11. Not the First
NOT THE FIRST
Aaryn took breakfast in her rooms, refusing to subject herself to another embarrassing encounter with the Tethered, and awaited the prince.
She was not filled with the same anger, the same fury, she had been when she had propositioned him for this favor.
She was filled with more confusion than ever.
If druids were so evil, so awful—would Thea have taken such care to make sure Starspark was fed? Would she have looked so delighted when her prayers to Aaryn had worked and Starspark had taken his first bite?
She stared down at the scar on her hand. But what of the Tethered who had been slain on the battlefield? Her brand slashed through, the connection to her dragon severed?
You've never asked a single question a day in your life.
She bristled at the truth to Thea's tone and hated that the remark haunted her.
A knock interrupted her thoughts and she gasped, heart leaping with nerves. But it was not the prince who waited on the other side; it was Rose.
Aaryn tried to shut the door in her face, but Rose slapped her hand against the door and leaned in. "I know I'm, like, the last person you want to see, but please, let me apologize! I gave the other Tethered a piece of my mind this morning."
It still stung that Rose had been too afraid to stand up for her when it mattered. But Aaryn really had no one else in her corner. Was she about to turn away the one person who was?
Aaryn sighed and held the door open. Rose squeaked and ducked under her arm. By the time she closed it and faced her, Rose's hands were clasped and her roundest eyes were on display.
"I really am sorry. I was so unsure what to do. I had no idea they were all so upset. And over a fact that we all very well know, too! Please forgive me for not standing by you. I pledge myself!" Rose declared, and dropped to a knee.
Aaryn rolled her eyes, but it did work to bring a small chuckle out of her. She tugged Rose back to her feet and waved a hand. What she'd learned in the Royal Library still weighed on her. She still had questions. And Rose often had answers. "You know, if you really want to apologize…" Aaryn began.
Rose stepped back. "I'm so sorry to break this to you but I am in fact, so sadly, not attracted to you in that manner."
Aaryn rolled her eyes again. "You can tell me more about the Tethered who went missing."
"Oh! Easy. Can do!" she said, and bounced over to the bed. "Seriously, I don't know what it is, but yours is so much comfier than mine."
"Rose. The Tethered."
"Yes, yes. Okay. Where to start? So… twenty, or about twenty years ago. Her name was Astrid. According to the rumors, she disappeared with her dragon. Just… poof. No one even knew she was gone until the next morning. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as what happened with Starspark."
Aaryn stared at her.
Rose cleared her throat. "Right. Sorry. Anyway, she was missing for a while. Two years? Then, there was a battle on the back lawn," she said, and leaned forward with the admission. "They used magic."
Like Thea had. Because they were the druids. Astrid had gone with the druids.
"The Tethered was killed in the battle. The funeral was lavish. Ornate. The king had been beside himself, and that's when he cut back on public appearances. The rumor is it broke his heart more so than his own wife's death."
Aaryn tilted her head to the side. "Why was the king so distraught?"
"Oh." Rose blinked at her, and then reached over with a dry laugh. "Sorry, I forgot to mention—the Tethered Astrid was the princess!"
The next queen could have been a Tethered.
That's all Aaryn could think about as she awaited the prince, after Rose left to care for Moss.
Astrid.
The princess, sister to Jarrick, missing—or a runaway—before she'd been killed. Rose painted a romantic picture of Astrid chasing after the very first Tethered to ever go missing, Vaelen. The one whose whereabouts remained unknown.
Aaryn wasn't sure what to do with these facts, or what they were supposed to mean to her. She felt as if she was missing something, but she didn't even know where to begin.
She had taken to downright pacing before the prince came to collect her.
"Good afternoon, Aaryn. Forgive my tardiness. I had to tend to a few things this morning," Jarrick greeted.
"That's quite alright," she said, noting Runa still stood in her place.
"One of which was to acquire a space for us to practice. Walk with me?" he asked. "Runa will join us, so no unruly rumors make their way about the castle."
They already have.
"Thank you," she told him, and began to walk in step beside him. "To be honest, the Tethered have enough to be angry with me about, let alone rumors that I'm seducing the prince.”
He dipped his head. "I fear that is my fault. I don't think the investigators were as mysterious about the whole ordeal as they should have been, despite my urging."
Aaryn bit down on her frustration at their carelessness.
"Did they at least learn anything from who they questioned?" she asked. Perhaps her betrayal of the other Tethered had not been in vain.
Her short-lived hopes were dashed as the prince winced. "Unfortunately, we didn't find any traitors in our midst like I had hoped."
She frowned. "Maybe they're in a further Guard. Thea was a Sixth Guard for a while before she was a Fourth."
The prince smiled down at her. "We have considered that, yes. You have done much to help our cause. Thank you, Tethered Aaryn," he said.
Aaryn recognized a dismissal when she heard it. She let the subject drop, lest her bristles rise, and continued to follow the prince through the castle.
"Now, I hope you'll forgive me. I couldn't very well take you to the training barracks. Too many eyes and ears."
She noted Runa still walking behind them at a slower pace.
"If I'm going to dishonor you in this way, let it be private," he murmured, and Aaryn felt her cheeks flame. She cooled her expression, though what she wanted to do was drop her mouth open and slowly spin to Runa and ask if she'd heard what he'd dared to utter.
The prince stopped before another door she was unfamiliar with, and opened it into a large, windowed room, though the curtains were all drawn, sunlight spilling from beneath their great lengths.
The floor was tiled and her simple shoes echoed off the ground as she stepped inside. It was beautiful craftsmanship, with arched windows and a stone fireplace. A few decorative tables and chairs had been pushed out of the way, and a large, thick rug had been laid out over the center of the floor.
"The reason for my tardiness," he presented, ushering both her and Runa inside. "The king suggested we use this room, and I quite think it's a good idea."
"What is this room usually reserved for?" she asked, eyes tracing every square inch, from the lit candelabras to the bookcases in each corner decorated with more trinkets than books.
"Lounging, relaxing. Of course, none of us are getting much of that, considering all that's happened recently."
You and me both, she thought.
For a moment, Aaryn considered telling him about her experience just last night. About Thea, feeding the dragon, yet another dream—another… vision.
Because that's what it had to be, yes? Not simply dreams. Not with the way Thea had spoken to her.
Something small and tight in her chest kept the words locked away.
She swallowed them, and caught sight of various wooden weapons lined up against the wall alongside the door. Excitement dared to curl through her veins.
"What shall we start with?" she asked. Her long pants swished around her ankles, which was the clothing she'd deduced would offer her the most range of movement.
Usually, they were reserved for wear only when caring for Starspark, but she imagined this was a special occasion.
She couldn't very well learn… whatever she was going to learn in stays and dresses, now, could she?
"Don't get ahead of yourself, now. Before you pick up a weapon, we need to cover the basics."
"Basics?" she asked, facing the prince.
"Basics," he echoed, and charged at her.
Aaryn felt her eyes go wide and instinctively shot her hand out, jabbing him in the throat. He made a horrible choking noise and coughed, bending over at the knees.
"Great scales! I'm sorry, I panicked!" Aaryn knelt next to him, and he offered her a strained smile, holding up a finger.
She winced, waiting as he caught his breath. When he spoke next, his voice was slightly hoarse. "Well. That's one way to do it," he rasped.
Aaryn covered her face with both hands. "I'm so terribly sorry," she whispered, mortified. She'd injured the prince!
"Where in the world did you learn that?" he asked after getting to his feet.
Aaryn flushed and stammered, “I just—learned it when I was younger! I’m sorry!”
Prince Jarrick looked thoughtful, and she considered that growing up on the outskirts of Evergale had been vastly different than the prince’s own upbringing.
“Well, I’m glad whatever kind of purpose you could’ve had for learning such things are in the past. You’re Tethered.”
It eased something in her to hear those words. She was Tethered, with a home, and everything she could desire, and a task she could not be more eager to undertake—caring for a dragon!
Tightness gripped her chest as she was struck with longing for Starspark. She missed him.
"Thank you, Prince. Maybe I'm biased, but I'm also glad," she responded lightly.
He cracked a smile and she felt quite accomplished for but a moment—because then he began leading her through movements.
They felt stilted as she followed him, unfamiliar as they were, but with each repetition she grew more confident.
“You thought ahead and wore the pants," he said, stepping away after he showed her the correct footing for a grapple.
“So it would be easier to do this." She lunged at him, not quite catching him off guard like she'd wished. Maybe if she hadn't warned him with her words first.
She collided with him and he did let out a little “oof” of effort, which made pride swell behind her breast. However he didn't move much more than a few inches, and Aaryn sighed.
"It was a good attempt," he placated as she released him.
She stepped back and put her hands on her hips. "When can I hold a sword? Or a bow?"
He narrowed his gaze for a long moment, lips twitching, before finally... "Fine, fine. We can go over the very basics, but you've got to learn to walk before running, yes? It is the same with combat."
Aaryn nodded. "I just want to see what it feels like." Holding Thea's dagger had sent a thrill through her. Would this offer the same electric sensation?
He went over to the wall and picked up two wooden swords. As he showed her where to grip the hilt, she recalled a moment when her hand had held a similar one.
"Wow, it's heavier than it looks," Aaryn breathed, staring down at the dagger.
The blade was sharp and gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, while the hilt was dark, wrapped in leather. She could feel the indentations where a specific hand had molded the hilt to its shape.
It usually hung so secure at Thea's side, in its sheath. But it had clearly been used plenty.
"You get used to the weight," Thea answered, very matter of fact. She watched Aaryn carefully, hands practically hovering as if she might accidentally drop the weapon and hurt herself, as if her attention alone might prevent such a thing.
Aaryn met her gaze. "Do you get used to what one does with it as well?"
Thea's expression shuttered, emotion clamping down behind a polite mask. "We all do what we must."
"For Evergale," Aaryn guessed.
Her placating smile could have been a grimace. "For Evergale."
Looking back now, Aaryn saw it in a new light. It was a grimace. Thea cared not to protect Evergale. According to the prince, Thea and all the druids would see the magic that protected them used for petty convenience, which would lead to Evergale's—and all of Rishika's—fall.
Compared even to the memory of the dagger, the wooden sword was lightweight, and she lifted it easily. The weight was balanced so differently from the long brush she used to dust Starspark's scales. Now suddenly she wasn’t feeling so confident.
"It’s a little… awkward," she murmured.
"That’s okay, you’ll get used to it."
He led her through the ways to hold the hilt, the purpose for each placement of finger or foot. It surprised her, though she knew not why, that the prince was a good instructor. He knew how to explain exactly everything she required clarity on, which assisted in her understanding of each movement.
"Lean this way to add strength behind your blade thrust." And it did.
"Place your foot here—it steadies your posture, yes?" And she agreed.
Eventually, when Aaryn's head began to hurt from remembering all the rules, the prince stood across from her with his own sword.
"I'll go slow," he said, and stepped forward, swinging his sword with two hands. Aaryn met him and their wooden blades clacked together. Then he pulled back and swung again, and Aaryn anticipated where he would strike, and blocked him. It remained comically slow, and Aaryn found herself smiling.
Even if it was play, or pretend, it felt fun.
And Aaryn hadn't felt that since Starspark had gone.
Part of her wanted to cry, and part of her wanted to cheer, and part of her wallowed in guilt.
How could she have fun when Starspark was missing?
The jumble of emotion spilled out as she parried the prince with more force than she intended, and decided to lean into it.
She tackled him, using the footing and placement he'd shown her earlier.
He hadn't been expecting it, and released a heavy breath as they grappled. Ultimately, he was stronger than her, but she used his weight against him and—
Her footing slipped and they toppled to the floor.
She landed quite softly against the plush rug and the prince stopped himself from landing atop her with his hands braced on either side of her head.
For just a moment, the weight of him was above her and her breath caught.
His knees framed her thighs and both of their breaths came heavy and it was quite similar to…
Her cheeks flushed brightly and as the prince gazed down at her, she hoped it could be explained away with exertion.
A shuffle of metal sounded, and her eyes drifted to Runa, still standing by the door, facing forward as if she was part of the lavish decoration.
As if Jarrick had forgotten her too, he pushed to his feet and held out a hand to Aaryn. "I think that's a good stopping point for today. We made progress, and you're a fast learner."
"Thank you, Prince," she said, using his title to remind herself just who he was, and who she was in turn.
"Of course. We can resume in a few days?"
A few days? "Sounds agreeable," she said, though she wanted to demand to learn more as soon as she could.
"I look forward to it, Tethered Aaryn."
They bid one another goodbye, and as Runa led her through the door, two guards made way for them on either side of the entrance.
Aaryn hoped Runa was not one to gossip.