He walked over to the window he had been standing next to when the Protectors had first walked in. He leaned back up against the wall and stared out the window. Avery walked over and joined him, curious as to what he saw outside that window.
It was the same view that she had seen from the large window on the second floor. Except, the position of the room allowed Avery to see over the castle wall and partially down into the valley below. She saw a few of the farm houses and where the Main Road disappeared into the forest.
As Avery gazed out of the window, trying to count how many people were walking along the Main Road, she gradually became aware that Draven was no longer looking out at the view, but was instead staring at her. When Avery looked up, he quickly glanced away, back to staring out the window. Avery turned away from him and as she did, her shoulder grazed his chest. He shifted away uncomfortably, and she took up position leaning on the other side of the window. It made Avery happy to be at least a few feet away from Draven. It made it easier for her to think. She tried to think of something to say, anything to break the awkward silence starting to form between them.
“Why don’t you have a lot of contact with people?” Avery asked. She had been curious about Draven’s statement when he made it and thought now was as good a time as any to question it.
Draven seemed a little thrown off guard by the question. He looked at her, shifted again, and then looked away. He seemed to be contemplating exactly what to say to her.
“I was raised with my mother, far away from this place.” He told Avery, matter of factly, no inflection in his voice, “I never had any real…experience with people.”
Avery wondered exactly where Draven’s mother raised him that prevented him from interacting with other people.
“I mean, sure I have to talk to Ferris, the Generals of my army, and a few others.” Draven elaborated when he saw the shocked look on Avery’s face, “Not to mention, other kings, diplomats, and aristocracy, but they’re usually so boring that I just completely block them out.”
“But, you’re a king. You rule an entire kingdom.” Avery said to him, pointing her hand towards the window and everything outside of it, “There are literally thousands of people who, I’m sure, would be willing to talk to you.”
Draven shook his head, completely dismissing that notion, “I don’t interact with my subjects.”
“What?!” Avery asked, thinking that was a preposterous thing to say, “Why not?”
Draven pushed himself off of the wall and went to stand by his chair. Avery could see his back tense underneath his shirt. For whatever reason, he clearly didn’t want to continue with where this conversation was going.
“What did Gumptin tell you?” Draven crisply asked Avery, turning around abruptly.
“N…nothing.” Avery stuttered, taken aback by Draven’s unexpected turn of emotions.
“Nothing?” Draven looked at Avery suspiciously, “He didn’t tell you anything about why you didn’t approve of me before?” When Avery hesitated, Draven continued, “Your friends aren’t here now. You can tell me the truth.”
So, that was why he asked to speak to her alone, Avery realized. So he could interrogate her about information Gumptin hadn’t given her. It had nothing to do with discussing his army. It was just a waste of Avery’s time and that thought pissed her off.
“What exactly should he have told me?” Avery asked Draven, stepping up to him. She figured she might as well answer his question with a question, give him a little taste of his own medicine.
It worked, a little. Draven seemed confused for a moment, searching for the appropriate reply.
“So, he didn’t tell you anything?” Draven asked, getting his face dangerously close to Avery’s face.
Avery was going to continue with the run-around questions, but Draven’s eyes, only inches away from her own, looked so pleading, so questioning.
Although she didn’t completely want to, Avery relented and answered Draven’s question, “Well, not really, he basically told me I was a super warrior machine bitch, who didn’t have a life and had a major stick up her ass about everyone in general.”
Draven searched Avery’s eyes; a furrow began to form on his brow. The slight side smile of his began to form on the left side of his face and he stood up, taking a few steps back.
“It’s very doubtful Gumptin would have said that to you.” Draven told Avery, covering his mouth with his hand, trying to wipe the smile off his face.
Avery shrugged, “I read between the lines.”
Draven’s smile disappeared, and he became calmly serious again, “You had your reasons to think what you did and act the way you acted. You’re a Protector. You have to be a certain way to keep yourself alive.”
“’Cause that worked out so well.” Avery told him sarcastically.
Draven grinned, realizing what he had just said, “Still,” he said, “you should really try to harden yourself a bit.”
That statement was like a slap across Avery’s face. She couldn’t believe he was actually telling her to be more like her old self. The old self that seemed to make herself miserable and turn away from the people she loved.
“You don’t know anything about me.” Avery told Draven, trying to keep her anger under control, “The old me…died! She died with nothing to show for herself, except hard work and alienation. I am nothing like her. I may be soft and trusting, and you may think of that as weakness, but I really don’t care.” As she continued, she realized she was more venting now, spilling her frustrations, than yelling at Draven, “I have friends, and family, and interests that don’t include beheading things. So, whatever you think, I’m already better off than that other girl was.”
After a moment, Draven said to her, “I take it back.” He made a slight little bow gesture, “Stay just the way you are.”
Avery scoffed, thinking he was teasing her.
“No, I’m serious.” Draven said, less than a second after Avery let out her scoff, “You know yourself, and you’re able to connect with people. That’s a gift not too many have the luxury of.” He looked down as he said the next part, “Although, I’m afraid it will make things harder for you as a Protector.
That, Avery believed. Pretty shortly after she had come to Orcatia, Avery had figured out that her way of thinking and the way people felt a Protector should think were completely different. She knew it would probably make things harder on her, but she also knew that there was no way on Earth or Orcatia, that she would ever be able to change it. In truth, she thought she would rather die than switch over to old Avery’s way of thinking.
“I’m sure, if you tried, you could connect with people to.” Avery told Draven. His words had been the softest thing he had said to her so far, and they had managed to make her feel good about herself. Avery felt that she should try and return the favor.
Draven let out a hard cold bark of a laugh, “Trust me,” He told Avery, flashing her his teeth, “that’ll never happen. I don’t do…people. I became King to keep my father’s kingdom safe and protected. When he was alive, I let my father down in ways that no son should ever do.” He clenched down hard on his jaw, “After his death, I made a vow to myself, that I would protect his kingdom and his people, to my very last breath. He loved his people, so I take care of them for him, but I do not want anything to do with them outside of that. It’s better for everyone involved, that way.”
That was far more information than Avery had expected or wanted. So much so, that she had no idea what she should say next.
“Unlike you, Avery Kimball, I do not connect with people.” Draven spat his sentence out, and Avery was unsure if the cold tone in his voice was directed at her or just his feelings on the topic in general.
Avery thought about what Draven had said for a minute, and then said the first thing that popped into her mind, “Well, you’re getting along just fine talking to me. I mean, sure you’re a little aggravating, and from what I’ve seen, also a little moody, maybe bipolar, but things co
uld be going much worse.”
Avery’s statement appeared to startle Draven out of his anger. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it.
When he opened his mouth again, Draven told her, “I don’t…I don’t mind talking to you.” He seemed surprised, “It’s strange, I hadn’t really thought about it, but this is the most I’ve talked to anyone in a very, very long time. It’s just, you…you’re…” All of a sudden, a look something close to fear came over his face, and Draven quickly turned his back to Avery, “You’re leader of the Protectors.” He said in a short tone, “I have no choice but to deal with you.” He turned back around, an arrogant smile plastered back on his face, “Truth be told, you’re ludicrously annoying.”
Avery smiled, it wasn’t the first time someone had said that to her. In fact, she thought Gumptin had said something close to that just a few days ago.
“Well, I’m sure you’re wanting to join your friends.” Draven walked over to escort Avery towards the door.
“Hold on,” Avery said, pulling her elbow away from him as he took it in his hand, “what about the army?”
After everything she and Draven had discussed and said, she felt that, surely she deserved more than an, ‘I’ll think about it’. She wanted an answer, something concrete to take back to Gumptin. Draven, however, did not see it that way.
He gave her a quizzical look and reached for her elbow again, “I told you,” he said, “I’ll think about it.”
Again, Avery pulled her elbow away from him, this time taking a few steps backwards, to ensure she was out of his reach. When he steadied his jaw and made a move towards her, Avery gave him a pleading look, as told him, “I need more than that.”
Draven’s face softened, he stepped over to her and once again took hold of her elbow, except this time, instead of pulling on it, he let it rest in his hand.
“Avery,” he said, “I told you, I took an oath to protect this kingdom, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”
With her free arm, Avery reached over and grabbed a hold of Draven’s arm, as it rested on her elbow.
“But, that’s exactly what the Protectors want, to.” Avery said, emphatically. She didn’t understand why there was such an issue if they were working towards a common goal.
Draven looked down at Avery’s hand on top of his hand that was holding her elbow. He quickly let go of her and backed away, almost pushing off of Avery as he did, sending her gently back a step.
Draven sneered at her, “You didn’t seem to do that great of job your first time around.”
His words stung Avery, just as he had meant them to. He wanted her gone and out of his chamber, and Avery could feel it, but if Draven thought he could so easily wound and dismiss her, he had another thing coming. She wasn’t going to let him take this conversation back to her old self and her old failures.
“You know what…” Avery snarled, striding over to Draven, sticking her finger into his chest, “screw you!”
Genuine shock exploded on Draven’s face, “Excuse me?” He asked, smiling slightly, which only angered Avery more.
“I said screw you!” Avery threw her hands around in the air and paced back and forth in front of Draven, unable to stop the tirade that followed, “I’ve just spent the last week and a half working harder than I’ve ever had to work in my entire life! I’ve pushed my body past its breaking point! I’ve left the only home I’ve ever known to travel to an entirely different planet, just to get yelled at by a psychotically militant gnome, fight creatures from horror stories, and come to the realization that the future of the planet is basically resting on my shoulders, and my shoulders aren’t that broad! Oh, and not to forget, finding out that I actually already died once! Which, can only be made worse, by finding out that I was killed by the dude we’re suppose to go fight!”
After she finished, Avery took in and let out a long breath. It hit her how much better she felt after her little outburst. They were things that had been coiled up inside of her for a while, and it was inevitable she was going to explode at some point. She just hadn’t expected to do it in front of a king. Avery turned her head and looked at Draven. He stood with his mouth half open, a small smile on his face.
“I’m sorry.” Avery said, quickly. She really was sorry. Although Draven had peaked her anger, none of that was really meant for him.
Draven cocked one dark eyebrow up, “You told me to, ‘screw you’.
Ok, maybe Avery had meant that, in the moment.
Avery winced, “Well, you pissed me off.”
“Noted.” Draven told her, and then he slowly broke into a slow loud laughter that resonated off the chamber walls.
Avery couldn’t help but notice how different Draven looked with a genuine smile and laugh on his face. All the arrogance and mockery were gone. The sternness of his sharp angles softened, making him appear more like a warm human being, than a cold marble statue. Crinkles formed at the edges of his eyes, making him seem even more approachable. Avery might have found his big smile and deep laugh more endearing, if he hadn’t been laughing at her outburst.
“I don’t know how you intimidate your enemies.” Draven said to her, trying to calm his laughter, “You looked like a little angry dove, chirping about.”
Avery pursed her lips, trying to let his comment slide off of her back, “Well, I usually try to have a sword in hand when facing my enemies, hoping they see that and not the angry little dove charging at them.”
Draven tried to make himself look serious, which was hard to as a tight closed lip smile perked at his lips, “I’m sure that’s very effective.”
His smile, mixed with the image of a rabid dove running towards a troll, with sword in wing, began to break Avery down. Avery bit her lower lip, trying to stop the smile she felt coming, but it was too late. In a second one of Avery’s giant bright smiles peeled across her face and a choked back giggle escaped her lips. In just a few minutes they had gone from yelling, and Draven almost dragging Avery out of the room, to standing just a couple of inches apart, smiling, Draven’s electric blue eyes staring deeply into Avery’s emerald eyes.
The moment quickly died, when Draven’s smile abruptly left his face and he strode past Avery towards the chamber doors. Avery stood for a moment, staring at the place where Draven had been standing only seconds before. Now, instead of him, she was looking out a long window, noticing the change of color in the sky from a bright blue to an opaque yellow and wondering why exactly Draven seemed so reluctant to just let himself enjoy the company of another human being.
When she turned around to look at Draven, he was standing with the door held open, eyes pointing towards the ground. She walked slowly towards the door, looking Draven up and down as she came closer. She wondered if he was so difficult to deal with on purpose, or if he had serious emotional issues. Whatever it was, she was done trying to interact with him today. Charming one minute and exasperating the next was becoming too much for her.
Avery stopped a foot in front of Draven. She stood and stared up at him, waiting for him to say something. She was hoping for a, ‘goodbye’, at the least. Draven didn’t say anything; he didn’t even look at her. His eyes went from the floor, to staring at the far back wall of the throne room. Still, Avery waited, but the only response from Draven was the hard rise and fall of his breathing, which got heavy the longer Avery stood by him. Finally, giving up, Avery sighed and turned to leave. She thought to herself how disappointing this trip had been.
Before Avery made it two steps away from Draven, he reached out and grabbed a hold of her upper arm.
Avery didn’t turn her head towards him, instead he bent his head down towards her ear, and said to her, “Before I give you use of my army, I’m going to need to have a full briefing on your plans, and I’m going to need to oversee it every step of the way.”
In her excitement, Avery turned her head quickly towards him. When she did, her lower cheek smacked into Draven’s mouth. For a few seconds, longer
than Avery would have thought necessary, Draven let his lips rest on her cheek. This time when he pulled away, he did so slowly, with no abrupt jerks or back steps.
“Th…Thank you.” Avery told him in a rushed whisper.
As Avery moved to walk out the door, she felt that Draven was still gripping her arm. When she delicately tugged it free, Draven’s grasp collapsed in on itself. He cleared his throat and placed his hand behind his back.
“You know,” Avery said, turning around before she made it completely outside the door, “I don’t think I’ve smiled like that since I’ve been on Orcatia. So, thank you.”
Draven nodded and appeared as if he wanted to say something, then thought better of it, then rethought it and told Avery, “I don’t think I’ve laughed like that…ever. So, thank you.”
Before Avery could respond, not that she would have known how to respond, Draven swiftly closed the door, leaving Avery staring at a thick plank of wood, two inches in front of her nose.
It took Avery’s brain a little while before it was able to tell her feet to move. Her mind was spinning, trying to take in everything that had just happened. She took a small step back from the door, her face scrunched up in a confused expression. Avery shook her head clear and let out a small giggle. Whatever had just transpired, Avery was pretty sure she was going to be given use of Draven’s army.
Avery glanced left, then right, and realized she really didn’t have any idea exactly where she was suppose to go. Draven had seemed to be in such a rush to get Avery out of his throne room that he hadn’t given her instructions on where to go to meet up with the other girls. There was no one in the hallway besides her, so Avery couldn’t even ask anyone to direct her to the records room. She raised her fist to the throne room door, to give it a quick knock, but couldn’t seem to make herself bring her fist down on the hard wood. Her emotions were already frazzled from dealing with Draven. She didn’t know if they could take any more interactions with him. After a quick debate, she decided to head back down to the front courtyard and try to find the stables.
The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga Page 27