Chapter 1
“Keep your guard up Mikhail!”
Mikhail panted and parried the blow his best friend and sparring partner, Jasper, aimed at his head in an attempt to end the training session. A session neither of them wished to participate in, they’d both rather be off playing elsewhere at the moment. It was much too hot to be practicing swordplay today.
“No! Come on! That was horrible, both of you! Stop it!” Mikhail’s father called out as he stalked forward waving his arms. “Jasper that swing had no power behind it and Mikhail your parry was poorly executed! Where are your minds today!” He didn’t expect an answer to the question, it was rhetorical.
“At the pond,” Jasper muttered under his breath.
Reid glared at Jasper. “I heard that, boy.” Jasper flushed and dropped his gaze to the ground. The Captain of the Royal Guard sighed and shook his head. “You boys need to concentrate or you’ll never learn. If you wish to someday take your place among the Guard you need to learn these things.”
Mikhail jabbed the tip of the sword he had been practicing with into the ground. “Dad, we know it. We’ve practiced day in and day out, you’ve taught us from the day we could pick up a sword.”
His father snorted. “You’re eight, you have a long way to go, lad.”
Mikhail gave an overly exaggerated groan and hunched his shoulders. “It’s hotter than Hell itself today can’t we take a break?”
Reid gave him a light slap upside the back of the head. “Watch your mouth, lad. Your mother would get the soap if she heard that.”
Jasper chuckled when he slapped Mikhail and Reid shot him a warning look that shut him up. “All right run along then, but I expect both of you here bright and early tomorrow ready to practice.”
“Thanks, Dad!” Mikhail said brightly as the two boys took off running, heading for the pond on the outskirts of the city outside the castle.
Jasper grinned at Mikhail as they ran. “Race you!”
Mikhail laughed. “As if you could ever beat me!” He pumped his legs, pulling ahead of Jasper. They ran through the city, racing through the streets, passing the townspeople who shouted at them and shook fists at the two running boys.
Before long they came to a panting halt at the edge of the pond. Mikhail grinned at Jasper. “Beat you again!”
Jasper shoved him in the shoulder. “Not fair ’cause your legs are longer!”
Mikhail laughed as he yanked his shirt off over his head and chucked it aside, then removed the rest of his clothes before running into the cool water. “Come on! The water is great!”
Jasper shed his clothes and joined his friend in the water. “Ahhh! This is the best! I’m glad your dad gave in because I was going to die if we had to stay there a moment longer!”
Mikhail dove beneath the water and came up splashing water at his friend. He smiled. “Me too.” He paused then looked over at his friend. “Jasper?”
Jasper sent Mikhail a grumpy look for the splashing before wiping the water from his eyes. “What?”
“Do you think we’ll ever make it into the Royal Guard like our fathers?”
He snorted. “Sure why not?”
Mikhail shrugged. “I don’t know it seems so hard. A lot of work, you know what I mean.”
Jasper floated on his back. “Yeah, I know. We’ll do it though, I know we will and we’ll be good at too because your dad is training us and he’s the best there is. I mean he’s the Captain, Mikhail. Someday you’ll be Captain too.”
Mikhail snorted. “How do you know you won’t be Captain?”
“I don’t know, because I think your dad will choose you to replace him.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter because no matter what we’ll always be best friends.”
A wide grin split Mikhail’s face. “Yes, we will, always.”
***
“Where have you boys been?”
Mikhail and Jasper stopped dead staring at Jasper’s mother, her hands propped on her hips, a foot tapping impatiently as she waited for an answer. She eyed them up and down, noting the still damp hair and rumpled clothing.
Jasper glanced at Mikhail before looking back at his mother. “Um, we were down at the pond, swimming. Mikhail’s dad said we could go.”
“Did he now.”
Both boys nodded vigorously at her response. “Yes, ma’am,” Jasper responded quickly. He didn’t want to anger his mother. He knew the consequences if he did, it didn’t simply mean a swat on the behind if he disobeyed his mother. Not that she would be overtly cruel, his mother loved him, but she would find a way to punish him that would remind him that he had done wrong, and he wouldn’t like it.
She dropped her hands from her hips with a sigh. “You do remember that you are supposed to be up at the castle this evening for the party?”
Both of the boys’ eyes suddenly became wide and round. “We forgot!” they said in unison.
“Of course you did. Get to your rooms and get bathed and dressed now, you both smell horrendous!” she complained as she ushered them toward the castle.
They hurried away, heading toward the back entrance to the huge castle. The boys both lived in the castle, certainly not in any sort of luxury, but well enough since their fathers both served in the Royal Guard. They enjoyed a certain amount of freedom throughout the castle and they both were friendly with the children of some of the nobles that frequently visited the royal family. Mikhail was also quite friendly with the Princess as well. Jasper less so, he and the Princess didn’t get along as well, he found her boring, after all, she was a girl.
***
Mikhail scrunched up his nose at his reflection. He hated the formal clothing his mother had forced him into after his bath. In fact, he hated getting dressed up altogether. He looked over his shoulder as his father came into his room, dressed in his formal Captain’s uniform. He smiled at his dad. “Hello, father.”
“Well don’t you look handsome, son?”
He scowled at his dad. “Ew, no I don’t. I look stupid.”
His father chuckled as he bent down to Mikhail’s level and tweaked his nose. “Someday, there will be some woman in your life that you’ll want to get all gussied up for.”
Mikhail made a face. “Never, I hate getting all fancy. These clothes are uncomfortable. Why would anyone want to wear this stuff?”
From the door, his mother laughed. “Because you look positively adorable, Mikhail and someday there will be a woman who will swoon over how handsome you look all dressed up.”
He made another face. “That’s stupid.”
“Well, I just swoon over how handsome your father looks in his uniform.” His mother put the back of her hand to her forehead and made as if to faint as his father chuckled and rose, catching her to his chest and pecking a kiss her on the cheek.
Mikhail made a gagging sound and ran for the door. Parents were gross sometimes. Why would anyone want to kiss a girl? It was disgusting. He nearly ran into Jasper in the hallway.
“Watch where you’re going!” Jasper complained.
“Sorry, I was trying to escape my parents, they’re being gross.”
Jasper giggled. “Are they kissing again?”
Mikhail made a face. “Yes.”
“Mine too. Why do they do that?”
Mikhail shook his head. “I don’t know. Come on let’s go up to the ball or dinner, whatever it is.”
“I think it’s someone’s birthday this time,” Jasper’s said with a shrug as they turned and headed down the hallway and up the stairs. Neither boy cared which noble or royal the party was for nor why the party was being held. The only thing that mattered to them was that there was going to be an abundance of food, rich decadent food and plenty of it.
Soon they were seated at their spots at the long table beside their parents. The room was filled with noise and the smells of rich food. People laughed and talked. Mikhail looked toward the table set upon the dais where the royal family sat. The King was seated at the center of the table with the Queen to his right. Princess Rayn sat on the other side of the Queen looking small and lost.
Mikhail felt sorry for Rayn stuck sitting with all the adults. She seemed so tiny and delicate beside them. As he watched her, she pushed her food around her plate and ate very little. Her mother leaned close to her and said something that caused Rayn to smile. Her mother patted her arm before turning away to speak with the King.
She lifted her head and looked out over the crowd and her gaze landed on him as if she had known he was watching her. He felt his cheeks heat up and dropped his eyes to his plate.
He really shouldn’t have been watching her so closely. It didn’t matter that they were friends outside the confines of her royal duties, she was still the Princess. If the King believed for even a second Mikhail had aspirations in her direction he could have Mikhail beaten simply because he felt it necessary. He’d heard his father say on many occasions the King wasn’t known for having an even temper. Mikhail sighed and made certain to keep his eyes on his food for the rest of the evening.
Jasper elbowed him after a few minutes. “Ow! What was that for?”
“The Princess is staring at you,” Jasper muttered under his breath.
Mikhail peeked up from under his lashes at Rayn. Sure enough, she was looking right at him. He frowned in her direction and flicked a look at her father. Luckily, the King was too busy talking to another nobleman to notice what his daughter was doing. Mikhail was going to have to tell her to stop doing that or she was gonna get them into trouble. He stuck out his bottom lip and looked back down at his plate. Stupid girl.
“Problem, son?”
He looked up at his dad. “Dad, why are girls stupid?”
“Mikhail!” his mother gasped.
He wasn’t sure why his mother looked so upset with him. “I mean why do they do things that will get them into trouble when they know they shouldn’t do them?”
His father chuckled. “No one has been able to answer that question, son, and I’m not certain they will ever be able to answer it. Why do you ask?”
Mikhail glanced in Rayne’s direction before looking back at his father. “No reason.” He went back to his food without another word.
Reid arched an eyebrow and looked at his wife.
Heather shook her head and wondered what exactly was going on between their son and the Princess. She glanced at the Princess who seemed to heave a huge sigh before she tore her gaze from Mikhail and stared down at her plate. They were still only children. She certainly hoped Mikhail didn’t entertain any hopes in that direction. He wasn’t a noble, definitely not a Prince, he could never marry Princess Rayn the King wouldn’t allow it.
