“Well, Madeline and I have spent the better part of the morning touring the training grounds. I’m sure my uncle is awaiting our company for lunch. He is likely to storm the countryside looking for us if we do not return soon; it was a pleasure meeting you both.”
They both bow and Mason mumbles some polite response. I nod and turn away as they rise. I turn back at the last minute as the general starts to lead Madeline and me away.
“You have interesting eyes Viktor….almost as black as coal.”
I walk off not waiting for Viktor to respond. I am not sure I want to hear one.
Viktor
She walks off and I wonder if she means the bad or good kind of interesting.
“That was odd.”
I don't look at Mason but nod to him as I watch the Princess and her lady-in-waiting walk off with the general. She is a strange one. I am not really sure what to think of her. I have never met anyone like her…it is strange, this feeling I have.
“Shall we move on to weapons training?”
I nod and turn my attention back to practice. Better to dwell on things that are under my control.
Elainne
A soldier rides with us back to the castle; my uncle had indeed sent him to look for us. I sign and nod to Madeline. We will discuss everything about the day so far after lunch.
“He was a strange bird wasn't he highness?”
I nod as we leave the dining room. Lunch had been boring as usual. If I do become Queen I am finding some way to brighten up these boring lunches, and dinners, and breakfasts. All right so every eating period needs work.
Aunt has tried to get entertainment added, but uncle refuses because they can’t agree on entertainment. He wants scantily clad dancing girls and aunt refuses. I don’t blame her. If I ever marry the man will not believe in keeping a mistress, I will marry for love only. It is a foolish hope for a Princess, but I will continue to wish it until otherwise noted.
“The blonde one, Mason, was nice though. He would make a good champion someday I think. He’s polite, respectful, and seems very trustworthy.”
“You don’t think Viktor is trustworthy?”
Madeline shrugs.
“I don’t really know what to think of him, highness. I couldn’t read anything from what little he said.”
He had said his name and that was it. You can’t get much from it. Still, he seems a good soul. “I think he has a good heart, it’s just buried deep. People like that are usually trying to hide from something, whether it is the world or themselves, his reason I know not. I wonder which it is.”
“You see deeper than me to see that.”
I smile and shrug. “Maybe, maybe not. We each have our own skills.”
Madeline sighs and smiles looking over at me.
“You shall make an excellent Queen, your Highness.”
“Thank you, Madeline. You shall make a most trusted advisor to my Queen someday.”
Madeline laughs and we go to our embroidery. The day of a Princess is not so exciting. However, while Madeline embroiders some hankies I will sneak in more reading. Maybe, I can be extra sneaky and get Viktor’s file. I am not sure why, but I am curious about him.
Chapter Two
Viktor
The next morning sees us training in the rain. I never mind it, but Mason complains about slipping and not being able to see. I tend to rely on sound and touch more than sight when it rains. If you can’t see you have to use your other senses. That’s what the captain taught us. I have practiced many times using a blindfold to better develop my skills. Even blind I hit my target nine times out of ten.
“You have other senses, Mason, use them.”
I slash at him and score a point taking his left arm out. Good thing for him we are using wooden swords otherwise he’d be in some pain and missing a limb.
“It’s wet and cold. Summer should be warm and sunny.”
I thrust and he finally manages to pull himself together enough to block. I push through his defense and rap his shoulder that is still in play.
“If you spend all your time whining you’ll die. Someday you may need to fight in the rain to protect the one you are assigned to. So you better learn how to do it now.”
Mason rallies enough to not let me get a kill strike, but after a few more hits he is so injured he is out anyway. We go over to the bench to get a drink; it is our only time out of the rain today so we take our time. The captain says this weather is great practice for real life, he always says that about rain and snow, so the worse the condition outside the more we work on it.
“Lucky nobles get to be out of the rain. Sucking up to the royal family and eating delicious food and, best of all, being dry.”
I have wondered, only about a hundred times today, what the Princess is doing. What does she do with her time when she is not out inspecting the training grounds and attending state dinners? Has she thought of me at all?
I shake my head. The last one is an easy question to answer. Of course, she hasn’t. Why would she? There is nothing special about me. No reason for her to remember me even. Mason had done all the talking.
“Hello, Viktor are you in there somewhere?”
I snap back to attention as Mason snap his fingers in front of my face.
“What?”
“I’m just wondering what is with you today. You keep spacing out. Even though you are beating me into the dust, or puddles as it were, you aren’t focusing or paying much attention. Which, now that I think of it, makes me sound bad as you are thrashing me so soundly and not paying much attention while doing it.”
I laugh and nod. “No, it doesn’t make you sound good at all. I think it has to do with it raining. I’ve always liked the rain.”
“That’s because you are strange. Now let’s get back out there before the captain catches us resting.”
I nod and we go back onto the field to practice more.
Elainne
I try to be quiet while sneaking into the stables. I have already paid the stable lad and Madeline is in my room lying in my bed until I return in case anyone comes to check on me. She doesn’t look a lot like me, but no one will notice the difference in the dark with all the blankets and pillows piled and tossed around.
All precautions have been taken so no one will notice me gone. The storm is raging and you can’t see or hear anything. It is the perfect time to ride outside the castle walls without a guard.
The Daughter of the Ocean is coming soon. The mermaid Princess coming as an emissary to make a treaty with our fair Kingdom. Security is unbearable. I need alone time and my aunt and uncle refuse to let me go anywhere without any guards. Since no one can be spared to guard me I am stuck inside the castle all the time. Other than my time on the training field I have been unable to leave the walls that stand as my prison.
I rode longer than I meant to, it will be dawn in a few hours. I have to return before anyone discovers my deception. I walk the horse into the stable and hand him over to the stable lad, who sighs in relief. Likely he has been worried about the trouble he will get into if anything happened to me.
A movement to the left gets my attention. I turn and see a man sitting on a bale of hay. It is hard to tell who it is in the dim light of the stables, but as I move closer I see it is Viktor. He looks up as he senses my presence. He looks distrustful or scared. Though what he has to fear from me I have no idea.
I grab a lamp off the wall and move closer. I sit on the bale next to him and he moves to grab something. It is his shirt. He isn't wearing it. I notice a big bruise on his side and flinch at the sight of it. That must hurt a lot.
“What happened?”
“Training accident.”
“You were training in the rain?”
Viktor
I nod to answer her question and she puts the light down on the bale and leans in closer. She reaches out but pulls back at the last second as if afraid to touch.
“May I?”
I nod and she gently
moves my arm, which doesn’t mean it doesn't hurt. I am certain I have at least one broken rib. She removes her hand expecting me to keep my own arm up and out of the way. I do, but I have to hold it with my other hand because it keeps trying to move back to the most comfortable position, which is against my side.
Her cool fingers feel good against my burning side. She starts mumbling and her hands grow warm. The pain in my side starts to numb and the muscles loosen. I look down. Her hands are glowing green, as is my side. It would have scared me except the pain is leaving my side and shoulder so I assume she is not doing anything horrible to me.
She moves her hands away and starts to sway. I lean over and catch her as she falls forward. I right her but I don't remove my arms from around her. She is shaking and almost limp enough to be considered unconscious.
“Are you all right?”
She is swaying and looks pasty, she had been pale before, being part Elvin, but this is an unhealthy pallor.
“Do you need me to get someone?”
“No. Fine.”
“What did you do to me? My side is fine, there's not even a mark.”
She nods and starts to sway the second I start to let her go. I grab her shoulders and turn to lean against the wall. I pull her back to lean on me until she can sit on her own.
“Elvin magic… healing. Half-human… can’t do a very good job.”
I move a bit and feel no stiffness or pain. Seems like a good job to me.
“I can move without pain and my ribs aren't broken anymore. Seems like a good job.”
She sighs. Her breathing is labored and she is still shaking. If healing hurts her this badly why would she do it? I would have healed on my own in time.
“Why did you heal me?”
Elainne
Keeping quiet seems to make him talk more. This is more than I have ever heard out of him before, not that we have had many chances to talk before. Truth be told I want to answer his questions but I can’t muster the strength. I try anyway as I rouse enough to realize he is holding me up and leaning me against him.
“You… were… hurting.”
Viktor
That is all she says as she goes entirely limp in my arms. This time I can tell she is unconscious. What the hell am I supposed to do now? I can’t leave her here unattended. The captain sent me here to get a liniment for my side that is supposed to numb the pain. The stable master wasn't here when I arrived though and I am supposed to wait for him to come into work, which happens to be dawn.
I am assuming she has to be back in her room before then though. I can’t exactly carry her back; I don’t know where she rooms and she likely is not supposed to be outside. I could never get her back without getting caught. I decide to just wait. She will regain consciousness at some point, or after a while, she will be rested enough for me to be able to wake her.
The thunder shakes the barn and lightning struck nearby. She must really be out of it to sleep through that. I lean my head back and tighten my arms around her. I’ll just stay awake and watch over her until she wakes. Then I can return to the barracks.
I close my eyes and sigh. How long could it take?
Elainne
I awake and see predawn light in the light gray sky. I am being held up by someone’s arms around me. I pull up and they tighten. Viktor stayed with me all night it seems. How sweet. I take his hands and pull his arms away from me gently so as not to wake him.
I can’t believe I slept so long. Healing takes a lot out of me as it is the hardest magic to master, and I am not very good at it, or powerful enough to compensate for my lack of skill. It seems no matter how much I practice I never get any better. My human half mutes my skill and power.
I go to the stable lad and ask for paper and pen. I hand him some coins to ensure his silence. He gives me what I ask for and I write my note then return the pen. I roll up the note and put it in Viktor’s lap. He will find it when he wakes.
I sneak back to the secret passage I had discovered. It seems my late cousin had also needed to sneak out to ponder life while riding for the stable lads had not thought it strange when I suddenly appeared in the back of the stables last night. I am glad that although he is gone from this world there is something that connects us.
Viktor
The sound of birds chirping wakes me. The light of day is steaming through the window. I notice my arms are empty almost immediately and snap to attention looking around for the Princess. She is nowhere in sight but parchment is sitting rolled up in my lap. I unroll it reading the one line.
Please do not tell anyone you saw me. –E
The E must be the initial of her first name. Funny that I have yet to hear her first name, the guards know the names of all the royal family so we can identify them. However, we have yet to hear hers. I have never inquired. I should. She healed me and asked for nothing in return but my silence, the least I can do is know her name when I do manage to find and thank her.
I roll the note back up and slide it into my pocket. I rise; I have to make this look like a real visit. So I put on my shirt and go to the stable master, limping a bit, and ask him for the liniment. After he gives it to me I hobble out. Once out of sight I straighten up and hurry back to my quarters. On the bed, I find a note from my captain saying to stay in bed today and return to practice tomorrow.
I normally would have gone to practice anyway, but last night I stayed up late waiting for the stable master and watching over the Princess before finally falling asleep and she said to not let anyone know about her being there. So I need to make it look like I am recovering. I lay down and drift off to sleep dreaming about dark hair and pale skin.
Elainne
I sleep in late and rise to find a lady in my room doing embroidery near the fire.
“What time is it Madeline?”
The guards will have let no one else in, not even my other lady’s in waiting or lady’s maids.
“Almost noon your highness. It is a beautiful day out today and it got me thinking, you may want to talk to your aunt and see about having tomorrow for whatever you wish to do. The Daughter of the Ocean arrives the day after tomorrow I hear you will be engaged in only diplomatic activities from then on.”
“Madeline, sometimes you impress even me.”
She smiles and nods, returning to her embroidery as she does so. I rise and clean up quickly. I had hidden my riding clothes from last night, but I find them missing when I check. Since no one is demanding my presence for punishment I assume I am safe and that Madeline has come through for me again.
“The laundress will not reveal anything will she?”
“No your Highness. I put your bribe money to good use.”
I nod and finish dressing.
“So what shall we do to convince your aunt we shall be free tomorrow? I also wonder how we will get guards so that we may wander free.”
“I have been thinking about that since you mentioned tomorrow being our last day of freedom. I have a plan. Do you think you could get a list of the guards that served at the supper the other night? My first public appearance and some of the guards were not graduates yet. We need the names of those men in training.”
“Whatever for?”
“If they are good enough to guard a state dinner that also happened to be my introduction to the court, surely they are good enough to keep track of us while riding along the trails just outside the castle with guards in the trees. Also in the marketplace where guards are stationed to keep the peace. Two or three almost graduates should be good enough to keep us safe.”
“Clever.”
I nod as we leave the room to find my aunt for lunch.
“Aunt I have something to ask you.”
I waited until after lunch to broach the subject. My aunt is always happier after a good meal.
“Of course niece what is it?”
“I wish to go riding tomorrow. Madeline and I were hoping to go to the marketplace to pick up a gift for the emissary.”
The last bit had crossed my mind over lunch as a way to get her more likely to agree. Being polite to the Daughter of the Ocean, more commonly known as sucking up, can only help. She and I are similar in age so any friendship we could make would only further my aunt’s plans to put me on the throne after her. My uncle is dredging up a distant human cousin of his, but I am a closer relation being his sister’s daughter and wife’s niece. I am blood kin to both rulers.
It all comes down to the council’s decision. Being close to the mermaids, I briefly wonder why we say maids since there are men as well, we are about to make allies with will lead to me seeming the next logical choice for the throne.
“We have no spare soldiers to keep you safe.”
“Yes, but at the state dinner, there were a few that had yet to graduate that guarded us all. If they were thought of highly enough to guard us at my introduced to the court, surely they can be counted upon to be worthy of the extra security they would be providing for Madeline and myself.”
“Extra security niece?”
“Well, there are guards stationed all around the grounds and in the marketplace to keep the peace. Surely between them and our choices, Madeline and I would be safe enough. You know I would never risk her safety.”
She put her head on her hand as her elbow rests on the table. She peers at me and sighs. She is so beautiful. Like someone carved in stone. Beautiful, but deadly. No Elvin maiden is as delicate as they look. Not even me.
“While I value that Madeline is a great friend to you and that you would never endanger her life, it is yours I worry about. You are too cavalier with your own safety.”
“Your majesty, I would never let anything happen to the Princess.”
Champion Complete Series Page 2