A Court of Flame and Darkness (ACOTAR and TOG Crossover)

Chapter 7: Lucien

The next day passed in a blur of preparations for the coming meeting; servants were readying rooms and cooks preparing enough food to feed an entire village. On the last day before the high lords arrived, the queen asked Tamlin if there was an open room that they could use as a training room. With much reluctance Tamlin sent them out to the open field in front of the gates of the manor, Lucien trailing them at his request. When they reached the field the queen turned to face her court.

"We're just sharpening our physical combat, nothing more. We don't want to give the spring court too much of a show," Aelin smirked and the rest of her court nodded, "Well then, now that's settled, who wants to go first?"

"How about you and me your royal highness?" Aedion said sarcastically, "I think all this telling people what to do is getting to your head and what better way to fix that then by knocking you on your ass?"

"Is that a challenge, cause the only knocking that is going to happen is me knocking your pride down a couple notches" Aelin said with a vicious grin, shifting into a defensive stance and drawing a pair of wicked-looking knives from their sheaths strapped to her thighs. The rest of her court spread out to give them space, most of them sitting on the grass to watch, leaving Lucien leaning up against the wall surrounding the manor. Aedion responded by shifting into a fighting stance of his own, a laugh breaking from him. "First blood wins, just no broken bones please," the two fae began circling each other as Aedion drew a finely-crafted sword from where it rested across his back. He nodded and then, without warning, lunged toward the queen, his sword whipping towards her almost too fast for even fae eyes to follow. His sword had almost reached Aelin when she MOVED.

Lucien stood there watching in awe, struggling to keep his mouth from hanging open. The queen moved like a desert storm, like a shadow. She was a force of nature in her own right. Lucien blinked and Aedion and Aelin were a blur of violence; slashing and jabbing and parrying, Aelin with those wickedly-gleaming knives and Aedion holding his own against her. Lucien found himself unable to look away, mesmerized by the vicious beauty of the dance taking place in front of him. They were fairly evenly matched, both unable to beat the other until Aedion's foot caught on a loose clump of grass and he lost his balance just long enough to allow Aelin to whip around him and press the edge of her knife to his throat, a single drop of blood slid down Aedion's neck, a smirk of victory on bloomed the queen's lips as he dropped his sword in surrender. Aelin removed the knife and stepped back and Aedion reached out to shake her hand; as their hands met Aedion's foot snapped out, tripping Aelin. Surprise flashed across her face as she fell and then mischief as she grabbed Aedion's arm, pulling him down with her onto the soft field. They both laughed and pushed themselves up off the ground, brushing themselves off.

The shapeshifter looked up from the patch of grass she was terrorizing and drawled, "Took you long enough. Every time it takes him longer to lose, eventually he might just stand a chance against you." The queen growled half-heartedly, collapsing down next to her, still out of breath. A corner of Lucien's mouth twitched upwards and his attention drifted back to the next two people preparing to face each other. He stayed leaning against the wall until the sun set behind the rolling hills of the spring court, watching the skilled fighting but also observing the easy camaraderie between the court, a hint of longing in his heart.