Lorkana by Emily Zimmerman. (free e books to read TXT) 📕

left, I bathed myself in the warm water, relaxing myself fully. I couldn’t get Logan from my mind, no matter how hard I tried; I could not stop worrying about him, what were they doing to him? Was he injured? Are they torturing him? Are they feeding him? All these questions were swirling around my head as I closed my eyes, I groaned and grabbed the bar of soap, the sooner I can have him in my arms again, the better.
I soaped through my hair, and then lifted myself onto the lip of the tub, washing my legs first. I sighed, staring at the wall as I washed myself.
I jumped out of the bath, wrapping my robe around myself; I looked inside my wardrobe and found a nice baby blue silk dress with lace embroidered on the neck and sleeves. I slipped it on, along with light blue flats. I walked sat down at my vanity and picked up my smooth, wooden brush; I brushed through my tangled hair, staring at my reflection. My bright green eyes looked dull, not as full of life as they used to be, dark circles were barely beginning to form under my eyes, and I looked…empty. My face was blank of emotion, but my eyes shown sadness and longing. I longed to be with Logan again, to feel his embrace. I remembered the night he kissed me, the passion that enveloped us both, the way our bodies fit together perfectly, his chiseled chest against my hands, the way he would wrap his arms around my waist and pull me closer…
A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I came back to reality. I got up, and opened the door, I poked my head out to see Vivia again “are you ready, majesty?” she asked.
I nodded, opening the door fully and stepping out, calling Aileen with me. I looked down at my feet as we walked, Logan’s safety heavy on my mind.
“She seems…out of it, Logan’s capture must have been hard for her” Vivia murmured, as if I was not there.
I looked up “who are you talking to, Vivia?” I asked.
She looked at me, confused “I said nothing, Johanna” she murmured.
“hmm, she is acting strange” I heard the words, but her lips never moved.
“How are you doing that?” I asked.
She grew more confused “doing what?” she asked.
My eyebrows lowered over my eyes “nothing” I murmured, looking away from her.
We walked in silence to the dining room, me not knowing what to say, and Vivia studying me curiously. As we entered the dining room, I saw Demetrio speaking with five other men; they all looked up at our entrance.
Demetrio got up and walked over to me, he pulled me into a bear hug.
“Good morning Johanna” he murmured.
I hugged him back “good morning Demetrio, how did you sleep?” I asked when he let me go.
He smiled “I didn’t, I was planning Logan’s rescue with the rest” he said.
I gave him a disapproving look as I sat down “you should be resting” I said.
He chuckled “don’t worry, I’m used to it” he waved a hand.
I sighed but didn’t push it “Johanna, this is my good friends and great companions, Baelof, Kail, Ben, Salvator and Rain” he listed off their names as he gestured to each one.
Baelof was an older man, with brown hair and grey-blue eyes, he was well built, and you could tell he was well trained in battle, with a scar across his right eye.
Kail was younger than Baelof, but still seemed older than Demetrio by quite a few years, he had very sun-bleached hair, and hazel eyes, and he too seemed well informed in battle.
Ben was by far the eldest of them all, with slightly greyed black hair, and a long silky greyed beard growing from his chin to his chest, his grey eyes shown what a long life of battle and killing could do to you, his eyes were emotionless, and cold, they showed that he could kill without showing any emotion.
Salvator, however, was Demetrio’s age, maybe older by a year or two, his eyes were grass green, and he had rather long brown hair, he seemed as arrogant in his strength as Demetrio was, and just as charming.
“Hello, nice to meet you, Johanna” Salvator was the first one to speak.
I took his outstretched hand and shook it with a polite smile “the pleasure is all mine” I murmured.
“So we here you are adamant to come with us on our quest to retrieve our comrade” Ben said, his voice was as inflectionless as his expression.
I nodded once “I will not allow you to go without me” I said, determination strong in my voice.
“Well, we’ll need to train you in the art of the sword, and strategy in battle, it could take weeks to gain even a small bit of skill” Kail crossed his arms, sitting back as he explained.
I grinned “you’ll find that I have more knowledge with the sword then you think” I said, mimicking his actions.
Baelof raised an eyebrow “oh really? And how long have you been training the sword?” he asked skeptically.
“Since I was old enough to speak, my father has trained me in an array of fighting techniques, with an array of swords, and daggers, he wanted me to be able to be strong and protect myself, should the time come” I explained, staring evenly at all five of them.
Baelof opened his mouth to speak, but the servants came out with the food, I recognized Dana as one of them, she met my eyes and smiled slightly.
She set my plate in front of me “thank you Dana” I murmured.
She bowed her head slightly “you are welcome, Johanna” she murmured.
After she left, I looked up, all five of the men were gaping at me “what? I find it respectful to look at someone when speaking to them, and for them to address them by their name” I muttered, looking back down at my food.
I cocked my head at what was given to me, and wished Logan was here to explain what it was, it studied it for a second, it looked like eggs, but it was a big yellow circle, with a lot of specs of red, green and yellow in it, it had the black specs that I found out were pepper on top of it, my family never raised chickens, the king and queen didn’t allow us to unless we sold the eggs and slaughtered the chicken, we never had any chickens on our farm.
I felt a little embarrassed to be asking this, but, as my father used to say, ignorance in this life is well known, even to the smallest things.
“What is this?” I asked Vivia curiously.
She smiled “that is an Omelet, it’s got what is called, bell peppers in it” she explained.
I nodded “yes, I know what bell peppers are, my family raised them. How do you prepare this “Omelet”?” I asked.
“You mean you have never cooked eggs in this way at your home?” Demetrio asked.
I shook my head “we weren’t allowed to unless we planned to sell the chicken’s eggs, and slaughter the chickens, we weren’t allowed to have any of the produce we raised, my father hunted for venison and pork, and any other meat we could hunt up, my father took me hunting with him quite a few times, it’s quite fun, if you set aside the thought that you are killing a helpless animal” I realized I was rambling and quickly shut my mouth.
Demetrio laughed “so I am guessing you are good with the bow, as well” he said, raising a brow.
I smiled “my father said that I was natural with the bow, I find it quite easy to hit the target I aim at, especially moving targets, I love a challenge” I said, smiling as I remembered my father setting up the targets, and encouraging me to shoot it.
I came back to reality and realized that Salvator was studying me.
“It seems we misjudged you, but we’ll see, we’re having a test tonight, in the armory, we’ll see how skilled you are” Ben grinned under his long beard.
I smiled back “sounds fun” I agreed.
After eating, Vivia took my arm, saying a short goodbye to the men; she led me down to what she called the armory. Men and women alike were forging steel armor and swords of every kind, I saw one man finishing the handle of a Claymore, and another man testing out a broadsword’s sharpness, a woman had a jagged looking dagger, its points were sharp enough to slice through parchment without a single snag.
I was watching in wonder as they forged these beautiful swords while Vivia pulled me along, she pulled me to another part of the armory, this place had an artificial sun, and tanning rocks with leather stretched across them, “here she is, Lucian, ready to be sized” Vivia said to a gruff looking man, who was working on a strong looking leather chest piece.
Lucian looked up and smiled; a much unexpected expression from this gruff looking man. I looked at Vivia and then back at Lucian “ah Johanna, it has been so long since I have seen your face!” he exclaimed.
So this man knew me.
I smiled slightly, not knowing what to say.
“I’m Lucian Stronghold, your father and I are old, old friends. I didn’t get a chance to speak to you at the ceremony; as soon as it was over I had to get back to work. Anyway, let’s get you suited up!” he exclaimed.
Vivia widened her eyes “you do not have to measure her?” she asked.
He shook his head with a laugh “no, she is the same size as her mother, I have been preparing this for three days, along with the others, making the pants and gloves” he explained.
Vivia nodded “okay, well I’ll see to it she is suited up, she is having a “training” session with the rest” Vivia rolled her eyes.
His eyes twinkled “well then, you’ll need a sword! We just happen to have one made, especially for you” he said, grabbing my elbow gently.
He led me toward one of the men, shaping a sword, which he had heated until it was bright red, with a hammer.
“Julian, this is Johanna, do you have her sword ready?” he asked.
Julian nodded with a wide smile on his worn and ashy face. I couldn’t help but grin at the sound it made when he pulled the Broad sword out of the sheath; the sound of metal on metal was so satisfying. He hefted the sword in his hands as if it were heavy, and handed it to me; I grabbed the hilt of the sword
and liked the heavy feel of it in my hands.
“This sword was made of the finest steel we have, with a basket handle made entirely of gold and silver, and the hilt wrapped in leather, I am pleased to say it’s the best weapon I have made since I had the honor of making your father his” he explained, grinning at my pleased look.
I lifted the sword, inspecting the perfectly crafted blade, it was reflective, so much so that I could see my face in the shiny blade, and any light that reflected off of it was intensified and brightened.
I smiled at Julian “it’s perfect!”
He smiled back “thank you, Johanna, it’s an honor to hear you say that” he murmured.
Vivia tapped me on the shoulder “we should get to the “fun yard” as they are now calling it” she murmured with