"Tighten your grip on the sword and focus half of your energy on the enemy in front of it."

"Only a half? Why not all of it, since the aim should be to defeat them?"

"That's where you have it wrong. During a fight, defeat might be the end result you want, but it is incredibly easy to lose yourself to the bloodlust. The sudden drive of thrill your body goes through can do that to you. Hence, you always have to use the other half of your energy to keep that rush at bay and put it to use at the perfect points of attack."

"But even then, what you're saying is that I could lose...even if I win the fight?"

"Definitely. You always have to make sure that you can push away the dangerous pride of putting someone down and return to your normality once the opponent's sword drops."

"Hm. Are you truly a man of such modesty or are you trained to think like this?" Zyanna mused, wearing a fake look of suspicion as she swung her sword around too delicately - her hands clearly struggling to hold its weight.

Vladimir cocked his head. "Are you doubting your teacher on the very first lesson?"

"First lesson? Does that mean I can expect another one?" She questioned, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"We'll just have to see how you perform during our first time, and I may think of considering it." Vladimir smiled with a nod, lifting her arms into a better fighting position.

"Does that mean you won't give me another chance if I lose?"

I stepped into the sunlight and cleared my throat, making their attentions swing in my direction. "We fight to win, Zyanna. Losing is not an option nor is it a thought we entertain."

Vladimir dropped his hands and quickly straightened up. "Your highness. I didn't realize you were here, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, actually, there is. Whatever it is you're doing, can I take over?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Of course, your highness. Princess Lia needed me to check on the security measures near our borders anyway so I'll get started on that."

"You're excused."

He quickly spun around to leave, but just as he was about to, he turned back and swiftly extended his arms and slightly lifted Zyanna's chin. "You don't want to look at the ground in a fight, Yanna. Your head would disappear before you even look up. Remember, head straight and eyes forward, the basics are important."

Yanna? When did I miss the shortening of names?

I cleared my throat dryly, shooting a blank look at my favourite soldier. "Princess Aaliyah won't be too happy if she finds out you're late, Vladimir."

He nodded sincerely and left the area with a practised sprint.

I started walking towards Zyanna who was still yet to acknowledge my presence. She continued to wave the sword in random angles, and her amateurish movements only made me chuckle.

An empty glare was thrown to me, but I ignored it with a grin. "You know, I wouldn't have objected if you expressed your interest in wanting to learn to fight. I would even have given you your first lesson myself."

There wasn't a response.

I stepped closer, but she consciously moved further away and mindlessly increased the intensity of her hasty sword strikes.

I sharply took a hold of her arm that was holding the sword, placing my other hand on her opposite shoulder.

"The air doesn't really bleed so unless you're fighting with an invisible person, it might do you well to slow down."

Her body stubbornly stiffened, and she turned her head over her shoulder. "I'm trying to concentrate here. Could you please remove your hands, your highness?"

I resisted from flinching and carefully turned her around to face me. "Is everything fine, Zyanna?"

"No, it's not," She uttered plainly, looking away. "I've been rammed by a horse, an actual dagger struck through my back, and honestly - I truly don't blame anyone. I can fully understand the fact that you're not indebted to tell me anything more, but I'm physically fine now."

I softened my gaze as she sighed. "So tell me, why am I still here? I want to go back to my farm, to my own place where I owe no one anything. I just...I just want to leave because all of this protection is clearly not needed anymore, and I've heard your coronation is in two days so-"

"Don't you want to be here for that?" I asked gently, tilting my head at her.

She stepped away from me in silence and dropped her sword. "Can I please leave the palace now?"

"Do you want to?"

"The sooner the better, because the animals can't be left in someone else's hands for too long."

"Is that the only reason you want to leave?"

Her eyes met mine for less than a second, and she hurriedly started walking away, holding her long white skirt in her hands.

"I didn't pin you as someone who cowardly walks away from something, Zyanna."

She froze in her tracks and turned around. "'Cowardly' isn't the right word to use. There's simply no shame in leaving when I know I have to."

I clenched my jaw, raising my brow at her. "You know you have to. But, I ask again, do you want to?"

"I don't understand why you're angry at me. I was injured, you brought me here, and now I'm healed. Isn't there a thing called 'overstaying your visit'? Doesn't that apply to palaces too?"

"You know that isn't the point. I'm angry because of the way you're choosing to leave...disturbs me. What I don't understand is why this even calls for an argument when you can just directly tell me what the issue is!"

She stared at me for a few moments and started to shake her head. "Prince Elijah, you're about to be the King of Yandestine in a few days. This-" She stated, gesturing to the both of us. "-friendship or whatever it may be, will become irrelevant very soon. It won't matter at all after you get acquainted with much more important people and have to start attending royal events without any time to even breathe."

"That is my predicament to take care of."

"Exactly, it's a 'predicament' already, and you know it. What I'm trying to say is-"

I walked forward, and stepped in front of her, stopping her. "There's no mistake in what you're saying. But can't this 'friendship' continue a bit more longer, just until both of us become unable to draw it out?"

She cracked a smile, lifting her chin to look at me. "I've been occupying the guest-chamber for too long, Prince Elijah."

"Then try and trip over something and extend your stay."

She shot me a bland look.

I grabbed her hands and pinched her thumb enough for it to hurt.

"If this is your gesture of farewell, it sort of hurts." She said, covering a wince.

"See? You're still suffering from some internal pain-"

"In my thumb?"

"-and the pain always starts small, doesn't it? It could start in the thumb and easily spread and cause more pain. That means, it isn't safe for you to be left alone and you're better off staying under palace protection for a few more days."

She shook her head with a waning smile, still unconvinced.

I lightly tightened my grip on her hands, sheltering her soft palm with my own. "I won't stop you if you truly do want to leave. But as you said, I will be King in two days. Sudden as it might be, I don't know if I'll have the time to do what I really want after," I cracked a hopeful smile, dipping my head down, closer to hers. "Though right now, I'm still a prince. If you try to forget the prince part, I'm sort of a simple man that wants to talk as long as possible to a woman that refuses to give him the time of the day. I don't want to stop being that man before this day ends."

She breathed out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders softly. "You're awfully dramatic, do you realise that?"

I laughed, returning her smirk. "I know, and I'm using it to my advantage right now."

"You've sadly succeeded. Congratulations, you manipulative-"

I closed my hand over her mouth and winked with a wide simper.

"Let's go do something completely unproductive where there are no soldiers or servants to watch you bad-mouth me. And maybe, we can also talk before you abandon me to be the mighty and breathless king all by myself."

~~~

"Start with four dots, two at the top and two beneath it, very much like a square frame."

I did as she said, pinching a bit of white chalk powder between my thumb and forefinger, and placed it at the spots she pointed to.

We were sat in the palace garden, peacefully surrounded by hummingbirds shyly hiding between the trees and their sounds of inviting protests only blanketing us with a charming tranquil.

"You're surprisingly very good at this. Now, make a powdery line from the first dot at the top, down to the first dot beneath it and make an intimately close curved loop around the latter."

She patiently encouraged me even though it seemed to be a very simple process, and since apparently all females knew how to draw this form of drawing, I tactfully talked Zyanna into teaching me how to do it too.

"Now make your line travel towards the second bottom dot, slowly and carefully. Focus is the main element."

I took a slow breath and sprinkled the powder as a line toward that specific dot.

Then it abruptly stopped.

"You either didn't collect enough powder between your fingers or you let too much down where you didn't need to."

I cracked my neck, narrowing my eyes skeptically. "It must be the weakness of the powder. This shouldn't be this complicated, right?"

"You've already set it up in your mind as a challenge. This really isn't a royal task you need to complete to prove your worth. Just think of this as a daily activity you've already adapted to, and start there. Perhaps think of it as learning to bathe again; you know you've done it before so it should be very easy to learn again. "

"Bathing? I've come to find out that observing a bath can be more efficient than actually doing it myself. Only in terms of learning, of course."

She pressed her lips together and slowly blinked. "That was an extremely poor attempt at seduction. Almost frightening, even."

"Oh don't fly that far ahead, Zyanna. That was just a romantic advance full of innocent intentions." I beamed and picked up the pot of powder.

She sardonically rolled her eyes, violently plucking the pot away.

"You shall only observe then, Prince Elijah. Now watch and follow every sprinkle with all of its lines and curves."

Without another word, her eyes turned and her fingers sprung into a dance as it proudly swirled across the dots; not a single speck of powder running out of its assigned order.

I thought it was finished once she completed the curved loops around the four dots though that was precisely when the true beauty flashed to the front.

She quickly drew a full and perfect square around the simple drawing while cradling more powder in her other hand, easily cruising into several other curls that jumped off from each side of the square separately but somehow entwined their flowery heads and tails with one another at the end.

The feminine art doubtlessly kneeled at Zyanna's fingers, and I didn't know whether I should let envy or mesmerised awe overtake my thoughts as she bent her head back to see the finished piece while dusting the powder off her fingers.

"It looks beautiful. Your doorstep is lucky to have you."

"A lucky doorstep that I haven't been able to visit for many days because of someone's wishes, but I won't mention those thoughts for now. Regardless, thank you, Prince Elijah."

I turned to look at her properly, directly meeting her dark brown eyes that almost surged into a black - gazing at me challengingly. "Has the thought of leaving my presence occupied your mind that strongly?" I tilted my head, licking my lips.

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't?"

I moved my hands to cup the side of her face and tentatively rubbed my thumb over her cheek as my palm settled under her jaw.

"Does this also fall under a 'romantic advance full of innocent intentions', Elijah?"

"No," I moved closer to her, cupping the other side of her face too. "You know, I believe my time for observation is over. It's time you learnt that romantic advances are just never innocent, Zya."

Flutter, quiver and stop.

That's what happened to her breath.

I could feel it with an absolute lack of question as I encased my lips over hers, and an unabridged crash of something breathtakingly unfamiliar galloped forward, bringing the sudden fleet of pelting rain.

But that failed to stop anything.

My lips floated over hers with a delicate grace, and in incalculable seconds, she gave me an answer.

Her fingers palpably shivered against my chest as they whisked themselves up to grip my shoulder while her lips countered mine with equal fervour, taking away every aching doubt that might have swarmed within my eyes before.

The darkness of closed eyes never felt like an arrest and a disguised freedom, all at the same time.

I slid my fingers through her hair, tightening my hold on them with a brisk tug causing her to fall and arch against me with a breathless moan, leaving no definable space between us.

I swiftly shifted her onto my lap - her knees coming to rest on either side of my hips as all weak strings of patience were abandoned. Our lips blissfully continued to clash with more vigour than before when a restrained breath from either of us dared to weave itself in between.

I was lost in the midst of fire and water, and I couldn't stop.

Just as I was about to sweep my tongue over her bottom lip, I held myself back.

If I do that, if I do anything more, I know I won't stop.

My chamber doors would be flung open, and her legs would be flung over my shoulders. An irreversible night with dissolved memories that she might regret in the morning.

That's something she doesn't deserve.

I slowly but reluctantly released her, relaxing my palms against either side of her hips.

"Elijah," She breathed out, with a soft gulp while her lips were still very close to mine, so invitingly flushed and reachable for a second touch. "Just tell me that wasn't real."

I pinched her watery thumb, a low chuckle leaving both of us. "The internal pain is still there, so this is very much real."

She shook her head at me with a disapproving smile. "You're still a manipulative-"

"-but a simple man that just wants you to stay. Will you stay?"

***

I am so single, giddy and annoyed because of the weird and tingly feels.

So, about this chapter, what did you think?

Stay blessed and unbreakably happy,

OceanaCamerons 🌹🌹🌹