(A little prequel story to my More Than Blood series on here.)

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“I asked you to figure out a way to protect them, not have them be trained,” Nerva paces in the empty throne room, her heels clicking on the marble floor.

Louisa, her best friend, winces as Nerva breezes past her for the fifth time in the last minute. “Their training will protect them,” she insists.

Queen Nerva’s six children are her everything. But they are also princesses and princes. Heirs to a sought after throne. She wanted an opinion on how to best protect them.

She didn’t think that Louisa would suggest and implement weapon and combat training.

Her baby boy is barely even walking and they are talking about putting a sword in his little hand!

“Take it from a Tarvin native, the best protection we can give them is training,” Louisa tries to reassure her very concerned friend. Nerva’s pacing ceases for the moment to look her right in the eye.

“Isa, I’m their mother. I don’t want them to need to.”

“But they are the heirs to your throne. They will be in danger. Maybe not now, but they will.”

Sighing, she brings a hand to her forehead. A headache is forming behind her eyes. In the depths of her soul, she knows Louisa is correct. But the motherly instincts in her scream at her to stop them.

“I know I was taught, but I can’t imagine a world where they will have to,” she says.

In a flash, Louisa is next to her, grasping her hand, providing physical comfort. There’s a glint in her eyes that Nerva doesn’t witness often. One of vulnerability. And pain. “Nerva, I know more than most that our parents can’t protect us from everything. This is for their benefit.”

Even though she is scared for her babies, she trusts Louisa with all of her being. So if she thinks they should learn how to physically defend themselves, Nerva will let them.

She will just be a nervous wreck every time they have practice.

Oh how she hopes that they don’t need it.

———

(If you read any of my More Than Blood stories, you would know that they do very much need it.)