Risa couldn't concentrate on her first day of training with the Second Prince at all. Every single movement that Alathil made made her heart race even faster. His movements were smooth and graceful, and she found herself unable to look anywhere except directly into his eyes. Whenever he moved closer to her she felt her body temperature increase yet again.
Though this wasn't what she had intended to happen, she couldn't stop herself from acting this way because of Alathil's presence. By the minute, she could feel her emotions she felt because of him getting more intense than ever.
Not only that, she couldn't stop feeling that she wanted to know everything about him. Even though she tried to deny that feeling.
He wasn't as good with the rapier as he was with the sword, though. As for Risa, she could barely stand up after using the weapon twice in a row without needing to rest. But it didn't deter her from continuing until Alathil himself decided to end the training for the day.
"Well, I think that's enough for now. You did really well today. To be honest, that was the first time I've seen a woman hold out that much in sword training," Alathil commented and held out his hand to her.
She took it with a smile and yelped when he pulled her up and held her on the waist. She almost instantly felt the heat rising to her cheeks because of their close proximity again.
"Uh... Azi. I can see that you really like getting too close to me, huh?" she started in an attempt to cut off the embarrassment she felt at the moment.
However, she felt her heart skip a beat when he responded with a sly grin.
"No wonder your heartbeat has accelerated so quickly... It's my fault after all. I should have known better. You are too cute to resist..." he whispered in her ear, causing her to blush even harder.
"Your Highness, please stop putting her in an even more embarrassing situation with what you're doing," Shuren's voice resonated that snapped her out (thankfully).
Alathil let Risa go with a chuckle and cleared his throat soon after. "You're as annoying as ever, Shuren. You know I was just playing around."
"Your Highness, you rarely play around in front of a woman. And if I have to make it clear, this is the first time you've ever played around like that with a woman," Shuren stated that surprised Risa and made her look at the Second Prince almost immediately.
She saw a faint blush spreading over his cheeks as he looked down. He averted his glance to Risa again and she could swear that there was some emotion she couldn't quite name in his bluish gray eyes.
It seemed that Shuren's words had caught him off guard. But it was enough for Risa to feel warmth bubble up in her chest as she saw Alathil act shy all of a sudden. Before she knew it, she let out a burst of laughter. The sound caused Alathil's eyebrows to twitch upward and he turned towards her again, looking rather confused.
"What's so funny, Risa?"
"I'm sorry, it's just... I never thought I would be laughing so hard, especially in a situation like this."
"Don't mind him, Lady Risa. He's always been like that with women, or anyone else in general. Just treat him as you see fit as long as it doesn't involve too much formality and he'll get his act together." Shuren smiled at Risa and shook her head lightly, causing Risa to laugh even more as the second prince glared at his bodyguard.
"Shuren, I know I gave you permission to scold me. But do you really have to do that in front of her?" he complained and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
As if realizing how she must have appeared, she covered her mouth, trying to muffle her giggles. Alathil looked at her in surprise for a while before he slowly chuckled too. When she saw the prince look at Shuren again, the bodyguard shrugged and smiled.
"You two sure have a good bond," Risa commented and proceeded to go to the weapons room to return the sword she used that day.
She couldn't help frowning when she realized that Alathil proceeded to train her with an actual sword and not a wooden one. Why was that? She was a beginner on this and yet... she was already improving so fast that she feared she might end up surpassing him someday.
She also couldn't understand why he had been training someone with such a low skill level instead of someone with a high skill level. Was it simply a coincidence that everyone seemed to have higher skills in something than themselves?
"One of the known traits of a dragon listener is that they're astute with wielding blades, considering the history of the dragons with fire and sword forging done using their scales and fangs. Maybe that's why you could keep up with me even when we're already using a real sword."
She turned to the source of that voice, surprised to see Alathil entering. Her lips formed a small smile upon seeing that he seemed pleased that she managed to learn to properly wield a blade for a beginner.
"How come I never noticed before, though?"
The Second Prince sighed and put away his sword before turning to face Risa fully.
"Honestly, I don't know either. But it's good that I'm the one teaching you and not anyone else. That way, I'm the only one who could personally see your progress considering that we have one rare skill in common."
"I guess it's hard being the only known dragon listener in the kingdom, huh? I mean, before I realized I have the same skill as you."
Alathil nodded. "That's true... I don't know if I'd be able to handle having people knowing about it."
"Oh yeah! Speaking of which, I still don't understand why I have this talent. What's the connection between us, anyway?" she asked and placed a hand over her heart.
She heard Alathil chuckle and placed a hand on her head that made her look at him with curious eyes. "Don't worry about anything related to it for now. You're still starting so I know it's going to be hard at first. But yes, I'm glad we have this one connection. One that could be rarely seen from everyone else."
Her heart warmed at hearing those words since it sounded like he actually meant them, and she returned the gesture by placing her hands over top of his.
"Thank you, Your Highness," she said sincerely and smiled at him softly.
Before he could respond, however, someone called out for him and interrupted their conversation.
"Your Highness, the Master Mage and Lady Enlari have arrived. And they wanted to talk to you — in private," Jehan announced and bowed politely to him.
Alathil glanced at Risa once more before turning to Jehan and nodding. "Tell them I'll join them shortly."
"Yes, Your Highness," Jehan answered before leaving the weapons room.
The Second Prince waited for the mage-in-training to leave before turning back to Risa. "I have to go. They're probably going to ask about my assessment of your skills for the first time."
"Do you think... you could tell me what they would say to you once it's over?"
Alathil looked at him with slightly wide eyes for a while before smiling. "As long as I'm allowed to divulge information, then I will."
Risa's lips formed into a smile. He seemed to be able to read her mind.
And she found that she enjoyed talking with him whenever she could.
"By the way, I hope you don't think it's strange of me, but... thank you for sparring with me. Really... I appreciate it that you took the time to train someone like me."
"Of course, Risa," he told her honestly. "I don't think it's strange for me at all. In fact, it makes me happy to hear that."
A warm feeling spread through her entire body when she saw the genuine smile on his face, something she hadn't expected to happen.
"You're a very special person, Risa. You may think otherwise sometimes, but I assure you, you're worth every bit of effort I've put in," Alathil continued.
This statement was definitely not what she expected. But she felt the warmth grow bigger in her chest as she watched the prince walk away. A smile formed on her lips as she watched Alathil walk past Jehan and Shuren.
She turned back to the sword rack and picked up a sword, holding the hilt tightly in her fingers. Once it was in her grasp, she brought her gaze onto the floor for a moment, deep in thought.
'He cares so deeply and so sincerely... I'm glad I met him.' She smiled wider, but only for a short while as a thought struck her.
Maybe she should show him that she appreciated the kindness he showed to her. But for now, all she needed to focus on her training for the coming days and what was awaiting her next step. She would have to worry about other things later.
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