continued, “The fairies know a great deal about the dealings of the families our students come from. We have to in order to best design your quests. Now, have a wonderful winter and I’ll see you again in January.”
Lucian left the room and after sending Jacobi and his parents to the office, went to find Adrian. He was sitting with Allegra outside what was normally Airlia’s office. “Have you had your interview yet?” Lucian asked as he sat on Allegra’s other side.
“Yeah, same old same old. It was nice though that she was recording the interview for Mom and Dad. They’ll appreciate getting that, even though they weren’t here.”
“My interview was recorded too,” Lucian replied.
Lavinia and Moira soon left the office and Lavinia said, “I know normally we would stay for the dinner, but I’d really like to get home as soon as possible. Are you boys packed and ready?”
“Yes, we are,” Lucian replied.
“Alright, I’ll get the carriage and you’ll have five minutes to say goodbye to your friends. Girls, I believe your things have already been taken out,” Lavinia added. She looked troubled and Lucian wondered what had been said to her during her interview.
Moira was looking at the floor. “Well, I’m going to find the girls and let them know we’re leaving.” She looked up at Allegra. “Don’t worry, we’ll ask Leticia at the contest what’s going to happen for her now. I’m sure they wouldn’t expel her because of her prince. It wouldn’t be fair.”
After saying goodbye to their friends and promising to write during break, the boys took their belongings out to the carriage where Lavinia and the girls were waiting. Lucian watched out the window as the castle shrank in the distance. He still wanted to go home and be with his father, but he knew that Moira was right. He wouldn’t be able to magically fix anything; it would be better for him to have the opportunity to rest. As Allegra pulled him into the conversation, he couldn’t help smiling and letting his worries slip away.
Year 3 Chapter 4
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The first few days of vacation Lucian spent with Adrian outside riding horses, throwing snowballs, and hunting in the forests behind the castle. Clover and Rusty worked well as a team, flushing flocks of geese and searching for hares. When it was too cold to be outside, Adrian showed Lucian his fencing room and they practiced both left-handed and right-handed. “It feels weird being better than you at this,” Adrian admitted one afternoon.
“Trust me, it’s weird for me to be beaten.”
They continued working until Adrian said, “Well, suppertime. Let’s see how long I get ignored tonight.” Then, as though he hadn’t meant to say it, he added, “I mean, how long the girls talk.”
“Adrian, I already figured out that dinner doesn’t quite go the way you described it and that Moira’s not the one in the tower,” Lucian replied.
Blushing, he said, “I’m sorry, Lucian. I didn’t really want to lie to you; it’s just hard to admit that my mother seems to wish I’d just disappear.”
“Well, I won’t ignore you if it’s any consolation.”
Later that night, Lucian was lying silently on his bed, staring at the ceiling while the rest of the castle slept. He felt restless and frustrated. Since arriving, he’d rarely been able to talk to Moira. If anything, she seemed to avoid being near him except at meals where she would often talk and laugh, as though more for her mother to see than to actually communicate with Lucian.
Unable to sleep, he got up and lit a candle. Putting on his slippers and robe, he silently walked out of his room. He poked his head into Allegra’s room. She was fast asleep. Unwilling to disturb her, he closed the door before walking up the stairs. Adrian hadn’t really shown him the castle and he thought maybe walking about would do him good. He wandered about hallways, really not sure which direction he was going. He neared the castle’s large tower and opened the door, hoping that no one would hear it creaking. It was dark; the only light coming from the moonlit windows and the small flame of his candle. He continued up a flight of stairs until he came to an open room. It seemed to be a shrine dedicated to someone. There were several portraits of the same person along the walls. A suit of armor stood in one corner, still black from fiery blasts of a dragon’s breath. A sword glinted on the wall above the armor. There was a saddle in another corner and a desk covered by letters and other memorabilia. He looked around at everything and then stopped in front of one of the portraits. He gasped. It was Adrian, only older and more distinguished. But it was the same face, the same sandy brown hair, same sparkling green eyes and even the same smile.
“I see you’ve met my father,” a voice said behind him.
Lucian nearly dropped his candle as he whirled around. “You startled me.”
Moira stepped out from the shadows she’d been hiding in. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to.” She walked closer to the portrait. “That’s my dad.”
“Adrian looks just like him,” he said.
“Painfully so, yes,” she replied.
“Adrian wasn’t banished to the tower because you fight.”
“No. Our relationship, while certainly not as good as yours and Allegra’s, was never bad either. When Dad died, Mother took everything that reminded her of him and threw it out. Adrian and I salvaged what we could, bringing it here. His favorite sword, the armor he saved Mother in, his portraits, the letters he wrote her; anything we could. Adrian has always been the spitting image of Dad. Mother couldn’t simply throw Adrian out, so she sent him to the tower. She does the minimum that she must with him. But,” she sighed, “it’s hard on both of us. She lives for every little thing I do while Adrian rarely hears a word of praise.”
“Is that why you won’t let me get near you?”
“What?” she asked, looking taken aback.
“I get it, you’re afraid that I’ll die young, right? That you’ll be left alone.”
“That’s not…”
Lucian continued before she could finish, “In the three years since we’ve met, I’ve tried everything I could think of to get to know you. I’ve tried talking about myself. I’ve tried to win games in the hopes of winning a question. I’ve gone out of my way to be nice to you and still you hold yourself back.”
“I can’t get to know you,” she said.
“Why not?” he demanded; his voice strained from trying not to shout. “We’re supposed to fall in love with each other. I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know what you like to do, what you hate to do, your favorite vacation; I don’t even know your favorite color! How am I supposed to get you to fall in love with me if we never get to know each other?”
“I don’t want to fall in love with you,” she cried.
Lucian took a step back from her as though she’d slapped him. “What?”
Moira was sobbing. “I’m sorry, Lucian. I can’t fall in love with you. Look at what happened to my mother. She lives as recluse within herself. She shuns her own son because he looks too much like the love she lost. She has no pictures in the house, no letters kept; nothing to remind her of him because of the pain it causes her. I don’t want to become my mother. I can’t. I can’t.” She slumped against Lucian’s chest, throwing her arms around him.
Unsure why he did it, Lucian ran his fingers through her hair. It was soft as satin and flowed like golden, silk threads between his fingers. He held her while she sobbed against his chest. Tears filled his eyes. So this was how it was going to be. Moira wouldn’t fall in love with him because she didn’t want to become her mother. They would never have happily-ever-after because she was afraid of banishing his memory should something happen to him.
“It’s no use, Lucian,” she said, rising to meet his gaze as she regained some control of her emotions. “You’ve broken every defense I’ve put up just by being you. Please, don’t try any harder. I’ll tell you anything you need to be able to complete your quest. I’ll do whatever I have to so that we can be happy. Just don’t ask me to fall in love with you, pleas
e. Let’s just be really good friends. And after your quest is over and you rescue me, we can be really good friends that get married. Please.”
Lucian stepped away from her and took her hand in his. He brought it gently to his lips, the only kiss they were ever allowed to share with their princesses. Althea had taught them in spell breaking that only love’s first real kiss would break a spell. “I’ll respect your wishes,” he said at length.
She smiled and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Lucian.”
He tried to return her smile, despite his heart shattering within him. “Good night, Moira,” he said, turning away from her.
“Lucian.”
Hoping she would take back what she had just said Lucian turned to face her again. “Yes?”
Moira smiled, “My favorite color is lavender.”
The next day, the group went into town so that they could buy supplies for the next semester. Lucian and Adrian both got new trousers as well as new doublets and jackets. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the trip to Traifloran. When they had finished, Adrian and Lucian spent some time in the fencing hall practicing. “You seem preoccupied,” Adrian commented. “Anything bothering you?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Lucian replied. It wasn’t technically a lie; he had often worried about his relationship with Moira. However, he didn’t want to share with Adrian the