Kapitel 34: Chapter 32
I'm nervous. My palms are sweaty and I can't stop fiddling with my hands. Today I begin training a bunch of new men. The prince and I headed out to the training grounds early, waiting for them to arrive.
"Are you okay?" He asks me.
"Yes. No. I don't know. I'm just really nervous," I respond.
"Well I'm sure you'll do just fine. Besides, part of the time I'll be here with you."
"Thanks."
Suddenly, I hear voices. I look up and see a large group of men walking toward me. Some look strong and muscled, and others look like they've never done any work in their life. When they see the prince and I standing there, everyone's conversations stop. Putting on a brave face, I smile and step forward. The prince follows my lead and all the men bow.
"Welcome fellow men!" The prince yells out. "You have all made the decision to come out here, train, and serve the king. If you prove yourself weak and incapable, be prepared to be sent home. While this is a rare occurrence, it's not impossible. You will go through several years of training before actually serving the king. I myself am trained and skilled. Iris, your new training master, has not gone through all of the same training. On the other hand, she has more skill than any of the other men. In fact, she is capable of beating me. I'm sure you will all listen to her and follow her instructions."
Once he's finished with his small speech, many of the men eye me suspiciously. My eyes scan over the crowd until I meet the eyes of someone I didn't expect to see.
"Caleb?" I whisper.
Ashton turns towards me and asks, "What did you say?"
I shake my head. "My best friend Caleb is here. He was the one who gave me this necklace."
Immediately, the prince's eyes darken. "So the one who also confessed his love for you?"
"Yeah. That's the one."
"Well if he tries any-" he starts.
"Don't worry. If you ask me, I think you're a little jealous," I say with a smirk.
"Wha- me? Jealous?" He sputters.
I laugh at his reaction and turn back towards the men. They're staring at us weirdly.
"As you heard the prince say, I'm Tour new training master, Iris. Many of you are probably wondering why I was appointed in charge of you. After all, I am a girl. I have proven to everyone here that anyone can do it. Some of you have probably never held a sword before or shot an arrow. I will do my best to teach you and help you."
I step back shakily. I've never been comfortable talking to large groups of people.
"Good job," the prince whispers to me.
"Now, all of you will need a partner and a training sword..." The prince starts. He tells them where and when to go.
Once everyone is ready and in place, the prince and I demonstrate basic moves and stances. Then we stand back and watch. The experienced men are quite apparent. I can't help but chuckle a little at the ones who can't even hold their swords correctly.
"I should probably go help some people," I say to the prince.
"I agree," he responds wholeheartedly.
I walk over to two men that look a little older than me.
"Here, hold the hilt like this," I say, positioning their hands correctly. "Then stand with your right foot slightly in front. Make sure you're ready for anything at anytime. Agility is a huge part of this." After I'm satisfied, I do the same thing with whoever needs it.
At the end of the day, I'm exhausted. Teaching these men is a lot harder than I expected. I let everyone go to dinner and stay back with the prince. Despite my tiredness, I grab two swords and hand one to the prince. He grins at me and my heart does this annoying thing where it begins to pound faster and faster.
Without saying a word, we take our stances. Then I advance with the first move. I suck and swing and step. The only sound is the clanking of swords and heavy breathing. Suddenly, I'm caught off guard and he knocks me to the ground. I swing my leg out and he comes down, too.
We lay there next to each other, staring up into the star filled sky. He looks over at me and I stare back into his emerald eyes. Then all of a sudden he's kissing me. My heart thumps so loudly that I'm afraid everyone will hear it. Suddenly, I hear a crack behind us. We both break away quickly and stand up. We look around until we find the source of the noise.
"Caleb?" I ask.
He looks at us sheepishly. "Hey Iris."
I run into his arms and give him a huge hug. I finally break away and say, "It's so good to see you!"
"You too! I mean, it would've been better if I hadn't found you like this."
I feel a blush rise up onto my face. Looking back, I'm amused to find the prince glaring at Caleb.
"Ashton, this is Caleb. Caleb, this is Ashton, although, you probably know that."
Caleb seems surprised at my casualness around Ashton.
"Well, it's good it see you," Caleb says. "I'll head back now."
"Bye."
I turn back towards the prince. He still has an angry look in his eyes.
"See, jealous."
He looks at me and and says defensively, "I'm not-" he stops when he sees the expression on my face. "Fine. Maybe I was a little jealous..."
I walk up to him and wrap my arms around him. All of a sudden, he pushes me away.
"What-" I starts.
I then hear something behind me. Turning, I see a servant coming towards us.
"Excuse me miss, the king requests your presence in the throne room."
She curtsy a and leaves hurriedly.
"What does he want now?" I groan.
"I don't know, but you should probably get going."
He walks me back to the entrance, but then goes his own way. I sigh and make the journey to the throne room. When I arrive, the king greets me with a smile. I bow.
"Hello Iris! You're probably wondering why I called you here again. I just wanted to make sure that your first day went well."
"It went smoothly, your highness."
"Good good!"
I'm not fooled by his jolly emotions. If I've learned anything, it's that while the king may act one way, he's probably thinking something else inside. Just then, I realize that he's started to talk again.
"Right Iris?"
"Uh, pardon me, but what did you say?" I stutter.
He frowns ever so slightly, but repeats himself.
"I said, I'm sure you understand by now my intentions with Ashton."
"Yes, your highness."
"Well your actions at the winter ball told me otherwise."
I look down. "It won't happen again, your highness."
"I should hope not. Now, I'm sure by this point you've eaten already and finished things up. Therefore, you may head back to your room to retire for the night."
In response, my stomach growls. Thankfully it isn't loud enough for anyone but me to hear.
"Yes, your highness," I mumble and bow.
I leave the room and make a quick stop by the kitchen. Everyone knows me well so they don't stop me when I take a couple of rolls.
That night, I can't fall asleep. Why are things so unfair? I wish there were no stupid customs. Finally, after much tossing and turning, exhaustion pulls me into a deep sleep.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein