The Way We Fall

Chapter 6 (Tigris)

"Was that really necessary?" Finn muttered. Tigris shot him an annoyed look, pulling on her nightdress from behind the dressing screen.

"What was I supposed to do, Finn? Just let her speak to me like that in front of the knights?" Tigris countered. She tossed her worn gown over the screen, walking towards her large bed where Finn was sitting, fiddling with his large glasses. His cheeks were tinted pink.

"Technically, you spoke to her first." he pointed out, "And she was just helping out Kai! You shouldn't have been beating him up in the first place!"

"Would you rather I beat you up?" Tigris countered coldly. Finn sighed, looking away.

"Of course not. But maybe that girl had a point."

"You heard what Verita said. She's just a stupid new girl. She didn't know who we were or what we were doing." Tigris muttered, "We were just having fun with Kai."

"Yeah," Finn replied into the silence, "Well, tomorrow let's do my version of fun. Go to the library and read. It seems less likely to give father a heart attack."

"Your fun is boring." Tigris complained, tossing a pillow at Finn. He dodged it, his glasses nearly falling off. Still, they were both grinning. Finn always had that ability to make the worst situations seem mild. Tigris wasn't sure what her days would look like without her gentle, weak as a fly, book loving brother.

Kai entered the room then, bowing deeply to Tigris. She felt a pang of sympathy as she noticed a bruise peeking out from the collar of his shirt.

"Fi- my lord, your bed is ready." Kai said, his eyes darting to Tigris. Finn nodded, waving to Tigris. Kai held the door open for him, dipping into a low bow again. He rose and turned to leave.

"Kai," Tigris called out. The boy stiffened. With a small amount of shame, Tigris wished she could determine if he was reacting out of fear. Perhaps Finn was right. "You can have the day off tomorrow if you wish. You served me well today."

Kai turned around, surprise evident on his face. His brown eyes twinkled as he smiled. "Thank you, my lady. But I don't mind serving Fin- my lord."

Tigris rolled her eyes. "Kai, we've known you for years. You can call Finn and I by our names, I'm not going to throw you in the dungeons."

Kai bowed deeply again, but Tigris saw the makings of a smile on his face. She couldn't help but think how broad his smile was, and how gentle he looked when he grinned.

"As you wish, Tigris."

She liked the sound of her name on his lips. She nodded, and Kai slipped out of the room. For a moment, Tigris imagined what it would be like for her royal advisors to smile at her father like that, with genuine admiration rather than barely restrained fear. She preferred loyalty bought through kindness and respect, as she'd done with most of her knights. Of course, they were easily won over. A good battle had earned their respects, as had her training.

Tigris sank back onto her pillow, switching off the lights. Her father's voice crept back into her mind.

"As a female, this kingdom and the other kingdoms will expect meekness and fragility from you." she recalled her father telling her once after a public argument in the council room, "They will expect to be able to appeal to your more feminine qualities. They will woo you, appeal for mercy. You cannot let them. That is how you lose control. You cannot let that happen."

"So will I have to make them fear me? Forever?" Tigris had asked, "But how will I know who to trust if they fear me?"

"You can trust no one." her father had replied, placing his hand on her shoulder, "Being a ruler is a lonely endeavour. But you must embark on it for your people. For your kingdom."

At the time, the words had felt special, like rare advice or approval. But on nights like this, when Tigris had been touched by her brother's care or the joy of her knights, all she could think of was her father's hand on her shoulder.

How heavy that hand had been.

A/N: Short chapter today, but it looks like we got to learn a bit more about Tigris. What do you think of the princess? Better yet, what do we think of her brother?

Tigris should take his advice lol, she'd have a lot less trouble if she just stayed in the library, I bet.

As always, I love criticism and comments, so let me know what you think! Enjoy, everyone! :)