A Blaze in the Dark (A New Dawn #1)

Chapter 26 - Alex (Part 1)

I may be a Silvermarker, but hear me out. I have no relation to any magician whatsoever. My family, from the noble town of Darkhill Tower, have been magician-free for at least four generations.

The rain came down like a mist that pearled on the brown, orange, and yellow leaves that had fallen from the trees, their enhanced smell carrying her home to the Forest of Lane where autumn was always the highlight of the year for the warriors. The daily hunts that lasted from before sunrise until after sunset were long but exciting, and the game that was caught enough to survive the coldest of the winter moons.

A mighty gust of wind rustled past her, causing the trees to shiver so heavily that a cooing dove fluttered away. She turned around instinctively, ready to grab an arrow from her quiver.

Her hand was halfway to her head when she snapped out of her daydream. She had no bow, nor arrow, nor quiver. Instead, she was standing in the royal garden with a basket of flowers and the mildly entertaining company of Lana, who had decided to tag along because she had wanted to do something more useful than staring at the four walls of her bedroom, waiting for Lady Viviane to do her hair.

"What was that, Alex?" Lana chuckled. "Chamomile doesn't run away. There's no reason to hunt it down."

"I thought I was somewhere else, doing something else."

"Clearly."

The dove sought refuge in the oak tree, under which Seb was receiving instructions from Sword Master Paul. The man with curly, honey brown hair was an old army friend of King Thomas, and although he wasn't in the army anymore, there was still something stern and disciplined in his appearance and posture. Despite it all, she would give anything to swap places with Seb; sword-fighting was far more interesting than picking herbs for Healer Mark.

"Alex, you have that look again, like something's bothering you." Lana edged closer and whispered, "Just tell me if you need another excuse to ride to Regal Sun Wood to hunt in secret. I'm pretty sure my belladonna potion is running low again."

"I don't know. Healer Mark may be old, but he's hard to fool." Alex cleared a few strands of wet hair from her eyes. The drizzle was now slowly soaking her. "I was away all afternoon, and the royal forest isn't that far. I doubt he fully believed me when I told him the berries were hard to find. And, hunting feels wrong when I have to leave the dead animals behind. Your horse didn't like it either."

"Nasira has a chicken's heart. Consider the alternative, you would have been stuck for hours in a chamber with me and Lady Victoria. God of Patience, don't you think that woman is more boring than Papa's sleep-inducing speeches." Lana cleared her throat, then wrinkled her nose as though she smelled something that had been rotting on a shelf for a few days. "Girls, a proper lady should always keep her back straight, even when sleeping, and should never be seen wearing a nightgown. Not even by her own husband."

"I doubt she said that." Alex chuckled. She could already picture the etiquette teacher's carping voice and pointy finger. Any chance to not have to spend time with that woman was surely tempting, but the Queen wanted her to learn how to be a good Lady, and she was determined to prove to them that she could. Missing classes was not the way to go, though she missed the hunts every day.

"Ah, it would have been memorable if she had actually done that." Lana dropped a handful of chamomile flowers into the basket. "Speaking about Papa's speeches–he asked me to proofread the one he'll give this afternoon, and it's not so bad this time. Last year, I caught Priest Aurelius yawning because Papa just kept going on about spending time with your loved ones, and blah-blah-blah. He was being such a hypocrite too. It's not like he ever did any effort to meet up with Uncle Bran."