The Prince asks for you

Lucien walked to the table where a barrel of water was hitched and poured himself a glass of water. The fresh smell of grass and mud and the clanking of swords as they clashed against each other, was Lucien's favorite thing about the training ground.

He looked around, watching in awe as men and boys practiced sword fight and the basis of combat. His favorite part of the training ground was the section for dragon warriors. He loved to watch the beautiful display of both the water dragons and the fire dragons. Water dragons always had scaly blue skin, some with a mixture of black in them. Fire dragons on the other hand had scaly red skin with patches of black or grey. Seeing dragon warriors in their elements was a magical sight.

Lucien hobbled back to his spot in the dragon warrior section, since he could not practice with them now, he might as well watch. He searched the arena with his eyes, hoping to spot Soren, but he didn't.

"Prince Lucien!" a young boy ran towards where Lucien sat, waving his hand.

Lucien waved back with a smile, "Oswald!"

The young boy dusted the seat beside Lucien and sat beside him, "I heard you came back, but I didn't think we'd be seeing you so soon," the boy chattered excitedly.

"I can't stay in bed for too long. Besides I am not here to practice, I am here to watch you all practice." Lucien ruffled the young boy's curly brown hair. "So how is it going? Gotten your dragon yet?"

Oswald frowned slightly, he shook his head, "No I haven't. All I can do is control the flow of water, I can't turn yet."

"Why the glum look? You are just sixteen, there is no rush!" Lucien gave the boy's shoulder a slight nudge.

"Mico got his dragon and he's ten!" Oswald said, his words spiked with frustration. "All my friends have gotten their dragon, it's just me left."

Lucien chuckled knowingly, he understood the boy's frustration because he had been in the boy's position a few years ago.

"Do you know when I first got my dragon?"

Oswald shook his head.

"I was twenty-three. Soren was the first to get his dragon, he was eleven years old, and Draven was thirteen when he got his."

Oswald looked at Lucien in shock, this was news to him.

"To make matters worse, I am the crown prince. The pressure was too much and then people started to talk. Imagine how I felt then." Lucien could remember it like it was yesterday. To make things worse Zarek had gotten his dragon earlier. Some of the councilmen had already started pushing for the king to make Zarek the crown prince, only a dragon could lead the people of Arvenia.

Lucien would stay at the training ground until late at night, practicing his form to release his dragon. Soren and Draven would stay with him until he wore himself out. Then he would go home and return early the next morning to continue training.

"So how did you do it? Get your dragon I mean," Oswald quizzed.

"I practiced twice as hard, and I didn't give up, even when my teacher told me to train with the foot soldiers, that maybe I did not have a dragon in me, I defied him and continued training," Lucien chuckled at the memory.

"So it doesn't matter that your friends have gotten their dragon before you, all you need to do is work on yourself and you will see results, I guarantee that."

Oswald nodded, he had listened to Lucien in awe; he couldn't have imagined that the crown prince had to work hard to earn his place amongst the dragon knight, irrespective of the fact that his father was the king. Unlike Prince Zarek who didn't even train with the rest of them, and had his tutor teach him separately at the castle grounds.

Oswald stood to his feet, "Let me get back to training then."

Lucien nodded, with a smile.

"I'm glad you're back," he said as he ran off.

Lucien watched the boy disappear amongst the crowd before focusing on the two men in front of him conjuring fire.

 …

Levina was with her father in the physician's tent when a royal guard came to call her, "The prince requested for you," the man stated. She and her father exchanged glances before she followed the hefty man. Throughout the long walk from the infirmary to the field, she wondered what Lucien wanted. After her talk with her father, she resolved to avoid the prince as much as she possibly could, she didn't want anything to do with the royal family. Not because she was scared of them, but for her father's peace of mind, and also to avoid any unnecessary drama.

People that had ever had dealings with the royal family always had one issue or another in the end. Once a maid had been accused of stealing Queen Lucretia's jewelry and was thrown into jail for it. There were rumors that the maid had planned to sell it and use the money to run away with a lover, others said she was falsely accused.

Levina took steady breaths when she sighted the prince, he was in the company of a young boy and they were sharing laughs. She didn't take the prince to be one who associated with commoners like his brother Prince Zarek did. Prince Zarek would never want to be in the same room as other patients, he would request the royal physician to come to the castle and treat him there. Lucien had kind eyes, like the first day they met at the market, and he… she shook her head. Why was she thinking about him?

The royal family is off limits, she reminded herself.

When they got to where the prince sat, the boy was already gone.

"My Lord," the guard bowed slightly.

Lucien smiled, "You may leave;"

The guard left them but stood a few feet behind the prince. Levina bowed her head, "You sent for me, my lord."