The Courting Games by Missx Freedom (books for new readers .txt) 📕

Prince Bronn let his hand go and Rina gasped in air desperately. His smile returned. "Excellent, now let's try again. Aldwyn, try to dodge Rina's attack." 

Rina looked dazed but positioned herself to fight. Again, she was fast, but this time I was able to dodge and Rina fell to the ground, letting out a small sqeal. 

"Well done Aldwyn, see, it just takes practice," Prince Bronn said, winking at me. 

I looked down quickly. Had he just strangled Rina? I looked over at her, her face was still flushed and her eyes were bloodshot. 

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She glared at me. "I'm fine," she spat. 

We trained for exactly three hours, then took an thirty minute break which gave us time to roam around the castle grounds. By the time the day was done we had been filled with mountains of food and was sent off to bed. 

"I'm tired," Lavendar said, yawning. "I wonder what we'll encounter tomorrow." 

I shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." 

Lavendar laughed. "I saw what happened to Rina today. She's so up her own arse its ridiculous. You should have heard some of the things she was saying before you got here yesterday. 'Oh, I'm the perfect match for Prince Bronn, I have princess blood in me, my family are so rich, blah blah blah'."

I laughed, out of all the girls, I had to say, Rina seemed the most entitled. Which fitted the whole royal status perfectly. Although, I still couldn't remove the image of Rina's eyes bulging as Prince Bronn suffocated her. 

Lavendar and I prepared for bed, and when I had just taken to laying down a servant knocked gently on the door and peered in. "Aldwyn, dear, Prince Bronn is calling for you." 

My body tensed and I looked over at Lavendar, she was already asleep, lips parted and letting out a gentle snore. 

"Now?" I asked nervously and the servant nodded. 

I followed her down the hall, across a few stairs and up to a candle lit area. We stopped just outside some wooden block doors. The servant knocked and stood back.

"Come in." I heard a faint reply.

The servant opened the door and waited for me to go through. I hesitantly stepped in and looked round, it was a massive chamber. A bed sat in the room upon a small platform. Prince Bronn was resting on the edge, looking over at me.

He gave me chills.

He observed my clothing, and I noticed that all I was wearing was my nightgown and immediately my cheeks began to redden. 

"Come," he says gently, extending a hand for me to take. "I wanted to speak to you."

I took his hand - although I didn't want to - and sat down beside him. He simply looked at me for a moment. "You're very beautiful, Aldwyn."

"Thank you," is all I say.

"And just because you're a half-elf, it doesn't mean anything to me. In fact, you're equally just as important as everyone else here." Prince Bronn said, his hand was still tightly clutching mine. "If Rina or anyone has a problem with who you are, do let me know, and I will sort them for you." 

I nodded, though his words caused a shiver to run along my spine. Sort them for me probably meant causing incredible pain and I certainly didn't want that to happen. Prince Bronn was cruel. The idea of marrying him made me feel sick. 

Prince Bronn then brought his face close to mine and placed a kiss upon my cheek. I closed my eyes tight. Waiting for him to send me away.

"Goodnight, Aldwyn, I do hope you and I can speak more later on." Prince Bronn whispered into my ear.

I got up quickly, offered a small curtesy and left.

Although he hadn't done anything I felt completely unsettled.

The next day, we were taken back to the grounds to continue our training. Only this time, it was more intense. There was an array of bows set against a long wooden pole. We were told to take one each. There were also ten fighting dummies lined up for each of us, and we had to stand behind a marked line to practice our aiming and shooting. 

"Take your time." Theoden, one trainer, said. He watched as each of us took turns trying to hit the dummies with our arrows. Most missed, except for Rina, Lia and Melian.

"Well done, the three of you," Theoden praised, and the three girls shared a toothy grin with one another. "You'll all have another chance to have a go and then we'll practice on one another."

I gawked. "You mean, we're going to shoot at each other?" I asked.

"Obviously, but you should think about hiding rather than shooting," Rina shot. The girls sniggered.

"Yes, but we'll be shooting with round foam tips, they're safe and won't harm you," Theoden reassured, sending a stern look at Rina. 

Prince Bronn didn't join us today. We were told that he was busy attending matters regarding the palace. Although his sister and brother checked in on us at one point. 

We took turns shooting at one another, I, of course, missed entirely, and by the end of the activicty, had pretty much given up.

When we were told we could take a break, I found a seating spot underneath a cherry blossom tree. I drank from an icy bottle of water, relieved to have finally got the chance to rest. I'd been training for two hours. 

For most of the girls here, it was a competition, even though the Games hadn't commenced yet, they seemed eager to prove their strengths to one another, and it was exhausting.

Prince Bronns' sister comes over to me. She takes a seat on the ground beside me, and offered a smile. "Hi, Aldwyn."

I look over at her. "You know my name?"

She laughed softly. "Of course, Prince Bronn speaks about you the most."

Why was Prince Bronn so keen on me? His fascination scared me, his coldness offered no comfort and I didn't want anything to do with it. 

"Oh." I reply. 

"My name is Angel," she says. "How are you finding it here?" She asked. 

"I feel out of place," I reply honestly.

"Because you're half-elf?" 

I nodded.

"Well, if it doesn't bother Bronn then I shouldn't worry," she replied, leaning back and resting her head on the trunk of the tree. "My parents despise half-elves, they say there's absolutely no purpose in them and they might as well live in the human world. But me and my brother have always found half-elves quite fascinating," Angel says, she picks at the grass by her legs and lets them flutter away in the breeze. "We would go to the library when we were younger and read books about the power of half-elves - you'd be surprised at your abilities."

I looked over at her, slightly surprised she was so forthcoming. The stories I had heard about her family suddenly became harder to believe, although, I would guess it was probably her parents that committed most of them. 

"What do you mean?" I ask, curiousity overcoming me now.

"Why don't you meet me in the library after your training and I'll show you some books, perhaps it might help you in the Games." 

For the first time since being here, I felt a sudden urge of hope run through me. "Okay."

Five more hours we trained, and by the time we were done I was drenched in layers of sweat. I'd missed most of my shots on the fighting dummies, but it was due to the lack of motivation I had developed and was no longer trying. We'd also taken more time to practice our dodging and punching techniques, and of course, I'd had little success in defeating anyone. 

A small headache reached the side of my temples and I massaged them gently with my fingers. 

"Are you going back to our room?" Lavender asked, following close behind me.

"No, I'm heading to the library." 

"Okay, I'm going to go and take a bath, my muscles are on fire," Lavendar replies.

It took me a couple of tries to locate the library, entering a couple rooms where high-class strangers sat, observing my messy state with raised eyebrows and I would quickly apologise and carry on to the next room. The library was massive, filled with frontline shelves and a few seating areas with green glass bankers lamps that rested on oak tables. Glass skylights hung over us, letting in the evening sun. 

Angel was sat in the far corner, it was almost difficult to distinguish her, she looked different compared to earlier. Her bleached white hair was pulled tightly up now and she wore wire-framed glasses. 

She spotted me as I headed toward her and gave a small wave. "Hi, Aldwyn," Angel says. She has a stack of books on the table. "I've got a couple guides for you. They're based mostly on the abilities of the half-elves. I won't make you read them all, you haven't got time, but I'll direct you to the important pages that you should try and read before the Games. Some of them have guides on abilities and others have tips on how to use them properly."

I nod, sending her a smile of appreciation. 

Angel flicks through a page from a dusty leather-coated book. It's thick and its pages are tattered and ripped, although its still readable, it looks like its been read many times. 

"Here." Angel points to a page with the heading: THE MAGIC OF HALF ELVES: LEARNING HOW TO USE YOUR POWER.

I look at it, surprised there was even anything like this in the world, I'd never come across teachings involving helping half-elves before.

The text where Angel pointed read:

Half-elves, despite lacking certain core elements to be as diverse in power as full-elves, are still able to focus on their specific abilities they possess, and at times, can use these abilities to outstrengthen full-elves. Practice is essential here, and can take up to a number of years to properly master.

"Years?" I say outloud, disappointed. 

Angel tuts. "Nonsense, not when you've got a good teacher to teach you." I look over at her, she beams. "I'm great at it, my parents put me in the top elemental school for abilities. I know I'm full-elf, but I'm certain I can teach you. We just need to find your specific power abilities."

"How long will that take?" I ask worriedly.

"Not long at all, meet me at the grounds after the servants do their last checks on you. Here." Angel passes me a small bronze key. "This is for the door to the gardens. You'll have to go through the kitchens, its right at the back - a wooden door. You won't miss it." She gets up, and takes the books on the table, handing them to me. "Take these to your room and read, I've put paper on each important page I think will help you the most."

"Thank you," I say, shocked by how helpful she was being. I looked at her, biting my lip. "Is this cheating?"

Angel locks eyes with me. "No."

                                                                                                    -

Two servants had completed their rounds