Knight Training: A Rislandian Adventure by Jon Del Arroz

Author:Jon Del Arroz [Arroz, Jon Del]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781925645750
Publisher: Superversive Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

X.

Something bounced off my forehead in the middle of the night. It didn't hurt, whatever had caused it. I was too groggy to think about what it could be, but I turned to my side on my cot, the bottom bunk of a bed. Our dormitory had four boys per room. Tristan, who had the top bunk of the opposite bed, snored. Albert and Lawrence, our other bunkmates, didn’t’ seem to lose sleep over it, but when something woke me up in the middle of the night, it meant I'd be wrecked for the entire evening. I had to fall asleep before Tristan or I'd never fall asleep through the noise. Another soft object hit me in the head again, making a light crinkling noise.

This time, I swatted at my face and connected. The hit made a slapping noise, and my cheek stung.

A giggle came from the doorway, a feminine tone.

I sat up in a hurry, spinning to see who was intruding upon our dormitory. A couple of crumpled-up pieces of paper rested on the floor by my bed. The objects that had hit me. I narrowed my eyes at a shadow in the doorway as my vision adjusted to the darkness. The woman was a figure I recognized. Princess Reina, with her long, flowing hair, dressed in a long nightgown.

"James," she whispered.

I slipped out of my bed and tiptoed over to her, trying not to make any noise as I walked. Tristan stifled a snore. I froze. If they woke up, I'd never hear the end of it.

Reina stepped aside to allow me into the hallway. Even though I was only in my nightclothes, some long-johns to keep me warm in the cool breeze of the northern city's evening, I didn't feel uncomfortable around Reina. I kept my eyes away from her. It was the gentlemanly thing to do.

We walked down the hallway in silence. Where could we go to talk? I lingered behind her to let her take the lead, and she wound me through some corridors back to a passage leading to the palace. It was a little strange. I recalled the first time she’d taken me aside in the evening to talk, when we’d first come here. I used the experience to tease Zair-bear, pretty much like I did everything else. She turned as red as a tomato. I smiled to myself at the memory.

Eventually, Reina and I arrived in a study with several wooden chairs with plush red cushions. Reina seated herself on one, and I took the one beside her.

"I heard you're going on a mission tomorrow," she said. Her eyes twinkled in the soft light of the hallway's gas lamps. The room was filled with shadows, but she seemed to brighten the room all on her own.

"Yeah," I said. Did she share everything with her father? It didn't bother me, as I thought about it. She was looking out for me. It was nice to have a princess doing that.

"I wanted to see you before you left.

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