Far From Never

My fork clanks loudly as I try to kill the silence that surrounds the large dining room table. The problem is I’m the one causing the silence since I refuse to talk about what my father wants to discuss.

“Now we need to discuss where…” Father starts to say.

I begin to cough loudly blocking him out. Personally, I don’t care that I’m acting like a child.

“Morgan Elisha!” he yells and my coughing is cut short. I square my shoulders preparing myself for the worst. I look him square in the face, his cold eyes showing a slight spark of warmth that I only see when he looks at me. As hard as he may try he can never truly be mean to me, we just can’t let anyone else know that.

“I know that this is not something you want to discuss or even think about but you need to stop fighting a battle you know you are going to lose!” his voice is still raised but is more stern than angry.

“As you wish….but I won’t lose easily,” I say the last part under my breath. Victor cast me a sideways glance and he smirks slightly.

“Yes I know you won’t go easily,” he says revealing that he heard me, “Which is why your brother’s wedding is first and yours is to be after.”

My eyes flash in surprise, “I thought you would want to get mine done and over with before I could run.”

“A brash strategy for sure. This affair needs a more subtle plan. Princess Davina and her brother will be arriving a week early and in that week the four of you will spend as much time as possible together. You will teach other about your selves and your sibling. During the wedding week, Eli, you will take every meal and dance and procession on the arm of your fiancé” he explains the plan to my future torture.

“Father please, you know I am a horrible dancer!” I plead. Of all things I’m embarrassed to do; it is to dance in front of others.

“The only reason you are a horrible dancer is because you refuse to let others lead” Victor jokes, relieving the tension.

“I don’t trust others to catch me when I fall,” I snap back not allowing myself to laugh.

“Eli” father warns, “Just let him lead and you will be fine.”

“Yeah because he knows that if he lets her fall he’ll have to deal with me” Victor says, becoming the protective brother, “And that’s only to protect him from you” and there he goes being the annoying brother.

A servant brings out the third course and sets my plate, three sizes smaller than my brother’s and father’s, in front of me.

I look at the roast chicken with disdain, “I’ve lost my appetite.” I stand from my chair and walk out of the room, my anger evident in the volume of my steps.

A few hours later, I’m lying on the floor. The fur carpet that covers most of my room guards my back from the cold stone floor. I stare at the high arched ceiling with wooden rafters crisscrossing above me and release another arrow into the space above me. It makes a thud as it contacts with a beam near the ten other arrows I had already let loose.

I lay my bow down beside me and contemplate scaling the walls and balancing on the beams to retrieve my arrows, something I’ve done many times before. As I glare at the arrows which are out of my reach for the time being I see something thin and black zoom over head and stick in my door. I sit up slightly, glance at my door, and see my brother’s arrow sticking out of straight. I stand up and wretch the arrow out of the door just in time the door to swing open slowly.

“What Victor?” I turn my back to him.

“I came to bring you something,” he says in a childish teasing tone.

“And what might that be?” I face him. In his hand is a small tray, containing on it several bite size apple tarts. He looks at me with a small smirk as if he knows I can’t say no.

“Come here” I say gesturing him back to where I was on the fur rug. I plop down on the floor and he looks at me funny, “Will you just sit down?”

He slowly sits down across from me. I remember all the times we’d had on this rug. Anytime anything major or bad had happened we’d have a little meeting just between us where we knew we could say anything without fear of someone else hearing. The first time we ever had this meeting was the night our mother’s funeral pyre was set aflame. My brother and I have been very close ever since.

“They’ll be here tomorrow,” he says as I take my first tart, “and I need you to help her, she’ll need you to teach her how to be strong. She does not know what the people here are like. She’ll know what she heard but that is not even near the truth.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine” I roll my eyes.

“Why won’t you just do this?” he asks getting frustrated.

“Because I don’t want to spend my time with a weak, empty headed princess!” I declare.

“I don’t care what you want Eli!” Victor raises his voice at me, “I need you to do this for me!”

“You like her” I breathe as it finally hits me. “She’s already won you over!”

“Well unlike you I’m not going to fight when I’m doing something that is best for my people!” he stands.

“What if it’s not best for you?!” I stand and look up at his tall height. The men around me have always been taller than I am but I never let that affect how I fight; I use my size to my advantage.

“It doesn’t matter what is best for you, it will never matter what is best for you!” He towers over me, “You are a royal and a royal always does what best for their people, no matter what!”

“I have never been a royal, no matter what my title says! I have been an assassin, a fighter, a warrior, but I have never been a royal who does what is best for the people!” I yell back.

“Yes you have! Every person you have killed, every knife you have driven into a man has been for what is best for the people!” he says loudly but then in a more serious tone, “Think about it.”

He turns his back to me to leave but I stop him, “Remember we have a training session tomorrow.”

He turns to face me again, “Wouldn’t miss it.” He smiles at me and walks away.