MARRIED TO MY WORST NIGHTMARE

Chapter 6: The Hidden Training Grounds

Alvina's POV

I could not sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the palace hound collapsing on the marble floor.

The poisoned pastry.

Ryan's hand gripping my wrist as he pulled me back before I took the fatal bite.

Prince Alvin's smile...

It all haunted me.

By the time the sky had turned to shades of pink and gold, I had given up on trying to fall asleep.

A soft knock echoed in my chamber.

"My Lady," one of the maids announced. "His Highness has requested for you to come."

I swallowed.

Ryan wanted to see me.

After what happened yesterday, I was not looking forward to this.

...

The palace courtyard was unusually quiet.

A thick morning mist curled around my feet as I walked, damp air clinging to my skin.

Ryan stood by a large oak tree, his usual royal attire exchanged for simple black training clothes.

A sword rested on his hip.

When he saw me approaching, he gave a short nod to the guards waiting by the gate.

They bowed before disappearing inside the palace.

"Good morning," he said.

I curtsied.

"Your Highness."Good morning, Your Highness."

His golden eyes studied me for a long moment.

"You look tired."

"I couldn't sleep."

"I expected as much."

There was no reprimand in his voice.

Only quiet understanding.

For a moment, we stood in silence, the stillness strangely pleasant.

It was Ryan who broke it next by asking a question that took me by surprise.

"Can you hold a sword?"

"A... a sword?"

He nodded.

"I've never even held one before."

"Then today will be your first lesson."

I blinked at him.

"You're serious?"

"Completely."

"But I'm your concubine."

"And?" I hesitated. "People will talk."

"They already do."

His answer was so offhand that I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

Ryan's lips twitched into a smile.

"Come."

...

We walked for some time.

It was the farthest I had ever been from the palace grounds.

At last, the towering buildings gave way to an ancient stone arena, hidden behind a thick grove of pine trees.

Vines curled up the weathered stone walls.

Grass poked through large cracks in the ground.

"This was the royal training ground," Ryan said. "My grandfather built it."

"It's beautiful."

"It has been forgotten." He ran his fingers along the stone. "Few people know of its existence."

I looked around in astonishment.

"Why bring me here?"

"Because no one will bother us."

Ryan drew his sword, the metal catching the morning light.

"Your greatest weakness is not your lack of skill."

"It isn't?"

He shook his head.

"It's that you don't know how to survive when danger strikes."

The words sent a chill down my spine.

He was right, of course.

If it hadn't been for Ryan yesterday...

I would have died.

Ryan walked over to a wooden rack on the far side of the arena and picked up a practice sword.

It was smaller than I expected.

When he handed it to me, I nearly dropped it.

Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"It's heavier than it looks."

I flushed.

"I noticed."

A soft chuckle escaped him.

"You'll get used to it."

...

The first lesson was surprisingly simple - learning to stand.

"No," Ryan said, tapping the tip of his boot against my feet. "Keep your balance."

I tried again.

This time, I stumbled.

Ryan caught my elbow before I hit the ground.

"Again."

It took me the whole hour to learn to stand properly.

My arms ached.

My legs felt like jelly.

"I can't do this," I muttered.

Ryan handed me a waterskin.

"Yes, you can."

"I've failed every exercise."

"You've improved every exercise."

I gave him a confused look.

"I have?"

He gestured at the small marks on the floor where I had been standing.

"When we started, you couldn't stand without losing your balance."

Ryan pointed at my current stance.

"Now you've held it for nearly a minute."

I hadn't even realized it.

Ryan noticed everything.

He didn't praise me for things I had done well.

He simply stated the facts.

For some reason...

That motivated me more than hearing him say I had done a good job would have.

"Again?" I asked, tightening my grip on the practice sword.

"Again."

His eyes softened with approval.

"Good."

...

The afternoon sun cast long shadows as we trained.

This time, Ryan circled me.

"In a fight," he said, "people watch the weapon."

He tapped two fingers against my temple.

"The wise watch the person."

"What do you mean?"A sword doesn't attack you."The person holding it does."

I frowned thoughtfully.

"So I should watch their eyes?"

"Their eyes."

"Their shoulders."

"Their breathing."

"Their feet."

Every answer came just as calmly as the last, as if he had said them a hundred times before.

"You can often tell what they intend to do before they do it."

I nodded slowly.

"I've never thought about that."Most people don't."

Ryan took a few steps back.

"Let's test your instincts."

He picked up another practice sword.

"We're not going to actually fight."

"Then what are we doing?"

"I'm going to move."

"You react."

I took a steadying breath.

"Alright."

Ryan vanished.

No.

His eyes barely had time to adjust before he reappeared to my left.

I turned too slowly.

Ryan lightly tapped my shoulder with the practice sword.

"You'd be injured."

Again.

This time, he appeared behind me.

Tap.

"You'd be injured."

Again.

Again.

Again.

I never saw him.

It was infuriating.

"I'm trying."

"I know."

His voice was patient.

"One last time."

I nodded.

Ryan disappeared once more.

The world around me grew unnervingly quiet.

The wind slowed.

The leaves no longer rustled.

Even the birds had fallen silent.

Without thinking, I raised my hand.

A brilliant silver-white light burst from my palm, flooding the arena with its glow.

It wasn't blinding.

It was soft.

Warm.

Beautiful.

Time seemed to slow for a heartbeat.

Ryan stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide.

For the first time since I had met him...

The ever-stoic Crown Prince looked genuinely shocked.

The light vanished just as quickly as it had come.

I blinked.

"What just happened?"

Ryan didn't answer.

His gaze was fixed on my hand.

Slowly...

He turned his head toward the distant guards standing by the palace gates.

"Leave us."

The command was quiet.

The guards bowed before disappearing inside the palace.

Only then did Ryan turn back to me.

"What did you feel?"

I frowned.

"I... I don't know."

"It was as though..." I trailed off, searching for the right words. "As though everything had gone silent."

Ryan's jaw tightened.

It was as if he wanted to ask a hundred questions at once.

In the end, he only gave a short nod.

"We're done for today."

"Already?"

"Yes."

I tilted my head.

"But I thought - "

"We'll continue tomorrow."

His voice was gentle, yet firm.

Something had changed.

I could see it in his eyes.

He wasn't looking at me the same way.

Not with the same fear.

Not with the same suspicion.

As if he had found something he had been looking for all along.

...

That evening, when I returned to my chambers, Ryan stood alone on the western balcony, overlooking the kingdom.

The sky had turned a deep crimson as the sun set over the horizon.

Footsteps echoed behind him.

"Your Highness."

It was Sir Cedric, captain of the royal guard.

"You dismissed everyone rather suddenly today."

Ryan said nothing.

After a long pause, the captain gave a small smile.

"I saw the light."

Ryan closed his eyes briefly.

"So did I."

"Could it really be...?" Sir Cedric's voice trailed off, his expression growing pensive.

Ryan's fingers curled around the balcony railing.

"The ancient scrolls were real."

He looked out at the distant horizon, where the last light of day was quickly disappearing behind the trees.

"The Light has awakened."

A cold wind blew through the palace.

Something not of this world stirred in the distance.

And for the first time in a long while...

Ryan wondered if the peace he had fought so hard to protect was truly over.