Breaking the Curse

Chapter Three

The next day Yvain was taking a walk. She walked along the side of the wall with the cheery trees. It was early fall and the sky was a dark gray and she could still smell the fresh rain that was on its way.

She had always love to come here as a child. The wall meant she was safe within her city. No one would dare do anything to Yvain and she was free within her city but outside she didn’t know.

The man flickered in her mind and she sighed. Why was she thinking of him? He had been a total ass to her yet he plagued her in her sleep. She had tossed and turned all night, waking covered in sweat from the feel of his grey eyes.

A branch snapped and she turned to see the man from the day before. "What do you want?" she barked. "Want to call me a whore again?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. In no way was she going to let him treat her with such disrespect again.

He took her in. She had long brown hair that was half pulled up with striking blue eyes. She wore a white dress that was slightly damp and he could see her body beneath it. She was beautiful but now he stood unsure of what to do.

"Well what do you want? Or are you just here to act like a jerk?" Yvain didn’t want to be here with him. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Something was so different about him and she couldn’t place her finger on it.

"I wanted to say thank you," he said after a moment. He wore the same thing as yesterday but now a sword hung on his left hip. His hair was long and curled around his eyes.

She blinked at him shocked. "You're welcome." Her lips started to turn in the beginning of a smile but she stopped. "Were you looking for me?" Her eyes hardened.

He sighed. "Partly. I was harsh yesterday and I shouldn't have called you a whore."

"Where are you from? I know everyone in the city and I have never once seen you." She stepped towards him. He was very handsome she noticed. Taler was good looking but he had nothing on this man. His strong jaw, hard eyes, broad frame made him a man and boy was he a man.

"I'm not from anywhere. I travel a lot. I don't have a home where I come from," he answered. “Well I did but I don’t really call it home anymore.”

Yvain frowned. "That's sad, everyone should have a home." A soft rain began and he watched as the rain ran down her face making her blue eyes look even more alive. "What is your name?"

"What does it matter what my name is? I just came to say thanks and now I wish I hadn't," he snarled and left her staring after him.

Yvain watched as he stormed away. Here she had thought that maybe he was an alright guy but now she shook her head not wanting to deal with him ever again. She had dealt with him twice and he had been an ass and she wasn’t going to give him a third chance.

She returned to the castle and Kalen found her. "There you are," he called.

"Sorry I forgot about our lesson." She gave him a weak smile.

"Yvain you can't keep forgetting," he scowled. "You have a very important duty that if you would come to a lesson you would understand."

"Kalen I know. I have to live to produce the next heir." She was tired of Kalen always trying to teach her. Over the years she had heard the same thing over and over again and wondered if she would ever learn anything new.

Kalen stopped. "You're old enough, you need to know. Yvain if you live past eighteen then you will break our curse. You are the only one who can bring back our honor."

Yvain froze. "What?"

"Now you see why your lessons are so important. If you can survive the year to come then we will be free."