His sandy-brown hair was shoulder length and wavy, his gray eyes reminded me of river rocks and his slender form still spoke of strength with the muscles of his arms. “I’m only a student but I can help you since everyone else is busy at the moment. If you trust me, that is.”
“It’s not like I have a gaping wound that could claim my life at any moment.”
He laughed at that, stepped closer, and pulled a metal cart with supplies on top with him. I held my arms out and he inspected them. With his palms hovering over my arms, he whispered something, and the metal pieces wafted out, slower than I’d have liked, drawing a wince. He held his face perfectly still as the pieces then drifted to a small bowl on his cart. He grabbed two cream-colored cloths and placed them over my arms; whatever dampened them stung.
I almost tugged away but he asked, “Salve or potion?” And his hands clamped down around my arms as if he’d known I would try to pull from his grasp.
It would be a couple hours before the salve would heal completely but it would take the pain away. Potion would heal wounds this minor in seconds to a minute at most but the strong stuff was usually reserved for worse afflictions. “Salve is fine.”
His left eyebrow raised. “I’m surprised.”
“And why is that?”
He looked at me steadily as if trying to figure something out. “Most choose the potion if given a choice. And since you’re a princess I bet you’re used to getting what you want. An easy life.”
I sneered at that little dig. He was probably a poor boy from the country who had to fight to get his spot at the academy. That was the way for the unknown, lower class families; they had to earn their way in. Those of us whose parents attended the academy were invited from birth. I didn’t feel sorry for him; my father had to fight his way in and then he became one of our most feared warriors and king.
I jerked away and stood. The cloths on my arms fell with his grasp. I picked another cloth up and wiped the rest of the blood from my arms.
“The salve,” I prompted, when I noticed him unmoved and watching me.
Pulling open a drawer on the cart revealed a few silver tins and he handed one to me. Then a flat wooden stick to scoop the salve with.
I rubbed the thick brownish balm on my arms and palms.
“Would you like me to wrap them?”
As much as I wanted to say no, I couldn’t do anything with this sticky stuff all over me. “Yes.”
“I wasn’t meaning to be rude before,” he said quietly.
“Well you were,” I snapped.
“I apologize.” We were quiet while he wrapped, and I guessed to fill the silence, he said, “My name is Vyce Copelenn.”
I didn’t recognize his surname. “Thanks,” I said when he finished and walked out.
I’d missed my next class so I hurried to Leadership before I was late for that. It went by fairly quickly since Professor Gilfor from Hesstia, had us all introduce ourselves then he talked mostly about what to expect from him and his teaching style. I’d never had a teacher from another kingdom and wondered if he’d be biased against me—the princess from his former longtime enemy. Although, he didn’t seem to pay much attention to me at all which was a nice change. I was rarely invisible to instructors and other students.
When that class ended I had fifteen minutes to get Advanced Swords outside. I’d remembered seeing the training circles and I had to hurry if I was going to get there in time. Making my way through crowds of students crammed in the hallways, I received several stares from the foreign students as I nudged by. I wasn’t sure if they recognized me or if they thought I was rude for being in a hurry. I didn’t care either way. Once I burst through the back doors, my practice sword slammed against my hip as I took off at a run. It would be so nice when I could use the appearus spell and jump from one class to the next instantly.
Seeing Madison with her golden hair and signature form-fitting black outfit walking along a line of students, I pushed my legs faster. Had it been Papa, he’d be lenient for any tardiness but not my grandmother. I ran to the end of the line and slid to a halt beside a tall boy with light brown hair. I took in a slow breath through my nose and fixed the stray hairs falling around my face.
“You’re not late,” the boy beside me said.
I lifted my gaze to find Aric. He smiled and I was about to smile back until Zyacus leaned forward coming into view on the other side of Aric. Of course he’d be in more than one class with me.
Zyacus looked at my arms where the bandages still covered my wounds. “You should have put up your shield. I saw that explosion coming before she even attempted the spell.”
I rolled my eyes, something I found myself doing often in his presence. “I’m fine by the way. I’m glad you’re so concerned.” I didn’t need him telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. Besides, Madison was making her way toward us.
Zyacus shrugged. “I knew you would be. Though I’m not sure why your arms aren’t better by now. Who was the healer?” There was an edge to his tone like he might actually be angry at my still lingering injury.
Aric smacked Zyacus’s chest with the back of his hand. “Professor.”
All three of us pushed our shoulders back and faced forward. Madison stopped before us and placed her hands on her two swords, one on each hip. “Interesting that I have all three royal children in the same class. This should be fun.” She looked at me. “You’re the captain for Delhoon.” Her lavender colored eyes snapped to the two princes, “I’m sure you two can guess your roles.”
In Delhoon, we often had bi-weekly tournaments of boys versus girls in sparring matches, but it looked like the rules had changed here. I should have known Madison would pin the kingdoms against each other. She’d absolutely love the rivalry. She thrived on that sort of thing.
I stepped from the line and stood across the circles on the other side. Two circles for two sparring matches. There would be no lessons today. Madison would have us fight each other to assess our skills. “If you belong to Delhoon, join your princess. If you belong to Collweya, join your prince there,” she pointed to the left. “If you belong to Hesstia, stay where you are.”
The Delhoon students gathered around me and I waved them in closer. “We are born warriors. This is who we are, our heritage is greatness. Delhoon are the elite. Let’s show these kingdoms how to fight.”
The grins, whistles, cheers, and pats on my back told me they were ready for the challenge and when I looked across the grassy field at Zyacus, his face lacked his usual smugness. Is that nervousness I see, Prince? Good, you should be.
Madison stood in the center and spoke loudly. “Captains, pick two from your group and send them to me for the rules.”
I looked at each of the eight eager faces. “Any volunteers?”
Everyone’s hands went skyward. I smiled. My eyes scanned each of them; we had large, strong-looking boys, lithe skilled girls. All lean, fast warriors. “You,” I pointed to a short blonde girl. They’d probably underestimate her based on size alone. “And you.” A tall, slender boy whose arm length would give him a good advantage.
They quickly made their way to stand beside Madison. The two princes still worked on choosing their contenders. Perhaps they waited to see the competition. A wise strategy but I’d found over the years that one can’t know another person’s talents, strengths, and ability by looking at them so it didn’t matter to me who they sent.