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Aelin Ashryver Galathynius was the Queen of the Terrasen Playground, surrounded by her royal subjects. At least, that's what she’d been telling herself as she strutted around the highest towers and pretended to survey the lands below for enemies. She was doing her hourly patrol around the slide when she heard a blood-curdling scream.
She quickly zipped down the slide, jumping over the edge at the last second -- a move she’d been perfecting all summer. She raced under the monkey bars, ducking under the older kids' elbows and weaving between groups of girls on the swingset until she found the source of the screams: Rowan Whitethorn, on the ground and clutching his knee to his chest, groaning in pain.
Her heart lurched at the sight of her best friend. It made no difference to them that Aelin was a couple of grades below Rowan in school -- she was his best friend, too. Though, it hadn’t started out that way.
They had met at a school assembly last year, when Aelin had snuck away from her class to go sit with the big kids on the other side of the auditorium. She had chosen a certain silver-haired, green-eyed boy to sit behind, simply because he was so tall she knew she’d be well-hidden.
Turns out, the kid had been a goody two shoes, and had ratted her out to the teachers in three seconds flat. She had then taken it upon herself to tell the teachers that Rowan had dragged her away from her own class against her will, and she was clearly a victim.
Their resulting double detention had been mostly scowling and sticking out their tongues at each other until snack time, when Aelin had offered to trade her apple for his candy bar. When Rowan had gladly accepted, she knew an alliance would come in handy.
And so every day for the last year, Aelin marched over to Rowan in the cafeteria and traded her apple for his mini candy bar. Somewhere along the way, it had turned into sitting next to each other, and then playing after class, until they’d become the bestest of friends.
Now, she rushed over to Rowan, still crouched on the ground holding his knee. She could see blood running down between his fingers, and her stomach turned. Had he fallen? He had been a little clumsy lately -- Aelin’s mom had called it a growth spurt -- and Aelin made a mental note to tease him about it once he felt better.
She kneeled down next to him and put her hands over his own, trying to stop the bleeding. She whipped her head around, looking for the culprit, and found a big, dark-haired ten-year-old boy climbing out of the toy car he’d been driving. Lorcan Salvaterre: the biggest bully at Terrassen Elementary.
He sauntered across the playground until he was towering over them and blocking out the sun's rays. Lorcan took one look at Rowan’s knee and rolled his eyes. “What are you crying for, you big baby? It’s just a scrape.”
“You hit me with your car!”
“I accidentally hit you with my car,” Lorcan corrected him.
Aelin gritted her teeth. Lorcan was known for being mean, especially to the kids that were smaller and younger. And while Rowan was neither of those things, he had always been a little sensitive. With glasses and his lanky limbs, he was an easy target for getting picked on.
That’s why he needed Aelin; anyone who picked on Rowan generally knew they’d have to deal with her afterward. She may have been half his size, but she was fearless and a troublemaker in her own right. So she knew what she had to do.
She did her best to help Rowan stand up and then marched right over to Lorcan, craning her neck to get a good look at him. “You know what, Lorcan?” she sneered. “I think you’re the big baby. Having to run people over in your stupid car to get attention.” She crossed her arms.
He glowered at her, but Aelin refused to back down. Not when she could still hear Rowan sniffling behind her.
Lorcan took another step closer to her. “That’s ridiculous, Galathynius. You’re just jealous of my car.”
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were driving that thing around because you’re too slow to keep up with the other kids.”
He scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Prove it, then.” Aelin prayed he’d take the bait. “Why don’t we race to the oak tree and back? Since you’re so sure you can keep up. Unless you’re too scared to lose to a girl?”
Rowan stepped up from behind her and grabbed her arm. “Aelin,” he hissed, “stop it. There’s no way you’re going to win. This is stupid! His legs are like twelve feet long.”
Aelin stepped out of Rowan’s grip, ignoring him. “What do you say, Lorcan?”
Lorcan grinned like a fiend. “You’re on. Whitethorn, count us down.”
Rowan grumbled something that sounded like a prayer to the Mother while Lorcan and Aelin got into position. “Three, two, one, go!”
Aelin shot out ahead, her arms and legs pumping as fast as they’d carry her. The huge oak tree was a solid hundred yards away. She lasted all of thirty feet before Lorcan was zooming past her, laughing.
“Nice try, Aelin!” he called out from ahead of her. Aelin pretended to groan in defeat, slowing down, but Lorcan never turned around as he sprinted farther and farther away.
Now was the time to make her move. She turned back around and darted over to Rowan, who was watching with a dumbfounded expression. “Quick, Rowan, hop in his car.”
“What?!” he blurted out. “We can’t do that!”
“Then you’d better get ready to run after me, because I’m stealing this thing. Let’s move!”
Aelin hopped in the driver’s seat of the toy car as Rowan reluctantly climbed in beside her. They both craned their neck to look for Lorcan, who still had their back to them, sprinting for the oak tree. She snickered as she pressed on the gas, speeding towards the other end of the playground.
Just as they reached the perimeter, they heard Lorcan shout, having realized the trick she’d played. They came to a screeching halt and hopped out, laughing and cheering as they sprinted home, Lorcan’s threats nothing more than a distant echo.
“That was awesome ,” Rowan breathed as they approached their neighborhood. “I can’t believe you did that.”
Aelin shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna steal it forever, I just wanted him to know he couldn’t mess with you and get away with it.”
Rowan looked down at his shoes, the tips of his ears turning pink as they walked up his driveway and into his house. “I can take care of myself, you know. I don’t need you defending me all the time.”
She knew he was embarrassed to have someone younger than him constantly protecting him, but Aelin didn’t care. “Rowan, you’re going to be big and strong one day. Bigger than me, that's for sure -- even if you’ll never be stronger.” He rolled his eyes at her, giving her a shove as they headed for the kitchen. “When we’re older, there will be plenty of times I’ll need your help. Okay? We’re a team.”
She scrambled for the basket of apples on top of the table while Rowan ducked under the cabinet to raid his parents’ secret stash of candy. They both emerged, grinning at each other as they swapped snacks.
It was a tradition Aelin hoped would never change.