Fiona lowered her gaze . " I never expected to take the top honor myself , " she murmured . The three young women lingered on the stone bench , conversation flowing from temple rituals to spring fashions , their laughter twining with the distant chime of a bronze bell . Only when Fiona noticed Hannah , Joanna , and Penelope emerging from the rear courtyard did she rise and bid her friends farewell . The ride home unfolded beneath a tension thick enough to bruise . Neither Hannah nor Joanna spoke ; the creak of the wheels was louder than breath . Fiona asked nothing . She opened a book and let her gaze drift over the inked pages like water over stones . Upon reaching the Niven Estate , she curtsied obediently to Hannah in the front hall , then slipped away toward Bamboo Lodge . Only after Fiona's footsteps vanished did Joanna say , " Mother , please don't let anger wear on your health . " Hannah's chest rose sharply . " Did you see her lofty air ? I merely wished to consult her , yet she acted as though I were throwing Fiona at her . " Joanna soothed , " Fiona is radiant , and now she holds first in archery . She can choose any groom in all Duflana . We needn't keep the Zonfrillo family in mind any longer . " Hannah , who valued dignity over fortune , nodded stiffly ; the notion of marrying Fiona into the Zonfrillo family was , for the moment , dead and buried . A quiet balance settled inside Joanna . If the powerful Zonfrillo family had dismissed her own daughter , Rita , then surely they would overlook Fiona as well . It was not malice - merely the small , selfish relief that would rise whenever another outshone one's child a little less . A few days later , Joanna stopped by Rita's residence , She drew Rita aside and , eyes gleaming , relayed the newest piece of gossip . " Meryl had front - row seats when it was our turn to squirm , " Joanna said , unable to hide her satisfaction . " Well , her precious Fiona now finds herself in the very same bind . " Rita knew that a marriage between Fiona and Soren would advance the entire Niven family . Yet she didn't want to see a man who once dismissed her turn around only to pursue Fiona . 1/3 14:42 Fri , Oct 10 Chapter 26 Temple Encounters : Thus , she was filled with equal parts regret and private relief . " Is this truly Lord Soren's own decision ? " Rita asked , narrowing her eyes . 58 +20 Free Coins " That's what Duchess Zonfrillo swears ," Joanna replied . " Lord Soren already pledges his heart . elsewhere . I cannot imagine how wretched Fiona feels ; she adores him , and now he has shut the door on her . " Rita had noticed Fiona's crush on Soren long ago and dismissed it . Soren favored capable women , not fragile girlish blossoms . Even after Fiona blossomed into striking beauty , she still failed to catch his discerning eye . " I haven't glimpsed the poor girl in days , " Joanna added . Fiona's coming - of - age ceremony loomed only weeks away , and she was not ignorant of the whispers around her . On the carriage ride home , she had sat unusually silent , the stillness itself proof that she already understood her situation . Once inside Bamboo Lodge , Fiona recited poems out of sheer boredom . " Stop brooding over one setback , " Meryl murmured , sliding an ivory comb through Fiona's hair as she began to weave an elegant braid . " When men and women seek marriage , both sides measure and choose . Being rejected or rejecting another is ordinary life , nothing more ." Meryl had guessed Hannah's true purpose in visiting Frostenden Temple and had quietly let the old hope wither on its own . What pained Fiona was not the rejection from the Zonfrillo family itself . Instead , she pictured her mother in the previous life struggling to secure that very proposal . She still could not unravel the puzzle of how , in that previous life , Soren had ever agreed to marry her at all . " Mother , are you also anxious about arranging my marriage ? " Fiona asked softly , breaking the unspoken rule against such topics . " I'm anxious , yes , " Meryl said , continuing the braid . " But I fear an ill match even more , so my haste has its limits . " " What kind of man would you favor for me ? " Fiona asked . " Someone who treats you well and stands on solid ground , " Meryl replied . " I care little for empty grandeur . If he comes from a great family , all the better , but it isn't vital . Frankly , Xavier looks promising . " 2/3 14:42 Fri , Oct 10 Chapter 26 Temple Encounters : If Meryl thought Xavier promising , he had to be at least worthwhile . After her stellar archery score was posted , Fiona meant to thank Xavier in person . Yet immediately after the autumn hunt , Soren had dispatched him to distant duties . 58 +20 Free Coins Half a month later , she finally learned from Ulrich that Xavier had returned to Jexburgh . Fiona decided to present him with Glowstrike , a legendary bow of peerless craft . Xavier had coached her with unwavering patience ; gratitude alone justified the gift , and if the gesture . helped win his heart , she was willing to pay the price . In her previous life , she had given Glowstrike to Soren , coaxing him into sharing her bed that very night . He loved the bow and never used another , so she understood its allure for men . Should Soren catch sight of it then , so be it ; he had no way of knowing it had once served as her secret love token . Thanks to a mother born of a princess ' blood , Fiona's dowry would be extraordinarily lavish . Even so , tracking down Glowstrike had taken days of favors and coin . Glowstrike had been carved from sandalwood , its dense grain lending a weight that dwarfed ordinary yew , yet every fiber held a springy life that promised lethal velocity . Polished to a deep , wine - red sheen , the weapon gleamed beneath the lantern light . At each limb , translucent black emerald had been inlaid - stones so rare they were usually filed away in treasuries , not hammered into battlefield tools . Each gem alone could have purchased a city block , yet there they rested , quiet and cold , inside a bow built for war . As Fiona surveyed the racks , she noticed something missing . The risqué picture scroll - her secret copy of a guide to marital pleasures - was nowhere in sight . 3/3 14:42 Fri , Oct 10 Chapter 27 Winter Homecoming : Chapter 27 Winter Homecoming