Bent But Not Broken

Five

That night, Nyxia did not sleep. Not one wink. The bed was softer than she was used to. Even the floor was too soft. So she spent her time trying to get comfortable, but failing. Soon the darkness lifted, and it was morning.

That day was where she learned that the prince hired tutors for her, since she was lacking in the education she needed.

One for writing and reading, one for basic math, one for history, and one for gym, although they agreed to wait until her body was stronger before attempting to exercise.

She spent two hours with each of them, with an hour to do the homework they had assigned to her. Nyxia had to spend extra time learning how to read and write for the first few weeks because she barely remembered how to.

Gradually, as weeks passed, Nyxia started sleeping, and sleeping well. Her food started staying in her stomach. She grew less thin, looked less like she was going to blow over at any moment. Her face became less gaunt, and more full. She became almost pretty.

Nyxia learned how to add and subtract numbers, how to multiply and divide. She hated dividing with a passion. In fact, she learned that she just hated math in general.

In history she learned more about the world. The fae world and the human world and their conflicts.

The fae lived in a country called Adriale, with six  different territories. All territories had "Dukes" that watched over their territories, made sure everything was running smoothly and basically provides and upkeeps the law.

However, a king officially rules over the entire country, he's the one who makes the laws, and metes out punishment when needed. He's Kalix's father.

The countries are

Nevial, Dumac, Leruc, Verales, Aquale, and Heroul, the one that the king resides in. The one where Nyxia is in. Its the richest territory by far.

All of this information made her head spin, but she liked that she wasn't so oblivious to the goings on of the world anymore.

It was clear that throughout history, Humans hated fae. That hate had stemmed from fear of the unknown. Fae could live centuries, had accelerated healing, good eyes and ears, and some even had elemental magic.

Because of that fear, humans have done their best to eradicate the fae for centuries, with no success. They had always ended in an uneasy peace that never lasts.

Nyxia could only wonder when the next war would be.

Probably soon.

When her work was done, she spent the time wandering the palace or practicing her reading by reading books.

She hardly ever saw Kalix. He was busy with court business with the king and the advisors and other royal stuff.

But the few times she saw him, she got to know him better.

"Do you like being a prince?" Nyxia asked one day as they wandered through a garden causally. Kalix pondered her question.

"No. Not really. There's a lot of responsibility. I had to be mature at a young age. And my father wants me to marry a nice Lady from one of the territories, despite the fact that I have a mate out there somewhere."

His tone was bitter. "Mate? What's a mate? Is it really that important?"

Kalix looked away from Nyxia. "It's one of the most important bond a fae can have in our lifetime." Kalix didn't answer any more of her questions, so she let it go.

Finally, one day, Nyxia was strong enough to begin a light gym regimen, simply a few laps around a certain area.

She was a horrible runner, but she vowed to keep at it until she was in decent shape.

Nyxia became used to the scheduling as time went by. She began to relax her guard. She befriended the prince. She was discovering what happiness was.

It was a weird feeling, and she wondered if it would last.