Firebird

Chapter 7

Beckett

       It's now been a couple weeks since me and my unit arrived here. We'd all settled in nicely and had slowly gotten a routine down. Well except me because the princess was all over the place. There was no set routine with her. Even through the chaotic energy, I found myself excited to get up each morning.
      I knocked her door after I got dressed. I heard her musical voice telling me to come in. When I walked in, she was in fighting attire.
      "I got a late start to the day but I still wanna go train." She said as she walked around her room, putting up various things. "I usually do my training before everyone else is up."
      "I didn't know you trained every day." I said, eyebrows crinkled. "Some body guard I am."
      "It's not like I go out the door." She said with a knowing look. She pointed at her closet and laughed.
      "I've never seen you train before. What do I need to expect?" I asked, laughing with her. She only winked and walked out the door. I followed her, heart pounding. I barely know her and she affected me like this. I shouldn't feel anything for her. I'm her body guard.
      We walked down the training rooms together. Laughing and pushing each other the whole way. We were greeted by other guardsmen and my unit when we walked in.
      "Kyla, nice to see you here after the sun comes up." The king said as she walked up. She shook her head and beamed at him.
      "You know I like being here when there's no one else." She replied, starting to stretch. "Wouldn't want to train in front of the guys and make them feel inadequate, you know?"
      Laughs rang through the training room. Her father only smiled. I had no doubt he trained her well. I'd seen Tanwens armor. If Tanwen was that prepared for battle, then so was Kyla. Another guardsmen approached and threw her a staff.
      "Well let's show the newcomers exactly who you are then, my firebird." The king said. She needed no other prompting before stepping into the ring, a guardsmen trailing close behind her.
      Everyone else crowded around the ring, ready for the show. I kept my eyes trained on her as the circled each other slowly, waiting for the signal. The normal playful gleam in her eyes was gone. Replaced by a predatory gaze. I was mesmerized by her in that moment.
    Her father gave them the signal and they started moving immediately. The fire in her eyes never left as she went on the attack. Her feet never stopped moving. Every jab and every swing, she stayed on top of it. The staff was only an extension of her. It was almost as if it knew exactly what moves she was going to do. I stood, frozen, as she moved. Heart hammering in my ears.
    The guardsmen, it seems, had been in the ring with her before. He knew some of what she could do. But it wasn't enough. They were only in there a few minutes before she had him disarmed and on the ground, staff hovering above his chest.
    Her father started clapping and everyone else quickly followed. Thoroughly impressed, the men in my unit swarmed her. They wanted to start training with her immediately. She smiled at them all, eyes positively dancing. When she looked at me, I couldn't look away from her. There were no words that would come forward. She smiled and nodded before turning her attention back the group. All I knew, after that performance, I was in deep shit.