by R. C. Reigh
The scene flickered in the torchlight. My eyes fixated on the giant beast at the painting's center. I reached out and traced a finger over the outline of the deep gray fur on his neck. Taking a step back, I stared into the amber-colored eyes of the ferocious wolf leaping through the air toward the goblin invader. Its focus was so intent on its duty.
For the first time in my life, I wondered what his story might be, and I looked at him not just as the wolf who saved my father’s life that day, but as a person. A person like Cora, brave and valiant, willing to put themselves in danger to help others.
A knotting sensation balled in my chest as I wondered what he might look like in his human form and what had led his desire to join in the battle that day. Was there a family he had needed to protect? Maybe he had just possessed a strong feeling of allegiance or duty to his kin and country. I was ashamed to say that for so long, I had only ever seen the beast when in truth, there was so much more to him than just some mindless warrior.
I sighed. There was so much I didn’t know.
One thing was for certain, though. It became a whole lot harder to hate them when you realized they were just as human as you are on the inside.
******
I made my way up the stone steps of the stadium, passing rows and rows of students crammed onto wooden benches. Venders were calling out, selling snacks and kingdom favors.
When I reached the right section, Cora spotted me.
“Well, look who it is.” My cousin rose to her feet as I shuffled past a few other students closer to the end of the aisle. “Finally decided to pull your head out of your butt, huh?” she snickered as she pulled me in for a hug.
I laughed and couldn’t help but to hug her just as tightly back. I had missed this.
“You should know I’ve agreed to sit with Dane. If that’s not ok, there is still time to run away.”
A tingle of anxiety crossed my shoulders, but I fought back the immediate urge to bolt. Instead, I tucked my skirt under my legs and sat down on the seat next to her. There was a sense of pride in her eyes as she returned my nervous smile.
“Well, I’m glad that’s your decision, because here he comes.” She lifted her chin toward the aisle behind me.
I turned to see the prince working his way down the steps toward our row. When our eyes met, a brilliant grin exploded across his face. I couldn’t help but smile back.
Maybe this would turn out better than I expected.
DANE
She was here. She looked like a vision with her long golden hair braided down one side over her shoulder. Like always, seeing her was like losing a breath of air. I could hardly believe that Cora had somehow managed to convince her to join us.
I made my way past the other students to the girls. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, I took the seat on the opposite side of Cora. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on what had turned into a delicate situation.
“I haven’t been following what is on the agenda for this evening's events,” Amelia said guiltily, chewing the inside of her lip.
“It’s a general skill tournament. Mostly single participant events like archery, ax throwing, and foot races. The group events like capture the crown and tug of war are scheduled for tomorrow,” Cora explained as she gazed out over the setup in the stadium field below.
“Sounds like it will be an interesting evening.” Amelia smiled. “How much have I missed?”
She glanced down at her schedule before those gorgeous hazel eyes turned toward me.
Time to not sound like an idiot.
“Your timing couldn’t be more perfect, princess. They just started the break between the first and second bouts.” I smiled back. She looked pleased by my answer.
I didn’t know what it was about Amelia that was different, but for once she seemed like she genuinely wanted to be here. Maybe it was because Cora was there to make her more comfortable. Whatever it was, I liked it.
“Princess Amelia,” Professor Sophorus called from the steps at the end of the row. “Prince Daneatious, Lady Cora.” He nodded his head toward us in greeting, as well.
“Professor Sophorus.” Amelia gave him a friendly wave before she turned to us. “Excuse me. I need a moment to talk to the professor about one of the students I am mentoring. I’ll be right back.”
Just great. Things are finally going well and a professor calls her away. I shot a nervous glance at Cora, who didn’t seem to think anything of it.
“Do you think she will find an excuse to leave?” I asked hesitantly as I watched Amelia laugh at something the professor had said.
“No,” Cora shook her head. “I think she’ll stick around.”
I was relieved by her confidence.
“I hope so,” I replied. “I’ve never had to put so much effort into something before. I was beginning to worry I’d have to make another deal with Kessara. . .” I trailed off. Did I seriously just say that? “I just mean resort to desperate measures,” I chuckled, trying not to sound nervous. Cora had this way of making me feel too comfortable around her and it was proving to be a definite weakness. “I was just kidding.”
Cora smiled and nodded.
“I get what you mean. Good thing it doesn’t seem like you will need to. It seems as if she’s finally coming out of her shell around you,” Cora said before taking a swig of her canteen.
The warning bell signaled that the next bout would begin shortly and I could only pray to the gods that it would be enough to not revisit my slip-up in conversation.
I tried to play it cool as Cora looked down at her schedule, but the moment her piercing blue eyes looked back up at me, I knew I was in trouble.
Cora
“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I shot Dane my best don’t- give-me-any-BS look, “did you make a deal with Kessara to make Amelia fall for you?” I hated having to even utter the accusation, but it needed to be said.
His head dipped as his attention fell to the row below us.
Oh, gods. . . had he really?
“No,” he finally replied.
“But you just said you made a deal with her? Come on, Dane, did you honestly think I’d let that go?” I tried to keep the hiss in my voice to a whisper.
His teeth scraped over his lower lip, and he squinted out toward the field. Not a good sign.
“I made a deal with her several weeks ago and she helped me, but it wasn’t to make Amelia fall in love with me.” He turned and looked at me as he spoke. I wanted to believe him, and Amelia sure didn’t seem to be acting like she was under any kind of love spell. In fact, she had been acting exactly as I had expected her to after what she’d been through. I had no doubt in my mind that if he had made a deal with Kessara, she would be able to make good on it.
“What did you make a deal with her about then?” I demanded, knowing full and well that I had no right to ask him that question. For all I knew the deal could have been about an issue in his kingdom or to help him in a tournament.
“I can’t tell you. It’s a stipulation of the contract. But, I promise, Cora, it wasn’t that,” his tone conveyed sincerity.
I stared him down a few minutes before I sighed.
“Ok. I trust you.” Or, at least I trusted that he wouldn’t do anything to hurt Amelia.
“Thank you,” he replied.
There was an awkward silence between us.
“Kessara isn’t really as bad as everyone thinks,” I added in her defense. I hadn’t spent nearly as much time with Lady Kessara as I had with Amelia or Dane, but there was a level of understanding and trust between us that had become important to me.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Dane raised a skeptical brow before his eyes shifted past me.
He just couldn’t keep those honey eyes from wandering toward Amelia. It was almost as if they were magnetized to her position. Man, did he have it bad. The corner of my lips hooked up in a smile.
“Any advice?” Dane asked.
To the rest of the world,
Dane was confident, bold, strong, and yes, even arrogant. But when it came to Amelia, his weakness and desperation were pretty obvious.
“Why, Prince of Carpathia, vanquisher of goblins, vampires, and all creatures of evil, are you nervous?” I couldn’t help but tease.
“More nervous than facing a coliseum full of rabid Trolls,” he sighed.
“Oh. That is pretty darn nervous.” Holding back a cringe, I patted his shoulder. Maybe I should be nervous, too? There was so much riding on this and he couldn’t afford to screw it up. Time for a pep talk.
“Well, you’d better pull it together, prince, because she may not give you another chance.”
His gaze swung to me with a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes.
“No one has ever spoken to me the way you do before.” His response wasn’t angry or agitated, rather, he seemed more impressed by my petulance than anything.
“I’m not ‘no one,’” I shot back at him. “I’m the one thing helping you to get the girl of your dreams. I think I am entitled to a little snark every now and again.” I gave him a playful wink.
His eyes went gentle and he smiled.
“You’re a good friend, Cora.” He nodded at me in a sign of respect, and by gods, I was certain he meant it.
“Damn right.” I smiled back at him.
His eyes flicked upwards as the sound of footsteps approached us. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned.
Amelia pointed up near the top of the stadium, where a broad-shouldered dragon prince was lip-locked with a Fae from Lorenia, exchanging an intense amount of tongue.
“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that your date to the dance tomorrow night?” She frowned as she slipped into the seat next to us.
A surge of anger rushed over me and I balled my fists so tight my nails nearly broke the skin of my palm.
It sure as heck was.
DANE
The sight of the tiny-but-mighty Cora marching right up to that dragon prince, the heir to the throne of Dragonia, no less, and landing a fist full of her fury into his face was probably the most fantastic thing I had witnessed in a really long time. The dragon hadn’t been expecting her to pack that kind of power and he stumbled back, completely caught off guard before Cora simply turned and walked away.
Shock and laughter erupted from Amelia and me.
“Well, that was entirely unexpected. Should you go after her?” I asked when the stitches of laughter subsided.
Amelia looked at me nervously, having only just noticed that in the absence of Cora, we were alone, but she recovered her composure quickly.
“More like entirely expected. No, it’s better to let her cool down. I’m sure she will come back in a little while.”
The princess’s mannerisms were now burdened with subtle hints of shyness.
I nodded and looked down at my tournament flyer. As much as I enjoyed having Cora around, I really hoped she didn’t come back. The idea of having some time alone with a cordial Amelia was exciting. Plus, I didn’t want Cora to press anymore about my deal with Kessara at present.
The announcements for the start of the bouts began.
I wanted to turn to look at her so bad, but I had to play it cool. Her smell was so alluring. Surprisingly, it took some restraint to keep myself from leaning over and touching her hair.
“Who are you rooting for?” Amelia asked as she looked at the schedule.
“Both Ivan and Ellis are competing. They have my first votes.” I replied, pretending to also read the schedule that I had already committed to memory. “Anyone from Avonlee I should be looking out for?” I asked her to keep the conversation going.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. There may be a few, but this Fae, Sir Far-fen-noogle from Lorenia, certainly has my attention. I definitely need to see the guy with a title that unusual.”
“Sir Farfenoogle? What a name. It’s so awful it’s tragic.”
We both chuckled.
“I bet you he owns it, though,” Amelia suggested as the herald announced the first bout of archery was to begin.
“With a name like that, you’d have to,” I replied and glanced back down at my sheet. “Looks like we will have to wait a while to find out, though. Javelin throwing is not scheduled until later this evening.”
We watched the first three rounds of archery until it was down to four archers. My friend Ivan from Carpathia, a human boy from Alstare, and two Fae girls from Lorenia.
I looked over to see Amelia nearly perched on the edge of the bench, intently focused on the match. I wondered if I should ask her to accompany me to the dance the following evening. Cora had been trying for weeks to get her to commit to attending, and while I had definitely wanted to ask her to join me, I honestly didn’t know if I had it in me to face another one of her rejections. Maybe now she would be open to the idea.
“Your emissary is up next,” Amelia said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Still smiling and focused on the field, she sat up a bit straighter to get the best view of Ivan’s shot. At least Amelia seemed to be enjoying herself. I turned my attention back to the stadium, feeling guilty for having been distracted. Ivan deserved my support.
Ivan pulled back his bow and released. With a whoosh, the arrow flew straight to the target, hitting dead center. I let out a whoop of excitement. Ivan had won! There had never been any doubt in my mind when it came to his capability.
Amelia looked at me with excitement in her eyes.
“Congratulations, Carpathia!” She applauded as I waved and cheered down to Ivan. The grin on his face was contagious. I couldn’t have been more proud if I had won the event myself.
“Thank you, princess.” I beamed. “I had better get down there and congratulate him in person,” I replied as the archers filed off the field and the cheers started to die down.
“Of course.”
She nodded her head as if to say farewell, but I quickly added,
“Would you like to come with me? Maybe we could take a short walk afterward and see if we might be able to find Cora?” I was entirely prepared for her to brush me off as usual, but hey, what was one more time, right?
She peeked up at me from under those long lashes and smiled.
“Sure,” she replied sweetly, then rose to her feet, completely unaware that my heart had just nearly flip-flopped right out of my chest.
Amelia
“I’m curious as to why the two of you didn’t participate in this weekend’s events?” I inquired, as Dane and I headed toward the stadium exit. We had spent several minutes sharing our congratulations to his emissary, Ivan, and the way Dane beamed over his friend's victory had me wondering why someone with skills such as his own had refrained from the competition.
“We decided to focus on the Challenge of Champions. It didn’t seem worth it to risk injury for something like this. Besides, it gives other Avoleeans and Carpathians a chance to show their skills instead of us just dominating. It will be good for morale and relations.” His deep peppery tone was friendly as he explained. I wasn’t sure why, but there was something about the way he said ’we’ that didn’t sit right with me.
“That is smart and a really good decision,” I replied, forcing a smile. It made sense, but I should have been the one making those kinds of decisions. It was then that I realized just how many of my responsibilities Cora had taken over while I was refusing to have anything to do with the wolves and Dane. Gods, I had been acting like a brat.
“Thank you.” His lips turned up at the compliment. “We thought so, too. I am glad you approve.”
There it was again, that ’we’.
I tried to hide my look of guilt and disappointment.
“Is there something wrong, princess?” A genuine look of concern spread across his handsome features.
“I guess I’m just feeling guilty that I’ve left so much of this to the two of you. As princess and the steward of Avonlee here at the Bastion, I really should have made it a priority to be involved in these
kinds of decisions.”
“Well, if you have taken interest now, you will have to be part of the future ones.” Dane was attempting to reassure me that my opinion was valued and I appreciated that.
We walked along the path as the sun sank low on the skyline. I couldn’t help but notice how the light played off of his face, accentuating his attractive features and the light stubble along his strong, chiseled jaw. The gentle, crisp breeze wafted his heady mountain scent toward me, stirring up reminiscent thoughts of piney woods.
I’d never really taken the time to really look at him before. Sure, I had noticed he was handsome, it was hard not to, but I had spent so much time avoiding him that I had never really taken it in.
So when his attention swung up from the path to me, I quickly looked away, hoping he hadn’t noticed.
DANE
Amelia was so lovely when she smiled. I wished it had been like this from the beginning. We had spent several minutes making small talk and enjoying our walk together during the break in the games. When we were about halfway to the tower dormitories and academic area of the Bastion, we stopped by one of the small lakes. Almost as soon as Amelia sat down on a wooden bench near the water, a note fluttered to her hand.
“It’s from Cora.” She looked up to me as she unfolded it and read for a few moments. “She’s returned to our quarters.”
I nodded. It appeared as if my luck had just run out.
“Oh, alright then. Would you like me to walk you back to your tower?” I rubbed at the back of my neck as I waited for her reply.
She chewed at her lip as she reread the note.
“Honestly, I was really hoping to see if Sir Farfenoogle’s javelin throw was as on point as they say,” she said, unable to stifle her amusement.
She was making a joke. Amelia of Avonlee was joking. . . with me. My heart was racing again. The corner of my lip hooked up in a smile.
