The Dragon Prince

Strange Emotions

Only a few moments had passed before Ash returned, followed by a handsome grey haired man who wore a wide smile on his youthful face. 

“So you’re the girl everyone seems to be talking about?” He asked as he strode to the bedside table, shuffling around the mysterious bottles that I’d noticed earlier. 

“I guess I am, although I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.” I grumbled quietly. 

“Oh, it’s not every day a Fae girl comes to Faerie not knowing anything about our world. Save for changelings, of course.” He paused, lifting a hand to his chiseled jaw. “No, but you, you’re no changeling at all. You were raised by Fae. Powerful ones at that if they were able to keep a glamour on you for so long without you even knowing.” He turned to me, holding out a glass of vile looking liquid. 

“Take this, it should purge the remaining iron from your system. You’ll feel better in no time.” I took the glass, eyeing the contents warily. 

“What’s in this?” He laughed loudly, causing my still pounding head to throb. 

“If I intended to kill you, it would’ve been a lot easier when you were unconscious for a week. Just drink it.” I looked to Ash for reassurance and was met with a shrug. I glanced back to the strange concoction in my hand and downed it quickly, the taste surprisingly delicious. I could feel a pleasant warmth flowing through my body as the pain finally subsided, leaving me feeling completely refreshed. I let out a sigh of relief before handing the glass back to him. 

“See, what’d I tell you?” He flashed me a grin before turning to Ash. “Now if you’d gotten her here sooner, this wouldn’t have happened.” Ash cast a solemn look at the ground and shrugged again, refusing to meet Erriam’s harsh gaze. 

“She’s not a changeling, it didn’t occur to me at the time…” Erriam shook his head at him and turned back to me. 

“No matter, she’s fine now. Her powers should show soon, you need to get her into training.” 

“Training?!” Ash’s booming voice causing the bottles on the shelves to quake. “She almost died, Erriam, I don’t think now is the time for training!” 

Erriam raised a well manicured brow at him, then turned to face me once again. 

“How do you feel?”

“I mean, I felt like s**t when I woke up, but I’m fine now.” I shrugged. “What kind of training?” 

“Now that you’re in Faerie and the iron has left your system, your Fae senses will start to emerge. The iron would have suppressed them since you spent your entire life in the human world.” He paused, sending a scathing look in Ash’s direction. “It’s imperative that you learn to control them, and yourself. Not knowing your lineage as high Fae, it could potentially be dangerous if you are unable to handle them.” 

I widened my eyes in shock as his words washed over me, mulling them over in my mind. I had never stopped to think of the possibility of having Fae powers. My body had changed, sure, but I still felt human. I was in fairly good shape from hiking through the forest around my home over the years, but looking up at these Fae males, I suddenly felt small and weak. 

“... Well if you insist.” Ash’s voice broke through my flurried thoughts. As both men turned to face me, I felt a slight blush creep over me. 

Ash held out a hand in my direction, motioning for me to follow. I stood slowly, carefully measuring the weight on my feet. Surprisingly, even after a week in an iron induced coma I was able to bear my weight well. Whatever had been in that drink had to be some powerful stuff, I mused. I gave Ash a soft smile and took his outstretched hand, feeling the calluses underneath my own. 

“Come on,” He sighed. “I’ll show you the training grounds. Most of the warriors will be asleep by now, so it should be empty.” He nodded to Erriam as he led me to the door of the clinic. Erriam gave me a knowing smile before turning back to his wall of oddities.

I peered up at the large male now leading me down another set of long hallways, reminding me that this place was seemingly infinite. His hand was still firmly grasped around my own, and his silence was starting to irk me. 

“Here we go again, with you leading me into the great unknown.” I quipped, attempting to break the awkward silence.

He gave a loud huff, glancing down to meet my gaze. His angry expression started to soften, his nerves seeming to calm. 

He brought his furious pace to a halt suddenly, causing me to stumble. I let out a small yelp and felt a large hand reach out to catch me. I gasped at his sudden closeness, realizing he was standing just a hairsbreadth in front of me now, his eyes locked on my own. His hand had never left my own, but his other was now firmly grasping my waist. 

He let out a deep breath, releasing my hand to run his fingers through his messy hair. He looked as though he hadn’t been sleeping well. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, his usually sun kissed skin slightly pale.

“I’m-... Arya I-....” He fumbled for words, my concern heightening at his sudden perturbance. 

He reached out a hand, gently caressing my cheek. I tilted my head in confusion at his sudden change of demeanor. He caught the look and gave an awkward half-smile and removed his hand from my waist, taking a step back. A chill came over me as his warmth left me, my emotions all over the place. 

“I just… I’m worried about you, Arya. You just spent a week unconscious. I’m supposed to protect you, and I failed. Now I’m being forced to put you into training when you just woke up…” He shook his head slowly, avoiding my troubled expression. 

 “Ash, I feel okay, I promise.” He finally lifted his eyes back to mine, and I gave him a comforting smile. “But there’s something I need to-” He cut me off, grabbing my hand once again. 

 “I trust you. If you’re sure you’re okay, then I believe you. But I don’t want you training too hard, okay? At least not yet.” He gave me a wide smile, the dark emotions seemingly dissipated. He turned and continued his fast pace down the halls, pulling me along with him. 

***********

 The training area turned out to be a large brightly lit rectangular expanse the size of two football fields. I could tell it was near the center of the castle, as the Tree of Beginning’s trunk seemed almost within arms reach of  the walls surrounding it. As we’d arrived, Ash tugged me over to an enormous locker room filled with training gear. He tossed me a soft knit tank and some yoga pants, explaining that there was no need for fighting gear yet, as we’d get to that later. He showed me to the showers, and left me to get changed on my own. 

 I looked at the shower I’d chosen inquisitively. For a shower in a training area, it was oddly clean and well kept. There were various bottles of sweet smelling shampoos and body wash lining the wall, and a stone bench placed to one side. I took a deep inhale of my scent, my face creasing into a grimace. I smelled like the clinic and b-o. Thinking to myself, I realized I hadn’t showered in over a week. I decidedly flipped on the shower, stripped down and stepped into the cool water. 

 I sighed as the stream started to warm against my bare skin, reaching for a bottle of one of the various soaps. I lathered myself down as my mind started to run wild. I still hadn’t had the chance to tell Ash about my parents. But now that I thought about it more, I had no idea how I was going to explain how I’d found out where they were. I couldn’t exactly tell him that Aideon had been in my room, and I definitely couldn’t tell him that I’d made a deal with him. Especially not on the same night he’d given me a stern warning about making deals with Fae. 

 I knew how he felt about Aideon, but what I didn’t know was why. No one had explained why the prince had such a bad reputation, just warned me about getting close to him. Unfortunately for me, I’d done just that. He’d kissed me. My face heated at the memory of his lips pressed into mine. 

No, I definitely could not tell Ash about Aideon. Besides, if my parents were in danger, Aideon would have told me, wouldn’t he? 

 I finished rinsing myself off, turning off the shower and stepping out into the cool air. I slipped into the clothes I’d been given, peering at my reflection in the full length mirror to one side of the room. I decided it was best that I wait until I had more information to talk to Ash about what I’d discovered. Our relationship was already strange enough as it was, plus I didn’t want to risk angering my only ally in this strange world. 

 I quickly plaited my long black hair, pulling it back from my face. I had no idea what kind of training Ash was going to have me doing, but I figured it wouldn’t be too strenuous considering I’d just left the clinic. Finishing up and checking my reflection one last time, I headed out onto the field. 

 Ash was leaning up against the wall by the doorway waiting for me, a bored expression on his usually serious face. He perked up when he saw me, giving me a friendly smirk. 

“Took you long enough, I was starting to think you’d run off. I was about to barge in and drag you out.” I gave him a stern look and he let out a booming laugh. “Blame the wolf in me, Arya.” He gave me a wink, causing my heart to flutter. 

 I was startled by my reaction, left wondering what had come over me. This was Josh… well, Ash. It was confusing, but I brushed it off, chalking it up to these damn Fae being unfairly attractive.

 You’re Fae too.

 A small voice echoed in the back of my mind. I crinkled my brow, realizing that if I were to live in this strange world I was going to have to start thinking of myself as one of them. I was no longer human, I never really was one to begin with. 

 Ash clapped his hands together loudly, pulling me from my thoughts. “All right, let’s get to it then!” 

And the training began.