Chapter 6: The Tournament
“WH-WHAT…what on earth did I do?!”
Amy dove onto her bed as soon as she reached her room, but it wasn’t enough to just bury her face in a pillow—she curled up in abject horror, covering her entire head with the pillow like it was a hard helmet.
Edward had ridden with her in the carriage that took her home from the royal riding grounds.
That much was all well and good…
It wasn’t unusual for them to be alone together in a carriage or sit beside each other instead of on opposite sides. Even Edward taking Amy’s hand wasn’t strange—he often did so when they greeted each other or when he was escorting her somewhere.
The unbelievable part was Amy’s own behavior!
Taking Edward’s hand from resting on his lap and bringing it up to her own cheek wasn’t something Amy had planned beforehand. She hadn’t even thought of the words she had said.
It was like her body had moved of its own accord, and the words just tumbled out of her mouth. Like that was a totally natural thing for her to do.
This can’t be real! There was no need for me to put his hand against my face like that, at least!
But, out of character though it was, it was difficult for Amy to believe that her actions had been manipulated by the “invisible hand of the game.” Amy had been aware of everything the whole time, and her recollection and judgment did not feel altered.
She was simply embarrassed by her own unbelievable actions.
Even if he might have felt better by touching her, as she had reasoned before, wouldn’t it have been enough for him to keep holding her hand?
Amy had eventually come to her senses and awkwardly took Edward’s hand off her cheek. He had started to say something to her, but just then, with impeccable (or terrible) timing, the carriage pulled up to the Northland estate. Amy hastily blurted out a goodbye and flew out the carriage door.
She was trying to maintain some semblance of composure, but the scene kept playing over and over again in her mind of its own accord.
Every time it replayed, Amy could almost feel the warmth and texture of Edward’s hand, smell the strange cotton-candy scent sweetening the air inside the carriage, witness the scene coming to life in vivid realism… Composure was far beyond her control.
As Amy squirmed in agony and wrestled with her blankets and sheets, she felt a familiar weight plop down on her. When she peeked through a gap in the feather pillows piled on top of her, she saw a round, golden eye looking back.
“Tigger…”
When Amy came home, Tigger had excitedly run up to greet her, but he froze in his tracks at the sheer speed at which she came running inside. Although he had fallen behind on the journey up to her room, Tigger was now on the bed, watching her, head tilted.
With tears in her eyes, Amy slowly extracted herself from the mound of pillows and held out her arms. Tigger naturally took his place in between them.
He meowed loudly in her arms, and Amy exhaled a long sigh of relief.
“How am I supposed to act when I see him next?” Amy bemoaned, burrowing her red face in Tigger’s fluffy, long fur. She could hear him purring in reply.
With Tigger, I’m perfectly fine being so close I feel his heartbeat.
Amy could always tell Tigger’s mood right away just from the swishing of his tail—whether he was excited, happy, relaxed… Edward’s face from that moment popped back into her mind.
She had never seen him look that surprised before.
Surprised as he had been, his happiness seemed to outweigh his shock.
I’m glad it didn’t make him feel uncomfortable, but… Ugh, this can’t be good! I mean, only l-lovers do that kind of stuff! Oh gosh! What have I done?!
Amy’s embarrassment was reaching a boiling point. She clung to Tigger again, desperately trying to rein her thoughts in.
Who said anything about lovers?!
Amy was a fiancée candidate. If she wasn’t even his fiancée, she was certainly not his lover, either. She calmed down just a little bit when she realized this, but it also made her heart feel equally as heavy.
Amy went back to hugging Tigger in an attempt to brush aside the strange feelings, but the pressure made her remember the pendant necklace hanging over her chest. She took it out from under her dress and held it. It was warm from resting against her skin.
“Tigger…what should I do?”
The night wore on as Amy gazed at the pendant in the palm of her hand, glittering as it reflected the warm lights of her room.