Crowned

Chapter 12 - Katherine

"Derrick is here."

Cedric leaned against Katherine's doorway.

Her hands froze as she reached to put on a necklace. He came. She hadn't thought of what to do if he actually did come.

She hadn't expected him to come. Why would he? After all, she had sent countless letters begging him to return. He never returned before. Or even bothered to reply.

She continued clasping her necklace.

"Aren't you going to see him?"

She glanced at Derrick's hidden locket at the bottom of her drawer. Painful memories enshrouded the object.

"I don't see why I should. He is merely a contestant in the tournament. Must I visit everyone who enters? I'd spend the rest of my life socializing if I did that."

"Kitty," Cedric drew out her name, "come on. I don't know what happened two years ago but I bet if you just-"

"First of all," she turned to face Cedric, "Derrick left us two years ago without a backwards glance and if he wants to talk about it he can approach me. I tried countless times to communicate with him but every time was rejected! I'm done spending time and energy on him."

She flounced out of her room and towards the castle gardens. Fresh air would do her good. Fresh air, without any people. She needed time to process. She didn't want to spend her entire life hating Derrick. It was sucking the life out of her.

She pushed past the back door and entered the garden. It smelled of fresh rain and honeysuckles. Why did life have to be so complicated? She would be satisfied to live her life in the woods, surrounded by a meadow, clear creek, and people she loved. But such a life was not going to happen.

She took a deep breath and let it out in a puff.

What was she supposed to do? Why did Derrick come back? Did he plan to stay? Was he back simply for the money that her father offered to pay him?

It was all so confusing. Perhaps a walk through the maze would help clear her mind.

She halted twenty feet from the maze. A tall man stood near the maze with his back to Katherine.

He wore a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he stood staring at the maze.

Just by looking at his back she could tell that he was muscular. Of course he would need every bit of his muscle in the tournament, if he had any hope of winning.

But who had allowed the contestants to freely roam the royal gardens? Was she to get no privacy at all for the duration of the tournament? It was her garden, not the contestants'. Of course she had to act very Princess-ly and kind. She forced a smile.

"Excuse me," she called, "may I ask who allowed you to enter the garden-"

She trailed off.

The man turned around. His blue eyes pierced hers. Her polite smile dropped. She would recognize those eyes anywhere. They had haunted her dreams at night for the past two years. She had longed for this day.

If only it were under different circumstances.

"Katherine," he looked rather concerned to have crossed paths with her. His face showed signs of going days without a razor.

She fought the urge to flee. She wasn't supposed to see him yet. She wanted time to think things through and decide how to react to his return. This surprise meeting gave her no time to think anything through.