1
"You can't do this, Heyna." Cole Blackstar shifted uncomfortably. "You're going to get in trouble."
"I'm climbing a tree, Cole. And anyway, I'm almost nine. I just want to see what's on the other side of the wall." Heyna Blackstar reached for another branch, and pulled herself up with a grunt.
"Father told us to stay out of trouble."
"We're not getting in trouble, we're just… Exploring."
Cole tugged on her foot. "Come on, Heyna. We're going to miss that meeting. Just give up already. We've been over the wall before."
Heyna wished her twin was a little more adventurous and a little less reasonable.
"Fine. But we're coming back tomorrow."
"Maybe you are, not me."
"Don't you want to know just a little bit?"
"No. Heyna, you can't just run through life without stopping to look at the little things. I love exploring, but your exploring gets us in trouble all the time. Slow down a little bit."
Heyna slid the last couple of inches down the tree trunk, and squinted at her brother. "Are you sure you're eight?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Cause' you sound like a poet."
2
It wasn't fair.
All Heyna had done for as long as she could remember was learn courtly manners. Now all she wanted to do was run a foot race with some other bucks her age.
"You can't." The red buck who stood only inches taller than her smirked. "You're a girl."
"That's not a reason, Lockson." She packed as much contempt into the name as she could. "That's a statement." At thirteen, Lockson was loud and proud and thought he owned the world. One year older than she was. He didn't even belong here. This was Kingston. He was supposed to be at Blackstone.
"Maybe," Lockson's smirk now took up half of his face. "But I still said no."
"You can't tell me what to do."
"Who's going to let you, if not me?" The last comment was pure spite.
Heyna growled. She wanted to punch him, the idiot deserved it. But then she thought of how disappointed her mother would be. Don't, Heyna. She could almost hear Cole. He's not worth it. She took a deep breath, and spun on her heel, heading for the gardens. She almost always felt calmer there.
You can't. Lockson's words echoed. You can't.
3
"You can't ask for combat training for your fourteenth birthday, Heyna." Heyna's best friend, Minerva, was shaking her head at her. "You might as well be asking for the moon."
"Who says?" Heyna shot back. "He might say yes."
"Lord Blackstar is plenty of things, and unreasonable isn't one of them. If he gives you combat training, you'll scare away every suitor for fifty miles."
"I know."
"You really don't want to even meet any of them? I'd be on cloud nine if I were you."
Heyna sighed. "Mini, when you marry, I'll be so happy for you. But the differance is you want to get married. I don't."
"You just can't make things easy for me, can you?"
k
4
"You can't stay in there all day, Heyna!"
"I'm reading, Cole. Go away."
"But Lord Rake is coming soon."
"But I just got the new Harry Potter."
"But Emma is coming too."
"But I'm not done with The Penderwicks."
"But–Oh, never mind. Anyway, Dad says hurry up."
"Okay."
Silence.
"Heyna?"
More silence.
"Heyna, stop climbing out the window."
"How did you know? I stuffed a towel in the keyhole this time."
"I'm your brother. I know things."
5
"You can't hide every time something upsets you, Heyna, Dear. You're almost sixteen." The back corner of Heyna's closet was dark, but not soundproof. Heyna swiped a hand across her eyes, and sniffled.
"I can't face him now, mother. I'll die."
"I've done things a thousand times more embarrassing than tripping over my dress in front of a suitor."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. Come out and I'll tell you about it."
Acutely aware of how very childlike she was acting, Heyna crawled out of the closet, and sat down next to her mother. Lady Blackstar was splendid in all of her beauty, just as she always was, but in this moment, there was a sort of motherly glow about her. Heyna looked at her eagerly, and Mother smiled back.
"Once, I was so very distracted by something one of my suitors was telling me that I walked straight into the path of a garden hose."
A small smile crept across Heyna's face.
"Another time, I tripped into a pond, actually."
A giggle.
"And the single most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me happened while I was courting your father. I was feeding your Aunt Colleen, she was just an infant, then. I gave her a spoonful of mashed carrots, and thirty seconds later, it was all over me."
Laughter.
"Do you feel quite confident enough to come back now?"
"Yes, Mother. And I'll be sure not to trip again."
Plus 1
Mother was gone. Gone. Heyna couldn't process it. There was no way. Away in the distance, a clock struck three, and it sounded just like her thoughts.
Wrong.
Wrong.
Wrong.
She couldn't cry. She'd already cried enough. She'd ask Father again. The combat training he'd wisely refused for every birthday. She walked slowly down the hall to his study, memories following her like shadows. The door was open, and she closed it as she stepped inside. Lord Blackstar's elbows rested on his desk, his face in his hands. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, and rested her cheek on his shoulder.
"Now, Father?" Her voice was a gentle whisper. Lord Blackstar looked up, and nodded, while smiling wearily. He kissed her forehead, and whispered back.
"Of course you can."
