In Line

Non, unlike Santo and Jin, sent for me rather than waiting for me to come to him. He requested that we meet in the castle's training ring, so I arrived the next morning as requested before dawn. It seemed I was the first to enter. Not even my sister stepped foot in the ring for her daily training so early. The sun was still rising on the sandpit. When he finally arrived, he seemed to walk down the stone steps as the sun rose behind him. It was quite the entrance. There was something different about him, but I couldn't put my finger on what. Perhaps my eyes were still waking up, but as he came closer, it became clear what changed. He was missing the red paint on his armor.

"You got new armor," I said.

"Why would I do that," he answered as he closed the space between us.

" You had red spots the last I saw you," I said naively.

"Those were ... stains," he chuckled.

He was a member of Catalina's royal guard, but what could he have been doing to be so drenched in "stains" the last I saw of him?

"Stains of battle?" I asked.

"Training. I lead the combat training of my kingdom's royal guard. In great practice, things can grow....out of hand," he said as he began circling the ring feeling out its space while I stayed stagnant at its center.

"Was anyone hurt?" I asked.

"Many were hurt, but they'll live," Non Joked as I was forced to turn continuously to keep my eyes on him.

"It sounds like you're a demanding teacher," I said.

"I have to be strong as steel if my men are ever to break stone," he said.

He was so young, close to my age, and yet he was in such a position of status. He wasn't born into his rank, nor was he selected. He earned his place, and lead men who were likely older than us both.

"Is that why we're here, am I to watch you train," I assumed.

"In Catalina, love is seen as a war. Unlike combat, in love, we hope that our adversary never falls, we wish for a battle to be endless and ever-growing no matter how weighed we become."

"That's very... poetic," I said.

"As a royal, you were trained to defend yourself?"

"Yes, I know the basics."

There was a brief pause as he finally stopped moving. He was standing near a rack of practice weapons to his side. His glare swam from the weapons back to me, implying what his true intentions were.

"I'm sorry, but are you asking to fight me?" I said.

"This is a ritual held before any relationship begins. A battle between two meant to join together is fought until one yield. The winner decides if their union begins or departs," he explained.

He picked up a sword before testing it's swing. Non wasn't a showman. He never performed an unnecessary maneuver, but his handling of that wooden blade portrayed his skill fairly well. He was effortless and sure of himself.

"I know how to defend myself, but my sister is trained for war," I debated.

"I know you will not win, but if anything between you and I is meant to be real, then this is a tradition that will mark its start," he said.

He tossed me the sword, and I caught it surprised to find he would not be using it.

"What if I hurt you, you're a member of another kingdom's royal guard?" I protested.

He laughed. He took up a spear and returned to me at the center. Was he using a weapon he was less proficient in or perhaps more so?

"I doubt that will happen, but It would be a welcomed surprise," he taunted me.

His body took a fighting stance to which mine did the same in response.

"Does your king know you are here, doing 'this' with me," I questioned as he made the first strike.

He was fast for someone so tall, and his strength was inescapable.

"My King asked that I offer myself to you," he admitted.

"He wanted you with me?"

"My King knows you are at an age where you are ... explorative, and he felt you would connect best with one who fits your heritage," he said as he viciously attacked me.

My reflexes were all that protected me. Our weapons were made of wood, but the force behind his blows could cripple. I could hardly keep up enough to go on the offensive.

"I don't think it's your king's place to meddle in my affairs," I argued between breaths.

"You misunderstand. It was my choice to make in the end, a choice that I am still making."

" So, you're here of your own wants?" I asked.

There was a gravity to the scene that only came from our being in solitary silence in such a spacious arena. Though when I made the mistake of pausing, Non quickly knocked me back into the fight.

"You know if you hurt me, my sister may fight you next. She can be protective that way," I said as I picked myself up from the sand after he so casually dropped me.

"You speak of your sister so heavily. Perhaps I should ask her to enter this ritual with me instead?"

He laughed again but waited for me to find my bearings. We took our stances before going again.

"This is a strange way to start a union," I said.

"You know little of your traditions and heritage," he claimed.

"I am a prince of Fae, not Catalina," I debated.

He pushed me around toying with me, only allowing peace long enough to warrant the next strike.

"Your skin tells a different story, your blood is of Catalina," he said as he knocked me back on my ass yet again.

"My blood is of Fae," I stressed as I fought to return to my feet.

He waited again, but when we returned to blows, there was nothing playfully about him.

"Do you not wonder what you might have been had you not been given to this foreign land?"

"I was born here."

"You were brought here."

"What difference does it make?" I exclaimed as his spear struck my side, and I felt my soul crawl from its body.

I sank to my knees in defeat.

"It makes all the difference in the world. Had you never been given to this family you cling to, you would be home with your brothers," he said.

"You speak as though you know my birth family. I could be from anywhere, Oboshi, Fae, Merce, anywhere," I argued as I sought the will to stand.

"But what if you are from my King's kingdom? What if you were my prince?" He said.

What was he speaking of? He had no doubt in his voice. Questions of hypothetical realities seemed to be real to him.

"What are you saying?" I demanded an answer as I looked up to find his eyes looking down on me.

"My King knew it would be a difficult life for you to grow up away from your people," he said.

"What are you saying, Non?!" I exclaimed.

I tried to get back to my feet, but he kicked over like a drunk in the street.

"Your father, your true father is King Teco," he said with a spear held at my throat.

"You're lying," I said

He chuckled.

"Perhaps I am, but what If it were the truth," he said before backing away.

He was toying with me, or he was utterly insane. I couldn't tell which.

"Now, are you ready to fight?" He said.

He meant to make me angry by raising questions of my blood, and it worked. I gave him a fight, a long fight, a battle. It was clear who was the better fighter, but he got under my skin enough to push me through my lack of power skill and speed. Of course, he won, he had to. I was never going to beat a royal guard in direct combat, but I didn't give up.

I knew the battle was done when I woke up hours later, and by that time, Non was gone. I assumed what he told me was only meant to upset me, but he fabricated such a story with ease. It stayed with me. I needed to find him again to know for sure if it was a lie.

I was battered and bruised. Covered in sand from the pit as I searched the castle for Non to no avail. I found my brother first.

"Par, you look terrible, what happened to you," Louis asked as he found me wandering the halls like a breathless ghoul.

"Non," I said with the wooden sword still in hand.

"Non did this to you?!" He exclaimed with disbelief.

"Yes! No! It's complicated, do you know where he is?" I demanded.

"He left hours ago to rejoin Teco in the city," my brother informed me.

"Where in the city?"

"The embassy," he said.

I was nearly on my way when our sister joined us. She stormed down the hallway with her gaze of fury set on both Louis and me.

"Morning sister," I offered as warmly as I could with my pride still in recovery.

"What have you done?" She asked.

She was displeased, to say the least. There was already a bark in her voice.

"You left the castle with a commoner, you lost a Lady of Oboshi," my sister began to rant.

"We know she's in the castle," my brother said in my defense.

"You both allowed a circus on castle grounds," Sky continued.

"It's gone now," I said.

"Who do you think gave the order to remove it?" she informed.

"That was you?" Louis and I both questioned.

"Don't begin to question me when you invited strangers into the castle, into our home," she snapped at us both.

She was displeased by the choice of guests we invited into our home.

"You allowed strangers into the castle," she argued.

"The Reeves vetted them, everyone was and is safe," Louis debated still with a light tone.

"This isn't about safety," Sky continued.

"Then what is this about, they weren't from The Splint, they were good people," I said.

"Good people? A knight from a foreign kingdom, a scientist who's only major success is a slightly brighter light than candles, a winch looking for a crown, and perhaps the worst is the literal circus perform. Does either of you want to be king? Do you care about the reputation of the crown at all," Sky flew off without holding her tongue.

"Sky, you're looking at this too deeply, a few unique guests aren't going to give the kingdom a bad reputation," Louis said.

"But would you care if they did," she quickly retorted.

"Of course, I'd care. God, you act as though you're the only one fit to wear a crown, but you're so detached from everything," my brother exclaimed.

"I would keep our people safe. I would make sure our family name stood with honor unblemished by scandal and rumor," she said.

"You would keep our people scared and soulless under the military's boot. We wanted to have some fun, something you should learn to do Sister," Louis insulted our sister if only on the back end.

"Sky, this isn't a battle, you don't need to guard us against life," I said.

"And I suppose you think you'd be a better ruler as well, even after the events of the past days?" She questioned me with the same disapproval she granted Louis.

"I don't want to rule anything, but if I did, I wouldn't let fear stop us from living. We could have waited to have our guests, but no one is going to die or rebel against the Kingdom over my first kiss. Our family name is still good," I rested my case, hoping it was enough to end our feuding.

"I'd expect this from Louis, but Par," she said my name with disbelief.

"I have met four of the most amazing people these past days. I refuse to feel sorry or ashamed," I said.

"Sorry isn't good enough," she said.

Sky left us. I understood her argument, but it felt out of place. I wouldn't argue that having a circus invade the castle wasn't too far, but Santo was a nice brilliant person, and I didn't care if he was a royal or not. Jin was a beautiful soul. Yale was... who she was. And I was still making up my mind about Non. If being king meant I couldn't see such amazing people, then I wanted no crown atop my head, no throne to sit, and no seat of power. But I always knew where I stood when it came to the subject of being king, even if I could never say it out loud.

What surprised me was Louis. He said it. He wanted to be king, or at the very least, he believed he'd be better at it than our sister. Still, that was something to think over later.

"I'm going to go find Non," I told my brother.

"Good luck with that, Brother," he said, still deflated by our sister.

I knew he wanted to go with me, but with his people still being questioned for our King Father's attempted murder, he couldn't leave.

"You should find Lady Yale," I joked.

"She's in the castle, she'll turn up eventually," he said.

I was on my way. Leaving the castle with Santo made me more comfortable out on my own. I still carried hesitation, but growth required repetition, so I left my royal guard to travel into the city on my own.