Queen Of Glass

Book 2 Chapter 12

"Again," Celaena panted as Luca reared his horse to a stop.
The young man wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at her incredulously. "But that's the fifteenth pass! I'm about to fall off the horse!"
She retied her hair ribbon and picked up the piece of rope she used to charge the dummy across the clearing. "And you think I'm not tired? I'm the one doing all of the damn running!"
"Well, if you had made a better machine, perhaps you wouldn't have to run!"

"You ungrateful wretch! Oh, no--don't you dare put down that lance!" She watched in rising anger as he began to untie his 'armor.' "Keep that on!" she barked. "You're going again! You're not holding your lance strongly enough to survive a—"
"It's practically past breakfast—I've got to get to work." He dismounted the horse and propped up his lance and armor against a tree before removing the sweat from his face on his shoulder.
She threw down the rope. "I expect you back here as soon as you get off of work this afternoon!" His mouth popped open in dismay. "It's the harvest, gods above! I'm not superhuman, you know!"
She began to object, but he cut in, as frustrated as she was. "I don't have a magickal reserve to rely on like you do— I'm just a mere mortal."
Celaena stopped stalking towards him, her heart skipping a beat. In the past week, neither of them had spoken of her magickal encounter. She had hoped to forget—as she had seventeen years ago, but now that the ancient wound had been reopened, things were beginning to come back to her...things that refused to lay dormant once more.She remembered the lessons and skills that had been taught to her as a child, and she felt their threads of power unraveling in her mind, but she dared not touch them.
Luca eyed her cautiously. "I didn't mean to...I mean, it just sort of—" "I know," she interjected coldly.
He was almost out of the clearing by now, but he suddenly stopped and turned to her. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know," he said tentatively. "I'd personally like to have something like your...talents."
She raised her eyebrows dryly. "The day you're not ashamed of your heritage, I'll cease to be...ashamed of mine." "It's not exactly the same thing."
"Growing up in Adarlan, it's actually worse."
"You're in Wendlyn now."
She twirled her hair around her finger carelessly. Not for long...
"You're going to be late for work, Luca."
He sighed and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "I know it must be hard for you, but if you—"
"Work."
Catching her drift, Luca shot her a reproachful glance, but shut his mouth before waving good-bye as he left the clearing.
Suddenly realizing how tired she was, Celaena moved over to a nearby fallen tree trunk and collapsed down upon it. A second later, she sorely regretted doing so, for she yelped and leapt upward in pain as she felt a hard jab in her behind from an unforgiving lump in the wood. Rubbing the aching spot, she grumbled as she moved away, deciding to seat herself in a nearby nest of large roots at the base of a tree. Celaena leaned her head back against the cool bark of the trunk, closing her eyes.
Aside from the harvest beginning, nothing exciting had happened in the past week. She had begun to listen to the Baroness's conversations with her daughters at the dinner table, waiting for any clue of the political happenings of the country, but she discovered that all they truly cared about were clothes and the Crown Prince. She had picked the wrong household—these women could care less about the war with Adarlan, and any news of it simply passed by the chateau.
Celaena had taken her first trip into the nearby village after a moment of panic that came as a result of the possibility that she had been neglecting a part of her mission here, and might have missed something crucial. But she found that

the only news to report was that the Crown Prince was on a bachelor tour of the country, particularly their little region. It seemed that all anyone cared about was the possibility of the prince finding a wife.
She didn't know quite how she was going to get into the palace and do her assigned task—security was high, and without an official pass or noble to bring you in, no strangers were permitted. Her meetings with Adarlan's counselors had prepared her for a situation in which she'd be working in the palace. They hadn't expected her to fail to get a job there.
But it wasn't her fault! The booth at the service fair had closed so quickly, and she had been so desperate for a place to stay, so overwhelmed by this country, that she had taken the job at the chateau without considering the nature of information that a Baroness might contain in her house.
Which is absolutely nothing.
She yawned and rubbed her face with her hands. If the Baroness didn't start going to the capital more often, she'd have to find another place to work. She couldn't dally here for four months and then go back to Adarlan empty- handed.
Celaena glanced at the lance and sack of grain lying against a nearby tree. You could leave if you wanted to. I mean, these are just people...it's not like you're going to see them after you complete what you came here to do...Right?
You idiot.
The air was suddenly too hot in the clearing, and Celaena stood up from her bed of roots. She was coated in a dirty film of sweat, and her clothes were in desperate need of a washing. Sniffing herself, she found that her body was also in desperate need of some cleaning. Not yet ready to return to the chateau, and not feeling up for bathing in the company of dead animals, Celaena wandered off into the forest in search of an obliging pool.
The water was cold—colder than she expected for a climate like this—but it was perfect for the situation. A small waterfall cascaded down from a cluster of rocks that lined the east end of the pool, and it was such an isolated spot that Celaena was certain that she would be interrupted by no one.
Even that meandering Galan.
Still, she looked around the forest and listened for any signs of someone approaching, and after making sure that she was truly alone, she slipped out of her sweaty clothing. The bottom of the pool was lined with smooth rocks, and was clear all the way across, save for the dark area where the waterfall lay. A small smile crept across her lips as she walked into the water, feeling like a nymph or spirit of myth. The water was cool and refreshing against her hot skin, and a wave of pleasure washed upon her body as she submerged herself.
She swam around the pond a few times, washing her body and hair with her hands, relishing in the relaxing smoothness of the water. She stroked out to the waterfall and let its water pound down upon her head, secretly hoping that it would beat out the memories that had been hounding her this past week. She had thrown herself into her work—at the chateau and with Luca—knowing that if she weren't physically exhausted at the end of the day, her thoughts would assault her as she lay in bed. It was a feeble attempt to forget what didn't want to be forgotten, because she'd often find that certain words or things could trigger a memory to life. But at least she was trying to eliminate them—at least an effort was being made on her part.
She swam down as far as she could in the water, enjoying the muffled sound of the waterfall and the feeling of the bubbles that rose up to tickle her skin.
But do I really want to forget everything again?
Celaena shot up to the surface of the water, uncomfortable with the silence of the deep, and let her thoughts be muted by the howling of the waterfall.
When she was satisfied that she was clean enough, she returned to where she had left her clothes and pulled them into the water with her, scrubbing them on the rocks that lined the bottom. Spotting a sunlit boulder that lay on the pool's edge, Celaena spread them out to dry, hoping that they wouldn't be too wet by the time she decided to leave. That was when the falcon landed.