Meeting Adallis

After the courtyard fiasco, Riekan rushed back into the castle to meet his older sister, princess Adallis Lionwell. The young prince knew he was late to the meeting, but he hoped Adallis could understand he didn’t want to aggravate Roghan by not showing up to the courtyard when their brother summoned him.

He went straight to a room near his sister’s private quarters, a place where she liked to have her afternoon meals and also functioned as an office of sorts. He asked to a knight stationed beside the door to announce him, and a few moments later, he was able to enter. His sister was sitting behind a big wooden desk, with Vestia standing guard behind her. In front of her desk, there was a huge dining table with ten chairs around it.

“There you are, Riekan,” Adallis said, a small smile on her face. “Don’t fret, Vestia already told me the reason for your lateness. You missed the meal, though.”

His sister was 22-years-old, and she had the same emerald green eyes and brown hair of her brothers, although her tresses were long and slightly wavy. She was dressed in a long sleeveless yellow dress made of silk, designed to make her comfortable in daily tasks during warm weathers. Adallis was very skilled in diplomacy, having learned the art directly from their mother, the Queen. Although some could consider her a little bit old to be unmarried, their father still had not received a betrothal proposal worthy of losing his only daughter.

Riekan smiled and waved her off, he could get something to eat in the kitchens later. “Well, you know how Roghan is.”

Adallis nodded before standing up, walking around her desk and sitting on one of the chairs around the dining table. She motioned for her brother to do the same. “Here’s a suggestion,” she said. “Why don’t you train a little, just enough to get Roghan off your case?”

Riekan sighed. “I already told him I don’t want to be a knight.”

“Yet, he did not stop summoning you to fight soldiers, did he?” Adallis arched an eyebrow. “One of you has to whip out a white flag, and since I do not see Roghan doing it,” she made a pause and shrugged her shoulders. “It might as well be you.”

“Damn him,” Riekan whined. “Why does he get everything he wants?”

“Our brother has always been stubborn,” the princess replied, smiling sympathetically at her younger brother.

“Who is even going to train me?” the green-eyed boy asked. “Roghan probably wants me to learn by myself.”

“Mmm,” Adallis’ lips slowly took the shape of a conspiratorial grin before she turned back to look at Vestia. “The same person who trained me, perhaps?”

The blonde knightess raised a surprised eyebrow. “My princess, I’m not sure I would have the time to fit training sessions between guarding you and my duties as a member of the Crimson Lions,” she tried to explain. “Besides, when I began training you, you were at a far more advanced stage than Prince Riekan is as of today. Forgive me, my prince, but it’s the truth.”

Riekan shrugged. “Not a problem, everyone already knows that, anyways.”

Adallis didn’t give up, though. “If that is the issue, the solution is simple. You can train him at the same time you are guarding me.”

“But, my princess, Prince Riekan brought up a relevant point,” Vestia weakly protested. “Prince Roghan would prefer if he learned by himself or by practicing with soldiers. If a Lion taught him, Prince Riekan would get good too fast, and Prince Roghan would see it as cheating.”

Adallis mentally grinned, she knew that, deep down, what Vestia didn’t want was to disappoint Roghan. She was aware the knightess had feelings for her older brother, but unfortunately, that was something that could never come true. “We can keep it a secret, Roghan still does not know you trained me.”

“Neither did I, for the record,” Riekan piped in. “I did not know you had swordplay as a hobby.”

The green-eyed princess smirked at her brother before turning back to Vestia. “As you can see, there are no reasons you should not train my brother,” she said. “I will make sure he takes it seriously.”

Vestia stared at the siblings for a few moments before letting out a brief sigh. “Alright, but please, Prince Riekan, do as your sister says and take the lessons seriously,” the blue-eyed blonde pleaded of him, a serious look on her features. “Because I won’t go easy on you.”

Riekan gulped, he was almost sure he would eventually regret accepting the two women’s help. “I will do my best, Vestia, thank you,” he told her. “I will not disappoint you either, Adallis.”

“Good, now let’s talk about tonight,” Adallis nodded. “From what I was told, mother and father have an important announcement to make during the feast. They have summoned the whole court, did you know?”

Meanwhile, immediately outside the castle’s walls, at the Crimson Lions headquarters, General Radus Devall was sitting on the floor of his private quarters, eyes closed in an expression of deep concentration. The grey-haired man stayed in that position for several minutes until his dark brown eyes abruptly snapped open.

“What is the meaning of this?” the old man whispered, reaching up to stroke his short beard.