Anastasia (The Bolton Series Book 1) (15 page)

“Where’s the Master?”

“He had to leave but he didn’t want to cancel practice. So it’s just me and you.”

Great
.
I thought remembering what Kenelm told me back at the study. I quickly stopped and grabbed my plastic sword from him and walked to the dusty mat.

Yelson didn’t look as amused as he normally did but I didn’t let that get to me. I had to focus on training. I couldn’t think about what happen earlier with Yelson and Kenelm.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. My mind went blank and focused on nothing but my training. Yelson followed me and immediately got into trainer mode which I was thankful for.

I managed to hit him more times than I missed, barely. He got his fair amount of jabs in giving me yet another bruise on my waist. I didn’t complain. I needed to be toughened up for when I would go against Daruka. He was bound to do much worse than a bruise here and there.

My plastic sword moved fluidly through the air as I tried to make contact with Yelson. He blocked every one of my blows. Our swords connected above our heads. He pushed me back causing me to trip over my feet. My head bounced against the mat, my vision became blurry and black spots appeared.

I groaned as I pushed myself up. The world was spinning around me but I didn’t let it phase me. I picked up the sword from the ground and pointed it back towards Yelson. He had a look in his eyes that told me he wanted to stop.

“No,” I practically yelled at him. “We need to keep practicing.”

“Annie, you are hurting.”

“So! Daruka won’t give me a break and neither should you.” My body ached more than I thought possible. I could barely move my legs side to side or lift my arms past my waist anymore but I couldn’t stop. This was something I had to keep doing.

“I think that is enough for today,” Yelson said pulling the sword from my hands. There wasn’t much fight left in me.

“Yelson please. I need to train.”

“You have. Annie, you have improved so much. I’m impressed.”

I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. “Thanks, I have a great teacher.”

I fell onto the mat with a plop. My body ached in every way possible and I silently groaned as I tried to cross my legs but failed.

“I think you should take tomorrow off.” Yelson’s forehead creased with worry when he looked at me.

“What? No, I can’t. I told you I need as much practice as I can get.”

“Annie, you can barely move your body. It is just going to be worse tomorrow morning. You need a day to let your body rest. It can only go through so much.”

“Ugh,” I groaned as I let my back fall to the ground. The mat wasn’t exactly comfortable but it felt like heaven at the moment. “Can I fall asleep here?”

Yelson laughed as he helped me back up from the ground. His warm hand held mine a few seconds longer before he let me go. “Come on, I’ll help you walk to your room.”

He moved my hand around his shoulders and wrapped his arm around my torso to help keep me steady. His fingertips touched my exposed skin between my shirt and my pants. They left a slight tingling where they touched that calmed me.

My legs felt like jelly as I took small steps out the room. The cool night air sent chills through my body. I didn’t realize we had practiced over time. I could see a few people on the street. They were moving quickly to get to their homes. No one liked to be out for a long time at night.

We had just made it up the steps and to the doors of the palace when Kenelm opened it. He seemed startled to see us at first but a smile soon spread across his face. “Working late are we?”

“Yes sire. I was just helping Annie get to her room.” I held in a laugh as Yelson calling my father ‘sire’. I had yet to hear anyone call him that.

Kenelm raised an eyebrow at me. “I can barely keep myself up Kenelm. It’s not exactly easy practice.”

“Oh of course. I know full well how hard Master Kai can push. Well, I must get going. Goodnight,” Kenelm said as he passed us. He gently placed a hand on my arm and I heard his voice echo in my head
.
Do not forget what I told you earlier.

I simply smiled at him as Yelson and I walked through the door. I was trying my hardest not to remember what he told me. It felt weird that my father was telling me to kiss Yelson. Aren’t dads supposed to keep their daughters away from that?

Yelson opened my door and helped me to my bed. I fell immediately onto my comfy covers. Never had I been so happy to see them. I quickly moved under them not caring that I was still in my sweaty workout clothes. “Thank you Yelson. I probably would have had to crawl here.”

“Anytime. Goodnight Annie.”

“Night Yelson,” I whispered. I was asleep before the door closed.

~*~

A small groan escaped my lips as I tried to get out of bed. Yelson was right when he said I would be worse in the morning. My body seemed to pulse with ache. I couldn’t lift my arms more than a few inches away from my body. I wasn’t even sure if my legs could hold my weight up.

I gently pushed my feet over the edge of my bed. Forcing myself not to think about the pain in my legs I grabbed a change of

clothes and my towel and made my way to the shower. The warm water helped ease my muscles.

Cabel’s voice entered my mind. I sighed when I heard it. Why couldn’t I control my own damn power? This was really getting to be annoying.

He was talking to someone about Daruka. Yelson had given him the map we received from Master Kai, he held it in his arms
.
We need to send her out! Can you not see that this may be our only chance? She has already surpassed what we thought she was capable of. She is the oracle. That makes her the most powerful creature on this planet. All she has to do is allow her powers to come in full. They are already there. She just needs to embrace it.

She is not ready
.
I could hear Kenelm talk through Cabel’s mind. He sounded stressed. He knew it was only a matter of time before I had to leave
.
For goodness sake Cabel she is only a child. If it were your daughter you would not send her out.

If Silvia had been the oracle I would have. It is for the greater good Kenelm, she can end this
.
Cabel thought about his daughter. His mind filled of her small smiling face. Small dark ringlets fell on her shoulders and her brown eyes held nothing but happiness. She would have been my age if she wasn’t killed ten years ago.

Cabel’s family was living in a small village not far from here. It was attacked by Daruka’s men. His wife, daughter, and son were killed along with the rest of the village. Not a day went by that he didn’t think about it. About what would have happened if he had been there to stop it.

We need to think about everyone else that Daruka has hurt. He will not stop. We need to end him and she is the only one who can.

I felt the water from the shower hit my back as Cabel’s mind left me. He was right. It was time to end this once and for all.

I shut off the water and got dressed. My body didn’t even register the pain as I made my way up the steps to the third floor. Cabel, Kenelm, Yelson, Simon, and a man I didn’t know sat around the big table in the middle of the room. They looked at me when I walked through the door. Each held a look of shock. No one ever came up to the third floor without their permission first.

“Annie, you are not supposed to be up here,” Simon said as he stood up from his chair. He gave me a stare that told me to go back downstairs but I had enough of it. I couldn’t sit down there while they talked about me, about my fate.

“I want to know when I will be leaving. My training is going great and I have better control of my powers. I’m ready for this.”

“Anastasia we both know that is not the truth.” Kenelm was obviously reading my mind and could see that I had about as much control on my powers and the day I got them.

“I think if she is confident enough to tell us that she is ready than we should let her go,” Cabel spoke up.

Kenelm stared daggers into him. He wanted him to stop talking about sending me to fight Daruka. He didn’t feel I was ready enough for that. He was right, of course, but I needed to prove to him that I was. I wanted this all to end and for me to have my mom back. These people needed their peace of mind and I was the only one who would be able to give it to them.

“Okay listen,” I said to them all. They were not going to sit here and decide what I would do.  “We know where he is but we don’t know how long he is going to be there for. I mean he has to be smart enough to know not to stay in the same place for more than a couple of weeks, if that. So, that means we have to make our move sooner rather than later. I feel like I’m ready enough. Kenelm can teach me today how to control my powers more since I can’t practice that with Yelson. Simon and Emilie have already taught me plenty of spells. I can do this. I can end Daruka’s terror on our kingdom. I need to do this.”

They all stared at me without a word as the minutes passed by. The air was filled with mixed emotions on how to go about the situation. Cabel and the other man, Calhoun, wanted me to go while the others thought I was being reckless and jumping to fast into this. They only saw me as the young, defenseless girl they saved over a month ago. They didn’t want to believe that I was even close to fulfilling the prophecy. But I was.

I knelt next to Kenelm. He was the one I needed to convince. He was the king, what he said was final. “I need to do this. He still has her. God only knows what he is doing to my mom right now. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I lose her.”

“Anastasia I do not want to los
e
yo
u
,” he whispered as he took my face in his hands. “I do not think I would survive if I lost you again.”

“You won’t. I promised you that and I don’t like to break my promises,” I smiled. I pulled his hands away from my face and covered them with mine. “Plus it’s not like I am going to be alone. Yelson said he would come with me.”

Kenelm looked over to him two seats away. Yelson looked down as if he was ashamed. He didn’t know what Kenelm would say about him agreeing to accompany me. I could see that he thought he was going to be mad because it seemed like he wanted me to go when in fact Yelson wanted nothing more than for me to stay.

“I will too,” Simon spoke from across the table.

“No,” I said straitening up. He had already been tortured by Daruka enough I couldn’t bear to see him go through more.

“You are my sister, Annie. You don’t have a choice in the matter. I am going.”

Kenelm gripped my hands tighter in his. A faint smile was on his lips
.
We all love you very much your majesty. That is why we cannot let you go alone. It would be my honor to join you as well.

What? No, you can’t
.
I said to him in our minds
.
You’re the king. Everyone needs you here. What would happen to the kingdom if you died?

“And you are my daughter, my flesh and blood. I need you more than anything. The kingdom will live on no matter what is to occur.”

I could feel the lump return to my throat. I choked it back as I didn’t want to cry here in a room full of powerful men. They wouldn’t see me as the oracle if I did. “Okay.”

“Now we must get to practicing. You are going to need as much control of your powers as possible.” Kenelm pulled me up as he stood from his chair. He brushed away a tear from my check.

Joy swelled in me when I knew he would be coming with me. I didn’t want him too but knowing he would be there for me brought me a sense of peace. Nothing bad could happen with my father there right? He wouldn’t allow it to.

“Wait, when are we leaving?”

“Two days. It is a two and a half day’s ride to where Daruka is said to be. But I want you to get as much practice as possible. It is going to be a tough two days.”

I nodded. Two days was enough time to learn all I needed. Hopefully.

I followed Kenelm and Yelson down the stairs. He opened the door across from Simon’s room. Another set of stairs led down to the basement. Kenelm went down first. The flames to the torches all lit at once. Kenelm’s doing I’m sure. 

One oval table lay in the middle. What was up with the place and round tables? A wall of books lined the left wall while

the right had shelves filled with containers. They seemed to be filled with anything and everything you would need for spells.

Kenelm motioned for me to sit at the table while he looked for a book. Yelson stood next to me. His body was tensed with nerves I could see it. I let my hand touch his forearm to let him know it was okay. He seemed to relax at my touch but only slightly.

He smiled down at me before he took the seat next to me. Kenelm grabbed a small blue book and placed it on the table. There were no markings on it other than a thin black border. He then moved to the shelves and brought back three candles, a glass of water, and a pot of dirt.

“I want you to light these candles.” He placed them four inches apart from each other in front of me. I looked up to him with what I’m sure was a look of fright.

“Light them? How?” My mind went racing through the spell’s I had learned but couldn’t remember one on how to light something on fire.

“No spells, think about the flame.”

I closed my eyes and thought about fire like he told me too. It felt silly. When I opened my eyes the candles remained unlit. “Ugh what am I doing wrong?”

“You have to think about the flame. Think about every aspect of it.”

I closed my eyes once again with a sigh. I pictured the flame. I thought about the heat against my skin warming me up from the cold night air. I remembered how it felt like to touch it when I was eight years old, how the flame burned my finger. My mom had put some toothpaste on it to help it heal. She would always tell me it was her secret remedy and to never tell anyone about it.

Yelson gasped at the same time I felt a tingle go through me. It felt like when I was holding my sword but not as powerful. When I opened my eyes each candle had a small yellow flame that seemed to be surrounded by blue. It looked to be protecting it.

Kenelm smiled proudly at me. He knew I could do it easily. “Now, boil the water.”

I closed my eyes again. I focused on using the heat of the flame to warm up the water. I pictured it boiling like it did so many times before. When I opened my eyes the water was boiling so much that it was spilling out the cup. “I don’t know how to stop it.”

“That’s alright,” Kenelm looked at the water and it immediately stopped.

“How did you do that?”

“That is a lesson for tomorrow. Now, make the dirt grow a flower.”

I nodded my head and turned my attention to the pot. I closed my eyes and pictured the rose from Weldon’s book. I imagined the feel of it, the smell, and what it was like to look at it. I could feel my heart ache from remembering my friend but I had to ignore it. My concentration needed to be on the pot and growing a flower.

When I opened my eyes a small stem poked out of the dirt. It quickly grew until a beautiful white rose appeared. Another one started to grow as well as another.

“Wow,” Kenelm whispered as he looked at the five roses. Each one grew a different color. Yelson moved his hand to pluck the blue one. It seemed only right for him too. It was, after all, meant for him. Each grew for the family I had come to love since my stay here; Yelson, Emilie, Weldon, Arabella, and Kenelm. “You are grasping this better than I ever imagined.”

“She does that,” Yelson spoke as he admiring looked at me. “You are amazing, I hope you know that.”

“Now I wouldn’t go that far. It’s in my nature as Bandraoi to know this. It’s in my blood.”

“No, he is right your majesty. I have never seen someone do that their first time practicing magic. It usually takes them days to just light the fire. You truly are the oracle.” Kenelm looked as if he was about to cry. He never wanted to believe that I was the one