I began training with the soldiers every morning for a few hours. The men were slowly getting to know me but were wary of a woman in their ranks. There used to be many women amongst the royal soldiers, but in the last years there has been further segregation, and pressure from the king for soldiers to be men, and for women to embrace their role as ladies of the court. Women haven't enrolled in the military in the last twenty years. The Fae gentry placed too much value on partnering off their daughters for social advancement, and procreation.
My training with the men was such a novelty, that we would frequently see passersby stopping to look in at the Fae girl training with the soldiers. I noticed some young girls stopping curiously, a look of longing in their eyes. The yearning for a life besides the one they are expected to live. One such morning I turned to see Gwyn standing by the edge of the fence. I waved and ran over with a smile on my face.
"Hey Gwyn! What are you doing here?"
"Wren! I heard you were down here. I'm jealous, I've always wanted to learn self-defence." She stated, playing with one of her dark brown curls. Her honey brown eyes looked hopeful.
"You can train with me if you'd like. I can show you some stuff." I offered. She smiled and her eyes glimmered.
"I'd love that! Maybe tomorrow I will join in. I actually came by for another reason." She trailed off; I raised a brow. She blushed and pulled out an envelope with my name written across the front in delicate scrawl. I narrowed my eyes and took the envelope. I looked at her.
"Thank you?" I questioned, confused. She laughed and placed her hand on my arm.
"Your mother mentioned that you're going to be staying in tonight. Would you like to have a girl's night?" She whispered conspiratorially. I laughed at her demeanor.
"Sure thing. Just come by later, my door is always open." I smiled. She nodded and waved to me.
"Sure! I'll see you tonight. I'll bring the wine." She laughed and took off. I looked down at the envelope in my hands, and carefully broke the seal. I pulled out a letter written in an elegant cursive script.
Light of my life, (I snorted)
It has been many moons since I gazed upon your ethereal beauty. The embers of your hair, the endless forest of your eyes. Your creamy skin, I could go on. Meet me after dinner tomorrow, I have some matters to discuss with you.
Yours Sincerely,
Prince Rayne Armand Deimos
I chuckled to myself throughout the whole letter, with the occasional eye roll. I'll have to see what he wanted, the over dramatic fool. He knew how to push my buttons.
"Are you alright?" I heard the deep timbre next to me, I looked up to see Kellen staring at me concernedly. I blushed and folded up the letter, stuffing it in the pocket of my leggings.
"I'm good! Gwyn just wanted to see if I'm up for a girl's night later. I invited her to train with me tomorrow." I filled him in. He dragged his hand down his face.
"Fine, but no distracting the men." He playfully touched my arm. I fluttered my lashes up at him and bit my lower lip.
"How ever would we do that, General?" I purred. He groaned and narrowed his eyes at me.
"You know what you do." He laughed. A soldier with dirty blonde hair and indigo blue eyes ran up to us. He smiled at me and blushed a little.
"Hey, uh... who was that?" He asked innocently. I smirked and put on my matchmaking hat.
"That was Gwyn! She'll be coming to train tomorrow." I said pointedly. He blushed and nodded, walking away. Kellen groaned exasperatedly.
"Women!" He muttered. He called the men back to practice, but he turned and gave me a playful wink over his shoulder.
Later in the afternoon, I was pouring over books in my apartments. I'd managed to find the palace library, a grand building in the center of the maze. It was a three-story building, its interior was decorated with grand tapestries, battle scenes between Fae and man from the Great Wars. With the help of a few very demure Fae librarians, I loaded up on books on Fae history, the Great Wars, Fae culture, magic use. I needed to absorb everything I could get my hands on. I needed to learn about my people. I kept touching the skin around my eyes, awed that I no longer needed glasses to read anything. My nose was burrowed in a book on the ancient monarchies, when a knock sounded at my door.
My mother poked her head in, her and Alan had taken to standing watches outside my door in the evenings.
"Nose in a book, huh? That brings back memories." She smiled fondly. I ran my fingers through my tangled hair that I had been mussing up since I started reading. A bad habit of mine.
"Trying to learn as much as I can." I said softly. My forehead creased with worry, the idea of leading a nation of people is terrifying. I wasn't even raised in this world. Books I understood. She opened the door a little wider to reveal a smiling figure behind her.
"Your company has arrived." My mother smiled and ushered Gwyn into the room. Gwyn skipped in, her arms ladened with multiple bottles of red Fae wine. My mother took a look at the load in her arms and rolled her eyes. "Don't go too crazy, girls. You have events in the morning." I winked at Gwyn and waved my mother off.
"We're fine, we're all adults here. Mostly." I giggled and closed my book, sitting back in my chair. My mother snorted and took her leave of the room, I'm sure to go back to her post outside. She shut the doors to my apartments.
"Hey Gwyn! I stood to greet her, enveloping her in a warm hug. She squeezed me and sauntered over to the table to put down her load. She was dressed in loose fitting sweatpants and a black hoodie, her chocolate curls thrown up in a messy bun.
"I brought the goods! Good to see you, girl. I'm looking forward to a night to just relax free from events." She gushed, she put down a huge rucksack, and pulled it open, she started pulling out various snacks. Popcorn, chips, candy, chocolate.
"Holy shit! You really went nuts." I admired her display. Her honey brown eyes sparkled, and she shoved a cookie into her mouth. This is my kind of girl. I felt a little bit awkward, as I had never really socialized much back in the human world. Being raised in the mountains with a paranoid mother didn't really lend to making tons of friends. I looked down at my leggings and over-sized crew-neck sweater that went down to my knees. At least I didn't feel under dressed.
Gwyn wasn't bothered by my awkwardness, she charged into my kitchen and opened the cupboards, before pulling down two large crystal goblets. She uncorked a bottle and poured us each a generous glass. She handed me mine, before taking her glass and plopping herself down on my armchair in front of the fire.
"So, spill, what's going on between you and Prince Rayne?" She waggles her eyebrows. I blush and take a deep sip of my glass, before coming around the couch and plopping down across from her. I take a minute to think about my answer.
"I'm not really sure what is happening, to be honest. I think I'm his latest fancy." I waved my hand and took another sip of wine. "I've heard I'm not the first to receive his attentions." My cheeks heated further remembering the incident in my bedroom. She sits forward with her knee resting on her leg, her head resting upon her palm.
"I've never known him to send courting letters to a lady before. What did it say? It took all of my willpower not to open it." She giggled and winked. I forgot she delivered the letter earlier. I sighed and went up to my desk in the living room, I picked up the piece of paper she was referring to and handed it to her. Her eyes darted over the elegant script and she squealed.
"Light of my life? That's so romantic" She swooned and laid her head back on the chair. I smiled and took my seat again.
"I think he just says stuff like that to irritate me." I admit. She laughs and nods.
"I wonder what he wants to talk to you about?" She asked. I shrugged; I had no idea. It could be something whimsical that has struck his fancy, or it could be about the king. His moods were unpredictable like that.
"How would you feel if he was serious about you?" She asked. I paused. I remembered that day in my bedroom, his body pressed against mine, the soft feel of his lips. The passion he ignited. I thought of those piercing blue eyes. I thought about his family — the king. I thought about which side he is on.
"I would feel very confused. I don't need another complicated relationship." I muttered. She jumped at my words.
"Another complicated relationship? As in you have two?" She prompted leaning in closer eagerly. I chuckled at her interest in gossip. I went beat red. I took another deep sip of wine, savouring the sickly-sweet flavor of Fae wine.
"Kellen's kissed me." I admitted, not used to talking about these things. She clapped her hands in delight and giggled.
"He is so hot. Damn those eyes, that body. You get all of the good ones!" She crossed her arms and jokingly pouted. I tossed a pillow at her. She caught it with preternatural reflexes.
"He is really attractive. When he looks at me, I melt." I blush crimson and my head felt light and buzzing from the wine. I then frowned and swirled the wine around my glass. "I suppose it's not like we get a choice in who we end up with anyway." I added.
Her brow furrowed and she took a long sip. She looked up thoughtfully.
"I think our choices matter. Why would the gods partner us with someone we don't want?" She mused. I nodded thoughtfully, I hoped she was right, but who would I choose? What if I just want to be by myself and figure out who I am? In the human realm you would date someone for years before deciding to devote your lives to each other, and even then, it didn't work out a lot of the time.
"Do you think one of them will be your soul mate?" She prompted. I shrugged. There was something that drew me to each of them, like a cord of fate wrapped around us. A magnetic pull.
"What about you? Any romances in your life?" I changed the subject. She blushed and wrung her hands together.
"I haven't had the chance to be around too many of the Fae men. My parents are very strict and old fashioned, but I've noticed some cute guys at the events we go to. Especially amongst the soldiers." She smiled to herself. I smirked, when she came to train was going to be fun.
"Have you felt any powers awakening yet?" I asked her, curious as to how another Fae my age was progressing. She blushed and nodded.
"Today I made a breeze. I think." She smiled proudly. I smiled; air was commonly wielded by the Autumn Fae. She closed her eyes and looked like she was concentrating really hard, a light crisp breeze fluttered through the room. I smiled at her.
"Congratulations!" I said sincerely. "I suppose it all becomes clearer after the awakening and sorting." I mused. She nodded.
"What about you?" She asked. I bit my lip; I wasn't sure how much I should say. My gut instincts told me to trust her. I gestured to the potted plant in the corner of the room, and focused. The sprout grew and then flowered, blooming into a beautiful orchid. She oohed in delight.
"That's impressive to have such control at this stage!" She said. If only she'd seen what I'd done to the forest earlier. I smiled and moved in front of the large TV that dominated the living room space.
"How do you feel about a chick flick?" I mused. She nodded her approval and I handed her my stack of DVD's. She pulled out Pretty Woman. I smiled and powered up the player.
"Such a good movie. Richard Gere is at his prime." I reveled. We both poured ourselves another glass of wine and cuddled up on the couch to enjoy the movie.