Henry spent some time warming up while Eldon stood aside and thought about how he could get himself out of this. This was just stupid.
King Philip stood behind the railing, clutching it excitedly, like he was waiting for his turn to play. Elouise stood to his left, twirling strands of her hair around her forefinger. Although, she stopped doing that when a trainee—Booker, Eldon remembered—walked up to her and handed her a pink rose. Elouise looked down at him and accepted.
"Oh, thank you, Booker," she said softly. She gave the rose to Gidget to hold for her. Then she noticed Eldon's stare. He saw her take a sharp breath, and he wished he could pull her aside and apologize for everything being such a mess.
"Are you ready?" Henry asked him.
Eldon rolled his shoulders and nodded. Let's just get this over with already.
As they got themselves into position, the Captain of the Guard walked over. Eldon sighed and turned his head. The last time he saw him, Eldon was on the floor.
"It's good seeing you again, Prince Henry," the captain spoke, nodding his head at Henry.
"Happy to be here, captain," Henry responded. He seemed anything but happy.
The captain looked at Eldon next, and Eldon hoped his expression was bland enough. The captain was a tall man—taller than both Eldon and Henry. His uniform consisted of chain mail underneath a black tunic with a gold vest, black trousers, and boots. To top everything off, he also had a burgundy cape with a large gold button near his left shoulder.
"Ah, you again," the captain stated.
Eldon blinked. "Yeah... nice to meet you officially."
The captain's face turned grim. "I did not say you could speak to me, did I? Now relax your posture more or you're going to hurt yourself."
Eldon arched an eyebrow. Still, he obeyed before facing Henry. Their swords clanged together, and they held their stances as they waited for the captain's signal.
"Don't go easy on me," Henry joked.
Eldon almost snorted. "Wasn't plannin' on it."
Henry gave him an easy grin in response.
"Yay Henry!" Eldon heard a chipper voice ring out. He turned his head slightly, finding that Ivy was now among the crowd.
"Begin!" the captain announced, immediately stepping away.
Henry struck first, catching Eldon off guard. Eldon jumped back and quickly steadied himself before deflecting Henry's next strike.
"Be careful!" Elouise fearfully shouted.
"Yes, have fun, but not too much fun!" Ivy added.
"Prove your worth, boys!" King Philip chimed in, followed by more of his laughter.
The trainees watched from the other side and kept hollering nonsense. Eldon wanted to yell at them to shut up so he could concentrate better. He wasn't used to such a large audience, and he was very aware now of how carefully Elouise followed his every move with her eyes.
When there came a small break in their swings, long enough for them to catch their breath, they circled each other. Like hungry animals zoning in on their prey.
"How have you been, by the way?" asked Henry. "We haven't really spoken yet."
Eldon cocked his head. Was this really the time for small talk? "Just great."
YOU ARE READING
A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)
Fantasy(BOOK #2 in the Secrets of Aristol series.) It's almost been three months since Elouise's birthday. Although she's kept herself distracted by Beatrice's past, she's left with more questions. Perhaps she isn't concentrating hard enough. After all, sh...
