Chapter 304: At The Training Grounds....Again.

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: At The Training Grounds....Again.

Xena wishes her father hadn’t insisted on the chaperone.

Sure, it is the way things are, and when she was younger it had always seemed such a given that when the time came and she found a suitor she liked, they would never share a moment alone together before their wedding night, but given how long Montrel has served her father and how much time she has already spent under his care down at the archery range, it now seems just a touch overboard.

It is funny how things change. Thankfully for her, Vogrid isn’t being a very good chaperone.

In fact, he seems almost preoccupied.

This works very much in Xena’s favour because she has come to very much enjoy the time she spends with Montrel and wasn’t looking forward to having to share it with someone.

​The archery is part of it, for sure, but he makes her laugh, and she likes seeing the way he talks with his men, and the way they talk with him.

Her mother had always stressed that to really know a man, it was important to pay attention to how he treated those around him, and they him, and it is clear that despite his curses and his scowls, Montrel is quite well liked and quite respected by his fellow soldiers.

For every jibe he sends their way, they send one straight back, but it always feels so warm and fond, like this is just their way of showing they care.

He has a loud voice, and his way of talking is a little rough around the edges, but his touch is always very gentle.

When he steps in to make an adjustment to her form, expression so admirably serious, she wonders if she is being too hopeful in thinking that his hands linger on hers.

She knows ladies aren’t meant to be bold when it comes to such matters, princesses especially.

​"You all right?" Montrel inquires as she lowers her bow, brow furrowed.

​"Oh, I just, my fingers are a little sore," she says, which is enough of the truth to not be an outright lie.

Montrel clucks his teeth and thoughtlessly moves close, taking her hand in both of his.

Xena finds herself gazing up at him as he turns her hand and diligently inspects the leather of her shooting glove to make sure it hasn’t worn through.

His hands are warm.

They also feel strong and honest, and weathered beyond his years, thick with calluses from hours spent with a sword in hand.

They feel like the kind of hands a young lady could depend on.

​"Good, the leather is still fine," Montrel states. Relief soothes the lines of his brow as his gaze shifts to lock with hers, and Xena’s breath catches as one of those soft, lopsided grins finds its way to his lips.

Neither of them say a word.

While there is a crowd somewhere out there, suddenly Xena feels like they might just be the only people in the world.

The moment lasts but a few heartbeats because then Montrel is dropping his gaze away from hers, muttering something about how they should probably leave it there for the day.

Speechless, Xena can only reach up and touch her face.

She has never been kissed before, as kissing is for courting, but she suddenly finds herself thinking that it might be all right if Montrel were to kiss her.

Maybe not here, surrounded by men as they are, but somewhere, sometime soon, she hopes.

Suddenly feeling eyes on her, she straightens up.

She needn’t have bothered, as Vogrid isn’t looking at her.

He is looking past her, as he has been doing on and off since they arrived here some time ago.

She has frequented the training grounds often enough to know by now what lies in that direction, and she wonders who he is watching.

​"Montrel?" she inquires curiously, "Who is Khobi fighting with over there?" Montrel squints into the sun in the direction she has pointed and makes a face.

​"Looks like Gandy," he replies, face scrunched up like he can’t quite make it out. His answer isn’t quite the one she was expecting though, and she purses her lips, deciding perhaps it is nothing.

"Wait, hang on," he adds abruptly, "Looks like Binny is in there, too. Who does Khobi think he is, taking them both at once. I hope they squash him."

He says that, but he doesn’t sound like he means it.

​From the corner of her eye, Xena catches Vogrid’s expression shift infinitesimally.

​"Shall we go watch?" she suggests lightly, directing her question to Montrel since he is clearly quite keen to see Khobi get squashed, as he had put it.

She is not sure she wants to see that, but Khobi is a fearsome fighter and she would love to get the chance to watch him go toe to toe with her cousin again from up close.

She is sure if she were to ask Vogrid if he wanted to watch, he would deny it, but now he has to come along, too.

​"Sure," Montrel says with a grin, evidently pleased that she is interested, "It is probably going to get pretty bloody though."

​"I can handle a little blood," she assures him, pleased that he makes no attempt to dissuade her.

Instead, he merely offers her his arm to lean on as they start to pick their way through the mud, and she takes it without a second thought.

She is sure Vogrid doesn’t entirely approve, but there is nothing inappropriate about a man escorting a lady through treacherous terrain, so there is nothing he can do about it. Eyes follow them as they go, but if they have anything to say about it, they wisely keep it to themselves.

Nothing has been officially announced yet, on account of this being their first outing since Montrel met with her father, or more accurately, was summoned before him, but she is sure that her enduring presence here has already set some speculation swirling.

She hopes that Montrel is ready for what will come, for what they will say and think, and if he will stand beside her anyway.

From the way he barks at the soldiers to mind their damn business and get back to their drills, she thinks he just might.