Her sword crossed with the Fire Prince’s, and Clara found herself relaxing for the first time that day. He was getting better with every practice, and she was now almost willing to declare him ready to march into battle at her side.
In fact, she hadn’t had to correct him once since the practice session began, and he’d only missed one of her surprise attacks. She was keeping him on his toes, and he was keeping up. Not an easy feat, she admitted to herself, albeit begrudgingly.
“So, Rizkaland’s an interesting place,” he said, at length.
She frowned and did a jab towards his stomach, which he blocked. “Have I given you permission to talk yet?”
“No,” he admitted, “but I thought I ought to learn how to fight with such a distraction, if you know what I mean? You keep making the lessons harder, and I figured that this was the next step. That is, if you think you can handle it?”
She snorted, secretly pleased that he was taking initiative at becoming better with his sword. “Fine then,” she said. “Yes, I’ll call Rizkaland interesting, especially its kings and queens. I’m glad we’re all natural and normal here in Klarand.” And to emphasize her point, she shot a stream of water out of her ring towards him.
It hit him full in the face, and he went down spluttering. She waited a moment, then stalked over and held out a hand to help him back up. “You really should pay more attention. I don’t think you’re ready for conversation yet.”
He accepted the hand and got to his feet – and then didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, “Well, that’s why I’m practicing against you.”
She jerked her hand out of his, took a few steps back in retreat, and held up her sword. “I am not playing that game,” she informed him. “Let’s get back to practice.”
He shrugged and swung a blow towards her, which she blocked easily. “Very well,” he admitted. “But you honestly should have seen your face.”
“Hah, hah, very funny,” she threw at him. Seriously, what was up with him? Was he trying to flirt with her? Not cool. “You should have seen yours when you were on the floor coughing up water.”
“Well, then I guess we’re even,” he said.
“Good, then let’s leave it at that,” she informed him. Their fight continued for some time, but she noticed that he was getting tired, and he wasn’t blocking her blows as easily, so she called the practice to a close.
“But I was just starting to win,” he protested, even as he did sheathed his sword and collapsed onto the nearby bench.
“That’s debatable,” she countered, pouring them each a glass of water – seriously, she could get used to this ring – and handing his to him. “However, we have a ball tonight, so you’re going to need to get a bit of rest before it happens. Dancing and all that, you know.”
“Dancing,” he repeated, his grin faltering.
She rolled her eyes fiercely. “Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to dance!”
“Um…”
She sighed. “Fine, then, I guess it’s a good thing that I don’t think they’ll let you have any other partner besides me. I’ll walk you through it on the floor.”
“Don’t you mean dance me through it?”
She punched him. “Go somewhere else with your sense of humor. I’m not in the mood for it right now.”
“I think I’ve noticed,” he said, standing up. “Well, I guess I’ll go back to my rooms and take a bath. Don’t want to smell, you know.”
And with that, he disappeared out the door.
Clara tried to tell herself that she didn’t regret his leaving her. Her glass drained, she set it to the side and launched into one of her practice drills. Fighting the Fire Prince was fun, but there were days when only a good practice drill could properly calm the nerves.
Andrew thought that he knew the way back to his room, but he didn’t seem to be finding it. Instead, he wandered through the halls, dodging the people who were everywhere, and wondered if he ought to ask directions.
Not many paid him any mind, though those who did took care to bow or show some other regard for his rank as Fire Prince. Andrew preferred those who ignored him.
The Water Princess was confusing; that’s all there was to it. No matter what Andrew did, she snubbed him. She was determined to hate him and … it hurt. As reluctant as he had been, he found that he did love her and was determined to do anything for her.
“Oh, hello.” A thick-accented, feminine voice startled him from his thoughts, and a girl stood before him. She was dressed in a simple black dress and wore several necklaces. Her brown hair was wild and fell past her waist unchecked by any ornament. But it was her eyes that caught and held Andrew’s attention. They were deep, a shade of color that Andrew would have described as amber had this not been Klarand where the eye color was associated with a dragon.
“Hello,” he returned, hesitantly.
It was several seconds before she responded, which made Andrew feel very awkward.
“So, you are the Fire Prince.”
Andrew swallowed and nodded. “That would be me. What can I do for you, ah, my lady?” She didn’t look much older than the Water Princess, as long as he avoided the depths of her eyes. They made her seem older, somehow.
She didn’t seem to notice the question. “So young, too. My, but Alphego enjoys sending the young and innocent against the Dragon. It is a wonder that more haven’t met their end. You still seem unused to the sword you wear at your side.”
“I’m getting better with it,” said Andrew, defensively.
“Oh, but must you risk your life?” the girl asked. “The prophecy says nothing about you fighting – only the Water Princess. She is such a young thing – only just celebrated her sixteenth birthday – but her stance is that of a warrior. Surely you could leave the battle to her.”
It was seriously tempting…
“Yes, but Alphego gave me a sword as well as her,” Andrew countered, somehow sounding surer of himself than he felt. “It would not be proper for me to stand by while she faces the danger alone.”
“Oh, how brave and noble of you,” said the girl, shaking her head. “I’m sure she thinks herself quite the lucky girl to have such a man as you.”
Andrew felt the brush of the girl’s fingers against his arm, and he drew back, as a frown spread across her brow and she stared at one of her necklaces, with a mutter of, “Now that is interesting.”
He rubbed his arm, wondering what he should say, but quite certain that he should find a way out of this situation as soon as it was proper. She seemed obsessed with the necklace. Perhaps he could just slip away?
“No matter,” she said suddenly, snapping her attention away from the necklace and back to Andrew. “Should you survive this battle, Fire Prince, I have no doubt that Rizkaland will laud you as one of their greatest heroes – they always think that about those who face the Dragon. But I do fear that you won’t survive.”
Andrew felt a hand wrap around his other arm, small and strong, and he could tell it was the Water Princess even before she spoke.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
He found himself steadied by her touch.
The girl’s eyebrow arched. “Oh, hello, Water Princess,” she said, dipping into a semblance of a curtsey – though Andrew noted that she left off the fist over the heart that was customary here in Klarand. “My, but the two of you do look lovely together.”
The Water Princess didn’t seem to hear that compliment. “What is your business talking to the Fire Prince?” she demanded. “Other than to tell him that he’s weak and pathetic. Which he isn’t. Not compared to how he was just a few weeks ago, at least. The last time we spoke, you basically called yourself a nobody.”
The girl seemed amused by the Water Princess’s speech. “Oh, but even nobodies have dreams and aspirations. I wished only to see the Fire Prince for myself and to see if he was truly a match for the Dragon – and fo
r yourself.”
“He’s more than a match for both,” said the Water Princess, her hold on Andrew’s arm tightening. “You can set your worries aside and go see to whatever it is you need to be doing. The Fire Prince and I have things to do.”
The girl’s eyes flashed a moment, and then she smiled. “I suppose I do have many things I must accomplish. I do hope we meet again, Water Princess. I find our conversations most interesting.” And with that, she disappeared into the crowd.
Andrew barely noticed her, his attention on the glaring girl who hung on his own arm. Hesitantly, he placed his other hand on top of hers. She didn’t seem to notice.
“I don’t trust her,” she muttered. “Not the last time I saw her, and not now. I’m not sure who she is, or who she thinks she is, but she’s up to trouble, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was working for that Dragon in some way.”
Andrew knew the question was a dangerous one, but he couldn’t help but ask it, and hope she wouldn’t react too … violently. “I’m a … match for you?”
She stiffened, and almost pulled her hand from his arm – but his hand was over hers. He wasn’t trying to restrain her hand, and she could have gotten free if she fought, but the fight went out the moment she hit resistance. “Well, I had to say something to her to shut her up,” she countered, stiffly. “Besides, if she is working for Amber, it wouldn’t be good for her to take back a report that we stand divided.”
Andrew found he had no answer for that, but instead found himself falling, drowning in that pair of blue, blue eyes that stared up at him. It was a strange sensation, one he found he didn’t mind.
Clara wasn’t sure how she’d found the Fire Prince in the halls, or why. All she knew was that she didn’t trust the girl he spoke to, and her natural instinct had been to hasten to his side. And now she stood there, her mind crying to step away, her heart unwilling.
Such a troublesome thing, the heart, but for now, it had its say. She stared at the Fire Prince, all thoughts chased from her mind. He was so much taller than her…
She tore her eyes away and refocused on the bit of crowd into which the girl had disappeared. “Who is she?” she muttered, hoping that forcing her mind onto that topic would calm her nerves. It didn’t seem to work. “Who does she think she is?”
“I really don’t know,” said the Fire Prince. For a moment, the hand held over hers tightened, and then it fell away, allowing her to drop her hand and breathe a sigh of relief. “But … I think we need to get back to our rooms. I’ll admit that I’m a bit lost.”
“Yes. Our rooms. There’s a ball tonight,” said Clara, disjointedly, scanning through the passing people for a face she recognized. There were none. She sighed and clenched her fist. “I really don’t see why they must make such a fuss over us.”
“And yet they do,” said the Fire Prince. “They place us upon a pedestal and expect great things from us.”
And then, for all his height, he looked small, scared, and as ready to be done with the whole mess as she was. She sighed.
“Well, come along, I believe we’re in the wrong hall, anyway, so it’d be best if we did some backtracking.”
Fortunately, within a few minutes, their path crossed with Sarai, who was amused with their predicament, but said not a word about it as she led them back to their rooms – save, “Perhaps we should find time for another tour,” before she left them.
Clara took leave of the Fire Prince at once and sought the sanctuary of her room, only to find she had a new maid. Yes, there was Jasmine arranging the vanity table with her jewelry and hair stuff, but pouring the bath was Nansie, a girl a few years older than Clara, with a golden braid down her back. Apparently, Jasmine was no longer sufficient to attend to the mighty Water Princess.
Nansie was quiet but opinionated. She had clearly been in this business for quite some time and knew what she was about. Clara, however, was just as opinionated, and, as the Water Princess, had her way most of the time. Her bath was not had in peace, however, for Nansie insisted on washing her hair – which had already grown past her shoulders in the months that she had been in Klarand, strange as it was to realize – and rubbing scented oils into her skin.
Before her muscles had had time to properly relax, she was out of the bath again and bundled into a beautiful blue dress that was the height of Klarand fashion, the corset pulled tighter than she liked, though it wasn’t unbearable.
Then she was placed on a stool before the vanity table, where Jasmine dried her hair while Nansie painted her nails with the polish that Clara had found in the room and Jasmine insisted that they bring with them. Blue polish, of course, since they had to keep with the whole Water Princess theme.
With the rainbow water here in Rizkaland, Clara wondered why she was limited to blue. But, then, Kath seemed restricted to green as the Leaf Princess, and that was the one color that leaves normally weren’t here in Rizkaland.
Her hair was done up by Jasmine’s expert hands, the circlet replaced – apparently it was fine for Jasmine to put it on in the middle of the day and the Fire Prince was only required in the morning – the polish dried, and a sapphire necklace draped around her neck. Nansie declared her ready to go.
“Not yet,” Clara countered, grabbing her sword and belt from where they had been left on a desk and fastening them about her waist before the girl could protest. She gave her best imperious glare. “I am the Water Princess, and this sword represents that as much as the ring and circlet, so why shouldn’t I wear it tonight? Besides, I shouldn’t like to be caught unprepared should the Lady Dragon invite herself.”
“Very well,” said Nansie, apparently deciding that it wasn’t a matter worth arguing. “I suppose the Fire Prince is waiting for you outside by now, and the people for you both. Hurry along.”
Clara didn’t want to hurry, but she had no choice.
Chapter 10
Andrew had gained a valet of his own during his stay in Rizkaland. It was strange, and he wasn’t sure he liked it. He wasn’t used to someone helping him – that was his job back home – and while he took it for granted that Jasmine attended the Water Princess, it was strange to have someone do the same for him.
But at last, he was free from the man’s gaze – such a silent, judging man he was! – and out of his room waiting for the Water Princess. She took her time in appearing, but the saying went that women took longer to prepare than men did.
At last, she swept out of her room, and the breath caught in his throat. He’d seen her so many times before, but always dressed for travel, or something else that demanded practicality. But now, dressed in fine clothes and jewels, even, no – especially with the sword at her hip, there was one word for her – gorgeous. Oh, how that sword suited her.
Her eyes narrowed as she approached. “What are you staring at?”
He swallowed and glanced down at his toes. “Oh, uh, nothing. It’s just that,” he dared to look back up and meet her eye. “You are very beautiful tonight.”
He expected some sort of scathing retort to such a compliment, but instead, a blush spread over her cheeks and she glanced away as she accepted the arm he held out automatically. “Yes, well, it’s a special occasion,” she muttered. “I think that’s the point.”
Her touch on his arm and the lemony-sweet scent of her was enough to drive all semblance of thought from his mind. He might have stood there staring at her the whole night, had the Leaf Princess and Wind Prince not appeared at that very moment.
“Ah, there you two are,” said the Wind Prince, seemingly unaware of the moment they interrupted. “And quite ready, too. Very good. Follow us, then.”
Andrew and the Water Princess had no choice in the matter, and they both knew it. They followed, neither having words to say. The Wind Prince and Leaf Princess didn’t seem to notice, as they were full of chatter about the event and how important it was to Klarand and Rizkaland.
At last, however, the Wind Prince asked a question t
hat demanded an answer.
“You do have your speech prepared, don’t you?”
The Water Princess froze, halting Andrew’s step as well. “Speech?” she repeated. “No one said anything about that.”
“Didn’t they?” asked the Leaf Princess, half-turning to glance back at them. “I suppose they took it as a matter of course. Speeches are always given at the start of a ball, to acknowledge what it’s in honor of. This is your introduction to Klarand as its rulers, and it thus requires a proper speech from at least one of you.”
“Once again, people assume we know all Rizkan customs when we’ve only been here a few months,” muttered the Water Princess.
“No matter,” said the Wind Prince. “I’m sure you can come up with something on the spur of the moment. Indeed, honest words unplanned often form the best speeches. Now come along, they’re waiting for us, and will start to worry if we tarry too much longer.”
They started walking again. Talking resumed between the siblings. Andrew didn’t really hear any of it as he tried to think of what to say to the people of Klarand.
At length, they reached a pair of doors. The Wind Prince turned and told them that they should stop a moment, out of sight, while he and the Leaf Princess went ahead and announced them. The doors were opened, the pair went through, and cheering exploded. Andrew felt the Water Princess remove her hand from his arm, it was only so that she could slide it into his hand. He gave it an encouraging squeeze, though he hadn’t the heart to accompany it with a smile, or the courage to even look at her at the moment.
“Good people of Klarand, and honored ambassadors from Rizkaland,” boomed the voice of the Wind Prince. “Long has it been since my sister and I last stood before you for such a joyous occasion. Long has the Dragon been a terror in our land. Today, however, we look past those terrible years and towards a brighter day. Our Fire Prince and Water Princess have come at long last to stand before the Dragon and send her back to where she belongs.”
There was a second, even louder explosion of cheering, and now the Leaf Princess spoke.
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