She does

The jousters come together with a mighty CRUNCH, and a tourney lance splinters on contact - but not without doing its job! The visiting knight from Sir Reginald's house tumbles from his horse, landing hard on his shoulder, while his victorious opponent - Thibald de Pomeroy, the eldest son of Lord Bertrand - continues to the end of the run with his shield held aloft in celebration. The crowd cheers wildly as he wheels his horse about, removes his helm, and trots past the royal box with a smug grin on his face. He bows his head to you as he passes (you wonder if he knows about the scolding you gave to his father before the feast yesterday) and then continues on to where Arethousa sits not far away, placing his hand over his heart and bowing even lower to her, for it was she who gave him the silk scarf tied about what remains of his lance. You stand and applaud for him; even though jousting is not your own particular skill, you could tell that the lance was expertly handled and it was a blow well-struck.

"Sir Vincent is unhorsed!" Magnus bellows to the crowd. "Sir Thibald advances to the semi-final joust!"

You wish it were possible to enjoy the joust more... but the longer Katyana remains absent, the more it weighs upon you and makes it impossible to think of anything else. The two o'clock bell has not yet rung, so she has not gone over the time she allotted herself; but it is still unnerving to have her gone for so long, with the Iron Ring giving her essentially free run of the castle. One thing you have learned as King is not to second-guess yourself, but under the circumstances you can't help but wonder if you have not made the biggest mistake of your life, one for which every citizen of Elyssia will suffer.

"Let the next contestants approach the lists! From the north rides Sir Benedicht of the Elyssian Kingsguard! From the south, one who names himself Blackstone, a visiting knight whose true name and face remain unknown!"

The crowd cheers louder; a mystery contestant always adds a little thrill to a tournament. Sometimes, such contestents are men of royalty who hide their faces so that they may say they have won fairly should they prove victorious; other times, they are commoners who ordinarily would not be permitted to compete (the Elyssia tournament was open to all, but this is not always the case in other kingdoms). Occasionally, they are women; Lady Trina fought in her first tournament under the guise of a man, so that the opponents she faced would not hold back out of chivalry. Whoever this one is, he has done quite well so far. Normally you would be intrigued to see who emerges from the helm at the end of the contest, but at the moment, it seems too trivial to worry about. It actually occurred to you that one of the four masked contenders in the tournament might have been the Warlord himself, but you have met Lord Velimir, and none of them could be him. Velimir is a great barrel of a man, with a massive chest and brawny arms, and none of the mystery contestants could possibly be hiding such a physique under their armor. It is entirely possible that one of them may be a man loyal to him, of course...

"Sire," Captain Navarre says in your ear, "The Ringbearer returns. She asks that you meet her in the guardroom."

You nod briefly, the tightness in your throat increasing rather than dissapating, and then stand. "My Lords and Ladies, pray excuse me for a moment, I must attend to a matter of state."

With Captain Navarre at your back, you descend the stairs from the Royal Box and turn left at the bottom into the guardroom. Although it has been less than two hours, it seems like Lady Katyana has been gone for an eternity. She is there when you enter, and when Captain Navarre closes the door she immediately pulls the Iron Ring from under her cloak and hands it to you.

"I have done what needed to be done," she says. "Thank you, Xavier, for your trust. It was not an easy thing to plot against my own father, but your heart gave me strength to see it through."

"May I know what you have wrought?" you ask.

"I dare not speak of all, even now," she says. "But, there is some which I may tell you of without fear. I have visted the camp at the high meadow, and ordered the City Watchmen on duty there to abandon their posts. I must tell you that they hesitated, even when shown the Iron Ring, but in the end they obeyed. I did this so that they would not be killed when those who were under my command depart to join my father's forces, as they inevitably will, and may be doing even now."

"I will assure the watchmen personally that they did the right thing, and commend them for their service," you tell her.

"I have also released my two guardsmen from their cells," she continues, "having told them that it is my intention to marry the King of Elyssia, a better man than my lord father. They are sure to ride to him and inform him of this treachery and insult. He may not believe them - in fact, I shudder to think of what he may do when they bring him such a message - but it will make him believe the next to bring him such news, and we may rest assured that he will be here upon the morrow. My father told me when he sent me on this mission that I would be on my own, but I am not a fool; I know that he is near, watching and waiting.

"There was one more task which I cannot speak of; it is the very key to my father's defeat. I will say only this..." she beckons you to lean down so that she may whisper in your ear, "When my father arrives, he will doubtless challenge you to a duel; if he does not, you must goad him into this action. It is vital that he be the one to challenge you, not the other way around. And then, rather than fight the duel yourself, you will say that you wish to name a champion. Naturally, this would be one of your Kingsguard, but you must leave the name unsaid. Do you understand, my love?"

"I do," you reply.

"Then, let us enjoy the remainder of the festival, and the feast," she says, giving you a kiss that lingers for just a moment, and then taking your arm so that you might escort her back to the Royal Box.