After taking a bath and drying up, I went to look for Teren, hoping that he would finally be free. As I walked through the halls, I could hear his voice echo among others coming from the library. Before I could open the door, one of my father's servants stopped me.
"Your father has asked not to be bothered until he is done discussing matters."
"Is Teren in there as well?"
"Ah yes, he was looking for you earlier. He asked me to tell you that as soon as he is done, he will meet you in the garden."
"Thank you." Just the thought of spending time alone with Teren gave me chills. It was unfortunate that I was not around when he had wanted me; however, I wasn't going to disappear on him this time. I would wait for him on the same bench in the garden where we had met. To be honest, I was surprised that he wanted to see me alone. Since the time we first met he had always shown a brotherly bond to my other brothers and me, not that it mattered.
I sat and looked up.
The night sky was just as lit up as the evening I first met him. Every noise made me more nervous, but as the night carried on that disappeared. I felt my eyes growing heavy as the wait seemed to drag out longer and longer. At least the stars were there to comfort me.
The next thing I knew I was opening my eyes to the sound of my tenant's voice.
"Miss Emilea, what are you doing out here this late?" My private tenant, Merita, asked me.
I mumbled. No real words forming.
"Let's get you to bed." She walked me back inside. I noticed a slit of light coming from the library.
"Give me one moment." I whispered. Merita waited where she stood.
I sleepily made my way to the room.
"Emilea, what are you doing up so late?" Father's voice boomed, causing me to jump.
"I was umm.." What was I doing again? I was so tired I could barely think. I stood there for a couple seconds until I remembered. "I was looking for Teren."
"He went to his quarters a while ago. You will see him tomorrow, Emilea." He went back to reading. I left and let Merita guide me back to my quarters.
Had he decided that it was just too late to meet, and forgotten to tell me? Or did he find me asleep and didn't want to wake me? I can't believe that I had missed him once again; but my father was right, I would see him tomorrow. Disappointed, yet too tired to think, I went to bed, waiting to dream of the day I wish I had.
~
I woke up in the morning to a knock on my door.
"Come in," I moaned tiredly.
"I do apologize, miss, but you have slept past sunrise and your father requested that I wake you."
I felt rather stiff from falling asleep on the bench last night.
I heard distant laughter coming from outside my window. Peeking out, I spotted my brothers Yestin and Akyto with Teren. They headed to the archery range. I could hear Yestin boasting on how he had beaten Akyto in their last archery battle, while Akyto jokingly denied it.
"Should I prepare your archery garments?"
"Yes."
She giggled at my immediate response.
"Alright, Merita. What is it?" I asked her.
"You do not hide it well, miss."
"Hide what well?"
"Your feelings for him."
I looked away.
"It's alright to feel that way, miss; he has a very charismatic figure to him. Why don't you try to make your feelings known?"
"I couldn't."
"Is there a rule saying a woman can not express her desire for another? I've seen the way you look at him."
"Merita!" Her bluntness this morning threw me. She didn't know what she was talking about.
"You haven't answered my question, miss." She eyed me.
"No, I do not even know what you are talking about! Even if I did have feelings for him I am not one to decide who I am to be bound to in the future. My father would have to approve of it."
"What do you have to lose?" She shrugged and went on with her duties.
I thought about what she said. Was she right? Did I have feelings for Teren? What if I did, there was no way Teren would like me in return, right? Perhaps Teren would feel differently about me if he knew I had feelings for him? Of course, he would! He probably wouldn't be able to talk to me as openly as he does now. I didn't want to ruin the friendship that was growing between us. I decided it was best to dismiss these stressful thoughts for now and meet with the others down at the archery range.
My younger brother Yestin was the first one to notice me approaching them.
"Ah, there you are, my sister. You are just in time to witness the three-way battle of the best archers in the land." He theatrically said. "Consider yourself lucky to be a witness to such an event."
We all laughed at my brother's silly attitude.
"Are you ready, son of Greenwood? Sons of Lord Dazaron?" I played along with Yestin. They smiled at me and nodded.
"Who should go first?"
"I will." Yestin stepped forward, picked an arrow from the bunch, and drew back. After a short pause, he released the bow, and we watched it sink into the very border of the bullseye.
"Damn it all." He yelled.
Akyto patted his brother's back and stepped forward. He pulled out his lucky arrow, drew back, and with a pause much shorter than Yestin, released the arrow. It flew quickly through the air and pierced dead in the center. We clapped in approval. It was not surprising seeing that from my brother, after all, he was good at anything he tried.
"Good luck, my friend." Akyto gave Teren a smug smile.
"You do like to challenge me, don't you?" Teren shook his head and prepared for his turn. We grew quiet as Teren lined up his shot. He released the string, and the arrow projected forward. The thud of the arrow hitting the target rang in my ears. My mouth dropped. The arrow not only had hit the bullseye; it had split Akyto's arrow right through the middle. We all turned to Teren. He smiled a charming grin.
"Where did you learn that?" I asked before my brothers could.
"My father has me training Ultr's army, so I have had time to improve."
"Unbelievable." Yeltsin shook his head. "I have a long way to go. You should teach Emilea. She could use the help."
I shot Yestin a glare.
"What? I thought you would want his help." He placed far too much emphasis on 'his.' I glared at him harder. First Merita, now him? How did everyone know about this? I didn't even know how I felt.
"We are not done yet." Akyto interrupted. "Last time you visited us you promised we would have another battle."
Yestin's eyes lit up.
"That's right! You wanted a rematch with Akyto because he beat your a-"
"Yestin." I stopped him from speaking any further.
"Do you still challenge me?" Akyto asked. Teren contemplated this for a minute.
"Yes, I do believe so. After all, I should not let my days of extra training go to waste."
So we all headed to the field where my brothers used to battle. The area hadn't seen a fight in several months, so the grass had grown almost to our knees. The way the breeze made the green blades sway in gentle rhythms was harmonic. Yeltsin and I plopped down a little bit from where Akyto and Teren stood with blades high.
We watched as the two warmed up. I kept an eye on Teren. I bet I could learn some new fighting techniques from him. I'm sure it would please Debynn if I showed up with a move he hadn't taught me.
"Ready?" Yestin's voice echoed across the grassy plain. They both nodded, yet kept their eyes locked on each other.
"Fight!" Yetsin yelled.
Akyto wasted no time and charged straight in.
He swung a forward blow, waited for Teren to dodge to the left then whipped his blade back towards his lower waist. Teren extended his sword, meeting Akyto's with sparks. How did he react that quickly? Teren threw his sword forward with his weight causing Akyto to lose his balance. With each swing, Teren advanced. After each attack he would throw another, causing Akyto to put up quite the defenses.
Akyto, who had a stern look on his face, took a step forward.
Knowing Akyto's fighting style, I could tell he was lining up for a shot. He waited for Teren to miss an attack towards his torso and made his move.
Akyto jumped high. He would use his momentum to break through Teren's next attack. A move like this would knock anyone off their feet; however, there was a huge risk. Akyto had both sides wide open.
As if I had thought out loud Teren pulled his blade in, immediately withdrawing from the defensive move to block Akyto's blade above him. I could see Teren's face stare steadily at my brother's opening.
Chills ran down my spine. I couldn't watch. I closed my eyes. With the sound of clashing swords, everything grew quiet.
I stopped at the battle in front of me. I gasped. There Teren knelt with Akyto's blade at his throat.
Yestin shouted in approval.
I didn't understand. What had happened? Why did he let my brother win? He could have easily won. Was Teren that blind to what he could have accomplished if he landed the blow correctly? I growled. Now I would have to deal with Akyto's gloating.
"I commend you on your valiant attempt my friend, but my record shall remain untarnished." Akyto boasted but offered a hand to Teren.
"It appears so." Teren got up and bowed humbly.
"For a second I almost thought you had a chance to beat me." Akyto joked with Teren, who attempted a smile. I followed the boys back into the castle. When my brothers had gone up ahead, I pulled Teren aside.
"What was that?" I growled at him.
"I'm sorry? What do you mean?" He looked at me bewildered.
"The end of the fight. You were about to win, and you stopped. Why?" I waited for his response. I shifted uncomfortably as his eyes studied me.
"Teren?" I asked, now feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Lady Emilea. Your brother won. He is a strong warrior. If there were a way to defeat him I would have taken it. However, telling you that I tried my hardest, would be a lie. Besides, I believe it is better for your brother to have his pride. Don't you?"
"So you did let him win?"
His eyes jumped between mine.
"Shall we go?" He ignored me now. "Sadly I do have some work I must attend to."
Teren walked me to my quarters in silence. I felt a little guilty for yelling at him. Merita was right about him. He was a very charismatic man. Perhaps I should say something? My heart thumped loudly.
We were alone. I should tell him how I feel. But was now the time?
"Here we are." We stopped at the entrance to my sleeping quarters.
"Teren." My voice shook.
"Yes, Lady Emilea?" He turned to me. I debated what to say. My heart felt like it was beating a million miles a minute. "What is it?" His bright blue eyes studied me.
The silence grew.
"Never mind." A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
"Then I will let you to your day." He bowed slightly then left.
I went into my quarters and collapsed on my bed. What a fool I was. I'm sure Teren had noticed something. If my different attitude didn't give it away, then I was sure my hot, embarrassed face did. Could I gather up the courage to say something?
I took a deep breath. I would have to see.
For now, I decided to release my stress with a short afternoon rest.