Of Shadows & Light

ⅩⅠⅤ. Roderick 🗡

I let a week pass.

I told my father that we didn't have the supplies that Meredith needed, and that was the truth. I just didn't ask Meredith. Stars, I haven't even told her she needs to make the Light Pouches.

I haven't talked to her in a week. After the news of my mother, I needed to process things. I bet she's celebrating the fact I haven't talked or been around her in a week. But it's fine. I can easily kill that celebration by walking in and making her begin on the Light Pouches.

Then the thought hits me again, I have to get her this time so she can begin making them. I force myself to leave my bed. I haven't left it in about two days. I just haven't been motivated to do anything.

Darkstrike must be pissed at me for missing combat lessons. But it's fine. She can find me later and drag me out to the courtyard.

When I open my door, I hear Gawain make a joke.

"Your Highness is finally leaving his forsaken bed?" he laughs. I know he means to joke, but I don't want to joke right now.

"Screw off." I sighed and shut my door.

His laughter stops. I make my way to Meredith's door and knock. It takes a minute and before I knock again, she opens the door. She looks dressed as if she were going somewhere today.

"Yes, Roderick?" she asks.

She's more cocky when saying my name. If my father heard her call me by my name and not some sort of 'highness' or 'majesty', he'd yell at her.

"You are to start making Light Pouches today in the weaponry room. I'll bring you there and you can begin working." I say with no tone in my voice.

It's hard for me to even add any. I don't want her making them but she has to according to my father. She nods her head and doesn't say anything back. I walk her out of her room and we begin our way downstairs.

We don't speak the entire way, but I can tell she has a question. I don't know if I speak up or not. But I really just want to hear her talk right now.

"Something's on your mind." she says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I look at her.

"I heard you haven't left your room in a week. And you've yet to bother me. Something's clearly on your mind." She looks up at me.

"No. No there's—"

"What did you say about lying?" she questions. "Oh right. Not to."

I groan. She's using my own words against me.

"Okay, unfair. You cannot—"

"No, what's unfair is that you're lying to me but I can't lie to you."

She makes a point.

"Can we not fight? I'm not in the mood for that."

I could tell she was about to say something, but we made it to the weaponry room and brought her to her station.

"You should get to work." I walk away and out of the room.

By the time I get up the stairs, I run into Darkstrike, just as I thought I would.

"Your Highness, I think we're quite overdue for a combat lesson." she said, handing me a sword she had.

I sighed and grabbed it, she was right and I had no excuse to get out of it.

🗡🗡🗡

We practiced for hours. Hours until she constantly kept pinning me to the ground with her sword. That's when she stopped.