Author's note: Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful
reviews. I try to reply personally, but here's a quick note to those of you
who didn't give an email address.
Anonymous: With the amount of ideas I get a day, I can't write all of them, and I think it's reasonable to stop writing if people don't think one's very good. But since you do think this one's a good story, I'll keep it up. You don't need to worry about me enjoying writing, since that's never an issue.
ms.mistoffelees: I'm glad its one of your favourites, and if you like it that much I will make sure to keep writing.
And now a note for someone who isn't reviewing. Gemma, if you don't review, I'll tell Geff you don't want any more surprise parcels.
***
Two weeks. Fourteen days since his arrival here, plus however long that hellish journey had taken. Rion lay back on his bed and thought about it, while the rain beat against the windows. Two weeks. Would his mother still be crying? Would his father still be franticly yelling at the guards for not protecting him, but inside blaming himself? Would his sister still be asking why Ri wasn't coming to play any more? How long would it last before they began to rebuild their lives without him?
He had begun thinking in this depressing way and now couldn't stop himself. He kept telling himself that he would find some way to escape. Some way to get home. But another part of his mind kept insisting it was impossible.
Lightening tore violently across the sky outside, but between flashes the day was as dark as night. As dark as the situation seemed to be. Somehow when the sun was shining he was able to hope, but with the storm that raged outside all he's hope seemed drowned in despair. He had spent the morning with Mir as usual, but couldn't go out into the gardens in this weather.
As he lay there he heard soft footsteps outside his door, and knew it was Ari. He sat up as she entered. Her hair was tied back from her face, exposing the delicate arch of her slender neck. Rion stopped his thoughts before they wandered too far down that road. She seemed nervous about something.
"Rion," she asked, "do you swear not to kill me or try and hurt me?"
"What?"
"I need you to swear." Rion thought for a moment to see if he was being tricked, but couldn't think why she would want his oath. Finally he didn't to risk it.
"I swear," he said, "that I will not kill you, nor will I try to hurt you unless you should do something to hurt me first."
"Good enough," she laughed, and led him from the room. To his surprise, she didn't insist on him wearing the circlet. He guessed that something different was happening today.
The room she led him to was in a different direction to the rooms she had shown him the day before. As he stepped inside, he felt there was something strange about the floor. It seemed to give slightly as he walked on it. He soon realised it was made up of thin mats. Nothing much, but enough to soften a fall.
Along the walls of the large room were huge cupboards. In the centre of each wall was a door, one of which they had just come through, but where the others led Rion couldn't have guessed. Ari strode purposely towards a cupboard that looked no different that any of the others, but she unlocked it with a small key. Rion noticed that all the cupboards had locks, so probably held something valuable.
Or dangerous, he reassessed as he saw the contents of the cupboard Ari had opened. A rack of swords stood on the floor of the cupboard, and hung on the back wall were several elegant bows and quivers of arrows. She pulled a sword out of the rack and handed it to Rion. He knew before he drew it out of the sheath that it was his, simply by the weight of it in his hand. So light and elegant, its hilt shaped to fit perfectly in his hand.
Ari took out a sword of her own, and drew off the sheath. Her sword was as much a work of craftsmanship as Rion's. The blade was long and slender, the hilt guard shaped like a dragon, its head raised towards the hilt, the tale lowered towards the blade. And she held it with an ease that suggested she was used to wielding it.
"You see now why I needed your oath?" Ari asked, "I used to practice fighting with me sister, Lis, but since she left I've had no one and I'm worried I might lose my touch."
"I don't feel right fighting a girl," Rion said.
"Why? Afraid you'll lose?"
"Of course not! I just don't want to hurt you."
Ari laughed. "Let's fight." She strode into the centre of the room, and Rion followed, unsheathing his sword. They faced each other, and for a moment there was stillness.
Rion waited, letting Ari make the first move. She might not be able to block one of his blows, and he would wait to see her ability before he risked striking her. She brought her sword to his left side, but he blocked it easily, and the one on his right as well. Ari was testing his defences.
Rion brought his sword round in a blow to her side. There was a clash as Ari's sword met it, and in a swift move, she grabbed his right wrist with her free left hand and spun, bringing her elbow into Rion's stomach. Instinctively he doubled over, and while he was still off-balance, Ari hooked her leg round his and before he knew it Rion was flat on his back.
"I don't think you need worry about hurting me," Ari said with a laugh. Rion was on his feet in an instant. The blow to his stomach hadn't been hard, it had just winded him for a moment. He'd received far worse blows training with his father.
"We haven't finished yet," he said. This time Rion didn't hold anything back. The two fought fiercely until both were breathing heavily, but neither managed to breach the other's defences. While Rion was certainly the stronger, Ari was faster, and managed to block every strike almost before he had thought it.
"Ariessa!" At that cry of fury, both stopped, and turned to the door. Rion saw that Ari was trembling slightly as the king strode towards them, his soldiers following, and fear filled him as well. He was too shocked to resist as the king snatched his sword from his hand.
"Go to my study!" the king ordered Ari, and she fled, her sword falling to the ground as she did so. Rion stood alone before the king. His eyes dropped to the floor to avoid the angry gaze. As his body cooled, his sweat- soaked shirt froze him to the bone.
But the trembling wasn't just from the cold. He had promised Mir he wouldn't make the king angry. What would he do to them now? Rion knew that his limited freedom would be gone, and he would have no way to discover a route of escape. If he even survived until spring. The expression on the king's face suggested otherwise.
The few seconds that seemed an eternity stretched onwards and Rion stood before the furious king.
"Take him back to his room!" the king ordered at last. Instead of simply leading him away as he was becoming accustomed to, the soldiers seized Rion's arms in iron grips and marched him out. Rion heard the king say something to one of the soldiers, but it was said too softly for him to hear what it was.
***
Ari sat waiting in her father's study. She had managed to stop the trembling, but the truth was she would rather face Traag enraged than her father when he was like this. She should probably have asked his permission before taking Rion to the training room, but she knew he'd have said no, and she did want someone to practice with.
She heard the door open and then close softly. She knew the exact expression that would be on her father's face. The look of cold fury. There were times when he would lose his temper and yell, and she could handle those, it was when he was calm she worried.
She kept her eyes on the wooden surface of the desk as he crossed the room and sat down.
"Foolish child!" Ari didn't respond. She'd learned from experience that her father would say what he wanted, so she might as well listen to everything now and get it over with, hopefully he would see her silence as shame and be quicker to forgive.
"I gave you permission to show him more of the palace, not to hand a weapon to him! You may have forgotten he is a prisoner here, but I doubt he has! Do you not think he would gladly use a sword if he thought it could help him escape?"
"I made him swear not to hurt me," Ari responded.
"Do you know him well enough to know the value of his word?"
"I know he'd never break an oath," Ari said, meeting her father's eyes for the first time, and seeing concern there rather than the anger she had been expecting. "I've spent time with him, spoken to him. I know him to be honourable."
"I hope so, Ari. But I do not want you putting yourself at risk like this when you hardly know the boy. If you do anything that might put yourself or any other in danger, you will not be allowed to see him again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Father."
"Now go." Ari left gladly, and decided she would wait a day or two before visiting Rion again. She just hoped her father wouldn't decide to punish him for her mistake. He shouldn't do, since Rion hadn't done anything wrong, but her father was very protective of her.
She remembered something Lis had said once. He would protect them from going outside in case the sun burnt them or the wind chilled them, and he would protect them from staying inside least they began to fear the world outside. She missed Lis, with all her odd sayings and strange jokes. When would she be coming home?
***
Rion waited in his room. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they came to punish him. He could tell them that he'd not meant to hurt Ari, but he doubted they'd believe him. He'd been angry at being beaten by her, and that had made him fiercer than normal. If the king had seen that, there was no way he would believe him.
He wondered why Ari had taken him to the training room if she wasn't allowed to. Had she meant to get him into trouble? All the things Mir had said about her came back to him then. He didn't believe them. Ari was a kind girl, a little foolish at times, but Rion didn't seriously believe she'd do something to hurt him. Still there was some part of his mind, the part that trusted Mir most, that wanted to label Ari as nothing better than a spy.
At last he heard footsteps outside the door: purposeful and firm. He stood facing the door, waiting for whatever would come with all the dignity of a prince. He recognised the man who entered as one of the guards who had come with the king into the training room. Instead of summoning Rion out, he carefully shut the door. Rion was filled with curiosity, since the guard obviously had some set purpose, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what it was.
Then he learned. The guard turned towards him and pulled a knife out of a sheath at his side. Rion's first instinct was to step backwards, and he quickly raced through everything his father had told him about defence against knives.
As the guard lifted the knife to strike him, Rion darted forwards, seizing the man's wrist and twisting. The surprise made him drop the knife, but he pulled his hand free before Rion could do any serious damage.
Rion kicked the knife away, but the man struck him across the face and he stumbled into the bed. He was on his feet in an instant, facing his attacker. The man lunged again. Rion took advantage of the fact he was no longer so balanced, and dodged sideways, keeping one leg out. He caught the guard round the waist, and used his own weight to bring him over his hip and onto the ground.
While the man was on the ground, Rion turned and went for the knife. His hand was just wrapping around the hilt when the man jumped on him from behind. He hit the ground hard, releasing the knife, and gasping in pain as the man's weight pressed into his back. It took him an instant to recover, then he rolled sideways, throwing the man from his back.
He scrambled to his feet and looked at the man lying face down on the floor. He breathed heavily, tense and ready for the next strike, but the man would never strike again. As the moments passed and Rion's breathing calmed, a fear began to fill him. The man lay motionless.
Fearing some trick, Rion went to him. He slid his hands under the man's body and they were met with wetness. He rolled him onto his back, and saw the knife buried in the man's chest. The crimson staining his hands. And the man's eyes.
Staring lifelessly at him.
***
Author's note: I've tried to make the fight plausible, using some of the stuff I've learned in self-defence at school, but I'm not an expert so I hope you'll forgive any mistakes. Although it has been pointed out that I look scary when punching and kicking.
Anonymous: With the amount of ideas I get a day, I can't write all of them, and I think it's reasonable to stop writing if people don't think one's very good. But since you do think this one's a good story, I'll keep it up. You don't need to worry about me enjoying writing, since that's never an issue.
ms.mistoffelees: I'm glad its one of your favourites, and if you like it that much I will make sure to keep writing.
And now a note for someone who isn't reviewing. Gemma, if you don't review, I'll tell Geff you don't want any more surprise parcels.
***
Two weeks. Fourteen days since his arrival here, plus however long that hellish journey had taken. Rion lay back on his bed and thought about it, while the rain beat against the windows. Two weeks. Would his mother still be crying? Would his father still be franticly yelling at the guards for not protecting him, but inside blaming himself? Would his sister still be asking why Ri wasn't coming to play any more? How long would it last before they began to rebuild their lives without him?
He had begun thinking in this depressing way and now couldn't stop himself. He kept telling himself that he would find some way to escape. Some way to get home. But another part of his mind kept insisting it was impossible.
Lightening tore violently across the sky outside, but between flashes the day was as dark as night. As dark as the situation seemed to be. Somehow when the sun was shining he was able to hope, but with the storm that raged outside all he's hope seemed drowned in despair. He had spent the morning with Mir as usual, but couldn't go out into the gardens in this weather.
As he lay there he heard soft footsteps outside his door, and knew it was Ari. He sat up as she entered. Her hair was tied back from her face, exposing the delicate arch of her slender neck. Rion stopped his thoughts before they wandered too far down that road. She seemed nervous about something.
"Rion," she asked, "do you swear not to kill me or try and hurt me?"
"What?"
"I need you to swear." Rion thought for a moment to see if he was being tricked, but couldn't think why she would want his oath. Finally he didn't to risk it.
"I swear," he said, "that I will not kill you, nor will I try to hurt you unless you should do something to hurt me first."
"Good enough," she laughed, and led him from the room. To his surprise, she didn't insist on him wearing the circlet. He guessed that something different was happening today.
The room she led him to was in a different direction to the rooms she had shown him the day before. As he stepped inside, he felt there was something strange about the floor. It seemed to give slightly as he walked on it. He soon realised it was made up of thin mats. Nothing much, but enough to soften a fall.
Along the walls of the large room were huge cupboards. In the centre of each wall was a door, one of which they had just come through, but where the others led Rion couldn't have guessed. Ari strode purposely towards a cupboard that looked no different that any of the others, but she unlocked it with a small key. Rion noticed that all the cupboards had locks, so probably held something valuable.
Or dangerous, he reassessed as he saw the contents of the cupboard Ari had opened. A rack of swords stood on the floor of the cupboard, and hung on the back wall were several elegant bows and quivers of arrows. She pulled a sword out of the rack and handed it to Rion. He knew before he drew it out of the sheath that it was his, simply by the weight of it in his hand. So light and elegant, its hilt shaped to fit perfectly in his hand.
Ari took out a sword of her own, and drew off the sheath. Her sword was as much a work of craftsmanship as Rion's. The blade was long and slender, the hilt guard shaped like a dragon, its head raised towards the hilt, the tale lowered towards the blade. And she held it with an ease that suggested she was used to wielding it.
"You see now why I needed your oath?" Ari asked, "I used to practice fighting with me sister, Lis, but since she left I've had no one and I'm worried I might lose my touch."
"I don't feel right fighting a girl," Rion said.
"Why? Afraid you'll lose?"
"Of course not! I just don't want to hurt you."
Ari laughed. "Let's fight." She strode into the centre of the room, and Rion followed, unsheathing his sword. They faced each other, and for a moment there was stillness.
Rion waited, letting Ari make the first move. She might not be able to block one of his blows, and he would wait to see her ability before he risked striking her. She brought her sword to his left side, but he blocked it easily, and the one on his right as well. Ari was testing his defences.
Rion brought his sword round in a blow to her side. There was a clash as Ari's sword met it, and in a swift move, she grabbed his right wrist with her free left hand and spun, bringing her elbow into Rion's stomach. Instinctively he doubled over, and while he was still off-balance, Ari hooked her leg round his and before he knew it Rion was flat on his back.
"I don't think you need worry about hurting me," Ari said with a laugh. Rion was on his feet in an instant. The blow to his stomach hadn't been hard, it had just winded him for a moment. He'd received far worse blows training with his father.
"We haven't finished yet," he said. This time Rion didn't hold anything back. The two fought fiercely until both were breathing heavily, but neither managed to breach the other's defences. While Rion was certainly the stronger, Ari was faster, and managed to block every strike almost before he had thought it.
"Ariessa!" At that cry of fury, both stopped, and turned to the door. Rion saw that Ari was trembling slightly as the king strode towards them, his soldiers following, and fear filled him as well. He was too shocked to resist as the king snatched his sword from his hand.
"Go to my study!" the king ordered Ari, and she fled, her sword falling to the ground as she did so. Rion stood alone before the king. His eyes dropped to the floor to avoid the angry gaze. As his body cooled, his sweat- soaked shirt froze him to the bone.
But the trembling wasn't just from the cold. He had promised Mir he wouldn't make the king angry. What would he do to them now? Rion knew that his limited freedom would be gone, and he would have no way to discover a route of escape. If he even survived until spring. The expression on the king's face suggested otherwise.
The few seconds that seemed an eternity stretched onwards and Rion stood before the furious king.
"Take him back to his room!" the king ordered at last. Instead of simply leading him away as he was becoming accustomed to, the soldiers seized Rion's arms in iron grips and marched him out. Rion heard the king say something to one of the soldiers, but it was said too softly for him to hear what it was.
***
Ari sat waiting in her father's study. She had managed to stop the trembling, but the truth was she would rather face Traag enraged than her father when he was like this. She should probably have asked his permission before taking Rion to the training room, but she knew he'd have said no, and she did want someone to practice with.
She heard the door open and then close softly. She knew the exact expression that would be on her father's face. The look of cold fury. There were times when he would lose his temper and yell, and she could handle those, it was when he was calm she worried.
She kept her eyes on the wooden surface of the desk as he crossed the room and sat down.
"Foolish child!" Ari didn't respond. She'd learned from experience that her father would say what he wanted, so she might as well listen to everything now and get it over with, hopefully he would see her silence as shame and be quicker to forgive.
"I gave you permission to show him more of the palace, not to hand a weapon to him! You may have forgotten he is a prisoner here, but I doubt he has! Do you not think he would gladly use a sword if he thought it could help him escape?"
"I made him swear not to hurt me," Ari responded.
"Do you know him well enough to know the value of his word?"
"I know he'd never break an oath," Ari said, meeting her father's eyes for the first time, and seeing concern there rather than the anger she had been expecting. "I've spent time with him, spoken to him. I know him to be honourable."
"I hope so, Ari. But I do not want you putting yourself at risk like this when you hardly know the boy. If you do anything that might put yourself or any other in danger, you will not be allowed to see him again. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Father."
"Now go." Ari left gladly, and decided she would wait a day or two before visiting Rion again. She just hoped her father wouldn't decide to punish him for her mistake. He shouldn't do, since Rion hadn't done anything wrong, but her father was very protective of her.
She remembered something Lis had said once. He would protect them from going outside in case the sun burnt them or the wind chilled them, and he would protect them from staying inside least they began to fear the world outside. She missed Lis, with all her odd sayings and strange jokes. When would she be coming home?
***
Rion waited in his room. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they came to punish him. He could tell them that he'd not meant to hurt Ari, but he doubted they'd believe him. He'd been angry at being beaten by her, and that had made him fiercer than normal. If the king had seen that, there was no way he would believe him.
He wondered why Ari had taken him to the training room if she wasn't allowed to. Had she meant to get him into trouble? All the things Mir had said about her came back to him then. He didn't believe them. Ari was a kind girl, a little foolish at times, but Rion didn't seriously believe she'd do something to hurt him. Still there was some part of his mind, the part that trusted Mir most, that wanted to label Ari as nothing better than a spy.
At last he heard footsteps outside the door: purposeful and firm. He stood facing the door, waiting for whatever would come with all the dignity of a prince. He recognised the man who entered as one of the guards who had come with the king into the training room. Instead of summoning Rion out, he carefully shut the door. Rion was filled with curiosity, since the guard obviously had some set purpose, but he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what it was.
Then he learned. The guard turned towards him and pulled a knife out of a sheath at his side. Rion's first instinct was to step backwards, and he quickly raced through everything his father had told him about defence against knives.
As the guard lifted the knife to strike him, Rion darted forwards, seizing the man's wrist and twisting. The surprise made him drop the knife, but he pulled his hand free before Rion could do any serious damage.
Rion kicked the knife away, but the man struck him across the face and he stumbled into the bed. He was on his feet in an instant, facing his attacker. The man lunged again. Rion took advantage of the fact he was no longer so balanced, and dodged sideways, keeping one leg out. He caught the guard round the waist, and used his own weight to bring him over his hip and onto the ground.
While the man was on the ground, Rion turned and went for the knife. His hand was just wrapping around the hilt when the man jumped on him from behind. He hit the ground hard, releasing the knife, and gasping in pain as the man's weight pressed into his back. It took him an instant to recover, then he rolled sideways, throwing the man from his back.
He scrambled to his feet and looked at the man lying face down on the floor. He breathed heavily, tense and ready for the next strike, but the man would never strike again. As the moments passed and Rion's breathing calmed, a fear began to fill him. The man lay motionless.
Fearing some trick, Rion went to him. He slid his hands under the man's body and they were met with wetness. He rolled him onto his back, and saw the knife buried in the man's chest. The crimson staining his hands. And the man's eyes.
Staring lifelessly at him.
***
Author's note: I've tried to make the fight plausible, using some of the stuff I've learned in self-defence at school, but I'm not an expert so I hope you'll forgive any mistakes. Although it has been pointed out that I look scary when punching and kicking.