by A J Manney
She groaned out loud and walked over to the sink to put the towel back. She looked over at Mari who had witnessed the entire episode and had a huge grin on her face. “Rough morning?” she asked.
Zalia groaned again. “My day is off to a great start,” she grumbled. “Oh well. I’m not going to let a cranky prince ruin my morning. I’m here to help. Put me to work,” she said to Mari. Mari put Zalia to work kneading bread for breakfast. Zalia got lost in her work, enjoying the quiet peace of the early morning hours. Two hours later, Zalia’s cheeks were flushed and her hair was starting to come out of its braid, but breakfast was ready. As always, Zalia felt pride in her work in the kitchen. She was learning so much. Today she had made mutton, potatoes, fresh bread, eggs, and hot coffee. They had also prepped the veggies and meat for the evening supper, and Mari had taught Zalia how to make custard for the evening’s dessert. All in all, it was a successful morning.
“You sure do good work,” Mari said to her as they carried all the breakfast dishes to the table. Zalia smiled at the compliment.
She was still smiling when she turned around and saw Prince Valen standing over by the table watching her intently. She hadn’t even heard him come him. She looked at him for a moment and then said, “Good morning again, Prince Valen.”
He nodded. Zalia whirled back around to finish helping Mari finish setting the table. His presence unnerved her, but she was determined to not let it bother her. A few minutes later, Beckam strolled in.
“Valen,” he said as he came in. The two men clasped hands and drew close in for a shoulder hug. “When did you get in?”
“Last night,” was Valen’s low response. He looked up and caught Zalia watching them. She quickly spun away.
Beckam walked over to her and pulled her in for a side hug. “How’s my favorite cousin this morning?” he asked with a smile.
Zalia smiled up at him. “I’m good, no thanks to you.”
Beckam laughed out loud. He was used to her ribbing him about training. Beckam gave Mari a hug next. “What’s for breakfast? I’m starving.”
Mari chuckled. “You’re always starving. Zalia and I cooked up quite the feast this morning. Sit and eat before it gets cold.”
Beckam turned back to the table. “You don’t have to tell me twice,” he said as he began filling his plate.
A moment later, Raven walked in with a smile on her face until she noticed Valen. She turned quickly to look at Zalia with a questioning look in her eyes. Zalia just shrugged her shoulders. Raven walked over to say good morning to Mari and give her a hug. Zalia tried to find more to do to keep busy so she wouldn't have to go sit at the table. Thankfully, Henri and Collette came in then and everybody started eating at the table. Conversation started flowing, so Zalia grabbed some tea and walked over to the table and sat down. She was across the table and a few seats down from Valen, so she didn’t have to pay attention to him. She let the conversation flow around her. She filled her plate quietly; but when she looked down at it, she didn’t feel like she could eat. Her stomach churned uneasily. She knew it was leftover from her dream. She just couldn’t shake the horror. She tried to take a bite of potato. She put it up to her mouth, smelled it, and put it back down on her plate. It nauseated her; she couldn’t eat. She just pushed the food around on her plate, hoping nobody would notice she wasn’t eating. When she looked up, she caught Valen watching her, his dark eyes not missing anything. Zalia lifted her chin defiantly into the air. His dark eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
Zalia pushed her chair back, picked up her plate and carried it over to the counter so she could begin cleaning up. Everybody left the kitchen, heading in different directions for the day. Zalia started washing dishes but Mari shooed her away. “I’ve got this, dear. You head to training.” Zalia groaned quietly to herself. She hadn’t thought about the fact that with Valen being here, he would start training her. With a scowl on her face, she headed to the door. Right before she reached the door, she looked up and was startled to see Valen standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.
“You need to eat,” he said quietly in his low voice.
Zalia shook her head. “I’m good.” She made a move to walk towards the door, but he didn’t move from his position. He was effectively blocking her from going through the door into the hallway. Zalia looked up at him. “I need to get through.”
He shook his head. “Not until you eat,” he said.
Zalia just looked at him. “What, are you my mother? I don’t want to eat,” she bit out the words at him.
Valen looked down at her. “I’m training you today, and I don’t want to deal with it when we have to stop training for you to throw up because you don’t have anything in your stomach.”
Zalia sneered up at him. “Well aren’t you the kind and caring prince,” she sarcastically shot at him.
He narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t budge an inch. Exasperated, Zalia finally threw her hands up. “Fine,” she spat, whirling around to go to the counter to get a plate. Mari was busy working quietly, acting as if she didn’t hear their conversation. Zalia angrily grabbed a plate and put some eggs and potatoes on it. “See, I’m eating,” she said angrily to Prince Valen. She shoved a whole forkful of food into her mouth and followed it soon with another. Zalia instantly regretted it. As soon as the food hit her rolling stomach, she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep it down. She whirled around, put her plate down and ran towards the door. Valen wisely stepped out of her way this time. She made it all the way to her bathroom before emptying her stomach into the toilet. She threw up last night’s supper and the few bites she had managed to get down at breakfast. Even after everything was out, she kept retching. She felt a cold rag on her neck but didn’t look up to see who had placed it there. She was far too miserable. When she was finally able to stop and catch her breath, somebody held out a cup of tea to her. Instinctively, Zalia knew it was Valen. She waved his hand away.
“Drink it,” she heard him say. “It will help settle your stomach.” Zalia wasn’t sure why Valen was helping her, but she was in no shape to argue. She took the mug and managed a few sips. Surprisingly, she felt the effect immediately in her stomach. It started settling. She took a few moments to finish the tea. She couldn’t believe how much better she felt. She pulled the rag off her neck and wiped her mouth before turning her head to look at Valen. “What’s in this? It really works,” she said.
Valen smirked at her, and Zalia caught her breath. It was the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen from him. She hesitatingly smiled back. Apparently, he wasn’t going to reveal what was in the mystery tea. Oh well. It didn’t matter. She was just glad she felt better.
“Ready to eat now?” he asked.
“Ugh, again with the food?” Zalia groaned. He came forward and offered his hand to help her off the floor. Zalia grasped his arm and startled. It felt almost like a shock when their hands connected. His eyes widened just a fraction as he pulled her up from the floor. He quickly dropped her arm and strode from the bathroom without another word. “Well, I guess it’s back to the mean prince,” Zalia muttered after he left.
Zalia followed him wordlessly to the kitchen where she found him leaning against the wall. He motioned to her plate on the table. Zalia scowled at him as she walked over to the plate and managed to eat a few bites. When she finished as much as she thought she could handle, she stood up and took the plate to Mari. Mari grinned at her.
Zalia turned around to face the Prince. “Are you ready to train?” he asked.
Zalia cocked her head. “Are you going to try to kill me like Beckam?” Valen only smirked at her before turning and walking away in long strides to the training center.
“I’m in so much trouble. He’s going to kill me,” she groaned as she headed to the training hall for another day of training. She heard Mari chuckling behind her.
Zalia made her way to the training hall. When she walked in, Beckam yelled over to her. “Took you long enough. Let’s g
o.”
Zalia scowled at him and headed to the track where Raven was already running. After running for a while, Zalia was warmed up and sweaty. Beckam motioned for her and Raven to come over. “Zalia, you’re going to start first with Valen. Raven, you’re with me. Then we will switch.” He turned and walked away.
Raven walked over close to Zalia. “Will you be okay with him?” she asked in a quiet voice so that the guys couldn’t hear. Zalia just nodded. Raven looked into her eyes and then gave her a quick side hug before walking over to where Beckam stood.
Zalia walked over to another part of the training center to find Valen. He stood by the armory, holding two swords. He looked up as she approached. “Have you ever trained with a sword before?” Zalia shook her head no. He walked toward her and handed her a sword with flat edges. “We’ll start with this one,” he said before turning and walking away.
Zalia followed him over to an open area. Valen spent the next hour teaching her the basics of how to hold the sword, how to position herself, where to place her feet, and simple basic moves. She finished by working through a series of moves before Beckam came over to them.
“Time to switch,” Beckam said. Zalia handed the sword back to Valen.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. He nodded. She followed Beckam over to the area he had set up for training.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s see what you remember. Go ahead and do the series of punches and kicks you’ve been practicing, but this time do them on me.”
Zalia looked at him. “You want me to punch you?”
Beckam grinned. “Yup. I’m pretty sure that’s what you do when you fight.”
Zalia scowled at him. “I know that. I just don’t want to hurt you.”
Beckam laughed in his deep voice. “Believe me. You won’t hurt me.”
That annoyed Zalia and she was ready to start hitting and kicking him. They started at a nice easy pace. Zalia used the moves she had been practicing for the last few weeks. He let her do the motions for a little bit; then he started deflecting her. Zalia had to start working harder. She was punching harder now, kicking harder. He had a cocky grin on his face like she couldn’t possibly hurt her. They fought and fought until Zalia was breathing heavy and covered in sweat.
“Is that all you got?” he taunted her. “You couldn’t take down an old lady, let alone a soldier with punches like that.” His comments made Zalia angry. “Come on, Zalia. Stop being weak. Fight like a warrior, not like a princess.” Zalia hit him again. “You think you’re going to avenge your family fighting like that?” Zalia saw red. She changed up her hit then. She was supposed to do two punches then a sweeping kick. Instead, she did one hit, a sweeping kick, then slammed her fist into his nose. Being the seasoned warrior that he was, it surprised him, but he defended it quickly. Unfortunately, his instinct made him hit her back and she went down hard.
“Shoot,” Beckam crouched down beside her. “I’m sorry, Zalia. You surprised me. I didn’t mean to hit you. I tried to pull back at the last second.” He reached out his hand and pulled her up. The side of her face ached. She felt dizzy for a moment. She knew if he had hit her with his full force, she would have been unconscious right now. She looked up at him, but he was staring at something behind her. Zalia turned around and saw Valen standing there with his arms crossed. His normally gray eyes were darker than usual, and he looked mad. Zalia glanced back at Beckam, trying to figure out why the Prince was so mad. Beckam was looking at her oddly and then back at Valen. He backed away slowly from Zalia, still looking at Valen.
Valen pinned her with a look. “Are you all right?” he asked in a voice lower than his usual voice. It sounded almost guttural.
Zalia looked at him in surprise and a little bit of fear. “I’m fine,” she said in confusion. “We’re just fighting. It’s none of your concern,” she said snippily. She didn’t mean to act nasty, but she was tired and sore, and her face was starting to really hurt.
He narrowed his eyes at her and took a step towards her, then stopped. He shook his head slightly, then spun around and walked away. Zalia watched him in confusion. She turned back toward Beckam. He was still looking at her with an odd expression on his face.
“Well, that was weird,” she said. “Let’s get back to work.”
Beckam shook his head. “We’re done for now. Let’s get some ice on that cheek and take a break for lunch.” He put his arm around her and walked with her out of the training center, heading for the kitchen.
Chapter 9
Zalia walked with Beckam to the kitchen. When she got there, she was surprised to see her grandfather sitting in a chair at the table, talking to Mari. “Grandfather!” she called out as she walked over to him and gave him a hug. “What are you doing here?
He stood up to accept her hug. “Hey Zalia, it’s so good to... what happened to your face?” he asked.
“He did it,” she said, pointing to Beckam. Zalia turned away with a grin.
Beckam looked at their grandfather. “In training. It was an accident,” he said exasperated.
Her grandfather didn’t look too happy with Beckam, and Zalia smiled. She winced, though. Wow, that hurts, she thought. She turned to go look for some ice to put on it when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Valen holding out a rag with ice in it. She hadn’t even heard him come in. “Thanks,” she said, taking it from him. He dropped his hand from her shoulder and moved away from her. Is it me? Or is he acting odd? She didn’t have time to dwell on it. She headed back toward the table and sat down, placing the ice on her cheek. She winced momentarily.
“So why are you here?” she asked her grandfather.
He looked at her with a smile. “I have a surprise for you.”
Zalia smiled at him. “I’m not sure how I feel about surprises,” she said cautiously. She looked around the table. Everybody was looking at her grandfather, waiting to see what he had to say. She met Valen’s eyes for just a moment before she looked back at her grandfather. Valen always unnerved her.
“So, do I have to guess what it is?” she asked.
He sat back in his chair and looked at Zalia. “What takes place in three days?” he asked her.
Zalia sat back for a moment and thought about it. “My birthday!” She had forgotten all about her birthday. She looked back at him cautiously. What is he planning?
He took her hand and said, “We are going to have a party. There’s going to be music and dancing, good food and drinks; it’s going to be wonderful.”
Zalia was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. Beckam leaned forward, “What about keeping her identity a secret for fear of King Mylan?” he asked with a quick glance towards Valen. Valen said nothing. He took everything in, his eyes missing nothing.
“That’s the best part,” her grandfather said. “It’s going to be a masquerade ball. Everyone will come in a mask, so no one will have to know your true identity. Our warriors will be there for security for the castle, and Beckam and Valen will be there for security for you, Zalia. It will be an amazing celebration for an amazing granddaughter. Obviously, no one will know the real reason we are celebrating, except for us.” He continued to talk about the plans for the evening, but Zalia tuned him out.
She plastered what she hoped was a happy smile on her face. She knew she was having a bad attitude, but this just surprised her. She supposed she should be happy for a party, but it felt so wrong without her family. She hadn’t thought about turning eighteen without Kael and her mom and dad. A wave of grief came over her quickly, and she knew she had to get out of there. She stood up and leaned down to kiss her grandfather’s cheek. “Grandfather, that sounds so amazing! Thank you,” she gushed. “I can’t wait. If you will excuse me, though I think I need to lie down for just a few minutes. I guess that hit was harder than I thought.” With a fake smile plastered on her face, she walked toward the doorway. Right before she walked out, she looked up and met Prince Valen’s eyes. His eyes were narrowed as he watched h
er walk to the door. He didn’t look away. Too tired to hold the fake smile, she let it drop and just nodded at him as she left the room.
Back in her room, Zalia sat on her bed and tried to stop the tears from coming. It was useless. She let them come. She didn’t know how in the world she would be able to celebrate her birthday when her family was gone. She heard a soft knock on the door and quickly dried her tears.
“Come in,” she called out softly. She breathed a sigh of relief when Raven slipped inside. She didn’t have to hide anything from Raven. Raven came over to the bed, wrapped her arms around Zalia, and just held her. Zalia started crying again.
Raven whispered soothing words to her. When Zalia finally had control over emotions, she pulled away from Raven. “I’m sorry,“ she said.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Raven told her. “I’m sorry about the party.”
Zalia nodded. “I know he thinks he’s helping. I just don’t know if I can do it, Raven. All those people... I mean, they won’t know who I am, but still. How can I dance and have a good time when my family is dead? They were supposed to be here to celebrate my eighteenth birthday with me.”
Raven nodded. “I know,” she simply said.
Zalia knew there was nothing more she could do right now. She looked at Raven. “Did Beckam send you to fetch me for training?”
Raven looked at Zalia with a smile. “He did. Then Prince Valen told him to give you some time. To which Beckam didn’t look very happy, but the Prince reminded him that he was the one who hit you. He said it was really Beckam’s fault.”
Zalia stared at Raven. “Prince Valen said all that?”
Raven nodded with a huge smile on her face. “It was nice to see Beckam put in his place for once!” Zalia and Raven both laughed at that.
Zalia stood up and straightened out her clothes. “Well, I guess we have put them off for long enough.”
Raven put her arm through Zalia’s, and they headed out the door and down the hall to train. When they got to the training center, they could see Valen and Beckam sparring against each other. Valen must have gotten to choose the weapon because they both used swords. Zalia knew Beckam preferred his daggers. Both men were bare-chested and covered in sweat. Zalia watched, mesmerized at the almost dance-like coordination. Valen’s skills as a swordsman were greater than Zalia had ever seen. He moved his sword so fast, Zalia almost couldn’t even see it. Beckam was exceptional too, but just not quite to the level of Valen. The girls watched for a few more minutes before Beckam made a tiny slip and Valen got in what would have been a killing blow if they had been fighting for real.
