Push Katyana down!

As you leap toward Katyana, time seems to slow to a crawl. Her eyes widen with shock and even in the fleeting moment, you notice that her hand begins to reach for her opposite sleeve where she surely has a dagger hidden - impressive reflexes indeed, considering that she could not possibly have been prepared for you to tackle her!

At the moment you slam into her slim body and **** her down, the Vixen's shot strikes home into the back of your left shoulder.

You and Katyana fall to the floor in a tangle with the chessmen, and more than one scream pierces the hall. The clamor of armor around you tells you that your Kingsguard has leapt to your defense, though the damage has been done - and it is only then that the sharp shock of pain lances through your shoulder and back.

"What is this?!" Katyana shouts close to your ear, and then you hear her gasp as she sees the arrow shaft sprouting from your back. "Guardsmen of Reznik! Stand down and remain at the ready, do not approach!" she calls, and again you are impressed with her quick assessment of the situation - if her own guards tried to **** their way to her, no doubt yours would beat them back by any means necessary, and such a confrontation would only make things much worse!

"Sire!" Ferdinand calls, tossing a large chesspiece aside and kneeling down to you. "Sire, are you all right?"

"I believe I am," you say through gritted teeth. "The Vixen... it was the Vixen!"

"Sire, how is that -"

"No time for questions," you interrupt. "The Vixen is the young woman who was my escort to the opening ceremony. She fired the shot from the east balcony. Lock down the castle and find her - but she must be taken alive and unharmed, Ferdinand! Her arrow was meant for Katyana, not for me, and there are questions which must be answered!"

"Yes, Sire."

"Inform the Kingsguard that when the Vixen is found, she is to be locked in a cell, but do not put her in manacles. That is important! If any question these orders, you will say they come directly from me. Go!"

"Yes, Sire!" Ferdinand leaps to his feet and is away quickly.

"Lady Katyana, are you hurt?" you ask her - you have her pinned down to the chessboard, protecting her from a potential second shot by your own body, and her face is close enough to your own that you can feel her breath upon your lips.

"I seem uninjured, Sire," she says. Her eyes are still widened and alert with adrenaline, but her expression is calm; she knows that the best thing she can do is to remain still.

"Guests of the King, we will have order!" you hear Magnus shout above the commotion. "No one has been killed, and we of the Kingsguard secure the room even now - to run and panic will only worsen the situation! Remain calm, I say!"

Fortunately, Magnus' booming, authoritative words seem to have the desired effect; there are no more screams, and the sounds of the crowd around you seem to change from panicked confusion to more of a rumbling murmur. The next to appear at your side is Captain Navarre.

"Sire, we have you and Lady Katyana surrounded by armored guardsmen," he says. "Whoever did this will not have a second shot!"

"Captain, speak with Ferdinand before you deploy your men; he has important information," you tell him. "Then, have Lady Trina and Mshindi take Katyana and her guards to my private parlor. Katyana will wait within; her guards are to remain just outside. I dare not move too much until Master Sanjay has had a chance to look at my shoulder; it does not seem serious, but I do not wish to make it worse. I believe we can at least allow the lady to extract herself, however."

"No!" Katyana insists. "Captain, the arrow has struck too close to the spine; to move the King may cause damage which will never heal. I am less than comfortable here, but I will not be responsible for such injury to King Xavier. Let your healer examine the wound, and only then concern yourself with my well-being. I ask only that you allow one of my guards to approach so that I may explain the situation to him personally, lest they do something foolish on my behalf."

"Lady Katyana speaks wisely. Make it so, Captain," you tell him, and Navarre nods and moves away.

Katyana turns her eyes to you. "I am still alive because of you, King Xavier," she says in a quiet voice. "Rest assured, I will not forget it."

It is at least a hour before a sense of calm seems restored. Master Sanjay Bhandari, having been brought to your side, pronounced the wound not too serious. Sir Magnus was able to carry you to the healer's chambers, where he applied his medicines, including a wet mash of herbs which deadened some of the pain, and then carefully extracted the arrow. "It struck the leather strap of your breastplate, Sire," Sanjay informed you in his high, melodious voice as he worked upon the wound, "and grazed the buckle as well, which shattered the obsidian arrowhead but also prevented it from penetrating deeply. I have removed the shaft and the fragments, and my assistant is working to assemble them together to ensure that I have them all, but I am confident that Your Majesty will make a quick and full recovery. If the arrow had been tipped with steel, I fear you may not have been so fortunate."

Once the wound is cleaned and Master Sanjay has applied his poultices and bandages (you have never understood why he treats such wounds with moldy bread of all things, but one cannot deny the results!) the surgeon declares you fit to walk up the stairs to your parlor, where you find both Captain Navarre and Lady Katyana waiting.

"Report, Captain," you say as you enter the room.

"Sire," Captain Navarre says, coming to attention. "Your guests fare well, and remain in the Great Hall under protective guard. The Vixen has been taken into custody. She did not try to escape; she was found upon the east balcony, as you said, where she surrendered without resisting. She is now locked in a cell, under guard but unchained per your orders."

"Is Lord Bertrand among the guests?" you ask, as Sir Benedicht helps you to sit in a large chair by the window.

"Yes, Sire."

"I would speak with him before the feast; please have him brought to the Lord's cabinet in one hour. The rest of the guests should be informed that the danger has passed, and that they are welcome to remain for the feast but that the King understands if they wish to leave and no offense will be taken. Let it be known that I will attend the feast myself; I want them to see that I am unharmed, and unafraid to show myself. They will need that reassurance if the rest of the festival is not to be ruined."

"Yes, Sire. I take my leave. Sir Benedicht, remain here with the King."

"Aye, Captain."

Captain Navarre exits, while Benedicht goes to stand by the door.

"I know it is presumptuous of me, Your Majesty," Katyana says quietly, "but with your permission, I will appear at the feast as well so that I may express my gratitude to you in front of all who are present."

"You would be most welcome at the feast," you tell her, not missing that she uses your full honorific; her attitude toward you is certainly much changed. "In fact, I seem to have an opening for an escort... if you would be amenable, my Lady."

"I would be honored, Your Majesty," Katyana says, bowing at the waist this time. "Your wound is not serious, then?"

"Fortune favors the foolish, it would seem. The arrow was deflected by the straps of my ceremonial breastplate - an adornment which I have come to hate over time, but for which I suddenly feel a new affinity."

Katyana paces slowly across the floor, looking pensive and thoughtful. "King Xavier... you have given me much to consider in a very short time. You are no fool, I am sure you have guessed that I am not here merely to negotiate for peaceful relations."

"The thought had occurred to me."

Katyana takes a deep breath. "I am prepared to tell you exactly why I am here, but you must understand that for me to do so is a direct disobedience of the orders given to me by the Warlord himself. It is a severe breach of the trust my father has placed in me, one which he would not forgive even his own daughter should he hear of it - and my own guardsmen would report me for such a violation. Your guardsmen report to no one except yourself... but all the same, I would prefer to reveal these secrets to you alone, King Xavier."

"Sire, please forgive my interruption," Sir Benedicht says quietly. "Today has seen your life nearly taken from you. You know that should you command it, I will be as one with neither eyes nor ears nor tongue, seeing and hearing nothing which is said here, saying nothing even to my Captain. But I cannot leave this room and still call myself Sworn Protector of the Crown. If you order me to leave you alone with Lady Katyana at this time, you order my resignation from your Kingsguard. I have spoken."