Love of the Lost Ones

Part 9

They made it to the armory, and the king opened the door, the cold air hitting her in the face. She looked around the room, admiring the racks and racks of shiny weapons and armor. Long, lightweight swords. Strong, clean chest plates and helmets lined the walls. Bows made of the strongest wood in the province and the rarest feathers. She breathed in the air, not knowing when she would get the chance again.

Verena loved battle, she loved violence. She craved it every day when she did not get it. She missed the smell of fire, the taste of blood. She dreamed of the day when she could see it all again, and today was that day. She walked through the large room, running her fingers along the cold metal, dust gathering at her fingertips.

"I'll give you a moment to pick out your weapons and armor of choice, if you need anything just ask a guard." Verena groaned.

"I'm not wearing armor!" The last words of her sentence were cut off by the king closing the door, causing the iron to clatter around. She sighed. She went through the lines of chest plates, holding them up to see if they would fit, and trying to find a helmet and gauntlets that would fit her.

She eventually found some that would work. She was just going to wear a chest plate, that's as much armor as she was willing to wear. She took the chest plate and pushed on the door. It flung open, and she stumbled out into the corridor, tripping over the step and falling onto her back.

"Ah, hello there." She looked up to see a smug face looking down at her. Lucian. She turned over and got up quickly, wiping her hands on her shirt, a nervous tic she had adopted over time. No! Not nervous. Assassins don't get nervous. And even if she did she wouldn't be nervous around Lucian. And most certainly not because of Lucian. What a stupid revelation. She was not nervous.

"What a lovely surprise." He said, in that smooth voice of his. God it angered her.

"Wish I could say the same."

Lucian winced. "Ooh. Feisty today. Why?" Verena rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here anyway?" He said

"What are you doing here?"

"I asked first."

Verena sighed.

"I'm preparing for this war. Now you tell me."

"Same as you." He smiled. Verena tried not to punch him in his perfect face. She looked behind him, where the king was standing.

"Finished already I see? That was quick." He pushed Lucian aside and stepped towards Verena. He frowned as he saw what she was holding. "That's all the armor you're going to wear?" When Verena didn't say anything, he shrugged and turned towards Lucian. "Well? Any ideas?" Lucian glanced at Verena with wide eyes. She grinned. Lucian seemed to have gotten distracted by looking at her and was no longer paying any attention to the king.

"Hello? Anybody home?" The king said while snapping in Lucian's face, bringing his attention back to him. "Do you have a plan?" He asked.

"I think the only way to win this war is to just fight. We don't need a plan, we just need to fight." The king groaned and mumbled something under his breath. Lucian slowly walked over to Verena and let out a breath of relief.

"Someone's angry." He said quietly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the king. Verena looked at him, and thought about all the outcomes that were possible. She hated him, but she had never found anyone that challenged her strength. He was the only person that actually had fought back and succeeded. As much as he annoyed her, she was going to miss him. Him and his stupid smile.

"What?" He said. She snapped back to reality and realized that she had just been staring at him. She hesitated.

"Um-uh...nothing. I was just zoning out, you know?" Lucian looked her up and down, then shrugged.

"So-uh. How are you feeling about the battle?" Was this his idea of small talk?

"I'm excited." Oh my god, why did she say that? Lucian blinked.

"Excited? Huh. I-I haven't heard that reaction before. Okay. Well, um...good for you." He took a breath in and nodded his head goodbye. Verena watched him walk away until he was out of sight. She let her body lead her to the side, facing the wall, and then slamming her head into it.

"Ugh!" She groaned. She turned her back against the wall and sank down to the floor. She took deep breaths in, trying to focus her mind onto killing Lucian and winning the war.