Although the castle grounds of Doranelle were made of exquisite structures surrounded by crystal rivers, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius quickly found herself bored out of her mind. Without the presence of her cousin Aedion or her parents, she quickly ran out of amusing things to do. Although Marion's sweet attempts to entertain the child worked at first, she quickly gave up; her child not being nearly as complicated as Aelin.
"Marion?" she wined, as she perched herself up next to the Lady, who was completely content with having her nose stuck in a book. Aelin scrunched her nose in a tight grimace as she glanced at the blank page; no pictures. "Marion?" she tried again.
"Yes, Fireheart." Her attention didn't waver from her book and Aelin doubted it would for a while.
"Can we play hide and seek in the forest?" Aelin cooed glancing over to the long strip of land at the edge of the castle. It was only a few yards away.
"No, don't be silly. It's nearly dark and your mother and father told you to stay here. Their meeting with the Queen will be done soon, don't fret." Aelin flinched at the mention of her. She couldn't explain it but when she met Maeve, all she could see was that spider's smile that made her shiver.
"Please," Aelin whined, clearly losing the battle.
"The answer is still no Aelin." Marion returned to her book before a second's notice.
Aelin sat there for while longer watching the small fish swim gracefully through the stream. She was so bored she was going to rip her hair out, there was nothing to do here; no one to play with. Noticing that Marion was not going to lift her head up from her book she decided that she would use that to her lack of attention to her advantage. Slipping into the stream, Aelin smiled as her blue dress floated through the water. The water caressing her legs as she waded through the shallow stream. It wasn't long before she reached the bank on the other side and skipped into the forest, leaving the poor Lady completely unaware that the little princess was on the loose.
She didn't want to go too far in case she got lost but Gods these woods were beautiful. Nothing compared to the woods in Terrasen but still beautiful. There were flowers everywhere as she wandered aimlessly. Maybe she could give some of them to Marion and her mother. She hiked her skirt up and made a small pouch where she could put her findings. There were so many shades of reds, purples and pinks as she walked along the shrubbery, picking the flowers before smelling them and then placing them into her skirt. Red was her favourite colour; she had decided after picking a particularly pretty rose before putting it in her braid that ran down the length of her back. She was having the time of her life, a quiet place to go where she wasn't followed by guards or Marion. Despite her love for her carers she greatly wanted to be independent. A common attribute that she shared with her father.
She continued along the little track though stopping when she heard a twig snap and heavy breathing. A jolt of fear rushed through her as she snuck her way along the tree line before a clearing. That's where she saw him. His long hair was silver and glistened in the sunlight as he moved. He was a broad and tall and his green eyes that reminded her of home were determined as he flung knife after knife at a particularly large tree trunk. He was definitely not in a cheerful mood judging by the grimace on his face. She watched for a while longer, the way he moved was swift but elegant; a warrior, that's what he was. It was unsettling, why was he so angry? Aelin snuck out from where she had been watching him.
"Boo!" she squealed as she jumped out in front of him. She still held her skirt up with an abundance of flowers. The warrior stood dead as he looked the little girl up and down. He had known she had been watching him as he practised and the thought that she had no idea made him grin.
"Gods you scared me." He said placing a hand to his chest for emphasis, Aelin giggled. His eyes were a beautiful emerald up close but there was a subtle sadness there, an unexplained emptiness that made her want to reach out to him; this unknown warrior.
"Would you like a flower." She gestured to her skirts and pulled out a pretty, purple daisy. The warrior stopped; the smile wiped off his face as he glanced at the flower as if it brought up something that he kept deep inside of him. Aelin hesitated, "Do flowers make you sneeze? My cousin doesn't like flowers because they make him sneeze."
It was a long moment before the male answered, "No I like flowers, thank you very much." He smiled again but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he took the flower from her small, dainty hands.
She blushed, "Can I put it in your hair?"
He chuckled, "Of course you can." He knelt down as she weaved the flower into his silver locks. Aelin marvelled at how silky his hair was and she wondered what he put in it to make it that way. She liked that he smelled nice, pine and snow. Most of the boys at home smelt horrific except Aedion of course.
"What's your name?" She asked as he stood up and collected his daggers from the tree trunk.
"Rowan. What's yours?" He glanced back at the little girl, Gods she was small compared to him and clearly no older than five years old.
"Aelin but my parents call me Fireheart." She said as she placed the flowers into a pile, smoothing out her pastel blue dress that made her turquoise eyes stand out. Rowan knew exactly who she was when she entered the clearing the rims of gold around the spheres labelling her as an Ashryver without a shred of doubt. Though he was a little confused as to what she was doing alone in the woods.
"Are you allowed to be here little princess?" He asked taking a fatherly tone he didn't realise he had.
She simply ignored his question with a simple nod before asking, "Why were you throwing the knives at the tree?" Her enquiring question made him chuckle.
"I was practising, you can never be too good." Aelin giggled again, she decided that she liked it when Rowan smiled.
"Can you teach me? I want to know how to fight like my cousin." Rowan chuckled once more as he watched the girl leaping through the air kicking and punching but stumble as she lost her footing in the thick undergrowth.
"I could maybe give you a few pointers."
They spent the next few hours together in the glen. Rowan teaching Aelin how to kick and punch without stumbling and Aelin – well she certainly like weaving flowers through his hair.
"You're my best friend Rowan." She finally stated as she thrust herself into his arms.
Rowan grinned as he traced circles up and down her back, "You're my best friend too," Aelin smirked which made Rowan roar with laughter. "Aren't you a sassy little thing?" She giggled again when she heard the crunching of the undergrowth grow closer and closer.
"Aelin!" Marion called out to her. She hadn't realised she had been gone for that long, the final sparks of the sun going out as it slipped below the horizon. Terrasen guards flooded the clearing eying Rowan up and down with hostile suspicion. Marion finally entered the clearing, tears streamed down her face in a wild panic. "Aelin." The sob came as she dragged the little princess into her arms. "Are you alright, you're not hurt?" Aelin hadn't seen the Lady this scared in her life and it unsettled her a little bit.
"I'm fine, I was playing with Rowan. He taught me how to kick and punch." She said pointing sweetly to the green-eyed warrior.
Marion lifted her eyes up to him in utter shock, "Thank you, I'm do apologize if she bothered you."
"Not at all, it was nice to meet a new friend." He winked at Aelin who giggled profusely.
"Thank you for watching her." She glanced down at the little princess before lifting her up into her arms. "Say goodbye to your new friend Aelin." She murmured into the little girl's ear.
Aelin rubbed her eyes, exhaustion finally creeping in as she waved to the warrior.
He smiled, "Goodbye Fireheart."
13 Years Later…
The explosion rattled the cells as the dreary slaves woke up to a start. The thunder drowned out the cries of the fearful people as the doors swung open. Celaena jumped to her feet from the lump of hay that she and twenty other people had been attempting to sleep in. Her chains dug into her wrists and ankles as she tried to untangle herself from the other prisoners. Celaena knew they weren't guards appearing for 'entertainment' for they had their minds set on her and only her.
"Well, I'm so glad I got to see this," Tern smirked as he motioned to his two other companions to sever her chains. The other slaves groaned as another weight released from them.
"How much time do we have before we're caught and strung up on the gallows?" She spat as the assassins through her two hunting knives and a couple of daggers.
"Eh, roughly five minutes, three if we decide to chat up any of the ladies," Mullin said gesturing to a particularly gaunt woman not much older then her. Celaena growled as she motioned to leave. Time was definitely of the essence.
"Gods you smell like bull, but at least they didn't take away your pretty face." Tern caressed her making her bare her teeth.
She pulled away in an aggressive motion, "Good to see you haven't changed much at all over the year. It was a pity that I didn't get as gangly as you." This time Tern bared his teeth as the others chuckled sauntering out of the cells and into the stormy night.
They had definitely wasted time and Celaena was furious as she cut down guard after guard. She wasn't as strong as she used to be, and it was clearly showing in her fighting, but her skill hadn't been lost. The thunder boomed again as they pushed up through the halls of the Governor's estate at the edge of the mines. This time she wasn't running to her death, she was running for her life. The alarms had been sounded and hundreds of guards were now on the prowl as they climbed onto the rooftops. The panels were slippery, but she managed to stay on as they scuttled across the roof. The assassins clung to the shadows, avoiding the remaining guards that flooded the grounds.
"The carriage is in the woods, just a few more yards," Harding said more to himself than anyone else as he heaved himself along the rooftop.
With quick procession they shimmied down the drain pipes where they met the flood of guards, blocking all exits. Shit. They really didn't think this through, they were wasting time. It was easy to kill, it was instinct. As she threw her dagger into the necks of unsuspecting soldiers, she gut the others with her hunting knives. Bodies surrounded the assassins as they slipped through the gate that they had opened before running into the woods. Endovier was on high alert as squads of guards flooded the town's local inns and woodlands.
As they approached the clearing panting and covered in mud and gore, Arobynn stepped out of the carriage.
His mask sealed into a smirk as he reached for her hand. "Hello darling, I sure as hell missed you."
Celaena went still, "Where were you a year ago." She spat as the man caressed her face before pulling her into a tight hug. She knew she was going to have to face him but not right now.
"Celaena, you do not understand how hard I tried to get you out and this was the night." He whispered in her ear before placing a gentle kiss on her neck. Her breath hitched and she winced as he touched her marred back.
"Don't I was flogged." The others sniggered as she pulled away from him, gritting her teeth.
Arobynn simply grinned, "My brave girl, let's go home."
Author note:
I've had this idea stashed away for a while. Please review it would greatly be appreciated. If you have any questions or suggestion on how the story is going to go, please private message me.
Thanks so much, Belle.
xoxox
