The Promise of the Dawn

Chapter Forty-Nine: Samael

Loneliness was a seemingly incurable emotion, especially as I watched Brianna and Jasper over the next few days. I was sleep deprived, as well as lonely, because I refused to sleep in the same room Cael once had, and slept in the Barracks instead.

They danced freely about the empty ballroom, tripping and collapsing into each others arms while they laughed, and I watched from the shadows of the balcony.

"My Lady?" I hear, interrupted from my thoughts.

"Hm?" I respond as I turn to meet Genevieve's eyes.

"The Quislings await you on the training grounds" She explains once she's gained my attention.

"Of course. Tell them I'll be right there" I say, turning back to watch Jasper and Brianna together one last time before leaving the balcony to walk over to the ballroom's main entrance.

Brianna looks up at me as I enter the doorway, nodding to her. She waves to Jasper briefly before running towards me, following me back to the training grounds.

"My Lady! There you are! I thought you weren't going to show" Aurora says as Brianna and I enter the training grounds.

"Is something the matter, Aurora?" I ask.

"Quite the contrary, actually, My Lady. We have a new trainee. He enrolled today" Aurora says.

"Is that so? Well. I'm glad people are hearing of our program" I reply, standing back and watching the trainees.

"Kind of a pretty boy, isn't he?" I ponder out loud to Brianna as we watch the trainees practice their combat later. Brianna was taking a break, sitting on the grass next to me and sipping water thirstily. She follows my gaze over to the trainee I'm referring to, her expression changing as she sets eyes on him herself.

Anybody setting eyes on him themselves would agree. He was certainly a pleasure to look at. He sported black clothing, along with the rest of the trainees, but his clothes were sticking to his figure with sweat, accentuating the muscles underneath, but what I found most captivating about him was his skin, which was a deep caramel color, and his eyes, which were a fascinating bluish gray that reminded me of the fog that fell over the estate in the early hours of the morning.

I get a strange feeling as I look into them, as if I've seen them before. But that was impossible. He whips his hair as he fights, which has been plastered to his forehead with sweat. His hair is a dark brown mess of soft curls which are lifted by the wind as he fights with his opponent.

"He's easy on the eyes, I suppose" Brianna replies as she watches him.

I turn to look at her, flashing a sly smile before turning around and exiting the balcony we're standing on.

"Where are you going?" She asks. I turn to look at her over my shoulder.

"To train" I reply simply, continuing to exit.

She shoots me a mischievous smile, before fixating her attention back on the training grounds. I enter the training grounds just as the trainee defeats his opponent, striding towards him confidently and leaving a trail of other trainees in my wake who all stare at me in awe. The trainee has his back turned to me as I approach, but catches a glance of me over his shoulder and turns to look towards me as I stop at him. I can feel the tension in the air as I stand there, and I take note of the trainees holding their breaths as they evaluate each part of me, trying to uncover my emotions. Little did they know, I'd turned those off since the accident, trapping them away deep inside of me.

"Duchess" The trainee breathes, dropping his sword on the ground and kneeling in front of me.

"Draw your sword" I reply shortly, walking over and taking the sword of a nearby trainee.

The trainee looks confused, but follows my orders, picking his sword up off the ground and straightening up. His opponent scurries away from his defeated position and I take his spot, swinging the sword around in my hand intimidatingly before swinging it at the trainee. He blocks my swing, and our eyes interlock for a moment before we begin again. As we begin our fight, I recognize a few of the movements he's performing, although I can't determine what exactly I recognize them from. I swing my sword more aggressively, knowing exactly how to counter each of his movements.

"Do I hate you from somewhere?" I question as our swords collide once more.

"It's entirely possible" He responds mysteriously, launching us into another fit of fighting.

His movements have suddenly become vigorous and unpredictable, and I can no longer understand how to counter them. I eventually manage to position myself behind him and I draw my dagger from my thigh, holding it to his throat. He pauses for a second, seemingly stuck, until he smirks and grabs my arm suddenly, flipping me into the ground on my back and drawing his own dagger to position it at my side. As he hovers over me, I suddenly realize where I recognize him from. For a man who was so adept to killing, his eyes were remarkably soft.

"Samael?" I breathe as I look into his eyes up close.

"Hello, Riri" His soft, rich voice greets me.

"Did you know this whole time?

"How could I forget you? Although it seems you did just that."

"Well forgive my memory, but losing everything you ever knew kind of does that to you" I snap, pushing his hand away so the knife is no longer at my side and standing up to leave.

"Have fun with your training" I say to him coldly over my shoulder before I stride away as confidently as I entered, leaving him alone to contemplate his actions.