Ilona sped across the meadow with the single-mindedness of one on a mission. She ran silently, her nose to the ground. Then she heard them. Her ears pricked up at the sound of her pack. She had spent a long time searching for them, and now she had finally found them. She tilted back her head and howled in response before she raced forward, even faster than she had before. She would no longer be a lone wolf. She would be safe.
As she crested the hill that overlooked the meadow she could see shapes pulsing in the darkness– wolf shapes.
Her ears pricking up she raced down towards them. Her tail wagged in anticipation as she skidded to a halt at the bottom of the hill. One of the wolves barreled towards her and playfully knocked into her side. She had bared her teeth at him and whirled around to join in the game when she froze. The scents of the other wolves came to her on the breeze and her hackles raised as she realized that this was not her pack.
The male wolf besides her prodded her gently in the shoulder with his nose. Ilona whined in response, backing away from the strange pack of wolves that were moving closer. The male turned to join them, racing into their ranks and then looking expectantly back at her. No. Ilona turned and quickly sped away from the group of wolves her paws barely touching the ground in her haste. Behind her she could hear the forlorn howl of the male wolf.
No. Ilona was back in the meadow. Alone. She used her superior senses to check to see if she had been followed by the other pack, but she had not been. Relaxing somewhat, the fur along her back flattened. Then another howl tore through the night. Her pack! No. She had been fooled before. Torn, Ilona threw back her head and howled forlornly into the night sky.
Ilona woke at the sound of the key being turned in the lock of her prison. She shot upright, tumbling out of the bed and turning to face whoever was coming in to bother her. Despite the glamour of curls and navy that he seemed persistent to keep up around her, Ilona could see the Captain through it. "I trust you slept we-e-e-ell?" the last word came out a sigh as always. His misshapen tongue kept getting in the way of his talking. Ilona nodded slowly, trying hard not to see through his glamour. She preferred the visage of the man with the watery eyes to the Captain's real face. "Good." he said, his face contorting into what she had finally figured out to be a smile. "The Prince awaits."
"I'm ready," Ilona replied squaring her shoulders and following the Captain down the hallway. Ilona was lost by about the third turn, but that was good, she figured. Ilona didn't want to know her way around here.
They stopped in a large room. A fire burned on the far end and there was a small group of people inside. Two of them were locked in combat, while the rest stood about watching appreciatively. Ilona stopped just inside the door, watching as the blades danced. It was then that she realized she recognized the one foil. It was not the same color as the others and she knew the man wielding it. She stiffened as she realized it was the Prince. So, he was warming up? Or was this a full fledged match.
She watched the fight and her stomach sunk through the floor. The Prince had taught her everything she knew. How could she ever expect to beat him? Defeat seemed imminent and then she noticed that one of the shapes was more familiar than the others. Varco stood in the small crowd that was watching the Prince and his opponent. He was here! Beyond all reason her heart soared. He had taught her a lot. Perhaps with the knowledge Varco had imparted to her, she did stand a chance.
She moved forward but the Captain held out a bloody hand barring her path. He didn't speak, but the gesture told her to wait and so she backed away and waited.
It did not take much longer for the match to be over. Ilona wasn't sure how long they had been going at it, but when the Prince was finally victorious he and the other man stepped forward to shake hands and there was some low murmuring that Ilona couldn't make out. Then the Prince turned towards her.
"Ah, Ilona," he greeted her as the Captain finally let her move forward. She moved past the Captain, showing she was coming forward of her own free will. "Have you thought on the matter of our agreement and wish to change it?" he asked with a lazy smile. So that was why he'd fought the first duel. It was a theatric intended to scare her. Well, it wouldn't work. Ilona thrust her chin forward defiantly.
"Afraid I'll win?" Ilona asked, but inside she had the nagging wonder if this was a good idea or not. But Varco had not warned her against what she was doing. He'd actually seemed rather impressed that she'd dared to do so.
The Prince laughed and before long the rest of the room had joined him. "Give the girl a sword," he said at last. "And watch men," he smirked, "you might learn something."
The man who had been dueling before stepped over to Ilona and handed her his sword. There was no emotion on his face, but there was something sparkling in his eyes. Taking the sword in her hand, Ilona turned towards the prince. He was watching her intently, sizing her up, and Ilona realized they hadn't dueled in a long time. Well, then, she had the element of surprise. Perhaps this would go better than she had hoped.
They took their positions across from each other and saluted before moving into the en garde position. "Very good Ilona," the Prince said in such a belittling fashion it made the girl bristle. "What else do you remember?"
Ilona stopped herself from responding as she watched him waiting for him to move. Still, a grunt escaped her throat and the Prince smiled mockingly at her. "Been spending too much time with the simple soldiers dear Ilona? Why, I remember you used to be quite eloquent before you slept in the dirt with the dogs," he was baiting her.
He was baiting her and she fell for it. Rage flashed in Ilona's eyes and she attacked. The prince held her off with a clash of silver. The onlookers watched as the pair moved gracefully across the floor. It was clear to everyone watching that he was playing with her. He blocked her quick and angry attacks with ease.
Soon the girl was panting her short hair plastered to her forehead with sweat. The Prince smirked at her as he advanced and began his own attacks. "Ilona, have you forgotten everything I taught you?" she swung her sword to clang against his frantically at the last moment distracted by his words and her own exhaustion. "Well, I suppose we'll have to start right back at the basics," the Prince made a disappointed clucking sound with his tongue.
Ilona would have none of this. She lunged forward with a new ferocity and the clang of swords became more incessant as the battle raged further. The crowd was clearly impressed and trying to hide it. None of them, however, were rooting for the girl to win. They were curious to see how long this fight would go on for though. If this girl had been handpicked by the Prince she had to be something special.
The girl was tiring and the Prince knew it. It wasn't long before she made a wrong step, her sword flew from her hand with a clatter onto the floor. She froze instantly and glanced down. The tip of the Prince's blade was resting right above her heart. Had this been to the death she would be dead. Her gaze smoldered as she drew it up to look at the Prince. He was grinning in a lazy fashion that clearly stated he had won, like he'd known he was going to, no questions asked. The blade moved from her heart to her throat.
"On your knees child," he commanded. Someone had come forward and taken the sword from the ground near her, or at least she couldn't find it. Though, a sword wouldn't make much of a difference now anyway, would it? Ilona paused for barely a moment before she sank to her knees. She had failed. She had failed everyone and as soon as that sunk in she was overwhelmed with terrible sorrow. Ilona was not one to cry, but tears formed in her eyes and threatened to spill.
The Prince was leaning over her. His sword was resting gently on her shoulder as though he was still under the impression he needed something to reign her in and his free hand gripped her other shoulder rougher than she was sure he needed to. "Say it." he ordered.
There was a lump in Ilona's throat. She tried to swallow past it so her words would come out strong, clear and defiant, but all she managed was a whimper of a child's voice. "I swear loyalty to you," she said. The grip tightened and she felt his gaze on her. He expected more. "For as long as I live," she continued hesitantly. "I shall do as you command."
She felt him smile, too afraid to look up, and the grip on her shoulder lightened. Then there was the tingling sensation. It ran first down her arm and then across her shoulders and to every tip of her. It was an odd sensation that Ilona could find no parallel for but it made her feel incredibly alive like that time Varco had shared his powers with her. Her senses seemed heightened. She felt she could hear a pin drop from a mile away during a thunderstorm even if she really couldn't. She gasped, nostrils flaring and glanced up at the Prince.
"Yes, Ilona," he whispered. "There are many benefits to being in my favor," the smirk softened before he straightened and handed his sword to someone else. "Now, you shall begin your training. Clearly, you need quite a bit of it if that was the best you can do."
To go from extreme sadness to sudden anger is a more natural progression than one would like to think. Ilona's disappointment in herself was easily channeled into a rage and she leapt to her feet glaring at the Prince. "I will observe your training," he informed her lazily as he walked off the training ground and through a cleared path.
The Captain walked towards her and Ilona had to try not to stare at his blood-slick hand. Was he taking her back to her room? He picked up a sword and looked at her expectantly. Ilona tried not to cringe as his misshapen mouth tried to work out how to say, "We have a lot of work to do."
Ilona nodded and received her own practice sword, trying hard not to glance at the Prince where he sat observing the spectacle with clear amusement on his face. As the Captain gave her directions Ilona did not notice that the majority of the crowd departed leaving her, the Captain, the Prince and a few chosen guards.