Chapter Three #4
As I neared the fields and the sea, the wind kicked up, and I was glad I had secured my hair.
Strands of it still came loose and whipped around my face, and the sea breeze pressed my tunic against my body.
The added push of the constant breeze here made training more of a challenge and strengthened us so that when we fought the Hollows in the outerlands, where there was no sea breeze, the combat was easier—although combat with a Hollow was never easy.
I was still a few yards away, the grass giving way to patches of sand here and there, when I spotted my sisters.
They were on the far side of the field, closest to the sea, which was dark blue and churning with white caps.
The cliffs that made up one side of the castle gleamed creamy white in the late afternoon sun.
The beach below was little more than a deposit of large boulders that made it difficult to navigate.
If we wanted to sunbathe or swim, we had to walk about a mile away where the sand was softer and fewer rocks lined the shore.
At some point in our history, people had dragged a few of those rocks to the edge of the field, making a ring around the far end.
This was the area where my sisters had settled.
Broga and Riah circled each other in what appeared to be a sparring match.
Broga attacked, and Riah appeared on the defensive.
The other women trained alone. Morga seemed to be stretching, and Finnrey was practicing a set of maneuvers. Cameed was running from one end of the field to the other, touching the ground at various markers denoting quarter distances.
On the other side of the field, about a dozen kids were training.
The boys and girls appeared to be about ten, and several were sparring as Broga and Riah were on the other side of the field.
The other students were probably supposed to be watching and taking notes, but most of them seemed to be watching the princesses, just as I had been.
I smiled wistfully at the children. I had always hoped I would someday become an instructor of the next generation of cadets.
I’d once told my mother of my plan, and she’d told me I was too restless and impulsive to be an instructor of children.
A sudden movement from Riah caught my eye, and I glanced that way in time to see her trip Broga.
Broga went down hard, her back thudding on the sandy grass.
I winced but had a difficult time feeling too sympathetic.
I’d fallen plenty of times and Broga had always relished making fun of me.
I wasn’t foolish enough to do the same. After all, it was the Zulenii prince we were fighting, not each other.
I trekked across the field and stood near my sisters but facing the sea.
I went through a set of stretches, watching as wave after wave crashed against the rocky shore.
I liked to look out at the sea and wonder what lay on the other side.
Sometimes I dreamed about learning how to build a ship and sailing across the sea and discovering a new country and new people.
I wondered what these people would look like, what strange new foods they would eat, and what language they would speak.
I’d taste the foods and learn their language and customs and history.
Before I’d always thought these dreams foolish, but if Zulen had survived the red vein virus, might there not be other people still alive in the world?
After a few minutes, Finnrey came to stand beside me. “I wondered when you’d make an appearance.”
“I slept too long,” I said, though I still felt tired and wouldn’t have minded sleeping right through until tomorrow morning.
“Your mother has been busy.”
I gave her a sharp look, but she was looking out at the sea.
I’d once asked her if she imagined people on the other side of that vast body of water, and she’d stared at me as though I had a fever and was babbling nonsensically.
“There’s nothing on the other side of the water,” she said.
That’s what we’d been told, but I still liked to imagine otherwise.
“What has my mother been doing now?”
She glanced at me. “She’s giving coins to any courtier who will take one and asking them to find out whatever they can about the Zulenii prince and report to her. She wants to know his favorite colors and foods and preferences in women. No doubt she wants to show you off to advantage.”
“You’d think she wanted him to choose me.”
“She doesn’t not want him to choose you. In a way, it’s a compliment. She has faith in your fighting abilities. Lady Aine would be devastated to lose you.”
I wasn’t so certain. If I was chosen, no longer would she be the disgraced former queen.
She’d be the mother of the chosen princess.
Finished with my stretches, I began a series of defensive movements that, when done gracefully, looked a bit like a dance.
I’d performed these so many times that I needn’t even think about what I did any more.
Finnrey fell into step beside me, and we moved in unison. “Who do you think he’ll choose?” she asked.
“You,” I said, giving her an apologetic look. “You’re the prettiest.”
“Thank you, I think. But if appearance is important to him, he’s just as likely to choose you. You’re far prettier than me. Than any of us.”
I took a wrong step and had to catch myself as my balance faltered. “No, I’m not. I’m far too tall—”
“For the men of Earsleh, who are largely idiots by any measure. But I hear the Zulenii people are giants. You will probably be short in comparison.”
“I will believe that when I see it.”
“The prince will take one look at you and fall in love.”
“Shut up.”
She smiled. “I’m only partly teasing, you know.
You are pretty. I know you hate your eyes, but they’re exotic.
Then, of course, you have the royal forehead and cheekbones.
But that mouth is all your mother’s. My mother always said it was that mouth that made our father fall in love—or at least lust—with Lady Aine. ”
My lips tingled, and I pressed them together. I had a rather wide mouth with full lips. I never paid much attention to it, though I liked it on my mother because when she smiled it was a gesture that seemed to take up her entire face.
“If the prince is in any way intelligent, he will choose the princess he thinks he can most easily defeat.” I desperately wanted to change the subject.
“I suppose we will see,” Finnrey said. “Do you want to spar?”
“Sure.” I always liked sparring with Finnrey.
Her moves weren’t predictable, like Broga’s, or tricky, like Morga’s.
She came at me straight on, like the Hollows did.
We moved away from the rocks at the edge of the field and found a spot where we had plenty of room.
We began circling each other, looking for weaknesses or vulnerabilities.
After years of fighting together, we already knew them.
Finnrey’s left side was weaker, and I almost always attacked her from the left.
My long legs were a good target for her.
She could kick them out from under me and send me sprawling.
Thus, I anticipated it when she stuck out a foot and tried to trip me. I jumped right over it, executed a quick turn, and jabbed her left side with my fist. The blow landed, and she grunted, though I had pulled the punch.
I expected her to try and trip me again. Instead, she lunged and would have tackled me if I hadn’t cut to the side and executed a neat tumble out of the way. Finnrey spun around, smiling. “Show off,” she said.
I bowed, and when I came up, so did my leg.
I swung it in a round kick, but she curved her body inward, so my boot barely grazed her tunic.
Finnrey took her curve into a bend and charged me.
The move was inelegant but effective. I couldn’t evade her.
The most I could do was push her away, but she had momentum on her side.
She plowed into me, and we both went down.
I hit first, the jolt pushing the breath out of me.
I immediately rolled to the side, lest Finnrey pin me to the ground.
She tried anyway, but I was able to hook a leg around her middle.
This was the sort of move I would never employ in the outerlands. I might have immobilized Finnrey, but if she’d been a Hollow, she could have easily bitten me. Unfortunately, I was just as immobile. If I loosened my hold on her, she’d pounce and pin me down.
“Looks like a draw,” Broga said. I glanced up and noticed my sisters had gathered in a semicircle to watch our match. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded a draw, but something about the way Broga sneered made me want to prove to her that I could fight.
I swung my upper leg high, and when Finnrey moved to attack, I rolled and flipped to my feet.
Finnrey brought her legs around, trying to lock them around my ankles.
I quickstepped out of reach. If we’d been actual combatants, I would have kicked her in the gut.
Instead, I dove down, ending up straddling her.
Her fists came up, one of them connecting with my jaw.
I caught the other and pinned it beneath one knee.
She struggled, almost unseating me, but I used my leverage to push her free hand down to the ground.
Faces just a few inches apart, I started counting. “One, two, three—”
“Oh, let me up. I concede.”
I immediately released her and stood, holding out a hand to help her rise. “Let’s hope this prince isn’t as quick as you,” she said. “That ankle lock usually works.”
“You still got a swipe in,” I said, rubbing my jaw.
“Sorry. I’ll get you a cold compress.”
“You’re both sorry,” Broga said. “If the prince chooses either one of you, it will certainly be the first time Earsleh loses the challenge in two hundred and nineteen years.”