The Atheil Chronicles: A Call to Fire

Chapter 22

    Ariana glanced up at Ryonen again, her fingers flexing on the grip of the sword. "I don't know," she said, her voice uncertain, "it doesn't feel right."
    Ryonen was standing a few feet in front of her, a wooden sword held expertly in front of him. He had his long hair tied back at his neck and he was shirtless. "It won't at first," he explained, "that's why you have to keep practicing. It'll get easier with time."
    Ariana glanced over her shoulder at Lamis, who smiled at her. He was sitting comfortably in the shade of the trees, a book on his lap as he watched them practice. When they had emerged from the forest earlier that day, still damp from their swim, Lamis had been waiting for them next to a bed of Luna flos'. He had brought some practice swords with him and a basket full of food, handing them over to Ryonen after a brief glance over the two of them, his eyes focusing on their intertwined hands. Ariana had gotten the impression that he had some idea of what they had been doing and that he wasn't pleased about it.
    Ryonen called her back to attention. "Alright, put your dominant foot facing toward me and your other slightly in the other direction." He showed her, his other foot looking like it was 45 degrees or so in the other direction. She imitated him, her feet aligned with the width of her shoulders. "Good," he said, nodding in approval. "Now straighten your back. I want you to balance between your feet, don't lean too heavily on one or the other; you want to be ready to move in any direction at any given time. Lower your body just a little bit, putting your sword out in front of you."
    Ariana did this and realized it felt vaguely like that time her mom had signed her up for softball when she was 10. She had hated it and quit, of course, but she remembered them teaching her to hold a bat. It wasn't exactly the same, but the basic concept was there. Ryonen was eyeing her. "Am I doing it right?" She asked, feeling stupid, especially under his scrutinizing gaze.
    "Yeah." He said quickly, then heard Lamis cough behind her. He shot a look at him. "Okay, let me help you." He strode over to her and gently guided her arm so that the sword was angled upward in front of her, but closer to her body than before. "A real sword is going to be heavier, you'll want to conserve your energy by holding it a little closer."
    She nodded, momentarily distracted by his close proximity. He was on her right side, his chest pressed up against her as he held her wrist. She could feel the flutter of her heart in her chest as she remembered their kiss at the pond. Ryonen must have felt something, too, because he quickly stepped away from her, his hand dropping away as he took his position across from her.
    He raised his sword. "I'm going to start off by teaching you to dodge. When all else fails, you should fall back on defense. It could save your life." He showed her how to step back or to the side to avoid a blade. "At the end of the day, you'll need to know how to dodge. Basically do whatever you can to avoid getting hit with the edge of the sword. You'll need to be quick, though."
    Ariana took a breath as he neared her. Without any notice, he swung at her in a downward motion. She threw herself to the side, barely staying on her feet, but getting back into position. He looked pleased and came at her again, this time thrusting the sword at her abdomen. Ariana twisted away, narrowly missing it.
    "Good!" Ryonen said. He tried to sweep her legs and, in her panic, she dropped her sword down into the path, feeling the stinging force from his sword reverberate up her arm.
    She heard Lamis cheering behind her and even Ryonen looked impressed. "How'd you know to parry my blow?" He asked her, dropping his sword as she rubbed her arm.
    She shrugged. "I've seen enough movies to get the gist of it." Then she smiled, embarrassed. "But mostly it was just an accident." She admitted.
    "Either way, that's exactly what you want to do if you can't avoid a hit. That was what I was going to teach you next. If you have to engage or your opponent is trying to actively swing at you and you can't get out of the way in time, you can block it by putting your sword in its path. You can even attack while their guard is down, but we aren't there yet."
    Ariana was trying to keep everything straight in her head, but it was harder when she was in the moment to think of what to do. When he was swinging at her, even though she knew it wouldn't hurt her, she felt herself overcome with panic and everything she knew just fell away. "Alright, let's go again." She said, holding her sword out.
    For the next hour and a half Ryonens came at her from every angle as he tried to tap her with his sword. She was surprisingly good at dodging, her naturally agile nature translating well to swordplay. She had always been a runner back home, often weaving in and out of the trees as she ran through the forest. This made her instinct to avoid getting hit even more potent as she had been doing something similar to it her whole life. She was even getting better at parrying after several times getting hit by the sword. Her first time had been an accident but, when she was supposed to be doing it intentionally, she didn't always react in time.
    The sun was nearing the horizon when Ryonen called it quits. He squinted in its direction before turning to her. "I think that's enough for today." He said, tucking the sword under his arm and walking toward her. "It's supper time."
    Almost on cue, Ariana felt her stomach ache with hunger. They had eaten a little bit before they started to practice a few hours ago but she realized now that dinner was long overdue. Lamis was already on his feet and walking slowly back to the castle. Ryonen came up beside her, bumping her shoulder with his.
    "You did really well today." He said, one side of his mouth pulling up in a half smile. "I already feel better about you leaving here."
    Ariana let herself smile, too. "Thanks." She said. "I do, too."
    Ryonen reached down and grabbed her wooden sword, tucking it under his arm with his own. "I'm going to run ahead and freshen up before dinner. I'll meet you there." He let his hand trail down her arm, giving her a look so full of unfiltered adoration that it made her feel shaken. Without another word, he bounded off toward the castle, his figure growing smaller as he covered the distance. She found herself once again thinking how fast he was, way faster than any human could be.
    Interrupting her thoughts, Lamis sidled up next to her. He had his book held loosely to his chest, his blue eyes turning to her as he spoke. "Ryonen is right, you really did do well."
    She gazed at him, noticing for the first time that he looked particularly somber. "What's wrong?" She asked, immediately.
    Lamis gave her a smile, but it didn't meet his eyes. "It occurred to me that you'll probably be leaving in a few days' time. It's been nice having company in this lonely old place."
    Ariana felt her heart ache for him. She could hear the sadness echoing in his melodic voice, the years of loneliness present there. "I'm sorry to have to go." She said, honestly. She really didn't want to leave here. There was something so peaceful, so right about it. She felt safe and secure here, but she also felt guilty. She knew that, somewhere out there, her mom was experiencing less hospitable arrangements.
    He was quiet for a minute as they walked, the only sound coming from their footsteps on the grass below. "I know you can't stay here." He said, his voice sounding far away in thought. "You never could, not really. You have a destiny to fulfill; nothing could stop you from that."
    "Destiny?"
    "Of course." He responded, touching her arm and stopping her. He reached out and gently tapped the place above her heart with his index finger. "Your heart knows the way forward. No matter how safe you could be here, you'd never really be at ease knowing that you aren't following your heart. We try to escape our destiny but it always has a way of finding us anyway."
    "Do you think it was always my destiny to come here?" She asked him, voicing a thought she had been mulling over for days but not truly letting herself think about.
    He sighed, his blue eyes once again finding her hazel ones. "I think you'd know that better than anyone." He said. He let his hand come up to rest on her shoulder. "Do I believe it was your destiny to come to Atheil? Maybe, but I also think we have a choice in our own destiny. You could have stayed at your home and grieved the loss of your mother or you could have let Ryonen search for her on your behalf. Even now, you could have stayed here in this castle, safe from the outside world until Ryonen found her. You chose none of those things. You chose your own destiny, Ariana. It is not master of you, YOU are master of IT."
    She felt tears threaten to spring to her eyes but she bit them back. "How did you know that I wasn't going to stay?" She asked him. "Did Ryonen tell you?"
      Now he really did smile, the effect transforming his face. "He didn't have to. From the moment I met you, I could see that you had more courage in you than most people ever have in a lifetime. You wouldn't stand idly by as those you care about face dangers."
    Ariana swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat. She had spent her entire life back in Aden and never met people who truly knew her the way that Ryonen and now Lamis did. She felt like they saw her for who she really was, accepting it as easily as breathing. Lamis didn't speak, but dropped his hand as they resumed walking toward the castle. They walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way, the sun fading away into the horizon behind them.
*        *        *        *        *
    It was later that night after they had all eaten and headed off to sleep that Ariana lay in her four poster bed, alone with her thoughts. Dinner had been uneventful, mostly consisting of small talk as Ariana felt herself growing groggier and groggier. When everyone was finally finished eating, Lamis had sent them off to bed, clearly seeing how exhausted Ariana had become. Ryonen, for his part, looked wholeheartedly unaffected, though this was to be expected as he was way more trained than she was.
    They had walked up to bed together, their hands linking as soon as they crossed out of Lamis' sight. It had been a quiet walk, neither of them speaking the whole way up the stairs. It wasn't an awkward silence, though, and Ariana appreciated that he didn't push her. She was feeling both physically exhausted as well as emotionally. A lot of truths had been exchanged that day and she was just now beginning to feel the toll it was having on her. She was feeling too much at once; happy to have taken things a step further with Ryonen, sad to have to leave this place, worried that she wouldn't get good enough with a sword before they needed to leave, and regretful that Lamis was being left behind.
    Ariana turned over in her bed now, facing the sliding glass doors and looking out at the moon as it floated unobstructed in the clear night sky. She had tried to sleep for hours, feeling frustration wash over her as her exhaustion was ignored. She lay with her eyes shut firmly in concentration for what seemed like forever before she finally gave up. Now she was left with her thoughts rolling around in her head, the uncertainty of what lay before her making her temples ache with tension.
    She was thinking about her mom again, her face swimming in her vision whenever she closed her eyes. It had been over a week and a half since she'd been abducted and Ariana knew that Malor wasn't going to give her up easily. Even if Ryonen were to drop Ariana off at home and turn himself in, she was sure he wouldn't call anything off. No, she thought darkly, she was officially on Malor's radar now, he wouldn't care if she backed away. Not for the first time since this whole ordeal began, Ariana found herself wondering what Ryonen had done to make Malor want him so badly.
    Almost as if on cue, she heard a tap on the glass door. She sat up in bed, her whole body tense and alert. She couldn't see anything, but then another tap sounded and she knew without a doubt it was coming from the doors. She threw her legs out of bed, slowly making her way to them and peering out into the darkness. After a moment of hesitation, she headed out to the balcony.
    "Hello?" She asked quietly, her voice still sounding loud in the silence of the night.
    "Hey." A voice said to her right, making her jump halfway out of her skin. She heard laughing and she turned to see Ryonen sitting casually on the balcony railing, his back against the castle wall.
    She put her hand to her heart, giving him a dirty look. "Seriously?" She said, breathily.
    He gave her what she assumed was an attempt at looking ashamed, but he mostly looked amused. "Sorry." He said, biting his lips to hide the smile. "To be fair, you scared me last time."
    Ariana took a few steadying breaths, her heart starting to come back down to its normal speed. She pushed her hair back away from her face, looking at him. "What are you doing out here?" She asked him. Then she glanced over at his balcony about 20 feet away. "HOW are you out here?" Her voice was incredulous as she considered the distance.
    "I jumped." He said, shrugging. His bare feet were dangling off the edge of the railing casually as if it were only a few feet off the ground.
    She let out a sarcastic laugh. "No, really." She said. When he just looked at her, she furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you serious?" She asked him.
    He nodded, pulling one leg up so he could drape his arm around it. "I wanted to talk to you." He said.
    "And you couldn't come knock on my door?" She asked.
    "I didn't want Lamis to know I was over." He said. His tone was light but there was something there.
    "What's wrong with Lamis knowing?" She asked, frowning. "I'm pretty sure he knows just about everything that goes on in this place, anyway."
    Now it was Ryonen's turn to frown. "I know." He said, contempt barely concealed in his voice.
    "I thought you and Lamis squashed your issues."
    Ryonen looked away. "We did." He said, finally. "I just don't need him in our business, that's all."
    She didn't say anything. She walked forward and leaned against the railing. She could see the numerous beds of Luna flo's glowing in the distance, their green and blue light spraying the dark grass with color. Behind her, she could hear Ryonen shifting his weight.
    "Can I ask you a question?" He said, his voice soft but serious.
    She nodded, turning around to press her back against the railing as she faced him.
    "What happened that day after we left Corda? Why were you so distant with me?"
    Ariana started. Out of everything she had thought he might ask her, this was the last thing she had expected. "It's stupid." She said, turning away. She could already feel the shame creeping over her as she remembered that day.
    He got down from the railing and then he was next to her, his arm touching hers as he, too, looked out on the grounds. After a moment, he turned toward her, his eyes pleading. "Was it something I said?"
    There was something in the way he said it, like it had been eating away at him all this time, that made her crack. "It wasn't you." She said, biting her lip.
    "Then what?"
    She sighed. "Do you remember what we were talking about that day?"
    He looked at her, confused. "No, should I?"
    "You told me about your parents. How they had an arranged marriage when they were 92."
    Ryonen continued to look confused but nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I remember it now. I explained to you how we age, right?"
    She nodded, but her eyes regarded him sadly. "I think- well, at the time, I was still trying to convince myself that I didn't have feelings for you. I didn't want to admit that I cared about you because I knew it would just end up hurting me more in the long run when you left."
    Realization dawned on his face. "Oh." He said softly, then he shook his head. "Ariana-"
    She cut him off. "Ryonen, I don't even know what we're doing. This is crazy, us trying to be together. It will never work." Even though she knew it was true, the words still hurt her to say out loud. She knew that they were looking for trouble with this thing they had going on.
    He reached for her hand, holding on to it as he turned completely to face her. "That's not true." He said, and he sounded so sure that it broke her heart.
    "Ryonen, you're going to live forever while I waste away over the next 70-80 years. Besides," she said, looking up at the moon, "I'm not even supposed to be here. What will happen when the King and Queen tell me I have to leave?"
    He considered this. "I'll come with you." He said, sincerity thick in his voice.
    "You know that's not realistic." She said, not even bothering to explain to him what was wrong with that picture. "And what happens when I die?" She asked, her voice thick. "You just go back to your life as if nothing ever happened and forget me?"
    He let one hand come up to cup her neck. She closed her eyes at the contact, breathing in his scent of the forest. "I could never forget you." He said, and he leaned forward to press his forehead against hers. "I can't help that I'll live forever, but that will never change the way I feel about you, Ariana. I don't know what this life holds for me, but I want to make things work with you. I want to at least try."
    She hitched in a breath. Could she truly forget about the details and just jump in blindly? Would it be worth the potential heartache at the end of it all if things didn't work out in their favor? She opened her eyes, meeting Ryonen's green ones as he gazed into her face. She brought her hand up and cupped his neck the same way he was doing to her. "I'm scared." She admitted, her voice barely a whisper.
    He blinked at her, his head nodding ever so slightly in understanding. "I know." He answered. "But I won't ever leave you; I'm here for as long as you want me to be."
    She felt tears threatening to spill over from her eyes as she leaned forward to press her lips against his. She could feel his surprise, the way he stiffened momentarily before kissing her back. In the next moment he was pulling her closer, wrapping his arms around her as he leaned back against the railing. She let her body mold into his, her hand moving into his hair and letting the silky strands wrap about her fingers. His mouth moved on hers hungrily, his hands coming up to smooth over her shoulders and down her sides. His hands moved in circles on her hips, pinning her to him. She was pressed so close against him that she could feel the fluttering of his heart as it beat rapidly in his chest, the pace seeming to match hers.
    They stayed locked like this for what felt like forever, the only thing in the world being the other person. Finally, though, Ariana broke away from him, her breathing coming quick as she did so. Ryonen was still leaning against the railing, his hair rumpled and a satisfied smile playing on his lips. Just seeing him like this made the heat rise to her cheeks. She reached out a hand to him, lacing her fingers together with his.
    "Come on." She said, walking backwards and pulling him along with her. "It's late and I'm tired."
    He gave her a surprised look but didn't resist as she guided him into her room, shutting the doors gently behind them. She crawled into the large bed, beckoning for him to come along. With just the briefest hesitation, he crawled under the covers with her, laying on his back.
    "Will you stay with me?" She asked him.
    He nodded, swallowing visibly as he put out an arm for her. She sidled up next to him, her head cradling in the crook of his arm so her cheek was against his chest, her hand coming up to lay next to it. She could hear his heart beating there, the sound like the thrumming of rain on the roof. The sound calmed her soul and seemed to remind her of happier days.
    She closed her eyes, letting his heartbeat fill her up until it was all that she could hear, the world falling away around her. His chest was rising and falling gently, the movement like the rocking of a boat at sea. It was all so peaceful, so relaxing, that she felt the sweet allure of sleep creeping up on her. She let the weight of it wash over her, lulling her into its gentle embrace while, somewhere far away, she could feel Ryonens hand tracing patterns lightly on her back.