The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 23

Henry's arms were sore from the training he did with Miles earlier this morning. Both young men were working hard to increase their ability to wield two weapons at once. Henry was excellent with a sword, but two swords at once was a lot harder than he anticipated. Although Henry was far better than Miles at the task, he still struggled in his own way.

Two-handed combat required an immense amount of strength and stamina. It appeared as though Henry needed a lot of practice if he wished to exceed in the skill.

After eating a hearty lunch--compliments of the irritable and insulting Sirey--Henry and Miles moved on to their next task of the day. Such a task required the Prince and his friend to walk all the way over to the military base. Rather than walk the entire distance, Henry chose to ride his horse over there.

Once Henry dismounted, he scanned the area before him. Almost a hundred young and strong men stood before him, ready for their training to begin. Then, to Henry's distaste, he caught sight of his father walking around the perimeter with the commander of the Lyran army. Henry still couldn't remember the man's name...

For the next three hours Henry worked hard performing drills and giving out commands to his men. Together, Henry, Miles, and all the men in training went for a ten mile run around the base grounds.

Already sore from the morning's weapon-wielding, Henry was now close to exhaustion. He found it hard to keep his eyes open, let alone shout out drills to his men. Although Miles was also tired and weary, he graciously took over for Henry, allowing the prince to take a brief break.

Henry trudged over to the covered area on the left, a spot that was used for the military's lunches. Dozens of wooden picnic tables filled the area and Henry took a seat on the closest one.

The prince barely noticed when a large pitcher of water was placed before him. Whoever placed the pitcher there then began to pour Henry a glass of water.

"You should drink more water," the voice of Henry's father said. "Dehydration is the enemy."

Henry groaned and lifted his head groggily. "I thought Niebla was the enemy."

King Alan took a seat next to his son and poured himself a glass. "I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now."

"Why do you say that?" Henry muttered sarcastically.

"I trouble you with all these tasks and expect you to make important decisions. I burden you with the kingdom's safety and I know that it can be overbearing at times."

"What exactly did you want to talk about?" Henry asked, wanting his father to get to the point already. Henry was already irritable, tired, and impatient.

King Alan looked sad and disheartened by his son's mood. "I just wanted to tell you that you're doing a good job."

"With what?" Henry asked bitterly, thinking his father had to be joking. King Alan was never satisfied with his son's efforts.

"With everything," King Alan replied. "Building the wall, bettering your skills with the sword, training the army. I know it's hard and long work. Ruling a kingdom takes a lot out of a person, trust me, I know. So I came here to suggest that you take it easy now. You've earned yourself some down time. I don't have any more major tasks left for you and if any come along, I'll do them myself per usual."

King Alan finished his drink and then stood up. "You have a beautiful young lady eager to know more about you. I suggest you go back to the castle, get some rest, clean yourself up, and do something nice for Princess Karolina before she gives up on you."

At first Henry was pleasantly surprised by his father's suggestion to take it easy. But then, after King Alan was gone, Henry felt the prickles of anger arise. He finally realized the subtle suggestion from his father. King Alan only wanted him to relax so he could spend more time with Princess Karolina. Princess Karolina's happiness was the only thing ensuring Lyra and Copia's military agreement.

Seething, Henry rode back to the castle and took his frustrations out on the walls of the stable.

He then took a steaming hot bath and then waited for his bride-to-be to return.