Sybil Deceived

by Catherine Banks

  “Have you not eaten Princess?” he asked as he opened the door.

  I rubbed my grumbling stomach. “Not yet today.”

  The building took up a large expanse and held many long tables and benches where warriors ate and talked. They all stood up from their seats and then bowed to me. “Please sit down and eat,” I said with my princess smile.

  Gerard led me to an open spot at a table and patted the seat. “I’ll get you some food.”

  “What brings you here?” one of the men asked.

  There were many responses to that question. Charles insulting me had sent me up to the mountain while Gerard’s group practicing near Grandpa had actually caused me to come to the training grounds. Instead I answered, “I’ve decided I need to understand more about you warriors.”

  “There you go,” Gerard said as he set a plate of food in front of me.

  “It looks delicious,” I said honestly as I took a bite. “Oh, it’s even better than it looks.”

  The men laughed and went back to eating. Gerard asked, “So what are you doing the rest of the day?”

  “Well I was planning to change clothes and then I was hoping one of your warriors would start teaching me.”

  The room was suddenly quiet.

  “Teaching you what exactly?” Gerard asked.

  “Well, everything,” I said as I spread open my arms to indicate the whole room with a smile.

  “You wish to learn to fight?” Hugh asked from the doorway where the others from the fields had just entered with Uncle behind them.

  “Yes.”

  They all turned to Uncle Giles. He watched me a moment as he assessed me. “You wish to learn what they are taught?” he asked. I nodded. Uncle Giles smiled happily. “We are here to assist the princess, and if she believes learning to fight and learning the ways of the warrior will help her, then we shall teach her.”

  The room was filled with murmurs as the men whispered to each other. I finished eating my food and stood. “That was delicious.”

  Gerard followed me as I walked out of the building and headed towards the archway. “Are you truly coming back to train?” he asked.

  I stopped and turned to face him. “Yes. I’ll be back as soon as I change clothes.”

  “Then I shall stare up at the sky, awaiting the return of your lovely wings soaring back to me.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that. I’d never had a man flirt with me like this before. I had been flirted with, but not this seriously. I turned away from him and flapped my wings, propelling myself up and over the trees and over the tops of the forest towards the valley where the village was. I soared over the heads of the growers and their fields and over the meadow where I had fought with Charles.

  It probably would have been good to go and find him and talk, but I didn’t feel like it at the moment. Besides, I wanted to get back and start training with the warriors and Gerard. I landed on my porch and pushed open my door with a wide smile on my face as I pictured the handsome Captain of the Warriors.

  “Please, don’t run again,” Charles said from where he was sat on my bed.

  My smile disappeared and I stared at him in shock. His hair was still singed from his device exploding, but he’d washed the rest off his face and clothes. “What are you doing here?” I asked as I headed towards my closet.

  “I came to talk to you and to apologize,” he said as he stood from the bed and followed me.

  I stopped walking and exhaled. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “I didn’t mean to insult you. You know that you’re my best friend, Sybil. I’m sorry.”

  “Apology accepted. Now please leave, so I can change.”

  “Change? What are you doing?” he asked curiously as he watched me pull my one pair of pants and t-shirt out of the closet.

  “I’m extending my studies for becoming queen. I’ve decided I need to learn more about the trades. Please, I need to change.”

  He stepped out onto my balcony and shut my door. “I don’t understand. You’ve been introduced to everyone and seen what we all do.”

  “I have now, but I still don’t know everything. For instance, did you know how heavy a sword is?” I asked through the door as I changed clothes.

  “A sword? So, you’re spending time with the warriors?”

  “Yes, Uncle Giles agreed it was a good idea for me to learn their ways,” I said as I opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony.

  “So, you’re going to learn to fight?” he asked in shock as he stared at me.

  “I think it’s important for me to understand every trade and especially the warriors, since they are key in a battle. If we’re attacked, I want to know what we’ll be going up against and what our warriors can do to protect everyone.”

  “And this has nothing to do with the Captain of the Warriors?” he asked angrily.

  “Charles, I haven’t even had a date with him yet. Why are you acting like this?” I asked with my anger growing in response to his.

  “You’ve never shown an interest in the fiddlers.”

  “You have shown me what you’re working on and I’ve assisted you with many of your experiments,” I countered. “I have spent many a night with the fiddlers.”

  “Are you going to assist Gerard with experiments?” he asked with such malice I actually stepped away from him.

  “I don’t know what your problem with Gerard is, but you have no reason to be rude to me when I’ve done nothing wrong!” I shouted as I flew from my house.

  “Sybil, wait!” he yelled.

  I flew towards the mountains and ignored Charles even though I could see him flying behind me out of my peripheral vision. I landed at the arch and was surprised to see Gerard waiting for me. “You waited?” I asked in shock.

  “I never lie, Princess.”

  “Sybil, wait,” Charles said as he landed behind me.

  Gerard put his hand on his sword and stepped between me and Charles. “Who are you?”

  I put my hand on Gerard’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Gerard. Charles is my friend.”

  Gerard instantly relaxed and held out his hand for Charles to shake. “It’s always a pleasure to meet the Princess’s friends. I’m Gerard.”

  Hugh and a few of the other warriors walked out and bowed to me. I waved at them. “No bowing while I’m here to train. Just treat me like another fairy.” I didn’t really like having people bow to me all of the time anyway.

  “I know who you are,” Charles said as he shook hands with Gerard.

  I’d never noticed the difference between the warrior fairies and the others, but looking from Charles’ small frame, similar to mine, and then at the warriors’ bulky muscular frame, I realized that there were many differences.

  “I’ll talk to you later, Charles,” I said as I turned to head into the training grounds.

  “You want to learn archery or hand combat first?” Gerard asked as he headed through the arch.

  “Sybil,” Charles said adamantly. “Can I talk to you for just a moment? In private?” he said, pointedly looking at the warriors.

  I exhaled, knowing this was probably going to end in yelling again. “Sure, but make it quick because I don’t want to keep them from training very long.” I flew up into the air and didn’t stop until the warriors looked like insects below me.

  Charles joined me and immediately scowled. “I don’t like the idea of you being around all of these males without an escort.”

  Of all of the things I expected him to say, that was not on my list. “You jest, yes?”

  “No, I’m serious. I don’t think you should be around so many males without an escort.”

  “I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Charles. I spent weeks at the fiddler shop surrounded by you and your friends and was safe. What’s different about here?”

  “I don’t trust them,” he said as he looked down at the men below us.

  “Well Uncle Giles does and he’s the Commander of the Warriors,
so you will just have to deal with it. What has gotten into you?” I asked angrily.

  “Me? What’s gotten into you? You just get asked out on a date and suddenly you want to live with the guy?”

  “This has nothing to do with Gerard!” I yelled. “Why can’t you understand that I want to better understand?’

  “Because you’ve never tried to be a real princess before! You just like to lay around lazily and do as little as you can. You’re only doing this to impress him!” he screamed.

  His words stung and I turned away from him to hide my tears. “Well, at least I know how you truly feel about me.”

  “That’s not what I meant, Sybil. I’m just frustrated and hurtful words seem to fling from my mouth before I can stop them,” he said as he reached out towards me

  I flew away from him. “I’m sorry you think I’m such a worthless princess. I shall try harder to improve that.”

  “Wait,” he said.

  I turned on him and poked his chest, pushing him backwards. “No! I am tired of waiting to hear your continued insults! I bid you farewell, Charles of the Fiddlers.”

  “Sybil,” he whispered.

  “That’s Princess Sybil to you,” I said as I folded my wings in and dropped to the ground. “Farewell.”

  “Sybil, come on,” Charles said as he dropped behind me.

  “The Princess asked you to leave, sir, I suggest that you do that,” said Hugh as he and a few others blocked Charles’ path.

  “This is your fault,” Charles said as he pointed at Gerard.

  “Blame not the one who her attention diverts to, but the one who used the stinging words to drive her away,” Gerard said as he turned away and led the way to the training fields.

  “Sybil come on, we’re friends,” Charles said.

  Gerard stopped walking and turned towards Charles. “A friend does not spit venom at his comrades. You should learn what a friend is before you try to label yourself as one.”

  I wanted to defend Charles, but I was too hurt and at the moment Gerard was right. I turned away and climbed over the rope into the hand combat field, ignoring the words that were being said by Charles and the others.

  Uncle Giles stood in the grass looking out over the valley towards the larger mountains in the east. “Things are quiet now, Sybil, but that worries me. The quiet never lasts long and I fear it has been too long already.”

  “You fear war is brewing?” I asked as I stood beside him, looking out over the majestic mountains and trees so many thousands of years older than even our race.

  “I do, but lay your fear to rest for now. I think we are years from it, which is why it is good you are taking an interest in the warriors now. Train hard. It may end up saving your life if something happened to whomever you choose as your guard.”

  “That is many years away as well,” I muttered.

  “Yes, well, where are those men?” he asked as he turned around.

  “We are here, Commander. We were dealing with a small problem,” Hugh said and all of the men laughed.

  I should have said something positive about Charles, but I bit my tongue and turned to Uncle Giles as he gave the men orders I didn’t understand. “Sybil,” he said softly. “I want you to watch the movements they are going to perform and then try to replicate them, alright?” I nodded my head in understanding and faced the group of men preparing to demonstrate for me.

  Gerard still wasn’t around and I began to worry that he and Charles were fighting, but the men began punching and kicking and I couldn’t think about them anymore. I watched the movements carefully and tried my best to memorize them. “You try,” Uncle Giles said.

  I didn’t like that everyone watched me, but being princess had taught me to deal with that. I focused on the grass in front of me and tuned out the men around me. After a quick recall, I began performing the movements. The last one was a jump kick and I tried it, but ended up falling on my butt.

  I expected the men to laugh, but one of them simply helped me stand and smiled encouragingly. “We all fall sometimes,” he said softly.

  I smiled in thanks back at him and then turned to Uncle Giles. “I think she is proficient enough. Adam, spar with her and teach her the beginner’s moves. The rest of you return to your stations,” he said and turned to leave.

  The male who had helped me stand up smiled at me and held out his hand. “Adam,” he said.

  I shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Adam.”

  “We’ll start off slow, but I won’t go easy on you. If you truly want to learn our ways then you need to know how we are taught.”

  “Agreed,” I said with a smile and then stepped back. “I’m ready.”

  Chapter 2

  I sat in the dining area, drenched in sweat, with my head down on my arms on the table, when Gerard sat down next to me. “Rough first day?” he asked softly.

  “I can barely lift my wings,” I whispered with my head still on my arms, too tired to move to look at him.

  “You need to eat and drink water,” he said. “Come on, up and to the food line.”

  “Yes, sir,” I whispered as I lifted my aching body from the bench and walked to stand in line. The men started to step aside to let me pass and I shook my head. “No, I told you all that you need to treat me like one of you.”

  They didn’t seem convinced, but Gerard said, “That’s an order,” and they returned to their spots in line.

  I leaned against the wooden wall with my shoulder. “I’ve never been so tired in my life. How do you do this every day?”

  “After a while, you build up stamina and can endure longer and harder days. We all felt like you in the beginning,” he assured me.

  I picked up my plate and grunted in pain. It hurt simply to hold the plate. I waited in line with the men and received my food. Even though I knew I needed to eat, I wasn’t even hungry. I plopped back down in my seat and pushed the food to the side, putting my head back on my arms.

  “No, you need to eat, Princess,” Gerard said.

  “I’ll eat after I nap.”

  “You don’t get naps.”

  I tilted my head and looked up at Gerard. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “Actually, I am, seeing as this is our date.”

  “Oh no! I’m sorry, Gerard. I forgot with all the training and—”

  He pushed my plate towards me. “Eat and all will be forgiven.”

  I didn’t think this truly qualified as a date, but I did as he asked since I had seriously screwed up. Once I’d finished my food and had three glasses of water, I stood and walked to the door. “Would you escort me on a walk, Captain?”

  He stood with a smile. “Of course.”

  I stepped out of the building, ignoring the teasing calls of the men, and looked up at the darkening sky. Mother had always told me that if you made a wish on the first star of the night it would come true. It hadn’t worked very well when I was a child, but that didn’t stop me from trying even now.

  “Wishing on stars isn’t something I’d expect a ruler to try,” Gerard said as he joined me.

  “One must try everything she can to obtain that which will make her happy,” I said quoting my mother.

  “And what would make you happy?” he asked from very close.

  I turned and had to crane my head back to look up at him. “For now, a walk through the woods with you, but my whims change as often as the scents in the air.”

  “Well then I will try my best to keep up,” he said teasingly as he bent his elbow to me.

  I slipped my arm through his and we walked through the grounds, out of the arch towards Grandpa. “I never realized how much work you warriors do. No wonder you all get cranky easier than others.”

  “Cranky?” he asked. “Have I ever been cranky to you, Princess?”

  “Call me Sybil,” I said as I smiled up at him. “And no, you’ve never been cranky to me, but then again, today is the first time you’ve talked to me.”

&nbs
p; “That’s incorrect,” he said and stopped walking.

  “Incorrect?” I asked. “When have you spoken to me before?”

  “It was many years ago, when we were young children.”

  “And what was said?” I asked curiously as I ran my hands along the rough bark of the tree nearest me.

  “A boy had teased you and I told you that I would protect you,” he said softly as he followed me through the trees. I closed my eyes as I recalled the memory from so long ago and in what felt like a different era. I stopped and my eyes flew open. “Do you remember what you said?” he asked.

  “I do,” I whispered in embarrassment. “Gerard, you must know that I was a foolish—”

  He put his finger against my lips, stilling my mouth. “You said, ‘I do not need your protection. I am my own warrior.’” I couldn’t move with his finger against my lips. I felt as though he had complete control of my body. “Do you remember what I said next?” he asked as he pulled his finger away from my mouth.

  “You said, ‘One day I will be a warrior, the greatest warrior ever, and then it will be my duty to protect you.’” I averted my eyes from his and whispered, “I ran away after you said that.”

  “And it became my sole purpose for living.”

  “What?” I blinked hard, tilting my head up to look him in the eyes.

  “You didn’t see me after that because you made friends with the fiddler and the grower and your mother started teaching you the womanly arts a queen must know. I was always near though. Always watching in case, you needed me.”

  “I don’t understand,” I scrunched my brow. “Why? You have many who wish for your attention. Why me?”

  “That is a question I cannot answer so early in our relationship.”

  “Our relationship?” I asked.

  “I apologize,” he said as he stepped away from me. “I’m moving too quickly for you. Would you care to return to the dining hall to rejoin the other warriors?”

  “You would end our date?”

  “I would do whatever you asked of me,” he whispered as he stepped closer, closing the gap between us.

  For some reason when he said those words I felt like I could conquer the world. I felt as though I could do anything. “Would you agree to a rescheduling of our date for a time when I am not dressed as a warrior in training?”