I turned away from Sebastian as I inspected Fire’s tail and pulled out some thistles.
“Is this your horse?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes,” I answered without turning around.
“She is very beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said and then stepped out of Fire’s stall and turned around to face him. I had to get it over with now, before I lost my nerve. “How can I help you?”
He met my eyes and I still could not get over how identical he and Favian looked. “I wanted to apologize for my comment during your fight,” he said.
“What comment?” I asked, pretending I hadn’t heard it even though I felt its sting in my chest.
“I am new to this Kingdom and I have not had any explanation or proper introduction to the people here, especially not regarding you. I apologize for my rude comment and want to say that I am incredibly impressed by your skill in fighting. I have never met a female who could hold her own against an elf as you can.”
“I don’t know about holding my own, I still get beaten in less than fifteen seconds by an elf, but I accept your apology.”
He picked my hand up and kissed the back of it as he met my eyes. “I am truly sorry for offending you.”
My pulse skyrocketed and I had to remind myself that this was not Favian several times. “Thank you.”
“Marin,” Favian called from the front of the stable with some anger lacing his voice, “Can I speak with you?”
Sebastian released my hand and turned around. “I will take my leave and see you both for lunch.”
Favian waited until he was gone and then walked quickly to me. “Are you alright? What did he say to you?”
“He simply apologized, Favian. He was perfectly nice,” I said and then started out of the stables.
“He looked to be behaving more than nice with your hand in his,” he said irritably.
I stopped walking and looked at him in shock. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t trust him and I don’t like the idea of him courting you,” he said with his serious face.
“I am not letting him court me,” I said in shock, “How could you even think such a thing?”
He exhaled with obvious relief on his face and then smiled. “I was just making sure.”
I turned and headed towards the castle again. “You are so strange sometimes,” I whispered. I waved to Alex who was heading back towards the stables and he waved back with a smile to me and Favian.
“So, what else is bothering you?” Favian asked.
“Oh, just the usual.”
“The others distancing themselves from you?” he asked. I nodded my head and he put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. “They will come around. Sebastian did and he hardly knows you and hasn’t even seen your true fighting potential.”
“Perhaps that is why he came around so quickly,” I suggested.
“Or perhaps he has some sinister plot to use you against me,” Favian said as he held open the side door of the castle.
I rolled my eyes at him and walked inside. “Now you sound like the paranoid human kings.”
Favian smacked my arm. “How dare you compare me to a human.”
I felt a twinge of anger at his comment, but ignored it and headed towards the bathing area. “I’ll meet you for lunch after I get cleaned up.”
Favian nodded his head and we went our separate ways, me to the bathing area so I could get clean and put a proper female outfit on for Amadis when I saw her at lunch, and Favian to speak with Father. Amadis would be surprised to see me wearing a proper female outfit since it was the first time I would get to see her since we had returned and hopefully she would be pleased by it as well.
The maid smiled at me as soon as I came in and immediately began preparing a bath. “I’m surprised you have come to me so soon. You usually wait until Amadis orders you here,” she said.
“I’m planning on surprising her,” I responded as I stripped my clothes off.
She grabbed a scrubbing cloth and soap and we made our way to the heated tub of water. “I’m surprised that you aren’t caked in dirt as usual since you’ve been sleeping in the forest for the past three months.”
“I took a couple baths in the rivers to remove some of the dirt.”
She laughed. “Oh dear are you finally turning into a lady?”
“That would be a sad day,” I said with a smile as I climbed into the warm water.
She laughed and began scrubbing my skin with the cloth. “So what do you think of Prince Sebastian?” she asked as she worked on a clump of dirt clinging to my arm.
“I don’t know him so I don’t know what to think yet.” I mulled over our encounters and finally said, “He seems nice.”
“It is strange how much Prince Favian and he look alike though. I cannot tell them apart,” she said as she dumped water over my head to rinse my body before starting on my hair.
“Yes, I am having trouble with that as well. The only difference I can find is their voices and that Sebastian has a slightly lighter color of grey to his eyes.”
She whispered, “You best be on your guard than to ensure he does not trick you by pretending to be Favian.”
She had a point, but I had to hope he would not do that. “There would be no reason for him to do that, unless he wanted to go on a mission or spar against me.”
“So, have you told Prince Favian that you are in love with him yet?” she asked as she combed through my hair.
I turned and stared at her in shock. “What?”
She smiled. “It is quite obvious to most of us that you are in love with him. It surprises me that he has not figured it out yet.”
“You mustn’t ever say that again,” I told her seriously.
“Why?” she asked curiously, the smile leaving her mouth.
“Because a relationship between he and I would never work and it is something that he must never learn of. I do not want to lose his friendship because he is worried about my feelings for him.”
“I think you’re killing a relationship before it could start,” she replied.
“Drop it,” I ordered her as I stood up and pulled on a bath robe.
“I am sorry if I offended you,” she said as she resumed combing my hair to ensure it was tangle free.
“I’m sorry I snapped at you.”
“I understand.”
As soon as she finished brushing my hair I said goodbye to her and then hurried to my room to put on one of the few light dresses that Amadis had had made for me. The dress was made from incredibly fine satin and felt like feathers against my skin when I moved. It was also a gorgeous dark blue that I loved contrasting with my brown and blonde hair and skin.
I still had on the shell necklace that Maddock had given me, a necklace that had saved my life three months earlier when I had been held prisoner by a mad man who hadn’t wanted a woman to become a mercenary. I braided my hair so that it hung in a thick braid down the center of my back, put on heels and made my way to the ballroom where my family always ate their lunch when we were all together. As I walked I wondered if others really could see my feelings for Favian? I needed to work on hiding them better if that was the case.
I opened the doors to the ballroom and all eyes turned to me. I stared at the twin brothers who were sitting across the table from each other as I tried to figure out which was Favian so I could take my seat, but I couldn’t figure out who was who. Father, Favian, Kato and Sebastian all stood up at my presence and Mother smiled brightly at me. “You look beautiful,” Mother said as I walked towards them. “What is the occasion?”
I smiled at her and then kissed her on the cheek. “I thought you would be pleased if I cleaned and dressed like a lady before you ordered me to.”
“I am very pleased,” she said as I looked at each of the brothers.
One moved towards me and picked my hand up, kissing the back of it softly. “You look lovely,” said Sebastian’s voice.
I curtsied since Amadis was present and she would have asked me to and gently pulled my hand back. “Thank you.” I took my seat between Kato and Favian, but Favian was turned away from me. Did he not like how I looked? Was he mad at me for some reason?
“Now that we are all here, let’s eat,” Father said with a wide smile.
The chef brought in several platters of food and I was shocked to see a plate of beef. He smiled at me. “You have earned the right to eat meat here.”
“I don’t want to cause you issues with your beliefs,” I said seriously. Elves did not eat meat because they refused to kill unless necessary. While living in the Elven Kingdom I was forced to eat as they did, but once outside of the Kingdom I always ate as much meat as possible. I just couldn’t live without eating meat!
The chef patted my shoulder. “I am using animals that died of natural causes and am only using their meat so that it does not go to waste. Therefore it does not interfere with our beliefs.”
Hearing that made me feel better. “Thank you,” I said seriously.
“Eat everyone,” Father said.
I grabbed two pieces of beef and some of the salad that I loved and started eating while the men talked about the current affairs in the Kingdom. Sebastian listened intently, but every now and then he would glance towards me. I kept my eyes on my plate, being sure not to meet his eyes so he wouldn’t think I was looking at him too. Why did he keep looking at me?
“Favian, did you tell father about the elf we met on our last mission?” I asked him.
“Yes,” Favian answered shortly without looking at me.
I wanted to ask what was wrong, but with Sebastian there I couldn’t. I finished my food a few minutes later while everyone else chatted pleasantly and stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to change and go for a ride.”
“Must you leave already?” Mother asked.
“I do not wish to stay with foul moods directed at me,” I said haughtily and then walked out of the ballroom.
Anger boiled inside of me and I needed to find a vent before I exploded. I climbed the stairs to my room and slammed my door closed. Why was Favian acting so strangely? What had I done wrong? Was he mad because Sebastian had complimented me? That was hardly anything I could have controlled.
I screamed in frustration and quickly changed into pants, a shirt and boots and then hurried out to the stables. Alex smiled at me at first and then asked, “Things still aren’t going well?”
“I need to go for a ride,” I said quickly as I grabbed Fire’s bridle from the wall.
“You shouldn’t take your anger out on your horse,” he reminded me.
I put the bridle back and groaned in frustration. “Fine.” I ran from the stable towards the fighting arena. I might by chance find someone still there who I could spar with. I reached the arena and much to my dismay, everyone was gone. I pulled my swords from their sheaths and attacked an imaginary foe, putting every ounce of anger and energy into my moves.
My skin began to sweat and I pushed myself harder, moving as quickly as I could. One of the princes approached, but without hearing their voice I had no way of knowing who it was so I ignored him. I ran to the wooden pole which was used to practice your strikes and attacked it with all of the energy I had left, only stopping when I couldn’t lift my arms anymore and my breaths came in short gasps.
“Feel better?” Favian’s voice asked.
I spun around and asked, “What have I done? Why are you treating me as though I have insulted you?”
“Why did you come dressed as you did?” he asked instead of answering my question.
“To make Mother smile,” I answered honestly, “What other reason could there be for me to bathe and wear a dress?”
He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, Marin.”
I sheathed my swords and walked towards him. “Why are you acting so strangely towards me?”
“It’s Sebastian. I am trying to get used to his presence in every aspect of my life, but I do not like it. I had hoped that you would be one of the aspects that would not be altered because of his existence.”
“Why would our friendship change because of him?” I asked, not understanding his irritation and worry.
He threw his hands into the air. “I don’t know. I just saw you walk in looking beautiful and watched as he approached you to kiss your hand and thought you had done it for his attention.”
Had he just said I looked beautiful? I climbed over the fence and headed into the fields with him at my side. “I have not lied to you. I only dressed up for Mother.”
He stopped me with a hand on my arm and stared into my eyes. “I am sorry that I’m acting like a spoiled brat and acting possessive. I just do not want him to come between us.”
“That would never happen,” I said seriously to him, “You are my best friend and that will be the case until I die.”
He hugged me and sighed. “I feel like an idiot.”
“Good,” I said as I pushed him away and tried to calm the butterflies in my stomach. “Because you are.”
He smiled and then tried to grab me, but I darted away from him and stuck my foot out to trip him. He expected the move though and grabbed me so that we fell into the grass together. I struggled against him, trying to pin him, but he pinned me to the ground with his hands holding my wrists above my head. “I thought you were stronger Little Death Bringer?” he teased.
I shrugged. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He gaped at me and then started to tickle me. I screamed and laughed as I tried to squirm away from him and his tickling. We hadn’t had much time to play while out on our missions, so this was the first time in months that we had been able to horse around. My cheeks hurt from the wide smile I was wearing as I tried halfheartedly to get away from his tickling hands.
“Am I interrupting?” Sebastian asked from beside us.
Favian stopped his assault and stood up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up beside him. “Yes,” Favian said seriously.
I wanted to smack him and tell him to be nice, but I sort of liked him acting protective of me. Although I would never admit it to Favian.
“I apologize, but Father has summoned you to the castle Favian. He has an important matter which he said you must immediately take care of. I would not have interrupted if it wasn’t urgent.”
I felt like I was in an alternate universe where there were two Favians. How was I going to deal with this?
“Thank you,” Favian said and then tugged on my hand. “Come on Marin, let’s see what task he has for us.”
I smiled at Sebastian to be nice and followed Favian, pulling my hand from his. Sebastian stayed in the field as we headed towards the castle so I punched Favian’s arm and said, “You should not act possessive of me. If word spreads the females will get the wrong impression and it will be very difficult for you to court anyone.”
Favian looked at me from the corner of his eyes and shook his head. “I don’t care about courting females right now.”
We headed into Father’s war room where he and Kato were looking over a map of the Kingdom. “There you are Favian. Marin, I will not be sending you on this mission.”
“Why can’t I go?” I asked. I was surprised at his immediate refusal towards me when I had barely come in the door.
“Because you have not mastered your powers and until you do you are still a vulnerable human. I will not risk your life on Elvish matters when I can send Favian and other skilled elves instead,” Father answered in his no nonsense tone.
I wanted to argue, but he was probably right. “Very well,” I said, “Can you at least tell me how long he will be gone?”
Father stared at me in shock, probably expecting me to argue or plead my case to be allowed to go.
“About a week,” Kato answered in Father’s silence, “As will I since I am going with him. Do not worry, I will protect the prince in your absence.”
I nodded my head at them and t
hen gripped Favian’s arm. “Stay safe.”
He smiled. “Shouldn’t I be telling you that?”
I turned and made my exit. I would have to spend an entire week at the Kingdom without Favian. What was I going to do?
Chapter Two
“Marin,” Mother called, “Time to wake up for breakfast.”
“Okay,” I called back from underneath my covers.
“Chef made bacon for you,” she bribed.
“I’m up!” I yelled as I threw back my covers and quickly put on clothes. I had watched as Favian and fifteen other elves, including Kato, left on their secret mission yesterday. It felt wrong to be parted from Favian, but I knew I needed to get used to it for the upcoming years. I had spent the last part of the previous day sulking in my room and vowed to be somewhat active today.
I made sure my appearance was at least reasonable as I looked in the full length mirror before heading out of my room. It would not do to upset Mother so early in the morning. I skipped down the stairs and opened the door of the ballroom, running right into Sebastian, at least I was ninety percent sure it was Sebastian since I had seen Favian off the day before.
“Sorry,” I said as I took a step back.
He smiled at me and took a step backwards into the ballroom so that I could enter. “No need to apologize. The fault is mine,” Sebastian’s voice said, confirming that it wasn’t Favian.
I walked into the room and he walked beside me as I headed to the table where Father and Mother were sitting. I wasn’t sure why he was following me if he had just been leaving, but I held my tongue and had to hold it inside of my mouth when he pulled out my chair for me and then pushed it in as I sat.
“Good morning,” Father said with a smile.
I was still mad at Father for not allowing me to go on the mission with Kato and Favian despite knowing he had good reasons, but I couldn’t be rude to him. “Morning,” I replied as I draped a napkin over my lap, avoiding eye contact.
Sebastian walked out of the ballroom and I looked at Mother. “Okay, what is the sign to tell them apart?” I asked.
Protector (Little Death Bringer, #2) Page 2