She quickly changed into her riding suit and made her way down the hall toward the stables. Upon reaching the entrance, she saw Soa and Samoir standing intimately. Soa stood behind Samoir and held her hand gently as he guided it through the air.

"That is the proper way to hold and swing the dagger once removed from its hiding spot."

Samoir's cheeks flushed a bright red as she nodded her head. Trying to focus on steadying her breathing while she listened to him correct her on her poor posture.

Loraz stepped forward and cleared her throat. She pushed a small strand of hair behind her ear and shifted her eyes from left to right trying not to look directly at them.

"I hope I'm not too late?"

Quickly separating from each other, they looked at Loraz and let out a few nervous chuckles. Samoir played with her dress and looked down at the floor, while Soa played with the tip of the dull blade they had been using to practice with.

Loraz felt the awkwardness in the air and let out a soft sigh.

"It's alright if you guys are seeing each other. I won't judge you about it as the others do."

Samoir smiled at her then looked over at Soa.

"Soa was just showing me how to perfect a skill that I learned a long time ago back at home."

Samoir took her practice blade from Soa and nodded her head towards a table close to him that was used to store the horse brushes and combs.

"Yes, today we, uh, will be learning how to conceal weapons again," Soa said as he walked over to the table and picked up a small decorative box, and brought it to Loraz. "Because you don't own any of your own, Princess Loraz, we got you this one as a gift. We hope it is to your liking."

Taking the box in her hand she looked at Samoir and then back at him. Her eyes became big as she stared at the box, and she smiled. They all first met about two years ago when she asked Soa to teach her some defense moves like he had taught Samoir. Soa was reluctant at first until Samoir ordered him to teach her. Since then, Loraz always thought she was a burden to him, an unwanted student he was forced to teach because his princess told him to. She wondered if it was okay to think differently now. Could she finally call them friends or were they just being nice to her now so they could use it to benefit themselves later? The box was beautiful with all the gold thread and small red gems that lined the rim and, in the center, a blue gem in the shape of a tree. She ran her hand across the top of the box tracing the jeweled tree with her fingers.

"You didn't have to go to such lengths, the box alone is breathtaking," She looked up at him, "Do you mind if we speak informally with each other, now? The whole formality thing is a bit odd to me still even after so many years."

Samoir smiled and nudge Soa in the side as he stood there awkwardly.

"We are all friends here; I see no need why we should have to speak in such a formal manner, right Soa?"

"Yes, prin-I mean, Samoir," Soa stuttered.

Samoir giggled and walked over to Loraz and grabbed her free hand.

"Do not worry about him. It will take some time before he can get used to calling us without a title. He is ever so stuck in his ways. Feel free to address me by my name alone, and I will do the same with you, okay, Loraz."

Loraz smiled and her heart raced as she heard the word 'friend' roll off Samoir's tongue. She hadn't heard it in so long after finding out she was a princess. She began to think that they didn't exist among royalty.

"Thank you. I will feel more at ease with you both from this point on."

Soa cleared his throat and grabbed a blade he left on the table.

"Anyway, let's begin with the proper way to hold a dagger. By the way, have you been practicing how to throw your knife? Last week you didn't seem to pin it down correctly."

Loraz tensed up as their eyes met. Taking the blade from the box she gripped it tightly and looked over at Samoir.

"I practice it every night before bed. I use my pillow as my target for now. My maids have begun asking me weird questions ever since."

Soa smiled and pointed to their makeshift target.

"Good. Now, if your grip is too loose, the dagger will not inflict much damage, but holding your blade too tight will be bad as well. You can end up hurting yourself more than your opponent if you don't know what you're doing. Samoir, would you care to demonstrate the proper way for us."

Samoir took her small blade in hand and held it firmly as she thrust forward towards the target. Landing in the center of the red ring she smiled. Loud clapping was then heard coming from behind them, and they turned around to see Vestin walking past them.

"That was very beautiful, princess," he took out his blade and stood before the target, "However, if you were to angle yourself just slightly and flick your wrist just so before you release your blade the damage you do to your opponent will be greater."

Soa stepped between Vestin and Samoir and looked down at him.

"That would only injure your wrist if you did that, princess."

Samoir placed her hand on Soa's shoulder and smiled,

"It still looked impressive."

Loraz looked over at Soa and saw the puzzled look he held on his face. She then rushed over to Vestin and asked him,

"What are you doing here, Vestin?"

Vestin looked down at her and felt his heart about to leap out of his chest from the sheer joy of just laying eyes on her. He knew that she told him to give her time to sort out her feelings and he respected her for giving such an honest answer. Yet, over the last few days, he could see that her once cheerful self faded, and all that was left was an empty shell. There were signs her true self was still present, but it was as if she had become a prisoner in her own body. He would make sure to return her to her former self and protect her from anyone who would try to hurt her. A smile crossed his face as he thought of his plan to get her out of Ay Su and somewhere safe from her stepmother and Jayel.

Vestin motioned his head towards the door. Loraz leaned over a bit to her left to see behind him. Standing by the door stood two other gentlemen watching and waiting silently. One looked rather nervous and the other stared at Samoir with a pained look on his face.

"My escorts were just showing me around and we happened to stumble across the three of you."

Samoir's eyes widened as she saw Juin and Cuza standing there like stiff statues. Running over to Juin she smiled and grabbed his hands.

"Juin, did you see me practicing just now?"

Juin looked down at her and returned her smile.

"Um, yes I saw it, princess."

Samoir screwed her face as she placed her hands on her hips, leaned in closer to him, and said,

"Why are you still referring to me as 'princess'? I asked you not to be so formal with me. Are we not childhood friends?"

Juin looked around the room then spotted Soa and sighed,

"Of course, we are. I just thought because we were around others it would be better to address you properly."

Samoir then wrapped her arms around Juin's waist hugging him tightly then frowned.

"Really? Are you sure? You sound so cold and distant lately. Anyway, what brings you here? Normally the tour shows off the more lavishly decorated rooms of the school."

Juin, taken by surprise, held his hands up over his head as he prayed, she didn't hear his heart racing.

Vestin saw the awkward tension filling the room and cleared his throat then said,

"Well as I was saying, these fine gentlemen have been giving me a tour of the school. It is quite charming. I wanted to see the stables, seeing as my best horse will be staying here."

Samoir released Juin and turned to face Vestin with a smile.

"Oh, well then don't let us keep you. We are only learning a silly little game. The horses are kept on the other side of the stable."

Vestin paid Samoir no mind and took Loraz's hand.

"Lo, if you want to learn some self-defense skills, I can teach you."

"But why would princesses ever need combat skills if they are surrounded by guards." Juin Said.

"Even guards have to sleep, eat, and shit...they can't always be near and some enemies plan for little things like shift changes," Cuza replied.

"Exactly..." Samoir said.

Cuza looked over at Samoir and she looked back at him, smiled softly then walked back over to Soa.

"Hey, Vestin, we should carry on. This castle is rather big, and we still have some training to get done before nightfall," Juin said.

Vestin looked back at Juin, shook his head in agreement, and looked back at Loraz. He picked a piece of straw from her hair and smiled as he held it up in front of her.

"Well, if you're okay with learning from this gentleman then I won't push you to choose me, but the offer is always on the table if you ever change your mind. Let us catch up some more after you've finished your training."

He then placed the straw in her hand and looked at the knife she held in the other hand. Such a fancy blade would only get in the way. He thought if he had any extra, he could give it to her in his room.

Loraz's heart raced as his fingers brushed against the palm of her hand. She was happy that it wasn't a dream and that he was really in front of her. Her heart screamed at her to join him, but if she was to protect herself from any danger, she needed the skills Soa was trying to teach her. Taking the straw, she let out a small giggle and returned his smile with one of her own.

"Okay, how about you join me and Robert for lunch out in the east garden? I would like for the two of you to reintroduce yourselves seeing as the first encounter you had was a poor one."

"If that is what you wish then so be it, what time should I be there?"

"How about I meet you by the east entrance at noon and we walk to the garden together? It can be a bit of a maze if you don't know where you are going."

"Until then I hope you enjoy the rest of your training."

He took her hand and kissed the back of it gently. Looking up to meet her gaze he smiled slyly and released her hand then bowed his head and walked off.

Loraz's face went bright red, and she stiffened at the touch of his lips on her hand. Her heart raced uncontrollably as she tried to breathe normally. She could tell that her old feelings for him weren't gone, but she also knew that her heart reacted the same way to Robert. The confusion about what she should do only made it harder for her to think straight when it came to either of them.

"No, you decided to focus on one thing at a time...love will have to wait." She whispered to herself then took a deep breath and turned around to face Soa and Samoir, " So where were we?"

"How to hold a dagger properly," Soa replied.

"Ah, yes, Samoir, please show me again. I didn't see it correctly when you did it."

She walked over to stand next to Soa and waited for Samoir to demonstrate her skills again and Samoirlooked over at Soa with a puzzled stare. Soa nodded his head and Samoir went at the target once more.