Muffled voices rose in the hall. The curtain shifted, and Achan held it open for Ressa.
Vrell rolled her eyes.
"Bite, bite, Mima!" Romal squirmed, reaching for his mother.
Ressa came straight over and swept him up. "Mima thinks it's time for Romal to nap."
"Bite, bite."
"Yes, you may have dinner first, my sweet."
Ressa left from the room without another word. Achan fell onto the pillows beside Vrell. His hair hung loose around his face, but the ends had been trimmed, as had his scruffy facial hair, to keep up his shadow of a beard.
"What?" Achan slapped Vrell lightly on the back of the head.
She flinched and shied back. "You smell like rose water."
He smirked. "It's not nearly so bad when a woman washes your hair." He put his hand on Vrell's ear and pushed her.
She tipped onto her side, grunted, and struggled to sit upright again. "Stop."
Achan's lips curved in a small smile. He snagged her arm, drew it behind her back, and grabbed her other wrist in the same hand. Then he flipped her over his lap and pushed her down to the floor. Her cheek slapped against the wood floor. Achan's knee pressed into her back and squeezed the air from her body in a rush.
"What are you doing?" She gasped in a quick breath. "Get off me!"
Achan leaned over, his wet hair tickled her ear. "You're a weakling, Sparrow. And you eat too much. What if you have to fight a warrior hand to hand, no weapons? It's my responsibility to make sure you know enough to live." He released her.
She took a deep breath and barely managed to stand before he darted forward and tucked her head under his arm. She flailed her hands about, slapping wherever she could, and managed to pull out a handful of his hair.
He laughed. "You fight like a girl. Come on, Sparrow. At least try to hurt me."
She drew back, but he had her chin locked tight in the crook of his elbow. "I do not…" she pulled back again, grunting with effort… "want…" another pant and tug… "to hurt you." She kicked at his leg, hoping to make him trip.
"Don't worry." He kicked her feet out from under her and released her head. "You can't."
She fell onto her side. Her elbow hit the floor at an awkward angle and stung.
He leaned over her again. "That's my point. Now, stand up and try again. A leg sweep has to come from behind my leg, not in front. You need to kick out the back of my knees and push me down at the same time."
Vrell scrambled to her feet and grabbed Achan around the waist, trying to hook her leg around his in the process, but like a solid tree, he did not budge. She reared back and charged again. He caught her shoulders, twisted aside, and swiped her feet out from under her again. Her back slapped against the floor, knocking her lungs useless. She sucked in, but no breath came. She closed her eyes and tried again, barely managing a hitch of air.
Achan sank to the floor and sighed. "Sleep in my room tonight, Sparrow."
Vrell's eyes flew open and she croaked, "Sleep where?"
Achan drew both hands over his head, sweeping his hair out of his face. "It's creepy back there alone. I miss the campfire and bedrolls. I don't know why everyone feels I must have my own bedchamber."
Vrell inhaled a long breath. Feeling had returned to her body again and it hurt. "You just want someone to beat on."
Achan nudged Vrell's shoulder with his bare foot. "I want someone to talk to. Please?" He cast a begging pout her way.
Vrell could not help but laugh. "You look as if you are a puppy who has been put outdoors. Ask Sir Gavin. If he does not disapprove, I suppose it would be all right."
"Why should Sir Gavin care?"
Vrell sighed, searching for a logical reason Achan might understand. "All this protocol is new to me too. When I met you, you were a soldier. Now you are a prince. I will not be accused of treating you poorly."
"Sparrow, you're so full of moss you're soft in the head. You're the only person who doesn't treat me like a prince every hour of the day. Imagine why I like you so much?"
Vrell's cheeks warmed. Oh, Shamayim. If her mother knew she planned to share a bedchamber with the prince, she would never hear the close of it.
Achan lay on his pallet and stared at the webs of light flickering on the ceiling from Sparrow's candle, glad they were leaving in the morning. Trajen and Ressa were kind, but Ressa's similarities to Gren haunted Achan. He wanted to get to Tsaftown and see Lady Tara, a girl he hoped could fill the cracks in his heart left by Gren.
Thankfully, Sparrow had agreed to sleep in the room. Achan couldn't stand another night alone with thoughts of Gren, memories of torture, and pondering his dead parents. If he wasn't careful, Darkness turned every thought sour, though he hadn't had any dark visions or nightmares here. Sir Caleb claimed Arman protected Trajen's household from such evil.
Light still danced on the ceiling. Achan propped himself up on his elbow. Sparrow sat cross-legged on his bedroll by the foot of Achan's pallet, a finger and rag in his mouth.
"What in blazes are you doing?"
Sparrow's round eyes focused on Achan. "I am cleaning my teeth."
Achan laughed. What an odd duck.
Sparrow shot him a lofty smirk. "You shall not be laughing when you have a toothache and nothing can be done but to have it pulled."
Achan sobered a moment thinking of Sir Gavin's thin and wolfish teeth. "So if I wipe cloth over my teeth I'll not get a toothache?"
"Not necessarily. But at least you will not have stink breath."
Achan frowned. "I don't have stink breath."
Sparrow raised his eyebrows and went back to rubbing.
Achan crawled out of his bed and over to Sparrow.
The boy shrank back, regarding him warily. "What?"
"I want to see what you're-" Achan leaned close and breathed in the boy's face.
Sparrow's eyes bulged and he sputtered. "Eww, Achan. How revolting. I thought Sir Caleb was teaching you manners."
Achan cackled and dove back to his pallet. "For everyone but you, Sparrow. For everyone but you."
20
Achan wanted to think they left for Berland bright and early, but who could guess the hour? Trajen took them to the stables for their horses and escorted them to the northern gate. Before they passed through, Sir Caleb tethered the horses in a line.
Trajen bid them farewell and the guards opened the gate. No horizon met them, only a black void. Achan didn't want to go into it again. How could Lady Tara live in Darkness and stay so agreeable?
He tried to focus on Lady Tara, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Gren. Ever since Sir Gavin's lesson, Achan continually checked on her, found her cooking, cleaning, even sleeping. It took a bit before Achan realized she'd been sleeping. He first feared he'd ingested aleh, but he remained focused and almost fell asleep himself. At least he now knew a way of getting to sleep when his mind refused to rest.
Sir Caleb Agros.
Achan opened to the knight. Aye?
We have a long journey. Inko has agreed to keep the others in their heads by discussing the Great War. While this is information you need, I feel there's a more pressing matter. Women.
Achan frowned. Is this about what I said to that peasant girl?
That and more. I managed to get word to her through Ressa that you are just learning the rules of courtesy and did not mean to flatter her so. But I can't keep doing that. I fear we must spend a great deal of time retraining you. I assume no man mentored you on your coming-of-age day?