Dragon Lords 4-Warrior Prince (17 page)

"So, do you want me to grow it for you?" Nadja asked, lifting the extender. "If anything, it should give us something to do today."

"Why not," Pia answered thoughtfully. She thought of Zoran. He really did seem to like her longer hair. Suddenly, the idea of pleasing him excited her. She glanced at Nadja, eyeing her in concentration. Nadja blushed at the bold look and seemed shaken.

"What?" Nadja questioned, looking down her front.

"Do you think you could help me with the other stuff too?" Pia asked, her voice dipping shyly.

"Other stuff?" Nadja questioned, blinking in surprise to hear the woman so modestly spoken. "What other stuff?"

Pia waved her hand at Nadja. "You know, beauty stuff--dresses, hairstyles, makeup.

Nadja chuckled softly, a smile coming to her face. "Sure, I’d love to. But, honestly, I don’t think you need all that."

Pia looked down.

"I mean," Nadja said, detecting something amiss in the woman’s response to the compliment. "You have a strong, natural way about you that the men around here seem to respond to. I wish I could be more like that."

"What?" Pia asked, furrowing her brow in amazement that anyone could be jealous of her. "You want me to teach you how to defend yourself?"

Nadja’s face lit up with such a force of excitement. She hadn’t been asking that, but the idea fascinated her. Her father never let her learn such things as self-defense.

"Oh, could you?" Nadja asked. "I mean, you’ll probably hate teaching me. I don’t even know ... I don’t know anything."

"I’d love to," said Pia, finding she really would. Fighting was the one thing she could do well, and that she could give back to Nadja pleased her greatly.

Nadja bounced in giddy anticipation. Grinning like a fool, she said, "All right, let’s get started."

* * * *

Pia felt like a changed woman. After disappearing for a few minutes, Nadja brought back with her a servant laden with makeup and hair accessories. Pia admitted that dresses were being made for her and Nadja sent the man to the village to see if they were finished.

Nadja extended her hair down past her shoulders. It wasn’t as long as before but it was a nice compromise. Nadja also taught her a few easy tricks for pulling the hair into different styles and showed her how a little darkening of her eyes could really bring them out, though she continually claimed Pia didn’t need the makeup.

Pia showed Nadja a couple self-defense moves, promising to teach her more at a later date when they were more properly dressed for it. Afterwards, Nadja had invited Pia to come over for dinner. Pia refused. Nadja nodded in understanding without even needing to hear the reason.

Pia waited, all dolled up, for Zoran to come home. The dresses weren’t finished, but the seamstress had sent word that they would be delivered the next day. She waited in a comfortable outfit of cotton pants and a tight blue shirt. Zoran didn’t show and it was getting late.

Pia, unable to stand waiting any longer, started for the door yelling at it to open. Stepping out into the hall, she paused. A soldier was coming at her.

"Sir Hume," Pia said in surprise.

Hume stopped, looking up at her hair and face. A slight smile of awe came to his feature as he bowed. His eyes stared at her, refusing to dip down to the floor. "My lady, Prince Zoran wished me to inform you that he has been called away on duty."

"Duty?" she asked in surprise. "What duty?"

"I’m sorry, my lady, I do not know," Hume said. "The King sent him away not but an hour ago."

"And when will he be back?" she asked, frowning. "Can you tell me that?"

"Two days, my lady, maybe more," Hume said. "He wished me to tell you that if you had a need for anything to call on this."

Pia took the hand communicator he gave her. Turning it over in her palm, she studied it and frowned.

"The Queen will be happy to assist you." Hume belatedly finished with a bow.

"Wait," Pia ordered to stop his retreat. Grimacing, she asked, "The Queen?"

"Yes," he said. "She possesses the other communicator. Just push the button if you have need of her."

"Great," Pia mumbled wryly. She tilted her jaw up at the man as he again bowed. Backing up, he stared at her, grinning like a fool. At his look, Pia frowned at him, wondering if Hume had suddenly gone mad. He backed up to the end of the hall and she said, "Uh, thanks."

Chapter Eleven

Zoran was exhausted. He hadn’t slept for three days. Gripping the center horn of his mount, he swung up behind the beast’s bare shoulders. The ceffyl’s wide back shifted low at the weight of its warrior rider, used to the rough handling. His fanged mouth darted open with a hiss of its long tongue. It had the eyes of a reptile, the face and hooves of a beast of burden, and the body of a small elephant. It was wickedly fast for an animal of its size and equally as deadly.

He’d been all over the swamplands, tracking the Var scent to the outer edges of the kingdom. The thick moss-covered trees dripped with moisture from the recent rainfall and a hot steamy fog lifted over in dense patches. The ceffyl’s hisses kept most of the large swamp life at bay. Its thick hide could withstand the bite of the poisonous givre that swam freely in this part of the kingdom.

Zoran lifted his feet to set before him as the animal trudged its way through deeper water. Its foot sunk slightly stirring up a nest of red and black tailed givres. The ceffyl howled in annoyance but kept moving to drier land.

Zoran frowned, letting his feet slide down over the sides of his mount, ignoring how the swamp water made his pants stick to the animal’s sides. He longed for home and his bed. His mission had been fruitless. Whoever had tried to break into the royal offices was long gone.

He wondered if Pia would welcome him back and briefly considered sleeping in his small office on the practice field. Looking up at the sky, he knew he couldn’t for the same reason he had to turn back home without completely tracking his prey. The coronation was tomorrow night and he needed to set things right with Pia before then.

Not knowing what he would say to her when he saw her, Zoran made the last leg of the journey home.

* * * *

Zoran left his mount in the stables. He ignored the soldiers as he passed them on the practice field. Coming to the knife post, he glanced briefly at the gathered crowd. For a moment, his heart stopped and he searched for Pia. She wasn’t there. It was his brother, Ualan, and Agro who drew the crowd.

Seeing him, Ualan nodded in greeting. His brother looked wearied, and his frown only deepened as Agro spoke to him. Zoran nodded back. He was too tired to do much else.

"Hey," Zoran heard Agro taunt Ualan to the pleasure of the crowd. "What about eyes closed?"

Zoran couldn’t help the slight smile when Ualan stopped him from leaving. His brother closed his eyes and spun, blindly throwing the blades as he turned. Four landed in the pattern of a cross on the post, the last landed in between Agro’s feet. Agro jumped back slightly with a hearty laugh of amusement. Ualan quietly nod and continued down the path to the castle.

Agro smiled an impish grin and waved at Ualan’s back. He’d been left in charge of the training. Before Zoran could speak to the men, Agro commanded them gruffly, "Ach now, you pups, back to work."

"I see you are working them hard," Zoran called, amused. He yawned, watching the men depart.

"Ach," Agro grumbled good-naturedly. He picked the blade out of the ground. "You’ve worked them hard enough to last a year. What’s wrong with a little sport now and then? If you lightened up, maybe your face wouldn’t look so damned ugly."

Zoran chuckled, lifting an arrogant brow in disbelief at the baited comment, "Me, ugly?"

"Aye, you," Agro nodded. He went to the post and pulled out the rest of the blades. "I think it’s your temper as of late. Half the men are scared to cross your path for fear you’ll work them into the ground."

Agro absently threw the blades at the post. They all hit in random order. Retrieving them, Agro gave the blades to Zoran. Zoran looked at them briefly before sighing. The Prince tossed them out of old habit and they landed in a straight line.

"Is it the wife?" Agro asked perceptively.

Zoran took a deep breath. Suddenly, everything rushed out of him in a frustrated confession.

"She’s ... argh ... she’s so aggravating at times and so damned ravishing the next. I can hardly keep my head straight. I’m trying, but I don’t understand what she wants. One minute she looks at me like I should kiss her, the next like I’m insane for trying. Hot, cold, hot, cold, she makes my head spin in circles until I can hardly see straight," Zoran admitted with a frown. Agro chuckled knowingly, leaving the knives in the post. Zoran continued, "I’m a man, Agro, a warrior. I’ve outsmarted and outguessed some of the worthiest of adversaries. I’ve conquered entire armies against the worst odds, but I can’t seem to conquer her. I can’t figure her out."

"Hum," Agro mused. He walked to the post and pulled the knife blades.

"You’re married," Zoran said, forlorn. "Are all married women like this?"

Agro chuckled as if at a private joke. A wealth of husbandly wisdom filtered in his eyes. When he came back, he threw the knives and said thoughtfully, "Maybe the problem is that a woman doesn’t need to be conquered, Draea Anwealda."

Zoran’s brow furrowed in thought.

Agro turned to give the last blade to his friend. "Maybe she needs to be won."

* * * *

Pia flinched, barely making a sound as the medic, Tal, sealed the gash in her side with his laser. She lay on her couch, arm raised above her head. Her hair was pulled back into a serviceable bun for exercising and her clothes were lightly drenched with sweat. Lifting up to watch the medic work, she gave a hard sigh.

"Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to deaden the pain, my lady?" the medic asked when she jerked at a particularly deep section of the wound.

"No," Pia answered between her tightened lips. Sweat beaded her brow, but she answered, "It’s fine. Just keep going."

Nadja stood behind him, worrying her hands. Her wide blue eyes filled with what looked like tears. "I’m so sorry, Pia. I didn’t mean to kick you that hard."

Pia chuckled, sucking in a breath as she was again seared with the laser. Refusing to cry out at the pain, she said, "It’s nothing, Nadja, quit fretting. I should’ve been ready for it. You’ve got some power in those legs of yours. Next time, we’ll just make sure we’re no where near the sword display."

Nadja relaxed some, though her face was still pulled tight.

Pia closed her eyes waiting for the man to finish. Hearing the door slide up, her eyes popped back open. Instantly, she moved to stand. The laser bumped and seared off course. She frowned slightly. The medic huffed and turned it off.

"You have to sit still," he ordered.

"Zoran," Pia breathed, ignoring the medic as she stared at her husband in the doorway. He looked tired and incredibly handsome. His eyes scanned over the room, glancing over Nadja and the medic.

Coming forward, he eyed Pia’s side. His wet hair was brushed back from his face. He’d stopped by his father’s to quickly bathe and change his clothes before coming home. His voice dark with worry and little sleep, he demanded, "What happened?"

"It ... it was an accident," Nadja said to the big warrior. She trembled before him as he looked at her. Slowly, she glanced at Pia, feeling sorry for the woman. Nadja’s husband might be a big man, but Pia’s husband was a giant. It was no wonder the woman didn’t talk about him too much. "Pia, I’ll see you later."

"Thanks, Nadja," Pia mumbled in distraction. She tried to give the woman a smile, but Nadja had already turned away. At the medic’s insistence, she laid back down to let him finish. As an afterthought, she called to the woman, "Remember to practice!"

"Pia?" Zoran asked. His heart had stopped in his chest to see the medic. As he eyed the wound, assuring himself she was going to live, he tried to breathe. "What happened?"

She frowned, ready for a lecture. Zoran mistook her look as displeasure in seeing him. How could he blame her after what he did?

"It’s no big deal," Pia grunted. "I was showing Olek’s wife to kick. She accidentally kicked me into your sword stand. It was a simple mistake."

Zoran glanced at the exercise room.

The medic finished and Pia sat up.

"Don’t worry," she said with a stiff sigh. "Your precious weapons are unharmed. Nadja cleaned it up."

He didn’t care about his weapons. Frowning, he glanced at Tal, not wanting to discuss any marital discontentment in front of the man.

"Try to take it easy for the next couple of day, my lady," the medic said, putting his things back into his bag. "I’ll come back in a week to smooth out the scar. If you like I can get the other one, too."

Tal nodded at her ribs. Pia hastily pulled her shirt down over them.

"No, it’s old," she shrugged as if it was no big deal. "Don’t worry about it."

"Draea Anwealda," Tal said, standing. He leaned over to grab his medic bag.

"Tal," Zoran acknowledged, tilting his head to walk him out. Pia watched the men, before turning to examine Tal’s handiwork. The scar was thin. Compared to the burns, she hardly noticed it.

Speaking in the Qurilixen tongue, Zoran asked, "How is she?"

Tal answered in the same, "She’ll heal fine, Draea Anwealda. The wound was deep and she should take it easy."

Tal frowned, glancing back toward Pia on the couch before turning to the Prince.

"What is it?" Zoran insisted.

"Nothing really," Tal began, with a frown. Cocking his head, he asked, "Has Lady Pia had any extensive surgeries?"

"Why?" Zoran questioned, he too glanced at Pia. She was poking at her ribs and grimacing after each jab.

"It’s just her skin, my lord," the medic said, sighing. "It’s normal but it appears to have been altered recently. The levels are healthy, like a newborn’s, but when I took the laser to it, it didn’t want to heal as if it had been worked over quite extensively within the last six months. We usually only see such occurrences with post-operative patients. I had to set the beam fairly high. The condition isn’t noticeable except ... well, except when she has to have medical attention like this."