by TR Rook
“I know I have been hard on you, but you have been good, Liv.” Bas drew away, but he kept a hold of her upper arms still. “You are a strong woman and I have no doubt in my mind that you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
He kissed her cheek, then brushed past her. Liv turned, eyes filling with tears, and watched as Bas disappeared up the stairs to his room. He came down only minutes later, his saddlebags slung over his shoulder. Liv watched as he crossed the inn and disappeared out the door.
Out of her life.
Her gaze was drawn to the other side of the room, where Amala was sitting at a table. She was not looking at Liv, her attention on the stew she was eating, but Liv felt warmth spread through her at the simple sight of Amala sitting there.
Her life would change, but she would be getting something new in it. Something new and exiting and promising. Someone more than a friend, someone who could be a lover, who would be at her side.
She would have Amala.
For now, that felt enough for her. She hoped it always would.
“Mother. Father.”
Liv stood across from her parents, her hands folded behind her back to hide the nervous trembling. Jorek stood rigid at her side.
Mother’s eyes went from one to the other. “Where is Bas?” she demanded to know.
“He has gone home,” Liv replied, keeping her voice level and strong. “I sent him home.”
Mother’s eyes cut into her. “Why would you do that, child?”
“Because he has not been happy here.” Liv stood rigid, having sworn to herself she would be strong throughout this. Her parents would not be happy with her, even less than they already were.
“So first you run off, and then when you are found, you send your tutor, your familiar, away?” Mother’s voice was as cold as ice.
“Yes. I did.” Liv nodded slightly.
“You are in so much trouble, Liv—“
“No, I am not,” Liv interrupted. “I am here to renounce my title.”
Both her parents looked like they had been hit across the face. Father schooled his features first, though Mother was not far behind. “What?” they both demanded.
“I want my life to be my own, and not for you two to do as you wish with it. I do not want to live in this castle, in this gilded cage. I want to travel the country, get to know the people, and actually have to work for my living.” Liv set her jaw stubbornly, telling herself again and again that she was going to see this out. She was not going to cave for them.
Mother’s eyes went to her youngest son. “Jorek. What is this nonsense?”
“It is not nonsense, Mother,” Jorek replied, keeping his eyes downcast. “This is what she wants. I have never seen Liv as happy as she has been on our journey back. Let her have her way—or else she will run again, and this time I will not go after her. She will not come back a second time.”
Liv felt extreme affection for her brother in that moment, but this was a bad time to show it, so she bit her lip, keeping her smile away.
“You want your sister to become nothing but a peasant?” Mother asked him incredulously.
“It is what she wants,” Jorek pressed. “She is a different person than you are, Mother. If you try to force her into a life she does not want to live, she will resent you. Then neither of you will be happy.”
Mother seemed to deflate a little, and she sighed as she looked back at Liv. “What are your plans then? What will you do?”
“I want to go into healing,” Liv told her softly. “I will graduate and go into the field of healing. I want to be able to help people that are hurt. I have the talent for it. I really do.” She cast a quick thought to Amala’s thigh, knowing how well she had done with that job. She wanted to do more like that. Injuries such as the one Amala had suffered, the recovery time took months. Not to speak if they did not catch an infection and die. With Liv’s help they’d be up and going right away.
Mother sighed heavily. She glanced over at Father. Father looked at Mother, then he sighed as well. “If that is the choice you make, Daughter,” he spoke up for the first time. “Then so be it. Even if you do not bear the title of princess any longer, you will still be our daughter. If you need us, do not hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Father.” Liv bowed her head. “I really appreciate that.”
Mother’s head turned between Liv and Father. “Where will you live?”
“Here and there.” Liv shrugged her shoulders. “We will be traveling around, helping people.”
“You need a permanent residence that you can go home to when you need some rest,” Mother insisted. “Travelling around without having a home... That is ridiculous. We will give you an estate, Liv, and you will take it graciously. We can talk more about it before you leave.”
Liv nodded. “Thank you, Mother. That is very kind.” She curtsied before leaving the room. She knew when she had been dismissed. Jorek did not follow, so he still wanted to talk to them. Or they to him.
She started towards her rooms, knowing Amala would be there waiting. She had left her there, polishing her sword, when she had been summoned to her parents. She had no doubt that Amala would still be there and still working on her sword.
As expected, Amala was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her sword lying across her thighs. She looked up when Liv entered, silver eyes intent. “How did it go?”
“Much better than expected.” Liv smiled and sat down on the floor across from her, wanting to be on Amala’s level instead of having to look down at her. “They want to talk to me later, but they will let me make my own choices. Their only condition was that they wanted to give me an estate, so that I would always have a home to go to.”
“Where would that estate be?”
Liv shrugged. “I do not know. I guess that is a topic of conversation they want to have on a later date.”
Amala sheathed her sword and put it to her side, then folded her hands and turned a solemn look on Liv. “I came with you, Liv, but I can’t stay. Not for the time it will take for you to become a certified healer.”
Liv bit her lip, knowing it had been coming. “It will only be a few months. I am about to graduate as it is. I’ll have to settle in the healing path, which takes about four months. After that, I’ll be allowed to go on my own, gather my own experience.”
“I can’t stay here for four months.” Amala shrugged her shoulders. “Not even four weeks. I am not made to stay in a city—I can’t stand them. I grew up in the wilderness close to the Trollheim.”
“Trollheim?” Liv frowned.
“You call it the Jotun Mountains. We call it the Trollheim.”
“So you are a Jotun?” Liv did not know if any Loreans had ever migrated to the other part of the Jotun Mountains, as there were no active description of Jotuns and their land in Lore.
“That is what your people call us, yes.” Amala nodded. “I was a chieftain’s daughter before I was banished. Now I’m just a lindworm hunter and I’ve got many people depending on me in the Black Mountains. I need to get back—it’s summer and high season for the worms. I can’t leave those people, those villages, to their own fate.”
“I know.” Liv did know. It did not, however, mean that she liked it. “I know you have to leave and that I have to stay here. But when I am done with my studying, in about four months time, I want us to meet up, because I do not want to lose you.”
“You won’t lose me.” Amala leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to Liv’s lips. “We will meet up when you’ve finished your studies. Then we can work on being a team.”
Liv nodded, sniffling just a little bit. “You are willing to wait for me?”
“As long as I can go off to do what I do best, yes, I am willing. You go study to become a healer, so that you can help people your way, and I’ll do it mine.” Amala smiled slightly. “For four months, I’ll go back to being by myself, which will be hard because I have grown accustomed to having you around. But I’ll manage, because you’ll be back event
ually.”
Liv spontaneously reached out and wrapped her arms around Amala, hugging her tightly. “I have come to care a great deal for you. I wish I could leave right away, I have become accustomed to travelling the woods, but I also need to do this if I shall be of any help to anyone.”
“I understand that.” Amala hesitantly put her own hands on Liv’s back, and Liv knew by that action that Amala was not used to this kind of affection. “I’m fine with it.”
“So when will you leave?” Liv asked, voice light.
“In the next few days,” Amala replied.
Liv felt a lump form in her throat, and she quickly swallowed it. She smiled, not wanting Amala to see how upset she was by Amala leaving and being left here by herself. She did not even have Bas anymore. Of her many siblings, Jorek was the one she was closest to and he... well, he was not available most of the time.
“Then we will make the most of the few days we have left,” she smiled, hoping it looked more positive than she felt. She knew she would be with Amala soon, but spending four months in the capital now, all alone, after all she had experienced... she did not look forward to that.
Amala smiled back, her eyes glinting. “Yes, we will.”
Epilogue
Four and a half months later
Liv urged her horse forward, into the little village where she and Amala had stayed after their first encounter with a troll.
There were only a handful of little houses, more like huts. The inn stood out right in the middle of them.
She has to be here, Liv thought, holding on tightly to the reins. They had agreed to meet in this little village, as this was the one experiencing the most lindworm attacks. Liv was half a month late, but Amala had to be there waiting for her.
Being back in the capital, being close to her parents and the court and studying at the university... it had her convinced that she would not miss that life. She would miss some of the luxuries, like her soft bed and always being able to take a hot bath when she wanted, but all in all ,she would not miss it much.
Eloy, the husband, was outside when she halted her horse in front of the inn. He peered up at her, hand going up to shield his eyes from the sun.
“Miss Liv!” He bustled over to take her horse. “Miss Amala has been waiting for many days now.”
Liv could not help but smile at that. “I was delayed. But I am here now.” She jumped down from the horse and took her saddlebags, then let Eloy take the mare away.
She heard the door open behind her and she turned slowly, expecting to see Eloy’s wife, but hoping— “Amala!” She promptly dropped her saddlebags and threw her arms around Amala’s shoulder as the woman came toward her.
“You’re late,” Amala told her sternly.
“I know and I am sorry. I was delayed from leaving by my parents. But I am here now.” She pulled back so that she could look at Amala. She tangled her hands in the tiny braids, loving the feel of them twining in between her fingers. “I am here now,” she repeated, staring into Amala’s silver eyes. Her choice, to leave and to come here, felt absolutely right.
“Finally.” So saying, Amala bent down to kiss her, a soft, caring kiss that made Liv’s knees wobbly. When it intensified, and the world narrowed down to just the two of them, Liv felt with a certainty that her life was finally as it should be.
About TR Rook
TR lives in Scandinavia and likes to write fantasy stories with elements drawn from Scandinavian mythology. The stories are often sweet, with some drama and action, and sometimes steamy.
TR enjoys to read, write books, and listen to music. It's not often TR writes fantasy anymore, but a new story can pop up whenever inspiration strikes.
You can find TR Rook on Facebook here:
https://www.facebook.com/TR-Rook-698367826970993/
Also by TR Rook
LEGEND & LORE
Fenris Forest
The Huntress
Desert Fire
The forest is dark as filled with monsters.
Fenris Forest
© 2016 TR Rook
In the hopes of gaining approval from his brother, Mihai accepts a challenge: head into Fenris Forest and retrieve a leaf from the rare Dragon’s Tear tree to prove he did what he swore. But the forest is filled with monsters—and everyone’s warned not go in it, because if they do not everyone comes back.
But Mihai’s longing for approval trumps his fear of what lives in the forest—and he ventures inside. In there he learns that everyone was right, that Fenris Forest should be avoided—because he’s attacked by one of the most dangerous creatures in there: a warg.
Mihai is certain he’ll die, like so many others that have gone into the forest… but then he is unexpectedly saved, and this brings around a motion of events that will change Mihai’s sheltered life forever.
When fires don’t burn you, you seek out the hottest flames of all.
Desert Fire
© 2016 TR Rook
Brand is a warg, a wolf-shifter, and a fire mage, outcast and rejected by his people because of his true nature—and because he helped save a former friend.
Now, with no home, no family, no friends, and with an ability he doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know where he belongs. With nothing to loose, he heads to the land of the dragons to see if their fires are hot enough to burn him.
But once there he’s taken prison and bought to the royal palace. There he meets someone special, someone who isn’t afraid of him or who judges him, and Brand starts to believe that perhaps he can find a place to belong after all.