When she opened her eyes again, she was but feet away—and she let her arm guide the lance to its proper place.
It was a direct hit. She hit Cain on his rib cage, a split-second before he reached her. Cain fell off his horse, tumbling to the ground hard, and the crowd cheered.
Caitlin jousted again and again, for what felt like hours, against vampire warriors, against human warriors….Time and again, she was victorious.
Simultaneously, several more jousting lanes were opened and more horses were brought out, so that Caleb was jousting other opponents beside her, and others were jousting beside him. It became a jovial atmosphere, as dozens of horses were charging each other at any given time, the air filled with the sound of clanging. The royal musicians came out and played on their trumpets and lutes, adding a festive, medieval flare to the festival. Eventually vats of wine were also rolled out, along with vats of blood, and people drank freely throughout the day.
As Caitlin took a break at one point, she noticed that her brother Sam was up on a horse, jousting opponents. He knocked one off easily, looking graceful as he did. She marveled at how far he had come.
She noticed that Polly was jousting, too. After defeating one opponent, she came around, and found herself pared off with Sam.
Caitlin could see the look of anxiety in Sam’s eyes: it was clear he did not want to fight her.
But they were pitted against each other, and as the crowd screamed out, they had no choice but to gallop towards one another. At the last second, Sam raised his lance just enough to miss her, allowing her to strike him square in the chest. Caitlin watched as, for the first time that day, Sam fell from his horse, hitting the ground hard. She then noticed the confused and surprised expression on Polly’s face. Clearly, Sam had taken a fall for her.
As the day grew long, the jousting eventually subsided, and was replaced with other contests and games. There were games of throwing small metal balls into circular targets; games of lifting heavy boulders and throwing them; games with slingshots, with bows and arrows, and even games with spears, aiming for fish in a flowing creek.
Scarlet came running up to Caitlin when they took out the bows and arrows. “Please, Mommy, can I try?” she pleaded.
Caleb looked down at her. “I don’t see why not.”
Scarlet ran off with a delighted squeal, Ruth following. She grabbed the bows and arrows and took aim, with all the other warriors, at distant targets.
An amazed crowd began to gather around the girl, as one by one, warriors stopped what they were doing and stared. Caitlin, too was in shock. Scarlet hit every target perfectly, putting the grown warriors to shame. Caitlin couldn’t believe it. Clearly, Scarlet had an innate skill. Caitlin wondered where it came from, and she felt more proud of her than ever.
As a never-ending stream of games and competitions came and went, the day grew more and more festive. Competitions started to peter out, replaced with banter, laughter and camaraderie, as more food and wine and blood were rolled out into the fields. As the sun slowly began to set, painting the sky in a blanket of orange, it transitioned to a full-fledged party, the day’s former opponents all hugging each other, sharing drinks and huge pieces of meat over roasting fires. The tournaments transitioned to a feast.
Caitlin found Caleb, and the two shared drinks and food, laughing with human and vampire opponents they had fought on the field, surrounded by dozens of well-wishers, as torches were lit, the music grew louder, and the feast seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Caitlin fell her heart warm, surrounded by so many people she loved. It had not only been a fun day, but also a productive one, sharpening her skills in many ways, and teaching her much about Scarlet, too. It had also brought her and Caleb so much closer. She felt his love for her, and she felt the same. She was excited to think that the first step to their wedding day was now behind them, and that now they were that much closer to being wed.
“Now it’s time to plan the wedding!” she yelled out excitedly, and a chorus of girls cheered their approval.
“It’s going to be the most beautiful wedding you’ve ever seen,” Polly said.
“I already have ideas about the flowers,” Taylor chimed in.
Caitlin felt a bit overwhelmed, as all the girls suddenly began to chime in with their opinions.
Before she could respond, she noticed something in the distance, over their shoulders, that made her stop in her tracks.
At first she thought she was seeing things, that it was an apparition. But then, as she watched, she saw it was real.
She felt the glass goblet slip from her fingers and crash to the ground, as she stood there, frozen, not believing what she saw.
There, in the distance, standing at the edge of the wood, watching her with his intense eyes, was a man she could never forget.
It was Blake.
CHAPTER TEN
Sam hadn’t felt this happy in years. He’d a fun day of jousting with everyone, of joining in all the festivities surrounding Caitlin and Caleb’s tournament day. He also, he had to admit, felt thrilled to be near Polly. In truth, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He wondered if she realized he’d taken a fall for her on the jousting field. Fate had them paired against each other, and he knew there was little else he could do: in a million years, he would never lay a finger on her.
As they had rolled out vats of wine and of blood-infused alcohol, brought out huge slabs of meat roasting on a spit, Sam drank and ate and joined in the merriment. But he also kept finding himself looking for Polly. He spotted her hovering around Caitlin, already exuberant in her role as Maid of Honor, even more excited than usual as she discussed wedding preparations. Sam had kept waiting for an opportunity to take her aside, but none seemed to present itself.
It was a rowdy and bustling crowd of hundreds of vampires and human warriors, and as the drinking and feasting went on, the merriment turned into an outright dancing party. More musicians came, the music grew louder, the drink stronger, and people paired up, dancing in old-fashioned ways, locking arms and spinning in one circle, then locking arms and spinning in another. Men grabbed each other by the shoulder, forming circles, spinning round and round, and women grabbed women. Then they all switched off, and men and women danced with each other. There were smaller circles and bigger circles, couples breaking off and dancing with each other…It was spontaneous and chaotic, and Sam had never had so much fun.
Sam went from dancing in a circle of twelve men, to dancing in a circle of eight men and women, to locking arms with a human warrior he didn’t know and spinning as fast as he could in one direction, then another. Partners were handed off to other partners, and Sam found himself dancing with nearly everyone in the field. At one point, he locked arms with Caitlin, and they danced in a circle, and both looked up, and laughed to see that they were dancing with each other. Sam was delighted to see her so happy. After that, he had danced with Caleb, and he’d felt happy, once again, that this would be his brother-in-law.