"Well, I don't want to be a 'typical' queen."
"I can see that. Tell me, what would you like to do?"
"Do you guys have like...any sort of teacher in the village? Where do the kids go for school?"
"We have a school in the village. But also a tutor for kids of parents who live here. There are rooms designated for that sort of thing. I'm surprised Grace didn't mention it."
"No, she didn't."
"Well, that's where they go. Is that something you'd like to do?" Help tutor the children?"
"Yeah," she said, "I'd like that."
"Okay, then. I'll take you there in the morning."
Aria smiled at him. She wasn't sure why everything seemed so normal between them after what had happened in the last week. But she wasn't about to question it.
After a while, the room cleared. Aria and Lex remained, along with a small group of their friends. They sat at one of the tables first before deciding to move their party to a different location. Almost everyone was a little drunk on wine, so they naturally thought it'd be a good idea to go to the training area and fight one another.
Grace had joined them, and Mara asked her if she'd like to fight again. Now Aria sat on one of the tables that had been pushed to the side, watching the two girls circle one another.
She thought about that first time they’d fought. She was sure that Mara had gotten better. She trained with Grace all the time. The muscles in her legs and arms were prominent through her clothes.
"You scared?" Grace asked.
Mara remained quiet. A challenging look in her eye.
"Trying to be brave for our audience?" Grace taunted, giving Mara a not-so-friendly smile.
"Come on, Mara," Brent yelled from the sidelines, "We believe in you!"
"Yeah!" Martinez shouted, "Kick her ass!"
Grace laughed.
Mara took the opportunity to swing at Grace. The latter must have expected it because she ducked faster than Aria thought was possible.
They went on like that for a few minutes. But this time, Grace kept missing too.
Aria could see her growing agitated. Honestly, it made Aria smile. Grace could stand to be knocked down a peg or two. And Mara was the best girl for the job.
Eventually, Lex made his way from Martinez's side over to hers.
"Not gonna try and stop them this time?" he teased, sitting next to her.
"No," Aria said, smiling. "I'm pretty sure Mara might be able to take her this time."
"You know, you may be right," he said, watching the two girls.
Suddenly Grace lashed out and tried to hit Mara. She missed. But this time, Mara took the opportunity to slide slightly to the left and reach out to grab Grace by the shoulders. When she had a good grip, she shoved Grace towards the floor while simultaneously sweeping her leg under Grace's, knocking her feet out from under her.
Grace landed on the floor with a loud thud.
"What?" Mara asked from above her, "Nothing left to say? No jokes? No taunts?"
Grace silently rose to her feet.
Aria hated to admit it, but she liked watching them. She was never one for fighting, and real fights made her want to throw up. But watching those two kinds of pretend-fight was more like watching two people dance.
They were both slim and toned. Their hair whipping side to side as they danced around one another in the center of the space. Aria felt a little mesmerized.
"You wanna go after them?" Lex asked.
"What? No," Aria said, shaking her head. "I'm wearing a dress."
"Believe me, I noticed."
Aria fought a smile, looking down at where his hand was only a few inches away from hers on the table. Why the hell is he being so flirtatious tonight? Did she really look that nice?
He'd flirted with her before; it wasn't like it was anything new. But something about how he looked at her when she walked into the throne room and continued to do so throughout the night made it feel different from other nights.
It must be her hair.
"It looks..." he began. She noticed his Adam's apple bob a bit before he swallowed "...really good." His eyes traveled down to the slit in the dress, exposing her tan thigh.
"Th-thanks," Aria said quietly. The look on his face, a little dark and a little hungry, made her stomach clench. Suddenly, she felt very hot. Beads of sweat coated her palms and the back of her neck.
A loud thud broke Aria out of the little trance she had been in. She looked up and saw Mara lying on the ground, Grace on top of her. She had Mara pinned to the ground, her hands on the other girl's shoulders.
"Nice job," Grace said.
And Aria could swear that she saw Mara bite down on her lower lip.
"Okay, I think it's time for me to go," Lex said.
The guys on the other side of the room nodded in agreement and filed out of the room.
Grace got up and reached down to help Mara get to her feet. They stood there, looking at one another. The air in the room changed; it felt tense. Aria took that as her cue to leave as well. She followed Lex out of the room, leaving the two girls staring at one another.
Chapter 25
She was nervous as they headed back to their quarters. Lex walked a few feet ahead of her, and she stared at his back the entire way there.
He went straight to the bedroom, and she followed, feeling like she could throw up from anticipation. What she was anticipating, she wasn't sure.
He went to his side of the room, and she went to hers. Figuring that the sooner she went to bed, the better. She turned away from him and looked through her dresser for something to wear. She settled on a thin shirt and a pair of long, soft pants. She put the clothes to the side.
Her hands went to the back of her neck, trying to unclasp the necklace she'd put on.
