Sundown

daggers drawn

"a few of the soldiers have been held hostage for questioning in the dungeons as you instructed, my lord." the commander said, never looking up to meet Timothee's eyes.

"good. have the guests and the King and Queen been escorted to their bedchambers and their guard doubled?" he demanded, taking off the blood stained gloves and mail.

"they have."

"very well. is Saoirse still in the tower? let her know that she can return to Pauline."

"the girl has been sent, my lord."

Timothee sighed and resigned to sit on his bed. the breach of the security of the castle and guests there to witness the affair was a most embarrassing ordeal for him and he had half a mind now to post pone the ceremony and send the guests packing for their own safety.

"Tim?"

Timothee turned around at the sound of his name to see who was at his threshold. the prince of Brookwood stood there, his golden-brown head peeking in.

"Ansel... come sit." Timothee invited the prince in his solar.

the prince graciously took his seat in front of him and poured them both a glass of white wine each. handing Timothee his glass, he relaxed back.

"so... did any of the hostages tell you anything?"

timothee was in no mood to answer anyone. he was already embarrassed enough, he did not need the guests' questions about the incident to make him feel worse.

"they will soon. why are you here?"

"well, to see if you need help. we are friends before anything, aren't we?" the prince said, a small smile playing on his lips.

timothee just nodded and stood up, abandoning his glass of unfinished wine.

"you should be with my sister, shouldn't you? I am pretty sure she is really giving herself crippling anxiety over your well being at this moment." he said in an attempt to skip talking about the incident.

"well, she seemed more concerned about you and still more about her waiting maid... what's her name?"

timothee smiled a little before replying, "Saoirse."

"yes, I heard she fought. do you train women in the castle too? I wonder if Pauline knows how to fight."

timothee clenched his jaw at that and all he wanted at the moment was for everyone to be gone so he can have time to think over the situation and figure out what to do next.

"she does not and we don't train women."

Prince Ansel seemed to have got the hint that he was not being a comforter and more of an annoyance to the crowned prince.

"good night then m'lord. I hope to see you in the fencing arena for practice in the morning."

he called for a servant and asked him to send Saoirse. they needed to talk about tons of things, and to begin with, he wanted to know where she learnt to use swords like that.

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"you called for me m'lord? i am sorry for the delay, your sister needed some stuff done." saoirse said from outside Timothee's chamber curtains.

it had been so long since he had called for her that he had almost fallen asleep.

"come in." he said in a groggy, raspy voice.

outside, Saoirse's breath caught in her throat. she always had had a thing for Timothee's voice when it was heavy and laced with sleep. she moved the velvet curtains aside and got in to see timothee half lying-half sitting on his bed, his cloak and shoes still on.

before saoirse could say anything, timothee sat up in a flash and threw his dagger, still sheathed, at her. she ducked it just in time as it hit the wall behind her. her eyes widened in shock at his imprudent behavior but she wouldnt dare ask what was that for no matter how much she wanted to.

he had an eyebrow cocked as he looked at her and with slow, predator like steps approached her. she backed away till she felt the wall behind her, her breathing uneasy now.

timothee bent down and picking up the dagger, brought it under her chin, slightly lifting her face up so she met his eyes. the distance between them was almost negligible as his free hand trapped her on one side.

"there is no way you could have dodged that unless someone trained you." he whispered, bringing his mouth close to her ear as her chest visibly rose and fell at the contact.

"it was your own castle master." saoirse replied breathlessly.

"but he doesnt train women. Did Pauline put you up with a trainer? no warrior is made here without the knowledge of the king, which is my father at this point, in this castle. Do you even know what punishments lie waiting for you if this word gets out, which it definitely will since you displayed your colossal, heroic behavior tonight." he spoke through gritted teeth.

"i am sorry mlord, i was just trying to save you. please believe me when i say it was your own master. i go to the arena almost daily and watch him train his pupils and then right after i practice them in a spare space where i know it is safe to. i spend almost all of my excess time either knitting or practicing swordplay. i dont think the master even knows i sit there and watch the daily practice."

"so do you expect me to believe that by merely watching people practice, you learned all of that?" Timothee asked skeptically.

"i have never lied to you milord and i do not plan on changing that."

she let herself stare into his poetic yet fierce emerald eyes now that he was quiet. his forehead was creased and he searched her face for any signs of deceit.

feeling brave, mostly because of the intoxicating scent he was emanating and she was getting high on, she slowly, encircled the wrist which held the knife to her chin and lowered it, surprised by how soft his skin actually was.

"i get lied to all the time, you know? i can make it out when someone is doing it. i can almost smell the lies in the air, it is that frequent."

saoirse felt her heart ache for him as soon as the words were out of his mouth. she knew he was a good man with a ginormous heart- he was kind and forgiving and just and powerful all at the same time and most importantly, he did not deserve being lied to.

"trust takes time and a lot of physical evidence to build. i am not asking you to trust me right away, but as evidence, you can ask your master if he has ever trained me or even seen me in the battling ground. i always watch from afar. you can even ask all trainers in the city if they've trained me and they would just shake their heads. i'm just a really good student that's all. I am really sorry, however, that i did not inform any one of my interest in warfare. i did not know that had to be done. i would-" Saoirse spoke but she was silenced with Timothees finger on her lips.

"stop rambling." he said, a smile decorating his beautiful face.

Saoirse couldn't help but smile back, knowing that she had convinced him.

they had known each other for all their lives. she had grown up playing with Pauline and him and as they grew up, and he became a man, they drifted apart but she hoped he still remembered how he used to chase her and run to her aid whenever she got hurt- how he would always give her the things that he wanted to hide, knowing they were safe with her, and she guarded those little things with her life.

he had trusted her then.

it was almost as if Timothee could read her thoughts that he said, "i have something i want you to keep for me and guard it well. it is quite important."

"with all that i have." Saoirse replied smiling brighter.

she held out her hand and he placed his dagger in it.

"keep this with you and do not let anyone else touch it. i forged it myself."

she looked up at him, the dagger heavy in her hand as she closed her fingers around it, only to find him looking back, his eyes never having left her face.