"Princess Yana, may I speak with you a moment?" I'm coming back from the throne room after one of Mothers speeches. I don't even know why I was needed. Know one cares what I think. I swallow hard. I know that voice. It's as familiar as my own. "Ambassador Søren." I fall into step beside him. My father, my father, my father- "Princess Yana, are you well." I gulp. He must be able to hear my heart beating Fifty percent of his heart. "Quite well, thank you Ambassador Søren." He sighs beside me and I see the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest through his crisp black suit. "Please Yana," he says, "I'd like it if you called me Søren." I press my lips together so hard they turn white and look away. He's my father, call him Søren, he's my father, you can't call him Søren, he's my father- "No." He Søren blinks down at me,
"Oh," his eyes drop, disappointed, "Okay." I bite my lip and fidget with the end of one of my plaits, the other flopped over my shoulder, "I just mean that... wouldn't it be very... improper." I look away, "since you're an Ambassador and all." He opens his mouth as if to tell me something but he doesn't get the chance. "Yana, Søren!" Mother glides towards us and wraps me in a hug. "Mother." I breathe in the warm smell of her orange chiton. I smile up at her. When she breaks away and takes Søren's hand as he kisses her on the cheek I freeze up, pausing only to lock my pain away before smiling warmly at them. Mother only gets upset if I don't. "Yana, where's Ampelio?" I relax, Ampelio is an easy topic,
"Talking with Lady Amiliy as always." Mother laughs and I smirk. We all know how Ampelio feels about Amiliy Talvera. I've caught them more than a few times trading glances across the banquet hall and whispers in the garden. Every time I have to fight not to throw up. "Young love," Mother sighs, eyes twinkling, "comes when you least expect it." I expect Mother and Søren to glance at each other knowingly but instead they look away. As if it hurts to think upon. I turn my head to laughter echoing down the corridor and two figures appear, arm in arm, heads close, walking towards us. One is tall with broad shoulders, smart in a crisp white shirt and trousers. The other is about an inch shorter with an hourglass waist and long wavy brown hair that sweeps down her back, two plaits joined at the back of her head to keep it out of her eyes. Amiliy bats her long eyelashes at my brother and laughs prettily at something he says. Probably some lame joke. "There they are." Søren murmurs, slipping his hand out of Mothers and taking a step away from her. He smiles apologetically at her and she nods. Mother and I paste matching smiles on our faces as they approach, "Lady Talevra a pleasure to see you, how are your parents?" The pair look up, startled. Ampelio flushes sunset red. "Mother! Uh yes. We were just..." he trails off, mouth flapping like a fish out of water. "Very well, thank you my Queen. Prince Ampelio was very generously escorting me to my room." Amiliy smiles innocently up at my Mother, the picture of loyalty. I almost don't manage to stop myself rolling my eyes. "Thats lovely, but I'm afraid I am in need of my son a moment." Amiliy inclines her head,
"Of course my Queen." She and Ampelio share a not-so-secretive smile before she glides past us. I think I'm going to be sick. "So, you wanted me?" Ampelio asks. As Mother bursts out laughing I can't help a mischievous grin from breaking out on my face. My brother flushes again and frowns, "Oh stop it!"
"But darling you're just so... sweet!" She pinches his cheek teasingly and he bats her hand away. "You better explain why I'm here or I'm leaving." Mother coughs again before composing herself. "Of course darling, I'm sorry, I wanted to talk to you about an apprenticeship." I freeze. Apprenticeship? What would Ampelio need an apprenticeship for?
"Theo, are you sure?" Søren looks uncomfortable, "wouldn't it be too...?" Kalovaxian. Though he doesn't say it, we all hear it hurts the same. Mother shakes her head,"No,no. I've sorted it all out, Heron suggested it, actually"
Søren seems a little more okay with the idea. Lord Heron Talvera and his husband Erik are close friends of ours, they fought beside Mother and Søren in the war and we often visit them at their estate. "Will Erik be teaching me?" Ampelio asks, sounding excited by the idea. Even now at sixteen, Ampleio has always looked up to the Talvera's, Erik especially. He's fascinated by how Erik managed to fight with only one eye. He thinks it's heroic and, when he was six, ran around with an eye patch glued to his face. I was far more interested by the gruesome rumours that surround how he lost his eye. My favourite is one where he was tortured and his eye was clawed out by a woman who had flames instead of fingers. But it's only a story. "Erik, Heron and hopefully Artemisa, if I can persuade her, will be giving you lessons on how to, fight, strategize and everything else you need to know."
"Okay sure, but I thought I was alright at fighting." Mother smiles,
"Of course you are, Ampleio. Just like your grandfather." The man Ampelio was named after. How fitting. Søren puts a hand on Ampelio's shoulder,"I've seen you fight, hell I've fought against you a few times, but there is more to war that being able to fight." I almost roll my eyes, can you get a cheesier father-son moment. He's NOT my father. "You have to learn when to fight, where to hit first all of that sort of thing." Ampelio shrugs, trying to glance it off, as if he doesn't care but I can feel the undercurrent of excitement in his voice, "Okay, when do I start?"
YOU ARE READING
Søren's child (Ash Princess fanfic)
Fanfiction(16 years later) What if Theodosia and Søren had children? Meet Ampelio and Yana. Ampelio is loved as Astrea's heir and his likeness to his Mother. Yana is hated for her Kalovaxian looks and rumoured father, Søren. While Yana tries to come to terms...
