"This is our training area," he said, pointing to the circle. "I came here earlier and set it up."
I raised my eyebrows.
"I knew you'd come," he said with a grin, making my stomach squirm.
Next to the circle on a rock, sat two sets of protective clothes made of leather and metal.
"Will we be safe in here?" I asked. My fear was not for wolves or other creatures, but of a member of the castle staff strolling through and accidentally coming upon us. My mother would pitch a fit if she knew where I was...and with whom.
"No one comes here," he said, throwing one of the protective breastplates at me. "Put that on."
Pulling it over my head, I let it drop, hanging from my shoulders. It weighed me down. This would hamper my movements.
"Is this necessary?" I asked, pulling the buckles tight.
"I'm not going to take it easy on you, and I don't expect you to take it easy on me. I'm not teaching you to dance, I'm teaching you to protect yourself, to kill if necessary. That sword I've given you will slice a limb off as easily as it would slice a tomato. Seeing as I'm partial to all my limbs, I'd say that this is entirely necessary."
His words sent a shiver of nerves running through me, followed by a thrill of excitement. I'd been wanting this from the very first time I'd been allowed to watch my father's men training. The training arena stood within the castle grounds, and after that first time, I'd steal into it and watch them. It was there that I developed my love of fighting. I'd been practicing ever since, first with sticks as pretend swords, and then with the stolen sword from the armory.
Once our protective suits covered us, I picked my sword back up and waited for Milo.
"You're standing wrong," he said, walking toward me. I let him position my arms and legs, trying to ignore the thrill of electricity running up my legs as he clasped each ankle in turn and moved them so they were about a foot apart.
He worked his way up, moving my body until he was satisfied.
"This is the strongest position. One foot slightly in front of the other, your body slightly twisted. You want to give your opponent the least amount of space to stab you. Hold your sword out in front of you, then swipe it to the side. That is your fighting space. You do not, under any circumstances, want your opponent in that space. I am going to attack you now. Don't worry, the armor will protect you. Your job is not to kill me; it is only to defend that space. I don't want to be able to get anywhere near you. Ok?"
I nodded. It sounded easy. Stop him getting close to me. I'd been doing the exact same thing metaphorically with no luck, but hopefully, I'd do better with the physical stuff. He bowed down, and I followed suit before readying myself in the stance he showed me.
"Go!" he shouted out.
My hand stiffened around my sword. I was ready.
Three seconds later, my sword was on the ground beside me and Milo's lips pecked my own, taking my breath away.
"What was that?" I asked him.
"I stole a kiss," he grinned. Any other opponent would skewer your heart. I doubted anyone would be able to find my heart, as it seemed to be doing a rumba around my chest.
Picking up the sword, I readied myself again, gritting my teeth in anticipation.
"Go!" I shouted. He ran toward me and this time I dodged. He missed, but then from behind, he once again swiped my sword from my hand. When I turned, he stole another kiss.
Trying to keep the amused smile from my face and hide the fact that my whole body was trembling, thanks to his kisses, I picked my sword up once again.
"That wasn't fair. You cheated."
"I'm trying to kill you, remember?" he said, dancing around me. "I'm your enemy. Do you think I care if you think I cheated? I am alive, and you are dead."
"You really are going to kill me at this rate," I huffed, taking up the stance again. We practiced for hours, taking it in turns to "kill" one another. By the time our only light was starlight, he'd given me one hundred and thirty-three kisses. I'd not managed to strike him once.
"Let's call it a night," Milo said. "It's dark, and I have to get home." He placed his sword on the stone to pull his armor off, and that's when I saw my chance. Swiping his feet from under him, I elbowed him in the side so he toppled over. Without giving him time to recover, I dropped on top of him, pinning him to the ground below, my legs straddling his stomach. The tip of my sword rested right over the metal plate covering his heart."
"I killed you," I whispered.
"You cheated," he responded. "I'd already put my sword down."
"I'm your enemy out for the kill," I said, echoing his own words from earlier. "Do you think I care that I cheated?" I lowered my sword to his side and took my own victory kiss. This time it was not just a peck on the lips.
6th January
"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" The fae held out his hand for me after breakfast.
I looked toward my mother, who yawned, then when she caught me looking, nodded her head.
"Fine," I capitulated. There was no way I was holding the guy's hand, though. He could walk next to me...or behind me...or off a cliff. Whatever.
"Interesting weather we are having," Caspian mused as we stepped out into the snow. "I was under the impression it barely snows in Draconis, but it's worse than a Forge winter."
"Hmm," I sighed non-committedly. Who cared what the weather in The Forge was like. "Why don't you head back there?"
I picked up my pace as we headed across the bridge out onto the pastures.
"You've not liked me from the start, but there's no reason not to," he began.
I cut him off. "Really? Because I can think of at least three reasons off the top of my head, and I'm sure if I thought a bit longer, I could come up with more."
"Please stop. I don't like playing games."
I turned to face him, annoyance filling me. He was beautiful without the sneer he usually wore, which put me off guard, but I was too angry to let a bit of gorgeousness get in the way. "Who's playing games? I've been very honest from the start with you. That's not game-playing."
I brought my hands up to my hips and gave him my best, prove me wrong look. Unfortunately, to him, the challenge was a red flag to a bull, and he was nothing if not bull-headed.
"The romance with your guard is fabricated, and that feels a lot like game-playing to me," he growled, bringing his face close to mine. His disdain for me was overwhelming, though I could also see desire in his eyes. I don't know which annoyed me more. "If I wanted to be messed around by women, I could have stayed in The Forge."
I swayed slightly on my heels and resisted the urge to kick him. "How did you... never mind. It doesn't matter. If you are somehow reading my mind, you'll see that I don't want to marry you." He'd also see that my fake romance with Milo was becoming more real by the day and the whirl of emotions that went along with that. It wasn't Caspian I saw when I closed my eyes at night. It was Milo. That was a problem to deal with later. Right now, dealing with Caspian was taking up all of my energy.
He narrowed his eyes. "I don't need to read your mind to know that. You've made it very clear. I also don't need to be a mind reader to know about you and Milo. When I saw you kissing him the other night, you seemed genuinely shocked. If you two were dating, why would you be so shocked to be kissed by him? It was only a hunch up until now, but you've confirmed it. I can't read minds, by the way. Manipulate them a little, but not read them. Very few
fae can, but I can read clues. I like to watch people."
He smiled languidly as he caught me out in my lie. Dragon shit! I gritted my teeth and sucked in a deep breath, which froze in my lungs, causing me to cough.
The faery waited for me to stop coughing before continuing to speak. "Look, I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot, and I also know that it's mostly my fault."
"Mostly?" I questioned raising an eyebrow, tears running down my face from the coughing. I wiped my eyes on the back of my sleeve, hoping he didn't think the tears were something to do
with him.
"Ok," he relented, putting his hands in the air. "It's all my fault. I've been insensitive and rude, and I've made mistakes. I came here because your father asked me to. He thought that he owed me for something I did for him a long time ago. That's why he offered you to me."
"You make it sound like I'm a pig in a meat market," I barked, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Hardly, but your father does owe me, and he thought I'd make a good husband for you."
Ignoring the squeezing sensation in my stomach, I asked him through gritted teeth why my father owed him.
He beckoned me onwards, away from the castle. "We were friends many years ago, and back then, he asked me for magical help to get through the enchanted brambles that surrounded the castle."
I turned to him. "That's not what I was told. The curse had ended anyway. That's why he was able to get through the brambles when so many others had failed before him. He told me that cutting through them was easier than he'd been led to believe."
The fae nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe that's true, but why? What was it that ended that curse if not me? Only a couple of weeks before your father attempted it, someone died trying the exact same thing. Many people lost their lives in the attempt to save your mother. Your father found it difficult, but as you say, the brambles were dying. What was it that changed? That curse was never meant to be a hundred-year curse. It was meant to last forever, a testament to Derillen's power."
"Derillen?" I'd never heard the name before. "Who is Derillen?"
The fae kept his eyes ahead, looking into the distance as he spoke. "It seems I've spoken out of term. If you do not know that name, it is not my place to enlighten you."
Anger coursed through me. Why was it that every time I spoke to this man, I wanted to stick a sword through his ribs? I thought back to the dragon sword carefully hidden in my room and wished I'd had the forethought to bring it with me.
"Why won't you tell me?"
"It is not my place to," he said. "There is no point in getting angry with me. It is not I that has spent your whole life keeping secrets from you. Perhaps you should ask your parents."
I stalked off ahead in the snow. New snow dropped constantly, transforming the landscape into a winter wonderland. I watched my breath in the frigid air, transforming me almost into the fire-and-smoke-breathing dragons everyone feared so much.
"Let's talk about something else," Caspian said, catching up. "We are to be married soon, and I would like to find some common ground with you."
I huffed. "I can't think of a single thing the pair of us have in common." I trudged ahead of him again, but something stopped me. As if a net had been thrown over me, I felt myself being pulled back, my feet making tracks in the snow.
When I ended up back next to him, he waved his hand and the invisible ropes pulling me disappeared.
I glared at him, ready to give him the tongue-lashing he deserved, but he spoke first.
"Actually, I think we have more in common than you know."
"Give me one example," I fumed, folding my arms across my chest.
He cocked his head thoughtfully before bringing his hand back up.
I felt the ropes around me again, but this time they crushed my arms to my chest and locked my legs together. Falling into the snow, I fought against the invisible bonds that had taken hold. Beside me, Caspian held out his hand, his fingers splayed, his mouth silently working his magic. If I had my sword, the dwarf magic in the metal would cut through the strands of magic like butter, but I didn't. I was defenseless.
"What are you doing?" I screamed, letting snow enter my mouth. Swallowing back the freezing water, I fought against my magical chains as the fae watched on with interest.
"I'm not trying to hurt you, but the more you move, the more painful it will be. Hold still and fight back properly."
Fight back properly? When I was free of his magic, I was going to knock his block off.
I squirmed against my binds as they cut into my clothes and bit into my skin. As soon as I became still, the pain subsided, and the ropes or chains loosened a little. More squirming and they bit down again.
"Let me go," I hissed through chattering teeth as the snow began to melt into my trousers, soaking me to the skin.
"Make me," he answered back, his teeth gleaming from the wide smile he gave me.
They would be the first to go, I mused, as I contemplated punching him right in his beautiful mouth.
"You aren't even trying," Caspian goaded, tapping his toe in the soft snow as he waved his hands around to keep the magic flowing.
"What exactly do you want me to do?" I hissed through chattering teeth.
He bent down until his face was close to mine. Not close enough for me to head-butt him, but close enough to see how much he was enjoying this. "I've seen something in you that excites me, but it looks like I'm going to be let down. I'm very rarely wrong, but it has been known to happen."
"What are you talking about?" I screeched. I was going to get hypothermia if I wasn't careful. Or if he wasn't.
"Magic, Azia. I'm talking about magic. I can feel it in you, but I wonder if you can feel it yourself." He pulled back his hand, and I found myself rising into the air. When I was about six feet from the ground, he began to spin me around.
The world tumbled about me as I spun in the air.
"Stop it," I yelled as darkness appeared at the edge of my consciousness, threatening to make me black out.
"Make me," he yelled back.
Anger surged through me like never before. Fury raged, warming my belly. Make him? I was going to kill him, the first chance I got, my mother and my marriage be damned.
The warmth became energy, which became something else entirely. In front of me, the world toppled end over end, the mountains, becoming Caspian and then going back to the mountains again. While inside, I burned with sizzling energy.
With a primordial scream, I let the energy go before it burned through me. With a bump, the soft snow flew up beneath me, and I landed on the ground. With shaky legs, I stood. It took all my energy not to fall over again, thanks to the dizziness that engulfed me.
"I will murder you!" I muttered, holding a shaky finger out to Caspian's face. My feet wobbled, wanting to topple beneath me, and it took everything I had not to let them.
The fae had the gall to laugh.
"I wasn't wrong. I didn't think I was. You are magic."
His words pierced the fog in my brain.
"What?"
"You have magic in you. I didn't let you go. You fought against my magic. Now, I don't like to brag, but I'm pretty powerful. Not the most powerful in all the kingdoms, but it would take a lot of magic to be able to cut through those bonds that held you. You did that, my dear, not I."
"I'm not magic," I whispered, faltering.
"How do you know?" he asked, brushing my hair back over my ears. "You don't have the pointed ears, so you are not fae, but I suspect your magic is powerful. Maybe even more so than mine. You were adopted, so you don't know your birth parents. How do you know that you are even human?"
"Of course, I'm human!" I shouted at him, then proceeded to throw up all over his shoes.
It took a good few minutes of sitting in the snow before my head stopped spinning entirely. While I sat with my head in my hands, my ass getting soaked by the wet snow, Caspian performed spell after spell over his puke-covered shoes, trying to make them clean again. Eventually, he waved his hand over them and made them disappear, before conjuring a pair of boots from thin air.
When he'd put them on, he waved his hand at me. Below me, a picnic blanket appeared, and a warmth came over me, drying my clothes out immediately. I went from shivering and cold to warm and cozy in a second. He sat beside me and conjured up a large umbrella to stop the snow falling upon us. When he'd done that, he performed his last piece of magic and set out a spread of food for us.
Now that I'd calmed down and my head no longer spun, I decided to let him live. At least,
until we ate. I'd consider it again once the food was gone.
He poured me a glass of wine and handed it over.
"A celebration for your first performance of magic. The fae always celebrate a child's first act of magic. Usually, it is when they are young, three or four perhaps. But I think that this merits a celebration even if you are not fae."
"I am human," I reiterated, taking a sip of the wine. The sweet nectar ran down my throat, warming me from the inside out.
The fae shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not, but how do you know?"
He'd already asked me that. It was obvious I was a human. What else could I be? "Because I look human. I feel human, and as you pointed out, I don't have any markings of being a fae. Apart from my title of princess, I'm as ordinary as it gets."
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