Lucien (2)

When Lucien left Aliana's room she had never felt more confused in her life. She laid on her bed staring up at the ceiling as the thoughts raced in her head. Lucien made her feel something she had never felt before plus they had known each other for years and Sam made her feel adventurous and safe.

She began to wonder who she would choose to bring along with her as her choice from Eddis. As she pondered her choices she fell soundly asleep.

*** Aliana was running down the hall giggling, she was being chased by a boy who towered over her. She was about eight years old and he was twelve. She had just stolen his favorite sword and was trying to find a hiding place for it when he discovered her. She was small and quick but the boy had longer legs and caught up to her quickly. He lunged at her and wrestled her to the ground, trying to get his sword back.

"Hey, give it back, Princess," Lucien growled as he tried to pry the sword from her tiny but strong grip.

"Why should I," the tiny girl countered. "You left it sitting out so finders keepers rules work here."

Lucien rolled around until he was on top of Aliana and he held her tiny hands in his.

"Let go," Lucien yelled. He lifted Aliana's hand holding the sword and slammed it to the ground repeatedly to try to get her to let go but she was relentless.

"You're going have to try better than that," She snarled. Even as a small child she had a ferocity in her that was hard to contain. Aliana managed to grapple her way on top of Lucien still gripping his sword and unsheathed it.

Lucien stared up at her in shock. "Ali, that's a real sword and not a practice one," he said worriedly. "Please put it back in its sheath before you hurt me or yourself!"

She narrowed her eyes for a moment at him before listening to his words. Aliana didn't know it was a real sword so she put it back in its case.

Lucien sighed in relief and threw Aliana off of him and grabbed his sword from her. She yelped in surprise and by the time she realized what was happening Lucien was holding the sword at her neck.

She looked down in surprise and smirked. "Am I supposed to be scared, Luci?"

"Don't call me that stupid nickname," He grumbled. "You should be because I could end your life right here if I wanted."

"Are you sure about that?" Aliana asked as she looked down again, she was holding a small knife against his thigh near the femoral artery.

Lucien looked down and cursed under his breath. He underestimated the princess and her cunningness because of how small and innocent she looked to him.

"Alright, I'll put my sword away and you put your knife away on the count of three," Lucien sighed. "One, two, three..."***

A knock at the door startled Aliana out of her dream, she groaned and then mumbled to come in.

Edith and Janie came in and moved the covers off of their princess and began filling the bath for her. She sat up bleary-eyed and remembered her dream of her and Lucien as children. They had almost gotten caught by their parents, they weren't allowed to have weapons inside but both of them loved to break that rule any chance they got. She giggled at the memory.

"What are you laughing at?" Edith asked curiously.

Aliana blushed. "Oh, just a funny dream I had last night."

"That's nice, I'm glad it wasn't a nightmare," Edith said cheerfully. "Your bath is ready too, Miss."

Aliana walked over to the bath and eased in until her head sank all the way under the water. She stayed there until her lungs started to give out and burst to the surface with a gasp.

Edith looked startled when Aliana got out of the tub immediately but handed her a towel to dry herself off.

"I'm sparring with Lucien after breakfast so I shall take a proper bath after that," Aliana giggled.

The maid nodded and got out a pair of loose black linen pants and a light sleeveless blue shirt for her to wear. She helped her mistress dress and plaited her hair in a simple braid that she wound into a bun that she tied with some thin ribbon.

Aliana looked in the mirror with a competitive gleam in her eyes, she hadn't had a decent sparring match in weeks and she was ready to fight Lucien.

A knock at the door revealed Lucien after Janie opened the door for him. He was wearing a similar outfit as Aliana, a pair of brown pants and a loose white shirt. His hair was tucked behind his ears and he had a lopsided grin on his face.

"Ready for breakfast, Princess?" Lucien asked. He was leaning lazily against the door with his arms crossed.

"I am ready to get it over with so I can kick your ass," Aliana grinned.

Edith helped her into her sandals and Aliana grabbed Lucien's arm for him to lead them to breakfast.

"You sound so confident this morning," Lucien remarked as they walked to the dining room.

"I had a dream about the time I stole your sword," She giggled. "I held my ground then, so I think I'll be okay."

Lucien looked startled but gave her a small smile. He remembered the small princess holding the knife to his thigh ready to cut if she needed to. That was when Lucien realized how powerful she was going to be when she grew up.

"Yeah, I remember almost getting caught with my sword to your neck and your knife at my femoral," he muttered. "You were a scary child."

Aliana punched his side lightly and grinned at him. "You helped in that by sparring with me and helping me with my swordplay."

Lucien chuckled and nodded in agreement. "You have always been so fearless."

The couple walked into the small dining room that was covered in different meats and other high-protein dishes. Aliana grinned at the breakfast before her as Lucien pulled her seat out for her and pushed her in closer to the table.

"I figured since we were going to be sparring we should eat lots of protein as fuel this morning," Lucien explained.

"This is so perfect, Luci," Aliana said as she piled her plate with various meats and eggs. She dove right in and started to eat.

"I'm glad," Lucien chuckled. "I know it's not what the other guys did so I was a bit worried."

Aliana rolled her eyes. "You gave us the fuel for a fight, how can I be disappointed about that?"

Lucien grinned and dug into his food as well. They were both eager to start sparring and seeing how the other has improved over the years.