by Casey Odell
He remained sitting on the edge of the bed with a troubled look on his face, his gaze focused down to the floor.
Yes, too late. Once again, she’d gotten herself in far deeper than she’d ever planned.
The kitchens were where she enjoyed taking her morning meals the most, she’d discovered. The hustle and bustle of the staff as they got ready for the day was refreshing and a great dose of life in the otherwise dreary palace. And just as she’d suspected, it was there that she heard the first stirrings of the rumor of her and Farron. Claire just ate quietly and tried her best to ignore the glances and whispers, and hoped it would all settle down after a few days.
For two days she had managed to avoid Farron, though she suspected that if he had really wanted to find her, he would have done so. He did know the palace much better than she ever would.
She still wasn’t sure if she could face him again, at least not yet. What would she say to him? That she was a coward too afraid to face her own feelings?
Her lucky streak ended, however, after yet another unsuccessful training session with Razi. She was heading up the round ramp that led up to her room when she saw him by her door. Claire stopped dead in her tracks as her stomach nearly dropped to the floor. Her time was up, but she didn’t want it to be, not yet. She also didn’t want to be caught standing stiff as a board in the middle of the hallway. She had to get away before he noticed, but her feet were planted to the floor.
After a minute, Farron started to turn away from the door. Quickly, Claire dove into one of the alcoves in the wall, pressed her back up against the stone, and held her breath, hoping he didn’t see her sorry attempt at hiding.
Slowly, she started counting the seconds, wondering just how long she would be able to hold her breath. His footsteps were barely audible over the beating of her heart. He was close; any moment he would be gone and then she would be free. Free from having to face her problems once again.
“Are you hiding from me, my lady?”
Claire jumped at his voice.
Farron leaned a hand on the edge of the alcove, blocking her escape. He looked fresh and good— a little too good— in a white dress shirt and black slacks. The buttons around his neck were undone and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.
Her body flushed wildly. She couldn’t look him in the face. “N-no. I was just admiring this vase. I thought it was pretty and didn’t want to block the hallway, so…”
Without even looking at him, she could tell he wasn’t convinced. It wasn’t the first time she’d avoided him, after all. She picked the vase up off the pedestal, her eyes following the intricate red and yellow lines on the fine white porcelain as she turned it in her hands.
“It’s pretty, don’t you agree?”
“Claire—”
“Is it an important piece?”
“I don’t care about the vase, Claire,” he snapped.
She needed a way out, to be able to breathe again.
“Then you don’t mind if it breaks then?” She threw it in the air in front of him.
Farron grabbed for the vase, giving Claire enough time to slip out of the alcove and escape back down the hall and into the depths of the palace. She breathed a sigh of relief, both because she had evaded him once again, and because she didn’t hear the crash of porcelain on stone. It was possible that the vase was worth more than her old home, but at the moment, its use was priceless. However, she couldn’t avoid him forever; there were only so many valuable pieces of art she could throw at him.
Claire stood in the middle of the small courtyard, dressed in her practice finest: pants, boots, and a short-sleeved shirt. Her hair hung in a single braid over her left shoulder. She was alone, deciding to come to practice earlier than usual. Swinging a blade around helped to ease her mind.
She had managed to avoid Farron for the rest of the night and the morning. Marla had been her only visitor, although almost a week later and she was still embarrassed to face her. Fortunately, the older woman had thankfully never said a word about the ordeal.
The world around her was quiet. The air was pleasant, the sun high up in the sky, hiding behind the occasional wisp of cloud.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her arms hanging loose at her sides. Following Razi’s instructions, she reached inside of herself, searching, probing for any hint of the power she’d felt that night she ‘awakened’. But she found nothing. No power, no blue, no buzzing energy— nothing except the growing aggravation inside of her. If she couldn’t learn how to control her powers, then what good was she? How would she ever be able to save her mother, or do anything about the centaur attacks? The Council and the King probably wouldn’t keep her around for too much longer when they found out her mark was useless.
Frustrated, Claire grabbed the hilt of her dagger at her side and drew it quickly from its sheath. No, she couldn’t give up just yet. She swung the blade through the air. There had to be a way to activate the mark again. She swung the blade down in front of her. Even if it didn’t work, she was not useless— maybe to them, but not to herself. There were still things she had to do, with or without amazing magical powers.
Her hand gripped the handle tight as she prepared to swing the blade again, but a sharp pain shot through her arm. Claire gasped and dropped the dagger. Metal clanging on stone echoed throughout the courtyard. She shook her right hand in the air until the pain subsided a bit.
“Does it still hurt?”
Claire whirled around. Farron stood in the archway that led into the palace with his arms crossed and a solemn look on his face. He looked more like his usual self in a dark gray shirt and black pants and boots.
She remained still as he walked quietly towards her. There was no use in running. He’d gotten her. Besides, there was nothing of value around to chuck at him.
“Yes, sometimes.” She looked down at the ground as he came near.
Without a word, he took her right hand in his and began to examine it, his fingers tracing along the scar and mark, feeling the bones and muscles underneath her skin.
She gulped. His touch brought back memories, ones that still made her blush.
“It seems he cut deeper than I thought.”
Her eyes met his finally. For some reason, she felt that he meant more than her arm, and he was right.
“Yes,” was all she could manage to say, looking away again.
“You should take it easy, Claire.” Farron took a step closer.
Claire stepped back, her hand still in his grasp. “I was.”
His brows rose. “Is that right?” He took another step forward.
She moved back. “I need to practice.”
“So, you’d rather swing your knife around with the new Council Dog than even look at me?”
“N-no…” She took a step back, and another, until her back pressed up against a wall.
He put a hand on either side of her and leaned in close. “Why are you avoiding me, Claire?”
She felt like she was going to suffocate. “I—”
“I told you not to do it if you were going to regret it.”
“I don’t.” Her voice was a little too breathy.
His eyebrows knitted together. “Do you know how it makes me feel to see you running away from me?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“Then why?”
“I don’t know.” She looked down. “I don’t know what to say to you, I don’t...”
He kissed her suddenly, light and chaste, his hand brushing the side of her neck and cheek. Claire stiffened, but then slowly relaxed. All the energy seeped out of her. He always did have that effect on her, although recently more so.
He pulled back slightly. “How does that make you feel, Claire?”
Her breath escaped her in one long sigh. “Tired,” she said as she leaned her head back against the hard wall.
Farron straightened up, a look of surprise and bewilderment playing across his face.
“When I see you,
I feel like my stomach is going to fall to the ground, and then I start to panic. I feel like I’m not myself, and I get all flustered and feverish,” she said without stopping. “My mind, it’s filled with you. I can barely sleep at night and I want to beat my head against the wall. My knees, they feel like they are going to give out any moment as we speak. I don’t know what is wrong with me. It’s exhausting.”
A grin grew on his lips, but he remained quiet.
“Why are you smiling?” She glared up at him. “You really do enjoy torturing me, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I think I just heard the best news I’ve gotten all week.” He reached out and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms tight around her waist and then his mouth was on hers.
Deep and passionate, the kiss was everything that she remembered and had longed for since that night. But she was still frightened, still reluctant to completely give in. His passion scared her. It felt like he wouldn’t rest until he had all of her, and there wasn’t much left after everything she’d been through.
“Fare, wait.” She pulled back and tried pushing away from him, but his hold tightened.
“Why are you so afraid?” he whispered close to her ear.
“I know this feeling, Farron. And every time I’ve felt it, I’ve ended up crushed, beaten, bruised. I-I just don’t think I could handle… it right now.” She wanted to say ‘another heartbreak,’ but she didn’t want to admit how much she already felt for him.
“It would be easier for me if I just said no.”
She could feel his hold loosen a bit as he tensed slightly.
“But, as much as I want to say no, I want to say yes. So badly.” She finally pried his arms from around her and took a step back. “Even though you are arrogant, dress in drab colors, and still have way too many damn secrets.” She put her hands on her hips. “And you’re too tall!”
Farron’s mouth hung open, too shocked to say anything. He was probably just as lost as she was.
Claire took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling better after her rant. “Oh, who am I kidding, I like that last part about you, at least.”
“It almost sounds as though I’d be the one to be crushed, long before I’d ever do that to you.” There was a touch of amusement to his voice. “And, as I recall, my offer still stands, the one where I let you beat me up. Although, I feel I must warn you, I may enjoy it a little too much now.” His famous grin flashed across his face.
Not being able to control it, a slight smile slid onto her lips. “And don’t you forget, my new powers will surely make it that much more enjoyable for me.”
He chuckled softly and pulled her close again, his arms encircling her shoulders. “I can go slow, Claire, if that is what you want, if it’ll keep you from running away from me,” he said softly. “For a little while at least. I can only hold myself back for so long.”
“But, what if I say no?”
“I’m not going to stop trying.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m foolish.”
“He certainly is,” came a deep voice from across the courtyard.
Farron let go of her and turned to face their guest.
Razi bent to pick up her dagger where she’d dropped it. A brown leather vest helped tone down the bright red of his shirt. His long hair was pulled back from his face, exposing the silver in his ears to the bright afternoon sun. A purple sash encircled his waist underneath his own dagger.
“So, you are the famous Silver Dog everyone keeps whispering about.” Razi examined her dagger with a smug smile.
Anger bristled through Farron already, his shoulders squaring. “A Salí from Zaqar, I see. The Council must be getting desperate if they have to scour the desert tribes for their new pawn.”
“Have you come to take her away, or did you miss your brother?” Razi asked. “Or perhaps you came to get your old job back?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your concern,” Farron sneered.
“Oh, but it is.” Razi’s gaze drifted to Claire.
She gulped as she stood quietly by the wall. She wasn’t sure where this was going, but the growing tension between the two told her it wasn’t any place good.
Farron stepped closer to the other man, moving slightly in front of Claire. “You don’t need her. Those old men will rot in their graves before I’d ever let them touch her.”
“I don’t see how that is any of your concern,” Razi sneered. “It’s her choice to make, is it not?”
Farron’s hands closed into tight fists at his sides. “It is. Although, I’m sure she doesn’t know the Council’s true face. You probably glazed over most of the little details, didn’t you?”
Razi shrugged. “I never said there wasn’t a cost. But even you can agree, her life would be better.”
Farron chuckled lightly. “I was you once. Young, naïve, foolish enough to believe those old men’s promises.”
Razi dropped her dagger and rushed at Farron, grabbing him by the throat, his movements a blur. “I am nothing like you!” Shorter by a few inches, he glared up at Farron, his hand tightening around his neck.
Farron grabbed his arm, but made no other attempt to remove Razi’s hand. Instead, he just calmly looked down at the other man, his cold mask slipping into place.
“I am not some spoiled brother to an idiot king. I never had the luxury of growing up in a palace. Do not pretend that you understand me, or know what my life was like. I am not a coward that runs away from the ones he cares about because it is convenient.”
Farron snapped then. He twisted his body as he brought his arm down on Razi’s, breaking his hold. In one swift motion, Farron elbowed him in the chin and swept his legs out from under him. Razi landed hard on the ground, staring up at the sky in shock, but before he could move, Farron was on top of him, his hand on his neck, pinning him to the ground.
“Don’t test me, boy.” Farron’s voice was ice cold.
It sent chills down Claire’s spine, and not the good kind.
“I’ve made many mistakes in my life, but leaving this place was not one of them. Do you think the Council actually gives a damn about you? Much less my brother. You may have had a hard life, but it has nothing to do with me. If you want to be used, that’s fine. But do not drag her with you.” Farron nodded towards Claire.
Razi grabbed at Farron’s arms. “I do not take orders from you.”
“No, but you will have to deal with me.”
Red crept along the edges of Razi’s mark, the geometric lines slowly coming to life. He reached for Farron with his right hand. “You do not frighten me.”
Farron sprung back onto his feet as bright red light started to emanate from Razi’s arm.
Razi got up slowly, the air around him crackled with energy. “You are nothing compared to us.” He lifted his hand and pointed it at Farron.
“Don’t!” Claire yelled as her feet propelled her forward. She knew all too well what Razi was capable of, and as strong as Farron was, he didn’t stand a chance. They’d both gone too far, and it was up to her once again to break up another male pride party.
A jolt of energy struck Farron, catching him by surprise and stunning him momentarily. Razi rushed at him and drew his arm back, but Farron leaped back in time, just out of range. Farron grabbed Razi’s arm and twisted it around to pin behind the other man’s back. He slid his other arm around Razi’s shoulders, trapping him in his grip.
“The Council will destroy you,” Farron growled close to Razi’s ear. “I won’t give you very long.”
Razi yelled and energy radiated out from his body, spreading out and catching Farron in its wave. Farron released him suddenly. Razi spun, grabbed Farron’s shoulders, and brought his knee up to strike him in the stomach.
Farron fell to his knees from the impact and leaned forward on his hands, breathing heavily.
Razi drew his dagger and ran his hand along the back of it, wrapping the blade in a crimson glow before he pointed it at Far
ron.
“Stop!” Claire picked her dagger off the ground and had it pointed at Razi before he could do anything they’d all regret. She may not know how to use her powers, but even a normal blade could pierce skin.
Razi stopped, his blade hovering inches from the panting elf. “You are lucky you share the King’s blood, or else things would have ended very differently. Remember that.” He lowered his dagger, the red glow subsiding a bit. Without looking at Claire, he turned and headed back towards the palace, disappearing into its cold depths.
Claire sheathed her dagger and dropped to her knees in front of Farron. Frantically, she grabbed his face in her hands and lifted it up to check for any injuries. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” He looked away from her. “I’m fine.”
She sighed, relaxing a bit. “You didn’t have to fight him, you know.”
“Where would the fun in that be?” He smirked weakly, his face still a little tight from pain. “Could you pretend you didn’t see all that?”
She glowered at him as she rose to her feet. “Think of that as a preview in case I ever take you up on your offer.” She grabbed him by the shoulders and helped him up.
He moved slowly, as if he were already feeling the ache after a good fight. If it hurt that bad now, he’d be in for a surprise later. Whatever Razi had done, it sure took it out of him. She’d definitely have to learn that one. Not to use on Farron of course, unless he asked for it.
“Let me take you away from here, Claire,” he said in a more serious tone.
“You know I can’t do that, Fare.” She looked up at him. “You know better than anyone they’d send both Razi and Lianna after me. And, as long as I am here, I’m safe from the Syndicate and anyone else looking for me.” She couldn’t say the General’s name. It still hurt to even think about him.
She took one of Farron’s hands and wrapped both of hers around it. “You should go.” The words popped out of her mouth before she had time to think about them. Her stomach sank at the thought. Having him here, in the palace, was like a warm security blanket. It was a relief knowing that at least someone was on her side. “They won’t chase after you, not if you’re alone. I know how much you hate it here… I understand why you left before, and I’ll understand now. I’m not worth all this.” She smiled up at him. “I’m just a silly little barmaid in an unfortunate situation.”