To Play the Lady

by Naomi Lane

  He stopped once they were at the center of the pond and let go of one of her hands as he skated to her side. “Okay, try skating forward,” he said.

  “I don’t know about this.”

  “Come on, the worst that can happen is that you’ll fall down. You’re used to that, right?”

  “Oh, thanks!”

  “Sorry.” Sebastian blushed. Jenna almost hit him. If it had been her brother, she would have. “Uh, just try it. Angle your feet out a little, and try to let them glide.”

  She sighed and took one step. She felt it glide a bit and did the same with her other foot. It actually worked.

  Sebastian followed along. “Good, you’re getting it.” Then disaster struck. Jenna somehow felt herself get off-balance. Her weight was too far forward, and she tried to correct but overdid it, and not even Sebastian could prevent her fall. He smiled. “It’s okay. We all fall on our first try.” He helped her back up.

  “How long have you been skating anyway?” she asked.

  “Uh, since I was like three.”

  “Really?”

  “My brothers and I would go every year, not here though. Parts of Lake Elinore freeze over. We got good enough to play ice hockey with some of the local children.” Jenna saw his expression grow wistful as she tried to skate forward again. She thought it was getting slightly easier, but still took a lot of concentration. “We remember it fondly because it was the only time we could just be children and not royalty.”

  “The others didn’t know who you were?”

  He shook his head.

  “Wow.”

  “It was definitely special. This is the first year I don’t get to play. Knight training and all.”

  “So is ice hockey like field hockey?”

  “It’s close, except for the obvious that we ice skate and also use pucks made of leather that glide along the ice.”

  She nodded. “In Salara we usually just play soccer.”

  He smiled. “You play soccer?”

  “You are looking at the top goal scorer at the last championship match between the Salara and Navia teams. Salara won, and we hadn’t done it in years.” Jenna started to grin. That was one of her happiest memories, right up there with riding Bree for the first time.

  “Why am I not surprised?” He stopped. They had made it to one end of the ovular pond. “Wanna race?”

  Jenna huffed. “I can’t even stand.”

  “You sure?” He crouched low and then took off. All Jenna could do was put her arms out for balance so she didn’t fall. He zoomed around the pond, building up speed. “Come on, try skating on your own.” She glided a bit, arms still out, but it took all of her concentration again. She looked over at Sebastian, who was confidently skating around, forward and then backward.

  “You’re just showing off.”

  He stopped right next to her. “Maybe.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Come on, Jenna. You’re so good at everything. You usually spend these mornings beating me up. I have to have something I’m better at than you are.”

  “You have two things.” She looked up at him. “Mage lights and ice skating.”

  He chuckled and squeezed her hand. Then his expression softened. “We’d better be getting back. I hope you had a little fun at least.”

  She smiled then too. “I admit. It’s rather fun, at least when I’m not falling down every two seconds.”

  “As I said, just takes some practice.”

  They returned to the bench. Sebastian seemed strangely silent as he slid his boots on. Jenna thought he seemed anxious. “Are you all right?”

  “Um, yes fine. Why?”

  “You seem nervous.”

  “I do?”

  “Yes.” She finished sliding on her own boots and handed the skates back to him. As she did so, he took her hand and stared into her eyes.

  “Why don’t you read my mind and find out,” he said.

  She hadn’t known how he would respond to her question, but she wasn’t expecting that. While staring into the blue depths of his eyes, she gradually lowered her shields. The feeling of his anxiety increased, but it was tinged with… longing? He was afraid of rejection!

  Jenna’s heart suddenly started to pound. The fear must have shown on her face, but it didn’t stop the Prince from leaning toward her. He went slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away, but she didn’t. His lips connected with hers, and she couldn’t believe it. The sensation was odd. No one had ever kissed her before. The only words that floated through her mind were those of incredulity. At least his lips felt warm in the cold. Then he pulled away. Jenna could sense he also felt awkward, and her lack of response was not encouraging. He looked ready to leave.

  “Wait,” she said and grabbed his knee. “Could we try that again?”

  He smiled. This time he stroked her cheek while he leaned in. As he made contact, Jenna closed her eyes and opened her lips slightly so she could kiss him back. A vague warning bell in the back of her mind was ringing, sending her a signal to stop. This was Prince Sebastian, it told her, and this blew past any and all standards of propriety. But she ignored the warning, instead starting to enjoy the sensation of his lips on hers. He pulled away and smiled.

  “This isn’t just to get more accolades from Eamon is it?” she asked.

  He laughed. “No, Jenna. Believe me; I don’t intend to tell a soul about this, especially not Eamon.” She nodded, and he stroked her cheek again. “I’d, uh, love to continue this, but if we’re late to prayers…”

  Jenna stood. “You’re right. We need to go.” But it didn’t stop her from holding the Prince’s hand on the entire walk back through the woods.

  Chapter 21

  As the sun warmed the horizon, Jenna looked out from the dormitory window. The day was bittersweet. She smiled because she knew it would be warmer than usual, but it would also be her first day back to regular classes after the winter recess.

  She immediately put her riding coat on so she could ride Kedar that morning before the dreaded classes began. It would have to be a short ride because the sun rose late. The ride would also have to console her from the thought of not seeing Sebastian.

  Since the time he had first kissed her, he had managed to track her down at least once a day. He couldn’t always stop her brother from being there too, but the Prince’s attentions to her had continued unabated. Thoughts of Sebastian made Jenna’s cheeks grow warm, and she clutched his charm, which she continued to wear constantly. Memories came to her of the previous morning, when they had gone skating again. He had managed to teach her how to skate forward and stop. He had also become more confident kissing her. Her cheeks grew hotter.

  Sebastian was definitely the best thing that had happened to her at court, but as she entered the West Wing stables and saw Kedar, she knew he still had a close rival. Kedar was extremely happy to see her, but she also sensed some lingering vexation at the lack of riding. She hadn’t been able to ride as often since the weather turned cold, and the previous morning she had ridden Bree to the pond to meet Sebastian. At the thought of Bree, Kedar felt jealousy. “Oh stop it,” she said. “Bree needs exercise too.” She had to give Kedar most of her training time to keep her promise to Prince Dominic, so she often rode Bree when she went riding on Sevdays.

  Master Barrett helped her get Kedar ready to be taken to the Ladies’ stables for saddling. She worked as quickly as possible, knowing Lord Harcourt would be irritated if she were late to her first magic lesson. She rode Kedar into the training paddock nearby so she could practice some footwork, knowing they would be training it later that day. Another advantage of the warmer weather that morning was they would have riding training instead of archery class, but Jenna knew she would enjoy both as Durand alternated the lessons throughout the winter season. She made one pass around the ring, but stopped when she saw her teacher watching.

  “Master Durand!” she said. “How did it look?”

  He smiled. “Excellent as usu
al.”

  “You have a recommendation for what to practice?”

  He kept smiling. He took a moment before he said, “How would you like to learn jumping?”

  Jenna gasped. “The Queen will let me learn?”

  Durand’s expression grew thoughtful. “Well, not exactly. It’s just that Prince Dominic has ordered you to train that horse properly, and I don’t see how he could be properly trained without it. Since the Crown Prince outranks even the Queen, I think it’s acceptable. At least I am willing to argue it with her… if necessary.”

  Jenna sensed from his tone it would probably be best not to spread the word about this among the Ladies, but she nodded. “Okay. What do we do?”

  “Let’s head to the indoor paddock where the knights train. Do you know it?”

  Jenna nodded again. Durand had saddled his own horse, and they both quickly rode over to the West Wing. Durand then dismounted and asked Jenna to wait as he went to speak with some of the trainers, who appeared to be setting up a course for the knight trainees. Jenna started to feel her excitement build and shared images of horses jumping over fences with Kedar. He also felt excitement, and some curiosity.

  When Durand returned to speak with Jenna he stayed on foot. “Have you ever learned how to jump fences?”

  “Well,” began Jenna, “except for that… one time I have never attempted it. My father wouldn’t let me learn. I have watched it at the Salara riding school, though. Peter, my brother, even competed in show jumping.”

  Durand smiled. “You are aware there are two sporting events that involve jumping obstacles?” Jenna nodded. She explained her knowledge of cross-country racing, where riders would take their horses through long courses outdoors. It was a test of a horse’s endurance to get through the obstacles. Show jumping involved more technical courses and was scored based on how well the horse cleared the fences. Even with her knowledge, something nagged at her. “Master Durand, I wonder why the knights need to learn show jumping. Is it that useful in battle?”

  Durand laughed. “Not very. But when on assignment in the field, it is useful to be able to jump fences that surround people’s property. Fences are also present in many hunting grounds around Sevalia, though not at court.”

  “So all the boys learn it then?”

  “To become a squire, boys in training must demonstrate certain proficiency in cross-country racing. Learning show jumping courses is optional, though I always found it the most fun.” Jenna’s smile broadened. “Since you and Kedar are new to jumping we will start slow.” He nodded to one of the handlers, who led Durand’s horse, still riderless, to a fence that was quite high. “Now watch the horse jump and think of what a rider would experience. For instance, if the rider was sitting straight up in the saddle, what would happen?”

  Jenna watched, pondering Durand’s question. “Um, with the angle of the horse’s body, I would think he or she might fall off.”

  Durand smiled again. “Exactly. In order to stay on Kedar during a jump you will need to position yourself forward on the horse. When he begins to jump, lift your body out of the saddle. Lean over his neck and keep your rear out behind you. The other trick to a successful jump is to stay out of the horse’s way. You will help select the proper timing of the footwork between obstacles, but Kedar will choose the best time to jump. It’s okay to grab his mane when airborne because you want to avoid pulling back with the reins and jabbing him with the bit. But you do want to pull your body back when landing or else—”

  “I’ll crash into his neck?” Jenna smiled while Durand nodded. “It happened to me… during that one time on the first jump. Then Storm let me know to ease back. It helped.”

  Durand chuckled again. “I suppose it doesn’t surprise me. Storm and I are five-time national equestrian champions and two-time international show jumping champions. I’d imagine she’d be a good teacher.”

  Jenna was somewhat shocked. She knew Durand was good, but not that good. “What, only two international titles?” she teased.

  Durand shrugged. “Tenarrans don’t like to be beaten by anyone, especially those without pure noble bloodlines.”

  “What do you mean?” Jenna didn’t understand the implication.

  “I was banned from the competition when it occurred on Tenarran soil.”

  “Oh.” She blushed. She hadn’t meant to bring up any sensitive topics.

  “It’s all right. Let’s get back to the lesson. We’ll start with an easy jump. Take it at a trot, and you will get your first lesson in how to stay out of Kedar’s way.”

  Jenna rode over to the obstacle. She deepened her mind-link with Kedar to more easily feel him prepare to jump so she could adjust her body appropriately. It worked reasonably well, and Kedar cleared the low jump, but she still felt slightly awkward on the landing. It was almost as if she had gone too deep into the link and lost track of her own body. “Good,” said Durand. “But it would be better to sit back a little earlier on the landing to make it smoother. Again.” Jenna nodded and complied.

  After a few jumps, Kedar more easily found his rhythm, and Jenna too felt more at ease with the technique. Durand increased the jump height slightly, and they continued.

  She began to lose track of time during the lesson as she focused more and more on the jumps and staying continuously linked to Kedar. Except just after she and Kedar managed to clear a height of four feet, she began to feel uneasy. She looked over her shoulder and saw someone watching them. It took a few moments, but she recognized the man as the one who had originally found her in the stables with Kedar. He had mistaken her for a one of the knights-in-training and dragged her in front of Nigen. Durand also noticed him watching, and the man quickly left. Jenna got a sense of unease and disapproval from his mind. She bit her lip.

  “Miss Mallory,” said Durand. This brought Jenna back to focus on the lesson. “We’ll make this the last pass. I want you to try two jumps in combination. Take two strides in between.”

  Jenna nodded and brought Kedar around to make the pass. They cleared the first gate easily, but the second one was somewhat tricky for Kedar. She felt him get a little ahead of himself after the second stride, but since the second fence was low they still cleared it. Jenna leaned over to give him one last pat of encouragement, when her heart suddenly felt like ice. Kedar, sensing her displeasure, turned around.

  Jenna instantly found the source of the unpleasant feeling. The man she recognized had returned, and Lord Nigen was with him. They wore looks of disgust on their faces, but she noticed they weren’t staring at her, but at Durand, who stood across the paddock, staring back at them. Anger seethed around the edges of his mind, but he broke his eye contact with the two men and returned his attention to her.

  “Well done, Miss Mallory,” he said, and then in a lower voice continued. “Please take Kedar back to the West Wing stables.”

  “But…” Jenna bit her lip, worried about a conflict with Nigen.

  “It’ll be okay. I’ll see you for our regular lesson.” He managed to smile for her, and Jenna relaxed a bit as she dismounted to lead Kedar to the stables. As she was about to step through the door, Jenna risked one look back at the men. She sensed the ex-Tenarran Lord was disgusted to the point of violence, but Durand seemed calmly confident. His sense of ease made Jenna relax once more as she turned back around.

  Once in the area where the Crown horses were kept, Jenna was startled to run straight into Prince Sebastian. She smiled. “Hello,” she said. He grinned back.

  “Miss Mallory!” Jenna whirled around, but breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Master Barrett with a smile on his face.

  “Master Barrett, hello.” She curtsied for him and the Prince, who bowed in return.

  “Your Highness,” said Master Barrett. “You’ll find your horse waiting.” The Prince gave her one more smile before walking off toward his horse’s stall. Her eyes followed him, but she was dragged back to the conversation when Barrett asked her a question. “Did you enjoy your ride?
”

  “Oh yes, of course,” she replied. “I actually had a special lesson.”

  “I heard. So you enjoyed your first lesson in jumping?”

  “Very much, though I hope Lord Nigen does not disapprove.”

  Master Barrett’s expression quickly changed to concern. “Lord Nigen? He was there?”

  “He came to observe at the end.”

  “I see. Please excuse me, Miss Mallory.” With that, Barrett quickly turned around and hurried out of the stables toward the training paddock. Jenna was once again concerned about Durand, but still headed toward Kedar’s stall. Before she even had the chance to get his saddle off, she sensed a familiar presence behind her. His hands came to rest lightly on her hips, causing her to whip around and stare straight into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

  She kissed him, hard, so hard in fact that Sebastian almost lost his footing as Jenna threw her arms around his neck. He steadied himself against the wall with one hand, and she didn’t let up. She was so happy at the chance to see him that she didn’t want to lose any time enjoying the few moments they had. Once he had his bearings he was able to fully respond to her kiss. Her lips parted, and he groaned slightly as the kiss deepened.

  Lips still locked together, they made their way to the rear of the stall. Jenna moved her hand behind Sebastian’s head in the process, while she felt his arms stroke her back. She was so enjoying the moment that she almost failed to notice someone else approach. It was a familiar presence, but Jenna didn’t have a chance to figure out just who it was before she reacted. She grabbed Sebastian and pulled him to the floor of the stall, holding a hand over his mouth in the process. He was upset at first, but understood when he heard footsteps approach.

  “Hello there.” Jenna sensed Sebastian start to panic as he recognized his brother’s voice. Luckily, Prince Dominic seemed more interested in Kedar, who had entered his stall to have a drink of water. “Is she treating you well?” Kedar huffed and nuzzled the Prince with his forehead. “Silly horse. Why is your saddle still on?” Now Jenna’s fear spiked as she worried the Crown Prince would enter the stall, but then she heard another sound, that of running footsteps.