The Rogue Princess

Chapter 9

The next afternoon, Aerea and Leo were found practicing in the training yard along with her brothers, Jace and Luke. Leo was dueling Jace in a sword fight while Aerea was showing Luke how to spin the daggers she always carried at her hips.

"And what exactly is the point of this?" Luke raised an eyebrow up at his sister as the blade twirled out of his fingers again. He reached down for the blade and tried once more.

"Mostly for show. It's also good for your senses one you master it. Your fingers knowing the exact moment to flicker the faster that blade moves." She smiled, spinning the other dagger in her left hand to show him.

"Spinning a dagger doesn't make the fighter, princess." A voice taunted from behind them. They both turned and saw Ser Criston Cole smiling smugly with Aemond at his side, ready to draw his sword at any moment. Cole bowed his head slightly and smirked at the funny looking blades in their hands. "Especially such an odd looking one."

"It didn't look so odd pierced through my uncle's skull." She smiled sweetly at the pair. Cole's smirk dropped at her comment.

"Such pride in a blind-sided attack." Cole said.

"Was it not you, Ser Criston, who said that when steel is drawn, a fair match isn't something anyone should expect?" Her eyes narrowed before she turned back to her brother, leading him over to Leo and Jace. She looked at Leo and gave him an annoyed look. "Take my brothers back to their chambers."

"No, sister! We're not leaving you alone with those two." Luke puffed out his chest, glaring beyond her shoulder at their uncle. Aemond smirked at his nephew's boldness after the previous night.

"Yes, Princess Aerea. Let them stay. Let's see if they're just as...rogue as their sister." Aerea's body froze at his insinuation. She turned slightly to face him, noting his smug arrogance.

"I'm sure your mother wouldn't want you losing another eye against four people again, uncle." She spat, seeing the twitch in his mouth. He took a step towards her, but Cole placed his arm in front of Aemond to stop him. Leo saw how peculiar the prince and princess were acting towards each other and decided to join in on their banter.

"Surely the prince doesn't let the guards hold him back from a fight. Wouldn't that be an imbalance of power, Prince Aemond." Leo winked and Aemond charged right at the man, slamming him to the ground. Aerea's eyes widened as she pushed her brothers back and dove right onto Aemond, knocking him off Leo. Aerea and Aemond began to tumbled around the ground, flailing their arms and legs wherever they could at one another while Leo withdrew his sword as Cole began to approach. Jace and Luke stood back watching the two duels in shock. Leo cornered Cole, kicking right up against the wall while on the opposite end of the field Aerea sunk her teeth as hard as she could onto Aemond's hand. He screamed out and slammed his head into hers, knocking her off to the side. Aemond quickly pinned her arms to the ground and sat on her pelvis as he watched her squirm beneath him.

"Get off of me!" She hissed. He just laughed at her irritation.

"I did warn you not to insult me again, princess." He mocked.

"Then don't make yourself such an easy target, uncle." She grinned at his eye narrowing at her.

"Says the bastard heir."

"Says the one eyed second son." She lifted her knee to his backside, shaking him just enough for her to flip them over with her straddling him with her blade at his throat. "The next time you come near me or my family, I'm taking your other eye and gifting it to your own father."

He clenched his jaw as he looked up at her. Her smile widened with her threat, pressing the blade slightly harder in his throat. She took his silence as his agreement and quickly stood to walk back to her brothers. Leo rejoined them after landing the final punch to Cole, knocking him down to the ground.