Queen of Midnight

Chapter Twelve.

The next day, I took Violetta – or Violet, as she told me to call her – down to the pack's training arena. I had her dress in a pair of pants and a shirt, how I would normally dress in a day, and told her to expect to get a little dirty; I wasn't going to be taking it easy on her just because she was of a noble family.

We started with a few simple tactics; just hacking and parrying. I didn't expect to be able to teach her everything she'd need to know to defend herself in human form, but it was easy enough to pass the time; I didn't like waiting around for something to happen, not knowing. It put both James and I on edge, even more so when we couldn't be together. But he had work to do, and I couldn't rely on him for everything. I needed to be able to get by without him.

"Am I still holding it right?" Violet asked, holding up her sword awkwardly. I nodded vacantly, holding mine tighter in my hand.

"Just keep your grip firm," I said. "If someone swings at you and you manage to parry, that's great, but doesn't do you much good if you lose your sword in the process."

"Fair point," she muttered. She was already sweating, and we were both frustrated. I was just afraid that if I stopped, I would break down, and I didn't want to do that in front of Violet. We were on thin ice as it was.

"Why don't we just give it a rest for a bit," I said finally, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and throwing my sword on the grass in front of me.

"I can do this," Violet insisted, holding her sword out at me with a determined look on her face. "I'm not useless, okay? I can do this."

"I never said you couldn't, Violet. But we've both had enough. You don't need to prove anything. You can sit down for five minutes."

She hesitated, but it didn't take long for her weapon to join mine on the grass, and we both sat opposite each other on the logs that lined the outside of the fighting arena.

"I get that you don't like missing out on the action," I told her, "but they don't think you're incapable. They respect you; I can tell."

"I am a noble woman who was never brought up to defend myself physically," she muttered in response, glaring at a spot of dirt in the snow at her feet. "My parents never even believed in letting me shift; I only learnt how a few years ago. I was always treated fairly in the court room, but not acknowledged anywhere else. I know I can be so much more, but I was ever given a chance."

I looked down. "I'm sorry. I would have hated being brought up the same way. But they're not letting me in on any of the planning and scouting either. It's not that they don't trust you to be able to defend yourself if you need to; it's about them. If they know you aren't in danger, on the front lines risking your life, they don't have to worry about you. It means they know you're okay, and can focus their attention where it's needed. Like you said; you're all the family each other has left. And as long as they know you're out of the action, they know you're not going anywhere."

She let out a dreary sigh and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess you might be right," she admitted finally, "but it's still not fair. They get to worry us by putting themselves in danger all the time."

"You're right," I sighed, shooting a glance behind my shoulder at the castle where James was with his other advisors still plotting. "I'm struggling to be away from James so much now that we've sealed our bond. He might know I'm safe, but I'm always worried about him. He would die to protect me. And I'm scared that he might."

"You would do the same for him," Violet reminded me with a raised eyebrow. "You're both as bad as each other. But at least you have your bond; you can sense each other, right? So, you have more warning when something is going wrong."