Chapter Seven
Iwake up to multiple bottles of tonics on my dresser. As I turn on my side to look at them, I see a note attached.
Take once a day before training. I will see you this morning.
- Draven
I lie back in bed with a groan, almost forgetting what I agreed to last night.
Maybe I can just shut my eyes for a bit longer and say I overslept. I slide back under the covers, just starting to get comfortable again when Ivorie walks into the room.
“Solene, the prince had these sent for you. I did not know that you were still feeling unwell.”
“I know. I should have said something,” I say.
She walks toward the bed, sitting on the edge of it.
“There are things we can give you to help with the settling of your magic. Do you still feel weak, feverish at all?”
She leans forward and places the back of her hand to my forehead. I start to laugh and grab her hand, bringing it down off my forehead. “No, I am not feverish, but I will admit I do feel weak. Draven said I should have strength by now, but I do not. Is that bad?”
“No, it is not the worst that could happen. We can fix it.” She scans the various bottles and hands me one to drink. “This will taste awful but it will get the job done.”
I tip the tonic back and swallow it down. A gag works its way up my throat, but I choke it down.
“Oh my word that tastes like absolute shit. What is that?” I say hoarsely.
She scrunches her nose. “Best that I do not tell you.” She gets up off the bed, walking over to the wardrobe to pull out my clothes for the day.
“I will be gone for most of today. As you can see, the prince sent word that he requests your presence down in the training arena within the hour. He also sent these up.”
I look down at the training leathers she places on the edge of the bed. I did not think I needed specific clothes for a mediocre work out, but okay.
I groan and slip out of bed, walking into the bathroom so I can get ready for the day.
When I am done, Ivorie braids my hair down my back, pulling it tight and adding pins so that it is secure.
Once I put the training leathers and boots on, I walk in front of the mirror so I can take a look at the ridiculous outfit.
I pause in appreciation at how flattering they truly are.
They hug every curve, emphasizing my figure.
Also, for being leather, they are unexpectedly breathable.
The boots are where most of the confusion comes in, but it is obvious they do things very differently here.
I shrug my shoulders and step out from in front of the mirror.
Ivorie says her goodbyes, leaving me by myself in my room. After the door shuts, I sit on the edge of the bed in contemplation.
I think I made a mistake. I do not want to do a workout in front of the prince.
Not that I care about his opinion of me, it is just that I do not want an audience to witness my struggle.
I lied when I told him I work out at home.
I have not worked out in over a year so I will surely make a fool out of myself.
Now that Ivorie is gone, there is no one to really hold me accountable to go. I could easily spend today in my room or even feign an illness.
That sounds like a solid plan to me.
I quietly walk over to the door and crack it open, poking my head out to assess the situation. I turn to the right, all clear. I turn to the left and jump back, smacking my head on the door.
Ludwig turns and looks at me with boredom.
“Shit, you scared me. Where did you come from?” I basically hiss.
His gaze moves over me lazily as he sighs. “I have been out here for over an hour waiting to escort you, my lady.”
I stand there for a moment, contemplating my next words. “Well, you see, I am actually not feeling the best this morning. I think I will have to cancel. Will you please let Draven know for me?”
Ludwig gives me another bored look. “The prince said that you might say that. He was adamant that whatever excuse you gave, he does not care.”
I roll my eyes and keep going. “He does not care if I am ill? How inconsiderate of him. It surely is not that big of a deal if I cannot make it. He should be happy I am giving him his free time back.”
“He cleared his day today, my lady.”
Shit.
“Well, did he give a reason for clearing his schedule?”
Ludwig clears his throat. “Yes, he said that it was pertinent that you started your training today and he wanted to have enough time to spend with you. Also, forgive me my lady, but he says that you are weak.”
I scoff. “Well, that’s just rude. Fine, one second please.”
I shut the door, groaning as loud as I can. I look around, contemplating another way to escape from Ludwig’s judgmental stare. Nothing comes to mind this time.
I open the door back up, stepping out of my room. Ludwig and I stare at each other as seconds pass.
I motion him forward. “Well, lead the way, friend.”
We walk through the castle in silence that I quickly decide I have had enough of.
“So what exactly do you do around here?”
Ludwig walks next to me, his short legs moving surprisingly quick.
“I tend to the prince’s every need. What he asks for, I give him. My life’s purpose is serving this crown.”
I give him a sideways glance. “Wow that is deep. Draven is lucky to have someone like you. So, you are kind of like what Ivorie is to me. What would that be called then?”
He does not respond.
“A man’s maid.” I start to laugh at my own joke. “Do you get it? Because Ivorie is called a lady’s maid.”
Ludwig does not laugh or respond back to me. A personality is hard to find around here apparently.
Thankfully, but not soon enough, we finally reach what must be the training arena. It is a large area separated in half, one part grass, another part dirt. In the middle is a giant black mat. Standing on the giant mat is Draven, shirtless.
My eyes roam over him, taking in his appearance.
With clothes on, the prince looks very slender and tall. You can see some muscle definition through his clothes, but not much.
Right now, without his shirt on, you can see immense strength defining his arms and abdomen. Strength that looks earned through years of discipline.
He is wearing black riding pants that are low on his waist and tucked into knee-high boots. His abdomen is nothing but dips and valleys of lean muscle leading to a V that drops down beneath his pants. His porcelain skin gleams with sweat.
He has a large sword in his hand. Metal clashes against metal as he battles the vampire across from him.
I would be quite scared if I wasn’t so mesmerized at their movements.
They move around each other like they are dancing.
Their movements are quick and efficient, silver flashing as their swords move through the air faster than normal.
Metal clangs loudly as the man loses his sword against Draven’s hit.
Ludwig clears his throat loudly. “Lady Solene is here as you requested, Prince Draven.”
Draven looks over to us and then turns to excuse the other man from the room, slapping him on the back.
He makes quick work of pulling his shirt back on, the sweat on his body starting to make marks against the dry fabric.
I let out a breath of relief at him covering himself.
I am trying to look anywhere but at him, but it seems that it is too difficult for me to do at the moment.
Not to mention his stare is piercing as he walks toward us.
“Thank you, Ludwig. You’re excused for the day. Get some rest, old friend,” Draven says.
Ludwig bows lowly and scuttles away.
I snort. “A man of many words, huh?”
He half-smiles. “Indeed. How are you?”
Taken back by the sincerity of his question, I fidget with my hands. “I am okay. I feel better today.”
“Oh, so you did not try to cancel?”
Not so slick as I thought I was, I guess.
“Oh no, I did.”
He laughs. “I figured as such. We will start off simple today and just do balance work. We also need to see how your foot work is before you start with sword work and sparring.”
“Wait, what do you mean sword work? I thought we were doing a little work out. Like I don’t know… running or something.”
Draven turns on his heels quickly and starts to walk back onto the mat. “No, unfortunately that’s not what I meant by training. We need to figure out why your magic is not settling.”
“This is not what I signed up for. In fact, it is even worse than what I thought I was originally singing up for. I would even rather run.”
“Vampires have increased strength and speed as well as enhanced eyesight and hearing. Some even have more magic than that. You should at least be manifesting some of that, but you are not. You have been turned for almost three months now,” he says as he pointedly ignores my previous comment.
“So what does that mean?”
“We need to figure out why. Hopefully this will give the magic some motivation to come to surface. Then when it does, we have even more work to do.”
Great. Looks like this is going to be a long process.
Draven stops in the middle of the mat. “How does your body feel when you move?”
“Well… it hurts, but I have gotten used to it. I do feel off balanced, like my arms and legs are longer than what I am used to.”
I feel like I have grown a few inches taller compared to my previous body. It is unnerving.
“Okay. Let’s just start with balance then.”
I nod, walking forward and settling on the edge of the mat.
“You can come closer. I don’t bite,” he says with a wink.
A chill runs through me. I walk over and stand directly in front of him. The top of my head does not even reach his shoulder.
He looks down at me, eyebrows drawn together. “You are tiny.”
I roll my eyes. “No, you are just unnecessarily tall. Move along, please.”
He laughs in response, then his features slowly form into something more serious.