“Go out to the Bramble farm and talk to Lucile. She’ll be expecting you,” replied Robert.
Blair smiled and shook Robert’s hand. Valeria would be happy for some good laying chickens. He’d be in her good books for sure thanks to Robert. That made Blair very happy.
40
BLAIR ARRIVED AT VALERIA’S HOUSE the next afternoon with three laying hens and a rooster.
As Robert had promised, Lucile Bramble had the chickens ready when Blair arrived, Robert had even paid for the birds. Blair knew Valeria already had a small chicken coop alongside her barn and he took the birds directly to the coop. Once the little cluckers were taken care of, Blair headed into the house.
“Hello, Blair. You’re a little early this afternoon. Lyric is still out collecting berries,” said Valeria.
“That’s okay. I wanted to speak with you for a few minutes first, anyways.” Blair stood there nervously admiring Valeria. She was a beautiful woman. One that he always seemed to get tongue tied around.
“Did you now?” asked Valeria with a smile.
“Yes, I brought you some chickens,” blurted out Blair. I brought you chickens? Why did I just say that? She’s supposed to be impressed by chickens? Blair thought to himself as he waited for her reply.
“You know, Blair, ladies do like simple gifts like flowers. But I suppose chickens are a good start.”
“They’re laying hens and a rooster. Sir Robert suggested that one way to improve Lyric’s growth would be eating more eggs.” Blair relaxed a little as she didn’t laugh him out the door for bringing chickens.
“So you brought gifts for Lyric, but none for me? I’m wounded, Blair. I thought you fancied me a bit.”
Was she flirting with him or simply mocking him? He certainly hoped it was the former. Blair stammered, “I… I wasn’t sure if gifts would be well received.”
As Blair stood there stumbling his way through the conversation, Azina walked into the room. “Of course gifts would be well received, you big lunkhead. You think I would let you come out here for dinner if my sister didn’t have an interest in you? Did Lyric hit you over the head during practice? You have gotten dumber, I swear.”
“My lack of intelligence has nothing to do with the boy. I only lose my wits around beautiful women.” Blair had no idea how to respond to Valeria’s teasing or Azina’s insults. But he did have a rule that a traveling bard had told him once. When in doubt, flatter. Blair knew Azina’s wicked tongue would be unmerciful regardless of his words, but perhaps Valeria would be more receptive.
Azina snorted. “You hear that Valeria? Blair is always going to be a blithering idiot around you until you’re too old and ugly to addle his brains anymore.”
Blair wanted to protest that Azina knew nothing, but the truth was he feared she might be right. Valeria’s beauty might always make him nervous.
Valeria laughed, “I don’t know, Azina. I think a man with such a good eye for beauty might just be smarter than he looks.”
“I think I hear Lyric coming, I’m going to head outside, ladies,” said Blair as he bolted out the door as fast as he could move without running. He could hear both women sharing a laugh as he fled the scene before Azina could make another biting comment at his expense. The fact that Valeria didn’t seem to mind his poor attempts at courting was a good sign. Even Azina’s sharp comments had been mostly positive about him. It was a good time to leave, before his luck ran out.
…
Lyric had spent the morning picking berries and was on his way to the house when Blair spotted him walking towards the house with his bucket of bumble berries.
“Greetings, Lyric. Drop off your berries and let’s get started.”
Lyric nodded as he looked at his teacher. Was Blair sweating? He seemed nervous. “No Sibylle today?” asked Lyric.
“She had family obligations. Another lord is visiting Redfall Estates so she had to do her duties.”
Lyric nodded, he knew Sibylle wasn’t able to train with them every day but he rather enjoyed the days where she did. She was better than him and much faster, but she was nice about not hurting him. Sometime Blair would strike him hard to remind him of his errors in form. Lyric tended not to make the same mistake twice after receiving such a hit, but he still preferred the gentler Sibylle to spar with.
“Today, we’re adding more exercises. If you’re going to be able to win this tournament you need to keep getting stronger. Take your staff and put it on your shoulders.”
Lyric placed the staff behind his back so that it was resting on his shoulder blades.
Blair pulled out two small nets with hooks on them and placed the hooks over the ends of the staff.
Lyric watched in curiosity. When he was done examining the nets hanging from the ends of his staff, he asked what was next.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes, but while you wait for my return I want you to pretend you are about to take a poop.”
Lyric frowned, “You want me to pretend to poop?”
“Yes,” said Blair. “Now do it.”
“I don’t have to take off my pants or anything do I?” asked Lyric.
“No, Lyric” said Blair with a sigh of exasperation, “Just bend down like you were going to poop. Keep the staff level.”
Lyric tentatively squatted down so that his bottom was almost to the ground.
“Good,” said Blair “now stand up.”
Lyric rose.
“Put your feet a little farther apart and try keep your back straight. Do that fifty times,” said Blair before turning and walking into the forest.
Lyric wondered what the heck they were doing, but he followed Blair’s instructions.
Lyric was almost done the fifty when Blair returned.
“Good, turn your toes out a little more,” instructed Blair as Lyric did his last five.
“What’s next?” asked Lyric. He hoped the next task didn’t involve pretending to pee.
“More of the same,” said Blair, “but this time it will be a little more challenging.” Blair had two large rocks the size of Lyric’s head in his hands. Blair put the first rock into the netting hanging from one end of Lyric’s staff and then repeated the process with the second rock.
“This time I want you to do a pretend to poop, stand up and then take a big step forward with your left leg. Then lower your back leg until your knee hits the ground then rise while finishing the step with your right.”
Lyric squatted down. It was much harder to do with the rocks attached to the staff. He had to balance the heavy rocks while he lowered his bum. One his squat was done, Lyric took the big step and lowered his back leg.
“Again, this time do it with your other foot forward. Alternate poop, step, poop, step…”
After ten of the simple but awkward exercises, Lyric was sweating.
“Good work, Lyric, now stand straight and lift one foot up. Keep your knee as high as you can. Hold that position for thirty seconds.
“Every morning, I want you to do twenty of those with the rocks,” said Blair. “All right, now let’s spar.”
Lyric eagerly removed the rocks from his staff. Sparring was way more fun than weird lifting and stepping moves with the heavy rocks.
41
SITTING HIGH UP ON A BRANCH IN THE TREES, Celine had a good view of the meadow where Lyric was training with Sibylle under Blair’s supervision. The large oak tree was well back in the woods so she would be impossible for the three to see. Celine knew not to focus her attention on Blair. Blair’s warrior instincts would feel a set of eyes watching him, and alert the trio of her surveillance.
Celine didn’t care much for fighting, the training was boring and repetitive. Much of the time was spent on footwork and positioning. Celine watched Blair stop the training often to correct some aspect of Lyric’s body positioning. What Celine did care about was watching Lyric interact with Sibylle. Celine’s feelings for the boy were becoming confused. She liked him and enjoyed having him around the house. As much as
she loved her aunts, Celine enjoyed the company of a young innocent mind like Lyric. However, she was starting to have feelings that went beyond friendship. And now that he was spending time with Sibylle, Celine found herself jealous of the beautiful highborn girl.
From her position in the trees, Celine couldn’t hear what they were saying, and she wasn’t capable of reading lips, but body language was something she was very familiar with. Celine watched both Lyric and Sibylle for their body language. Were they attracted to each other? Was this training a way for Sibylle to get closer to Lyric? Celine wanted answers but was finding them hard to come by.
To Celine’s frustration, Sibylle looked even more beautiful as she trained, her taut and lean body was on display as they moved and trained. Sibylle didn’t dress provocatively, but the unique poses and stretches that Blair had them do often put her in positions that accentuated her physicality. She has a great ass, thought Celine as she watched the girl bend over in another stretching routine. Yet, Lyric didn’t leer on Sibylle or take any extended glances when she was in suggestive poses.
Lyric seemed to not notice that his training partner was a beautiful vixen. Was he not interested or was he so focused on improving so he could win that damned tournament? It wasn’t possible to tell from watching what they were thinking. Even during breaks between training when they would talk and laugh together, there were no telltale signs of flirting. Sibylle didn’t bat her eyes or flick her hair around, nor did she take the opportunity to ‘accidentally’ let Lyric peek down her shirt. Nor did Lyric take his sweaty shirt off to reveal his hard and toned chest. Celine knew Lyric preferred to wear less clothing whenever possible, yet he maintained a proper level of decorum around Sibylle even when Blair left them to their own devices. It seemed that Lyric and Sibylle were simply friends training together.
With a start, Celine realized how important that conclusion was to her. She didn’t want Lyric falling for the beautiful highborn girl. Celine wanted Lyric for herself! The realization was surprising, she enjoyed flirting and teasing with Lyric, but she’d teased many a village lad. Something about Lyric stirred her in ways that none of the village men had never done. What was it about the boy that made him so different? Celine wasn’t sure. It was intriguing that he was dragonblood and would one day have unique powers, yet Celine knew all too well those powers would come with great responsibility and sacrifice. History had not been kind to those with dragonblood, often they didn’t live long healthy lives. No, she was not interested in him because of his potential powers. Was it his looks? He certainly was exotic and different from the men she knew. Olive skin, dark hair and those eyes… yes he certainly was a good looking young man, and he was getting a noticeably better body as he trained and ate more. Yet still Celine knew that looks were not what was drawing her to Lyric. There was just something to him, everything he’d been through in life and still he was sweet and innocent. Beatings, poverty, abandoned at birth by his father, his mother dying before he was old enough to know her, none of it made him bitter or hardened him. Even his damnable insistence that he could never break his word was a trait admired. That was it, Celine realized. Lyric was special because of his unique spirit and heart. That was what drew her towards him. That was why she wanted Lyric!
Now that she admitted the fact to herself, Celine wondered about Lyric’s feelings towards her. Did he see her as a friend the way he seemed to see Sibylle or as family like Azina or Valeria? Perhaps it was time to test Lyric to see what would happen if she took the flirting a little further.
Glancing up, Celine noticed that Lyric, Sibylle and Blair were gone. She’d been so caught up in her own thoughts about Lyric, she hadn’t even noticed them leave the meadow. Celine shook her head at her own lack of focus. Obviously, she would not make a good spy. Celine slipped down the tree and headed home. Thoughts of Lyric filled her mind as she made the trip through the woods.
42
TWO WEEKS AFTER SHAYLA WAS RESCUED from the Sacred Blood Brotherhood, Layton Finch died in his sleep. It came as no surprise to anyone in the house. Each day his health had grown steadily worse. His coughing became harsher. He developed a fever and could barely eat the few hours he was awake. However, Layton Finch left the world in a peaceful and content way. He had made peace with his own demons and regrets and had a comfort level with Shayla inheriting his knowledge that he never had while he was healthy. It hadn’t been a perfect life and it certainly wasn’t the way he wanted to die, but Shayla knew he left the world with a certain satisfaction in knowing she was going to use his knowledge, and the power that would come with the return of the dragons, to avenge him and his last words to her had reflected that. However, Shayla knew her father had reservations about Shayla focusing on revenge. His concerns about dragons and how to deal with them had been a focal point of the last few conversations they’d had together.
Shayla wanted to honor her father’s memory, and fulfill her destiny as a dragonblood, yet the desire for revenge never left her mind.
The Brotherhood was surely behind the poisoning of her father’s favorite tea and had been a thorn in his side for many years. Her kidnapping and torture had been the final indignation upon their family. Layton had died hoping Shayla would destroy the Brotherhood, raining down on them with the fury of a thousand dragons. Revenge was now a family affair; one Shayla was content to continue.
Layton had insisted on a proper funeral pyre. He didn’t want his body being buried where the worms would work him over. A good fire and let his ashes float where the wind took them was the way he had describe it to Shayla.
Shayla lit her torch and walked to the funeral pyre. She said once last goodbye to her father and set the pyre ablaze. “May the gods be kind to you in the next world,” she said as she watched the flames grow into a roaring fire.
When Shayla stepped back from the fire, Braylon was beside her. Together they watched the flames dancing in the evening sky. “It’s ironic. I got to know my father best in his last days. If the Brotherhood hadn’t poisoned him and kidnapped me, I might not have had the chance to be that close to him. We both needed each other’s forgiveness but without the ordeal I went through, I doubt I would have had the maturity to change enough.”
“We shall have to thank the Brotherhood,” said Braylon.
“In time,” replied Shayla. “When the dragons return, the Brotherhood will do everything they can to rally the people against dragons. They will reveal themselves then. That is when father and I will have our revenge.”
“In the meantime?” asked Braylon.
“That depends on you, do you think you can make an honest woman out of me?”
“No,” said Braylon, “but I can love you with all my soul and treat you like a queen. If you’d have me.”
“Good answer,” said Shayla. “You will the only one treating me like a queen. I no longer intend to attempt that goal. I want revenge for all the Brotherhood has done, and I’ll try honor Father’s wishes to make peace between dragons and man, but other than that, I want a simple life filled with simple pleasures. I’ve spent too many years plotting and scheming. Now I want the blood of my enemies and the smiles of a lover, nothing more.”
Braylon stared into Shayla’s eyes. He could see the reflection of the fire dancing in them. It was a memorizing sight. “I will give you that and more,” he said before leaning in and giving her a soft lingering kiss.
43
“DO YOU EVER PUT ON CLOTHES?” asked Celine as she walked up to the pond. She smiled at the sight of Lyric’s naked body.
Lyric didn’t move. “I’m enjoying the morning sun and drying off from bathing.”
“I thought you’d already be gone to Redfall to meet your girlfriend,” said Celine, her smiled faded and her eyes darkened as she thought about Sibylle. Lyric spent far too much time with pretty highborn girl.
“No, today I don’t have to do any training, so I thought I’d spend a relaxing morning in solitude, swimming and sunbathing. And she’s not my girl
friend. Sibylle is a friend, and she is helping me to train.”
Celine noted that Lyric didn’t even bother to cover himself up as she sat down on the soft grass beside him. A pity, she thought, I rather enjoyed watching him dance around and turn red with embarrassment. Celine stole a glance at Lyric’s body, perhaps there was something to say for Lyric’s new found lack of modesty. This view almost made up for the loss of entertainment from shocking him. “I was talking about Blair,” said Celine as she lay down.
“Ha ha, you’re so funny.”
“But seriously, why isn’t she your girlfriend then? You spend hours with her at a time. She laughs at all your silly jokes and she’s beautiful and rich. You also are training to win a tournament so you can marry her.”
“I spend hours with her trying to hit her with a big stick. In turn, she actually hits me with a stick. That is not exactly romantic. She laughs at my silly jokes because I am a very witty and funny boy. You just refuse to acknowledge that fact. She is very pretty, but she’s not the prettiest girl I know.”
“Oh?” asked Celine as she fought back the smile that was trying to work its way onto her face. Despite her jealousy towards the pretty highborn, Lyric was making her feel good. “Who do you know that is prettier than the Lady Sibylle Lamar?”
Lyric opened his eyes, blinked at the bright light that beat down on them from a cloudless sky and turned to look into Celine’s eyes. “You know.”
Lyric's Curse (Dragonblood Sagas Book 1) Page 16