“You know what they’re training us for, right? Once we are all trained up, we are going to be part of an army, they are going to send us places to fight and possibly kill people. We were all there at the attack in the Golden Forest. That’s what they want to send us to do.”
“But what choice do we have?” John asked. “This is where they’ve put us. They probably imprison deserters from the army here. The king doesn’t exactly seem like the leave it and forget it type. Besides, Reynard knows a lot, and he loves to hear himself talk. If I can keep in his good graces, maybe he will let something slip that will help us get home.”
“Be careful, John,” Erin said. “You don’t want to be the one to let something slip.”
“Of course not,” he agreed, leaning over to give her a kiss. “He talks about the king a lot. Apparently, they were big buddies growing up. He loves to talk about the times he pulled one over on the king or beat him at something. It sounds like they’ve always been competitive. But Reynard knows a lot of people too. He goes to the city a lot. He always says it’s to visit friends. I’m trying to get him to take me one evening so I can meet more people. Maybe I’ll meet someone that knows something.
I stood up and paced around the room for a minute.
“All of this just makes me nervous,” I said. “I have this feeling that we got pulled into the middle of something that we don’t understand, and every day brings us closer to a waterfall. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t want to drown.”
“I know what you mean, Lydia,” Murphy said. “But we’ve got to keep going until figure out how to get out of the water.”
There was at least one thing I was excelling at. Every night as the moon rose, I pulled on my cloak and snuck out to the castle. There, Aidric met me at a side door and we made our way to the library. We spent the nights looking up everything we could find about magic and sneaking kisses. Aidric was able to grab some training protocols from the Scholars for me to practice with. Before long, I could create a fire that didn’t burn anything around it, pull light and darkness around myself to make me effectively invisible, and conjure a miniature thunderstorm. Working with metal was proving to be more difficult and the ability to sense other magic or read people’s minds or emotions tended to come and go as it pleased instead of on command. Learning magic was fun, and the more I learned the more I could feel my power growing inside me, like an ocean that couldn’t be satiated. All I wanted to do was learn as much as I could.
Through the nights we talked. I told him stories about Erin, Murphy, and myself growing up. We had all grown up in the same neighborhood and had known each other all our lives. I was careful to leave out anything that would suggest we were from a different world. He teased me about my terrible soldiering skills. He also confided in me about what it was like growing up as a prince and the weight he felt about one day leading the kingdom.
“It’s hard when I’m expected to be learning this stuff and hearing that ‘one day you’ll be king’ but right now my father makes all the decisions and I just have to deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s a great king, and he’s much loved, but there are just some things I think he’s off base on and I just feel like he never takes my opinion into account. He has advisors he ignores too. The only people he really listens to are himself and Olma.”
“His steward?” I asked.
“Yeah. Dad says he is an old friend and very wise. Mom never liked him much, though.”
“What about Reynard? I’ve heard he and your father are good friends.”
“Yeah, they are. Reynard’s always been like another father to me. Which can be really annoying at times. I know he means well but he doesn’t think I’m ready to be Commander, thinks the old rules and the ways things have always been done need to change. I’ll just have to prove him wrong.”
“You don’t agree with your dad about the changes he’s making to the army, do you?”
Aidric paused and ran his hand up and down my arm. We had taken a break from studying and I was sitting in his lap in one of the large arm chairs in the library.
“No, I don’t,” he said. “Thavell is the only kingdom in Adylra. There are a few islands across the Everlasting Sea that are sovereign, but they’re tiny. Large villages at best. We have no need of a standing army. There are probably more lands across the sea, but there’s a reason they call it the Everlasting Sea. We’ve never heard of them so why would my father worry about them, now?”
“What about the increase in bandit attacks they’re always talking to us about in training?” Aidric sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.
“There have definitely been more attacks. Many of our remote villages haven’t recovered quickly from the famine of a couple years ago, and some of the young adults think stealing from travelers is the best way to make a fortune. But we can help out those villages, we have before, in fact. The trouble is, many times they don’t want our help. A lot of our outer villages want to be self-sufficient. My grandfather didn’t do much to sow good feelings about the crown.
“The thing is, forcing all the villages to send all of their young adults to the castle and force them to join the crown’s army is going to cause more bad feelings than a few bandit attacks. I mean, that’s how you get full scale rebellion. What is my father thinking?”
“You know,” I said, sitting up and turning to look at Aidric, “I read something one night about the six realms of Adylra back before magic was banished. Do you think your father could be worried about the other realms now that magic is back?”
“Magic has been back for almost three generations now. We haven’t had any sign that any of the other realms still exist. I don’t think they do anymore, I think they’re gone.”
We fell silent and continued sitting, looking out the window at the stars.
“You know, assignments for the army are coming up soon,” he finally said.
“So I’ve heard. We’ve been training for ten weeks now, so that’s two weeks to go, right?” I said, trying to stifle a yawn.
“Yeah, it is. Have any idea where you’re going to get placed?” he asked.
“Well, if all we are going to be shooting at is the broad side of a barn, I’m a great archer. Why don’t you tell me, O Commander of the King’s Armies? Aren’t army placements your thing?”
Aidric chuckled, “Yeah, they are. I have an idea for you, and your friends I think you’ll like.”
“Well are you going to tell me what it is?”
“Not yet. I need time to work out some of the details. Speaking of which, I’ll be gone from the castle for the next week. My father wants me to travel to Fenwood with him this week to visit one of our nobles.”
“Oh,” I said. It made sense that Aidric wouldn’t be able to sneak around at night with me forever, he was a prince after all, but I never really thought about it. “Where’s Fenwood?”
“Only about a day’s ride west of here. We will be staying for a week. Are you going to be good and not go sneaking around at night while I’m gone?”
“Maybe if you give me an extra big kiss,” I told him. He leaned over and did just that.
39
A knock at my door woke me.
“Come in,” I said groggily and rolled over, burying my face in the pillow and bringing the covers up over my head. I wondered what my mom could possibly want this early in the morning. I needed at least a dozen more hours of sleep if the way my body felt was any indication. I couldn’t remember exactly what I had been doing, but I was more utterly exhausted than I had ever been in my entire life.
The unfamiliar smell of my pillows suddenly brought the past weeks’ adventures rushing back to me and I sat straight up in the bed, knocking pillows and blankets everywhere. Aidric was standing in my room staring at me.
“You told me to come in, sorry, I didn’t realize you were still sleeping,” he said. He was standing next to the door, staring at the ground awkwardly. It was then that I realized I’d just gone to sleep
last night in my thin, sleeveless undershirt. It didn’t leave much to the imagination. I felt heat rush into my cheeks as I stared at him.
“You’re back! Um, sorry, I didn’t realize it was you. Could um—?”
“Yes, I’ll—uh—step outside for a moment,” he said, he turned and grabbed the door and stepped back out into the street, keeping his eyes down the whole time. I continued to sit on my bed, stewing in my embarrassment. I wished there was a window big enough in here to crawl out of. I couldn’t imagine facing Aidric again after that.
I’d spent the nights of the last week while he was gone in the library almost all night every night, regardless of what I’d told him about not sneaking out. Now that I could make myself invisible, I had no problems getting in and out of the castle unseen. Without Aidric there, I had focused on trying to find any mention magic being used to change realms or worlds, but I had come up short. I hadn’t been able to find anything about the significance of my being able to control all eight affinities, either. Last night I had been so tired when I got back to my room, I had just pulled my clothes off, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and crawled into bed. My head was still groggy, so I knew I couldn’t have been asleep for more than a couple of hours.
I finally pulled the covers off and pulled my clothes on as quick as I could. I didn’t have time to check the mirror, but I ran my fingers through my hair to try to look somewhat presentable. I stuck my head out of the door to see Aidric standing in the still dark street. The gray light of dawn was just starting to brighten the horizon. He smiled when he saw me and stepped inside.
I shut the door behind him and turned around. I expected him to sweep me up in an embrace, or at least give me a quick kiss, but instead Aidric was standing against the wall, his hands in his pockets, looking sullen. I raised my eyebrows at him and crossed my arms.
“I’d say it’s great to see you back, but I have a feeling I’m not going to like what you have to say this morning, am I?” I said, half jokingly.
“Lydia,” he started. “Can we sit down?”
“Sure,” I said. I motioned to my bed where I’d hastily pulled up the covers. I sat on the edge. He sat down next to me and took one of my hands in both of his. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes and neither did I. If he was going to bring me bad news, I wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
“Lydia,” he repeated. “These last weeks have been the most fun I can remember. Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I care deeply for you. I like you a lot, maybe more than like. But I certainly care for you more than I’ve cared for anyone else.”
“You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?” I asked. I could feel a hard lump start to develop in the back of my throat.
“If I were just Aidric, I wouldn’t think of it. But I’m the prince, too. And, unfortunately, my duties as the prince supersede anything I might want to do on my own. My father wanted me to go to Fenwood to meet the daughter of the noble there. He thinks a marriage contract between the two of us is in order. We are both old enough now, and a stronger alliance with Fenwood would give the crown more leverage in many of our villages where we need it. Most of the villages have strong relationships with Fenwood.”
“So, you’re getting married?” I asked. I resisted the urge to ask him if he liked this girl. I told myself it didn’t matter, and I really didn’t want to know the answer.
“Not yet. She is coming to court and my father is going to think about it. But I think it would be disrespectful for both her and you if we were to keep this up. Besides, even if this doesn’t work out, I am never going to be free to marry whoever I want. It’s not fair to romance you when I can’t offer you anything. You deserve to be with someone who can be dedicated to you alone. I’m sorry.”
I kept my eyes averted for a moment and rubbed his hand with mine. I knew this day was going to come, but I hadn’t let myself think about what it would feel like when it did. My feelings for Aidric were strong, stronger than I expected them to be. But there was nothing that could be done about that now.
“It’s okay,” I told him once I felt I had adequate control of myself to not burst into tears. “Really. I always knew this would be temporary. I care very much about you too, Aidric. And this does hurt. But I understand, and I know you’re just trying to do the right thing.”
“Thank you, Lydia. You truly are amazing. And I promised I would protect you and your friends until we get to the bottom of your powers and what they mean. I do intend to keep that promise. You have my heart and my protection.”
Sunlight was starting to peak through the window now. Aidric noticed it and stood up to leave. I walked him to the door. He turned and pulled me into a tight hug. I found myself wishing it would never end. It did though. He leaned down and gave me one more light kiss and then stole out the door and back up the street to the castle, leaving me standing there watching after him.
40
I watched until Aidric disappeared around the corner and then pulled down my covers and crawled back into bed. I pulled the covers up over my head and let myself cry until I fell back asleep. Soon I was being shaken awake by Erin.
“Lydia, wake up. You missed breakfast. I brought you back something from the mess hall, but you need to get up and get going. We’re going to miss the bell and be late.” I pushed her arm away, but she was insistent. I finally sat up and threw the covers off me with a grumble. Erin stuffed a roll and some strips of meat into my hands. While I ate quickly, she found my boots and socks and laid them on the floor next to my feet. Still chewing, I reached down and put them on. After I was finished, she pulled my arm to stand me up and pushed me through the door.
“I heard voices in your room this morning, was it Aidric?” Erin asked as she practically forced me down the street.
“Yes,” I said miserably.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Nothing I didn’t expect to happen sooner or later. Doesn’t make it any easier though,” I told her. Erin patted my arm sympathetically and then was off to the stables to ready her own horse for our riding lessons. I found the mare I had been paired with for lessons and took my time getting her ready. Everyone was waiting on me when I emerged from the stables.
“You can run an extra lap after dinner for being late, Lydia. There is no waiting in battle. If you’re late, you’re dead,” Nadine yelled as I mounted.
“Yes, Captain,” I said. The day only got worse from there. I took my first spill out of the saddle. Got more than a few bruises in weapon practice from not being able to block anything that came my way and missed the target every single time in archery. When my opponent flipped me on my back for the third time in hand-to-hand combat practice Reynard dismissed me for the rest of the day.
“Your head isn’t in it, Lydia. I can’t give you any more laps today. You’ve already racked up 20 extra. Go, run them now. Try not to fall off the castle wall and kill yourself before you even see battle. Come back tomorrow ready to go. We are too close to placements for you to be slacking off now.” After I managed to pull myself up off the ground, I nodded to him and left.
My legs felt like lead weights by the time I finished all my laps up on the castle wall. I managed to drag myself back to my room and collapsed on top of my covers, shoes and everything still on just as the bell for dinner rang.
It was dark when I woke up. I saw a light glowing underneath the washroom door, so I walked over and peeked my head into Erin’s room. Erin was up. A small lamp on her desk was lit and she was working on mending a pair of her pants. I walked in and took them from her and sat on her bed to work on them. Sewing wasn’t Erin’s strong suit.
“You missed dinner,” she said.
“Yeah, I was doing so terrible today, Weston dismissed me and made me run extra laps. I fell asleep as soon as I got back.” I stifled a yawn. “Guess I need to get some more soon.” We fell silent as I worked on Erin’s pants. When I was done with those, she handed me a shirt that needed fixing.
>
“Do you want to talk about it?” she finally asked.
“I mean, there’s not really much to talk about,” I said. “From the first moment he kissed me, I knew it wasn’t going to last. But to be honest, I kind of thought it would end because we found a way home, not because he might be entering into a marriage contract.”
“Marriage contract. That’s romantic. Boys are stupid. Let’s just swear them off.”
“Everything okay with you and John?” I asked.
“Yes, and I’m not sure,” Erin said. She placed her head on her head and looked out her window as she talked. “He’s just been distant lately. Obsessed with training with Reynard. Reynard’s even been giving him private lessons after dinner. He hasn’t stayed over in weeks. Told me if we were caught it ‘would be frowned upon.’ What does that even mean? And, more importantly, why does he even care? This isn’t our home. Why does it matter what people here think about us?”
“I’m sorry,” I told her.
“I know he will come to his senses. I think he’s just throwing himself into all this stuff, so he doesn’t have to think about the reality of our situation.”
“What do you think the reality of our situation is?”
“It’s not good, Lydia. We’ve been gone now for over three months and we are no closer to getting back home. Have you had any luck finding anything?” Erin asked me.
“No,” I told her. “Aidric and I have been sneaking off to the library at night. But I didn’t find anything that might be useful.”
“You told him?!” Erin asked me, alarmed.
“Oh, no,” I assured her. “It was a place we knew no one would bother us at night. Aidric is kind of obsessed with translating all those old texts, and I thought for sure if there was a way to get back home, I could find it there. No luck, though.”
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