Henry almost laughed upon seeing Adelaide walking towards him, dressed back in men's clothing. She had a stern look on her face as she walked as if she was thinking about something incredibly serious. That, or she was constipated. The notion made Henry want to laugh even more. However, they were in the company of several trainees, and it most likely wasn't appropriate to just begin laughing maniacally.
Adelaide slid up next to Henry quietly and refused to make eye contact with him. Instead, her gaze settled on the fields where at least a few dozen boys were rehearsing moves with dull-bladed swords. The sound of metal on metal resonated loudly, but even louder were the yelps of pain the came from poor maneuvers and failed dodges. Adelaide quickly spotted and exhausted looking Kayden, who was hanging his head and repeatedly reinstructing certain boys on proper hand positioning as well as footing. However, the general was severely outnumbered, and several groups were dangerously neglected to their own stupidity.
"Didn't take you long to change," Henry noted humorously, his voice subtle and quiet. Adelaide rolled her eyes, refusing to look in his direction. They stood a reasonable distance from the others, so there was no worry of being overheard, but Adelaide still found herself annoyed by his remark.
"Well, it turns out I don't like dresses all that much," admitted Adelaide in a monotonic tone of voice. It was like conceding defeat, and it filled her mouth with a nasty, bile taste. Henry resisted eliciting any further remarks on the matter despite an overwhelming urge to tease Adelaide.
"Shall we go and help Kayden?" Henry suggested with a small smirk as he looked down at Adelaide. In response, Adelaide's eyes narrowed at Henry and his undertone of mocking, but she nodded her head anyway. They split and headed off to two distinct groups that were the furthest from Kayden and had received the smallest amount of guidance.
Adelaide's eyes immediately went to a towering figure whose head appeared to float above those around him. Despite his intimidating height and size, though, his face was round and flushed, giving him an appearance closer to a child's than a man's. He appeared to be arguing with someone who Adelaide couldn't even see until she had moved entirely around him. She initially thought he was fighting with a red-haired and freckled boy who was, to her surprise, smaller than her. But as she moved closer to the two, she spotted a third individual who was clearly the primary target of their complaints.
"Lance, you need to be more careful," the red-haired boy stated furiously. His ears were nearly an identical shade of his hair, and he looked to be trying to make himself bigger to rival the height of the other man. "You could have seriously injured Harry just now."
The redhead gestured to the boyish-faced boy next to him who, Adelaide realized, was bleeding on his forearm. The weapons they were practicing with her dulled, yes, but still dangerous. From where Adelaide stood, the cut didn't look deep, but it was clearly causing Harry a considerable degree of pain as small, silent tears rolled over his round cheeks.
Lance didn't seem to care a great deal. In Adelaide's opinion, he was incredibly attractive but had the face of a jerk. His hair hung long and past his shoulders, and was the vibrant color of gold. His eyes were hooded and complimented by thick eyelashes and bushy eyebrows, and his lips were thin and pulled into a hard, consistent frown. He was more muscular than the red-head or Harry, with a more confident and prouder stance.
"What seems to be the problem?" Adelaide asked as she approached them. Simultaneously, they all turned towards her and, as if rehearsed, each gave her a confused look. It dawned on Adelaide that none of the trainees had ever actually seen her as Arthur. Her interruption and the vocalized authority clearly perplexed them.
"And who are you?" The redhead asked, annoyed. His tone was irritating, making Adelaide instantly regret stepping in. However, the pity that she felt towards Harry kept her from turning around and leaving them to their own demises.
"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."
"That's going too far, Lance," Lewis interjected. "Harry is still a child. He's only sixteen."
"He's training to be in a war," retorted Lance angrily. "If he doesn't start being tougher, he'll be dead before he even takes a step onto England soil. You, as well, Lewis should reconsider your career choice. Do you actually think someone of your stature will stand a chance in battle?"
"Size isn't everything, Lance," Lewis's lips were tight as he talked. His fists were curled at his side, and his knuckles turning white.
"You can say that all you want, Lewis, but I've never been beat by someone smaller than me." Lewis fell quiet at Lance's words. The circle was awkward and stiff. Kayden wasn't sure what to say, matters of social conduct weren't his specialty. Henry, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at Adelaide and jutted his head in Lance's direction. Adelaide immediately grinned.
"I could change that for you," interposed Adelaide, bringing Lance's attention back to herself. He looked down at her bewildered and uninterested.
"You want to fight me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow incredulously. Adelaide smiled and nodded, reaching for the sword at Kayden's hip. Before he could protest, Adelaide was withdrawing his sword from its sheath. She stepped away from the group of men and tested the swing of the sword a few times to get a good estimate of the weight. It was a bit heavier than what she was used to, but she had practiced with much worst.
"What do I gain from fighting you?" Lance shifted away from the group as Adelaide moved.
"I'll introduce you to my sister," Adelaide said with a shrug. Kayden's eyes went wide and stepped forward to halt the fight, but Henry stilled him with a firm arm on the shoulder. "However, if I win, you must apologize to both Lewis and Harry. Sincerely."
Lance gritted his jaw but nodded. Before anyone could say anything more, Lance launched himself towards Adelaide. His blow was heavy and strong, but it made no contact with anything but the ground. Adelaide had already spun out of the way and was dancing a few feet behind him. With a grunt, Lance pulled his blade from the dirt, uprooting several patches of grass.
He charged forwards again, more successful this time at making contact. However, Adelaide had already shifted out of danger of a direct impact. She parried the blow with a soft, misdirecting touch of her sword that sent him stumbling forward thanks to the momentum of his swing. Lance's next three consecutive thrusts were challenging to avoid. Adelaide did her best to absorb as little contact as possible, managing to block each blow to varying success, but her hands were beginning to hurt from the force.
The fight was beginning to drag on, and Lance was starting to breath heavier. Sweat was cascading down the side of his face as if he had just emerged from the lake. In contrast, Adelaide appeared perfectly normal. Her breathing was normal, and her eyes focused and free of exhaustion. Lance glared and screamed in frustration as be barreled towards Adelaide. She ducked under his careless swing easily and stepped swiftly to the side as the blade returned to buzz past her face.
Lance shouted again and pivoted quickly. Despite his growing fatigue, he was still very nimble, and the contact he did make was formidable and painful for Adelaide to circumvent. Throwing his head back, Lance took several calming breaths as they resized one another. With newfound strength and energy, Lance moved towards Adelaide, striking her sword to the side and sending both his and hers flying. Adelaide's eyes went wide as Lance continued his charge, catching her in the stomach and taking them both to the ground.
Adelaide scrambled to get away from him, but he was on top of her in seconds. As he wound back to strike her, Adelaide managed to free her leg. She jutted her kick forward as strongly as she could manage, catching him in the chest and surprising him. The action caused him fall backward discombobulated. Had he not been so tired already, he probably wouldn't have budged, but Adelaide didn't have time to focus on that small detail. She reached for one of the fallen swords hastily and moved on top of Lance agilely. She brought the blade to his neck, panting. Lance stilled immediately, his own breathing haggard as he looked up at her.
It seemed to take all his remaining energy to admit defeat.
Adelaide grinned widely before standing. She pushed her curls away from her face and looked down at the sword in hands. Realizing it wasn't Kayden's, she tossed it to the side of Lance who remained on the ground worn. She retrieved the other weapon slowly, feeling a growing ache in her stomach where Lance had made contact, but returned the sword to its owner without even a whimper of pain.
"Well, that was exciting," Henry said clapping his hands and interrupting the silence that followed the fight. He stepped in front of Adelaide, blocking her from view as he addressed the trainees. "As much fun as it was, though, I'm afraid it's time to get back to training. General Kayden, if you will."
Nodding, but still trying to see if Adelaide was okay, Kayden stepped forward to call all the men together. Even the ones in other groups, though, had been paying attention to the fight, so it didn't take much work to gain everyone's attention. Henry didn't stick around to hear Kayden's instructions. He quickly began pushing Adelaide back towards the castle, throwing an arm around her shoulder as they walked.
"I'm impressed," Henry said as soon as they were a good distance from the troops. Adelaide glanced at him to see a wide smile and a proudness radiating off of him like the sun. "For a girl whose only interest is in painting and drawing, I think you did incredibly well."
Adelaide threw her head back and laughed, reaching her own arm up and onto his shoulder. They matched strides as they walked, keeping the pace slow and casual. A cool breeze blessed Adelaide's flushed face, and she sighed at the comfort.
"I'd rather not have to do that again anytime soon, though," admitted Adelaide with a groan as she used her free hand to rub the forming bruise on her stomach. "You sure had a lot of confidence in me, though; taking on an opponent of that size and strength. And here I was under the impression you just thought of me as a fragile little girl who needed protection."
It was Henry's turn to laugh this time. He shook his head in disbelief at her comment and grinned widely. His hair fluttered a little thanks to the breeze and the sun seemed to brighten the strands of copper hidden in his locks.
"That was my mistake," he said with dying laughter. "I'll try to remember in the future that you can defend yourself just fine without me. On that note, you can deal with Kayden on your own, too. It's clear you don't need me."
Adelaide's smile faltered at the comment and Henry laughed by himself. Her steps slowed until she stopped walking entirely, and with a raised eyebrow, Henry also stopped walking. He looked at her curiously, unsure of what elicited the sudden change in behavior. Adelaide removed her arm from his shoulder and took a step back from him so that she could see his face more clearly. Henry dropped his own arm to his side and cocked his head to the side.
"I do need you, though," Adelaide said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked up at Henry with sad eyes and parted lips as she tried to formulate her thoughts. She was well aware she was reading too much into his comment, but she couldn't get rid of the bothersome discomfort that had settled in her stomach.
Henry seemed to understand where her thoughts were heading long before even she did. He returned the soft, caring smile, before wrapping his arm back around her shoulder. She looked up at him puzzled but he just shook his head and ruffled her hair teasingly.
"I need you, too," Henry said in a similarly hushed voice. "Whether it be as Adelaide or Arthur, it doesn't matter to me. You're my family regardless."
Adelaide wasn't sure what brought about the shift in Henry's behavior, but she didn't want to question it. Instead, she leaned into his side still smiling and wrapped her arm around his waist this time. They didn't break away until the castle gates rose into view, and Adelaide was left with the strange feeling that things were beginning to change between them.
~~~~~
Hello everyone, I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you. Last Friday, I had to, unfortunately, put my dog down. Reading through the comments that you have all left and the messages that you've all sent me, ended up really cheering me up. So I just want to say I really appreciate the continual love and support you give me and this story, as well as the happiness I get from your feedback. I really do appreciate it with all my heart.
Thank you <3