Chapter Fourteen

Ryan let out a long sigh as he sat back in the grass and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his face. Since the engagement his training had gone from occasionally sitting in on councils, weekly lessons and daily training to almost following his father to every council he sat in. His day had started at the crack of dawn and gone through lunch until his stomach had protested loudly and his father had finally dismissed him. The only thing that had made the day slightly enjoyable had been the fact that Evangeline was sat beside him. At least he had someone he could occasionally joke with.

"I really admire the way you're upholding tradition," his fiancée said, giving him a smile that he couldn't help but reciprocate. He watched as she gently moved her hand over the bright green grass, a real sight with her fiery red hair, even in the simple clothes she was wearing for the meetings. He might not be in love with her, but the way things were going now, marrying her wouldn't be the end of the world. The engagement had left him nauseous and in doubt but talking to Evangeline made him realise what was important. He liked the way she praised him for doing things the traditional way, he liked doing things the traditional way. The laws had been made ages ago, and they still held true for a reason. It wasn't like his feelings for Layla had changed but ignoring her was getting easier with Evangeline there.

He shrugged and gave her a confident smile. "It's not that hard with you," he winked, chuckling when she rolled her eyes teasingly. "I sure hope things'll get more interesting as of tomorrow," he sighed, deciding to lie back completely. He smiled when she did the same so that they were lying shoulder-to-shoulder.

"If not, at least we'll get bored together," she said. She turned on her side so that she was facing him, huffing when a strand of her hair fell in her face. Ryan chuckled and reached for the strand, wanting to push it behind her ear, but ended up absentmindedly playing with it while he looked at her. The colour of her eyes was so much like Layla's, it made his heart flutter. He hadn't planned to do it, he wasn't even sure he'd made a conscious decision, but he pulled her in and kissed her.

Nieve rolled her eyes at the public display, glad her friend wasn't there to see it, and she sure as the stars above wasn't going to tell her about it. She turned to Riven who was stood next to her in the shadow of a tree somewhere to the side so they wouldn't intrude too much. Over a month had passed since the engagement and he hadn't asked her about what had happened, even though she supposed he had a right to. He had taken care of her in a moment when she'd been too paralysed by fear to do so herself. Even though she didn't plan to, it was nice to know she could rely on someone other than herself. She almost startled when he turned to look at her, and rolled her eyes when he once again winked.

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" he asked, his voice low so Ryan and Evangeline couldn't hear him.

"We can't leave," she said instead of answering, nodding her head to the two primes making out on the grass. Though why they needed them to stay and watch was beyond her.

"Sure we can," he smiled. He tapped his temple and grinned wider. "Ryan thinks we should leave. Come on." He started walking away before she'd processed the fact that Riven had held a conversation with the Simia heir while the other was still attached to the lips of his future wife. She wasn't sure if she should call him rude or thank him. Either way, she followed as he walked through the grounds.

"Where are we going?" she asked when she realised he wasn't taking her back to the castle as she expected, but they kept waking alongside the outer wall. The stones were largely obscured by vines with heart-shaped leaves growing up them.

"You'll see."

Even after being in Serenissima for over two months she still hadn't seen all of the enormous castle grounds. Mostly because she was to follow Evangeline around and the redhead never liked to go out much, so she didn't really have a reason, but also because the Lord and Lady didn't trust her since her failed attempt to escape. They'd acted like Ryan had convinced them, but she was sure that was all it was; an act.

She had to jog to keep up with Riven's long legs and was about to complain about it when they turned a corner and she found herself looking at a building she'd never seen before. It was small, flat and looked so unlike the castle, she couldn't figure out why anyone had put it there.

"What is this place?" she asked when the tall guard started to walk toward the entrance, a single, simple wooden door.

"You'll see," he repeated.

Layla pursed her lips, only just stopping herself from complaining when she knew she really didn't have a reason to. This reading thing was so much harder than she'd initially expected, and a lot less fun without the interruptions by the Simia heir she'd gotten used to. It shouldn't have bothered her that she barely saw him anymore, but it did. Ever since the engagement he'd been so busy that he scarcely had time to spend with his sister, and thus, her. Instead Layla had found out she had a slight jealous streak because he was spending all his time with his stupid fiancée. Which made for issue number two, namely that she never saw Nieve either. She missed her friend.

Once again she reminded herself she had no right to complain. She'd seen Nieve in passing, always standing on the side and staring ahead of her. At least Layla had a nice lady in Kaitlyn, one that liked spending time with her and was even helping her learn to read.

"Maybe we should take a break," Kaitlyn chuckled when the blonde sighed again.

Layla blushed instantly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't apologise, I'm tired too," the young lady said, smiling again. "It's time for my lessons anyway," she added, realising the time, her smile faltering a bit because she'd much rather spend time hanging out with her handmaid than learn about politics when everyone knew no one would ever ask her for her opinion. She didn't know who she was going to get married off to, and with a little luck she'd fall in love and get to make the choice herself, but whoever she'd marry would have to be of a proper family. None of those families care for the opinions of their daughters-in-law. Still her parents found it important that she stayed up-to-date with the political situation; it made no sense to her.

Layla stood up and clasped her hands behind her back when there was a knock on the door; their escort was here. She didn't recognise the guard that opened the door at Kaitlyn's instruction, and almost pouted. Sometimes Riven would pick them up, at least then she could talk with Kaitlyn, there was no need to keep secrets from the mind-reader. Now she had to follow as a proper handmaid, eyes forward and back straight.

"I don't know about this," Nieve murmured, wrapping her fingers tightly around the hilt of an ornate sword. For some reason Riven had formed the idea that she needed to be able to defend herself. She could understand why, after the way she'd acted during the engagement, but where on earth was she going to find a sword when she'd need one?

The building he'd led her to was filled with training equipment, swords, daggers, and other things she didn't recognise. She was sure there were supposed to be dozens of sentinels here, to train or at least pretend to do so. Yet the entire building had been empty, and she didn't need to guess who'd arranged for that, or how.

"Relax, it's just to give you a sense of how a sword feels in your hands," the guard said as he moved behind her and started correcting her stance. His hands moved from her shoulders to her wrists, guiding her arms up so she was holding the sword properly. "Place your right foot slightly in front of your left and bend your knees," he said. There was nothing sensual about the way he moved his hands, but she still blushed when she felt the slight pressure of his fingers on her hips as he adjusted her posture. "Perfect," he said, his lips close to her ear as he moved his hands back to her wrists and helped her move the sword back and forth, pushing the hilt to her stomach and thrusting it out and into a dummy they were standing in front of. Even though her heart thundered with his arms around her, she felt slightly disappointed when he let go. She almost frowned when she realised this wasn't a feeling she was used to. "Try to step out with your right foot as you jab and then go back into your original stance," his voice pulled her back to what she was doing.

"It's heavy," she complained after jabbing the dummy a couple times. She knew she wasn't the strongest, physically, but she'd expected to at least be able to hold up the sword without feeling her muscles burn. Instead, she found herself with a newfound respect for the guards who could actually wield the heavy thing.

"It's supposed to be," Riven chuckled. He took his sword from her and pushed it back into its scabbard on his hip. "But you're right, maybe sword fighting isn't the way to start," he added. Nieve instantly felt nervous, and was pretty sure he could read the hesitant look from her face when he smiled mischievously. "You'll need to change."

The Simia heir didn't need to be able to read minds to know what the guard was thinking when Kaitlyn and Layla passed him; it was written all over his face as his eyes followed her curves highlighted by the green dress.

"Don't even think about it," he warned his employee in a low growl. His blue eyes were still on the two young women, but he could see the surprised look on the man's face from the corner of his eye. "As Lady Kaitlyn's handmaid, she's off-limits. Am I making myself clear?" Ryan made up quickly, straightening his posture and putting his position into his voice. He'd let himself sound too jealous before, which he couldn't let others know. He shouldn't even be jealous, having kissed his fiancée more than once now.

"Yes, sir," the guard straightened into salute.

His Lord gave a nod in approval before he continued his way. Her brown eyes were the first thing he saw when he rounded the corner. She heard, Ryan realised when she didn't look away like she normally would and gave him a slight smile. A smile he couldn't help returning.

"Everything alright?" he asked when he noticed she was alone.

"Yes sir. Lady Kaitlyn told me I wasn't needed anymore. I was planning to head back to my room," the blonde answered softly polite. She gave him a nod before starting to move past him.

"I'll walk you," Ryan offered impulsively.

"You will?" Layla asked surprised. As much as she wanted him to, she knew just as well as he did that he shouldn't. He simply nodded; there was nothing more to say. He held out his hand, gesturing for her to start the way. Her lips curled into another small smile, her cheeks blushing a little as she passed him.

Her fragrance teased his senses as she moved and it was all he could do to stop himself from leaning in closer to her; she smelled of lavender and lemongrass, and it was a delicious distraction. Ryan pointedly ignored the previously lectured guard's gaze as they started walking back to the living quarters. "How are the reading lessons coming on?" he asked softly after a few minutes.

"Slow. We don't have time to do it every day," Layla told him, keeping her eyes fixed ahead of her.

"If anyone can do it, it's you," he said softly before he could stop himself. Her quiet determination was something he'd admired about her from the second they'd met. "Kaitlyn's not a bad teacher, I suppose," he added on quickly, forcing a laugh to try to make it a little less awkward.

"Thank you, sir," his sister's handmaid responded.

"I already told you, it's Ryan," he reminded her, and himself, of their meeting in the pool, before his engagement. It almost felt like a whole lifetime ago, instead of just a few short weeks.

"I can't… sir." Layla felt her gut clench as she refused to meet his gaze. No good was going to come of this, not for her anyway, so she couldn't let herself be drawn into him again.

"There's no one else here," he said as he leant in a little closer to her, knowing he should take that as a warning himself; if he was found alone with his sister's handmaid, there'd be hell to pay.

She was sure he had no idea how intoxicating he was; with every breath, she could feel herself get a little heady, almost as if she was getting drunk on him. She slowed down, trying to stop her head from spinning. "Exactly… sir," she told him, reaching out to steady herself on the wall.

"Are you… alright?" the Simia heir asked, concern seeping into his voice, and it did her in; she couldn't have him be concerned about her. Here, in this mansion, this part of society, she was a nobody.

"Of course," Layla nodded a little too quickly, her footsteps faltering, and she almost tripped over her own feet.

"You are clearly not fine," Ryan almost snapped with concern, taking hold of her arm to steady her. Heat immediately seared through her arm and spread through her body, as if her veins were being consumed by flames. Her mouth felt dry as if she was going to be sick, her heart beating so frantically she was worried she was going into cardiac arrest. She managed to yank her arm free, almost falling back against the wall as she panted, desperate to get more oxygen into her lungs. One glance at the man in front of her and she knew he'd felt a version of what she'd just felt.

"What was that?" Layla gasped.

"I have no idea," Ryan admitted, trying to settle his nerves as he slowly straightened up. "I should get you back to your room," he focused back on where they'd been heading in the first place, reaching out towards her but stopping short of touching her again.