Roderick blinked his eyes, coming out of his memories, and noticed his High Captain was staring at him. He moved his horse closer to her.

“Did Darron not want to come out with us this morning?” he asked.

“No, he said he wished to remain at the Fortress until the novices arrive. I think he might have been hungover.”

“You didn’t offer him anything for it?” asked Roderick with a slight smile.

“No, I did not. If he was out drinking too much, he should pay the consequences for it. Besides, he should have had some elixir on hand already for such a time if he planned on overindulging in drink. An Elite is always prepared, after all.”

“Are you worried about today, Captain?” asked Roderick. “You seem ill at ease if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“No, I don’t mind it, and you can call me Dracia out here by ourselves, Roderick. We have been friends for a long time now.”

“We have, but I like to give you your due. You are my High Captain, and I will treat you as such.”

Dracia smiled at him. “I appreciate your support Roderick, but I don’t want to lose the friendship we have either. I hope you will indulge me sometimes and still call me Dracia.”

“Very well, Captain. I will call you Dracia when we are alone if you command it.”

Dracia sighed and looked at Roderick as Roderick broke out into a wide grin. She laughed at him slightly and shook her head.

“Now what are you fretting about, Dracia?” asked Roderick. “You aren’t worried about the Disciplines, are you? You have led many training sessions, and most of the work can be done by other Elites. I am sure we will find at least a few worthy novices.”

“I am not worried about the Disciplines. They have been going on for almost two thousand years. I don’t think even I could mess that up if I tried. We will find what we find with the novices. We cannot control it.”

“Then what is troubling you, my friend. I can tell it something.”

“I think you can guess what is troubling me. You must have heard the news from the palace. I imagine we will be needed to soon to attend to all the guests who are coming. You know how guest love to meet with the upper Elites of the Sentinel. I have a feeling I will be something of a curiosity.”

“I did hear the king is on the lookout for a wife for his son,” said Roderick carefully. He looked around to make sure they were alone. He moved as close to Dracia as he could on his horse and said quietly, “I know this can’t be easy for you.”

“No, it is not, but maybe it will help me finally face reality. I should have put him off long ago.”

“He is not an easy man to put off,” said Roderick patting his horse soothingly. “No man that loves a woman as much as he loves you would be easy to put off.”

Dracia shrugged slightly. “I do believe he loves me, but I know who he is. I know what is expected of him by his father. If you want to speak of men who are not easy to put off, you should mention the king.”

“Why is the king so against you? You should be high born enough for a Crown Prince. You are practically royalty yourself.”

“I am not sure. I only know the king has told me to leave his son alone. I believe he has very lofty plans for the prince. I think he wants to make an alliance with one of the nearby kingdoms. That worries me for other reasons. I don’t want to go to war with our lower numbers.”

“War? Have you heard rumblings of war?” asked Roderick.

“No, not really. I know the Navalia has been growing in power. The Navalian kings of the past have always looked to Lanoxan with jealousy. They seemed to have formed an alliance with the nobles of Siccaria in recent years. A few lower Siccarian nobles have married those connected with the Navalian royalty. If they truly join together against us, it could get interesting.”

“I understand the king of Navalia has a daughter of marriageable age,” said Roderick.

“Yes, which is why the royal family of Navalia will be a guest in the palace this summer, as well as the nobles of Siccaria.”

“And you will have to attend many court events with all these visiting nobles and royals in attendance, won’t you?” asked Roderick.

“Yes, of course, the king has already commanded me to come. You and Darron will have to go as well,” said Dracia. She paused for a moment. “The king has asked me to see to the security of the princess of Navalia myself.”

Roderick let out a puff of air. “He would be as cruel as that?” asked Roderick.

“He wants to drive home the point that I should step aside and leave his son alone. I believe he thinks I will pale in comparison to the reputed beauty of the princess from Navalia.”

“He is a fool then, Dracia,” said Roderick quietly. She looked at Roderick with a sad smile.

“She is of old magical blood. She can connect with the prince in ways I cannot understand. I am not blind to the realities that she is much more suitable for the prince than I could ever be,” said Dracia as she turned and looked out over the fields.

Roderick wished he could say something comforting to her. He wished he could reassure her that the prince loved her beyond what any magical bond could do, but he knew it would do no good.

Dracia shook her head and smiled slightly. “I do not wish to spend this pleasant morning, pining over some future with a man I can probably never have. I have much to look forward to. I have a purpose in this kingdom, and I will serve that purpose.”

Roderick nodded. “You do have much purpose, my Captain. I am looking forward to the Disciplines this year. I think we have a very interesting crop of novices coming in.”

“We do indeed, especially your little brother. I am rather anxious to see how it works with him juggling the Royal Academy and Disciplines. I do worry what some of the other novices will say. It could put a target on Galen’s back.”

“Galen won’t mind. He isn’t bothered by talk or harsh words. He also already has a friend coming with him to Disciplines, and one attending the Royal Academy.”

“Good,” said Dracia as she urged her horse to start walking. “I do hope he can find more, maybe some who can corrupt him a bit as I did you.”

“Corrupt me?” asked Roderick as he rode alongside her. “When did you corrupt me?”

“Roderick, you were as silent as a stone and looked as lost as a young man’s coin when you came to Disciplines. Why do you think I befriended you so quickly? I should have kept to myself, but I couldn’t just stand by and watch you flounder,” said Dracia fondly. “You were a quick learner though. I think you could drink me under the table twice now.”

Roderick chucked. “We will have to see if that is true soon. I am sure you could use a night away from the Fortress and court.”

“You are right, I believe we both could. We will have to shadow our new novices on one of their nightly escapades. We will make sure we are not close enough to them to ruin their fun, but close enough to see what mischief they get up to.”

“If I can see Galen participate in one bit of mischief, I should be very satisfied,” said Roderick. “I’m not sure it can be done.”

“That sounds like a challenge,” said Dracia smiling. “I think I will have to find someone to make sure your little brother gets into plenty of mischief.”

Dracia clicked her heels and her horse shot off. Roderick smiled before following after her.