"I don't care, Ben," Aria hissed.
"You don't mean that...."
"Yes, I do. I mean it. I don't care. So please stop," Aria said, her patience lost.
"But Aria, I-"
"Stop it. If you don't stop talking right now, I'm going to get up and leave."
He sighed but thankfully didn't say anything else.
Aria stayed at the table for a little while, talking to the others. A few of them chatted excitedly about going into town the next day—a few spoke of their training progress.
Eventually, Grace walked towards them with a cup in her hand. She walked beside the table and stopped when she reached Mara, who looked up a little wearily, a little angrily.
"Here," Grace said, handing Mara the cup.
"What is it," Mara asked.
"A cup of our finest wine. Reserved for the king and his family. But I figured you deserved a little after the ass-kicking you took today," Grace said, smirking.
"Oh, um, thanks," Mara said, looking surprised.
"You're welcome. Come to the training area tomorrow after you eat. We can begin your training. I promise to take it easy on you this time."
Mara nodded, and Grace walked out. A few people looked to Mara, admiration in their eyes.
A short while later, Aria decided to head to her room. She bid the others good night and walked out of the throne room. She heard someone coming up behind her, and anger made her clench her fists. She turned, expecting to see Ben, preparing to yell at him, but she stopped short when she realized it wasn't Ben. It was Lex.
"Can I walk with you," he asked like he'd actually give her an option.
She nodded.
"I will be leaving in the morning before you wake. I need to visit the other villages. To let them know of our agreement and to invite a few people to our wedding," he said, his trademark smirk making its way to his face.
"Okay," she said. She still felt angry about how he'd talked to her that morning.
"I'll be gone for five days, perhaps a little longer. My sister will be in charge. If there's anything your people need, if there's anything you need, go to her."
Aria nodded, and they walked in silence the rest of the way to her room.
"One more thing," he said. "This evening, one of my guards let me know that a weapon has gone missing from the training area. It was there this morning, but now it’s not."
Aria's stomach dropped.
"Naturally, I assume it's one of yours. And well, frankly, I'm not threatened by a knife. I've seen your people fight. I'm more concerned about what will happen once I find the culprit," he said.
"Are-are you sure? Maybe it’s been misplaced...or maybe someone else has taken it?"
"Do you take me for a fool," he asked, narrowing his eyes at her. Heat in his gaze.
"No...I-I just don't think that anyone in my group would do that...I-I don't see why they would," she said, hating herself for stuttering. It made her seem guilty or afraid.
"I can assure you that it isn't any of my people. I'd be willing to stake my life on it. Can you say the same thing for yours?"
She didn't say anything. She knew how it looked. They arrive, and suddenly a weapon goes missing. She'd be thinking the same thing if she were in his place. But why would any of her people do that? Why would they risk it?
"Talk to your people, Aria," he said, "I expect the knife to be in the training area by the time I get back. If it isn’t, whoever has it will have to answer to me. If you'd like to avoid that situation, talk to them. I won't tolerate disobedience or theft. That's not who we are. If your people can't accept that, then you do not belong here."
And with that threat, he stormed away.
Aria leaned against the door to her room, trying to control her breathing. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She thought about who would have done something so reckless...so disrespectful. Immediately, she thought of Ben. Could he have done this? Risked the safety of the entire group for a knife? She’s sure that he would.
She stayed awake the entire night, contemplating how she should go about the situation. Eventually, her anxiety took over, and before she knew it, she was shaking Mara, telling her to get up.
Mara looks a little pissed, but she follows Aria out of the room. Aria looked down the empty corridor, making sure they were alone. She tells Mara about what Lex had told her.
"Shit," Mara said, running a hand through her hair.
"But what if- what if it's not one of us," Aria asked a little desperately.
"Stop kidding yourself," Mara said, rolling her eyes. "You know as well as I do that it's one of us. That fucking idiot," she half-yelled.
"What do we do?"
"I don't know; I guess we'll hold a meeting tomorrow. You're the leader, so it should come from you. Make them understand what's at stake. And hopefully, they'll return it before the king gets back."
They stand in silence for a while.
"What do you think he'll do," Mara whispered.
"I don't know," Aria answered. And she honestly didn't. They go back into the room. She still can't sleep, so she just sits on the end of the bed. She can hear Mara tossing and turning, and she figures. that the same thoughts must be running through her head as well. What will he do if the knife isn't returned? Throw all of us out? Send us back? Go around and search every single one of us? Kill us? Really, the possibilities were endless.
The next morning, Aria called the group to attention and told them to meet her in the dungeons after eating. She waited until everyone was there to begin.
"The king came to me last night, inquiring about a knife missing from the training room. I'm not even going to humor the idea that someone from outside our party has
