Bloom: The Kingdom of Archer Series: Book I

by J Rose

  “Maybe,” Oliver spoke up his eyes calm, cold even, but I knew he was in his work mode. Maybe it was to part away from real emotion but I knew Oliver was a kind, caring man, and honest man who assessed things in all forms.

  “I won’t let that happen.”

  “You can’t always protect her Parker,” Oliver spoke up slipping from his formal speech.

  “It’s illogical to believe that, and she needs to be ready to protect herself as minimal as it may be. You have to want that don’t you? For her to fight ‘til the end. To hold on until you or anyone else is able to help?” Oliver questioned.

  “It’s why you asked me to train her isn’t it?” He asked, and for a moment Parker was quiet shutting his eyes tightly. I could tell he was trying to calm himself. When Parker finally opened his eyes once more he looked visibly stressed and worried.

  “I want you to be safe Lyric,” He whispered, reaching to caress my cheek once again, his other hand still intertwined with my own.

  “And. Oliver is right. If no one is there to protect you, I want you to have to do it. To hold on until I can get there,” He whispered.

  “Good,” Oliver spoke up breaking whatever moment between us was about to happen.

  “Because since you asked me to train her in private you are also not allowed to be here with us,” Oliver spoke up.

  “What? That’s not what we agreed to.”

  “Correction your highness,” Oliver spoke, cutting Parker off with a mischievous look in his eyes while trying to hide a smile.

  “I agreed as your best Nova soldier and highest ranking officer to help your… Beloved. Become stronger both physically and mentally. But I never agreed for you to be here.” He spoke to Parker. The word “Beloved” made me blush. Still, Parker kept his ground and simply glared at Oliver who smiled at him as if Parker’s fierce protective glare bounced right off him.

  “Well, you can stay. If you can really take me being serious with her. Because if you want her to be safe then I’m going to have to be tough on her. And I’m sure you don’t want to see that.” Oliver spoke up.

  “I’ll be fine Parker,” I assured him, for his sake more than mine. Oliver was right. I needed to learn to be stronger. Not just for me, but for Parker as well.

  “Why don’t I believe that?” Parker questioned.

  “Because you love her. And you think she’s fragile,” Oliver spoke up.

  “But with practice, certain things can be fixed,” Oliver spoke up.

  “So Goodbye Parker,” Oliver spoke up.

  “I’ll be fine really,” I said to him. And he simply offered a kind smile, kissing my forehead softly before leaving.

  For a moment I stood there unsure of what to say. I just felt so much at the moment. It was like being on air.

  “Okay,” Oliver spoke up waking me up from what felt like a dream.

  “First thing you need to do is go change into this. Princess Crystal bought you training clothes already,” Oliver spoke up tossing me a pair of neatly folded gray sweats and a white t-shirt.

  “We’re starting with an easy warm up to build up stamina and after that, I’ll teach you a few defensive attacks,” Oliver spoke up.

  “Oh. Okay,” I managed to say to him.

  #

  It was hard to move. It really was. My legs felt like jelly and there were muscles that hurt that I did not know I had. Oliver’s “Warmup” Consisted of 45 minutes of running around the open space. Another 30 few minutes of about 100 sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and the worst, pull-ups. I had absolutely no type of upper body strength or any sort of strength for that matter. After that, he proceeded to show me a few defensive techniques that only gave me a few seconds to confuse my assailant and give me time to run. But honestly, after our “Warm-up” I had absolutely no kind of strength. The first attack was simple. Kicking, or kneeing someone in the groin was pretty much a good tactic. Then there was another defense attack that involved using my palm to push up and hit him in the nose with force to break it. Another which was one that Oliver said I should try if everything else doesn’t work, which involved hitting my opponent with an open palm on the temple. If it’s hard enough, you can either knock someone out for a few seconds or kill them. In fact, all of these tactics were simply to startle my assailant just enough to give me time to run.

  We were laying on the grass now, Oliver seemed perfectly fine if not just a bit sweaty. Me on the other hand. I felt like I needed air and I smelled like an old sweaty gym sock.

  “I apologize for being so hard on you Princess,” Oliver spoke up. Turning to look at him, panting silently from exhaustion I spoke.

  “Lyric.” I corrected.

  “Ms. Lyric,” He repeated, offering a smile.

  “I understand. It’s necessary, I’m not strong if anything. I’m a liability to-”

  “You’re Parker’s heart.” Oliver corrected, and I found myself blushing at what he said.

  “He cares about you. He’s never mentioned what happened between the two of you. But. I have my suspicion,” He said.

  “I’ve known Parker since we were children. Though I can’t speak for him in terms of how he feels. I can say that he’s changed since meeting you Ms. Lyric,” Oliver spoke.

  “Parker’s always been so… selfish,” Oliver concluded.

  “I’m sure you realize this yourself seeing as you attended school with him,” Oliver said, and I found myself nodding at him.

  “Maybe. But. Deep down I think he was hiding,” I speak out loud, causing Oliver to smile.

  “What about you?” I asked him.

  “There’s not much to say Ms. Lyric.”

  “Your soulmate?” I questioned. For a moment, there’s a look in his eyes which I immediately recognize. Mainly because I’ve been wearing it my entire life. Pain.

  “She’s far away.”

  “She chose to leave but. I hope to join her one day,” Oliver spoke.

  Though I couldn’t really understand what he was feeling. I did understand part of it. Longing. Longing to be with the person that’s supposed to complete you in every way possible. A contrast that can fill in the gaps that you have not known you had. Someone who can fill the empty feeling you have felt all your life. Either way, I was starting to comprehend what it was a soulmate was supposed to be.

  “I hope you can see her someday soon,” I told Oliver who simply offered a smile.

  “I see her every single day. I keep her close to my heart,” He whispered.

  “But for now. My duty is to the kingdom. As was my late fathers’.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said to him.

  “Loneliness is quite bitter but. To not have a purpose in life is much worse,” Oliver said.

  “Maybe.” I said to him, hoping that I could say something that was mildly comforting. I didn’t have to ask what happened to his mother. Everyone knew that when a soulmate dies your other half soon follows after.

  “I understand loneliness. I’ve had it my entire life. But. You need to allow people to love you. Only then you’ll be able to start living.”

  “Maybe,” Oliver answered back.

  “Maybe allowing yourself to love her will make you feel less lonely.”

  “And. If there’s anything I’ve learned from this life is that… Friends can also be family.” I spoke to him.

  In the distance, I could see Crystal walking over, a smile on her face and I simply stood up and offered a smile to Oliver before heading toward Crystal.

  “Did you have a good practice?” Crystal asked.

  “Yes,” I replied to her.

  “Good. Because today we’re going to a real battlefield,” She joked.

  “Where?” I questioned.

  “My bachelorette party silly. You haven’t had time to rehearse for the wedding with us but you’re still my maid of honor and you’re going to have fun with me and the rest of my friends,” She concluded.

  “But-”

  “Relax. I’ve invited your friend Jane,�
� Crystal said.

  “Alright,” I said to her. Being honest, however, I realized two things. One, I would be put in an uncomfortable situation of being introduced to new people once again, and two. Going out with two of my crazy friends would definitely result in trouble.

  CHAPTER 18:

  GIVING IN

  (Lyric)

  The night was young as they say; though I was in no mood to go out. I was tired from practice with Oliver and I was never much of a going out type of girl. Everything about my life consisted of the indoors. Whether that was staying inside and reading snuggled up to a good book, writing or simply tinkering away with the piano. These were the things I enjoyed most and at the moment I felt so uncomfortable.

  “Would you quit fidgeting Lyric,” Crystal spoke up, her voice calm yet firm.

  “I don’t like to wear too much makeup,” I said to her while she applied this and that to my face.

  “It’s not a lot. I know you like to be subtle. Besides, you’ll look beautiful,” She spoke, a smile on her face.

  “Not like you.” I thought to myself when I looked at her.

  Crystal was in a wine red strapless chiffon dress that flowed down her body perfectly accentuating her hourglass figure. The skirt fell just above her knees. Her heels matched the color of her dress perfectly. Her lips painted were a wine red, and her cat eyeliner accentuated her giant blue eyes, her hair flowed down in a soft cascade of blonde waves.

  “Come on. Go put on your dress,” She spoke to me offering a smile.

  “You want to dress to impress tonight trust me,” She spoke.

  “But-”

  “Come on. You’ll be fine,” Crystal spoke, handing me a box that she had placed on the bed for me.

  “Just go change,” She spoke, pushing me towards the bathroom.

  “Oh wait, the heels,” She said handing me a smaller box which no doubt contained shoes. There was not much to say about it and I knew not to argue with Crystal. Getting dressed was the easy part for me, it always was. The hardest part was looking in the mirror. There were good days and there were bad days, but I also knew that I had to accept myself.

  My hair was done similar to Crystals, curled in soft wavy curls that I thought were not possible for me to achieve. My makeup light, consisting of the usual foundation, mascara, and just a bit of top liner. My lips were painted with the softest pink nude color and my cheeks the softest of pinks. For a moment, I was unsure if I was looking at myself in the mirror. There was never really a time where I truly felt beautiful. I could never blame anyone for this, simply because this was something I had always struggled with. The dress, however, was beautiful. A two shoulder soft brown dress that flowed just above my knees. The most beautiful part of the dress was the top half. It contained a black floral mesh fabric that covered like a soft veil on top of the brown, fitting perfectly against it. My heels matched the brown of my dress perfectly. I was never one for fashion but today, today I felt fashion worthy. Turning slightly, I could still partially see the burn from the fire and I tried to hide it with my hair succeeding in the process. I was uncomfortable with showing the burn but would try to brush it off for the rest of the night.

  “Baby steps,” I whispered to myself.

  “Lyric,” Crystal called out, knocking on the door.

  “It’s time to go. Our car is here.” She called out.

  “I’m coming,” I said to her trying to relax, though I had no time, and simply opened the door.

  “You look great,” Crystal spoke smiling. With a forced smile of my own, I nodded.

  “Believe it. Okay. Trust me. Come on we have to head outside to the car. You’ll meet the rest of my friends later, they’re great,” She spoke. It was hard to smile after that. I wasn’t a very social person as it was. Before I could protest or think any further, I was pushed into a town car with Crystal and taken to a large bar inside of town.

  “Aren’t we a little too dressed up for a bar?” I questioned her while we entered.

  “Relax. This is exclusive just for us. Perks of being with the Nova Prince’s,” She spoke. Though I really didn’t know how exclusive it actually was.

  #

  The tables around the bar were filled, and I realized it was mostly women around our age all laughing and talking. There were so many people that I recognized and some that I didn’t. The moment that Crystal and I walked in, however, all the girls turned and ran toward her, immediately they placed a sash that read Bachelorette across her shoulder. They all greeted and congratulated her telling her how lucky she was, and it wasn’t until they seemed to notice me that Crystal introduced me.

  “This is Lyric. She’s my best friend and Parker’s mate,” She spoke. It was then that a chorus of nice to meet you happened. Though they were all very friendly and welcoming I couldn’t stand attention on me. They stuck around for a while talking and laughing with Crystal. Though I could only force a smile. We had been there for a good half hour before Jane walked in. She, like every other girl in the bar, was in a beautiful dress. Her dress was an elegant portrait scoop black dress with long sheer sleeves. The dress was tight around her slim body falling down just below her knees. Her hair as always, was in her short-haired bob falling down in a V like shape at the front and shortening in the back. Her makeup like my own, was very light, consisting of remotely nothing. Her green eyes shone as she waved at me.

  “Hey. Lyric. You look great,” She spoke cheerfully, before throwing an arm over my shoulder. It was then that I smelled it. Alcohol.

  “Jane. Have you been drinking?” I questioned causing her to laugh lightly.

  “It’s a bar Lyric.”

  “But you just got here,” I spoke to her in concern.

  “Yeah. I have to go congratulate Crystal on her engagement,” She spoke trying to evade the subject, something I dutifully noted she had been trying to do whenever we met.

  “Jane-”

  “Drop it please!” She spoke pain flashing into her eyes.

  “Jane.”

  “No.” She spoke shaking her head and then turning to the bartender.

  “A shot of tequila please,” Jane spoke before the man handed her a drink which she quickly drank wincing.

  The night continued to proceed in this way. Everyone seemed to be having a good time dancing and drinking. Crystal and Jane had convinced me to dance with them and I found myself having fun. The music blared loudly and every single girl around us seemed to be smiling, including myself. I was never one to be out but Crystal’s happiness seemed to be infectious and I was glad for her. Jane on the other hand… I could see her smiling, dancing, laughing, she continued to drink throughout the night, gulping down as much alcohol as she possibly could.

  “Another one,” She spoke up, stopping one of the many servers that carried trays filled with drinks and thrusting a glass of scotch toward Crystal and I.

  “No thanks I’m good,” I spoke to her offering her a strained smile. Something that she did not seem to notice.

  “Come on don’t be such a downer Lyric. Have some fun,” Jane spoke slurring just a bit. “I don’t drink,” I said to her.

  “It’s just one. It’s not going to kill you to loosen up for one night,” Jane said.

  “Fine,” I spoke to her.

  “Alright then ladies,” Jane shouted out through the music.

  “This one’s for Crystal. Cheers to finding true love!” She shouted out.

  “Cheers!” Everyone else chanted back before throwing their drinks back. Crystal doing the same while smiling.

  “I think I need some air I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit,” I spoke to both of them before exiting the bar. The drink still in my hand.

  #

  The night sky lit up with the stars outside, cars no longer passed and the only noise heard was the music which came from inside the bar. Placing the drink on the rail that was in front of me I rested against it, looking up at the stars that seemed to glow beautifully against the dark night.


  “Tough night?” Turning I could see Parker standing by the door, his hair gelled back in perfect style while he wore a black suit. His tie a shiny red color and a white shirt to fit perfectly. He looked very handsome his hazel eyes penetrated deep into my own. He offered his usual charming smile, and I found my heart racing once again, giving away my true feelings.

  “Something like that,” I found myself saying to him before he went to stand next to me leaning against the rail himself.

  “I didn’t know you guys were coming here too,” I whispered.

  “The bar has two entrances. We’re on the other side,” He spoke.

  “Oh,” I managed to say letting the silence linger between us.

  “This isn’t really your thing is it?” Parker questioned after a few moments and I couldn’t help but smile at the irony.

  “Contrasts,” I thought to myself.

  “You mean fun?” I questioned him.

  “That’s not what I meant-”

  “I know,” I spoke to him.

  Somehow the events of the previous days had somehow allowed me to relax around Parker and speak my mind to him. I found myself able to joke with him just a bit now too.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I can have fun just. Not in big crowds,” I pointed out to him.

  “Then how about... Just the two of us?” Parker questioned.

  “Take a ride with me.”

  “A ride?” I questioned, turning to look at him as he smiled.

  “Not in my Nova form. I didn’t really bring extra clothes tonight. And I really don’t want to hang out with the guys tonight. I’m just-”

  “Not really in the mood,” I finished for him. Once again we both smiled at each other, the soft breeze of the night gently caressing our skin.

  “Come on,” Parker spoke, taking my hand and leading me away from the bar towards the empty road where a black Harley awaited us.

  “Parker.”

  “It’s fine. It belongs to Brad,” He spoke shrugging.

  “Won’t he mind if we take it?” I questioned him.

  “Doubtful,” He spoke, though he didn’t elaborate much. Handing me a helmet Parker got on the motorcycle, starting the engine which let out a roar throughout the night. Had the loud music not been playing behind us maybe the noise would have been much louder and alerted our friends of our leave. Because I was in a dress, I knew I couldn’t sit properly on the motorcycle, instead, I sat with both of my legs on the same side.