Once Upon A Princess

17: Crossing Swords

The fog is everywhere, but in the shadows she can see that there is nothing around her. She runs; trying to find a way out of the fog. She is moving slowly, there's spikes in the floor. Ropes hang from the ceiling. Her nostrils seem filled with a sticky smell, her hair feels as if it's being pulled. Finally she finds the edge of the fog; but she looks down on a room from atop a cliff; everything looks too small. There's pulsing red all around her. A shadow sits at the bottom, watching her. It's waiting for her to come down. Where its hands would be is a silver glint; then the eyes turn red, and she hears her own voice as it screams. She falls; she doesn't remember stepping forward. She's falling ever closer to the knife waiting for her at the bottom...

Amelia woke up, sitting up and taking a gulp of air. Her room was empty, the curtains drawn, but she could see a peek of sunrise hiding just beyond. But the nightmare stayed in her mind, rooted there as if it would never leave. It didn't even make sense, but it still frightened her nonetheless. Her dreams had been vivid and intense the last week or two; she'd never had such clarity remembering what she'd seen as she slept.

But it was the nightmares that truly confused and scared her. She didn't remember having such visceral fear from a scary dream before. It just felt so real. Like she was truly in danger, but couldn't identify anything to fight against.

It wasn't until she was finally bathed and dressed for the day that she was able to feel present. It had been only a week since Prince Theolon had left, and yesterday she'd finished going around most of the surrounding villages to hand out her toys. She had met so many children, so many grateful parents, that her head felt heavy with names and faces. It was much like an intense lesson with Madam Tunna, but fulfilling. Rewarding. She'd never seen so much of Avenor in such a short time.

Today she was supposed to have sword lessons with her father. It would be the first time they'd practiced since the Theolon debacle, and so she concentrated on that throughout the morning.

The king was absent during breakfast, which was very odd. He usually always tried to make it to meals, and Amelia wondered if he'd cancel their practice today. Perhaps something important had come up. At least the queen was also absent.

The princess ate quickly, resolving to act as if the lesson was happening unless she heard different. But even as she finished eating and headed to change into a more casual dress, no page came. No messages, and the silence started to feel odd; like bated breath before a dangerous jump.

It wasn't until Amelia was out in the garden, wooden sword in hand, that she finally saw her father. He strode towards her, his own practice sword casually resting on his shoulders.

"I have some wonderful news for you, Amelia darling," he said as a way of greeting as soon as he was upon her.

They crouched into their stances at the same time, a perfect symmetry to their movements. They'd practiced so many times that Amelia felt comfortable watching him and mirroring his movements, watching for a way to counter, though he always tried to throw in something unexpected.

"What is it?" she asked, parrying his stab to her side. She struck then, and the wood of her blade met with his.

"It's really a wonderful opportunity for you. Even your mother was thrilled at the prospect," he said, in between a shaky breath.

The dance had really begun, in full swing. They were stepping around each other now, trying to get in where they could. It was tiring, and even Amelia's natural childhood stamina would wear thin soon.

Anything that sounded like a good idea to her mother couldn't really be good. Not when it came to Amelia.

"Let's hear it after the lesson, then. Don't want you getting too distracted," she teased, though she was really trying to avoid hearing the news altogether. Maybe he'd get pulled away on some important task, and she wouldn't need to hear it for that much longer...