Chapter Eleven

Emily had mostly secluded herself upon her brothers' departure. Finding her family and having them so quickly ripped away left a sting she couldn't shake. It had been several days since Emily left her room; she had all her meals brought to her. Sadness and Hunger seemed to be her most well-known emotions now. She had never been one to overindulge but recently it seemed it couldn't be helped. She sat and ate and gained no weight, even though her frame was incredibly small still. She had seen no one other than Molly. She felt no desire to be social.

A week had passed when Emily heard a gentle knock on her door. She lazily got up and opened the door.

"Oh, Alex? I wasn't expecting any visitors." Emily said, she still wore her sleeping dress. She made her way back to sit on the edge of her bed picking up the book she had been previously enamored in.

"Well no one has seen you in ages. I thought you might be dead." Alex said, entering the room.

"Well, not dead." She responded.

"No, just pouting still?" Alex smirking face stared down at Emily as he used one finger to lower the book in her hands.

"I'm not pouting." She said in annoyance. "What do you even want?"

"Well I was thinking…"

"That sounds like a bad thing." Emily muttered

Alex's smile only widened. "How'd you like to learn to fight?"

"Fight? Like with a sword?" Emily not put her book to the side.

"Yes, among other things."

"Well, actually that would be great, but it isn't really customary for a, er, princess to learn is it?" Emily wasn't used to the term about herself. She felt like the furthest thing from a princess.

"It's not, but I'm offering to teach you." Alex plopped on the bed beside Emily and propped his feet up.

Emily glared. "Why would you want to teach me?"

"Do you remember when you tried to fight that Blight?"

She stared at him blankly. "That what?"

Alex chucked. "I see you also need to brush up on your knowledge of beasts. The creature that looked something like a tree."

"Oh, well, yes I remember attempting to fight it and early dying in the process."

"Well, you're either insane or brave, I haven't decided yet. Either way I think that trait could be useful, but either way this kingdom is a dangerous place. We have many enemy's and if you are to be associated with us you need to be able to protect yourself." Alex stood up. Emily noted the dirt left behind by his shoes on her clean blanket. "I'll let you think about it. Once you've made up your mind, I'll likely be in the east training area." He gently grabbed Emily's hand and laid a quick kiss on it, causing Emily's face to immediately turn bright red. "I'll be seeing you, Princess." He smiled once more and scurried out of the room.

Though Emily didn't feel she needed to think about it long. She didn't intend on staying in this castle forever. This family had been more than kind to her, but she knew she didn't belong amongst them. She felt guilty for how much she had caused them to inconvenience themselves. Surely Alex wouldn't have offered to train her if it would be inconvenient for himself.

Emily got herself ready the best she could. All her clothes were dresses, naturally, but she was concerned about her ability to move around fluidly in such outfits. She wore the lightest dress she could find and tied her hair back. She made her way directly to training area and found Alex sparring with a small boy. The boy had dark hair and was putting every ounce of effort he had into attempting to smack the prince with the stick her held. She watched as eventually Alex let the boy win.

"Princess, decided so soon?" Alex said patting the boy on the back, who shortly after trotted off.

"I want to learn to fight. To protect myself and others." She said with confidence. Truly that was all she had ever wanted. To have the strength to defend herself.

"Good." He said, bearing the same smile he usually kept. "I think we need to change a couple things first though." He said, taking in the sight of her.

"L-like what?" She felt nervous under his gaze.

"Well for one, that dress isn't going to work. There are pants already in the changing area. And two, I think we need to feed you more."

"Feed me more? All I've done is eat." Emily complained crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well clearly not enough. You must come to dinner tonight. I want to monitor how much you're taking in." His tone had become more serious.

"Is that really necessary?"

"Yes, it is. If you don't have the appropriate balance you won't have the strength to keep up with me." Alex said. "We wont train today. I want to make sure you've eaten well and are dressed appropriately, and we'll start tomorrow."

"It seems like you're having to go to a lot of trouble for me…I mean I know I'm here now, but I won't be forever. This is your home, not mine." Emily said shyly.

"Are you so sure about that, princess?" He smiled and walked closer to Emily, so close in fact that he whispered in her ear. "Come to dinner." He said and left.

His hot breath had brushed her neck and sent a shock through her body. He was much closer than he should have been. Emily's cheeks had gone red as she shuffled out of the room, grabbing the pants and shirt Alex had set out for her on her way.