Page 48 of To Fight and To Fold

"It’s a little… awkward," she murmured.

"That’s okay, you’ll get used to it."

He led her through the ways to hold the hilt, the purpose for each placement of finger or foot. It surprised her, though she knew not why, that the prince was a good instructor. He knew how to explain exactly everything she required clarity on, which assisted in her understanding of each movement.

"Lean this way to add strength behind your blade thrust." And it did.

"Place your foot here—it steadies your posture, yes?" And she agreed.

Eventually, when Aaryn's head began to hurt from remembering all the rules, the prince stood across from her with his own sword.

"I'll go slow," he said, and stepped forward, swinging his sword with two hands. Aaryn met him and their wooden blades clacked together. Then he pulled back and swung again, and Aaryn anticipated where he would strike, and blocked him. It remained comically slow, and Aaryn found herself smiling.

Even if it was play, or pretend, it felt fun.

And Aaryn hadn't felt that since Starspark had gone.

Part of her wanted to cry, and part of her wanted to cheer, and part of her wallowed in guilt. How could she have fun when Starspark was missing? The jumble of emotion spilled out as she parried the prince with more force than she intended, and decided to lean into it. She tackled him, using the footing and placement he'd shown her earlier.

He hadn't been expecting it, and released a heavy breath as they grappled. Ultimately, he was stronger than her, but she used his weight against him and⁠—

Her footing slipped and they toppled to the floor. She landed quite softly against the plush rug and the prince stopped himself from landing atop her with his hands braced on either side of her head. For just a moment, the weight of him was above her and her breath caught. His knees framed her thighs and both of their breaths came heavy and it was quite similar to…

Her cheeks flushed brightly and as the prince gazed down at her, she hoped it could be explained away with exertion.

A shuffle of metal sounded, and her eyes drifted to Runa, still standing by the door, facing forward as if she was part of the lavish decoration.

As if Jarrick had forgotten her too, he pushed to his feet and held out a hand to Aaryn. "I think that's a good stopping point for today. We made progress, and you're a fast learner."

"Thank you, Prince," she said, using his title to remind herself just who he was, and who she was in turn.

"Of course. We can resume in a few days?"

A few days? "Sounds agreeable," she said, though she wanted to demand to learn more as soon as she could.

"I look forward to it, Tethered Aaryn."

They bid one another goodbye, and as Runa led her through the door, two guards made way for them on either side of the entrance.

Aaryn hoped Runa was not one to gossip.

12

THE TEAR

Aaryn didn't know why she was embarrassed to see Runa. Every time she opened her door to see the guard, she was reminded of sparring with the prince, and something similar to shame assaulted her.

It wasn't that she was ashamed to be learning. She wasn't ashamed to wield a sword.

She supposed she was embarrassed to be caught in such a suggestive position with the prince.

Because Aaryn did not feel for him in any way that would require them to be in those positions.

How did the knights go about it? Surely they did not all feel so… awkward when they pinned one another during sparring?

Granted, the awkward position had not occurred again in the following days. In fact, Aaryn was learning to hold her own against the prince. She suspected she was a bit stronger than he had anticipated, and it filled her with pride every time she made his eyes widen.

Tired of her own thoughts, Aaryn decided to face the shame and finally pulled her door open.