Evanthe raced out of the study, the scrolls in her arm.
She didn't want to learn about the empire at all. They were the least of her worries. It wasn't Qaiyaron that she was concerned about but the founding families. The Somneri. The Arodian kingdom. Her own country. She needed to know more about the very system of her kingdom itself and not some other empire. They weren't the ones who were responsible for the fall of the Cernat family.
She gritted her teeth.
Tutor Wiktor infuriated her.
She thought having him by her side would be a benefit, and while he did impart a lot of knowledge, she didn't find them useful at all. She felt time slipping away. Soon, it will be winter. And then a new year would begin. She still felt stuck. Time was moving too fast, yet she wasn't growing quickly enough. She looked down at her tiny frame. Her lack of agency and her child-like appearance gave her no advantage.
And that wasn't all.
She needed to learn how to fight. To defend. What was the point of accumulating knowledge when she doesn't use it? She needed to protect her family. She had waited long enough. She would ask her father if she could join her brothers on the training grounds.
But with what reason?
She pondered.
She needed to make the request as nonchalant as possible because knowing her father, he was just as perceptive as Eomer, but even more so. Thinking that it was about time she should be visiting Eugen, she made a detour into her room and dumped the scrolls on her writing desk before leaving for the Cernat courtyard.
It was chilly when she left the mansion that Nanny Pagna, upon seeing the young lady leaving the mansion, rushed to stop her.
"Young miss, where are you going dressed like that?"
"Just for a short walk around the estate. It won't take long, I'm fine with the cold," Evanthe breathed in the autumn air and smiled to herself. Unfortunately, her nanny did not share the same sentiment and clucked with disapproval.
"No, you are not. You will have to wear thicker clothes! What would happen if you catch a cold?"
Before Evanthe could retort, Nanny Pagna ushered the lady back up the marble steps and into her room where she called a few maids to dress the lady in suitable clothes.
"You can go take a walk without me, but I insist that at least you wear proper clothes,"
Evanthe silently obeyed.
She knew her nanny was upset with her recent change of attitude. But Evanthe couldn't help it. She didn't know if her nanny was being genuine. She figured if she could just ignore and not call for her, it would lessen the need of having her nanny around. But who was she kidding? Nanny Pagna was always around her. She was there the moment Evanthe was born. The relationship could not be easily severed.
The maids bustled around their young mistress, replacing her formal dress for an attire that was fitting for the outdoors. They tied Evanthe's ebony hair up to a ponytail at her request and prepared her walking boots.
Evanthe hurried out after her change, worried she might miss Eugen during his training. Compared to his older brother, Eugen had more freedom and could choose what he wanted to specialise in. Thus, most of Eugen's schedule was filled with combat classes held outdoors.
She wondered if Eugen was still bitter about her lessons with Eomer. Eugen was originally the one closest to Evanthe. But now that most of her time was spent studying indoors, she didn't have the chance to visit Eugen. She fiddled with the strings of her cape as she approached the courtyard.
She was nervous.
While she still saw Eugen during meal times as a family, he did not feel the same. He felt different. She didn't know how to approach him, it was as if there was a brick wall obstructing them from making a normal conversation. Besides greetings, she did not really converse with Eugen. It felt really awkward.
Evanthe knew she had to make things right.
Besides Eugen, their older brother was also different. Eomer changed too-- he became more expressive and open in front of Evanthe. Before, he would always dwell on his own, mostly keeping things to himself. But now he was willing to share things-- his opinions, his feelings. His concealed facade slowly unveiled a young boy playing the part of the next heir; a boy who was just eager to please.
Evanthe found his change welcoming; the weight of Cernat was probably the cause that drove Eomer to hide his true emotions. She understood. And she felt happy that he trusted her enough to reveal his inner feelings.
She sighed.
Now she just hoped Eugen would be willing to talk to her.
Evanthe went over to a wide area behind the family's mansion, past the maze gardens that was part of the Cernat estate. The dirt ground was made levelled and covered with a mix of sand and stone as a foundation. Men of Cernat stood around the training grounds, wielding weapons and talking loudly to each other-- their boisterous chatter could be heard a mile away.
Most of them were sweating profusely and sitting idly by the side, already done with their training for the day. Others were in fighting stances, still in practice with their opponent. Evanthe knew there were barracks not far from the courtyard, covered by the thick trees behind the estate, occupied by the House's soldiers.
Sometimes Eugen would spend his nights there during training and back then, Evanthe remembered her dislike coming to this place. Eugen would sometimes drag Evanthe out to the courtyard and even though the men were cordial and friendly towards Evanthe, she felt scared. Alienated. Foreign. She didn't feel safe, even though the soldiers were precisely there to protect the Cernat family.
She was ignorant then.
She should have shown more respect.
As Evanthe approached the site, most of the soldiers halted their practice, surprised to see their young lady on the training grounds. A large, built man with a beard stepped out from the group and grinned when he saw Evanthe coming closer. Evanthe felt a sudden wave of recognition.
This was Aldier.
Father's most trusted retainer. He was there during the fall of Cernat. He stood by her father, slashing the enemies as the Kleron guards stormed into the house. He was there when Father died. And he died with him.
"My lady! What brings you here?" Aldier cheerfully asked.
Evanthe was overcome with emotions and felt the urge to hug him. He really did all he could.
Before he could say more, Evanthe suddenly burst into tears. Aldier started panicking.
"My lady, what's wrong? I apologise if I offended you,"
Aldier tried to placate the child and patted her but Evanthe's tears kept streaming down her face.
"Aldier, it might be that you're scaring her," another man called out from the group. The men surrounding Evanthe tried to cheer her up but she felt even more overwhelmed.
Why was she ever scared of them before?
"Ah, I'm sorry if my appearance frightens you, my lady, but I assure you I'm a good person," Aldier stammered but was pushed aside by the man who spoke earlier.
"Pardon the brute, my lady. That was Aldier. His looks may seem terrifying but he's a nice person. I'm Nuerweis. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
The man had impeccable speech and Evanthe noticed he was a knight from a noble house her father had elected to serve Cernat. He, too, was there in the nightmare. Evanthe tried to calmly breathe.
He bowed and smiled, his copper-coloured hair covering his eyes. Evanthe wiped her tears and did a little curtsy.
"No, I apologise for losing my composure. I wasn't afraid, I was just... um.. overwhelmed," Evanthe coughed.
Aldier flinched behind his comrade when he heard Evanthe's words. He would never know what Evanthe actually meant by that.
"I came to look for my brother," she continued but saw a familiar face with the same raven-coloured hair already walking towards her.
Her brother showed no signs of delight in his sister's appearance, but there was a look of surprise on his face. Perhaps he was just shocked to see her there. Eugen knew Evanthe never liked being on the training grounds.
"What are you doing here?"
Eugen pulled his sister away from the prying eyes of his fellow soldiers and got her to sit on the grass at the edge of the courtyard. The men, sensing Eugen's displeasure, quickly got back to their training, trying very hard not to pay attention to the Cernat children. It wasn't every day they got a visit from the youngest child.
"So what are you doing here?" Eugen repeated as he sat down next to Evanthe and chugged down a canteen of water.
Evanthe fiddled with her cape.
"I just wanted to watch you train,"
Eugen almost spat out his water.
"You? Here?" Eugen wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
"You were upset that I was spending more time with Eomer. I guess I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Evanthe plucked the grass beside her and twirled it between her fingers.
Eugen looked down, feeling guilty. Now it seemed like his bitterness was misplaced. He probably just missed her, but he didn't want to admit it. He remained silent.
Evanthe continued.
"So I thought I'll spend some time with you today. Watch you do some moves. Maybe if I feel like it, I'd like to try. Maybe you can teach me," Evanthe grinned.
Eugen's head whipped up, dumbfounded. While he was obviously flattered by Evanthe's words, he couldn't help but feel odd. His sister wanted to try combat moves? What was going on?
"I mean I don't mind you watching me but..." He eyed her suspiciously for a minute. "I don't know whether you can even do them,"
Evanthe smiled.
"Show me something easy then!"
Eugen got Evanthe to stand and dragged Nuerweis to where Evanthe stood. He showed her basic moves with Nuerweis as his sparring partner and she looked on fascinated. Eugen displayed trained concentration as he exchanged punches and kicks with his partner, and while there was the disadvantage of a height difference, Eugen performed really well, using his tiny frame and agility to dodge attacks.
Eugen was excellent in the art of combat.
After they were done sparring, Eugen turned to Evanthe, sweat dribbling down his forehead.
"So did you get it?"
Evanthe laughed.
"Of course not. Both of you moved way too fast. But you were really cool!" Evanthe gushed. Eugen blushed but proceeded to slowly teach Evanthe some basic punching techniques.
"When you clench your fist, you don't ball it up with your thumb tucked inside, you'll get hurt when you punch someone," He showed her his balled fist and Evanthe quickly corrected hers, finding herself doing what Eugen told her not to do.
"Right, that's the way. Want to try your punch out?" He got ready into a fighting stance.
Evanthe looked puzzled.
"You want me to punch you?"
Eugen nodded. Evanthe was afraid she would hurt her brother so she threw a light punch, but it was deflected easily to the side. The impact wasn't as strong when he deflected but she stumbled, amazed.
"That was too soft! Don't worry about me and give it your best," Eugen encouraged.
Evanthe punched harder but was again deflected. The impact this time reverberated through her body, causing her to almost lose her footing. But she managed to catch herself and stood her ground.
She was bewildered by her brother's strength. How strong was he? Evanthe marvelled at the possibility of becoming great just like Eugen. Would she be able to do it? Would she be able to be as powerful as him?
The siblings' little spectacle attracted an audience as they sparred. The men of Cernat stopped what they were doing and looked on, finding the children adorable. However, what started out as a light-hearted scene spiralled into something serious.
The performance escalated a little too quickly.
Evanthe made her punches quicker and harder, and while Eugen had no problem dodging them, he forgot that his sister was never a trained soldier to begin with.
Distracted by the attention of the men, he deflected Evanthe's arm with a little more strength than he intended. Evanthe felt her whole figure trembled as the force spread through her entire body. It was similar to the previous blocks Eugen did but this was also in a way different. She felt the rush of power.
But she also felt fear.
She lost control of her movements the moment his arm hit hers.
The shock sent Evanthe flying to the ground, her face hitting the cold stone-hard floor. She tried to get up but her knees buckled beneath her, refusing to cooperate. Her energy seemed to have left her. Evanthe felt dazed. She looked around and time seemed to stop. Everyone appeared calling out to her in slow motion. Eugen was running towards her, his eyes wet with tears.
He was a few feet away. Eugen must have hit her a lot harder than he planned.
Something wet dripped down her brow.
Evanthe touched her forehead and what greeted her was the sight of crimson.
Remembering the awful visions that haunted her in the night, Evanthe grew cold.
The blood made her stomach churned and she retched.
