For all of the years I have lived gold and riches have meant little to me. What coins I held in my purse I worked hard to earn, serving my king until my bones creaked and my body struggled to hold its own weight. All too few understand the honor in creating wealth with your own two hands and choose to spend their lives clawing their bloody way to the top. They know nothing of what they squander just to feed their greed. Something like a valuable dye could blind a father of what he should have cherished, nurtured. Though I had known the girl for mere moments, I drew my blade without hesitation at the injustices that that man had dealt, and as his final breath left his lungs I knew that he had never deserved her.
Seven
The Wyld light always woke me up before I was ready to face the new day. A prince does not laze about in bed, however, so I stifled my sigh of protest and rolled over. The girl lying beside me sent a small jolt of shock down my spine until I recognized Rhynne's red hair spread across the pillow. Somehow, knowing her identity did little to calm me as I stared at the tangled locks shining in the light of the torches. Their purple glow seemed to fuse with the blood red to create a new color that was hard to tie down to one word. Like a river on fire.
She stirred gently, a sigh whistling from her lips as softly as a spring breeze. Even that small sound started the little ball of uneasiness in my chest to tighten. It had sat in his gut since the day they had set out from that insufferable mountain, and as time with her lengthened it seemed only to be growing more pronounced. It had not been so impossible to ignore until the day she had walked out of the bath. No. I cut that intruding thought from my mind before the image of her in that flimsy robe could swim to the surface again. Today was her first day of actual training, and it would be the first chance for her to try coexisting among the boys.
Rhynne shifted in her slumber a second time, a single word falling from her lips in a voice that cracked with pain.
"Mother."
Deciding that that was the final straw on the pile I reached over and shook her shoulder gently. There was no need for her to ever utter such a wretched sound.
She jumped visibly at my touch and opened her eyes wide. For a long moment she did not seem to register her surroundings until, finally, her icy gaze caught mine. A smile of recognition pulled her lips up in the corners, and the stone in my chest squeezed painfully. I found myself wishing not for the first time that she would stop looking at me as if I were a light in her sky.
"Good morning, farm girl." I said with controlled neutrality. The smile grew strained as she nodded slightly in response. I wondered how often Rhynne had her nightmares, then quickly decided that it was not my business.
"Did you sleep well, Arrus?" She asked in that husky voice of hers as she sat up and scratched her head. It never failed to surprise me how deep it was. The voice did not seem to come from her lips at all but rather somewhere deep in her chest, and when she said my name it was more a purr than a spoken word.
"Like a felled log." I answered her and turned away so that I would not have to be stared down by her any longer. The most unique of all her features, Rhynne's eyes unsettled me, and this morning was no different than any other.
"Did you manage to gather a bit more strength into those scrawny legs of yours?" I teased, attempting to lighten an atmosphere that seemed too thick to breathe in. Perhaps that was of my own creation, though.
Her glower burned into the back of my head as I stood and began to gather my armor together. Evidently, she did not deem the question worthy of an answer because she rustled her way out of the bed without speaking. I kept my back to her while she changed into her training gear. While she had been in her lecture the day before I had had several weeks of clothing brought to my room for her.
As Rhynne dressed silently I thought about the new scars that would forever mark her back and chest. Unbidden, the grim memory of her blood on my hands swam to the front of my mind, and I felt the hot anger rise in me. For my father to risk the life of even one Wielder at a time like this only made clearer the need for his succession. That he had caused such trauma to Rhynne in particular only stoked the coals of hatred in my stomach brighter.
"I'm ready." Rhynne said suddenly into the quiet room, her low voice cutting the almost tangible silence with the blade of a knife.
"Good. A little help, then?" I asked as I turned to face her. She looked enough of a boy to fool any stranger that laid eyes on her, but to my eyes her femininity shone forth as brightly as the morning sun. The curve of her neck, the pout of her lips, her eyes that seemed to see everything with the wonder of a newborn child; it all screamed woman so loudly that I too often found it a distraction.
"Of course!" She said brightly, relieved to be given a task with which she had grown familiar. Her hands were only slightly sluggish as she helped buckle each piece of the layered armor into place, and she hardly limped at all as she moved around me. My armor was no different than it was the day before, yet it felt a bit lighter today after being put on by such a person.
Just as the final piece clicked into place someone knocked on my door.
"Enter." I called, recognizing the single soft wrap anywhere. The doorman obeyed without a word and motioned towards Rhynne with poorly disguised distain. Lorn had always disliked those of lesser birth and had not the tact to pretend otherwise. It was a wonder that he had managed to continue on as the doorman for so many years.
"Your lesson starts in ten minutes, boy. I am to escort you." Lorn said in a voice that clearly indicated his opinion of his orders.
"That will not be necessary, doorman. I will escort her myself." I demanded coldly. This man lived as a thorn in my side since as far back as I could remember without a single exception, and to leave Rhynne alone with him even for a few minutes was not something I was about to allow.
"As you wish, your highness." The man said with a deep bow. I knew he would never refuse me something that would free him from work. In the next breath he was gone, and we were along once again.
"You don't have to keep protecting me, Arrus. I'm not about to do anything stupid." Rhynne spoke up. The indignation in her voice was enough to surprise me into looking at her.
"That wasn't my intention. I just don't like that weasel of a man." I explained, raising my hands in surrender. She had not been entirely off base, though.
"Hmph." She grunted in disbelief and gestured for me to lead the way. Seeing her treat me so casually made me chuckle, and without thinking I reached out to ruffle her hair. Ignoring the glare she sent my direction I quickly moved ahead and held the door open for her.
The walk to the training floor was slow. Rhynne, though well fed and rested, had not earned all of her strength yet. The fiery dragon of fury over the king's actions opened one crimson eye, but I quickly shut its cage before it could lift its head. I still did not totally understand exactly why I felt so much anger in the first place. I understood my feelings of indignation and frustration that all of our work to get her here had almost been in vain. Yet, these things had not come to mind until afterwards As the blade had begun to glow and pull itself out I looked up to see my father watching with eyes as blank as glass beads. In that instant I had wanted nothing more than to strike him down where he stood, and had I not been trying to stem the flow of Rhynne's blood I would have tried to.
"Ah! Rhyce! Your highness! Welcome, welcome! And Rhyce, do please join us upon the platform! How are you feeling today, lad? Less tired, yes? That old wound isn't still giving trouble is it? No? Good! Do hurry!" Norm called all of his jumbled greeting before we had even reached the platform. I hardly remembered most of the walk to the grounds, so engrossed had I been in my musing.
Rhynne cast me a nervous glance before obeying her instructor. Now was the time for me to take my leave, I knew, but a need to wait until she was standing ready among the others bolted my feet to the floor. When she had successfully climbed onto the platform my feet came lose and I was able to bow politely to Norm and turn to leave. Just before I reached the arched exit I looked back and immediately took notice of a boy standing to the left of the rest. The look on his face as he regarded Rhynne was one of more than mere dislike. For some reason the boy held a deep hatred for her, and he made no move to hide it. A shiver crawled over my skin at the after image of his expression while I made my way briskly back down the corridor. I would certainly need to watch him as time moved on.
At my chamber door I hesitated. There was little for me to do this early in the morning, and for a moment I considered catching a few more hours of sleep, but the pleasing idea was thoroughly dashed when the Seer's courier rounded the corner and greeted me with a deep curtsy.
"Your highness…" The girl murmured in what I was sure she believed to be a sensuous voice. It sounded more like a frog's mating call than anything that might appeal to me. The graceful way with which she performed her curtsy and the sly look she gave through her bangs reminded me quite too much of a snake.
"I assume your mistress has sent for me?" I asked curtly. I had no patience to wait for her to get around to it.
"Of course she has, but is that any way to speak to a lady?" The girl practically moaned at me and shifted her weight just enough to expose quite a lot of her bosom over the top of her corseted uniform. Bile soured the back of my throat at her lewd display.
"No, but I will make sure to speak properly when I meet one." I answered her smoothly as I stepped around her.
All but fleeing from the woman's presence, I quickly made my way down the corridor towards the Seer's greeting chamber. Why women felt that exposing themselves created the best chance of finding a husband was beyond my understanding. My brothers had never complained, of course, and each had at least four women they took to bed. Sometimes they did not even bother to take them to bed one at a time. I never saw the appeal in those tired out whores.
"Your highness." The Seer's voice cut into my thoughts. "I hope I am not interrupting your wanderings."
Once again, I found myself at my destination without recollection of having walked there. It would seem that my mind was not quite up to the task of thinking and focusing on my surroundings at the same time today. Hiding my embarrassment under my usual mask I turned and gave the woman a shallow bow of greeting. I hated to have to give her any courtesy after her cruelty, but protocol demanded it.
"Your courier mentioned that you were in need of my presence?" I asked as coolly as possible. I was not required to like her, after all. Just seeing her face and its inhumanly beautiful features sent gooseflesh down my arms.
"That is correct, your highness. Please, come in." The Seer said softly as she stepped out of the doorway she had been lurking in to let me pass. My slim hope that this might be a cordial visit vanished the moment my eyes fell on the man seated heavily on the Seer's couch.
"Hello, son." The king rumbled without rising to greet me properly.
"My king." I replied, bowing low. My nerves twitched in preparation for battle.
"My Seer has had a premonition." He began. My father had never been one to tiptoe around the subject at hand.
"What about, sire?" I asked, knowing that it must have had something to do with me.
"The boy you brought us."
He words surprised me, but I dared not allow it to show on my face, instead letting my features settle into the mask I had devoted a lifetime to perfecting.
"If it is about the boy, why call me here?" I inquired without inflection.
"He is to play a key role in the war to come. He may be the down fall or the up-lifting of this entire kingdom, and which outcome comes to pass depends entirely on how prepared he is for battle." The Seer answered in the king's stead. "He must be turned into a warrior beyond all others before the Ugran arrive. My Sight has allowed me to estimate at least six months' time before the main force of their army reaches the king's city."
"If your sight is so accurate, how can you not see the outcome of the war?" I asked sarcastically.
"I can only see what decisions have already been made. The outcome of the war is not set in stone." The Seer's eyes flashed warningly as she explained.
"Your brothers are not fighters, as you are." The king carried on as if his advisor and I were not a breath away from fighting. "They have grown fat and spoiled behind these walls. You are to take the boy as your squire, effective immediately."
Calling me different than my disgusting brothers was the biggest flattery my father had ever paid me, though I was sure he had not done so intentionally. Yet, a small flame of anxious anticipation lit up in my gut at the direction the conversation was turning.
"You want me to make an invincible warrior out of that tiny boy in only six months' time?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around such an enormous task.
"Of course not, or at least not on your own. Norm will teach the child everything he knows of Wielding. You will only serve to strengthen his body." The Seer explained. She spoke slowly, as one would to a child. Before I could let out a snide retort the king cleared his throat pointedly.
"There are many skills you can teach the boy here in the castle," My father began, shifting a bit in his seat and ignoring its moan of protest. "But nothing beats simple experience. You are to take him to the edge of Ugran lands and set him to clearing out the stragglers that dare come too close to the border. After, of course, he has learned everything he can from Norm."
"To the border?!" I exclaimed, my mask failing to hide my shock. "Have you gone mad, father? The trip alone is a week's travel, and once there he will surely be killed! You can't possibly think that such an idiotic decision would-"
Without warning the Seer moved, raising her hand faster than any human should have been able to, and gripped my throat mercilessly tight in her slender fingers.
Caught by surprise, I grabbed at her wrist and attempted to twist it free of me, but her grip held as firmly as a vice. Choking for air, I instinctively looked to my father for help, and he had indeed stood in anger, but the red in his eyes was directed at me rather than his subordinate. The king that was no father to any child walked heavily to stand before me while I continued to struggle. The Seer lifted me a few inches off the ground, further crushing my throat.
"You will not insult me again and live, Arrus." The king spat the words. I had pricked his pride, and that could not be easily forgiven.
A single black spot blossomed in my eyesight as my consciousness threatened to leave me.
"Release him." The king ordered curtly, and I was instantly dropped.
Gulping air greedily, I coughed hoarsely and looked up darkly at the Seer as she glided away from me gracefully. She could have been having a conversation about the weather for all that her face had changed during her assault. My throat burned with the heat of the sun as my breath rattled into lungs that felt half their size. I was still nursing my wounded pride at being so easily overpowered when the king spoke again.
"The boy goes to the border. He will come back seasoned and ready for war, and you and Sarj are to make sure that that happens."
"But why so far from where we need him most?" I managed to ask weakly. Honor demanded that I not flinch as the words cut their way out of my throat.
"If you must ask, then it is not your place to know." The Seer breezed with a humorless laugh. Her voice tinkled through the room like a dozen silver bells. I hated them both so entirely in that moment that my insides quaked to cut them down.
All my life my father had given me orders, and I had followed them without question. Never, in all my twenty-one years, had I been faced with orders that I did not agree with. Even I, in my hatred of him, had always believed him to be more tactful than this. Something extremely strange was going on here, but there was nothing I could do in this moment. To openly disobey the king was to have every Wielding warrior in the kingdom on my heels before the day's end, and that was a fight I knew all too well that I would not survive.
"As you say, Bostian." I said with a deep bow. To speak the king's name was a privilege only a royal held, but to do so was still a mark of great disrespect. His chest puffed up noticeably, but the Seer lifted a hand to stop him. Quite honestly, I had expected another attack at my insolence.
"The boy is to stay here for two of the six months so that he may learn what he can from Norm. Then the three of you will set out for the real training." She said with the finality of a dismissal.
I took my leave without a word, and once back in the hallway my thoughts were instantly in motion. What was that woman whispering into the king's ear? Surely only she could be behind such an unnecessary and risky plan. Nobody held the king's ear quite like she did, and she was certainly a slithering scorpion in the grass when it came to getting what she wanted from him.
"Your highness."
The Seer's courier broke into my thoughts. That was the second time today that I had been taken unaware by her. Taking in a calming, and painful, breath, I turned to greet her.
"What could you possibly wish of me now?" I asked her coldly. I did nothing to hide my intense disgust of her, making her visibly cringe away.
"My mistress would have you back in her offices. She wishes to speak to you once more before you go too far." She answered timidly. She lacked the courage for a second sexual advance, and I was grateful for it.
"We just spoke. What does she need of me now?" My injured voice cut the air as smoothly as my blade, and she shrank away from me.
"She did not say, sire. I only do as I am told."
"Very well" I finally conceded with a sigh. There was no point in taking out my anger on this loose woman. My throat continued to smother, and I knew that I would have dark bruises by morning.
"Thank you, your highness." She said, curtsied quickly, and then scurried away.
I had not tried overly hard to scare her, and almost found myself feeling bad for it. Then again, I was sure I looked quite the sight what with my neck bruising already and my face as white as fresh snow from stress. Still, I had gotten out of the conversation without having breasts thrust at my face, and I found that to be a blessing.
I had only gone a little ways when the courier had stopped me, and all too soon found myself back at her office door. My neck ached sharply, and I planned to repay her somehow for that attack. The immovable strength in her limbs had to have been the work of magick. No other force would allow such a slight wrist to withstand breaking under my weight.
At her spoken admittance I opened the door to find her standing alone. I found the absence of the king only mildly more pleasant, since there was still at least one beast still standing in the room with me. The silence in the room lengthened as she regarded me without expression, and I found myself growing angrier as each second ticked by.
"How is your neck?" She finally asked.
"What do you want from me, Seer?" I countered, done with being played around with.
"I have new orders for you and your freshly appointed squire." She said regally. My stomach tightened in anticipation of her next words.
"What about the king's first orders?" I asked, playing along.
"That fool is of no concern." The Seer said dismissively. Even knowing of her nature I was surprised to hear such treasonous words from her.
"What, then, would you have us do?"
"I plan for that girl to become more powerful than any Wielder before her. Your cowardly father fears revolution should her true power be unleashed, but I am not so naïve. I have told him time and again that he is wrong to believe that he can win under his own means, but he clings to his false might as a new born calf does its mother's tit." She answered in a voice that seemed to singe the air in its fury.
For all her words only a few danced in my ears and set my heart to beating. She had called Rhynne "that girl" and "her". How could she possibly have known? Surely, Rhynne was only obvious to my own eyes. I had taken every precaution, had gone far out of my way the day before to set up a plan for every scenario. I had promised myself that I would protect her from the fat king and his hag. What could I have done wrong?
"Calm yourself, warrior prince. You did not give anything away." The Seer said as if reading my mind. Suddenly aware again of my surroundings, I immediately shut down my facial expression.
"How did you know?" I demanded, my voice somehow not betraying all of my inner panic.
"I am a Seer, you fool! I knew of her gender from the very moment I Saw her!" She spat indignantly, and for the first time I caught a glimpse of the creature underneath her glamour. Her face seemed to waver for a brief moment, phasing into something alien, ugly, and very, very old, before settling back into the beauty that was the king's ear.
"As you say." I said. My heart beat loudly in fear that such a creature was pulling my father's strings. "Why bring her, then? Why allow me to hide her gender from the king?"
"Because I Saw her potential, who she may be and what she might become. An instant after a vision stronger than any I've had struck me, and I knew that she would be a major player in the future of this kingdom." The Seer explained. Her anger seemed to have lasted only that instant, and I cannot say that I was unhappy with its leaving.
"If all of this is true, what orders could you have of her?" I asked, trying to find the point in all of this.
"She is to learn all that she may from that buffoon Norm as well as receive combat training from you. When all of his knowledge has been passed to her, the three of you will travel to the deserts of the west and find the dragon that calls them home. Once there you will slaughter him and bring to me his heart."
As she spoke my thoughts flew in a dozen directions. Dragon? The beasts were killed off hundreds of years ago. Such creatures have since become no more than legends. I said as much out loud with some dignity.
"Do not believe all that a legend says, boy." She cautioned with a voice that allowed no room for interruption, "Dragons were a bane on this earth in their day, much as the Ugran and the Unseen are to us now. Man worked tirelessly for a way to kill them, and once the means was found in the Dragonbane weed they wiped them from the maps. At least that is what is told, but to those of us with the Sight there are truths that make themselves known whether we'd like them to or not."
The Seer's eyes began to drift off, as if she were looking through a window into somewhere far away from the room we stood in.
"A handful of eggs survived the genocide," She continued distantly, "and of them only two of the hatchlings yet live. The oldest, a fire breather that lives by the name of Torgin, hold in his heart the key to unlocking the girl's potential."
"You must get it for me." She said with conviction, her eyes suddenly snapping back to meet mine. "Then, and only then, can we ever be saved."
I shook my head at the overwhelming amount of absurdities.
"Our lives are not a fable! You can't spin a well-worded tale and expect us to go on some grand adventure with excitement in our hearts and pretty faeries in our heads! We are not your toys to play with!" I yelled at her. My façade had finally creaked, but I cared little to hold it up any longer.
"I speak to you only truth." She answered my raised voice by growing quieter. "This is what must be done. If you do not succeed and return with the beast's heart the kingdom falls. Of all that I have Seen, this is the only absolute."
"Bah!" I scoffed at her even as I registered the signs of sincerity in her voice. Dragons ere no more than faerie tale, but even if the wretched woman misunderstood what beast lay in wait I felt a growing sense of dread that her orders were the lesser of two evils.
"Why much Rhynne come with us?" I asked out of morbid curiosity.
"Ah…so her name is Rhynne." She said with a coy smile. I instantly regretted having spoken at all. "She much go because without her you will fail. She alone possesses the ability to 'slay the dragon', as the fables go. You and your partner are to go with her both to guide and protect her along the way. Do not allow her to die, do you understand? That is your order. She is to live at all cost."
"Fine." I said simply. My rage had died down to a dull roar by then, and I regained control of my expression.
"How long will she train here in the kingdom before we set out?"
I cared little that by agreeing to follow her orders I was directly disobeying the king's. Hers had reason behind them, if not a preposterous one, and even offered a slim chance that we might yet live to see old age. To allow that jiggling old fool to throw us all into certain death was to be the greatest fool, and I would not die in vain for him.
"You will leave after the two months the king specified in our previous conversation. To his eyes you must appear to be following his demand." She said with a raised eyebrow. I snorted rather than face the idiocy of my question.
"If that is all I would return to my chambers." I said even as I began backing towards the door.
"Farewell, prince. Tell Rhynne that she had my eyes Watching over her." The Seer called after me as I stepped into the hallway.
Her words had sounded like a threat.
Immediately, I set out towards the servant courters. Once there I pulled the nearest maid aside and instructed her to gather me the training armor of a squire, the necessary training weapons, and several sets of the squire's daily uniform. If I was to train Rhynne in combat I was going to do it the right way. By the time we left I planned to have already molded her into a fighter that would cause a man's boots to shake at her name.
It took only a few minutes for the maid to gather what I requested. Beckoning for her to follow me, we quickly made our way to my chambers where we set to work reorganizing the furniture in hopes of gaining more room for a second person. All but one of my bookshelves were taken down and their burden of literature packed away neatly. Then my desk and chair were moved to rest at the foot of my bed. As we worked together I became embarrassingly aware of how untidy I had become in the last few years. Twice we uncovered a long dead rat that had gotten itself trapped behind a shelf that had to be swept out before we could continue with our task
"It seems so much bigger now, your highness." The young girl said with an exhausted sigh. We had been working for hours by then and had only just finally finished.
I had to agree with her. The room felt positively barren without my usual clutter of books and scrolls. Now that they were gone and only one bookshelf sat by my bedside, I felt a sense of loss. Shaking off the feeling I turned and gave the girl one final task. Rhynne could not spend her nights in my bed indefinitely, and the idea of her doing so brought the ball of tension back to my chest as if it had never been gone. I ignored it. Now was not the time for solving mysteries.
With her new orders laid out the girl quickly left to find the small bed I had requested and the necessary people to help her bring it back with her. While I waited I sat on my own bed and pondered what the Seer had said. Now that my calm had fully returned it made sense to me that she would already know of Rhynne's gender. If she were truly gifted with Sight it would almost be impossible for her to have not known the truth. Why if had never occurred to me only served to make clear how little thought I put into what should be obvious. Even as I thought on that revelation I suddenly recalled her conversation with us in the maid's chamber the day before. The Seer had referred to Rhynne as "she" then as well, and I had simply not registered her words. Perhaps she had known that I would not and was toying with us the entire time.
The maid returned more quickly than I had hoped with a small, single person bed and two male assistants in tow. They quickly muscled the frame into the room and found a place for it against the right wall. Then came the straw stuffed mattress and sheets, which they tucked into place neatly. I nodded gratefully to them all as they finished and offered a shiny copper to the men before they left. The maid looked slightly disappointed until I placed a silver crown in her palm and smiled at her.
"You did much more than they did, girl. Did you think I would allow you to leave with the same payment?" I asked mildly before shooing her off. Her tearful sputtering of gratitude could be heard even after my door had shut behind her.
Glancing out the tiny window that had been found, much to my surprise, behind the tallest of my bookshelves I noted the sinking sun on the horizon. Somehow, there was still time left in the day. It felt as if much longer had passed since I had left Rhynne for her training. It would be about time for them to be wrapping it up now I estimated before heading towards the training platform.
Cries of frustration and pain could be heard long before I reached the arched entrance of the grounds. Feeling as if this were not quite suited to what Norm had said they would be training to do I quickened my pace and completed they final fifty yards in a light jog. What I saw on the platform was at first confusing.
The boys were gathered in a circle too tightly packed to see what was going on. It was not until I noticed a very nervous Norm shifting from foot to foot beside them that I realized that I had been right to worry. In the same moment the Wielder glanced over and met my gaze and was running to me madly in the next.
"Your highness! Thank goodness! You must stop them, yes? You can do that, won't you? I can't, you see, might hurt them both in the process. You're stronger than this old body, yes, much stronger. Please! Stop this ridiculous play!" The old man rattled off in rising panic.
"What is happening?" I asked him firmly.
"The older one, Greggory, he started picking on the new boy. Stopped it right away, no problem! Lesson went on as usual! They are such fast learners, some of them! I do say it's because of my amazing teaching techni-"
"What happened to start this, Norm?" I interrupted impatiently. If I did not keep the old man on track he might never get around to explaining.
"Ah! Yes! Sorry! Greggory, he started it up again when I wasn't looking. The new boy, Rhyce? Yes, Rhyce! He ignored the other boy, but then Gregory said something right nasty to the new boy about his mother! Should have seen his response! Red in the face and on top of the boy faster than anything I've seen! They've been fighting like heathens since! Good ten minutes now! I dare say they're quite evenly matched, what with the elder's size and the other's speed. I think they-"
I tuned the talkative old Wielder out at that point and had eyes only for the cloud of dust in the center of the ring. Stepping onto the platform I all but threw the boys out of my way. In the middle of the group Rhynne and the boy I had noticed glaring before were wrestling fiercely for control. Just as I stepped forward the larger boy gained the upper hand as Rhynne's defenses gave way to his sheer strength. The boy reached into his pocket while she struggled uselessly and produced a small dagger. This boy planned to kill her in front of us all! Just as I drew my sword to stop him a shout rang out across the entire clearing with all the booming power of a thunder clap, and Rhynne's would be murderer was thrown fifteen feet to land with a sickening crunch onto the stone seating that ran around the walls.
Confused and on guard I turned and hurried to Rhynne's side. She seemed disoriented but did not have any broken bones that I could feel as I checked her arms and face. She lay still, painting heavily, while she allowed me to check her for serious wounds. Her nose was bleeding from one nostril, though it did not appear as if the cartilage had been lastingly damaged, her left eye was already purpling and swollen, and her lip trickled blood down her chin from being torn open at one point. All of this, I was relieved to see, was only cosmetic damage that would heal quickly enough with the right potions and a good night of rest. A heavy relief stole the strength from my limbs as my borderline irrational fears left me. She was safe.
"How did you do that? Why, that boy has a broken leg! You threw him so far! Did you Wield? Such a movement of magick could have killed you, lad!" Norm broke into the circle at last, already rambling excitedly.
"That's enough, Norm. He has been shaken up enough I'd think. Have the boy that started this put in the stocks for a week, but not before I have words with him about proper respect and how it is to be shown to his comrades." I spoke softly, without inflection, knowing that if I let even a fraction of my rage out I would slay the boy where he lay.
Knowing that my limit of self-control was quickly drawing near I gathered Rhynne in my arms and turned to the boys standing behind me. One look at my face and they were scrambling to get out of the way. I did not stop walking until we had reached my chambers. Once there I laid Rhynne down on her new bed and started pacing in an effort to calm down.
"Arrus." She called weakly after some time had passed. Her voice was thick with exhaustion, and I immediately went to her side.
"I will call a maid to clean your face and treat your bruises. The healer can have you feeling as if it never happened by tomorrow." I said stiffly. Alone with her I had no reason to hide myself anymore. I felt as if a final stone had been placed on my already overladen back and that I was about to break cleanly in two.
"No," She said, reaching out to grip my hand firmly. Her touch was warm and sweaty. "I will bear my bruises as a reminder that I am not to be trifled with lightly."
"What did you do back there?" I asked to avoid arguing with her. I knew that once her eyebrows had set into that line that there would be no dissuading her.
"I don't know…" She said with some fear in her voice, "It just sort of…came out of me. I saw his knife, and I could only think how much I wanted him to just go away. This enormous sort of pressure had been building up in the back of my skull the whole fight, and when I thought that it just burst out of my throat all at once. Then he was gone, just as I had wanted him to be."
"I see…" I murmured. It was all I could do not to check her for broken bones again.
"I'm so tired now…" She said weakly. As I looked on the color drained from her face like water down a mountain.
"Then sleep, farm girl." I whispered in what I hoped was a soothing voice. I had not finished the words before her eyes were closed.
As it had so many times since I first met her, her fragility hit me hard as I watched her sleeping face. From the moment I had first laid eyes on her she seemed to carry a weariness on her shoulders. Now she looked even worse, as if she had just fought an Ugran bare-handed and somehow lived to tell the tale. I knew then, listening to her breath as it rushed in and out of her slightly opened mouth that I would do all in my power to keep this girl alive into adulthood. For all her strike and loss she deserved it.
Wide awake and just beginning to calm down I paced the room for a while before finally giving up and pulling my desk chair out to sit down. If I was going to be up all night it seemed rational to do some reading, but I never quite made it to the table. Instead I ended up against the wall beside Rhynne's headboard feeling not quite sure how I had managed to get there. Still, it would seem strange to get back up again, I decided.
Mumbling wordlessly to herself Rhynne shifted just enough to cause a wayward lock of hair to fall into her eyes, and I stretched out my right hand immediately to brush it away. Seemingly of their own accord my fingers lingered on her forehead. Her skin was softer than I would have guessed it to be, and I watched my hand move down her temple to cup her face with the fascination one might feel watching a snake poise itself to strike. My thumb found the already drying streak of blood below her lower lip and stroked it away once, twice, before I suddenly recognized the extremely intimate way in which I was, for lack of a better word, caressing her.
It was all I could do to pull my hand back to my lap without acting as if I had just been burned. Rhynne slumbered on obliviously, and I stoop quickly from my seat feeling as if I had just stolen some innocence from her. My fingers tingled from her touch and continued to do so long into the night as I lay restlessly in bed.
When I finally succumb to the darkness of sleep in the wee hours of the next morning it was unrelentingly plagued by nightmares.