Asha gagged on her own saliva, "Uhh...well...ahhh."
"What does he mean 'burned down his barn?'" Sakina's voice had dropped dangerous and low. The hair on the back of Asha's neck stood at attention.
"H-he's just being funny," she straightened up and gave Simon a friendly pat on the chest, "You're cracking jokes again you jester, you!"
"I'm more serious than I ever have been."
"Ah, yes. Well, we do have to go don't we!" The girl declared to the room before turning back to Simon in a tight-jawed whisper, "We'll talk more outside."
"You're not that late," her mother countered, her arms crossing over her chest, "I would very much like to hear about this barn of yours Sim-" Asha slammed the door closed on her mother's disappointed face. She could hear her grandfather cackling behind the thick wood as she turned to deal with the angry boy, "Look, I don't know where to start-"
"'Why' would be a good place."
She glanced at the front door and waved for Simon to follow. Once they were a safe distance from the house Asha started talking. She elaborated on the hours of time she had spent on that awful dirt floor, surrounded by bugs and who knows what else, trying to light a tiny candle, "It was so hard Simon! You know how much I have to work to get a simple spell off the ground?"
"Well, you obviously had an easy enough time of it since you BURNED. DOWN. MY. BARN!"
"Yes...yes...but I put it out. See, I was able to summon both fire and water. On my own. No props. Do you know how much of an improvement that is for me?!"
Simon stopped his walking and regarded her with silence. Asha paused with him, her eyebrows knit together and she breathed in, "....and I will find a way to make it right!"
"You better, I had to talk down my father from reporting it to the royal guard."
"But it was falling apart, Simon."
"Yes, but I didn't invite you to destroy it, did I? I said you could practice there. PRACTICE. Because you're too shy about doing it around your folks."
"I just don't want to worry Yemma. It would mortify her if she knew."
"Well, I guess she's learning today...isn't she?"
Asha winced at the dig,"I'm going to win this, Simon. I will restore my family's honor. And then, when I have the king's favor again, I will pay you three times over for the damages to your 'barn.'"
"Sure," he sighed, resting his hand on the pommel of the old sword he'd tied to his hip, "But I'll rely more on myself thanks," he slid the weapon out of its hilt and pointed to some invisible point above his sight line, "I shall take the tourney in stride and become a knight. I know it's my time Asha, I can feel it!" his grin reflected back at him in the broadside of the blade. For a second, the pox scars that marred his face disappeared in his exuberant expression.
Simon had been an athlete since she'd met him. He loved sport and had spent most of his adolescence astride a horse, running self-made practice tourneys or jumping fences. That was until he had fallen ill the previous year. It had been a bad bout, and terrifyingly similar to what had taken Asha's father. He had gotten better, but the road to recovery was long. And all the while his exhaustion and returning appetite had conspired to make him lethargic and fat. He walked on unsteady feet and his swordplay was clumsy at best. But she couldn't blame him for being optimistic. Fore how often did a quincentenary celebration take place? Wouldn't that be the perfect venue to show his skills to the royal family? Surely, if Asha had a chance Simon also did? But the girl bit her tongue until the boy coughed in the awkward moment and sheathed his sword.
YOU ARE READING
Of Stardust and Wishes (A Wish Rewrite)
Fanfic"Salvē!" The golden specter repeated. She was in shock. That had to be it. All that tossing around in the water must have shaken her insides around enough to make her see things. She blinked a few times, but he was still there, looking even more con...
