by A J Manney
Zalia looked back at him. It was a lot to take in. “So, what happens next?” She asked the question of her grandfather.
He looked at her quietly for a few moments, then said, “That’s up to you, Zalia.”
Zalia looked at him warily. “What does that mean?” she asked.
At her words, her grandfather nodded to Beckam and Beckam stood and left the room. Before Zalia could ask what was going on, the door opened and Beckam strode into the room again, bringing with him none other than Prince Valen.
Chapter 6
Zalia stared at Prince Valen in shock. Then she crossed her arms across her chest and looked to her grandfather for an explanation. Beckam and her grandfather both maintained that he was a good man, but it was hard to let go of her hostility toward him. It was his father, after all, that had engineered the attack.
“Prince Valen has agreed to help with your training,” her grandfather said.
Zalia looked at her grandfather in shock. “My what?” Her gaze shot to Prince Valen’s eyes. He stared at her, awaiting her reaction. She looked away from his dark gaze and back to her grandfather.
“Prince Valen and Beckam are going to start training you to defend yourself and then eventually take back your kingdom,” her grandfather continued.
Zalia laughed. “Take back my kingdom...” She looked at her grandfather, then Beckam, and finally Prince Valen. None of them said a word. They just watched her.
“Wait. You’re serious?” she asked incredulously.
“Absolutely,” her grandfather replied.
“You think I can just waltz back into my kingdom and take it back from the evil King Mylan, from his dad?” she asked angrily, pointing at Prince Valen. She laughed again. “Oh, this is good. With what army?” When none of them responded, she stood up and glared at each of them. “Well, this has been enlightening, but I think I will be leaving now.” She turned on her heel and moved towards the door.
“I didn’t take you for a coward.” The words were so quiet and low she almost didn’t hear them. Zalia’s head snapped up and she froze. She turned and looked at Prince Valen. What? She opened her mouth in shock, but he continued “I assumed you would have more of a fighting spirit in you after what happened. But if you want to just sit around and wait for my father to find you and kill you, and make no mistake he will kill you, then be my guest.”
Zalia was flabbergasted at his cruel words. She stalked over toward him and shoved him as hard as she could in the chest. The stupid man didn’t budge an inch. “How dare you!” she yelled at him. “You don’t know anything about me! You took everything from me!” she spat the words at him. She made a move to push him again, and he grabbed her arms.
“No,” he said quietly.
“No?” she questioned incredulously.
“I saved your life. I didn’t do anything to you or your family,” he said, still in his quiet low voice.
Zalia yanked her arms from his grasp, and he let go. “Oh, I’m sorry. Correction. Your father took everything from me,” she spat angrily. “I don’t have to stand here for this.” With that, she turned and practically ran from the room. She was angrier than she had ever been in her entire life.
“Zalia…” She heard the desperation in her grandfather’s voice, but she didn’t slow down. Prince Valen’s cruel words burned in her mind.
She stepped into the hall and started walking. She didn’t know where to go, she just knew she had to get away from everybody. Her life was literally falling to pieces around her.
“Zalia,” she heard a familiar voice call out. She turned as Beckam came striding down the hall toward her.
“I really don’t want to talk right now, Beckam,” she said when he caught up to her.
“I know. Look, I’m sorry for what happened in there. Valen sometimes doesn’t say things the right way,” Beckam told her.
“You think?” she responded sarcastically. “I can’t believe he said those things to me.”
“Then prove him wrong,” Beckam told her, crossing his arms over his massive chest.
Zalia just looked at him. “Beckam, I...”
Beckam interrupted her. “He’s right, you know.”
Zalia looked up at him. “About what?”
“His father will never rest until he finds you and kills you,” Beckam said.
Zalia threw up her arms in exasperation. “Why? He has the entire kingdom of Arrosa now. Why would he possibly worry about me? I’m just a girl.”
“A girl who is heir to the throne. He won’t rest until he destroys anything and anybody in the way of him completely taking over the throne. He won’t leave any loose ends.” He paused for a moment, looking at her.
“Maybe he still doesn’t know I exist,” she said hopefully. She knew in her heart that was naïve.
“If he didn’t know before, he knows now. You had a bedroom there, right?” he asked. At her nod, he continued. “Everyone will know now that there was a princess,” he said.
Zalia groaned in frustration. She saw the look on Beckam’s face. “What?” she asked warily.
“I think there may be more to you than meets the eye. I think there’s another reason King Mylan invaded the Kingdom of the Red Rose, killed your family, and wants you,” he said, still looking at her.
Zalia looked at him questioningly. “Why do you think so?” He was starting to make her nervous.
“When do you turn eighteen?” he asked randomly.
“What?” Zalia asked.
“When do you turn eighteen?” he asked again.
“Next month,” Zalia responded. “But what’s that got to do with anything?”
Beckam looked at her for a moment before answering. “Grandfather and I have been talking. There is obviously some reason your parents stopped all contact with our family after you were born. They had to have seen something or knew something that scared them into hiding you. Arrosa was once an open trading kingdom. Eighteen years ago, that all changed. And now, just weeks from your eighteenth birthday, King Mylan attacks your kingdom. We just don’t think it’s a coincidence. We need to get you ready for whatever is coming.”
Zalia’s mind spun with so many thoughts, she couldn’t sort through them all. “But Beckam,” she said, “even if I figured out what is so special about me and trained really hard, there is still no way I could take back my kingdom. That’s not even possible. I’m just one person, and a female.”
Beckam looked at her in surprise and said, “Zalia, you’re family. You’re my cousin. That was my aunt and uncle and my cousin who were murdered, even though I don’t remember them. We will train you and when you're ready, Cascadia will fight with you to take back your kingdom and bring justice to your family.”
Zalia’s eyes widened. “I couldn't ask you to do that!”
Beckam smiled. “You’re not asking. Don’t count out Valen, either. He’s amassed quite a following separate from his father. He would join forces with us, and there is not a better swordsman in the realm than Prince Valen.”
Zalia didn’t know what to say. There was so much to take in. She took a deep breath and looked at Beckam. “There are good people in my kingdom. They don’t deserve to be under a wicked king like King Mylan.” Beckam nodded. “And my family deserves to be avenged,” she said tightly.
He nodded again. “Well,” he smiled menacingly, “then I guess you need to start training. If you’re going to take back your kingdom, you’re going to need an army and an army needs a leader. And you right now are no leader.” Zalia opened her mouth to snap at him, but he held up his hand. “You are no leader yet, but you could be. With the appropriate training, we could turn you into a fierce leader and fighter.”
Beckam was silent for a moment. “We’re going to take you to a location no one knows about and train you there. We will have to bring extra guards for security. We can't let anyone know where you are. We need to train you before King Mylan finds you. You can bet by now he is already on the hunt for the Princess who
escaped,” he said warily. Zalia shuddered at his words.
“We’re going to ask Raider and Adaire also to help. Raider is the first-born prince of Verdia, Kingdom of Vines; and Adaire is the first-born prince of Sol, Kingdom of the Rising Sun. The four of us train together from time to time at our training center. It’s hidden. No one knows about it. Just like no one knows of the alliance between the four of us. Valen will train you in swordsmanship, Adaire in archery, Raider in knife throwing, and myself in hand-to-hand combat and daggers,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
Zalia grimaced up at him. “I think you are going to enjoy this way too much. Will it just be me and you and four princes? There won’t be any other girls?”
Beckam was contemplative for a moment. “I didn’t think of that. I guess you might want some female companionship over the next few months, huh?” he asked sheepishly.
“Could I take Raven?” Zalia asked him hopefully.
“I don’t see why not,” he said.
“When do we start?” Zalia asked reluctantly.
Beckam smiled at her. “That’s my girl,” he said and threw his arm around her shoulders. “I knew you would do the right thing. First thing tomorrow morning, we take you to the training center.”
__________
The next morning, Zalia was beginning to understand some of the power Beckam possessed. He started barking orders and quickly Zalia’s world turned from upside down to right side up. All of a sudden, she had purpose again. Clothes, bedding, pillows, food, and everything they would need for the next few weeks were packed and sent ahead with a few of the people who worked for her grandfather. Beckam had seen to it all.
Her grandfather had come to see them off. After a hug, he looked directly into her eyes. “Zalia, I love you. Please be careful.”
“I will,” Zalia told him. He swallowed her up in a huge hug, then stood back to watch them leave. There were four guards traveling with them for protection, and Zalia, Raven, and Beckam.
Beckam looked at Zalia. “I’m assuming you know how to ride,” he said. Zalia nodded. He looked at Raven.
“I’ve ridden a few times, enough that hopefully I won’t fall off,” she said ruefully. Beckam grinned at her.
Beckam helped Raven and Zalia mount their horses. Then he rode between them. After riding for just a few minutes, Zalia looked at Beckam. “I thought Prince Valen was coming with us,” she said.
Beckam responded. “He will join us in a day or two. He had business to attend to,” he said.
Zalia didn’t respond to that. Instead, she said, “Tell us about the center, please.”
Beckam looked at her and Raven. “After making our alliance several years ago, the four of us princes knew we wanted to train together. I talked to Grandfather about it because he was the only king at the time who we could safely tell about our league. He arranged for a training center to be built. It’s just a small center with an arena for training and several rooms for living in. It has a kitchen, bathrooms, everything we need to be able to live and train there for months at a time. Over the years, Grandfather brought in the best masters to train us in the arts of weapons and warfare.”
Zalia stopped him a moment. “Will I have any masters training me?” she asked.
Beckam answered, “Probably not, as we can oversee everything you need to learn, but we will see.”
Zalia grinned at him. “I can see you’re humble.”
Beckam grinned unabashedly.
Zalia thought about this for a moment. “Why didn’t my brother participate in training with the other first-born princes?”
Beckam looked at her for a moment. “We tried years ago to get Kael to come join us. But he wouldn’t; he didn’t tell us why. We never asked him again.” He grimaced. “I’m sorry, Zalia.”
Zalia nodded. She understood, but she didn’t really want to think about why.
“Tell us more about our training,” Zalia requested of Beckam.
If Beckam noticed Zalia’s changing the topic, he graciously didn’t say anything. The trip took only a few hours, and he spent the rest of the trip telling them all about the training that they would partake in.
When they got to the training center and dismounted, Beckam grabbed Zalia’s arm gently. “Zalia, this is not going to be easy. Keep an open mind and trust us with your training.”
Zalia nodded. She liked Beckam. Sure, he was a fierce warrior and intimidating, but he was her cousin and had been nothing but kind to her since they first met.
“I’ll do my best, Beckam. Thank you for all you have done for me.” She turned to Raven. “Well, I have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into, but here goes nothing. Are you ready?”
Raven slid her arm through Zalia’s and gave her a timid smile. “I guess.”
Zalia looked at the large building in front of them. When Beckam said a training center, she pictured a small building. This was like a miniature castle! Beckam began leading them towards the building. He led them inside a heavy iron door and into an entrance area. From there they followed him down a long hallway, passing several rooms. From a quick glance, Zalia surmised they were bedrooms.
The end of the hallway brought them to a large door. Beckam opened the door and ushered them inside. Inside, Raven and Zalia looked around the massive training room. As far as the eye could see were targets, an open track for running, an armory full of weapons, all kinds of training areas set up, and more.
Beckam looked around. “This is where we are going to build you into a warrior, Zalia,” he said with a smile. “You too, Raven.”
Raven looked at him, surprised. “I thought I was just coming to keep Zalia company.”
Zalia laughed at her surprised expression. “Hey, if I have to learn all this, you do too,” she said, linking her arm through Raven’s.
Raven groaned, and Beckam and Zalia laughed. Beckam beckoned them back to the entrance. “Let me show you where you will be sleeping.”
He led them back down the long hall and pointed to two rooms next to each other. “You can have these two rooms.”
Stepping inside her room, Zalia looked around the sparsely decorated room. There was a small bed, an armoire for clothes, a washbasin, and that was it.
“Sorry it’s not more fancy,” Beckam apologized.
“It’s fine,” Zalia said with a smile. She noticed their bags had already been placed in their rooms. She and Raven could go through them later and split the contents between the two of them.
“Let’s go and meet some of the people who work here, running the center,” Beckam said.
Zalia and Raven followed him out the door. “I thought you said it was just the four princes who come here,” Zalia said.
Beckam looked at her and nodded. “It is, but we need help running the center, especially when none of us are here. And we need a cook because God knows none of us can cook!” he said with a grin.
Zalia and Raven laughed as they followed Beckam to another area of the training center. They walked into a huge kitchen, complete with a large table and chairs.
They followed Beckam through the kitchen to a hallway with more rooms. Beckam knocked on one of the doors. “Mari, it’s Beckam,” he called out. The door opened, and a gray-haired woman opened the door with a smile.
“Is that you Beckam?” she asked with a smile. Beckam bent low to give her a hug. “You been eating good?”
Beckam smiled. “No, not at all. I need some of your cooking. Nothing tastes as good as Mari’s cooking,” he told Zalia and Raven. “Mari, these are my friends Zalia and Raven. They are going to be joining us for the next few weeks for training.”
If she was surprised at the news, she didn’t show it. She nodded. Beckam continued, “The other princes will be joining us at some point. I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Sounds good, Beckam. I’ll let Henry and Collette know too,” Mari said.
“Thanks so much, Mari. We will see you at dinner,” Beckam said and gave her a kiss on the cheek
.
Beckam led the way back to their rooms, explaining on the way that Henry was Mari’s husband and the groundskeeper, and Collette was their daughter and the housekeeper. “I’ll leave you to unpack and get settled. We can meet in an hour for dinner and go over the schedule then. Tomorrow morning, we start training. So, sleep well tonight.” He walked away with a smile on his face, and Zalia groaned as she closed her door. She was in so much trouble.
Chapter 7
Dinner was a pleasant experience. Zalia discovered Mari really could cook. They had a delicious dinner of roast lamb, roasted veggies, and bread pudding for dessert. Mari, Henri, and Collette had joined Raven, Zalia, and Beckam for dinner. They all laughed and talked their way through dinner. After dinner, Zalia and Raven said goodnight and headed to their rooms to get their clothes and supplies unpacked and put away in their prospective rooms.
Zalia unpacked a few chemises and underclothing for her and Raven. She unpacked soaps, hairbrushes, hair ribbons, towels, tunic tops, pillows, blankets, and more. She found two beautiful pairs of tall leather boots. She tried a pair on and was amazed at the perfect fit. She handed a pair over to Raven, who was in Zalia’s room helping. Raven squealed as she put them on. “These are the most beautiful pair of shoes I’ve ever owned. They're so soft!” she exclaimed.
Zalia smiled at her. “They are really comfortable,” she agreed. Zalia was pulling out more clothes. She pulled out several pairs of black leather leggings. She held them up for Raven to see.
“Whoa,” Raven said as she came over to feel them. “These are amazing,” she said to Zalia. “Are these for us to train in?” she asked Zalia.