Training

Shara's POV

Last night's dinner had been a massive welcoming feast in honour of my sisters and me. It had been fairly uneventful and it had permitted me to get to bed at a half decent time. I had told my maid to wake me up a bit before the ridiculous time that I was to start my lessons and she just stared at me like I was going crazy. I know it sounds odd for me to wish being awaken before dawn but, I told her that I wanted to explore the castle before everyone woke up.

She dressed me in a pretty little pale blue dress that looked nice on me but was comfortable. She did my hair in a simple bun with a pale blue ribbon tied around it to keep it looking neat. As for my face, I wouldn't let her do anything. I didn't want to have to put face paint on everyday so I just would only put it on for important days or feasts. Besides, face paint was fair expensive and I would rather buy dresses and new tack for my horse then face paint.

After a quick breakfast I hurried down the hall as silent as a ghost. I was soon in front of Lord Rahl's private apartment. I looked at the guard to give him a warning look before I knocked the door. I really didn't want any rumours starting up just yet. I would rather they not start at all but I knew that eventually they would start. Lord Rahl opens the door and smiles a bit of a pleased smile. I hurry in without hesitation or salutation. I would wait till we were inside the warded room of his private rooms to say anything.

"Good morning Miss Shara" he said softly as he tested the warding on his rooms.

"Morning Lord Rahl" I say in a similar tone.

Once he was pleased with his warding he turned to look at me and took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly.

"What?" I ask self consciously

"Oh nothing, I just forgot how pretty you are my dove" he said looking away from me and at the books still on the table.

He stepped forward and he picked up the smallest of the pile. "We'll start with this one for now. It's all basic stuff so we'll be done it in no time" he said presenting the book to me.

I grabbed the book carefully. I felt the leather of its cover for a moment before I opened it carefully. On the first page it read:

Basic Magic for Girls

"Ha-ha" I say somewhat sarcastically. In a way I was interested to find out if there was a spell to make me gorgeous without effort or with face paint, or if there was at least a spell to do my hair for me.

"I thought it would be beneficial and also good place to start seeing as all those spells use the bare minimum amount of magic." He replied in a joking tone after he chuckled at my sarcasm.

I flip the page and scan the index. There are lots of spells that would be very useful if I didn't have a cook or a maid but I would surely make myself know them all. You never knew when you would get lost and need some way of cooking food.

"We'll start at the first and go through as many as we can today. I'll let you off after lunch, if you are good, so you can go and explore the castle or do whatever you want." He said in an assertive voice.

I look at the first spell and read it over quickly. It is a simple lifting spell but I've tried this sort of stuff and I have never been very good. I don't know what he expects of me but I'll have to try. He passes me a glass paper weight and I start to get a bit nervous. I don't want to brake it and if I do as well as I normally do when I attempt to lift objects, then the paper weight will smash into a hundred pieces before either of us could catch it.

"Relax" he said before he motioned for me to try.

I tried to relax before I muttered the word that would make the heavy glass orb hopefully float in the air. The paper weight slowly rose a few inches from my palm and it hovered there. It went up a bit as I willed it a few inches higher but it kept dropping half of the height it climbed.

"Relax" he said again but this time I felt his hand on my shoulder.

My heart fluttered momentarily and the paper weight dropped an inch before I felt my whole being relax as if by spell. The paper weight listened to me when I told it to rise and soon it was hovering over my head without any signs of dropping. I smiled like a six year old with a new pony. I let the paper weight drop into my hand after a few seconds of hovering at my height.

I turn to hand him back his paper weight but realise that he is a lot closer than I thought he was. I shy away like a frightened filly and I place the paper weight on the table in front of us. "That was amazing" I say softly not turning to look at him. I don't want him to see the deep blush that found its way to my cheeks.

"All you have to do is relax and you can do anything you want. You don't need to worry about anything here, nobody will harm you or tease you" he said after clearing he voice. He was obviously feeling to effects of out close contact too. "On to the next spell now" he said after taking a few steps away.

*~*~*~*

It was long past lunch when we finally stopped our lessons. I had learned so much but now I was famished and exhausted. I felt weak because I should be able to do all of these spells without tiring at all but I guessed that I would just have to build up my endurance gradually. We were mostly through the first book already and I was sitting back on one of the leather couches resting before I would walk around the palace ground for a bit.

Rahl got one of the guards to bring in a bit of a lunch in for us. I was all too happy to get food in my hungry body. I ate my share of the meal almost too fast but I really didn't care. I didn't mind sitting there sipping at my lemonade looking around the king's private sitting room. There were lots of books in here but I was sure that he must have his own library somewhere.

"That was a very good morning, Shara. We made more progress then I hoped that we would" he said once we sat there sipping his wine.

"I wouldn't have gotten near as far without your help my lord" I say looking at him for a minute before dropping my eyes quickly

"Please, don't call me that. I wouldn't mind it from any other mouth but I can't help but wince when you call me my lord. I am sure that we will become quite familiar over the course of your studies so why not start calling me Rahl now?" he said in a slightly pained voice.

I didn't mean to harm him by being polite but of course I'll call him Rahl if that is what he wishes me to call him. "If it pleases you my lo- Rahl, if it pleases you Rahl" I say. It sounds odd in my ears but I guess if it makes him happy it will make me happy too.

"It pleases me greatly" came his soft reply. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that so I stayed silent and acted like I didn't hear him. He was staring at me again but by now I am sort of used to it. I guess that he is testing my magic or thinking and not really staring at my face. I just let myself stare up at the ceiling as I let my mind drift.