The Fallen Prince

19

Ciaran's POV:

I am so thrilled, so fulfilled, after kissing Rowan. I'm shocked I was bold enough to initiate it, but I do not regret my choice to ask him if we could kiss.

It was my first real kiss...

Master forced me to kiss him in the past, but I will stand by my personal truth that they did not count as real kisses. They were forced and a way for him to reach pleasure while I stayed tense and scared, unable to stop him from what he was doing to me.

Rowan was not gentle or hesitant, but he didn't force me in a way I didn't want; he made sure I was comfortable, but he also pushed me and made me feel warm all over.

Gods, he's so perfect.

I want to feel like this every day, for him to touch me and hold me, to never make me fear again, because I know he will protect me as I will protect him. Or, I'll at least try to.

That makes me light up, the thought of protecting Rowan. I am a decent sword fighter, with the training Rowan has given me, but I am well aware that I would be better with another weapon because hand to hand combat is not very comfortable for me.

I leave Rowan and walk down the halls to the room where guards can spar and practice if they wish to be inside, and there are a large group of targets and an array of weapons all hung up.

The room is not used often, because the guards prefer to practice outside, but I assume it will be used more often now that the first snow has fallen and it is not necessarily safe with the ice and snow to be using a sword and get hurt during a practice.

I pick up a bow and a metal arrow, that has clearly been welded and shaped to be a perfect, deadly arrow. Positioning the arrow in the bow, I pull the string back, but I have never used one before, so the weapon falls to the floor as soon as I try to use it.

"Damn," I whisper, leaving the arrow on the ground and practicing using the bow so I can try again with arrow. As I'm about to bend down and pick it up, I hear shuffling behind me.

I whip around, ready to grab the arrow and shoot whoever is sneaking around, but then I see it is Soto and I relax.

"It is late," Soto says, walking over and lifting up the arrow, handing it to me. "What are you doing in here?"

"I am not good at hand to hand combat," I tell Soto, accepting the arrow. "So I decided to practice distanced combat. I cannot rest until I feel confident enough in my skills to protect Rowan, should it be necessary, because I am falling for your son and I wish to keep him safe like he has done for me."

Soto smiles softly, sitting down on the ground a few feet from me. "My husband was very skilled when it came to distance fighting. The day he had to do hand to hand..." He trails off, and I know that it must have been the day that his husband passed. "That bow was his favorite, and he had that arrow, as well as several others, specially made for him that would be more lethal and went further because of their design."

I instantly set the weapons down. "My apologies, I didn't know it was your husbands!"

"Ah, do not worry, Ciaran." Soto has me pick them back up. "It is fitting to me that you learn to use skills that are different than hand to hand, and I believe you will excel."

Thanking him, I grab the weapons and position my arms, Soto verbally correcting me so I am in a proper position. He instructs me to release the arrow and it slams into one of the three boards, not the one I was aiming at, but it is my first time ever doing this.

"Good, now it is all about accuracy."

Soto works with me for nearly two hours, and by the end I am finally getting closer to my mark, though I will still have much more to do to keep the small skill I've built.