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1762 Words
I block her swing with the dagger, just like Henri taught me. She swipes again and our blades hit together, the metal ringing.
But she's moving too fast. She's gained the offense while I'm stuck with the defense. Every move she makes, I have to rack my memory for the correct way to block it.
She manages to slice the sleeve of my dress. It falls away from my arm, dangling at my side.
She pouts, "I was hoping for some skin."
My breath is too fast to reply. It's clear how much more practice she's had than me. Three practices with Henri is not nearly enough.
She backs me up into a corner and slashes at my blade. It twists out of my hand and clatters to the floor. In a flash, she kicks it to the other end of the dressing room.
I try to remember the wrestling holds Henri taught me. I don't know if any of them can work when my opponent has a blade.
She smiles at me and takes a step closer, her breath falling on my face. She lifts the blade slowly and places it at the hollow of my neck.
She whispers, "Should I kill you the same way I did our sisters? It would be nice for all of you to be matching. Just like the old days, right? Remember when our nurses would dress up all in identical dresses for public events. I remember our tenth birthday, those rosy pink skirts...do you remember?"
I don't say a word. The slightest movement will cause the knife's cold point to bite into my neck. Instead I only glare at Alexanne.
She presses a little harder, the point pushing in my skin, but not quite cutting it. Perhaps the dagger is dull after all the times she's used it.
I whisper, "Don't toy with me. If you are going to kill me, do it now."
She tilts her head to the side, "But where is the fun in that?"
The door to the dressing room swings open. Alexanne's head whips to the side and I kick her in the stomach. She falls back as Antonin hurries into the room. He grabs Alexanne and slams her against the wall, prying the dagger from her fingertips.
Alexanne has the audacity to smile at him, "I knew you were working with her. Florentine said that this was part of the deal. I wasn't allowed to dismiss any of the commanders of my guards without her approval. However, I could have figured it out. You wanted to be her guard. It was clear. Tell me, guard, what is Admira giving you for your protection? Perhaps a place in her bed at night?"
Antonin's face turns red, but he restrains himself. "Be quiet."
Alexanne laughs, "Oh, you forget your place. Perhaps I can't dismiss you, but what if you were to have an accident? Commander of the guards is certainly a dangerous job. It wouldn't be too surprising if you died while working with criminals."
Antonin pushes her harder against the wall, "You will not threaten Admira again. You will not threaten Camille again. And you will not threaten me again. Understand?"
Alexanne says, "What will you do if I don't?"
Antonin releases her and pushes her toward the door, "Leave."
Alexanne only laughs again and curtsies, "Thank you, I will take your suggestions into consideration. I expect to have my dagger back by the end of the night."
Antonin scoffs, "I won't give you back your dagger."
She whirls around and hisses, "I will have my dagger back by the end of the night."
And she marches out of the room.
Antonin makes sure she is gone before picking up her dagger and slipping it into his sheath. He also hands my dagger back to me. I slip it back beneath my skirts.
He asks, "Are you okay?"
I nod, trying to release all the stress from my muscles. My hand rises to where Alexanne's knife touched my skin. There's only a tiny red dot of blood. I wipe it away with my fingertip.
Antonin leads me out of the dressing room. I expect to find a peaceful Alexanne and her lady in waiting to be within my prep room still. I haven't a dress for the supper tonight.
But, as we walk into my prep room, it is empty. Alexanne must have taken her lady in waiting with her as she stormed from my room. I have no one to prepare me.
With a sigh, I walk back to my dressing room to pick out a gown for tonight. I choose a soft blue with a big black bow. It doesn't have many lacings or strings, and I'll be able to put it on by myself.
I struggle with my hoopskirt and my corset, but I manage to pull them on. Antonin ties the lacings on my corset. I lift the dress over my head and shift the bodice. Once everything is adjusted and tightened, I go back out to my room.
The sun is low in the sky, but not close to dusk. I'm not sure which time I'm required to be down for the supper, but I don't want to go wandering alone throughout the castle. I'm afraid of what Alexanne will do to me if she sees me.
Instead I sit and begin filling out the test Martino, my new tutor, wrote for me. As I page through and scan the questions, dread begins pooling into my stomach. I know barely any of the questions' answers.
All the questions appear to be of recent events and philosophies. Although Augustine did speak of some current happenings, he focused more on the wisdoms of the past. Instead of studying modern sciences, we explored mythology. I critiqued ancient paintings instead of the modern. I've read thousands of pages of old literature, but Augustine rarely gave me a new book. Augustine taught me old philosophy, not the ideas of people still alive today.
I don't want to seem unintelligent to my new tutor, however I'm afraid that this test will make me look stupid. It will only confirm the lies about Augustine that Alexanne told Martino.
I fill out the questions I do know and guess on the rest. I vaguely answer questions that probably only make me sound dimmer. I'll just have to explain myself to him. Perhaps I could make a list of the topics we have studied in the recent years.
A knock on my door breaks me from my worried thoughts. I glance out the window to see the sun is ducking behind the trees. Dusk is near.
I open the door to see Alexanne.
She smiles brightly at me, "Admira, lovely to see you again so soon."
I glance behind her and see her lady in waiting stand behind her. Alexanne wouldn't want her hatred to show in front of Marianne, otherwise rumors may begin spreading.
Alexanne says, "I'm glad you love the dress I picked out for you. Once again, I'm sorry I had to go so quickly. An important matter came up."
I nod, overwhelmed by her lies. She says, "Let's go to supper, then. You are the guest of honor after all."
We walk down the hall, arm in arm. A few nobles pass by us in the hallway, everyone on their way to the royal supper. I wonder how many of them wish they could be on their way home instead of forced to stay here so that they don't offend the royals.
Of course, Alexanne hasn't offered anyone the possibility to stay another night after such a late meal. They will all be forced to leave to go home, when in reality, most of them will probably end up staying the night at an inn.
Alexanne doesn't only play games with me.
People murmur as we walk past, but they wouldn't dare interrupt our lovely sister bonding time. After the amount of time we had to spend apart, we deserve to have as much time together as we can.
I wish one of them would be rude enough to interrupt us with mindless gossip and politics.
We arrive at the dining hall. The heralds announce our arrival and the guest cheer as we take our seats. The dinner is numbing as I chatter with nobles and laugh and lie about how happy I am.
Claudio sits a few tables away from me, his back facing me. Even staring at the back of his head causes warmth to spread. I'm glad he will be going home. I have enough drama as it is.
I mindlessly search the crowd for who might be my courter. Alexanne said he was here tonight, yet no one has approached me. William never bothered himself to tell us information about our courters. It is common tradition for courters to meet several times when they are young, but William never organized anything.
I'm sure that now Alexanne must know who he is, but she won't tell me anything either. I don't know his name or his kingdom or his age or anything. He's nothing but another face within the crowd.
Surely the man I will marry should stand out to me. But he doesn't.
My eyes shift to the back of Claudio's head. Alexanne said that I could change my courter if I wanted to. She would help me. But Claudio told me that he had his own courter. Maybe he loves her. I couldn't possibly come between that.
The supper falls to an end and the nobles leave shortly after. I guess most of them already had their carriages packed with belongings, planning to leave the second it was acceptable.
From the front doors, Alexanne and I curtsy and wave as the last carriage leaves the courtyard. The night is still warm, yet shivers fall over my skin as Alexanne places her hand on my shoulder.
She sighs, "I love celebrations, but it is nice to be alone again. We can finally relax. Let's hope that we have nothing but good luck and happy days for the rest of our lives."
The guards and servants around us watch us, all of them happy for us. She smiles and places something cold in my hands. She says, "For good luck." And then walks away.
I unwrap my trembling fingers from the object and force a smile, just in case any of the servants or guards are still watching.
It's another blue glass cube from the contest.
- Writer
