Unexpected Request
Eira stood silently near a column in the hall, having been present throughout the exchange though neither man acknowledged her given the seriousness of the situation. She had suspected something significant was coming.
‘Right of Redemption? A duel against Henry? One month until Kain’s fate was sealed?’
Kain turned and left without so much as glancing her way. Her feet moved before she consciously decided to follow.
“Lady Eira,” Henry called from behind, voice bright and eager as always.
She didn’t stop.
“Lady Eira, I—”
She walked straight past him, eyes fixed on where Kain had gone. Henry’s words died in his throat.
----
‘She walked past me...again. Even now, after everything, after Kain’s downfall was announced, after exile was nearly certain… she still chased him.’
Henry’s fists clenched at his sides, but he kept his expression pleasantly calm like the perfect student, perfect junior.
‘Why?’ he whispered bitterly.
‘Even when he’s ruined, she still looks only at him.’
He swallowed down the heat in his chest.
‘No matter. In one month, I will be the one standing. I will crush him in front of her. I will show her who truly deserves her attention.’
He smiled faintly, a polite, harmless expression.
‘She belongs by my side. No one will take her from me. Not even Kain.’
He smiled.
‘Especially Kain.’
----
She stepped into the corridor just in time to see Kain further ahead, walking slowly, seemingly deep in thought. Her chest tightened with questions she could not push down anymore.
“Kain!” she shouted.
He halted and turned, blinking in surprise before his features softened into a calm smile. “Eira.”
She approached him, her eyes searching his face.
“I assume we need to talk about what just happened,” he said. “If so, let’s do it in the private room by the—”
She cut him off with a shake of her head. “No. Your room is too far. My room is closer. Come with me.”
Kain paused, taken off guard. “…Your room?”
Kain hesitated a heartbeat, then let himself grin. “Are you sure? I haven’t been in your room in years.”
Eira’s fingers tightened around the hem of her shirt as heat rose to her face. “Yes...it’s closer. Nothing else...got it?” Her voice wavered on the last word.
He heard it and the nervous edge under her calm. The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Yes, of course, Eira. I didn’t think anything else. Lead the way.”
She led him down the corridor with quick, measured steps. The silence between them thrummed with something new and fragile as Kain felt it like static against his skin. He let it be for now.
Her room was neat, everything was in order. A low writing desk, shelves of neatly stacked training manuals, a single vase with a sprig of winter-blooming flowers. Everything reminded him of her, efficient, precise, unobtrusive.
On the bed, white silk lay casually tossed, half over the pillow. Kain paused, eyes catching its sheen.
Eira’s face went pale as she moved before he could say anything, hands darting to gather the sleepwear as if it might catch fire. Her movements were hurried, flustered in a way he never seen from her.
“It’s not what you think,” she snapped, fumbling. “I—I was busy this morning. I just forgot to—put it away.”
Kain watched her with a slow, amused calm. “White. Silk. Looks comfortable.” He let the words hang, deliberately casual.
Something shifted then, a faint pressure brushed the edges of his awareness like a cool wind seeping under a door. It wasn’t loud, but it was there: her aura slowly emerged, restrained and cold, threading through the room from where Eira stood.
Her hands stopped mid-fold. Her jaw set. For an instant the fluster hardened into something else. Kain did not realize he was holding his breath.
“Forget everything,” she said, low and dangerous, voice small but absolute. “Or I’ll make you forget it.”
Kain felt the implication more than heard it. The aura pressed, not to harm but to warn, the same disciplined force he had felt that morning in the training yard. He started to break out in a cold sweat. He let out a soft chuckle, the sound equal parts amusement and respect.
“Alarmingly possessive for someone who calls herself ‘closer, nothing else,’” he teased, though his tone held no mockery.
Eira’s eyes flashed. “Don’t test me,” she said.
The blush had not entirely gone and it lingered like a memory.
Kain folded his hands, studying her. “Noted,” he said quietly. “I’ll behave.”
He moved further into the room and, despite the tension in the air, felt a small, steady warmth settle by his side.
‘This reminds me of the past...Kain’s past...my memories now’
The odd comfort of being found and not entirely lost.
Eira crossed her arms, regaining her composure. “Explain what happened with Sophia.”
Kain did not resist. He recounted the incident briefly, no embellishment, no excuse. He summarized the confrontation, the insult, the slap, and the hatred that followed. When he finished, Eira let out a slow sigh. Anger prickled beneath her ribs, not entirely for Sophia’s sake, but for the consequences she knew were coming. For the chaos he had sparked yet again.
She looked up, ready to speak sharply, only to pause. He was not looking away. There was no arrogance in his eyes, just a quiet weight and regret. It disarmed her more than she wanted to admit.
“What do you plan to do now?” she asked softly. “You know she won’t want to stay engaged to you. No matter how much you might still want her.”
“I’ll handle it when I speak to her tomorrow,” Kain replied simply.
She frowned. “Tomorrow? You—what do you—”
“I have a request,” he said, cutting her off.
Eira blinked as he never asked her for anything, not since that duel. Not since he began hating her.
He met her gaze steadily. “Train me...for the fight with Henry.”
She stared at him, unsure she heard correctly.
“…What?”
“Train me,” he repeated. “I need someone who won’t hold back.”
For a moment, she was silent. In all the years since their duel, he had only looked at her with resentment, bitterness, prideful distance. And now he was asking her to help him rise.
“Why me?” she asked, voice quiet.
“Because you’re the best,” Kain said without hesitation. “And if it isn’t you, then there’s no one else.”
He looked down briefly at his bandaged hands. “Sure, other knights can spar with me. But will they commit? Will they push me because they believe I can be better or will they hold back and sneer behind my back as they don’t respect me? Because they expect me to fail?” He shook his head. “No one believes in me. Not really.”
He lifted his gaze again. Steady, lavender eyes locked onto hers.
“At least with you,” he continued, “I know you’ll take it seriously. You always did.”
She inhaled quietly as he went on.
“After our duel, you asked me why I wasn’t training. Even when I ignored you. Even when I gave excuses. You still asked...not to shame me or belittle me…” His voice softened. “But because you wanted to see me try to be better.”
He stood still, calm and resolute.
“I never understood it then,” he finished quietly. “But I do now. So… I’m taking that offer. If you’ll still give it.”
Eira did not answer immediately.
She stood there, arms loosely crossed, studying him in silence. His words felt genuine, his tone was steady. His eyes did not carry the usual spite and that should have been reassuring. Instead, it unsettled her more. The Kain from just two days ago and the one standing in front of her now felt like two entirely different people and she was not ready to trust that shift.
“…I’m not giving you an answer now,” she said at last.
Kain did not seem surprised. He simply nodded and waited.
She met his eyes, steady but guarded. “One training session. If you truly intend to change… then I’ll decide.”
He accepted that without complaint. Strangely, there was no frustration in his face, only quiet resolve.
“That’s fair”
Eira looked away briefly, exhaling slowly. “I’ve watched you for years, Kain. Watched you break yourself further every time. And then, suddenly…” Her voice lowered. “In two days, you shift like this? Anyone would be wary.”
She did not say I am wary. She did not have to.
“So I’ll see it for myself. Not with words but with effort.”
Kain gave a faint, small smile. “Then I’ll show you.”
Silence settled between them again. Not hostile, just unsure. Eira glanced toward the door. “Go,” she said. “You said you needed to speak with her tomorrow, better to get some rest before training as well.”
He inclined his head. “No need, lets start today. I am a little sore from last night’s training, but I can manage.”
Eira shook her head before turning to Kain.
“Fine...give me an hour to prepare and come to my personal training room.” she said reluctantly.
“Sure…I’ll see you in an hour. West wing of the keep, last room right?”
“Yes, see you there.”
Kain nodded and moved to leave her room, Eira found her gaze following him against her better judgment. Even as the door gently clicked shut behind him, her thoughts remained anything but calm.
‘Two days. That’s all it took to turn my world sideways, she thought, fingers curling unconsciously at her side. If this is a trick, I’ll break him myself. But if it isnt...’
She did not finish the thought.
