Leaving her mother's room, Evelune bid Klorais farewell and made her way toward the sparring grounds. She knew for certain Jestullin and Mar would be hacking one another half to death under the guise of training.
Stepping out onto the balcony overlooking the sparring ground, she saw Ilva, another of the ten swords and the warrior her younger brothers were apprenticed to.
Evelune was quite fond of Ilva. Aside from her house Crescaedes being close allies with the royal family, she respected Ilva for being the only female of the ten swords.
"Princess," Ilva saluted upon noticing Evelune.
"At your leisure, warrior. Are my brothers sparring again?"
"Indeed," she replied, pointing at the two boys swinging at one another with blunted swords.
Even Evelune's untrained eye could see who was superior. Jestullin, heir to the throne, stood nearly six and a half feet tall with muscles like a veteran warrior, his locs flowed like a mane past his shoulders. Mar, however, was barely taller than Evelune herself, his shaved head and frail build giving off the image of a starved peasant.
"This is hardly a fair fight," Evelune stated.
Ilva nodded in agreement, "Prince Marikaedes is the one who requested the duel; he always is."
Evelune watched Jestullin bring blow after blow down on Marikaedes, who was struggling to defend himself.
"Can you do nothing but defend?" taunted Jestullin, "You do our father's name a disgrace."
Evelune saw the moment Mar snapped; she knew the look in his eye, the same look as when he challenged their father during a public council.
With a shout, Marikaedes dropped his sword and lunged under Jestullin's blade, tackling him to the ground like a rabid hound.
"What the hell are you doing!" growled Jestullin. "Get off me!"
But Marikaedes paid him no mind as he clawed at the first prince's face. The guards looked at one another, seemingly torn between which of the princes' safety to prioritize.
"Enough!" shouted Ilva. "Every day your spars devolve into senseless violence. It's no wonder both of your sword skills aren't improving."
For a moment, Evelune was worried her brothers' anger would turn on Ilva. Nobody spoke to members of the royal family that way. But to her surprise, the two boys listened.
Walking down the steps from the balcony, Evelune approached Jestullin first.
"Sister, a shame you had to see that." stated the prince.
"It's my last day here, you know. I don't want to see the two of you fighting." Evelune stated, "You should apologize to Mar."
Jestullin smirked, "Apologize, for what?"
"Must you always be so crass?" Evelune sighed in frustration.
"Hah, fine. I'll apologize later. Give Lord Kaylen's daughter my regards when you arrive; I've heard she's quite the beauty." Jestullin said before storming off.
Evelune hated Jestullin, but he was her brother, so she held her tongue. Though it was times like this when she thought someone like him didn't deserve the gift of royal lineage.
"yeah fuck off Jestullin," spat Mar, walking over to her.
she shook her head, "You shouldn't say something so unbecoming, you're a noble."
the prince shrugged, "You were thinking the same thing."
Evelune's was always closest to her younger brother so she knew about his temper however, she thought he would grow out of it. unfortunately seventeen years later he was still the black sheep of the family.
"I probably won't see you for a while, make sure to behave yourself when I'm gone," said Evelune. "Especially when father gets back from Rueras."
"You don't need to worry about me." Mar replied, "I'm more worried about you being all by yourself in the Kaylen estate."
"I won't be alone; I'll have Cyithrel and Ellae with me."
"A slave is hardly company for a princess." chided Mar.
"Ellae is my handmaiden, not a slave, and I quite enjoy her company." Evelune snapped back.
"Sorry, I meant no offense," said Mar. "I'll miss you." A rare moment of honesty for the young prince.
"As will I," replied Evelune, pulling him into a hug. "I must go now; I promised Cyithrel we'd leave before dusk."
Let's just hope he doesn't get into any more trouble while I'm gone, Evelune thought.
Cyithrel was waiting in the main courtyard, where she had planned to meet him. The only issue was that he was accompanied by a massive dragon. It stood nearly 3 meters tall and over twice as long, with reddish-grey scales and reptilian yellow eyes.
"Dear, I thought we agreed that … thing wasn't allowed near the palace," said Evelune.
"I thought you might like to speed up our journey." Cyithrel spoke, "It's far quicker than riding a horse."
Evelune looked at him shocked, "You mean for me to get on the dragon?"
Cyithrel nodded a slight smile on his face, "Indeed, and her name is Yrass, remember."
"I thought only those who make a bond with a dragon from birth can ride one, hence the title, dragon riders."
Cyithrel laughed, "Well that's partially true, but Yrass will carry others if I tell her to."
This was the man Evelune was married to—someone who flew through the sky on the back of the world's most feared creature.
"I even had the stable masters design a custom saddle for you."
"I'm afraid I can't." Evelune stated, "The people of Ruinas would think I'm crazy if they saw their future lady riding atop a dragon-like some warrior queen from a fairytale."
"I hadn't thought of that," replied Cyithrel, disappointment sneaking onto his usually stern expression.
It seemed he had been looking forward to this.
"Well, I suppose, as long as I'm not the one leading her, it won't be that unladylike," Evelune added.
"Of course!" said Cyithrel. "I'll ride in front; you can just enjoy the view from above."
Climbing atop Yrass, Cyithrel held out his arm to help Evelune up. Carefully, she approached the beast. She had seen Cyithrel ride on the dragon's back before, but reconciling the village-burning monsters with the docile creature in front of her was difficult.
"Don't worry; she's a cinder wraith. Even wild ones aren't aggressive unless provoked first." said Cyithrel.
Grabbing his hand, Evelune pulled herself onto the creature's back and into the saddle. The reptilian was warm to the touch, it seemed to be giving off a constant heat.
"Wrap your arms around me."
"Pardon?" Evelune asked.
"The first time can be a bit disorienting," he spoke, "I can't have you falling off."
Evelune wrapped her arms around his torso as he commanded the beast.
"Up, Yrass!"
Evelune found herself soaring upward rapidly, she shut her eyes and felt her stomach drop.
"Wait, hold on, Cyithrel!" Evelune screamed.
"Xyrass, hold!"
With a lurch, their ascent was halted. Evelune pried open her eyes and looked down to see they had barely flown above the courtyard's walls.
Her cheeks flushed as embarrassment took hold of her, "I'm sorry; I thought I'd be okay, but it's truly terrifying."
"Don't worry," replied Cyithrel, his voice barely carrying over the sound of the dragon's wings. "We can take it slowly. You're safe with me. Yrass, forward."
The trio began to move forward, gaining height gradually until the people of the palace could no longer be heard. Up in the air, there was nothing but silence and the steady beat of Yrass' wings.
"It's peaceful, isn't it?" asked Cyithrel. "Sometimes I have Yrass take me up here just to clear my mind."
"I'm not sure I'd call that calming," muttered Evelune.
"If you're not too afraid, look down," said Cyithrel. "It's a sight you'll never forget."
Glancing down, Evelune saw the royal capitol in its entirety—thousands of buildings, merchants, and vendors at work, lamps lining the streets, pristine noble districts, dirty slums, and in the center of it all, the royal palace shining a lustrous gold.
I'm really gonna miss it all, Evelune realized.