The Royal Deal

“Lunia!” Amethyst exclaimed.

“Hello, my Lady. My name is Lunia, and I will be serving you.”

Amethyst leapt out of bed and tackled her with a big embrace.

“That wasn’t nice.” Lunia mumbled, with a hint of a snicker.

“I’m sorry,” Amethyst smiled back.

“Do you know how much I searched for you?”

Amethyst looked at her as if she was nuts.

“I said I would resign and chase you after you.” Lunia was being serious. “But I was stopped by Gen and scolded for my reckless behaviour.”

Amethyst felt horrible that she caused so much trouble. “Lunia, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t even thinking of the people around me. You see, I was…”

“I don’t care now.” Lunia stopped her. “I’m just happy you came back safely. That’s enough for me. You’re not going anywhere else now, right? You’re not leaving?”

“Not at all,” Amethyst laughed.

“Roman will soon be here…” Lunia began.

The bedroom door suddenly flew open and Roman ran in to hug Amethyst. “Ma’am!!”

“…to greet you,” Lunia finished, smiling.

“I’m sorry.” Roman quickly detached himself and stepped back, realizing he had just touched his Mistress’ body without permission.

Amethyst responded with a bright smile. “It’s quite all right.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Roman said. “I was so worried when you suddenly said you were going to be studying abroad. Then the Duke disappeared.”

“Uh, Roman.” Lunia said carefully. Apparently, this was a topic they were not supposed to discuss.

“I’m sorry,” Roman said, backing down.

“Well, you know what comes next,” Lunia said, handing Amethyst some clothing.

***

“Sir Hill!” Amethyst was all smiles when she arrived at the training grounds in the comfortable garments that Lunia had provided for her. The knights were all gathered there.

“Oh my, look who’s here!” Sir Hill announced.

The knights all gathered around, welcoming her back.

“How is everyone doing?” Amethyst asked. “Everyone seems the same as when I left.”

“You’re looking a little different,” Sir Hill mentioned. “You’re a bit lighter?” He pointed at her hair.

“How is it?” Amethyst asked. “Do I look more like a knight? I look sharp, right?”

“It’s not bad,” Leyrian answered. The knights looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders, not caring what anyone thought.

Amethyst could not stop smiling as they greeted her like an old friend who they hadn’t seen for a while. “So, what brings you to the training grounds?” Sir Hill asked.

“Why do you think I’m here? I’m here to learn swordsmanship,” Amethyst announced.

“Swordsmanship?” Sir Hill looked to be in shock.

“You know, the sword ability thing. I want to learn the moves that make your opponents not able to fight. That’s possible without magic, right?”

Hill, Leyrian, and even Buer looked at one another, silent at her rambling. “It is different from magic but how did you know about these moves? And why do you want to learn it?”

“I was attacked by it before.” Amethyst said. There was no point in beating around the bush. She didn’t want to hide anything anymore.

Buer was taken aback. “Before? When? Who was it? How dare they! I won’t let them be! I’ll go and kill them!”

“He’s already been taken care of by Alec, so you don’t have to worry,” Amethyst said, hoping to calm the knight. “I just…”

“No.” Sir Hill’s answer cut Amethyst’s words off. She glared at his abrupt answer.

“Why?” she asked.

“First, you have no reason to use it.”

“What do you mean?” Amethyst felt that she had as much right to train as anyone else.

“Don’t you know?” Sir Hill said in wonder. “There are now five shadows that protect you without you even knowing they are there.”

Amethyst had no idea. She couldn’t even sense them. How long had her hidden guards been following her? She assumed they were there by the order of Alec, which meant they would have been there the first day she returned.

“I didn’t know,” Amethyst said, looking around to try to spot the hidden guards.

“Of course, you wouldn’t know. They’re very skilled. It takes a highly skilled knight to sense their presence.”

“Even so, should I not prepare myself for the worst-case scenario?” The knights all knew how stubborn Amethyst was. Sir Hill sighed.

“You have to join the order of the knights first. And you need to reach a middle-class standing, which requires a great amount of training. It might be too much for you to handle.”

“I won’t know that until I try. I have a fair bit of stamina; I think I can handle it.”

“You’ll be busy taking care of parts of the Skad family’s business affairs, so you won’t have time to train. Besides, there’s no way the duke would even allow it.”

“So, you’re saying if I get Alec’s permission, you’ll allow me to do it?” Amethyst had him trapped.

Hill caressed his beard thoughtfully, then hesitantly nodded. He had decided it would be easier to let the duke handle it, rather than trying to stop her himself. Amethyst smiled, then scanned the faces of the knights.

“Where’s Sir Barden?”

“He’s on vacation. He’s probably at his home,” Sir Hill answered. “He stayed at the Skad mansion, alone, after everyone got fired. We gave him a vacation as a reward for his loyalty as a knight.”

Amethyst looked like Sir Hill, confused. “What do you mean everyone got fired?”