The Last Dance (16)

Hello!! This chapter wasn't supposed to be up until tomorrow but since I got such a nice comment and message I wanted to get it out tonight =)

Also I made a banner for the story! So if you've been wondering what the characters look like... ta daa!! They might not match the exact descriptions from the beginning of the book but I like these so much more.

Comment and Vote?

Cheers,

xo.

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Chapter 16 - Knights in Training

"Is she awake yet?"

"Shhh, Lyle can't you see her eyes are closed?"

"But she's been sleeping forever!" A voice whined.

I cracked open an eyelid and noticed with relief that John was no longer in here. The last thing I needed was to try and explain that.

I made an exaggeratedly loud yawn and the two girls at the foot of by bed made noises of excitement.

"She's alive!"

"Or course she was alive Lyle! She was breathing!"

I cleared my throat and they went immediately silent. I struggled to get into a sitting position when I felt a pair of arms around each of my elbows supporting me up. I smiled gratefully. Guess even over three days of sleep wasn't enough to fully recover.

"Thank you..." Oh, I didn't even know their names.

The older of the two girls curtseyed gracefully "Ranya, my lady."

"Oh, there'll be none of that 'lady' business now," I said with a smile.

"See I told you she wouldn't like it." The little girl stuck her tongue out at Ranya, who gave her an admonishing look.

She then went into a wobbly curtsey of her own. "I'm Lyle" She said cheerfully.

"Well, it's nice to meet you both, but to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Ranya blushed and handed me a folded piece of parchment.

"Prince Johnathan asked us to give this to you, we didn't read it." She hastily added.

I hid a smile and took the note.

'Celia,

Sorry I wasn't around to see you this morning,

I left early to help with the new settlement.

Take it easy today wont you?

And try not to endanger yourself while I'm gone.

I should be back by noon.

John'

How sweet, he actually left me a note to say he would be gone. I smiled at read it over once more. Of course he had to add the 'don't endanger yourself part'. It's not like I went out of the way to get hurt.

Usually.

Well, maybe. But it's always for a good cause.

I grinned to myself once more before remembering I had company.

"Thank you for delivering this."

"Oh it was no trouble; we wanted to meet you anyway!" Ranya exclaimed.

I was surprised to hear her outburst after how reserved she'd acted since arriving here. She blushed and looked away embarrassed by her own boldness.

"Well, I'm flattered, but I don't believe I've done anything to deserve such high praise."

"You ran into a fire after Mala! And that scary looking man, Brice? He's actually real nice, and told us all about your sword fight with him" Lyle said in wonder, her eyes going wide.

"Yes! How did you beat such a big opponent? How could you win against him? Some of our people can't even best him" Ranya gushed, all her shyness forgotten.

They're eyes were shining and I felt rather embarrassed.

Really, when you said it like that of course it sounded fantastic. But had anyone told them how stupid I'd been running into the fire without telling anyone first? That I had, in fact passed out and was carried out?

And I certainly hadn't come out of my fight with Brice unharmed either.

I opened my mouth to tell them the other sides of the story when a matronly older woman walked in carrying an overflowing tray. She was wearing the white waistband and silver medallion of a village healer.

"Well it's nice te see ye up Miss Celia, and about time we got that Prince 'o yer's to leave" She said with a wink. I blushed hoping she wasn't referring to last night.

"Came back every night he did. Quite the loyal young man ye've got."

"Oh! He's not... that is we're not... we're only friends... and even that's only on occasion" I hastily corrected feeling my cheeks get warmer. I definitely didn't need anyone jumping to conclusions.

"Aye, whatever ye say lass," She said with a smile.

I don't expect she believed me, but denying it any further would just be digging the hole deeper.

I looked at the tray she kept beside me and suddenly realized how hungry I was. And no wonder if I hadn't had any food in over three days! The healer noticed my look of longing and chuckled quietly before pushing a cup full of foul smelling liquid in my hands.

"Yer to finish tha' before eating anything hear? And the girls here'll tell me if ye try to dump it won't ye girls?"

They nodded vigorously as the healer walked out of the tent. I looked down at the cup in my hands suspiciously. I knew better than to disobey a healer but this was just disgusting.

The stuff in my cup was more the consistency of wet mud than anything else, and it hardly looked better. The stuff was the color of moss and smelled strongly of herbs. It steamed slightly and I had to force myself not to gag, before even attempting to try it.

I cautiously brought it to my lips and before I could think about it for long knocked back a healthy dose... and then almost spit it back out.

I forced myself to shallow and shuddered as it slid down my throat.

"Wonderful, its tastes even worse than it looks, who would have thought that was possible?" I muttered to myself.

There was giggling in the corner and I looked up to see Ranya and Lyle with their hands over their mouths trying not to laugh.

"I'd like to see you two do any better" I sniffed, trying to regain my dignity.

"Oh, Miss Aubrey makes foul teas' alright, we've had our shares, but they work" Ranya quickly informed me with amusement in her eyes.

I mumbled incoherently as I brought the cup back up. If I could run into a fire and best men in duels I could certainly handle a healing drought!

I pinched my nose with my fingers and tipped the cup back gulping it down as fast as I could and swallowing long after it was gone to get rid of the slimy sensation left behind.

Another cup was held out for me by Ranya but this one contained some kind of fruit juice. I smiled gratefully and took a sip to clear my mouth.

When I handed the glass back Lyle moved a table right up to the edge of the bed and placed the tray of food there. Finally!

"Shall we leave you alone then?" Lyle asked sadly.

"Don't be silly, I can't eat all of this by myself, and it would be a shame to waste it. I insist you join me"

They accepted cheerfully and sat down on either side of me.

I asked them about the new camp being set up and what life was like living in the forest. They seemed to enjoy it, but then again, it was all they knew. They in turn asked me about the castle, and I found myself missing the comforts that I had so often taken for granted. Their eyes got wide and bright with excitement as I talked about the practice courts and tournaments always going on, about all the wings of the castle and the constant stream of nobles going to and from their estates.

"We want to visit someday, ma said we can, when we're older" Ranya said.

"We want to learn to fight! Become knights like you have" Lyle said eagerly.

"Well, I didn't train to become a knight exactly, I just learned how to use all the weapons I could get my hands on," I said fondly.

They nodded in admiration and I was surprised at their conviction towards this path. It wasn't an easy one. Lyle I could easily see taking on the burden, but Ranya was more of a surprise. I didn't doubt that she could do it, but she had better shed that nervousness of hers fast.

"What experience do you girls have with weapons so far?" I asked

"We can both shot well, with a slingshot and bow. Everyone out here learns that early on to hunt for game" Ranya explained.

I nodded, expecting that answer. If there was one thing I admired out here, it was that the women were expected to share the same skills as the men. Everyone was needed for survival.

"Any experience with a sword?"

"Well... we were hoping you might give us some tips. We know the basics though," Lyle said shyly.

"Of course, do you have your weapons nearby?"

They looked at me in shock. "Right now?"

"Well why not? I don't expect to be here long. In fact, I'd like to head out as soon as John returns, so the sooner the better."

They exchanged looks of excitement and rushed out to get their stuff. I took my time getting up making sure everything functioned properly. I was stiff certainly but sitting around wasn't likely to fix that.

When I was confident I could carry myself reasonably well, I walked out to join them.

There were only a few people about, mostly women, but they were all busy with errands. I suspect helping with the new campsite where all the men must be.

The few women wandering around gave me a smile or wave, but none actually came over. In a way I was glad no one was making a fuss about my near death encounter.

I faced the girls and asked to see a high block. They showed me and I moved them into a low block, followed by a middle. I got them into a pattern and watched their movements carefully, occasionally adjusting their grip on the weapon or their foot placement.

We kept at it while the sun rose above the trees. They were now working on stepping in and out of moves, trying to smooth out their transitions. I was kneeling on the floor scratching in marks when a shadow moved in front of me.

I looked up and smiled at John. He grinned back and held out a hand to help me up. I took it without any tricks but noticed he braced himself just in case.

Well good, at least he was learning.

I moved to show Lyle how to use the marks on the ground as guidelines and gave her the steps.

She did them once while I watched and I nodded and stepped back. John was already helping Ranya, and I noticed her blushing furiously from the attention, but she didn't miss a step. He stood back with me to watch and noticed the smirk on my face.

"What?"

"You seem to have an admirer" I whispered quietly, nodding at Ranya. She was busy focusing on her steps but a faint blush still coloured her cheeks.

He laughed and winked. "Yes well, I have that effect on people."

"Is that so? I hadn't noticed."

"Well, you may be immune but I can assure you no one else is. In fact, I'm sure one of these days you'll succumb to my charm and devastatingly good looks too."

"Well, perhaps when you actually acquire those qualities I will, but until then..." I trailed off seeing the mock offended look on his face. I laughed and shook my head at him.

"So, is this what you consider taking it easy? Out of bed already and not awake one day?" He said teasingly referring to the note.

"Well, at least I didn't go endanger myself while you were gone like you asked. It was quite a challenge resisting the temptation. I should get credit for that."

He rolled his eyes at me but I could see the smile winning out. "Yes, thank you so much for not trying to drown yourself or anything. And before you get any ideas I'm not much of a swimmer," He informed me.

"Very well, I'll just have to be more creative then."

He gave me an exasperated look and opened his mouth to reply when we were interrupted by a loud banging noise from behind.