The King's Artist

Ch 40: Confidence

"My name is Arthur," she responded. "I'm a companion of Lord Henry's."

Despite not actually being a Lord, Henry had long since been called such by the Lancastrian people. It was a title of respect they had bestowed upon him despite not having any legitimate support or power outside of Duke Francis'. Jasper had been an Earl at one point before his exile, so the title wasn't completing unwarranted or random, but, regardless, Adelaide was unaccustomed to referring to Henry so formally.

"Arthur?" The name was uttered in whispers around the circle that had formed around the four of them. Adelaide could detect both familiarity and befuddlement associated with her name and was not surprised by either response. She had a face that no one knew, but a name everyone recognized. She was, as Charity had once said, Henry's shadow who people rarely recognized when alone.

"You're the brother to the girl who just arrived today," Lance stated, pointing a finger at her rudely. Adelaide's eyes narrowed at the action. At Lance's words, the circle quieted quickly, and people began drawing a connection. Lance laughed shrewdly at Adelaide's reaction. "Guess what they say is true; you don't care much for your sister."

"That is neither here nor there," stated Adelaide firmly. "Were you the one who injured this boy?"

Adelaide gestured towards Harry, who was still sniffling and cradling his arm. Lance followed her inclination and looked as if he had forgotten that Harry was even present. Sardonically, he held up his sword to Adelaide so that she could see the blood that dripped lazily from its blade.

"It would appear so," he responded wryly. Adelaide's face hardened, and she was gradually finding him less and less attractive the longer he talked. "That's not important, though," Lance continued, swinging his sword vigorously while it was directed towards the ground so that the blood flew from the blade. It splattered across the grass hazardously, and Adelaide looked down to see a few drops had landed on her shoe.

"What could be more important that you injuring a fellow soldier?" The redhead shouted, shooting an annoyed look at Adelaide at her inaction.

"That would, of course, be the matter of Sir Arthur's sister," Lance said, grinning obnoxiously. He pushed passed Harry and the redhead to stand directly in front of Adelaide. His height shadowed her entirely. He wasn't as tall as Anthony, but he was just as big as Theodore and Marcus. "If my information's correct, she's recently widowed. So, what do you say to introducing me to your beautiful sister? I'm sure she wouldn't be disappointed. I've been told I'm quite appealing."

"Really? I don't see it," Adelaide responded with a smirk. Lance's smile immediately dropped, and, if possible, he stood even taller. His grip tightened on the hilt of the sword as he ground his teeth aggressively. He advanced closer to Adelaide.

"What's going on over there?" A voice interrupted Lance's glare, and he and Adelaide both turned to see Kayden and Henry walking towards them. Kayden looked worried while Henry appeared merely curious. At their approach, the trainees stood a bit taller, several bowing as the two passed.  Kayden's eyes darted between Lance, Adelaide, and the injured Harry to finally settle on the red-headed boy. "Lewis, what happened? Why is Harry hurt?"

"Lance and Harry were sparring, and Lance was needlessly aggressive," Lewis seemed to sigh in frustration as he recalled the incident. "Harry accidentally injured Lance's hand while he was blocking a blow from him. In retaliation, Lance sliced at Harry's arm."

"Is that correct?" Kayden asked, looking at Lance.

"He got injured because he was sloppy," Lance corrected, turning his body away from Adelaide but refusing to take a step back from her. "He needs to learn to control his flailing arms before someone cuts them off."