“Back from riding, Cyric?”
“Are you going to eat dinner next? Can I come?”
“I watched you train today.”
I tried to keep walking, but they backed me up to a set of stairs. I put my hands up. “Come on. Not tonight, ladies.”
“But why—you never want to do anything, Cyric.”
I glanced up the steps behind me to see they led to the second story of the bathhouse. There was a woman up there I recognized. She was casually watching the handmaidens trample me. When I caught her eye I half-smiled—until one of the girls pulled my attention back with a yank to my collar.
“Come to the bath, Cyric. It will be fun, I promise.” She tried to kiss me. Another grabbed my arm.
I pushed them both away, laughing as I backed up the steps.
They gave a collective moan of complaint when it was clear I wasn’t going back, but I had already turned my attention to Veera. She wore her usual soft smirk, though I could see consideration hidden in her expression. My face was a little warmer than I would have liked as I mounted the steps and approached her.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hello, Cyric,” she greeted. “Having a pleasant night?”
She didn’t look back at the girls, but I did. They were still watching me with scowls from the base of the steps. “It’ll be pleasant if I survive in one piece,” I said. I hoisted myself onto the ledge of the balcony, sitting so that I was facing Veera.
“Most soldiers aren’t scared of handmaidens,” she replied.
“I’m not scared of them.”
Instead of arguing, she grew a knowing smile. It made my face get as red as ever. “What are you doing here?” I asked, changing the subject.
She looked out at the sky. “Lox is in a meeting with the council. I was at home alone, so…”
“Thought you’d come take a swim,” I guessed.
She shrugged. “Until I remembered bathing alone wasn’t much preferable to waiting at home alone.” She wore a smile, but I could tell it was something she really hated.
“Lox is busy a lot,” I said pointedly.
Her eyes flicked to me; for a moment her expression was without its usual seductive aspect, she maybe even looked angry.
“I mean, it must give you a lot of free time,” I back-tracked.
She narrowed, and then she turned around and leaned backwards on the ledge “You’re somewhat smarter than you look, Cyric Dracla.”
“Well… you would be the first person to tell me so,” I admitted.
She laughed. “That’s because the soldiers here are only interested in strength. And the handmaidens… well, I’m sure you know what they’re interested in.”
“Yeah,” I said, scoffing a little. This made me think of Veera at the banquet, and pretty much anytime. She got leered at a lot more than me; I wondered if she liked it. “I bet you’re smarter than most people think you are too,” I told her.
“Who says they don’t think I’m smart?”
I shrugged. She laughed.
“Have you named your ivoronsu yet?” she asked.
“Uh… yeah. I named him Tosch.”
“Is that a normal name where you’re from?”
I didn’t have to think about it, but I paused before speaking. “Not really.”
“What made you choose it?”
“I don’t know—the caretakers kept getting angry with me for calling him horsey.”
She laughed. “I was thinking that’s what I would have called mine.”
I looked back at her. Her dark eyes were rich in the firelight. She wore a dress of reddish brown that let a lot of skin show yet didn’t cling tight anywhere—it looked comfortable enough to do pretty much anything in.
“Are you planning on going back out?” she asked.
“No. Tosch is already in the stables. I’ll probably train after this.”
She scoffed. “As if you need any more of that. You should come to the bathhouse. That way we can both get clean while you continue to entertain me.”
“Oh, is that what we’re doing?” I said.
She held out her hands and backed up towards the open door. When I hesitated, she frowned.
“Umm,… should we really though?” I said uncomfortably.
She instantly threw a pair of white cloth pants at me; they were the same type I’d worn my first day in Akadia. “We can wear these, silly. Now come on. I’ll show you how to swim faster than you can run.”
Before she’d gotten inside I was beside her with a smile. “We’ll see who’s teaching who.”
“Hey, I’m from Taelp,” she pointed out. Taelp was known for its rivers.
I made a face like I was impressed.
She threw another bundle of cloth at me, then I chased her to the baths.
~ ~ ~
CHAPTER THREE
ELLIA:
*
Amalia had left me just moments ago. She’d instructed me to dress myself with the clothes set out in my cabin, then head to the platform I’d seen Lucian training on. Estrid and Minstrel were supposed to meet me there.
Though the platform was close and even visible, it proved to be difficult to reach—probably more because I was distracted by my surroundings than anything. There were now many more chimera than the one I had first seen. Some were walking the balconies. Some were perched in the trees. Some were flying about with supplies on their backs, or in their paws, which had the ability to extend to talons in flight. Each Yanartian I passed greeted me kindly. There were other animals about as well. Lizards and squirrels in the trees. Raccoons skittering across the branches.
I was most surprised when I saw two of the Cirali Warriors of the first order waving at me. It was the man named Alek, who seemed to be the sort of mediator, and the bearded man who had opposed so very much of what I’d said at the meeting. But here he was as friendly as possible. He introduced himself as Barduce Nar. Yellow-haired Alek also let me know that his last name was Scarn. I locked both titles to memory.
I had just left them (wearing a large smile for it) when I reached the platform that I would meet my friends on. From this perspective, its openness to the sky and sea was even more exceptional. Only half of it was shadowed with a high and distant branch. On the side where the leaves gave the most shade, two chimera laid. They were positioned so that they were touching each other, and they watched any warriors passing by with lazy eyes.
Estrid and Minstrel stood beside each other, leaning over a rail and staring out at the ocean. I might have run to them, if it hadn’t been for Lucian standing closeby. He was no longer busy with trainees; he was already looking at me. His brown, slightly curled, hair rustled in the wind.
You should see the great behemoths of, Akadia, I heard like an echo. And I saw Tobias depicting the size of the behemoth’s horns with his arms.
I took a deep breath, then I approached my two friends.
“Minstrel,” I called from a distance.
He hopped down off the first bar of the rail and turned around. Estrid turned as well. “Lady Ellia!” he exclaimed. I wasn’t sure how he would react, but he grew an instant grin. “Can you believe it? The sea. The chimera. Have you seen how many there are?”
I nodded with a smile.
“Oh the vivacity of Yanartas,” he called. “I feel I shall have endless inspiration from just the heights we stand upon. And the people—so noble.”
I wasn’t able to resist laughing a little, but my attention was greatly spared for Lucian, who stood only a short distance away—watching though he had yet to approach us.
“I’m so glad you’re happy here, Minstrel,” I replied. “It was worth the journey then?”
“From the sleepless nights at sea to the pass of the Chupacabra, I do not regret it.”
I looked to Estrid Larke. “And how have you been, Estrid?”
She rolled a sharp gaze to the ocean; her elbows on the rail, her thick black hair moving fast in the wind. “You kept your word. They have
n’t cast us back into the ocean.” She looked back at me and stared for a while. “A princess, huh? You know if I’d known I would have charged you a lot more for the voyage.”
I started to laugh—and not just because she was smiling. The way she spoke made it obvious she believed I really was the princess. I had been so afraid after the Warriors’ reaction that she and Minstrel would think I was crazy.
“If I ever get my kingdom back, I’ll build you a boat out of gold,” I said.
“I’m not certain how well that would float,” she commented.
Minstrel cheered. “To think all this time I was looking for inspiration and travelling with a hidden princess. The mystery! The despondency. Oh, but all that the Akadians have done…”
“Let us not speak of it, Minstrel,” I interrupted. “Be happy for now. We can only fight so many battles at once.”
“Wise words,” said Lucian. He had finally come to stand closer, and he grew a smile. “Though they seem somewhat opposed to your position the other night.”
I was a little too trapped blinking at him to comment or argue. Estrid did it for me.
“That’s a fine way to say hello to someone,” she said. “Can’t you see she’s just trying to make her friend feel better?”
Lucian spared a very short glance for her. It was more dismissive than any expression I’d ever seen Tobias make and went a little ways in helping to separate the two.
“I apologize,” he said with a smile. “I’m Lucian Denathar, first rank of the second order of Cirali. You must be Ellia. And your two friends?...” He glanced politely between them.
Minstrel held a hand out until Lucian took it. “I am Minstrel of Gilgatrox. I am honored to be upon the shores of your great isle, mighty warrior, and hope to entertain your entire clan with a tune of appreciation before the day has ended. “ He bobbed Lucian’s hand as violently as he had mine the first time we’d met. One of Lucian’s brows went up, but he was smiling.
Estrid shrugged. “I’m Estrid Larke. I’m sorry I don’t have a rank or order.”
“Er… that’s alright,” Lucian said, and he looked as if he would have tried to shake her hand, if Minstrel did not still have a hold of it. When he finally did get free, he looked back at me. “Well, I’ve been told I’m to train you as a Warrior. I have some preparations still to make. Have you had anything to eat yet?”
I was about to shake my head when Minstrel broke in. “Forsooth—you’re to become a Warrior, Ellia?”
“Um…” I sort of wanted to ask Minstrel what forsooth meant—he kept saying it, and I had no real idea—but it didn’t seem like the time. “Yes. I am. I mean… I hope. If I can complete the training.”
“Aren’t they supposed to start much younger?” Estrid asked. When neither Lucian nor I said anything, she tilted her head. “This will be fun to watch.”
“Does that mean you’re staying?” I asked with curiosity. Although I would be glad if it were true, I found it hard to believe the Yanartians would allow them to.
Estrid gestured a hand out; her thumb pointed just slightly in the direction of Lucian. “Well, the superiors aren’t sending me off yet. And it’s not like I have anywhere to be. The ocean is the ocean to me, one place or another.”
“I’ll not leave until I’ve sung in the palace of your restored kingdom,” said Minstrel. “I find that no cause could be more worthy of earning me the title of Minstrel.”
I smiled at both of my friends. Only Lucian looked skeptical. “I’ll let the two of your sort that out with the other Warriors,” he said. “For now you should all head to the dining pavilion to eat. When you come back, Ellia, we will begin training.”
He seemed all business now. It was intimidating, even for me. I nodded.
He gave us directions to the dining pavilion. As the three of us turned to leave, he held me back. “Just a moment, Ellia,” he said.
Estrid considered me, but I waved her on. She and Minstrel kept walking.
“About what happened in the chamber meeting,” he began.
I interrupted him. “Oh, I’m sorry about that. I can explain—”
“No,” he said. His tone was fierce. He cleared his throat, then continued. “No need. Everything’s already been explained. I just wanted to tell you that it’s not necessary to bring it up again.”
My brows knit.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?” he asked. “I don’t want to talk about my brother.”
I blinked back surprise. He kept his features straight, if not a little grim. He spoke again. “We’ll have enough to deal with just keeping our minds focused on training. Alright?”
After a moment’s pause, I nodded.
He matched my nod, then added, “I’ll see you back here in a little while then.”
He turned around and walked towards a crate of weapons. With a low brow I walked the other way, after Minstrel and Estrid.
#
Lunch in the dining pavilion was a flurry of questions and explanations. Minstrel and Estrid couldn’t have been more interested in my past, particularly my account of the Akadian city. And I found the Yanartians present moving closer to our position all the time.
The pavilion was set up beneath a sturdy covering of wood, but was open to the ocean air. It held four long benched tables, and at one end of the space a banquet of food was set out. Most Yanartians ate within their own homes; the pavilion was for the Warriors, so it wasn’t in any way over-crowded.
I worried as I went on about Akadia, whether I should be allowing the Warriors of the second or third orders to hear so much. Would the leaders of the Cirali be upset? Yet, as far as I was concerned, everyone should have the chance to know the truth, so I went on. We received a few introductions by the end of the meal.
When Minstrel, Estrid, and I showed up back at the training platform, Lucian was ready with a half dozen practice tests. They were set up on opposite ends around the circle. One looked like a wall-mounting test. One was a long track that led to a portion of the railing that had been taken out to give a clear space to the water below. One was just a wooden tower.
I was grateful now for the uncustomary clothes Amalia had left for me to wear. They were pants, first of all, very strange, a little baggy on the top, but tight on the bottom, where they tucked into thin, leather, boots that seemed somehow to shrink my foot-size. My top was a loose cloth shirt, with a leather jerkin worn over it.
“Good. You’re ready then?” Lucian said, turning as I approached. When he saw Minstrel and Estrid followed behind me, he frowned. “Er… perhaps the two of you should go speak with Warriors of the first order at this time. We have rather strict laws about visitors.”
Though he said it in the kindest way possible, Estrid narrowed darkly. She crossed her pale arms over her dark tunic.
“You can find at least some of them in the meeting chamber at the top of the west tree,” Lucian went on pointedly.
“We’ve been there before,” Estrid said. Then she nodded to Minstrel and glanced to me. “We’ll be back in no time, Ellia,” she said. “Don’t start the diving without us.”
“Oh, is that what that’s for?” Minstrel asked, looking back at the space in the railing.
Estrid replied once they were already too far off for me to hear them. I turned back to Lucian—just in time to catch a book.
“Knowledge,” he said. “It’s one of the three pillars upon which the Cirali Warrior fights. The other two are dexterity, and ingenuity.” He stacked two more books in my arms, and then three scrolls of parchment. “You will study these, in your room after our daily sessions, and in any spare time that you have. The maps are to be committed to memory. The titles and descriptions of vegetation, including fruit, and prey must almost be memorized. At the end of the week I will give you a test on what you’ve learned. Assuming you pass, you’ll receive more books to study. I suggest you read each of them at least twice…. You can set them down there for now.” He gestured to a barrel standing beside the inn
er rail of the platform—close to the bridge that led back to my cabin. Then he walked over to his table of weapons.
In a fluster, I set the books down as he’d instructed, then chased after him.
“By memorizing vegetation and prey and so on, you do mean the prey of chimera right?” I asked. “That’s to help me know what’s safe to feed them in the wild, or what is harmful towards them?”
“It will give you a wide expanse of knowledge,” Lucian replied dismissively. “Best to study and worry about its use later.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but he held up a knife before I could. “Dexterity covers the fighting, swimming, ground speed, climbing speed, stamina, and all around physical ability. All new recruits, learn with knife.” He handed me the weapon. It was as small as the dagger Cyric used to keep in his boot. It was also made of wood. “As you advance, you’ll be trained in a retinue of weapons, as you see here before you. No single Cirali Warrior fights in the same style and rarely with the same weapon. By the time you’ve completed your training, you’re expected to know what weapon best suits you and master it.”
In the pause, I considered the table before me. It certainly held as many types of weapons as I had ever seen, and more. Simple things, like quarterstaffs and slings. Then more dangerous; swords, scimitars, axes, flails and maces. The halberds, pikes, and monstrous double-handed greatswords I knew I would never wield—they were almost as tall as I was and I could only imagine how heavy. The strangest thing about all of the weapons was the sheen of coppery brass they carried. And many of the blades were oddly curved or jagged.
I tucked the knife into my belt—to exhibit to Lucian that I knew at least something about all this—but he was already moving across the platform.
“Most of the challenges I have set up today will test your dexterity, but there are tests for your ingenuity as well.” He brought me over to a table covered in instruments. Not musical instruments. I wasn’t sure what they were. Some of them were just wooden blocks. Some were rings of metal attached to each other. Many had strings or were painted in different shades.
“Are you following so far?” he asked.
Fallen Prince Page 21
