The Red Heart (The Krystal Knights 1)

Chapter Eight

"Aaliyah! Would you hurry up, we were meant to leave nearly an hour ago!"

It's true we were meant to be gone ages ago and now we're all cold and tired and pissed at Aaliyah.

And when it's Alistar telling Lia to hurry up and not one of us, well I'll just say that I'm usually on the receiving end of Al's punctuation and he hates being late on a normal occasion so when it's for a job it gets heightened a lot which then causes Lia and me getting into trouble with everyone constantly.

What can I say though, we like our sleep.

"I'm coming, I'm coming chill out. And besides, I bet Kali still isn't here yet either." She runs across the courtyard and stops at the portcullis when she sees me standing there smirking slightly. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. I mean the one time I'm super late you're actually here. You're a mystery, Kali."

I laugh and take her bag to help get her horse ready. "Oh, you have no idea, Lia."

"Yeah, yeah, yay, Aaliyah's here and you're both super lazy. Now that we're all caught up can we please get going?" Al sounds like he's dying right now. I'd hate to be a perfectionist and all that fun stuff like him. Sounds like a lot of work, draining.

Killian rubs at his head, holding back a yawn "Or we could just go back to sleep and say to hell with my father?"

Phoenix holds up his hand, "I second that."

I grunt and say, "For once princey, we are in agreement."

Nailah starts mounting her horse. "Oh, come on guys. It'll be fun! I mean two weeks together on the road and a day or two in the Zinean palace, it's going to be great!"

Alistar walks away from us to also mount his glorious chestnut brown steed and says, "Exactly! That's the spirit, Nai."

"It's repulsive how alive you are this early in the morning." Phoenix mumbles.

"I hate you both and your bloody perkiness and optimism." Aaliyah sags against me and I nod, " I second that."

———

We've been travelling for three days and two nights now. And when I say it has been the most uneventful few days of my life, I really really mean it.

I mean at this point now I'm nearly wishing for someone to try and pickpocket us. Just for the fun of the fight.

Killian and I drew the shortest sticks so right now we are both out in the woods outside of the clearing that we're setting up camp in, looking for some good firewood.

"So princey, I have an idea for you."

He raises an eyebrow and looks at me, "Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Five minutes to collect the most wood possible and then the person with the least amount has to get the wood every day for the rest of the trip?"

He shakes his head, "Deal, you and your short little legs won't be able to catch up with me." We shake hands and then run off in different directions.

To say that Killian and I aren't competitive is a very, very big lie. Ever since I was 9 and he was 10 and I beat him in a sword fight, pretty much everything we've ever done together has been a competition.

For example, on my twelfth birthday, we were asked by our lovely cook, Edrea, to go and get some more eggs from the chicken coop and when we collected them just before we were about to race back, I got my cycle for the first time.

No one had ever properly discussed it with me before so I wasn't sure what to do, so then when I said that I was bleeding and couldn't run he called me a wimp and that he didn't care and if I didn't suck it up and run then he'd trip and tell Edrea that I pushed him.

So, obviously, I ran.

Mind you I was in agony the whole time, but I couldn't allow him to win so I ran halfway back before I collapsed in pain. He thought I was just faking so that I could win if he stopped to help me so he didn't stop and just ran back to Edrea.

When he told her what I was supposedly doing she whacked him across the back of his head and called him a stupid boy and ran out to help me.

I stayed in the physician's ward until my cycle had passed.

Then only last month we had a diving competition because Nai lost one of her earrings when we were all swimming.

Obviously, everyone, and really us too, knew it was pointless but a challenge is a challenge. We were out there all night, and neither of us found the earring.

The next morning Nailah found it in her bag.

Point is that we literally would do anything to beat each other. I never really understood it. I just know that after that initial first swordfight, Killian disappeared for nearly a week and then when he came back he was turned into the grouchy man that he is to me now.

I walk back into camp with the biggest armload of wood I could possibly carry, and I see Killian already there sitting smugly by Phoenix.

I hold up my head and walk over to them and stop right there when I see his fucking massive pile of wood. I drop my pile standing there like an idiot as Killian smirks, "You might want to close your mouth there short stack, bugs might fly in."

I snap my mouth shut and demand how he got that much wood, he only cocks his head and says, "You never said we weren't allowed to get help from someone."

Phoenix ducks his head and I whack the back of it, "You traitor how could you?!"

He holds up his hands in surrender, "In my defence K.....I actually don't have a defence. I did it because I knew it would be funny as hell to see you throw a fit like this."

I scoff and cross my arms. Killian the little bitch laughs, "Real mature Kali."

I stick out my tongue at him and say, "Fine, I'll collect the wood. But Gods help you both because I am going to be the best wood collector you've ever seen." I then turn and walk away hearing them laughing after me.

I swear to whoever is listening, something better happens tomorrow because I will kill these boys soon if I don't get to throw my knives at something.