Our People Lie Here

9- Mother

    "I want to fall to my knees at the thought of her", Dukein said. He looked up and saw me staring at him. I could see every bit of passion when he spoke of "his type". I smiled, "Well that woman sounds wonderful. I hope you find her one day". Duke stared at his shoes, "Yeah... I hope so". "What tasks are we completing today", I asked. "There isn't much to do", he said, standing up. I followed him as we left the room. "So, where are we going"? "Practice... we're going to sword practice". "Oh". We arrived in an empty room. On the walls were fencing tools and equipment. "Put on a suit and grab a sabre", Duke ordered. "I'm practicing against you"! "What, are you scared"? "No... I don't want to hurt you", I chuckled. "Please, there is only one person that can beat me", he laughed. "Who"?

    The prince looked like he had come to a realization. "I don't know". I ignored it and put on the suit. I grabbed the sabre and joined the prince. "Ready... go"! I swung the sabre hitting him right in the back. "Okay... one good hit", he shrugged. He hit me twice and knocked me off my feet. I grabbed his arm and pulled him on to the ground. I stabbed the sabre into the ground, right next to his head. The prince laughed. He stood up and grabbed my sabre. "Well done... peasant". I snatched my weapon and got ready for the next match. "Ready... go"! I knocked him down in three strikes. I got ready to put the sabre back in the ground. But he grabbed my arm and pulled me down. But instead of falling next to him, I fell on top of him. I didn't know what to do, so I just sat. I pulled off my helmet and he pulled off his. He looked me in the eyes and grabbed the side of my face.

    He moved my hair out of my face and moved closer. Just then, the doors flew open. Duke let me go and I stood up. It was Lilian. "What's going on"? "We were just fencing-", I said, looking at Duke. "I didn't ask you peasant! Duke, why aren't you helping me plan the wedding"? "I already told you, I don't want to marry you", he said, throwing his weapon at the wall. It flew right past Lilian's head. Tears started to well up in her eyes before she left. I helped Duke up and we left. We got back to Dukein's bedroom. "You didn't have to be so rude to Lilian". As Duke was consumed with rage, she grabbed both my arms. "Why so! Do you wanna marry her? Well good, because I don't want to"! I stared at him in a state of confusion. "I'm not in love with her... I don't want to marry someone I don't love", he shouted. "I apologize". "That's all you do", he sighed. I punched him and he stared at me in awe. "You want me to stop acting like a slave"! 

    "If you don't want to marry Lilian then don't! You think I want her around all the time? She's annoying"! Duke began to laugh uncontrollably. For a second I was confused. But then I began to laugh with him. I sat down on the bed next to him. He turned and looked at me. He once again grabbed my face and moved my hair out of my face. Then he kissed me. It felt so warm and hot. And yes, I kissed him back. He might've been a dummy, but there was just something about him. Something that I knew was there, but hated to admit. He moved over more and crawled on top of me. He moved me so we were lying on the bed the right way. "We can't do this Duke. I'm a silver knight and you're golden royalty". "But that's the thing Ginno... we can". We were both undressed and the rest of the night was full of emotion. 

    When I woke up I was next to Dukein, naked. "Oh my god. Armona", I thought. I hopped up and put my clothes on. Then I felt something warm behind me. Duke wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. "What have we done"? "Something amazing", he smiled. "No... we aren't even married. Your wedding is next week"! "Calm down... I'm calling off the wedding". I turned around. "Really"? He nodded his head. "We might not be able to get married... but we're gonna be together", he smiled. "Don't have me living a dream Duke", I said, standing back up. He slapped my clothes out of my hand. "I love looking at your smooth, pale skin. I'm in awe of the beauty of your purple hair. And who you are makes all of it 100 times better", he said running his finger down my back. "Please... at least stay for a bath". I sighed, "I don't want Armona to ask why I smell like you". Duke smiled and pulled me back on to the bed. 

    We took a bath in his private bathroom together. As I sat between his legs he washed my back. "My mother is dead", I spoke up. "What"? "Last night you brought up my mother and I got offended. She's dead. She was killed in a small ambush when I was 11. That's why there was no one around to stop me from joining the league at 12". "I'm so sorry...", he said. "It's fine. But I still think about her. You think I'm beautiful... wait until you see a picture of her. Her hair was white... also considered a blessing by the silvers". Duke listened to every word as I spoke. "Her blessing was a rumor among the townsfolk. They said that she was supposed to be blessed as royalty. But Tsukuyomi accidentally dropped her before she could bless her. But enough has been said. I must get home".