by A. Kingsley
He gracefully moved towards her and undid the zipper. His hands were warm, his head leaned over her shoulder as he worked. His hands pushed down the sleeves of her dress and trailed down the rest of her body until the dress hit the ground.
She was still clothed in her undergarments, hoop skirt and corset. “Thank you, but I have it from here,” she said.
When he turned around, she looked back to get a glance at him. He was furiously taking off his suit as if it was suffocating him. He threw each expensive piece of clothing onto the floor until he was almost naked, the muscles in his back expanded as he drew in a deep breath. Clare forced herself to turn around and she worked on removing the rest of her outfit.
“Are we going to be mad at each other our whole lives?” he asked her as he pulled on a pair of soft gray pants.
Clare had just pulled the nightgown gown over her body. “Probably. Will you put my hair up? You did it so well on our first night together,” she lied. It was just another excuse to feel his touch. She turned around and stepped over the large dress on the floor. She could easily do it herself, but even when she was mad at him, she wished for him to subtly touch her. Though in different ways, both Cassius and Antoine made her feel as if she was turned inside out.
“Seems like an odd ask for a girl who just called me a coward, but I suppose that I have to start proving you wrong. My skills have improved I assure you.” He took the hair tie from her wrist and pressed his body up against hers, leaning his head to the side so he could see her face while he put her hair up. He felt the tight breath in her chest and his hands lingered before he pulled away. “You lose your breath when I am against you. Good to keep in mind.” His voice was soft and hushed. “At least I know I’m not completely worthless to you.”
Down the hall, Sage wasn’t sure what Julius could possibly say to make their situation any better. He had lied to her and expressed no interest in telling her the truth. She had asked about his scar and he had lied, but Clare had lied as well. ‘Why did everyone in her life not trust her? She was good at keeping secrets as long as she could tell Clare and in both of these situations that wasn’t necessary.
Julius was too awkward for silence, “are you really going to duel him?” he questioned.
She sighed, trying to let go of her anger. Disappointment would be much easier to control. “I am, but you don’t just get to escape this Julius. I have questions and you are going to answer them.”
He nodded, politely pulling the door open for her. “Of course I will. Any question you have I will answer it for you. You should not have to keep wondering. I’m a bit curious though, did you not notice anything different about me since that night?”
Now that she thought about it, she had never made the connection. His hair was duller and he did not sparkle with the same charm that he used to. He tripped more often and his heart beat slower, even his voice had gotten slightly higher. When she asked him questions, he had to think longer before answering. She blamed it on drastic puberty, but that had not been the case. “My sister lied to me out of fear, so I understand why you may have been too scared to tell me. It feels odd to know that I am engaged to a man who is supposed to be dead, but somehow I am into you all the same. I would be with you through hell and back. I really would.”
“Sage, it’s been a while. Do you love me? You’ve never um, well explicitly said it. I’m just guessing that you do.” He noticed her eyes go soft.
“Yes Julius, I love you, I’m just really bad at expressing it. I love you revived from the dead or not.” She cleared her throat and sat on top of his lap. “I would still like to ask those questions.” He gave her a soft ‘of course’ and she started, quickly changing the subject from their love, something she was horrible at expressing. “You said you forgot most of your early childhood. What memories do you still have of us? I want to know what you lost. I want to be able to restore your memories like Maximus did for you.”
She stood up from his lap and slid her day dress off, she picked up a baggy burnt orange nightshirt and pulled it over her chest. She paired it with a pair of soft, cream shorts.
Julius changed as well. This time he was less embarrassed. She had bathed with him once, this was hardly as intimidating. But she had no desire to make him the slightest bit uncomfortable, so Sage still turned around to give him privacy as he slowly took off his suit and began to put on a navy blue T-shirt and a pair of gray night pants.
“I remember when we were little, Gracielle would force us to hang out when we had the opportunity. You and Clare normally only hung around Max and I at the gatherings. I remember a lake we went to. I remember having sword fights with you. Then I remember nothing up until I was fifteen and we began to get close. Our childhood memories are sadly distant. Something I can hardly reach.”
He had finished dressing and plopped down next to her on the bed. He extended his arms open and she fell into them. She rested her head on his lap and gazed up at him. “You used to color with me. I remember I wanted to do nothing of the sort. I wanted to play outside in the dirt and the mud, but you’d drag me inside and sit me down so we could color. You’d read me your essays for your classes as well. You’d ask me for my opinion and I would always give you an answer even though I was nowhere near as smart as you. You used to pick me flowers in the garden. You were so sweet. We would play games with Clare. I’m surprised we never got lost in those woods, we probably would have if the guards didn’t follow us. And I remember your mother. With her brown hair and her sparkly blue eyes. I remember she loved me and my sister with all of her heart. Clare always spent so much time with her. I’m sorry you lost her,” Sage sighed. She could see the pained sadness in his eyes and that look on his face brought tears to her own eyes. “And then I almost lost you.” She closed her eyes, squeezing them shut as tight as possible.
He pulled her in close to his chest and instead of wiping her tears, he let her cry. “You did, but I’m back now and I love you. I’ll never truly leave you.” He kissed the top of her head gently with his lips. “Do you want to cancel that fight?”
She sat up and turned to face him, she wiped her tears and caught her breath. “No, let us go. Cheer me on.”
Sage was surprised to see Cassius and Clare had already made it outside. They seemed to be in better spirits. Clare sat down on a stone ledge, her feet dangling in the air as she watched Cassius swing his black hilted sword in the air. They weren’t talking, but she didn’t look as if she wanted to kill him. Sage hollered out a hello, cupping her hands over her mouth to project her voice. Clare smirked at Sage who began swinging her own sword to mock Cassius.
Julius kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Good luck,” he told her, before skipping off to join Clare on the ledge. He gave the girl an awkward, nervous lopsided smile and she gave him a bright one to show that she wasn’t upset with him or his secret. Now that she knew and he wasn’t holding the weight of secrecy, his energy felt calmer. Clare didn’t mind being around his aura when it was calm. It reminded her of a running waterfall. Serene, rushed and loud, but calming. Cassius turned to look at the two of them.
Clare caught his eye and shouted. “Just know neither of us are rooting for you! I’ll always pick Sage!” She watched as he rolled his eyes. He presented himself so cooly, but he was hot and tempered like his father deep down and he had so much trauma shoved far underneath the surface. “Don’t hurt each other please,” Clare shouted as they both raised their swords into position.
Sage stood with her right foot forward and her left foot back so when he clashed his sword against hers, she could hold her ground against him. Though he may have been physically stronger, she was a close competitor and was much more agile and swift than she was. Shorter than him by at least over nine inches, it was easy for her to duck when he broke his sword away from hers and swung. She heard Clare and Julius cheering and clapping, her name was the fuel that kept her quick on her feet. Before getting up from her crouched position, she swung at his leg, but he was
quick and blocked her attack with a jump. She rose back to her normal height.
“I didn’t think you would be this good,” Cassius admitted as their swords met above their heads, his words were breathy from their fight.
Sage smirked. “Is it because I’m a woman?”
“No, it’s because you’re Sage.” He smirked as he watched her brows furrow in pure fury. He was stumbling back now as she ferociously swung at him. His sword twirling to block her. “I have a feeling you actually want to hurt me. You heard the rules,” he said.
“I do want to hurt you, but you’re right I heard the rules.” Their swords parted in the air and they both drew them down to their sides. She had to get him to the ground in order to win the fight, but there was a solid chance he weighed fifty or more pounds than she did because of his height and muscle .
Sage twirled around behind him while he wasn’t looking, changing the direction of their fight. She heard Clare scream something along the lines of ‘kick his ass’, and she was more than happy to do so.
When he pointed his sword low for her ankles, she hopped over the blade and threw her own to the ground. A risky move. She saw him reach for it, but while he was distracted, she had pushed herself onto him and knocked him to the ground. Her hand fumbled for the sword and once she had it, she held it over him. But he was quick. His sword pointed up in the air, he clashed it against hers, she couldn’t get him to drop the damn thing.
They were both grunting in frustration, their muscles shaking. Sage found the strength deep within her core, she pushed and pushed until his arms dropped and his sword tumbled beside him. Before he could grab it, she crawled on top of him and pointed her sword against his chest. ‘One, two three,’ she had won, she had beat Cassius in a sword fight.
“Take that Cassius, hah!” she shouted as she got off of him. He looked rather embarrassed and ashamed of himself. If his father hadn’t stormed off in a rage, Sage had a sinking feeling in her gut that he would have beat his son. There was that undeniable look of fear in his eyes, one she couldn’t shake easily. For a moment she thought she might pity him. She extended a hand to him and helped him up from the ground.
“Nice one Pax, but I’ll get you next time.” He shook that look out of his eyes, though she could still tell he was uneasy. They shook hands and he looked over to Clare and Julius. Though Julius was smiling brightly, Clare wasn’t. He tilted his head at her, ‘shouldn’t she be cheering for her sister?’ There was a half turned, thin smile upon her lips. She wasn’t looking at her sister, she was looking at him. He didn’t need her pity, so he turned away. Sage turned away from him and made her way to the two of them.
Clare’s smile brightened and the two sisters embraced in a hug, “Good job, you’re going to make a great queen. Mum says they shouldn’t send royalty into battle, but they should send you,” Clare said.
“You think so?
“Oh I know so.”
Julius was grinning. “I know so as well.”
For once Sage let her ego fall away, she glanced over her shoulder to Cassius and then looked back to Clare. This was her signal to go and make things right.
Clare walked to Cassius and brushed against his shoulder. “You put up a pretty good fight.” Her fingers trailed across the hilt of his sword, studying the metal so she could get to know its features better, there may be a day when she would need to use it.
“Though I hate to admit it,” he said through gritted teeth, “your sister is wildly talented. My father always had me training with my damn sword. No one trained her and yet, she beat me. I’ll admit I am jealous.”
Clare sighed, “She was dedicated, nothing stops a dedicated woman. But Cassius, what would have happened if you lost and your father was here?” She took her hand off the sword and watched his entire body tense up.
“That is nothing you need to know. I would rematch your sister, but it is getting late and if you wanted to leave early tomorrow, we should go to sleep, or at least we should try. You’re not as delightful when you are sleepy.”
“Go upstairs, I will meet you soon, I want to talk with my mum and my sister alone before I go.”
Clare and Sage met Gracielle in the grand room a few moments later. Maximus had paused his conversation with the queen to give her privacy with her daughters. He explained that he would come back when they were done as there was much more to discuss.
Gracielle sat down on the sofa with a large sigh, she was still in her puffy day dress, her eyes tired, her ginger hair streaked with new gray hairs. “I am glad we could meet. I guess we have a lot to discuss don’t we.” She smiled tenderly at her daughters who were sitting on both sides of her. She pulled them in close to her body.
Clare breathed deeply, she shut her eyes as she relaxed against her mother.
“Our little girl is going to journey to Oralee knows where for months on end. The palace is going to be lonely without you.” She squeezed her hand. Clare reached over with her other hand to hold Sage’s.
“And Sage is training to be the next queen, though promise nothing will happen to you when I’m gone,” Clare said.
Gracielle smiled down at her. “You know I can’t do that, but I can try my best. You know our security is well.” She looked to Sage who was still quiet. “Cat got your tongue?”
Sage’s eyes were watering, her lip curled up. She had to compose herself before talking or else the tears would start to flow. “I could barely withstand two weeks? How can I get past more?”
Seeing her sister so vulnerable had Clare twisted with emotions, her own eyes began to water. “I’ll write to you guys I promise. I’m going to be okay.”
Gracielle took off her golden necklace that had a heart attached to the end, embroidered with flowers. Wade had given it to her. She clipped it around Clare’s neck. “You will be safe. You have two delightful men going with you.”
“You know Antoine is going?”
“I do, you are not very good at whispering, but I don’t mind. I also have picked up a few clues and I know that you are in possession of magic, Clare.” Clare and Sage’s faces were frozen in horror until Gracielle spoke again. “Don’t worry I’m not mad or upset. I still love you dearly. I can see why you two hid this from me. It is scary and it is intense. I don’t know much about magic either, so I am glad that you are going on this journey, Clare,” Gracielle said.
“Thank you mum,” Clare cried, “I was so scared to tell you.”
“You two should never be scared to tell me anything, I am your mother, I am here to protect you.”
After a shared moment of silence. The two girls told their mum about the duel. “My oh my, maybe Clare will have to only rely on herself,” Gracielle half teased. She kissed them both on the forehead. “You will both be okay, you have your father’s perseverance. He had a brother. They were close like you. Unfortunately, his brother died in the war a few years before your papa. You two never got the chance to meet him. But the two of them reminded me of you two. If they could get through whatever life threw at them, so can you. I promise.”
“They sound like an awesome pair,” Clare said, trying to ignore the fact that their fate had been death.
Sage curled up closer to her mum. “Tell us a story about them.”
So Gracielle told them a story where Wade and his brother attended a ball, the one where Wade had swooned her off of her feet. She explained how charming he was, but how much he hated to dance and how clumsy his brother was. She told them how at the end of the night, the three of them were the only ones left in the ballroom. They were sitting in a corner of the large room, shoes off and exhausted, drinking the rest of the alcohol. The boys told her about their trials of becoming soldiers and she explained to them how exhausting the life of a princess could be. Then she went on about how her mother had found them at the end of the night and was in a rage. At the end of her story, she had two sleepy princesses by her side. She walked each one to their rooms and kissed them goodnight, but they did not go to sleep.
That night Sage and Clare had found another guest bedroom and stayed up all night talking to one another, reminiscing and discussing the journey to come. Eventually they had fallen asleep a little before the sun came up.
Clare left that morning with Prince Cassius. Everyone waved them goodbye as they rode off on horses into the woods. Clare wouldn’t see her sister for quite some time.
A servants journey
Antoine had just finished folding away the last of his clothes into a large bag. Now that Julius knew of the journey, there was no need to run away. To avoid any suspicion, Maximus was told that Antoine was going to visit his family and in his place there would be a new servant in training. So Antoine went to pray and pack his bag. Clare’s letter had arrived the night before.
Dear Antoine,
After traveling for five rough days, Cassius and I have made it to our first location where we will be waiting for you. He still does not know about your arrival and it is best that we keep it a surprise. Throughout the week, I have felt no strange pull to magic until we arrived at this tiny cabin in the woods, home to a woman named Fran. She has promised a maximum week nights stay in exchange for our labor in her gardens. By the time you arrive I am certain we will have enough information to guide us in the right direction. Hopefully with the correct address you should arrive quicker than we did. I believe Cassius and I just went in circles. We had to stop to let the horses rest and then we could not find the direction we had started in. So we argued and screamed at the top of our lungs in the middle of the forest. In the end, we did not know where we had come from and we headed off in an unknown direction. This may have happened several times. I look forward to your arrival. Cassius is not cruel, but he can be rather boring. He doesn’t enjoy literature and I have this strange, but strong urge to hug you when he is not looking. It is hard not to think of you. Please hurry and come soon, I miss your light blonde hair and happy amber eyes, rich like the sunshine.