The Dragon Queen

Five: Princess Ashden

Five

Princess Ashden  

There was a knocking on my door. I stirred in my sleep, wanting desperately for it to go away. I didn’t have school.  I didn’t have any birthday ball preparations to attend to, and George was on some mystery outing with Lancelot. Probably another debauched evening spent in the bars and clubs of Vincia, getting into as much mischief as they possibly could.

“Go away,” I mumbled into my pillow.

I suspected it would be Haven, coming to try to make up with m

The knocking continued, until finally, I was forced to get myself up and open it. “Haven, I have nothing more to say to you---”

 To my surprise, Anu Morgan was standing there.

She looked at me with disgust. “It’s past seven. I’ve got pages that were up long before you. And why do you think Haven would be the one knocking? He’s on his day off.”

I coughed. “Well, lucky for me, I’m not a page. Also, he’s my guard. I just assumed. What do you want?”

If she didn’t believe me, she didn’t say a word. “You need to train,” she said.

I made a face. “Train? For what? I’m a Princess.”

Anu makes a face. “That’s exactly why you need to train. You are in an arranged marriage with Prince George because of a war. There’s always the chance everything could fall apart, and you will be the prime target. I don’t want George getting hurt because he has to protect you. Besides, you wouldn’t survive the kind of things they would do to a Princess.”

I don’t know if I should be offended or pleased that she seems to care enough about my wellbeing that she’s willing to train me. Anu has always seemed indifferent to me. She doesn’t like me, or trust me, but she puts up with me because she knows eventually, she’ll have to protect me. Because it’s her job.

“Get dressed. Wear something comfortable,” she ordered, “I’ll wait outside. No dresses.”

I rolled my eyes. “You act as though I have a choice in the dresses.”  

She paused for a second, as if she had never considered this before. Then, she gives me a nod, and goes to wait outside, closing the door behind her. I do have some casual clothes, but not many.

I have a large, walk-in closet complete with full length mirrors, a selection of shoes, handbags, and jewelry. Everything a girl could ever want. But I had no idea what my own style was. Everything was picked out for me by the palace stylist, meant to represent the royal family, not me.

I was forced to go to the gym at least one hour a day, and I had some workout clothes for that. A sports bra, and yoga pants. Complete with a Royal University of Vincia tank top that had been given to me at one of the many college visits I’d gone to with the royal family. George was there now, studying, and now that I’d graduated I would be going with him there in September.

I changed into my workout gear, put on some tennis shoes, and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I glanced at myself in the mirror. It was the least Princessy I had ever looked, and somehow, its off putting to me. In a good way. I’ve always wondered what my life would be like if I lived a less privileged life. Had a little more freedom.

“Are you ready, Princess?” Anu asked, her voice emotionless.

I sometimes wondered if Anu knew how to feel, because I’d never even seen the girl smile. Her entire life was dedicated to being a knight, a dragon slayer. Which seemed a ridiculous concept since there hadn’t been dragons in centuries and probably wouldn’t ever be again. But I admired her work ethic, and if she thought I should take something seriously, I wouldn’t ignore her request.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“I suppose that’s better than nothing. Come along. We’re going to the beach.”

“The beach. Why?”

“Because,” she said, “we’re going running.”

“Running? How is running training?”

“Running is possibly one of the most important skills you can learn if you are going to survive. It is the difference between a bullet in your chest and being raped. We need to build your stamina, and if you don’t have enough, you won’t be able to outrun a rabid dog, much less a soldier who wants to cut your pretty throat.”

I take her word for it. The castle overlooks the sea cliffs, and we walk out to the old, wobbly wooden stairs in the sea grass that take us down to the shore. It’s an early, summer morning and I realized that Anu has taken time out of her schedule to do this.

“Did George tell you this was something I needed? Or the King or Queen?” I asked.

She shook her head firmly. “No. I’m a Knight. War is my job. I have to look for strengths and weaknesses that could keep us from winning. You are both. Come on. We’ll stretch and do a mile to start.”

I was grateful she was going easy on me. She could have used this as an opportunity to torment me and chose not to. The cold wind from the ocean air whipped against my face. I could feel someone watching me as we began to stretch, and I glanced up to see Sir Samael on the cliffs.

Anu watched my gaze. “Are you comfortable with him?”

“With George?” I asked, as that was my first thought.

She shook my head. “Your guard. Not Haven. The new one. I tried to convince your uncle to let me take charge, but he was very insistent that someone from your kingdom be by your side. He’s quiet, sullen, and has a mean look about him. George told me about how he was looking at you at the treaty signing. Like he wanted to eat you up.”

I paused what I was doing and stared. “George talks about me?”  

She made a face. “Of course, he does. You’re his fiancé, his future queen. Why wouldn’t he talk about you?”

“I just…. I didn’t think that he would notice something like that. Or me.”

Anu rolled her eyes as she stretched her arms. “Don’t be daft. He always notices whatever you do. Why do you think he’s so careful about you talking with anyone? Because he doesn’t want you to love anyone before he gets a chance to make you love him.”

“He wants me to love him?” I whispered, stunned.

“Of course, he does. You’re going to be married. That’s all anyone wants. The only reason he’s not good at showing it is because he just wants to enjoy his freedom before the two of you are tied together for life, and he has to become King.”

I bit my lip. “Then why don’t I get to have the same allowances? At the Winter Ball, he won’t even allow me to dance with anyone else, and when the Prince from Denmark tried last year he nearly started a duel.”

Anu smirked. “Your fiancé is a jealous man, Ashden. And a future King. It’s safer for everyone involved that you don’t go looking for love elsewhere.”

“He expects my loyalty, but he won’t give up Lancelot?”  I said.

Anu sighed. “Lancelot is like another limb to George. You can’t expect the two to survive without each other, Ashden. It won’t work. As much as he wants to love you, at the end of the day you two are an obligation. Lancelot is his true heart. Don’t make him give Lance up. He might not survive without him.”

I frowned. “It isn’t fair.”  

She placed a hand on my shoulder, surprising me. “Our lives come with a lot of privilege, but that means we have to give some things up to. Just be relieved that George even wants you. Most Queens don’t even get that lucky.”

It felt like a small consolation. Heart heavy, I said, “Let’s run.”

She nodded, and we started our run up the beach. The whole time, I swore I could feel Samael’s eyes boring into my back.