The Shame of Villains

Chapter Twelve

Sometime in the last couple of years me and Declan drifted apart. I hadn't realized it until I sat down to breakfast the next morning. The entire morning was filled with awkward silences and polite conversation.

"Alissa, do you want to come train with me after breakfast?" Declan asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" I replied.

We finished up our food and headed to the court yard.

"Swords? Or hand to hand?" I questioned.

"Let's start with swords and then we can do hand to hand."

We each picked up our favorites. Mine was Talsgate made curved and sharpened to a fine point. Declan had always favored a Scottsfall, black diamond, straight sword. We stepped to our edges of the circle. I had to retract my skills. I couldn't make him suspicious. He feigned right but I caught his attack. I focused on making my moves slower. I took up the offense while he took up defense. I feigned this time and he left himself open. I landed a blow with the flat side of my blade. He held his hands up in surrender.

"Your really good, Lis." He said calling me by the nickname he gave me when we were kids.

"Your not to bad yourself, Dec."

Instead of hand to hand we swapped our swords for arrows. And headed to the army barracks. Declan and I had come here as kids and worked our archery with Charlie. Charlie is captain of the guard.

"Alissa! Your back!" Charlie exclaimed upon seeing me.

He noticed the bows and arrows and reached down to grab his. We walked over to the archer fields.

"Long time no see!"

"It has been awhile hasn't it?" I said.

"Let's see what skills you've gained while you were away."

We started with short range. Ten bullseyes in a row. Charlie determined that this was too easy so we went to 50 yards. Another ten bullseyes. This was already long range. But Charlie was convinced I could hit bullseyes even farther. He moved a target all the way out to 100 yards. The length of a popular sport called Trepball's field. You could barely see the bullseye from this distance. But that didn't stop me from hitting it. Ten times just like all the others. I knew that hitting it at this distance was risky. But I wanted to show off.

Charlie was super impressed. He spent the rest of the afternoon asking me about my "travels". Declan and I walked back inside for an afternoon meal. We finished up and I went to go meet with Jackson and Hayden.

"Hayden where are you from?" I questioned over tea.

We had collectively decided to forget the last conversation we had together.

"I'm from Boxmor. Just east of Scottsfall."

I knew the place very well I had, had a few missions there.

"And how exactly did you and Jackson meet?"

Jackson jumped in to answer this one.

"Hayden and I met in Galeforde. Three days after you left I met him while searching for you. He was kind enough to help me with that search."

"I see, and what Hayden, do you do for a living?

"I was a baker. And then Jackson offered me a spot in his Gilde." He said surprising me.

"A baker? That's very nice."

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about our adventures. As well as how life in Hayden's kingdom was. He was raised ready for war. He didn't seem like to bad of an ally to have.

I returned to the castle later that night. I spent three hours studying the guard rotations. It wouldn't be hard to get into the castle. The problem would be getting out. The Greebriar castle had a lockdown system. As soon as anything got reported all of the doors were shut and guarded. Maximum security was put in place. So to get out I would need to find an area where the guards would be the weakest. Slip out there.

My time was running out. The kings dead line was coming soon. I would need to act within the next week or have to deal with the kings wrath. I didn't want to do either.

~

Over the next couple of days Hayden and I trained. We would ask questions here and there but otherwise it was quiet. I enjoyed his company. He seemed to know when I didn't want to talk and was perfectly content to train with me in silence. Jackson was sent away on a job from his father. He would be dealing with an issue in Queshland. The barbarians had been causing problems for the Guildes shipments to Lequin.

Hayden and I were practicing hand to hand one night. He caught me in the side of the head with an elbow while I was distracted. I swept his left foot but he managed to keep his balance. I caught him in the side with punch. And swept both his feet. But as he fell he pulled me down with him.

I felt like a school girl with a crush. I immediately pushed myself off of him. And without another glance back ran off.

Not the best thing I could have done in that situation but he made me nervous. And the worst thing was it was official...

I liked Hayden Bracken.