Startled, I instantly attempted to sit up but only succeeded in slamming my forehead into theirs. The figure fell back with a yelp. I scrambled onto my feet and turned to the stranger to get a better look at them. Before me sat a young girl around my age. She had raven black hair, skin fairer than one usually found in the desert, and the characteristic bright gold eyes of our race. Those eyes held a hint of imperious indignance as she ignored her assaulted forehead and queried,
"Why are you here?"
"How do you mean?"I responded in confusion.
"This room. How did you come to find it?"
"Oh, my brother showed it to me earlier. We were just roughhousing for a bit."
Somehow I felt slightly childish admitting that even though we appeared to be of an age. The girl, despite her youth, seemed possessed of an elegance I had only ever seen in my own mother.
"Do you plan to tell anyone of this place?" she said with a hint of wariness in her voice.
"Not if you don't want me to."
I saw a small bit of relief flash over her face before she nodded sagely.
"Very well. I shall trust you at your word for now so you may come up."
"Come up where?"
She motioned to the ladder I had noticed earlier, rolling her eyes slightly. Hesitantly I climbed up. It led to a rather cramped loft made even more so by the abundance of clutter strewn about. There were books, blankets, cushions, toys, and other miscellaneous items piled in every available space. The girl followed on my heels and gestured to a pair of oversized cushions beside a small coffee table. I decided to refrain from asking how the hell she had managed to get an entire table up that ladder. Once I was seated she took the cushion opposite me and seemed to consider me mutely. An awkward silence ensued during which my brain seemed entirely focused on the embroidery of my designated cushion. I vaguely noted that it appeared to be incredibly expensive to be used as a mere seat and tried to think of something intelligent to say.
'Maybe I should compliment her cushion…'
I paused and opened my mouth to speak.
'Okay no, that is the opposite of intelligence. Damn it all, what did Mother say I should do with a girl? Oh wait, she didn't.'
The girl gave an exasperated sigh, clearly reaching the end of her patience.
"Are you not going to introduce yourself? Or do you plan to sit there like a dullard for all eternity?" she snapped.
My cheeks blushed furiously as I recalled from my etiquette lessons that men were traditionally meant to introduce themselves first. I had forced her to sit and wait for a solid minute.
"Uhh. Um. I- my name is Calin."
At the very least, with an introduction like that nothing could get worse.
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Calin. My name is Elliana Regia Morus."
My throat seized. It had gotten worse. It had gotten so very much worse. On closer inspection I realized that I had seen her once before - seated beside the King at the banquet. I was seated in some dingy attic alone with the Crown Princess of Aema.
'Oh gods, and I introduced myself as Calin. Just Calin; no title; no surname; nothing.'
I briefly considered clambering back down the ladder and impaling myself on a spear. Instead I scrabbled to my feet and fell into a hasty bow that would have had Mother wincing.
"Your Highness, I apologize for my indiscretion. I failed to recognize you."
She glared at me balefully.
"Sit down!"
I did so immediately.
"and leave off the 'Your Highness' shit. You may call me Elli, or Elliana if you absolutely insist."
"Yes, Your Hi- Elliana."
I sighed with relief, still slightly surprised that she hadn't ordered my immediate execution. She seemed to relax a little, obviously more comfortable without the title.
"Now that we are acquaintances, could you do me a favor?" she asked me hesitantly. She suddenly seemed more shy without the familiar formalities of etiquette to rely on.
"Of course!" I replied, more than happy to remove any lingering ill will from my heedless - if accidental - disrespect.
"Thank you. Could you perhaps keep this place a secret, or rather, keep it a secret that you saw me here. Joyce, my nurse, never lets me away if she can help it and this is probably the only hiding place she has yet to find."
"That shouldn't be a problem. I can imagine that the extent of your lessons make mine pale in comparison." I said with a grin.
She laughed.
"I imagine so. To Joyce, a minute awake is a minute to be spent studying. The last week has been the most relaxed in a while ironically enough, if only because my new training has been something of an upset to her carefully calculated schedule."
I gasped in a mixture of shock and wonder.
"You've started your training as an El'sui so early? I always imagined it would be something of a formality for the Crown Princess."
Her eyes narrowed slightly and I belatedly realized the implication that she wouldn't be a real El'sui. Seeing my embarrassment, she let it go and responded,
"Quite the opposite in fact. The King or Queen is expected to be capable on the level of a Warrior of Violet. Some have even rivaled Shades. Unfortunately for me, that means starting to train as early as possible."
She chuckled wryly but my eyes were wide and eager.
"What have you learned so far?" I asked, hungry for any detail.
"Not much." her expression soured "My teacher has a rather… odd method of training me. Methodical, but odd. I suppose that as I become more able, the methods will grow with me."
I was fully entranced now.
"Do you think I could meet him? I've never met a real El'sui before."
'Well except for one.' I failed to add.
"I don't see why not." she said "I'm sure that Mr. Ghilthaine would love such an eager student."
I choked on air. The excitement in my eyes died an ugly death. I laughed bitterly at the irony.
"No, I don't think he would like to meet me at all."
Elliana's brow knitted with concern as she reached accross the table to touch my clenched fist.
"D-did I say something wrong?"
Despite her royal status, she seemed genuinely scared to have offended me. A worm of guilt pushed through my bitter jealousy and indignation. She didn't deserve this spite. I forced my best smile onto my face.
"No it's not your fault at all."
She seemed to expect something more, waiting patiently for me to gather myself. With a deep breath, I opened my mouth to explain.
"Your teacher, Mr. Ghilthaine, I asked him some time ago if he might train me as an El'sui like he is you. He knew that such was my dream yet he refused, stating my heritage as the issue. Knowing now that he agreed to teach you made me a little angry towards him. It is no fault of yours. At the very least this clarifies exactly how unfit my heritage is. I suppose the difference between us is blindingly obvious."
I pointed now to my eye: the emerald green one, the eye that denoted my weakness.
"Well perhaps he was simply reluctant to take on a stranger as an apprentice and was simply making excuses. I am quite sure that with a good reference from me or word from your parents he might reconsider." she said hopefully.
"He won't." I responded flatly.
"Well how do you know that without trying?"
This time her voice was terse.
"Because I'm his son."
There was a finality in those words.
"O-oh…"
Her shoulders slumped somewhat however it was only for a moment. This time somewhat hesitantly, she tried a new angle.
"Well perhaps he's right. I mean this not as offense but a halfeye is rather ill-suited to becoming an El'sui. You will be dealing with half the speed, the strength, the dexterity, of any other. It would be infinitely harder for you."
"No it wouldn't." I sighed "That is the precise source of my frustration. I could understand his choice if it had some merit however by any phyisical metric I am the equal of a pureblood goldeneye."
"That's not possible." she said instantly.
"As I have been told my entire life yet every physician I have ever been taken to has confirmed that I am physiologically identical to a pureblood. I am a walking impossibility."
"I see…"
She held her chin in her hand, clearly deep in thought - or perhaps simply attempting to appear as such.
I gaped at her.
"That's it!?" I said aghast.
"What?"
"You believe me? Just like that?"
"Yes of course. What reason might you have to lie?"
I laughed ecstatically, almost manically. A wave of joy overtook me, almost wiping away my previous spite.
"No one ever believes me." I said, awestruck "Even if I prove I can run faster than them, they refuse to accept that a halfeye could be their equal."
"Well such people are fools. You need pay them no heed."
She gave a disdainful sniff and flick of her hair.
I looked at her in wonder.
"What confuses me is why your father takes the same asinine stance if he knows the truth."
"I can only conclude that his reasons are surface deep, that he doesn't wish for a halfeye to become one of Aema's prestigous warriors."
"That's despicable!" She hissed.
It seemed she was more angry on my behalf then I was, with my own rage now spent. Her eyes hardened and she squared her shoulders before continuing.
"I shan't stand for it! If he believes that you cannot become an El'sui then there is nought to do but prove him wrong. No, we shall surpass that. You will become a Shade. Then we can truly laugh at his petty foolishness!"
By the end of her tirade her face was flushed, eyes shining.
"One minor oversight in your plan." I responded dryly "I still have no one to train me to such heights."
"Well skeptic," she growled "I happen to be currently training with the greatest swordsman in the kingdom and have found that a partner with which to go over his material and methods might do me some good. In short, this princess is in need of a knight. Would you perhaps be interested in the position Sir Halfeye?"
Her eyes sparkled with amusement as she reached a hand halfway over the table.
"Are you offering to teach me?" I asked, barely able to believe my ears. Her hand remained without me even realizing how my own had taken it.
She shook.