Princess Triumvirate

by Catherine Banks

  Chapter Four

  Since our vacation had not gone as planned, it didn’t bother me too much that we ended it early. Jared was waiting outside when we arrived at the barn and dismounted. I thought maybe I was in trouble for something, but he nodded at Finn and said, “We need to talk.”

  Finn kissed my cheek as he walked by and followed Jared into the castle.

  I took my time brushing Duke down and then Twist, since Finn was busy. After I put their tack away I fed them each two carrots and an apple, which they both appreciated.

  “What could that be about?” I wondered aloud.

  “Maybe he is challenging him to another duel since he lost the last one,” Natalie said.

  I spun around and wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’ve missed you!”

  She hugged me back and said, “I’ve missed you as well. You never seem to have time to visit the fields anymore.”

  She pouted at me and I tugged her hand. “Come to my room. I have a gift for you.”

  “Is it that handsome man you went on that trip with?”

  She was talking about Eric. I laughed loudly. “No.”

  “Dang.”

  Natalie followed me inside, giggling about her crush on Eric, but we both clammed up when we stepped inside and Eric was there talking with Esmeralda.

  “Hello, Natalie,” Esmeralda greeted her. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you.”

  Natalie curtsied. “Afternoon, Your Majesty.”

  “Natalie this is Eric. Eric, this is Tilia’s friend, Natalie.” Esmeralda introduced them.

  Eric took Natalie’s hand and kissed the back of it. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Natalie.”

  She curtsied and said, “I’m honored that you remember me.”

  Esmeralda winked at me and I held in my laugh. She must have figured out that Natalie liked Eric.

  “I’m taking Natalie up to get the souvenir I have for her,” I explained.

  “You should stay and join us for dinner,” Esmeralda offered to Natalie.

  “Thank you. I would love to,” Natalie agreed.

  I took her hand again and dragged her away from Eric and up the stairs to my room.

  She flopped backwards onto my bed and sighed loudly. “I can die happy now.”

  I laughed at her and took out the gift I had, which was inside a small box.

  She sat up and opened the box I handed her. Her eyes widened and she gasped, “I can’t take this.”

  I took out the pearl necklace I had made while sailing with Finn and put it on her. “I found these pearls on an island and made this just for you.”

  “It’s gorgeous!” she touched it gingerly like it might break.

  “I’m glad that you like it.”

  “Like it? I love it!” she yelled and hugged me tightly.

  “Well hopefully you will forgive me for my long absences. I am leaving tomorrow on another mission and I do not know how long I will be gone this time.”

  “Have you started planning your wedding?” she asked.

  “No, I have not had time.”

  “You are as bad as the King,” she teased me.

  I sat on the edge of my bed and said, “Does it make me a bad person to be excited and terrified about getting married at the same time?”

  She sat next to me and patted my leg. “I believe many women feel that way. At least you are a royal in Crilan, where you get to choose your suitor.”

  Something about the way she said that made me turn to her. “What do you mean?” I asked softly.

  She shrugged. “There are other Kingdoms that make their royalty marry a royal from another Kingdom for treaties or whatever other stupid political reasons there are. And a few where father’s basically sell their daughters to the highest bidder.”

  I had heard of arranged marriages for royalty, but not the latter one. “Where do they sell their daughters?” I asked.

  “I don’t remember, but I know it happens,” she said and then plastered a great big smile on her face. “Can we go watch the recruits training?”

  She loved to watch people fighting and sparring, but refused to let me teach her to fight.

  “Sure,” I agreed.

  We skipped down the stairs smiling the whole time, but I couldn’t forget what she had said. Did that happen in Crilan? I thought I had heard them discussing a law banning that, but I didn’t pay too much attention to their political discussions. I would have to ask Esmeralda later.

  The arena was filled with the sounds of clashing swords and I felt my heart speed up at the thought of fighting. I needed to find more time for practicing, especially now that Faxon didn’t need me for magic lessons anymore.

  After we found our seats atop the fence of the arena, I looked out over the new recruits. Half of this batch were women, which was abnormal, but a nice surprise.

  Today I was shocked to discover that Riley was instructing them. Why was he here?

  He walked over to me and bowed. “Princess.”

  “Hello, Riley,” I greeted him with a smile.

  “How are you this day?” he asked. He was smiling, but I could see the edges of his eyes were pinched. What had happened between us? He said he had helped me, but I didn’t remember anything about it.

  “I’m well. Commander Riley, this is my friend Natalie.”

  He bowed to her. “A pleasure to meet the Princess’ friend.”

  “There are quite a few women in this batch,” I commented.

  He turned and surveyed the recruits who were sparring with a sword and shield. “Yes, it seems that many have been inspired by the feats of the Queen and the Princess,” he told me without turning around to face me.

  “I hardly think I’ve accomplished feats,” I mumbled. No one knew about me killing Marquez and saving the Kingdom.

  “You claimed a Kingdom,” one of the women in the arena said, stopping her sparring to look at me. She was tall, thin, and had amazingly thick black hair.

  “Oh, that. Right,” I said with a grimace. I had forgotten about killing what had been left of Trian’s royal family after they tried to kill us with chimeras.

  “And you cut the King,” another girl, this one short and petite with two silver earrings in her left ear.

  “That she did, but she hasn’t defeated me yet,” Jared said as he entered the arena. Everyone bowed to him and he waved them up. “No need to bow.”

  “I may not have defeated you, but my fiancé has,” I teased him.

  He turned and glared at me. “You are not him. Now, hop down here,” he ordered me.

  “Kick his butt,” Natalie cheered as I walked towards him.

  Riley took my spot on the fence next to Natalie and began whispering to her. What was he talking to her about?

  “Recruits, take a break,” Riley ordered them.

  “So, what will my lesson be today?” I asked Jared as I stretched out my legs and arms.

  He walked around the arena, looking at the sand and then at the recruits. He stopped when he came back around to me and asked, “What do you struggle with the most?”

  Not having magic. I didn’t really have something I struggled with aside from specific weapons. “I guess certain weapons,” I admitted.

  “She’s never used an ax,” Finn told Jared from the fence.

  I hadn’t seen him arrive, but if he had been moving fast, then that was not surprising.

  “Axes, huh?” Jared asked.

  “And spears,” I said.

  “She’s also terrible with bows and arrows,” Natalie told them.

  I turned and gaped at her. “Hey!”

  She shrugged. “You are.”

  “Good, okay. Well, I think your new lessons will be to learn how to use these weapons to their fullest capabilities,” Jared said.

  “And my lesson today?” I asked. He hadn’t brought me out here to talk. I knew Jared. He wanted to fight and I had a feeling that he didn’t want to fight Finn right now.

  “No lesson, just sparring,
” he said with a shake of his head.

  I drew the Dragon’s Tooth and waited for him. He drew his sword and bowed to me. I returned the bow and then stood at the ready. He was fast, not as fast as Finn, but faster than me. If I had any hope of defeating him I would have to watch for his tell, the movement that gave away his next move.

  “No holding back,” he ordered me.

  “Never,” I agreed.

  He rushed me and I blocked his strike with my sword and danced away before his leg could connect with my shin. He smiled and I lunged forward, extending the Dragon’s Tooth as far as I could. He deflected it easily, but it gave me a chance to move closer and invade his personal space. I punched his stomach, but he expected it and tightened his stomach muscles to absorb the blow. He swung at my head with an open palm and I ducked down, too late, I realized that he was forcing me low so he could kick me. His knee clipped my jaw as I rolled away from him and up to my feet.

  “You’ve gotten faster,” he complimented me.

  “Sparring with Finn does that,” I replied.

  Jared attacked and the speed and number of hits forced me to release my mind and free my body. It felt like time slowed as we hit, blocked, and struck each other again and again. There was nothing, but Jared and I and the sound of our fighting and breathing. It felt like an eternity had past and yet only a matter of seconds at the same time.

  Jared’s fist connected with my jaw at the same time that my heel hit his shin, which made his hit weaker. It still hurt and I stumbled back a step before resuming our fight. I didn’t know if the recruits were talking, or if Natalie was cheering, or whether Finn was still there or not, but I didn’t care. I loved this!

  Sweat dripped down my back and gathered beneath my hairline. I felt more alive in these moments than I had since Marquez’ attack. I smiled at Jared and he returned my smile, knowing that we shared a love for this adrenaline and ecstasy.

  Faster than I wanted, I felt my body slowing. My breathing was rapid and my heart was pounding faster than normal. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. What was wrong with me?

  I stumbled forward and Jared stopped his punch in the nick of time, almost smashing my nose with his fist. “Tilia?” he asked with concern.

  “Submit,” I told him and tried to smile.

  “You’ve really improved,” he told me proudly.

  “Thanks,” I whispered as I headed towards the edge of the ring.

  “That was amazing,” Riley commented. “You’re incredible, Princess.”

  I wanted to respond to him, but my focus was wavering. The dizziness made the fence swirl around in front of me and I wasn’t sure where the ground was anymore.

  I tried to take deep breaths to ease the feeling. I tried to focus on Jared in front of me to assure myself that I was not actually spinning in circles. Nothing worked. I gasped for air, but my lungs felt as though they had shrunk.

  “FAXON!” Jared yelled loudly.

  Finn grabbed my shoulders to keep me upright, but his touched burned and I screamed in pain.

  Faxon appeared in front of me, but his face changed and he didn’t look like Faxon. His face was different and his eyes were the color of cognac. He said something, but I didn’t hear him. My body felt like it was on fire inside and out.

  “Tilia!” Natalie yelled fearfully.

  Faxon, but not Faxon, reached for me and the fear consumed me. I felt my eyes roll up into the back of my head and then I felt nothing.

  I dreamed about the cognac-eyed man. We were in a stairway in Drimla and he was whispering to me. He told me he would see me soon and I wouldn’t have Faxon to save me. He touched me and put something in my head. Who was he? Why was I dreaming about this man?

  The dream dissipated, but I still could not wake up. What had happened to me? Had this man put something in my head?

  I dreamed about Finn and watched him fight Carlos the Crusher again. I felt warm hands on my face, but it wasn’t Finn. The dream changed to one about Faxon. He was bowing to me and asking for forgiveness for failing me. Then he had me pinned on a bed on the ship we sailed on when we attacked Drimla. “He will pay for the pain he caused you. You mean too much to me. I love you.” He took a ring from my finger and then the dream shattered.

  I woke up gasping for breath and looked at my naked hand. I remembered now. He had given me a ring for my birthday, one that let me communicate with him. Where was it? Was the dream real? Had he taken it from me?

  I looked around and got my bearings. I was in the healing room. Finn was asleep in a chair next to the bed I was on, snoring softly. Had he stayed with me while I was unconscious?

  Faxon was on the other side of my bed, sleeping in a chair as well. He looked incredibly peaceful as he slept. I wished that he could look this way more often. He had so much to deal with and it wasn’t fair to him. I reached out towards him, but when I touched his hand something shocked me.

  “Ow!” I yelped.

  He opened his eyes and I sighed with relief that they were not cognac eyes. “You’re awake.”

  “How long was I out?” I asked softly, trying not to wake Finn.

  “A week,” he whispered. He stood up and waved his hand from my head to my feet as he examined me with his magic. “Everything appears normal again.”

  “Faxon,” I whispered, “Why did you erase my memory?”

  He froze and I couldn’t tell if he was even breathing. “What?”

  “I dreamed about him and you. I saw you take the ring and use a spell to erase my memory.”

  “It was the easiest way to protect you,” he told me.

  “Why did you take my ring?” I asked.

  “To protect you.”

  “From what?”

  “From him.”

  “Who is he?”

  “We don’t talk about him,” he told me. “Just know that he is a dangerous man from my past.”

  “How does taking the ring protect me?” He wasn’t making any sense.

  “As a Seer, I have several abilities. One of which is being able to sense who created an object, like the ring. He knew you were special to me because he knew that I had made that ring for you. If you hadn’t had the ring, he would never have known.”

  “He said he was going to play with me even before he used his power to look at me. He was going to hurt me before he even knew you were there,” I assured him.

  “He hurt you and used that spell on you because he discovered I made you that ring. If you had not been wearing it, then he would have toyed with you, but not to that extent. He wanted to hurt me by making you terrified of me.”

  “You fixed me,” I reminded him.

  “Only because I was able to remove your memory and in the process remove the thing he planted in you.”

  “The thing in my head?” I guessed.

  “How’d you know that?” he asked me.

  “I dreamed about there being something in my head.”

  He narrowed his eyes at me and then the tickling sensation covered me as he looked at me with his power.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him nervously.

  “You shouldn’t have been able to see that. Normally that’s only something people with powers like mine can do.”

  “I don’t have magic, remember?” I growled at him.

  “Are you mad at me?” he asked after he stopped his inspection.

  “A little, but you did what you thought was best and I’m glad that I hadn’t continued to be scared of you and Esmeralda.”

  “I’m sorry, Tilia.”

  “Can I have my ring back?” I asked him.

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t work without your magic.”

  “I was afraid of that,” I admitted to him with a sigh.

  He hugged me tightly and whispered, “I am so sorry.”

  “Stop apologizing. You didn’t do this, he did. By the way, why did I have that weird attack?”

  “He had another small piece in your head that I didn’t see the first time.”r />
  “Are there any more?” I asked nervously.

  He shook his head. “No, I thoroughly inspected you, as did Esmeralda.”

  “Do I still get to go to Judby with you?” I asked softly.

  He laughed and kissed my cheek as he stepped back. “Yes.”

  “What’s going on?” Finn asked as he woke up. He stretched with his eyes closed, but once they opened and he saw me he leapt up out of the chair and hugged me tightly. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m perfect,” I assured him.

  “I was terrified,” he whispered. “I couldn’t do anything and you…”

  I patted his back and whispered, “I’m fine, Finn. All better.”

  “I’m going to go update Esmeralda and Jared. They’re out doing drills with the new recruits,” Faxon informed us as he walked towards the exit. “I’m glad that you’re better.”

  “Thank you,” I told him sincerely.

  He bowed and then left.

  “Something is different about him,” Finn whispered to me.

  “He’s afraid,” I realized softly. “He never got close to anyone, aside from Esmeralda and Jared, and he’s realized that even with all of his powers, something still happened to me that was out of his control. He doesn’t like it. He is afraid that he won’t be able to protect me again or that I’ll be killed by his enemy.”

  “What enemy?” Finn asked and picked me up. He carried me out of the room and down the hallway towards the stairs and to my bedroom.

  “I don’t know. He was the one who attacked us in Drimla. Faxon knows him, but he won’t tell me how.”

  “Are you really okay?” he asked and looked at me with eyes full of concern.

  I set my hand on his cheek and said, “I am. I feel better than ever.”

  He pushed open my door and then kicked it closed behind him. “You scared me,” he snarled and kissed me.

  I leaned back from the kiss and said, “It wasn’t exactly a picnic for me either.”

  He tossed me on the bed and then pinned me with my hands above my head and his legs on the outside of mine. “You slept for an entire week,” he told me. “I think you were faking it.”

  I knew he was teasing me and I smirked at him. “Maybe I just needed some time away from you.”