Micha
I'm surprised I even got to sleep last night after what Ronak pulled. Had I never opened my mouth, I wouldn't be stressing about some mystery article of clothing. I tried to ask Ronak for more information on the outfit, but only a grin appeared on his face.
"Where are you going?" I grumbled as I grabbed onto Ronak's arm. He was trying to leave the comfort of our bed so early in the morning, and I wasn't going to accept that! I wanted snuggles! How they made this mattress so soft yet perfectly firm was a complete mystery to me, but I appreciated all the effort that probably went into making it. I didn't think beds could get better than the one at the capital estate, but this one was trying.
Ronak reached over and pinched my cheek, making me let go of his arm. "I go train with the knights at dawn when I'm here in Ebonhold. You can keep sleeping until breakfast." Mmm, the mountains were a nice sight to wake up to, but even better were all the mountains and valleys known as Ronak's chest. Yeah, that's a sight that will never get old either. Hehe.
I let out a big yawn and watched as Ronak sat up in bed. Mmm, even his back had good-looking muscles, but his chest and obliques were definitely my favorite. I scooted over just so I could run my finger along the golden bond mark that proved he was mine. "Can I come?" I was awake now, and I was rather curious how Ronak's knights trained. He was the one who said I should a couple of months ago.
"I… guess you can… but I don't see you liking it." Ronak peeked behind himself to look at me.
"Are you saying that I can't handle it?" I poked his bond mark rather hard as I reached one of its jagged ends.
"Mmm, you did have to be banned from teleporting from room to room in the capital because you didn't want to walk… I'm simply worried about how you're going to fare…" The look Ronak was giving me was incredibly offensive. Like, I was pathetic.
I-I'm not that lazy! Don't give me a pitiful look! "Th-that's just because the spell was new and fancy!" I was also saving my energy for him since he has so much dang stamina once the sun goes down. Shouldn't he appreciate how smart I am?
Ronak narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "Mhmm, well, if you're coming, we have to go. It won't look good if I'm late." Ronak stood from the bed and started to stretch. "Olivia." On command, Olivia appeared at the top of the stairs from a swirl of red mist.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Help Micha into an outfit for training. Make sure it has plenty of warming enchantments." Ronak must have already had something prepared for himself last night because he had a little stack of clothes at the foot of our bed.
"Of course, my lord." Olivia's gaze traveled over to me. "I'll be getting the outfit ready if you'd please follow me to the closet." She turned and descended the stairs, leaving me to follow after her. I guess I'll leave our warm bed. I'll prove to Ronak how wrong he is!
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"How is this an outfit for training in the wintertime?!" I glanced over to Ronak, who was wearing a tight black shirt, green canvas pants, and black boots that came up to his shin. He had a cloak over the top of his outfit, but it was rather thin and didn't look like it was doing much to keep him warm.
I was pretty skeptical about going outside in what I was wearing. My outfit was a bit similar; the shirt was the same tight material, but mine had shoulder cutouts and long sleeves. I was pretty mortified about the shoulder cutouts because some of the marks Ronak left behind were visible. Thankfully, the new one he gave me yesterday only poked out of the high collar a little bit. My pants were also green, but mine were tight and stretchy, unlike his, which looked a bit stiff. Also, my boots came all the way up to my knees, and my cloak was a bit thicker. Thankfully, it hid my shoulders a bit, but I still didn't think it was warm enough for how cold it was outside. I was far less worried about exercising and far more worried about freezing my butt off at this point.
"Your outfit is enchanted to keep you warm. If you're still cold after all that, then you'd better head back inside." Was he just trying to get me to back out?! I-I'll show him!!
We exited the castle and headed down the path that led to the training field. It looked just like the large dirt field at the magic academy, except that it had a low stone wall running the perimeter. On one side of the field was the entrance to the barracks, and on the other side seemed to be a storage building. As I caught a better glimpse of the training field, I saw that the knights were lined up in neat rows. There seemed to be twenty knights in a row, but maybe I was counting wrong. There was a clear gap between the four rows of older knights and the three rows of what I assume were esquires. He wasn't lying when he said there were about sixty esquires in training here…
As we entered the training field, all the knights saluted, and I saw that one man stood at the helm on a platform. Ronak stepped up onto the wooden platform with ease but turned around to give me a hand. I could have just made platforms to get up, but this works too… My eyes ended up wandering back over to the knights, and I saw that while some were confused and curious, others looked downright annoyed and perturbed. Eep! I slid slightly behind Ronak to help hide myself from them.
The man on stage turned to greet Ronak with a slight smile. He was a pretty muscular man and was about the same height as Ronak. Huh… not only am I matching Ronak, but now that I'm paying attention, I guess we're all matching… The only main difference was that all their shirts were a dark red color, and their pants were black. Other than that, they looked the same as what Ronak was wearing. "Greetings, Archduke Abraxos! We would like to congratulate you on taking the title you've deserved for many years." The knights all cheered, causing me to flinch. I-I wasn't expecting such a loud sound. I glanced up to see the man's hazel eyes watching me with curiosity.
Ronak held up his hand to silence his troops. He turned towards me and waved to the mystery man. "This is Margrave Tian. He's one of the five margraves I was telling you about. He resides in Ebonhold and manages the training of esquires, plus all the knights that reside in his area. Margrave Tian, this is Micha. He will occasionally join us for training, but he will be under my management. Only my management." Ronak patted the top of my head and glared daggers at Margrave Tian. I was pretty surprised that the margrave didn't even flinch. He must be pretty used to Ronak's sour attitude…
"I wouldn't dare attempt such a thing." He smiled back at Ronak.
Ronak turned his sharp glare over to the knights and raised his voice so all could hear. "You had better not become soft while I was away at the academy. Otherwise, there will be dire consequences for those who are deemed weak." How does anyone respect him?! He was so mean! Ack! While I was distracted, Ronak pulled me out from where I was hiding. "For those of you who are not aware. Micha is my omega. I expect the same level of respect to be given that you give me." A grumbling growl began to echo out from Ronak as he spoke. "If any of you dare try anything, you will be courting death." A shiver ran down my spine as Ronak growled loud enough to make it feel like the air was vibrating. What impressed me the most was that the knights stood their ground. Very few of them flinched, though I did see quite a few looking rather uncomfortable.
After threatening everyone, Ronak took my hand and helped me off the stage. I-I didn't need his help, but grabbing my waist to lift me was rather cute. Margrave Tian then took over, sorting the knights into their training units. Apparently, they understood what all the letters and directions meant because I sure didn't.
"What are we going to do first?" I asked excitedly, drawing the ire of a few older knights who wandered close to us.
Ronak looked down at me with a slight smirk. "One must have a strong body to wield a weapon, so we will be starting with push-ups, then following it up with lunges, jumping jacks, burpees, squat jumps, back crunches, tricep dips, mountain climbers, and finishing it all off with a five-mile run. Sometimes I stay for actual sword training, but since I'll be joining you for breakfast most days, I might end up doing some additional training later in the day." My smile slowly faded the longer Ronak talked. He was right, I was going to die! I-I can't do all that! Why did I insist upon coming here?! "We usually do all the exercises in four sets of fifteen." My eye twitched slightly as I continued to look up at Ronak. Th-they do each of those exercises sixty times?! It was a miracle that I didn't snap my fingers and teleport back to our bed. Ronak leaned down closer to me with an evil grin. "You're not going to give up before even trying, are you? You're the one who asked to come."
There was no escaping now! I'm doomed! "N-nope. Not at all! I-I'm not a quitter!"
Ronak chuckled as he fully stood back up. "Good, you better not be." I was becoming all too aware of the looks of pity from the esquires and the looks of concern from the knights who were in our group. I saw that there was a female esquire in our group, but even she had more muscles than I did… I was just a lean wet noodle, wasn't I?
Ronak set his cloak on the stone wall we were near, so I followed suit. I-I didn't like people seeing the marks, but it's not like I could exercise with a cloak on. We started with push-ups, and it was instantly clear that I was moving at a much slower pace than everyone else. Everyone was pressing them out as easily as breathing, and I was struggling to do even one set. My stomach touched the ground halfway through my second set, and I became a sad puddle on the ground as I watched Ronak finish his third.
"Are you already giving up?" Ronak teased as he continued with his ridiculous pace. Ugh, just watching him was making me dizzy.
"This is why your arms are like iron cages, aren't they?" I sadly whimpered while watching him and the other knights move onto their fourth set. I couldn't help but notice a few of the knights in our group giving me scathing glares of disapproval. Hey! I've never needed to prioritize arm strength before! Don't look at me like that!
Ronak laughed as he finished his push-ups and squatted beside me. The knights around us looked over in shock as Ronak laughed at me. "Probably. Sitting around eating sweets all day sure isn't going to give me these."
"I don't just sit around eating sweets all day!" I glared at him as he helped me to my feet.
"Oh, I'm fully aware of what you do and do not do. Come on, it's time for squats." I had a bit more faith in my legs. I was pretty good at running away after all.
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Or not… I got to the third set and my thighs felt like they were on fire. I went down for another one and ended up stumbling. Thankfully, Ronak caught me before my butt hit the ground. D-don't look at me with disdain! I was trying my hardest! The knights weren't saying anything because it would anger Ronak, but the glances they were giving me sure weren't kind and respectful.
By the time our group got to the mountain climber exercise, I was a sad and sweaty lump on the ground. This was the most exercise I had done in my entire life. Ronak made me stretch muscles I knew I had, but don't think I've ever used. "I think you should go back to the room, take a hot bath, and relax," Ronak said as he pulled me to my feet. He wasn't even sweating. You'd think Ronak just went for a walk in the park!
"No! I'm not a quitter!" I said I was going to see this to the end, and I will!
"Didn't you-" I stepped up onto one of my golden platforms and pressed a finger to Ronak's lips. He wasn't annoyed at all, though; if anything, his lips curled up into a smile as I glared at him.
"Yeah, okay! I didn't do as many reps as you did, but I tried!"
Ronak snickered and pulled my hand away from his mouth. "That you did. You know, I was never expecting you to come train with us every morning. I just thought we could train together later in the day when the knights were done."
"But running away from you is my specialty!" I puffed up my chest proudly and noticed the few knights, not completely annoyed with me, giving me concerned looks. Some of the esquires were even struggling to stifle a snicker. I held out my hands and brought a bottle from my storage. The golden shimmer that appeared in the air really drew people's attention to me, but it wasn't like I wasn't already getting plenty, so I tried to ignore it. The bottle, or I guess the substance inside, was a pretty silver color that really glittered when shaken. I proudly held it up to show Ronak. "Let me just drink this and I'll be good to go!"
"Do you even know what that one does?" Ronak said with a grim expression. O-okay… I didn't exactly have a good track record at this point. He caught me multiple times drinking dubious potions that I'd brewed. I just wanted to see what they'd do, and needless to say, they didn't always have good results. I think Ronak was pretty tired of holding my hair out of my face as I puked.
"Yes, I do. You tried one of the prototypes, remember?" He should remember. It was pretty hard to forget about a nightwalker trying to kill you. "I often brewed this for villagers back in my hometown. It restores your stamina and leaves you feeling refreshed. This new version works even better-!" Ronak plucked it from my hands and gave it a swirl.
"What have you used?" Ronak uncorked my potion and gave it a sniff. "Waaay too many dewberries it seems."
"And brittlebush!" I chimed in. Ronak quickly pulled the potion away from his nose and gave me a concerned look.
"Are you trying to poison people? Are you sure the villagers lived to tell the tale?" Hey! You're making the knights give me even more dirty looks!
"I used its roots, dummy. The roots aren't poisonous, just its branches and leaves. Besides, isn't it you who's been making me drink potions with vexfang venom in them?!" I pulled one of his pink potions he gave me out of my storage and waved it around in his face. He'd given me quite a few to pick out what level of sweetness I liked, so I stashed the rest of them in my storage just in case I needed them after dealing with how vigorous he was. Not that I liked using them. They made me so immune to pain that I've been known to accidentally slice through my fingers with a knife.
"Touche." Ronak brought the bottle to his lips and downed the entire contents in one gulp. He made a face as he pulled it away from his lips, and I saw a few knights start to panic. Calm down! He's fine! "God damn it, I forgot that all your potions are sickeningly sweet. Gah, can't you keep some in your storage that don't taste like liquid sugar?"
"I didn't bring that one out for you!" I snapped as I passed him a canteen of water from my storage. That's what you get for drinking my potion without asking. "I do have some that aren't sweet, but you didn't ask." I made them just for Ronak to try… I would have given him one had he asked.
"You should have assumed I would be curious. Do we not run a business together?" We may, but I don't really help run it. More like you take my odd ideas and incorporate them how you see fit.
I glared at him and held out my hand. "Where's my pillow?!" Ronak grabbed my wrist with a grin.
"Now, now. Calm down." I angrily plucked the empty bottle and canteen from Ronak's hands and shoved them into my storage. I brought out a potion for myself and held it far, far away from Ronak.
"This one's not for you." I snapped. The esquires who traveled to Ebonhold with us didn't seem all that bothered by our squabbling, but the knights and other esquires who weren't used to us were watching us in shock. Even a few mouths were hanging open. I was getting really tired of the gawking. It was like we were back at the academy. I thought for sure we wouldn't deal with that here.
"Has your potion taken effect yet?" I nodded my head. Yeah, it did a way better job at making you feel refreshed than the old version. I didn't like using monster parts in my potions, but I couldn't deny how great they were. "Okay," Ronak dragged me over to the path that connected the training field to the forest. "Don't leave this path. It's one way, no forks. You'll end over there." Ronak pointed to the other side of the training field where a unit of knights was exiting from their run. "The path is five miles. You're welcome to pass any knight units you come across. Normally, this run takes about forty minutes for seasoned knights. Closer to sixty for new esquires. I imagine you'll be done faster than that, right? You did say, you're very good at running from me, right?"
"Y-yeah." Wh-why was I starting to get a foreboding feeling?
"Now… Hmmm… If I catch you-" I whipped around to face Ronak with wide eyes.
"Who said anything about catching me?!" I nervously pawed at him. That wasn't part of the deal!
"You did." I-I did?! "Come on, it will make it extra fun." The grin on Ronak's face was rather creepy. "If you make it all five miles and I don't catch you, then you can eat whatever you want today. However, if I do catch you… then no sweets for a week, and you have to come to training with me every morning."
"Really?" I grabbed Ronak's arm and excitedly bounced up and down. These terms were harsh, but I had faith that I could do it.
"Sure. I'll even give you a ten-second head start."
"Okay!" I turned and ran before Ronak even started counting. I knew I was faster than him. I'd just have to keep a good pace so I didn't wear myself out before the five miles were up.
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Ronak
I watched Micha run down the path like an excited bunny until he made the first turn and disappeared out of sight. I slowly turned towards the knights who had been getting on my last fucking nerve and let out a growl. "Wipe those annoying looks off your faces unless you want me to wipe them off for you." I snapped. Did they think I was honestly unaware of how they were behaving? They were lucky I was playing nice because Micha was here, otherwise I would have broken a shin by now.
"You're really going to do that with him?" Guerin had made it into our group, and I turned to give him a bit of an annoyed look.
"He'll make it further than any of you did." I snapped. "It's been far longer than ten seconds. Don't get in my fucking way." I grumbled as I slipped down into my travel spell.
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Micha
Sugar! Sugar! I'm going to win that sugar! I excitedly chanted to myself as I ran. I might have sucked at all the physical exercises that required strength to do, but I was pretty quick on my feet. Ronak was far out of my sight, but he'd probably be hot on my trail in no time.
I thought I was doing good, I hadn't needed to use any additional stamina potions, and my legs weren't feeling like jelly. I even saw another group of knights up ahead. I was excitedly closing the distance when a shiver ran down my spine. I nervously peeked behind me and saw a bubbling pile of red viscera charging after me. I let out a loud yelp and picked up the speed. "That's cheating!" I nervously yelled.
Ronak's voice emanated from the goop as it got closer. "I never said anything about magic not being allowed." The way Ronak's voice was reverberating as he laughed was not helping in the slightest. He sounded completely evil.
A tingle ran up my spine, and I quickly jumped to the side as a red spike shot up from the ground. "What's wrong with you?!" Was he trying to kill me or something?! I'm not going to make it to knight training if he skewers me! I glanced ahead of the knights and snapped my fingers. I saw that the knights looked pretty surprised to see me appear from nowhere in front of them, but I wasn't going to stick around. I turned on my heel and took off on my golden platforms.
I kept them just slightly above the ground as I raced from one to another. I figured it would be safer than hoping I don't trip on uneven ground. What was horrifying, though, was hearing the sound of them shattering behind me. I swear Ronak was doing it on purpose.
I managed to catch up to a second unit of knights and wasted no time teleporting in front of them as spikes shot up on either side of me. I thought using them as a sort of barrier between Ronak and me would slow him down, but it didn't. Red spikes continued to burst up in front of me, and I had to jump over a few that were in my way. A red spike almost got me, but thanks to my combat sense spell, a shiver ran down my spine, and I dodged just in time.
This was not what I agreed to! Where is the end of this five-mile course?! My lungs are starting to burn, and my legs feel like jelly. Ronak was getting scarily closer as I lost steam. To no surprise, he had way more stamina than I did, and he was giving me no opportunities to drink another one of my potions. This was going to end just like our sparring did in class. With me losing. What to do… what to do…
A completely stupid idea came to mind. I'm sure Ronak would be annoyed, but what's new with that? He's the one who started cheating in the first place. With a quick snap of my fingers, I collapsed down onto the ground to catch my breath. Where was I? Oh, just back at the start of the race, where Ronak had been ominously counting down. Ronak might be speedy in his travel spell, but he was who knows where in the forest and probably wouldn't risk coming back here just for me to teleport back to him.
All hail the stamina potion! I pulled one out of my storage and desperately pulled the cork off. Were knights giving me the strangest looks? Yeah, but I don't care. My sweets were at risk here! I liked them more than I cared about the knights! Now feeling refreshed, I stood back up and glanced around. I don't see Ronak… which probably means he's waiting for me where I disappeared… I don't want him ambushing me…
I decided to risk it and appear a bit further back in the trail. As my feet touched the ground, it was silent. Almost too silent… I don't see Ronak anywhere, and my spell isn't alerting me to any danger… I decided to only lightly jog as I kept an eye on my surroundings. It was completely unfair. I was left not knowing where Ronak was, while he probably knew exactly where I was and was just waiting. Ugh. How dare our bond work in his favor! Maybe teleporting away was the wrong move. Maybe I should have just escaped to the sky…
I ran for another ten minutes and passed two units of knights I hadn't seen yet, but no Ronak… It was starting to make me anxious. The trees seem to be thinning out as well. I've got to be close to the end…
A shiver ran down my spine, but it was too late. Strong arms wrapped around me as the training field became visible, and I screamed in surprise. "I caught you!" Ronak excitedly rubbed his head against mine as I let out a frustrated whine. "Did you think you could trick me by teleporting far away?"
"No fair! You said nothing about using magic and trying to attack me the whole time!" I angrily squirmed around in his grasp to no avail.
Ronak laughed heartily, and I noticed the knights giving us mixed reactions. Some were shocked beyond belief, while a lot of the esquires were giving me pitiful glances. "I do that to all recruits. Not as aggressively as that, but I like to scare the shit out of them to see how they'll react in real-life battles."
"That's so mean!" No wonder the esquires looked horrified when Ronak proposed the idea. They knew exactly what he was up to! I managed to twist in Ronak's arms to partially face him, brought a pillow out of storage, and whacked him upside the head with it. "You can't do stuff like that to people without warning! You big meanie!!" I got a good three whacks in before Ronak dropped me to the ground. That didn't prevent me from hitting his dumb broad chest with my pillow.
Ronak ripped the pillow from my arms and held it out ominously. I thought for sure he was going to burn it, but instead he paused and held it over my head. "Put this back in your storage if you want it to live." Ronak smacked me with the pillow, but it wasn't all that hard. If anything, it just startled me. He thrust it into my arms and turned towards our gawkers. "Show's over. Get your asses to work before I break an arm or two." Ronak snarled. That got the knights to scurry away like little ants. Oh… the storage building houses weapons. That makes sense.
I cradled my pillow against my face and gave it a sad hug. "I should have stayed in bed with you, pillow," I mumbled.
"I thought I told you to put that away."
"It's the only kindness in my life right now." I whimpered. Such a nice pillow. Way nicer than big meanie Ronak. I rubbed my face on my pillow and peeked up to see Ronak looking a bit flustered.
"Do your legs hurt?" His tone of voice had completely shifted to a much gentler one as he whispered to me. I shook my head, and he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the trees. "I warned you not to come. I figured you'd hate every minute."
"Why couldn't we have had a nice jog together? Why'd you have to go all scary mode?" I didn't mind Ronak being playful, but that felt like taking things a bit too far. It didn't feel like we were on even footing in the slightest. Ronak sat down against a tree that had no snow under it and pulled me and my pillow into his arms. We were still pretty close to the training grounds and could hear the sounds of weapons clashing.
Ronak let out a long sigh and rested his head on my shoulder. "I… was trying to prove something and didn't stop to think about how you'd feel. I was getting pissed off because the knights were looking down on you, so I figured if I did what I normally do with new knights, you could prove how skilled you actually are… I also didn't want them to think I was favoring you…" I understand that he's in charge and has a reputation to uphold, but…
"I-I… want to be favored…" I mumbled into my pillow. I didn't mind the idea of training with Ronak and the knights, but I also didn't want to train as aggressively as they did.
"Trust me. You were favored today. Had any recruits flopped onto the ground like you had and given up, they would have been shipped back home to their parents before the sun had risen above the mountains. Actually, they wouldn't have even been permitted to become esquires. They wouldn't have passed the test. I'm very strict." Oh, I'm aware…
"I'm worse than a recruit?!" I sadly whimpered.
Ronak snickered and pulled my rather moist eyes over to look at him. "I don't expect you to become a knight. If you want to do some light training, you can, but you don't need to feel forced."
"Wasn't it you who said I should work on my stamina?" I grumbled as Ronak licked the side of my teary eye.
"I might have… but this isn't what I had in mind." A shiver ran down my spine. You know what? I don't want to know what he had in mind…
"This was the opposite of what I wanted…" I didn't want to come out here and make a fool of myself…
"What did you want?"
"I… I wanted people in your dukedom… to l-like me…" I felt it yesterday from the staff when we arrived, and again today from the knights, but it seemed to me that people were not very happy about my presence. "N-now all your knights think I'm pathetic…"
"Mmm, I doubt it. You're the only one brazen enough to hit me with a pillow in public, you brat." Ronak teasingly nibbled on my earlobe, but it didn't erase my doubts. He didn't see the looks I had been receiving the entire time. It was obvious they didn't like me…
"Y-yeah…" I mumbled…
"Oh, so you're agreeing that you're a brat?" Ronak snickered as he snuggled his nose against my head.
"No!" I was thinking that being around Ronak has made me a bit brazen… He's a bad influence.
"Why don't you spar with me? That will make them shut up."
"I'm not some entertainment show that has come to town," I grumbled. What did he think I was? A part of a traveling circus? I wasn't going to go out there amongst them all and start making my glowing light orbs for their entertainment.
Ronak laughed and pulled me in even tighter. "I know you're not, but if I spar with a few of them and then you take a turn, they'll probably view you differently. You've gotten close to winning a few times." Has he lost his marbles? Close to winning? Who, me? Ronak kicks my butt every time we spar. There's no competition there.
"Stop trying to butter me up. You win every time, and you're not even transformed, nor using your swords. It's not a fair fight in the slightest."
"Mmm, but it's still pretty impressive." Did Ronak hit his head or something? He was being almost too nice to me. It was weird.
"Stop being so nice. It's freaking me out." I mumbled into my pillow.
Ronak froze before his hands bolted down to my sides and aggressively started tickling me. I let out a squeal and tried scrambling out of his lap, but Ronak just sat up, threw a leg over me, and pinned my legs down between his. "I'm always fucking nice to you! Take it back, damn it!" He continued to relentlessly tickle me until I was panting for air from all my squealing. I tried to push the pillow against his face, but he didn't even slow down. "Tell me I'm nice!" He growled.
"Y-you're so nice!" I squealed. "S-so nice! So s-stop!" Tears were returning to my eyes, and Ronak brought his attack to a halt.
"How am I nice to you?" I was still trying to catch my breath as he started to ominously count down.
"S-stop! Stop, stop! I relent!" That didn't get him to stop counting, though. Was he for real? "You're so nice! You buy me nice things, and you brought me to your home! You even let me be a spoiled brat! P-please no more tickling! I-I was just wallowing because I was sad!" I inhaled sharply as Ronak's hands returned to my sides, but the onslaught never came.
Instead, he pulled me back up to be in his arms. "I don't like it when you're sad. It makes me upset, and you definitely don't need to be sad over what a couple of damn knights think." I looked up into Ronak's eyes and saw how clear and honest they were. "You know, I didn't pick you for your combat prowess or your potion-making skills. Hell, I didn't even pick you because of your magic abilities. I picked you because you're the omega I couldn't live without. Everything else is just a bonus. Don't let other people tear you down; otherwise, they'll have me tearing them apart."
I reached up and cupped Ronak's face. He was never very good at putting into words why he picked me, but this was the closest to a real answer I had ever gotten. It made my heart leap… that was until he got to the last bit. Gosh… I really needed to work on what is and isn't romantic with Ronak, didn't I? "M-maybe don't tear them apart… That sounds difficult to heal…" I leaned up and kissed Ronak, savoring his tantalizing cherry taste as he washed my worries away. I can't believe I thought I could impress literal knights by exercising with them. I'm so dumb…
"Mmm, we'd better get back before I drag you further into the forest." Ronak's words made me shiver in fear. "Or you could just teleport us to bed."
"No!" Absolutely not! I was not prepared to deal with him after all that exercise. He'd literally break my body.
Ronak scoffed as he helped me to my feet. "You're no damn fun. Put the pillow away before I burn it to a crisp."
"I thought you said you were nice," I grumbled as I stuck it into my storage. That got Ronak glaring at me, so I glared right back. Two can play this game!
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Ronak and I were walking back to the training ground hand in hand when we heard some knights resting against the stone wall. "I don't know why he'd even fucking bother bringing her out here. All she's done is waste everyone's time. Our training is running late because of them. We're training, not running a daycare." My face instantly turned flush as we listened to the knights. I knew I made everyone upset…
A massive wave of anger started to overwhelm me, and I realized that, of course, Ronak heard them too. It was too late, though. I barely went to turn towards Ronak when he released my hand and went charging towards the knights. Gah! Nooo!
The two soldiers jolted as a low growl could be heard. They turned around right in time for Ronak to deliver a solid punch to one of the knights. He didn't hold back either. I heard the cracking of bone as the guy was flung across the training field and tumbled until he came to a stop.
Ronak jumped to the top of the stone wall, and by the time his feet hit the stones, they had transformed into hooves. Gone were his training clothes, and instead, Ronak sat perched in his full demonic transformation. He still looked like an angry nomadic god to me with his black and gold outfit. He even had his wings out, and his tail was swishing back and forth angrily. The knight who had been standing next to the guy who ran his mouth made the wise decision and fled the moment he saw Ronak.
"Why don't you try saying that shit to my fucking face?!" Ronak snapped with a loud snarl.
It seemed that half the knights were on break while the other half were sparring. Though the moment Ronak burst onto the scene, everyone came to a dead halt. I was surprised to see that only the esquires looked particularly horrified by Ronak's appearance. Maybe the seasoned knights had seen Ronak like this before.
"Ronak!" I hurried around the wall and rushed towards Ronak as he stomped towards the guy on the ground. "Please stop! It's not a problem! He's right! I was sticking my nose where it didn't belong!" No one even dared move. It was like they were all holding their breath and hoping not to become the next victim. I managed to make it to Ronak before anything happened and wrapped my arms around his waist. "We just talked about this! Please calm down! I'm not bothered!"
"But I am." Ronak's tail continued to whip around angrily and was sort of smacking me in the process. I wasn't going to let go, though, until he calmed down! "You didn't do anything wrong! It's he who ran his mouth."
"It was my fault for trying to rush things! I shouldn't have forced you to let me come! I had no place to join a training I didn't know the first thing about!"
"There's nothing wrong with what you did! You didn't even interact with any of the knights!" Ronak brought his fist back as if to punch the guy in the back, but before he could bring his fist down, I erected a shield. Ronak's fist smashed into my shield, causing small cracks to form. "Stop getting in my way!" He snarled at me. "You're too nice! He doesn't even deserve to be protected by you! I warned him! I warned all of them!" Ronak sorta reminded me of a child throwing a tantrum.
I don't know what possessed me, but I snickered. "B-but you can be nice too! Can't you be nice for me and not hit him?" Ronak brought his arm back again and angrily smashed it into my shield again, but this time it was clear he wasn't trying to break it. I was rather surprised when Ronak rotated to glare at me. His nostrils were flaring like crazy as his breathing was rough and choppy. He sounded like an angry bull. "Pleeease?" I wasn't sure it was going to work, but Ronak let out a grunt and took a step back from the guy.
"Just make it fucking quick." Ronak folded his arms and plopped down onto the ground like an angry toddler. Even his tail still whipped back and forth along the ground as he watched my actions closely.
I turned my attention to the knight on the ground, who was still very unconscious. He had no idea how close he got to Ronak ending his existence. I approached and kneeled on the ground next to his head. I noticed all the curious eyes around me, but didn't let them distract me. I held out my hand and gently pressed it on his cheek, where Ronak punched him. Gosh, Ronak. I know you were mad, but hitting someone like that is dangerous. He had a broken nose, broken cheekbone, fractured maxilla, teeth that had been knocked out, and a whole host of blood vessels that had ruptured. The poor guy's face is going to be black and blue for a while.
I managed to get everything put back together relatively quickly. Maybe it was because the bones couldn't move around and cause more problems in the face, but it felt a bit easier than normal. Though stitching together all those blood vessels was annoying. They were so small and delicate on the face. When I pulled my hand away from his face, he was still unconscious. Ronak probably rattled his brain around a fair amount. I glanced over to my good demon, who was still watching me with a razor-sharp gaze. Good, he'd better be working on calming down.
I held out my hands and brought one of my least favorite things out of my storage. They were useful, but by golly, I didn't like them. Honestly, they were like the less offensive version of the ability tranquilizers, but I found them more effective than smelling salts. I held up the jar to his nose and nervously uncorked it. The moment he flinched and slightly opened his eyes, I corked the bottle and quickly tossed it back into my inventory.
I looked up at some of my gawkers and noticed Margrave Tian not too far away, so I focused my attention on him. "While his wounds are healed, he might still have a concussion. You might want to move him to his bed until he fully wakes up, and then have a doctor look him over. I-I'm sorry I caused problems… I won't do it again… Ack!" Ronak pulled me up from where I was kneeling with an annoyed snort.
"You don't owe anyone an apology." He grumbled as he pulled me into his arms. I turned to look at him, and he seemed a lot less angry than he was. Maybe he got stuck in that form… "How are you going to get anyone to respect you when you're so soft?!"
"I don't think respect works like that, Ronak. It doesn't matter if I'm nice or mean… I think actions speak a lot louder than words…" Because trust me, if people went on your words alone, I don't think too many people would respect you…
"Teleport us back to the room. I no longer wish to be here." I know his anger wasn't as strong as it was because it wasn't flooding my senses anymore, but he didn't need to be so curt with me.
"What's the magic word?" I asked, not really thinking about where we were and who was listening.
"Are you trying to push my damn buttons?"
"N-no…" I just didn't think he needed to be so curt with me.
"Fine. Will you please fucking teleport us back to the goddamn room? I don't want to be here anymore." Ronak gnashed his teeth together angrily as he spat out each word.
"Crabby." I teasingly mocked him by making crab hands for a moment before snapping my fingers. Yeah, I'd better stop pushing his buttons. I might be the next one he wants to punch.
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Ronak
Micha hadn't seen crabby yet. I wanted nothing more than to go back down to the training field and beat the ever-loving snot out of all the knights and esquires. I'll make them train until the sun goes down tomorrow. Just you fucking wait. They'll rue the day they made my omega upset.
"Will you please stop sulking? I've never seen you so uninterested in sweetcakes before." Micha was sitting with his elbow on the table and his fist pressed against his cheek as he slowly mutilated his breakfast. His feelings had been a mess ever since we returned. Swapping between guilt, embarrassment, disappointment, and worst of all, sadness. I didn't like Micha being sad at all. It pissed me off. No one has the right to make my omega sad.
"So now you'll use the word please… You're as bad in front of the knights as you are at the guild." Hmm, I guess I did swear more often around the knights and at the guild than anywhere else… Not that I thought it was a big deal. Micha acted like it was a sin to swear. "Can I be honest?" Weren't you just being honest?
"You should always be honest with me." I slowly cut through my ham as I glanced over to Micha.
"These aren't as good as the academy ones, nor are they as good as the ones the chefs at the capital estate make. They're not sweet in the slightest… and… is this whole wheat flour?!" He said it like whole wheat flour was a cardinal sin of the highest degree. Did wheat flour offend him or something? I would have found it comical if he weren't so sad. "They're dense and chewy, not light and fluffy… I wanted to drown my sorrows in sweet pillowy cakes covered in syrup…" He let out a big sniffle as his voice squeaked. "N-not whatever these brown discs are…" It was like I was being overwhelmed by sadness itself. He wasn't in a good mood after what happened with the knights, then they didn't have any teas that he liked, and now this? Fuck. "I-I'm going to lie in bed…" He whimpered. I could see the tears already forming in Micha's eyes as he stood from his seat at the table.
"Wait! No, you're not!" I leapt from my chair and grabbed Micha's wrist as he turned to leave. "This isn't how I wanted today to go… Gerard!" I snapped.
Within seconds, Gerard appeared from a swirl of red mist next to our bedroom doors. "Yes, my lord?"
"I expect the chef to learn how to properly make sweet cakes, and if that includes having the capital chef come here to teach him, then arrange it. The kitchen needs to be outfitted to both our needs, not just mine. That includes having the proper ingredients for meals, stocking treats, having snacks on hand, and teas that Micha enjoys. Indeed, it was an oversight, but I expect this to be remedied by dinner. We're going out, clear my schedule." Micha let out a little hiccup as he listened to me. Shit, he wasn't crying, was he? I peeked over, and he wasn't crying, but he seemed to be on the verge.
"Yes, my lord. I will personally see to it that things are fixed." Gerard disappeared back into the red mist as he bowed his head. Yeah, he'd better have it fucking fixed by the time we return, or I'll lose it. I'm not having Micha be miserable the entire time he's here.
"Let's go change. We're going into town." I didn't wait for a response. I simply dragged Micha into the closet with me. We're going to fix this. My little sunshine isn't going to be cloudy with a chance of rain all day.
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Micha
Getting out of the castle did help improve my mood. I just couldn't get over how quaint I found the city to be. "I really like the buildings, they look cozy." For having such an intimidating name, Ebonhold was really nice.
"I can't take credit for that. I only tell people that they have to keep building in this style." Ronak and I were walking, holding hands as we explored a few shops. Our goal was their market that was set up in the town square today, but we kept dipping into stores that looked interesting. We were currently in a general goods store, checking things out, when Ronak poked me in the side. "If you like to garden, you could plant some seeds either in the greenhouse or in a spare room that gets a lot of light. It might be a pleasant hobby for you when I'm busy."
My hands instantly wandered over to the packets of seeds for vegetables. "Do I get to cook you a meal with the produce?" They seemed to have many that I was familiar with and a few I had never heard of. I assume since they sell them here that they all grow in Ebonhold's climate.
"You know how to cook?" Ronak raised a teasing eyebrow, and I shrugged.
"Nothing fancy… Just a few basic dishes. I liked sneaking in to watch our chef when I was little… When I got older, I'd actually get to help when I wanted to. I'd have to beg, but it was worth it." I chuckled as I remembered our chef's expression when I asked her if I could help for the first time. You'd have thought I asked her to cut a finger off. Heh.
"I'd be honored to let my omega cook for me." Ronak squeezed my hand and gave me a warm smile. Gah! Stop it… he makes my heart feel like it's going to escape my chest when he does that!
"You're raising the bar too high!" I stared nervously at the seeds before me. "What if I make something and you hate it?"
"Impossible. Anything you make will be delicious… just try not to make it too sweet." I narrowed my eyes in disbelief. I was making dinner, not dessert! He truly thought I was addicted, didn't he?
"It's not going to be sweet," I grumbled. "I can't believe you'd think I'd add sugar to a meal just haphazardly."
Ronak snickered and rested his head on my head as I finished selecting seeds. Maybe if I keep working on it, I'll be able to make Ronak something fancy one day…
We finished up at the general goods store and ended up down the street at a bookstore. It was surprisingly large for a commoner's bookstore, but Ronak informed me that he had been investing in schools for the past few years. They were government-operated schools for the commoners to attend so they could gain skills like reading and writing. The concept was so popular that commoners requested a class in the evenings for adults so they could gain those skills, too. Thanks to this, the average commoner was far more likely to purchase books. Thus, the bookstore! Ronak said his goal was to have a school in every town, but for right now, they were only in cities. How are you the same Ronak that punched a knight?!?! I just don't get it… He says it's all for his benefit, but I was having a hard time following his logic… Whatever…
"I think this book is a good read, or this one tells about the history of our dukedom." Ronak pulled two books off the shelves and showed them to me.
"Are they not in the library at the castle?" I tilted my head to the side, and he shrugged.
"Don't know… We don't have a librarian right now to keep track of that sort of stuff." The way he phrased it made it sound like there was one at one point in time.
"Is there normally a librarian who works at the castle?"
"Mmm, there was one… until the previous duke had him killed." Oh… I gulped nervously as Ronak glanced over at me. "I guess I should have one hired… Maybe I'll have Margrave Tian send out some letters about the position to some noble daughters, and then we can interview them."
"Why only daughters?" I asked as my head tilted to the side. If the last librarian was a guy, why couldn't the new one be a guy?
Ronak turned and gave me a scathing glare. "Besides Blade, whom I keep on a tight leash and the knights who are not welcome to enter the estate, there will not be any alphas who work at the estate full-time. It's too much of a risk." Right… I guess I wouldn't want one running around either…
"Oh, duh…"
"I'm sure there are plenty of noble daughters who can handle such a job. Did you want these then? If we end up with additional copies, we could always give them away."
"Yeah, let's get them. I'd like to read both of them in my free time. I also wanted this one. Is that alright?" I asked as I quickly showed Ronak the cover. Hopefully, he doesn't look too closely at it… I-I just didn't want him making fun of me for reading such sappy things.
"What a silly question. You can buy whatever you want." He said as he rolled his eyes and took the three books from my hands.
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After the bookstore, we went to maybe the coolest store ever! The moment I walked in, the scent of sugar hit my nose, and I felt like an excited child. I watched with wide eyes as strong men pulled and stretched this firm-looking dough on a table behind the counter. Maybe it wasn't dough… it was bright green after all and had a glossy sheen to it. Whoa… that's a big hook.
"They're pulling the taffy so it's light and airy." I think I had a taffy once. It was super chewy and sweet. "They sell hard candies here, too. I'll buy you whatever, but you can't eat it all in one sitting."
"Really?!" My eyes went wide with surprise. Who was this muscular hunk, and what did he do with Ronak?! He was being so nice after being a meanie during training.
"Just don't go overboard." He patted my head, and I excitedly turned and started looking at their goods. Woah! They have so many flavors!
"Welcome to Sam's Sweets. Can I help you with anything?" The nicest-looking old lady approached me from behind the counter with a large smile. Her white apron was frilly with small pink polka dots, and her hair was silver from age. Her smile was so warm that it made me feel like she was my own grandmother.
"Oh, I've never been here before. So I guess I'm just looking right now." I squatted down and began reading all the different flavors of their taffies. Ooh, the green one they're pulling must be this apple flavor.
"I have samples. Would you like to try them?" My eyes went wide, and I stared up at her with massive, excited eyes as I nodded my head. I reached over and grabbed Ronak's hand to pull myself back up, causing the lady's attention to be drawn towards him. "Oh, my! Archduke Abraxos! Welcome!" She went to bow, but Ronak stopped her.
"There's no need. I'm simply here for a pleasant time with this one." Ronak patted my head, and I glanced back at him for a moment, but my attention was fully on all the different flavors of taffy.
She lightly chuckled. "Oh, to be young. May I ask what your name is?"
"Micha." Oooh, an elderberry taffy?! I love picking elderberries!
"Sorry, this one loses all his senses when it comes to sweets. Apparently, manners are included." Ronak grumbled.
The old lady chuckled again and retrieved something from behind the counter. "Here, we just made this honey taffy this morning. It's still pretty soft because of it, but I rather enjoy the texture."
Say no more! I quickly flocked over to her and accepted the taffy. The moment it touched my tongue, I was in heaven. It was sweet from the honey and still warm from being just pulled. "We gotta get some of this!" I excitedly tugged on Ronak's sleeve, and he snickered.
"Give us a bag, Ava." Ronak accepted the medium-sized bag from the old lady and handed it to me. "You can get two of everything except those." He pointed towards a stand that had large, colorful lollipops sticking out of it like leaves on a tree. My eyes had stars in them as I gazed upon their beautiful swirls. "You can only have one of those."
"B-but which flavor?! There are so many different colors! D-do you want to pick it out for me?" I stared up at Ronak with wide eyes, and the tips of his cheeks turned a bit pink.
"Then it's only appropriate that we get this one." He plucked a large red and yellow swirl from the stand and held it out for me. I couldn't help but giggle. It was always red when it came to him. Hehe, it was like our eye color had been made into a lollipop.
I carefully put the lollipop into our bag that Ronak held open for me with a big smile on my face. "Is this better than moping around in bed?
"So much better!" I basically skipped over to the wall of taffies and started picking out two of each. Ronak stood next to me and held the bag open for me as I carefully loaded up the bag. I was amazed at how many flavors there were, and that didn't even count the hard candies I hadn't gotten to. I put the last of the taffies into our bag and gasped as I wandered over to the hard candies. "They have little designs inside!" I held the wrapped candy in my hands and admired the pine tree on the inside.
"They make it by stacking different colors. Maybe another day if they're working on a design, we could stop and watch."
"That would be so fun!" Ronak's smile was pure and genuine as he watched me admire all the different candies. Even a wave of happiness from him hit me. This was nice. I hoped that once I adjusted to living here, we could still make time for things like this.
Our bag was hefty as we approached the counter, and I was so excited to try them all. "Archduke, did you want a bag of your regular hard candies?" Ava pulled a smaller bag of candies from underneath the counter, and my curiosity was piqued. Ronak hated sweets… Why was he buying those?
"Yes, I'll take them. You must have known I was due to return from the academy." Ava carefully took both cloth bags and sorted them into paper bags for us. There were three total: Ronak's candies, taffies, and hard candies. Ronak paid for all of it, and while I was waiting, I curiously poked my nose into his bag of candies.
These weren't ones on the wall for normal customers… They were tan hard candies that didn't have any special designs to them. I pulled one out and stared at it. "Since when do you like candy?"
"They're special ones that aren't very sweet. I would say they're a bit spicy with just a touch of sweetness. I like to enjoy them while working on paperwork." Ronak eyed me curiously as I stared at it. "You can try one if you want."
"Okay." I gently pulled the ends of the wrapper and squeezed the tan candy out of its foil. An oddly familiar scent hit my nose, and I furrowed my brow. As the flavor hit my palate, I paused and curiously rolled it around on my tongue. "Ronak…"
"Yes?"
"Mmm… Never mind, I'd better not tell you… You'll figure it out on your own one day…" I was too embarrassed to tell him here with listening ears…
I put the bags of sweets into my storage, which surprised the employees of the shop, but as we left, Ava called over to us. "Enjoy the rest of your day with your beautiful girlfriend." Teehee! She called me his girlfriend.
Ronak went to speak, probably to correct her, but I cut him off. "Thanks for the candy! I'm sure I'll be back!" I waved to her excitedly as we exited the door. "Hehe! She thought I was your girlfriend! She even said I was beautiful." Ronak's face was a little pink, which only made me giggle more. "Do you want me to cut my hair? People would probably get confused less often if it weren't getting so long." I pulled it over my shoulder and twirled the ends around my fingers. I hadn't had it cut since last summer, and it was starting to reach down to my waist. Whatever Olivia was putting in my hair in the mornings was really making it grow, but it was probably time for a trim.
"No… I like your hair like that." Ronak watched me intently while I poorly attempted to braid part of my hair.
"Hehe, admit it, part of you enjoyed me being called your girlfriend." My smile was wide and smug as I continued to tease Ronak. I was in far too good a mood to pass up this opportunity.
"The truth would have been better, though, you're my fiancée after all." As the word left Ronak's mouth, my breath caught in my throat. Why did he have to flip it on me?! I was the one supposed to be teasing him! Not the other way around! "Now tell me. What were you going to say in the candy store?"
He was supposed to forget about that! "I-I said you would figure it out one day…"
"Mmm, but curiosity killed the cat, and I'm rather curious."
"But it's…." I glanced around, looking for people who would overhear us. Ugh, there were too many people! I grabbed Ronak's sleeve and hauled him into the alley. I say haul, but I simply tugged on his sleeve until he followed me. There was no way I was hauling those beefy muscles anywhere.
Once away from prying eyes, I quickly turned towards Ronak and pulled his head down towards me. I pressed my lips against his, but not for a kiss. I pushed the hard candy I was still enjoying past my lips and into his mouth. Ronak seemed shocked for a moment but pulled away with a smile. I stared at him, but it was clear that he wasn't exactly understanding what I was implying. "Doesn't it… taste a bit like…. meeee….?" I pointed my finger at myself and tilted my head to the side. Gah! Saying it was far more embarrassing than I had predicted! I wanted to take the words back and never let Ronak's ears hear them! Yes, it had the flavor of spiced tea with a slight sweetness akin to vanilla, and my pheromones were vanilla with slight spiced tea notes, but that didn't mean Ronak thought the same thing. He probably was going to think I was crazy!
A smirk started to form on Ronak's lips, and he pulled me towards him for another kiss. "Mmm, you're a bit sweeter." He suggestively licked his lips and stared at me with hungry eyes. "Trust me. I knew the moment my lips got a taste of you. It's probably why I'm so addicted to you." He kissed me again, more aggressively this time, and he chuckled as he pulled away. Ack! He had given me back my candy. "Mmmm, maybe I prefer your taste. I'll have to ask them to add a bit more vanilla to the mix."
My face was flushed like a beet as Ronak pulled me from the alley. H-he wants the candy to taste more like me?! I shouldn't have brought it up! Now I'm going to feel embarrassed each time I see those candies!
"Come, there are many more interesting places to explore before lunch." For the second time today, Ronak was right; this was far better than sulking in my bed.