Reyna kicked the door to the cabin shut with her foot without another glance behind her.

She needed to punch something.

Instead of acting upon her impulses, she took the knife buckled at her side and threw it at one of the throw pillows innocently resting on the nearby chaise. With a snarl of frustration, she collapsed next to it, taking the braid out of her dark hair and running her hands through it to loosen any knots, holding her head once she was done as she allowed the rage and frustrations roll over her.

She was not a princess.

She was the Heir.

And she was a warrior- no, not just a warrior.

A Warrior.

She just needed to show them... all of them.

But in order to do that, she just needed her magic.

She let out a frustrated groan as she lay back on the chaise to stare at the beams of the ceiling. That she hadn't come into her power at this point of her maturity should have been an embarrassment to any of her bloodline- at least, that's how she felt about it. She expected it to arrive once her cycles began, but she hadn't felt a thrum in any of the years since.

Maybe that was why she felt the need to train as she was. Harder, more often than anyone else in that camp.

That and because her sights were set on the Trial.

And no one was going to take that from her.

Especially not her father, who at that moment creaked the cabin door open and peered inside before unnecessarily knocking. "Is it safe to come in? Or are you in an 'enter at your own risk' mood?"

Reyna didn't move from where she sat, her gaze still staring towards the ceiling. She knew one of them would come find sooner or later- she supposed it just depended on who drew the shorter straw. It was how her parents' always seemed to deal with her growing up- whoever had to face the brunt of her temper the time previous time was relieved from the next.

"I'll take that as an invitation," the King said with a slight chuckle as he stepped further into the cabin, closing the door behind him.

Reyna turned her head to watch him as he approached. Though older for a Fae, Rikard held himself as if he had just reached his maturity. With his dark blond hair and bright blue eyes, paired with his strong shoulders and muscled arms, being a King did not remove the Northern Warrior from him.

He crossed the room with a smooth Warrior's grace to sit down onto the chaise beside her, draping his arm casually across the back of the couch as he turned to face her. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about? Or am I going to have to go back out there, ask Thessan personally, and come back with the answer?"

At the sound of the General's name, Reyna let out an exasperated sigh. "Thessan is a prick." She ran her hands through her hair and sat up. "Why won't you let me take part in the Trial?"

He asked, she answered. And there it was.

Rikard expression froze as he looked at his daughter. "What does this have to do with Thessan?"

She glared at him. "You're avoiding the question. Again."

The King let out a resigned sigh. "Reyna-"

"I knew it." Standing from the couch, Reyna turned to face her father, to stare down at him where he sat because who but his own daughter would dare stare down the King of the Northern Kingdom? "You can't protect me from everything. You took it, Thessan took it- not to mention, you were half my age when you went, Heir and all. So, give me one good reason why not!"

Rikard kept his posture relaxed as he turned to face his daughter where she stood. "One, you could die," he stated smoothly. "Two, it's cold up there, and you're not allowed to bring a cloak with you, and we all know you don't fare the best in the cold."

She scowled at him for that.

"And three," he continued, "for what reason could you possibly want to take the Trial?"

Reyna clenched her teeth, and released a breath through her nose as she prepared for yet another battle of wills against the King of the Northern Kingdom.

"One," she started, counting off with her fingers. "You could have been killed, too. And I could be killed just taking a step out of this cabin, but I'm going to do it anyway."

Her father scoffed. "The probability of your getting killed by simply stepping outside is highly unlikely- I've calculated the risk,"

"Two," she said, ignoring him as she raised another digit. "I'll wear an extra layer under my leathers."

He gave her a smirk for that one.

Reyna added another finger. "Three, why does any Northerner want take the Trial? They don't. None want to, but the end justifies the means."

"But you," he said, leveling a serious gaze. "You have a choice. You don't have to take the Trial. You don't have to prove to anyone that you're the same breed of Warrior as they are."

"Yes," she breathed. "I do."

"You already have the same kind of steel beneath your skin that they do. You don't need to kill yourself to show them. They'd be fool to ignore that."

She looked at him for a moment, carefully compiling her thoughts before she continued. "Not a single female has ever completed the Trial, let alone take it. There are females in this camp who need someone to show them that they're just as good, if not better, than half or more of the males here! I need to show those males I'm just as good as they are, regardless..."

Regardless of whether or not she had her magic.

It still made her raw, and too many times had a Northern male dared to call her out on it, only to discover what mud tasted like after she shattered his kneecap.

But it didn't make the reality any better.

Her father opened his mouth as if to rebut her claims, but instead merely shook his head. "You're so much like your mother," he sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I'm going to assume you mean that in the highest of regards."

Her mother stood leaning against the threshold of the sitting room, the Queen's sudden appearance shrouded by the tempers of the two Northerners clashing in the sitting room.

Reyna's initial surprise disappeared as she gave her father with a knowing grin. "Good, maybe she can talk some sense into you."

Rikard threw his hands up in the air, exasperated as he finally stood from the chaise. "Yes, by all means, let's hear your mother's opinion on letting you take the Trial."

Both Reyna and her father expectantly turned towards the Queen. Feith, in turn, glanced between her husband and their daughter, finally resting her gaze on Rikard. "I thought you weren't going to talk about the Trial during this visit?"

"Fine." Reyna let out a frustrated growl and turned from both of them as she stormed over to the chaise and pulled her knife from the cushion she destroyed earlier. "The two of you can stay here and continue to make my decisions for me and I'll just sit still and look pretty for the rest of my existence."

She didn't wait for a response as she stormed towards the door. "Let's just hope Rikard's calculations are correct and I don't die the moment I leave!"

The door slammed shut behind her without waiting for an answer.