Chapter Sixteen

"Ryan, focus," Riven grumbled when the fire-wielder stumbled over the same tree root for the third time in a few minutes. He knew it had been a while since their last training and, though he knew what was distracting the Simia heir, namely two brown eyes that tried their hardest not to stare at him, that was no excuse to fumble so easily. The guard threw a rock at his friend, hitting him square in the back of his head, maybe a little harder than strictly necessary. "For the last time, keep them both in your eyesight," he tried not to shout. Ryan's behaviour was pissing him off, and it wasn't entirely the heir's fault. He knew it was easy to get distracted when a pretty girl kept looking at you, since Nieve was following his every move like she was trying to memorise his movements. If he couldn't get distracted by those beautiful grey eyes, Ryan couldn't either.

Ryan swore under his breath as he scratched the back of his head but did as Riven instructed and stepped back so he could keep an eye on his sister and his fiancée. Their objective was to get him on the floor, his was to stay upright until Riven said their time was up. The guard hadn't told them how long that would be, so it was anyone's guess. He jumped out of the way when he saw Kaitlyn squint just before vines reached for his legs, and quickly crouched when Evangeline waved her arms and he was hit by a small storm. He didn't know how his friend expected him to endure this for a long period of time, but maybe the lesson was that he couldn't. Sometimes it was hard to figure Riven out. On second thought, he was impossible to figure out.

Ryan shook his head, as if to dislodge a thought, now was not the time to figure his friend out. He created fire in his hands and threw a fireball at Evangeline before he sprinted for his sister. Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes and changed her stance, as if to ready herself for the impact of his body knocking her down. His fingers brushed the younger Simia's arm right before he got knocked down by a blast of air. As soon as he hit the floor, vines curled around his arms and legs and pinned him there. His heart squeezed a little when he heard a gasp from the side-lines. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could picture the worry that furrowed her brows and the concern in her brown eyes. He could also see her friend with the steely grey eyes glare at him.

Riven clenched his jaws, hearing the thoughts his friend had about Layla and Nieve, and turned to the two handmaids, leaving the Simia heir to squirm on the floor a little longer. "Maybe you two should take a break," he said, mostly speaking to the girl that had been occupying more and more of his thoughts. She looked at him, wide-eyed for a split second before she nodded and pulled her friend along. She might not be able to read minds, but she could read him just fine.

"Alright, let him go," Riven finally released the man on the floor, who stood up with a scowl on his face, but had enough sense to keep his lips sealed.

"Nieve?" Layla asked softly, staring up at the ceiling. The two women had decided to take the unexpected free time and lie down in bed, though both of them probably couldn't sleep. Neither of them were used to having lay-ins, so being able to lie down in the middle of the day just felt good.

"Hmm," the brunette responded, her eyes closed.

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?" the blonde asked, catching her friend's interest.

Nieve opened her eyes and turned onto her side so she could face her. "I'm not friends with anyone here but you, so who would I tell?" she stated the almost obvious truth; she supposed there was Jacqueline, but the girl was a real gossip, so she wouldn't tell her anything personal. She saw her friend give a small conceding smile.

"Fair point," Layla acknowledged, still not looking at her friend.

"So… what is it?"

"I… I think I'm… in love with Ryan," the blonde confessed softly.

"How?" Nieve asked as she sat up a little to look at her friend properly. She knew that, aside from the first few days where admittedly they got on like a house on fire, the two had barely exchanged words. "All he's done is ignore you," she pointed out when she didn't get a response.

"I know, but…" Layla sighed, finally opening her eyes and turning her face to look back at the brunette. "There's something about him, that I can't help liking," she explained, badly.

"Liking something about him is not the same as love," her friend pointed out practically.

"I can't explain it, but I know I do love him," the blonde said, giving her a helpless smile as she sat up and curled up in the corner against the wall. She could see her friend still didn't understand, and she wasn't sure she did herself. There was an element of gratitude to the Simia heir for having taken them from their poor lives in the Marsh, but she knew it went beyond just gratitude. Ryan had surprised her when he'd scolded Evangeline for the tone that she'd used to address Nieve, or when he'd brought his sister flowers from the garden one day, even though she could pretty much grow her own whenever she wanted. It was the little things he did that endeared him to her.

"Okay, well… there's nothing you can about it, he's engaged to… her," Nieve shrugged now, not sure what good it would do her friend to say her feelings out loud or indeed entertain any fantasies about a good outcome.

Layla sighed as she sank further into her corner, pulling her bedspread higher around her. She nodded to her friend's words as she fought back her tears. "I know," she sniffed. "I just… I wanted to say it out loud just once," she tried not to start crying, seeing her friend's look soften ever so slightly.

"Please don't cry," Nieve sighed. She immediately got up and joined Layla on her bed, curling under the covers next to her. "You know love's not in the cards for us," she added, surprising herself by how much those words stung. She pushed down the feeling, and the fleeting image of two bright blue eyes that formed in her mind, and hugged her friend. "We've got each other, what else do we need, right?" she tried to joke, getting a small chuckle from Layla in reply as the blonde snuggled closer.

"You're right," the blonde smiled, pecking her friend on the cheek briefly.

"I can't believe we beat you. Twice," Kaitlyn gloated. She grinned at her brother when his scowl deepened, and he gave her a small shove. Their training had been harder on him than ever. He knew why Riven had sent Layla away, but he didn't like it, and it had made him lose his focus even more.

"I just didn't want you to get hurt," he replied, suppressing a growl when she started laughing.

"That's never stopped you before," she continued her teasing. "Don't be angry, Ryan. You'll be losing to us for the rest of your life now you're getting married."

Her brother sighed and decided he needed some time away from his sister and his fiancée, so told them he needed something from his room and rushed off before Kaitlyn could ask him why.

"Riven, I can't marry her," Ryan said as he sank down on his sofa, trying not to panic after hearing his sister's teasing. Marrying Evangeline had been a fact that he thought he'd accepted, but when Kaitlyn said 'for the rest of your life' panic struck. Hard.

"Of course, you can," his friend encouraged, knowing this would be a repeat of previous conversations. The Simia heir might still be entertaining flights of fancy for his sister's handmaid, but he'd follow protocol and he'd follow the plan set out for his life. He always did in the end, even if he might protest a little along the way.

"No, I can't."

His tone was so serious that Riven looked at him with more scrutiny, trying to figure out what had changed. He tried not to rely on his ability to read his thoughts, but his expression and posture wasn't giving anything away. "You can't be," he said when he picked up on the direction of his friend's thoughts.

"Why not?"

"Lots of reasons. You're engaged to Evangeline. Layla is a common and your sister's server. You barely know her," his bodyguard started listing.

"I do know her," his friend countered. "I've been listening and watching her while I've pretended to ignore her. And Kaitlyn's told me lots about her," he said, aware it sounded a little creepy. "Riven…"

"Don't say it."

"I'm in love with her," Ryan said it out loud for the first time. And he knew that, now he had, he couldn't go back to ignoring her or his feelings. He had to properly start thinking of ways to get out of his impending marriage.

"You really are, aren't you?" his friend said, sounding surprised. Riven had obviously heard most of the heir's thoughts when it came to the blonde server, but he'd always thought it hadn't gone beyond a teenage infatuation. "Fine," he sighed when his friend nodded. "But until we come up with a proper plan, promise you won't do anything rash?"

Ryan grudgingly nodded. "Promise."