To the Stars | Throne of Glass

37

'Harder.' Archer jabbed the dummy with his elbow. 'Harder.' Celaena, to her mixed delight and annoyance, had been given the task of teaching Archer the basics of hand-to-hand combat and self-defense. Celaena grabbed Archer's shoulder, and repeated the motion slow enough for him to follow. Then, she repeated the movement on the dummy. It swung backwards. She looked at Archer. But his eyes were wide. 'Look out!' Celaena slammed a foot into the centre of the dummy just as it teetered back, inches from hitting her head. She placed a hand onto the dummy as it slowed to a gentle rocking motion. 'Right,' she said. 'We'll do that again.'

~

Half an hour later, both Celaena and Archer were wiping their damp foreheads on their sleeves. Without giving them too long a break, Celaena asked, 'Do you want to do some mild combat?' Archer doubled over, hands on his knees. 'Oh, come on,' Celaena snorted. Honestly, it was very fun teasing him. 'That was barely anything. You'll only get better if you train.'

Archer looked up. 'And how long do you train for exactly?'

Celaena winked. 'A long time.'

Archer blinked, once, twice. Then, 'Okay.' 

A smile slowly weaved its way onto Celaena's face. 'Right, then.' She tugged his arm to follow her onto a mat, hating the part of herself which relished the smoothness of his skin under her touch. Positioning herself behind him, she stood on her toes, and wrapped an arm round his throat. 'Choose a few manoeuvers to escape. Don't pick out my eyeballs, though.' 

She could hear the frown in his voice as he said, 'I don't want to hurt you.'

She rolled her eyes. 'Stop being such a gentleman. We don't- I don't- particularly care about how well-mannered people are here.' Archer took a deep breath. 

Then he crushed his foot down onto hers, driving an elbow into her gut. She leaned away at the last moment to avoid the worst of the blow, and Archer was already on the edge of the mat, poised to flee.

'Fast learner,' Celaena remarked. 

Archer crossed the mat in a few strides, and placed a hand on her cheek, smirking. 'I have a wonderful teacher.'

She drew back rapidly, stumbling over her own feet as she did so. Celaena glared up at him. 'Two things. One, I'm not actually your teacher. Two, don't you even think of flirting here.' 

Archer grinned. 'So I can do it elsewhere?' She jabbed him in the side with an elbow, and he winced. 

Celaena let out a humph, then asked, 'Are you tired yet?' Then she said, 'We'll leave it here. I'll see you after lunch.' Then she walked out of the training room. 

Archer followed suit. 'Where are you going?' 

Celaena looked over her shoulder. 'Somewhere where you won't be. I need a clear head. Go away.'

~

Celaena sat with her legs dangling over the fascia of one of the courtyards, running her daggers over one another. Archer sat beside her, occasionally asking a question, but she ignored him. He shuffled ever so slightly closer, and Celaena wriggled away. 'Stop it.' She looked up to find Archer staring playfully at her. 'Shove off.' She did shove him then, and he slipped on the slanted tiles. 

Archer glared at her and she did nothing to help as he slid off the shingle. 'You really don't like me, do you?' He called up to her, feigning hurt. In truth, Celaena didn't know. It was unfair that he was so irresistible, yet vexing. She slid the daggers into her sheaths and hopped from the roof. Crossing her arms, she leaned against a pillar. 'I must be the first girl who hasn't started drooling over you yet.' She gave a lazy grin. 'If you want to try and make me like you, then attempt a nice conversation now.'

Archer licked his lips. Celaena looked away. 'So... you're Celaena Sardothien.'

Celaena could've fainted there and then. Of all the things... 'That's it,' she said simply. Then she began to walk away. Archer grabbed her arm. She could have chose to spin out of his grasp, but she let him hold onto her like some ship's anchor. 'This isn't some kind of desperate love story, Archer. I have things to do, even if you don't.' Then she twirled, swinging the fist which held the pommel of her dagger into his gut. Archer groaned, and released his grip on her. 'I'll teach you some of those manoeuvres tomorrow,' she called over her shoulder. He didn't run after her as she sauntered away.

~

'No, Gloriella is worse!' Seated together in a small room in the evening, they glared at each other in a puckish manner. Neither of then whined, though Sam was close to whinging. 

Celaena grabbed the two vials of liquid, and switched them round. 'There. That one is worse than Gloriella.' Sam huffed in defeat. They'd been bantering back and forth for the past hour, trying to arrange the vials of poisons into a spectrum of least toxic to most deadly. Technically, all of them were lethal. 

Their instructor watched them with a bemused glance. 'You are correct.' His voice was gravelly, and possessed a hint of soft, rolling accent - If she was correct... Bogdano - Yes, he was from the Bogdano Jungle, then. 'Boy, tell me what this one is.' He tapped a slender finger on the rim of a vial which held a violet-coloured substance. 

Sam answered immediately. 'Monkshood. The symptoms only begin to show several minutes after contact or consumption - mild paralysis, numbness, nausea, and heart rate changes which can lead to death,' he finished.

'Very good.' There was approval as well as surprise in the man's eyes. Celaena nudged Sam, and gave him a look which said well done. He gave a small smile back. At least they were on slightly friendlier terms right now.

'And you, girl, what is this?' 

Celaena bristled at being called girl, but a pinch from Sam made her divert her attention to stick out her tongue at him. 'Belladonna.' Another deep purple liquid. 'The symptoms of belladonna poisoning include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium, and convulsions. In plain words,' Celaena added, seeing the blank look on Sam's face, 'Death or severe injury unless treated. That clear for you now?' 

Sam nodded weakly, head spinning. Their instructor smiled. 'Well done to-day. I hope to see you soon.' Celaena returned the grin, and hurriedly thanked him (after Sam scowled at her when she didn't bow), before leaving the room.

'So.' Celaena's arms swung freely by her sides as she matched her pace with Sam's. 'How are you?' This was her attempt at civilised conversation, because from what she could recall, they'd never actually had one due to their busy schedules and mainly when they finally had the chance, there was always problems with their temper; it was usually thrown insults. 

Sam gave her a wary look first, as if he was expected her to make a rude comment or snide remark. 'Good. You?'

'Busy.' It wasn't a lie. With all her lessons both her own education and her teaching Archer, there was hardly a spare moment. 'Well. It was nice talking to you.' She debated whether or not to throw her arms round him just to see how he'd react, but she pushed down on the thought, a smile tugging her lips.

Sam scoffed. 'You call that a conversation?' But she was already striding away. As if those polite words had never passed between them. As if they'd never spoken.