arrogance blind their ways. If Edelgard—if any of them would just listen…”
Well, that was certainly true, too. At the very least, he couldn’t deny the conviction behind Edelgard’s actions, no matter how it played out. “You want Byleth trapped with them until then?”
Biting his lip, Lorenz looked ready to cave. “Someone else could win.”
Khalid smirked. No one else could make that shot. Playing along, he nodded, “We’ll wait and see.”
Several royal suitors stepped forward, each of them eager to try their hand. The first one lifted the bow with some difficulty. It was, after all, pure metal, and as heavy as can be. Taking a thin wire, he tried to string the bow. It was a hard-enough task with a solid wood bow, but with a metal one? Near impossible. Utterly inflexible, the metal bow wouldn’t bend to accept the string and the prince’s fingers cut on the wire as he tried. Wincing, he set it down, shaking his head. “I can’t do it.”
The same happened to the next suitor, and the next one after. Princes and princesses fell alike to this simple task, unable to even try shooting the fish. Finally, Edelgard stepped forward. Byleth’s eyes widened and she glanced at Sothis worriedly.
Khalid also gnawed on his lip nervously. He had seen her skill with an axe. If she was even half as good with the bow, then it was already over.
Used to her heavy axes, Edelgard lifted the bow with ease. She tied the string on one end, lifted it up. Even from where he stood, Khalid could see that she’d make the other side. The first hurdle would be cleared.
“Edelgard,” Jeralt interrupted quickly, his voice gentle. “I’m sorry, but…your lineage…”
A hush crossed the room. It was an unspoken truth. For all of Edelgard’s accomplishments, for all of her strengths and abilities, she wasn’t nobility. She was a commoner who’d stumbled into the limelight, who’d luckily managed to make good connections with those of a higher caste. Anger crossed her face, followed by humiliation, and Khalid ached for her.
It wasn’t fair.
It wasn’t fair at all.
He wanted to change that.
Edelgard tightened her grip on the bow. Glancing at the oil, she studied the fish, as though to prove for herself she could have done it. Finally, she dropped the string, dropped the bow, and turned to Jeralt. “If you say so,” she replied icily, before returning to Hubert’s side.
Khalid released the breath he didn’t know he was holding. Part of him expected a fight, but for once Edelgard had backed away without one.
“Is there anyone else?” Jeralt asked, still looking at Edelgard.
Khalid walked forward before Lorenz could stop him. Behind him, he heard a muffled yelp as Hilda undoubtedly restrained him. He’d have to thank her later. “I’ll try.”
Jeralt studied him for a moment. The disguise held up, fortunately, and he didn’t recognize Khalid. “And your parentage?”
Questionable , he almost wanted to say, but this wasn’t the time or place for smartass answers. “High enough,” Khalid replied vaguely.
Sothis perked up, her smile growing broader. It was a miracle no one else noticed her game. “I’ll vouch for that.”
“If the goddess says so,” Byleth murmured, catching on. She regarded him warmly. “Then go ahead.”
He nodded his thanks before picking up the bow. It was still warm from where Edelgard touched it. Delicately, he strung up one end and then the other, as easily as he breathed. For all the difficulties the others had, this was a terribly easy puzzle, one that required a little brute strength and just enough practice.
The other suitors gasped in surprise. No doubt they were wondering who he really was. Khalid ignored them. The next part was harder. He licked his lips as he knelt beside the dish and notched an arrow, holding the bow high above him. A murky reflection of the wheel appeared in the dish, the fish barely visible. Its eye was even harder to see.
A timing problem. Fortunately, he’d always been a patient man, more than willing to play the long game. Even as his arms tired, he held the string taut, adjusting the arrow minutely as the fish spun around and around.
Khalid breathed in. Breathed out. Felt the ache in his bones and heard the wheel as it spun. The wheel turned once more and he loosed the arrow. It flew through the air and splat , hit the fish’s eye.
“A winner,” Jeralt murmured, surprised.
“We have a winner,” Sothis declared gleefully.
All eyes, including Edelgard’s, turned to Khalid as he swallowed. Maybe he should have thought this part out a bit more. It was a little hard to play dead while planning his own wedding, after all.