The Dragon Prince

Mates

 Ash led me through a few stretches before we got started, my body grateful for the relief after being stuck in bed for so long. His demeanor had changed once again as the night went on. I’d never seen him like this, he was usually warm and friendly. But it seemed that being on the training grounds brought out the captain in him. 

 We finished up our stretches and he directed me over to the track that lined the edge of the field.

“Alright Arya, I need you to do five laps, then meet me in the middle for some light sparring.”

“Sparring?! I thought we were taking it easy today?” I gaped at him, sizing him up. 

 There was no way I was going to be able to spar with this enormous man. I’d never been in a fight in my life, much less had any formal training. Unless playing with sticks in the woods counted as training, that is. 

Ash let out a chuckle and pointed to the line on the ground. 

“Trust me, this is going easy. My warriors run at least ten times this every morning, then gear up and spar with weapons for most of the day.” He gave me a wink before continuing. “Now, get ready. On my whistle I want you to book it”

I let out a loud groan and crouched down, preparing myself for the run. I’d never been good at running long distances, preferring hiking over running. I could traverse the forest as silent and carefully as a cat, able to enjoy nature as I strolled through its beauty. 

My parents never really made me run either when we’d had PE class, usually sticking to stretches and light cardio. Having been homeschooled, I’d never been on a team of any sort either. At this moment though, I kind of wished they’d pushed me a little harder. Plus I definitely didn’t keep up with it after I’d finished school.

 A loud whistle broke me out of my thoughts, and I took off. I made it to the first corner of the field in record time, surprising myself. I kept my breathing as even as I could for the first couple laps, my body feeling airy. Around lap four I started losing steam, slowing my pace down to a trot. 

 As I neared the end of the final lap, my breathing turned ragged. My body was aching, sweat pouring down my brow. I collapsed on the ground as I crossed the line, my body finally giving out. My breaths were starting to slow as I heard a loud clap, large boots appeared in my line of vision. 

I looked up to see Ash standing above me, grinning down at me. 

“Great job Arya! A mile in ten minutes. That’s not bad for a newbie!” He held out a hand to help me up, pulling me off the ground effortlessly. “You’ve got five minutes to pull yourself together, then we spar. Got it?” 

I nodded my head, still trying to slow my breathing. He led me to the center of the field, then stopped, motioning for me to sit down. 

“Do some more stretches and regulate your breathing. I can hear your heart practically beating out of your chest.” He turned away from me, bending to take off his large boots. I plopped down in the center of the ring, now noticing that the area was marked. The grass ended about thirty feet away on each side of me, leaving a bare circle of earth in the middle of the field. 

I did a few stretches and was finally able to calm myself, my breath slowly returning to normal. 

“Alright, times up.” Ash’s voice chimed, interrupting my momentary peace. I groaned as I lifted my aching body off the ground, but figured the faster I got this over with, the faster I could get back to my room. 

Ash bounded over to the center of the ring, tugging off his thin t-shirt and tossing it to the side. I gasped internally at the sight of his chiseled chest, which was peppered with silvery scars. 

“Ash…” My voice came out in a whisper. He raised a brow at me, following my gaze to his torso. 

“Oh, yeah. I almost forget I have those.” He let out a small laugh. “It’s nothing. Being a warrior and a bodyguard does that to you. You get used to them.” 

I nodded, still slightly concerned. 

“Alright, time to spar.” He threw me a wide grin before lunging.

************

I collapsed back into the center of the ring about thirty minutes later, my body unwilling to keep up with Ash’s brutal pace. He’d shown me how to keep my stance wide to avoid hitting the ground when I was hit, and how to follow an opponent's eyes to know where they were planning to strike next. I wasn’t very good at it, but he assured me that with more time I’d become an excellent fighter. I was fairly fast, thanks to my small stature. But I didn’t have much force behind my attacks. 

 Ash came and sat down next to me, seeming completely at ease. I realized that this must be easy for him. If his warriors do ten times this a day, and he was good enough to become captain, this must be like a walk in the park. 

A concerned look crossed his face suddenly as he took in my condition, his face creasing into a frown. 

“You okay? I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard. It’s just when I’m in the training area I tend to slip into my captain role.” He gave me a sideways grin. 

I nodded, giving him a small smile in return. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Just exhausted.” I laid down in the ring, looking up into the brightly lit branches above. 

“Ash, what exactly are mates? I get the just of it, but how exactly does it work?”

He let out a small sigh before laying down beside me, running a hand through his long hair. 

“Mates are… well, we’re not exactly sure how it started. When you meet your mate you just know. It’s like a tether to another person, but from deep within your soul.” He paused to look over at me, his face suddenly serious. “A mate completes the other Fae. They are each other's other half. Gender doesn’t matter to the mate bond, neither does Fae species…” He trailed off, looking back up at the shimmering tree above us. “When a Fae loses their mate, it’s like part of their soul dies too, that’s why my mom…” He stopped, shaking his head. 

I reached out and placed a hand on his arm. 

“I appreciate you explaining it to me, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” I gave him a sad smile. 

“It’s okay, it was just so hard on her. I wouldn’t want anyone to have to live through what she did.” He sat up, cradling his knees to his chest. 

“Well, I’m starving. Where can we get something to eat around here?” My stomach let out a resounding growl at my words, eliciting a booming laugh from Ash.

He stood, reaching a hand down to help me up. 

“Come on, I know just the place.” 

He lifted me off the ground with ease, leading me out of the field and back into the maze of hallways. We stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors. Ash wiggled his eyebrows at me as he tugged them open to reveal an enormous kitchen. It was empty, but the smells emanating from it were downright heavenly. 

He led me over to the pantry, which was stocked full of various baked goods. Grabbing an armful of pastries, he walked over to a large bar to the left side of the kitchen and sat down at one of the stools. I followed behind him, plopping down at his side. He promptly tossed me a few of the delectable treats and popped one into his mouth, causing me to giggle wildly. He gave me a wide grin with his mouth still full, turning my giggles into a wild fit of laughter. 

He swallowed it down, giving me a surprised look as I reigned in my hysterics. 

“I think you’re delirious. I definitely pushed you too hard.” He reached out a hand to touch my forehead. “Yup, no fever. You’re delirious.”

I let out another small giggle before replying. 

“No… I just never know what to expect with you. One moment you’re serious and protective, the next you’re like a wonder filled child.” I paused, attempting to choose my next words carefully.

“I knew what to expect with Josh… but you… well I guess you were Josh for a while but…” 

His raised hand interrupted my rambling, causing me to jump.

“Arya I want you to get to know me, for me. I know the situation with my father is confusing, but I know you. You may not know me well yet, but I plan to change that, okay?” 

I nodded as he reached out to cup my jaw once again. 

“It was hard for me, having to pretend to be him. I never want to pretend to be anyone ever again.” 

He pulled his hand back and gestured to my untouched food. 

“Now eat. You haven’t eaten in over a week, you’ll need it if we’re going to keep training.” 

I groaned but complied, the little pastries were surprisingly delicious and full of flavor. I ate my fill and Ash stood, looping his arm through mine and tugging me out of the kitchen. 

“Let’s get you to bed. You definitely deserve a real one after all this.” 

 He escorted me to the room, leaving me at the door after placing a warm kiss on my cheek and warning me that we had more training the next day. I walked in and headed straight for the bed, not even stopping to change out of my dirty training clothes. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

*********

I was back in the familiar forest, but this time, I was alone. The warmth I had felt from before was nowhere to be found. 

I could feel eyes boring into me from the shadows, causing my heart to pound. Something was very, very wrong. I increased my pace through the trees, hoping to lose whatever it was that seemed to be following me. I heard something crashing through the brush and broke out into a run. 

The forest was flying past me, but the creature behind me never broke it’s stride, seeming to get closer with every step I took. I was suddenly hit with a force hard enough to send me plummeting to the ground, causing me to cry out in pain. Claws scoured my skin as I was flipped onto my back, forcing a scream from between my lips.

I looked up into bright red glowing eyes.

“Arya, I will find you”