BOOK 3 of The Ostler's Boy Series
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Love. Duty. Valor.
Court & Class.
A pseudo-medieval romance through the eyes of a reckless princess.
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After Svana and her Knight, there was a Princess and her love of adventure.
Eliza Rose, the wildes...
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In the morning, Ask was awake before me. He was twirling his dagger in his hand, poking it into the air one way and then the other. We met eyes, and he smiled.
"Good morning, love," he said.
"What time is it?" I moaned. "Ugh, my body hurts."
"Not sure why you think I'd know the hour," he laughed. "I'm sorry your body hurts."
"What are you doing?" I rose to my side. "Just... spinning your knife around?"
"When we first met," he paused, "You said you could use your mother's blade?"
"My dad's a swordsman." I'd told him that. "I killed that horse with a blade." I stretched my arms over my head, then stood beside him.
"Yes. And a sword is one thing, but this is a dagger," he said. "Can you use a dagger?"
"I told you I could," I said.
"Alright," he replied. "Show me." He offered me the knife.
I scoffed. "And what? Stab you with it?" I asked.
I went to collect it, but he maneuvered it out of my grip and pointed it my way. Before I had time to react, Askar flipped the dagger so the handle was mine to take. I snatched it out of his palm as quickly as I could.
"See?" I said.
"I had a suspicion you were lying," he said.
"So what?" I cracked. "You were a strange man in a strange place. Was I supposed to tell you my weaknesses?"
"First..." He titled the tip so that it was out of his face– I had been using it to emphasize each word. "Don't do that," he said. "Second... Part your feet."
I followed the command, taking a normal fighting stance. He kicked them apart a little further.
"Bend your knees," he said. "Your power is in your core."
I adjusted, doing as he said.
"Can you punch?" he asked.
"What a stupid questi–"
"Eliza, love," he stopped me. "Listen before you speak. This is important."
I stopped.
"We're not far from where we were ambushed, and when we face another attack, it would do me well to know that you can defend yourself," he said.
That worried me. "Do you think that's a possibility? That we'll be attacked?"
"I prefer to consider things a matter of when not if. If gets people hurt, remember, those who cannot wield blades die upon them."
"I-I'm sorry I lied to you," I thought to say. "When you brought it up, I didn't know what to say. The question frightened me. I felt vulnerable, and I felt scared, and I didn't want you to know you could take the knife away from me. It was stupid to even wear it; I know, but–"
