Ravine

Blurb:

Born into a peasant family, my life was always destined to be uneventful. Housework, gardening, cooking—my mother made sure I learned it all. I was to become a housewife someday, just like her.

The only spark of something different came from the stories of my father, a mighty warrior from a distant country. The villagers shunned him for his origin, what he fought for, but I adored him.

Tonight was supposed to be like any other. I sat by the living room window, staring into the night, the rain pouring heavily onto the roof above me. Father should have returned long ago.

This is part 1 of the book series "Ravine". The remaining volumes are yet to be completed.

The Raid

I was but a young teenager when it happened. It was a rainy day, so there wasn’t much to do but stay inside. My mother was preparing some food, while I was eagerly waiting for father to come back and tell me his stories. He was a hunter at our village, a retired warrior that had once served his country at great lengths. Many times over did he tell me about his great achievements, despite my mother’s objections.

The two of them grew up in two different nations, but still found love despite their differences. Still, the matter of fighting for one’s country never really seemed to go away. It was my interest in my father’s stories that kept both the issue at bay as well as my mother from starting one of her rants again.

I don’t remember much from these days. We lived in a small village, one that was barely noticed even by traders and merchants. We had to stick together, trying our best to survive off of each others help. For a few years now I was already helping them out, be it in the house or in the field or wherever they needed me. This was normal, and everyone in the village lived this way.

Life was boring, to put in bluntly. I wondered again and again how father could have chosen such a painfully slow life, when he had lived the great adventures of a warrior. Surely there was more to life than what we had going on here.

But the life he lived was far out of reach for me. He had served a nation that my mother, our neighbors, everyone we knew hated to the core. I didn’t understand what it was that made them despise it so much, but it was for that reason that I was forbidden from touching the sword.

“They will think that I want to recruit you for that army!”

I was sure father would have told me that had I asked for sword practice before. Mother wouldn’t have allowed it anyways.

Still, his time in service had made him a strong warrior. It was through his strength that he proved himself worthy as husband to my mother.

My mother, in comparison, was a simple woman. She mostly stuck to housework, and occasionally helped out in the field. The insects made her nervous though, so it’s been a while since she did some work there. Instead she sent me there, as I couldn’t care any less for house work.

Apparently I was supposed to take after her. That life… no, I couldn’t even imagine it. I wanted to go out, do something exciting! But no, I was supposed to be this and that. Be more girly! Try acting like a woman for a change! Don’t even think about taking after your father!

It was the same thing again and again. I was so sick of it. Still, what was there for me to do about it? There weren’t exactly a whole lot of options open for me. My parents were still young enough to do work themselves, but what will happen when they grow old and gray?

Yeah, there was no escaping this. I had to become some sort of housewife. Or at least be able to sustain myself and the family. I was bound to find one of the boys around attractive enough to marry, then expand my family and try to keep everyone alive.

It felt like the life of an animal, but again, what was there to change? The system worked, and it would just be wrong to try and change it selfishly. Fortunately I was still young enough for that whole marriage crap to not sit in everyone’s minds yet. For now I could enjoy my life, as far as I was able to anyways. Field work wasn’t too bad, so at least that was that.

It was really pouring that night. As I stared out the window I barely saw the house opposite to ours, that’s how dark it was. The rain was heavy, the droplets banging loudly on to the roof above us. Father was late already… and now he was bound to be drenched. I could almost imagine it in my mind already.

“You are drenched! Take off your coat at the door!”

“Oh, but I am drenched all over! I can’t expose myself in front our daughter now, can I?”

Yeah, that’s the kind of jokester my father was. Well, not much of a jokester if you bring the same joke again and again. Well, still, it was better than the constant nagging of my mother. Father, at the very least, somewhat accepted my not-so-feminine attributes.

I wanted to hear his stories again. Didn’t matter whether they were true or not, or whether my mother was getting angry at us for talking about it again. It was always such a joy just to listen.

“Then I slammed down my sword! Oh, but he parried it! I really had to try and keep my balance there!”

Somehow, during his time in the army he only fought one-on-one battles. Not exactly a good sign that he was actually telling the truth. Maybe, deep down, he was a little bit like me. Trying to live a fantasy. And I was all too eager to engulf myself in his imaginations. After all, he was somewhat skilled at story telling, at least to the point that I rarely got tired from just listening to him.

It was growing more than just a little dark now. This almost felt like midnight. It was pitch black out there.

After waiting for hours and hours my mother asked me to go to bed, promising that he would return tomorrow. I knew this was just an attempt for her to get me out of the room, but again, what else was there to do? Reluctantly I returned to my room, throwing myself on to my bed.

The rain turned into a storm, and with it my worries continued to grow. I turned around in bed over and over, but to no avail. The constant, repeating sound of the rain kept me wide awake. As I tried my best to close my eyes, the front door suddenly swung open forcefully. The sound was so intense that I almost assumed that the door had been kicked open. I quickly got up to see what had happened.

It was my father, standing by the front door. He was drenched from the rain, the water dropping heavily from his coat onto the wooden floorboards beneath. He was wearing a small cape over his head, and a little breast plate made out of metal around his chest. His stance was somewhat crooked, and he heavily leaned to the left, as if he was in pain. It was then that I noticed his missing right arm.

“T-they are here! They broke past!”

My mother began to cry almost immediately. She seemed helpless, filled with fear and anxiety. I never saw her like this, not with emotions this intense. Throwing her arms up into the air she shouted at my father, a mixture of anger and desperation in her voice.

“I bet it’s them! I bet they’re from your horrific home country!”

My father did not protest this. Instead he hesitated, unable to produce another word. After a short while he looked over to me, his eyes lightening up as he did. I stood there anxiously, at the verge of tears. My body was frozen, my fingertips tingling and my teeth clattered as my jaw trembled uncontrollably.

All I saw in front of me was that big stump, the only thing left of my fathers’ arm, covered in bloodied bandages and rope. I tried imagining the horrific things that could have done this to him. He was a warrior, an unmovable mountain that no one could hurt. The others always said so. He was the strongest soldier of our village. There was nothing that should have been able to hurt him that bad.

It took my mother a moment to compose herself. In a second she grabbed my arm, pulling me close. There were a lot of things she said to my father, but I didn’t listen. My eyes were fixated on that stump, and the blood that was dripping from it.

As we got outside we saw one of the houses at the edge of the village burning. It was pouring, but the place was still engulfed in flames. An intense heat radiated off of it, even from that distance. My mother’s hand trembled as it held mine, she was undoubtedly just as scared as I was. This whole situation… it seemed almost hellish.

“We need to run.”

My father thought of what to do first. He was a warrior, he knew what to do in such a situation. There was no saving this place. We had to run.

Something was here, the thing that took my fathers arm, and it was wreaking havoc on our little village. We ran and ran, across the street and into small alleyways. The rain clouded my vision, and the smoke of the fires all over made breathing difficult. My skin was burning, my eyes refusing to open for more than a split second at most. However I got to the town square I don’t remember, but I imagine my parents must have carried me.

When I awoke I found myself in the middle of the town plaza, right in front of the town hall. Even in this black night I could recognize it, if only from the cold, oddly shaped stones beneath me. I barely managed to gain consciousness before hearing my father speak. His voice was shaking, sounding almost terrified. It scared me down to the bones, making it impossible for me to look up.

“What have we done to you? There is nothing here to gain for you! The war is over! We have nothing! Leave us be!”

His voice… it almost sounded tired. Weak, frail, without much volume. My heart was racing, an indescribable fear erupting in my chest. I reached out to find the hand of my mother, but couldn’t find it.

All of a sudden a voice I did not recognize spoke up. It had a harsh tone, and a dialect similar to that of father. For a second I wondered if the two of them knew each other, or whether that man was also from that distant country.

“Oh is there not? What a shame, really. Guess we’ll have to find other kinds of riches then.”

The voice was very deep, undoubtedly one of a middle aged man. He sounded condescending, almost as if he was looking down on my father. It scared me, as my father was the strongest warrior in the world to me. Sure, people joked around with him, but no one would ever disrespect him like that. Was it maybe… because of the missing arm?

The fear in my mind wouldn’t stop. My heart raced, making my entire body tremble violently. Still, what affected me most was my mind. The fears it presented to me. It wasn’t long until I would start seeing things, I was sure of it. Trying to get all my courage together I slowly managed to look up.

Before us stood a pack of bandits. They all wore expensive silk that shone even in the pouring rain. Their faces were cut and bloody, with scars everywhere. In their hands were swords, axes, even a few maces and clubs. The way they stood there, all confident and arrogant, etched an image into my mind. It was like a sight straight out of a nightmare.

Suddenly my father pushed me. It was a violent push, one much stronger than I ever felt. I stumbled backwards about a meter or so, landing on my back. Water splashed all over me, a huge puddle sitting under me. Looking over to my father I saw the eyes of a desperate man, blood shot and filled with tears.

“You need to run!”

I wanted to cry, run towards him and have him pull me out of this hell. He needed to protect me! Help me!

But he was in no condition to do that. His body was bloodied, and he was lying on his stomach. Where did he get these wounds? Why was everything he wore soaked in a deep blood red? My body began to shake, cramping up in fear. At first there were my legs, then my arms, all beginning to turn numb in fear.

His push was strong… but considering his stature, it was nothing special. It wasn’t a push where he held back, but more like he didn’t have any more strength left in him. Knowing his usual touch, the roughness of his grip, shook me with despair. The way he bled, the weakness of his body, he shakiness of his voice…

Tears filled my eyes, to the point where I could barely see.

“How nice to have your daughter watch this. Haha! This is worth more than all the riches in the world!”

I remember the sound. It was a splat, not unlike the one you hear when preparing meat for dinner. My father was stabbed, and one of the bandits did it. I screamed and cried, trying my best to stand up and run. My legs trembled as I tried to move, so instead I crawled backwards until I managed to get on my feet. What reached my ears shortly after was the mocking voices of the bandits in front of me.

“Hey, guys, the girl is trying to run away! Should we catch her?”

“No, boss, we can’t. She’s just a little girl after all! Only a monster would do that!”

Their voices were playful. Some even laughed, a horrendous laughter that shook my body to the very core. There was no humanity left in them, reminding me of hyenas more than human beings. Imps and devils, the whole lot of them!

I had put some distance between them and myself. Using up all my willpower, I managed to finally stand up somehow. My legs were still shaking like crazy, and I could barely see my hands in front of my eyes from all the tears. I turned and ran, didn’t matter where to, only to get away from the bandits. After running for a bit I stumbled, just barely managing to soften my fall, earning me the mocking laughter of the men behind me.

They sounded more distant, which gave me the strength to continue on. I ran and ran, passing burning buildings, dead bodies and people writhing in agony. Rubbing my eyes as I ran, I managed to see somewhat again, even though the pouring rain did not help. There was a forest just a short run away, once I’d get there I was sure to be safe from those bandits!

Then, all of a sudden, an arrow flew right by my face. There was not much distance between it and my skin, so much so that I could feel the air it pushed out of the way as it flew past. I immediately face-planted into the ground, hitting my nose hard. Blood shot up my nostrils, making me cough violently. My body cramped up, unable to move on any further. I could feel blood fill the inside of my nose further, and with it came more anxiety than I was able handle. Only a short distance away from me the voices of the bandits appeared again.

“You got her! Wow, look, she even pissed herself! Or is it just the rain?”

“Fuck off with your stupid fantasies.”

I recognized the first voice. It was the man that had stabbed my father. He was cheerful, ecstatic even. The other sounded less playful, and I did not recognize it. It was, however, terrifying beyond anything I’d ever experienced. In fact, his coldness scared me even more. There was no escaping him once he got close enough, I was sure of it.

“How should we go about this? We can’t just kill her like that. Let’s at least have a little fun.”

“Keep your torture sessions to yourself, I need none of that shit.”

I turned around on to my back, a mixture of rainwater and tears in my eyes. My nose stung like crazy, only intensifying the amount of tears in my eyes. Rubbing them as hard as I could I finally managed to see again, at least somewhat.

There were two guys, both young adults, with swords in hand. They looked at me with horrible eyes, showing no sign of stopping their advance towards me. I crouched back, unable to stand up again. My legs just wouldn’t stop shaking. It didn’t take long for one of them to reach me and plant their foot on my chest, almost suffocating me. The pressure was so high I almost feared them breaking though my rib cage.

“Aw man, it looks like you were faster.”

“Thank god I don’t need to see your weird antics.”

I gasped for air, trying my best to get away from the guy’s foot. But it was no use, I was no match against a man his size. As I looked around, I saw another figure approaching from behind them. I tried to scream, ask for help, but there was not enough air inside my lungs for that.

“Better luck in the next life, kid. Now die.”

I could see his blade rush towards me. He wasn’t aiming at my throat, my chest or any other vital spot to kill me. He was aiming straight for my head, ready to torture me. I put my arms up, somehow managing to push the blade to the side. By sheer luck I managed to avoid the sharp blade, leaving little more than a bruise on my arm. The man seemed to dislike his failed attempt, cursing and readying himself for another stab.

But then, suddenly, there was the sound of flesh being cut. It sounded just the way it did when they stabbed my father, only a lot louder. It didn’t come from very far away, in fact it sounded like it came from right behind my attacker, who turned around in response.

“W-what the fuck? Who are yo-”

Another splash, and with it the pressure on my chest faded, giving me the opportunity to breathe again. I gasped, trying to catch my breath. It was difficult due to how quick my heart was beating, so I used the time to crawl back a little again. My nose hurt like crazy, I could not see, and my body felt like sandpaper.

I did not understand what had happened, but my attackers were gone. Where were they? My sight were blurry, covered in tears and rainwater. Still, even through this veil of liquid in front of my eyes, I could see the distorted and blurry outlines of what laid in front of me.

The bodies of two people lay just inches away from my feet. There was no doubt about it: it was the bandits, and they were dead. Big cuts split their skin in two, revealing a grotesque display of flesh and blood. The grass below them was soaked in a deep color of red.

On top of them stood a man. As he looked down towards me I felt an immense pain right around my chest, as if someone was pressing down on it from the inside. His eyes pierced my body, as if it was nothing but simple flesh to him. Like a bird that lost its ability to fly, at the complete mercy of the human towering over it.

My body could not handle that pressure. From all the shaking, crying, shouting and all the anxiety it gave way, revoking my rights to control it anymore. I rolled backwards on to my side, my body heavy as a rock. In a moment everything went pitch black.

The Aftermath

It was still night when I awoke. I was at a somewhat different place than where I had lost consciousness, but still fairly close to the village. Only a short distance away from me I saw the flames that had engulfed everything, the smell of burned wood reaching my nostrils.

Afraid and with shaky legs, I finally managed to stand up. My mind was blank, my skin heavy from all the rain. I could barely breathe, and my heartbeat was heavily elevated. It took me a few seconds to compose myself, and head off running towards the village.

The thought of what had happened to my parents was terrifying. My mind tried its best to bend the situation somewhat positively, but it was clear to me that it was merely making up fantasies. I saw my father push me in my mind over and over, and every time he did I imagined a scenario in which he could survive. Maybe he rolled to the side and stabbed the guy, emerging victorious? Or maybe, at the very least, the sword only stabbed his shoulder, sparing his life? I barely saw a thing after all, so why should it have been my father that was killed? It felt like there was a real possibility that he was still alive!

Thinking on and on and on, I eventually found myself on a paved road. Bodies lied left and right, both human and animal alike. Some were scorched from the fire, others looking glossy from the rain. The stench of rot and burned meat filled the air, almost making me choke. My eyes, already filled with tears, began to swell up. I knew crying would not solve my issues, but my body was not fully under my control. Still I pressed on, trying my best to look away from all the horror next to me.

Suddenly I noticed something move. I shrieked, terrified of a possible attack. If the bandits found me here, what would I do? No, what could I do? My eyes went upwards, towards a burning building to my left. What I saw was the scorched corpse of a human, lying hinged over a windowsill, its body no more than bones and muscle.

“A…Ahhhh!”

I cried out, wishing for my father to come save me. That’s what warriors did! He couldn’t have died, he was strong! I was so sure of it! Yet, with no sign of him anywhere, my mind started to wander again.

“Mamaaaaa!”

My mother always took great care of me. If she saw me like this, she would surely come to my aid. I regretted that I treated her so badly in the past, wanted to run towards her and apologize, wanted her to save me from this hell. I’d do everything she wanted! Housework? Never heard of anything better!

She was kind, she would be there for me, I was sure of it! But she was nowhere in sight, no sign of her anywhere. So again my mind wandered, and I continued on.

I shouted and shouted, until I finally found myself near the plaza once more. It was where my father died… no, where he defeated all the bandits! No matter how unlikely it was, I held on strong to that believe. I swallowed deeply, trying to calm myself down. If the bandits were still there they would surely find me if I continued to cry and shout. I’d have to be an adult now, and be ready to face whatever it was that was going to present itself to me.

Slowly I pressed on to take a better look, scared of what I might find. Turning the corner I peeked over a small piece of what was once part of a wall, trying reveal as little of my body as possible. Yet the second I got a good look at the place my eyes went wide, all sense of orientation fading from me. Quickly I left my cover behind to rush further towards the plaza, trying to get a better look at what scared me so much. There was… no one standing anymore, only a bunch of bodies on the ground. No bandits, no people, not even an animal was still alive. Had the bandits abandoned this place already?

I fell to my knees about five meters away from him. His eyes were wide open, his mouth agape. His right shoulder was partially detached from his body, only some flesh holding it still in place. A sword had cut right through it, leaving an ugly wound. There was a puddle of blood beneath him, one that stretched on for over a meter in all directions. The pouring rain above had mixed in with it, making it seem almost translucent.

It felt like his eyes pierced my body and soul. Clouded pupils, dried and shriveled up from unblinking eyelids stared blankly into space, yet still it felt like they looked straight at me. As I stared at the disfigured body of the man I held so dear, it finally crept into my soul and being that this corpse had once been my father. The warrior, the strongest of them all, lied there, dead and disfigured on the ground.

In an instant my mind began to panic.

“M… mama? I… I’m sorry I was so… ahh…. sniffle Please, I’m scared!”

For what felt like an eternity I ran across the plaza, my eyes so swollen and filled with tears that I could barely see. My heart was beating so fast that I could almost feel it rip a hole in my chest. Blood ran down my nose and into my mouth, making me choke. Fear and anxiety flowed through my body down my arms into my fingertips, which felt tingly and numb. It was as if my body was not my own, instead consisting purely off of pure emotion.

I searched around, trying my best to wipe away the tears from my eyes. Surely my mother must still be alive, why would anyone kill a nice woman like her? Father could be mean at times, but she never was! Yes, maybe that was the reason they killed him! He was an outsider, from a country everyone hated! Maybe they simply saw him as an enemy! Mother on the other hand was peaceful, there was no way she posed any threat to them at all! Hell, she was scared of some small insects!

The more bodies I passed the more a sense of hope started to well up inside me. While I did not know many of the other villagers, I could at the very least identify them from their clothing. The people that laid here… none of them looked like this. The corpses all belonged to bandits. For a split second I wondered how that was even possible… but my mind quickly wandered on. Better them than my mother.

I do not know how much time passed until I finally managed to compose myself. Using my tingly fingers I finally managed to get the tears out of my eyes, making me able to see again. They still hurt of course, but that didn’t even faze me at this point.

As I looked up I suddenly saw a grotesque sight in front of me. A pile of bodies spanning multiple meters high stood there, a sight straight out of hell itself. Men, women, children, dogs, even a horse laid on top of each other, forming a horrific pile of flesh. It only took me a second to realize that they were all dead. I fell to my knees, my strength having left me once more.

I felt powerless, unable to do anything. Why did this have to happen? Should I have done anything differently? Should I have tried to fight back? If I had a sword in hand, could I have changed the outcome? If I had just killed the bandits myself…

Suddenly, I noticed footsteps coming from behind me. I froze in place, shivering all over. Was it a bandit? Was he going to take revenge on me after seeing the bodies of his friends right besides me? What was he going to do? Would my death be a quick one?

I waited, clinching my hands into fists and forcing my eyes closed. Surely it wouldn’t be long until something bad happened. But nothing happened, until suddenly I heard a sound.

Thump

Something soft fell right in front of me, making a squishy sound. I opened my eyes to see someone standing next to the huge pile of bodies. His back was turned to me, as he was facing the pile of bodies straight on. I screamed, trying to back up and away from him. It was the man… that stood over me just before I fainted.

“Help… me… anyone…”

It was a futile effort to cry for help. I did not expect anyone to come save me at this point. My arms were weak, and my legs could barely hold the weight of my body. Was he a bandit like the others? He had a sword in hand, and his clothes were soaked in blood. He looked dangerous, like a murderer. #he could have very well been the reaper himself.

Slowly he turned around, his eyes now focused on me. I tried my best to move, but the last of my last strength left me. My legs gave way, and I fell backwards on to to palm of my hands. But my arms were just as weak, not able to hold the weight of my body. I fell to the ground, my head just barely managing to not hit the pavement with full force. Still it hurt. It hurt so much.

“Why have you come back here?”

The man’s voice was… calm, almost comforting, yet still stern like that of father. There was no malice in it. He sounded more like a neighbor than a bandit, really. It took me completely off guard, making my body loosen up somewhat.

“The smoke of the flames is not good for you. You should stay outside until the flames are extinguished. I carried you away for a reason, you know?”

I wiped my eyes to get a better look at him. It was a young to middle aged man with dark blonde, short hair. His muscles were sizable but not overly so, and his height was just about normal for a man. He was wearing some protective gear around his chest, giving him more the appearance of a warrior rather than that of a bandit or villager. There was a cut on his right cheek, making him bleed a little. His blue eyes looked straight at me, and I stared right back. It made no sense to me why he didn’t attack me, leaving my mind a blank state. I was powerless, both physically and mentally.

The man waited for a while, pulling out a soft, thin cloth from a small pocket near his waist. He carefully folded it, then handed it to me. My body, still terrified from all that was happening, did not react to his gesture, however. In response he sighed, reaching out to me and putting the cloth near my face. Wiping my tears away, carefully moving across my eyelids, nose and forehead. It tingled, but he was careful enough that it didn’t overly hurt. Afterwards he folded the cloth again and stuffed it in my pocket, giving me a small pat on the back right after. He paused for a moment, then spoke to me in a stern, almost monotonous voice.

“You can help me out a little. I need to burn the bodies of the dead before day rises, or disease will spread.”

The man’s words where short and sharp, almost methodical. In normal circumstances one would call them cold, but then they felt as warm as a fire to me. There was a certain feeling of power he emanated, making him appear like a strong warrior.

This combination of soft warmth and power brought my mind back to reality. Somehow my body had stopped shaking, my fingers not tingling anymore. While anxiety and fear still strongly surged through me I felt… somewhat relieved. This man, I felt, I could trust.

Slowly I stood up, amazed that my legs did not give in under me. It seemed like my strength was finally returning to me.

“Keep close. There shouldn’t be many more to find, just tell me when you see a body.”

With that, we went back into the village. We turned many familiar streets, all of which destroyed and devoid of life. There was the occasional burned body, but besides that there wasn’t much. All the bodies I saw before had seemingly vanished into thin air.

The thing that surprised me above all else was that the town was devoid not only of human life, but of animals and bandits as well. Everything and everyone was dead, the only sign of life being the man that walked right in front of me.

As I began to wonder we suddenly turned a corner. My heart dropped the second I realized where we were.

“This is the last street. Keep your eyes open.”

It was a little street, only three houses stood here. The first one burned brightly, the wood cracking under the fire. The second one was old and looked abandoned. I knew this house.

“There is no one living there. We don’t need to check.”

The man nodded, moving along without checking the house. Then came the third house. It was my families’ house.

I tucked on the man’s arm in fear. I did not want to find anything in there.

Mother must have escaped together with father, surely she can’t be inside!

Still, there was a fear inside me that left me uneasy. For one, father was already dead, and…

“Is this your house?”

The man had stopped my train of thought. Looking down I tried my best to brace myself for what was about to come.

I nodded, closing my eyes. Do we really need to check every single house? I didn’t want to. The man got on one knee and looked into my eyes once more, gripping me firmly on my shoulder. His eyes pierced mine, sending a small shiver down my spine.

“It is better to burn them then leave them to the rats.”

He seemed too emotionless about all this. As if he experienced the same thing many times before, as if it was simply routine to him. I did not know what to feel, but was too exhausted to try and make sense of it all.

We entered the living room without much problem. The door was wide open, after all. As we moved inside, my worst nightmare came to be.

My mother laid motionless on the floor in front of me.

The back of her head had been split open, blood slowly dripping from the wound. I could only see her hair and back the way she laid there, her face was out of view. The man approached her, and as I did not let go of him, took me with him. He knelt down next to her, turning her head around. I quickly looked away, tears welling up inside my eyes once again.

“She died quickly. She was one of the lucky ones.”

“W-why?!”

I let go of him, taking a step back. There were no words to properly express the feelings I held in that moment.

“What about this is ‘lucky’?”

I screamed at him. There was nothing else I knew to do but that. I simply had to let my anger out. All the emotion… I needed to blend out reality, even if just for just a second.

“Many people here bled out. A death like hers is rather swift in comparison.”

“S-shut up!”

Tears filled my eyes once more. How could he say such a thing? She was dead! Everyone in here was dead! He should be crying, the way I was. He should comfort me. An adult should do that!

In that moment, something snapped in me. It was as if a switch was turned inside my head. I looked over to the door and spotted my father’s old sword still intact, the one he took with him each and every day. He must have left it here when he grabbed me. I ran over and grabbed it with both hands. It was heavy, much heavier than it looked when father was handling it, and it seemed huge. How was he able to wield it in only one hand?

“M-maybe you killed her! That’s why you t-talk like… this!”

The words were difficult to get out. Thinking was difficult. There was nothing but a wall of emotion, one that was impossible to scale for me.

Then, suddenly, the man stood up, taking his sword out of its sheath. It scared me, making me tremble, but it only increased my determination. Only an enemy would pull out a sword in that situation, I was certain of it. With a great scream I rushed him, swinging the blade with all of my strength.

He parried it with one hand, throwing me back about a meter. I quickly stood back up again, gripping the hilt of the sword with all my might. It was difficult for me to understand what the man was planning as he was simply standing there, but I was sure he was no friend of mine. After all, he held his sword extended in my direction. I felt I had misjudged him, thought too good of him. In that moment everything around me faded, leaving me in a sort of black corridor leading towards nothing but that man. All my emotions had bundled together to form something in between anger and hatred, and with that feeling I faced the man once more.

I rushed him again, and once more he deflected my attack with little effort. It made me mad, so I swung at him again. This went on for a while, until eventually I couldn’t feel my hands anymore. But I gripped on tight, even after it felt like my fingers were about to fall off, and continued to swing the sword at him. Again and again the two swords clashed, producing an uncomfortably shrill clinging sound. I took on a stance to power up for the next attack, when the man suddenly sheathed his sword. Seeing it as an opportunity, I immediately thrust my sword forwards.

But as I did, the man suddenly got closer. He took a step forward, moving inside my guard. The momentum, together with the weight of the sword, made it impossible for me to dodge out of the way, so I simply bumped into him awkwardly, hitting my nose on his chestplate. Almost immediately my nose started bleeding again, sending a sharp pain up into my eyes. Instinctively I let go of my sword to reach out for it, feeling the blood run down my fingers. Now lying on my back, trying to hold back tears, the man suddenly offered me a small tissue once again. He must have taken it out of my pocket again.

“Don’t see me as the enemy, young girl. These things have to be done.”

I sniffled a little. All the anger I felt in my heart slowly seemed to disappear. I couldn’t believe it, any of it, but I knew that I couldn’t change what has happened. My hands, nose, eyes, legs, everything just hurt. I did not have the energy to fight back anymore.

“Come, let us end this all together.”

The man, a small, awkward smile on his face, reached his hand out to me. Just a second ago I could have sworn that he was my enemy, that he did not care about me, my family, or the village. I saw that black corridor… a path to certain doom. But now that I laid on my back, the sword far away from me, that corridor subsided. Like smoke in the wind it evaporated, as if it had never been there in the first place.

But now he felt warm, welcoming, caring. Almost like an entirely different person. I hesitated for a second before finally grabbing his hand. The touch hurt, but I decided not to make it shown. I wanted to try my best to stay strong. After having pulled me up he turned towards my mother again, bending down to get closer to her.

With one fluid motion, the man flung her over his shoulder. It was a crude movement, and it made me flinch for a second. I did not get a close look on the wounds of my mother, but I was sure that swinging her like that would only make the bleeding worse.

When we went outside many of the buildings had already stopped burning. It seemed to make the man a little uneasy, carrying on in a significantly faster pace than we took on the way here. I had to go into a little jog just to keep up, my shaky legs hurting as I did.

Before long, we reached the plaza once more. One of the buildings nearby was still burning bright, but the rest had collapsed and burnt out by now. Was this the moment? Were we going to burn the corpses of my parents, together with all those in that stockpile of bodies? I wondered if it was the man who created it. It seemed… too grotesque, too hellish to have been created by a human.

To my surprise, the man waited for a moment, simply standing in place. After a while, he looked over to me with a curious look on his face.

“We don’t have to burn everyone. Do you want to bury the body of your mother?”

Somehow, this offer made my heart skip a beat. I remembered the burial of my grandparents, and how my mother told me how grateful she was for it to be a proper burial. I nodded to the man, who in turn threw her on the ground with a loud thud. It was so loud that it scared me to my bones, letting go of his hand in the progress. I started shivering, unable to climb the walls of my terror. Undoubtedly the man took notice of it, but he didn’t say a thing.

Instead, he simply seemed confused. It was an awkwardness he extruded that made him feel a little weak himself, helping me to get over my fear. I clinched my fists and looked over to him, my legs shaking.

“Be more careful next time!”

The man nodded, then walked along to the corpse of one of the dead bandits. One after the other he threw on the pile of bodies. After having cleaned up all the bodies he finally stepped over to me again.

“Do you know this man?”

He pointed to my back, to a place I tried to avert my eyes from. I clenched my fists even harder, not giving an answer. After waiting for a few seconds the man walked past me and picked the man up. As I opened my eyes, I spotted him carrying the body towards the pile.

“T-that…”

The man turned around, looking straight at me. What I saw on his shoulder was a pair of pants and boots I remembered too well. They looked worn, but not unusable. From this angle, the person might still be alive, at least from the looks of it. But I knew it wasn’t so. I breathed in, trying to grasp for a strength I felt I didn’t have in me anymore.

“T-that’s my father!”

The tears came then. It made it all real.

“I see. We will give him a burial as well.”

With greater care than before, the man put him next to my mother. It was nice to see him giving this more thought, but it didn’t make this any easier for me.

“I will get some tar. Please wait here for now.”

With that, the man left. I felt the tears run down my face, the pain they induced as they rolled over my swollen cheeks. My parents were dead, that fact was perfectly clear for me now. What was a girl like me supposed to do now? I was still far from an adult, I couldn’t read or write, not swing a sword, I had no idea how to hunt, how to make food, how to do anything really.

As I tried to sort out my thoughts, the pile of bodies came into sight once more. There were many familiar faces there, neighbors, friends, and most importantly, the bandits from earlier. The ones that killed my father when he was powerless. Slowly, I made my way forwards, staring into the lifeless eyes of the bandit I recognized. In no time, I found myself in front of him.

There was a blade on the ground, a sword with a fancy hilt. I picked it up and let it sit in my hand for a while. No such sword should have any right to be in a poor village like this one, even a peasant like me could grasp that fact. I gripped the hilt with two hands, grinding my teeth with enough force to make me feel them chipping inside my mouth.

“You bastarrrrrrrd!”

I screamed as I swung the blade down towards the man’s corpse. Blood splat everywhere as I managed to hit him right in the forehead. A huge wound formed, disfiguring his face. It scared me, but also gave me an incredible feeling of power. Again, I swung down with a loud shout.

This time I hit his lower face, most notably his teeth. Under the pressure of the hilt I felt how the teeth broke beneath the blade, and how the blade grind itself into the flesh of the bandit. The result was a bloody mess, one that was sure to traumatized even seasoned fighters. But in that moment, none of that mattered to me. I pulled on the sword, ready to strike down once more, but it got stuck. I pulled and pulled, creating more wounds on the corpse that splat out blood. As I ripped and teared, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.

“This will not destroy his body. Take this, and smear it all over him and the others.”

The man stood next to me, a bucket of tar in hand. With my bare hands I grabbed inside. The tar felt cold on my hands, making me shiver a little. With another shout, I slammed my entire fist into the disfigured corpse of the bandit. Again and again I hit him, until the tar on my hand was replaced with blood.

The man was already walking around the pile, using some kind of tool to spread the tar evenly across the pile. I looked down on my bloodied hands, not sure what to make of them. I felt how my body became even weaker, and how simply letting out my anger became a chore. It felt as if the bandits weren’t worth the energy I used to slash them, and I felt guilty about it. After a few seconds, the man touched my shoulder once more.

“That is enough. Let us grab some fire now.”

I silently agreed, reaching out to him with my bloodied hand. Despite the mixture of tar and blood on it, the man still took it, dirtying his glove. With a small tug, the man led us to the last burning building.

“The tar burns quickly. You should stay away from the fire.”

Having said that, the man let go of my hand and walked towards the flames. Looking around a little, he spotted a piece of wood that was only burning on one side, reminding me of a torch. The man nodded in my direction, then went over to the pile and grabbed it.

I simply stood there as I watched him move closer and closer to the pile of bodies. The mysterious black fog I saw back when I clashed with the man… I could feel it seep into my pants and up my body. Like black smoke that emerged from the earth… a sign of evil. I did not know what it was, and it scared me, but my mind still stayed away from it. All my attention was on the man, who now stood at arms reach of the pile of bodies.

I didn’t feel anything anymore as I watched the pile light up in flames. A horrific smell reached my nostrils, but I couldn’t find it in myself to step away from it. The flames were bright, giving way to loud cracking noises as they burned. My eyes stung as I stared into the bight flame, making them feel dry. As the fire took away all semblance of humanity in the corpses and turned them all into a dark, black mass, the black fog that had crept its way up my body suddenly came to a stop, disappearing into the night.

“This flame should be enough. Let us put your parents to rest now.”

I looked over to the man and saw his hand extended in my direction. Without thinking I reached out and grabbed it. There was only one thing let in my mind.

I hope he won’t leave me now.

The burial went over without much hassle. With one person over each shoulder, the man carried my parents over to the local graveyard. Using a shovel that was standing nearby, he quickly created a deep hole. He told me something about how deep it needs to be, but I didn't listen to him much. My mind wandered towards my future. What was I supposed to be doing now, without anyone to lean on to? Will the man help me find a place to live? There was no way of knowing, and I didn't have the strength anymore to ask.

The man carefully placed both of my parents next to each other into the ground. It looked peaceful, totally unlike the pile that was burning back at the plaza. I couldn't help but smile a little, even if it was a sad one. The man waited some time before finally shoveling dirt back into the hole. It only took a few minutes until the hole was completely covered again, my parents buried beneath.

I looked at the man, at the village, then back at the grave. It seemed like it was all over. I exhaled, when suddenly all the tiredness of my body came over me. My legs gave out first, making me fall forward. The man caught me, pulling me back up again. I looked at him, a troubled look in his eyes. I tried to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and with it I fell into a deep slumber.

The Next Day

When I awoke the sun was shining, blinding me as I opened my eyes. I turned around, annoyed by the blinding light, when suddenly everything came back to me. The huge, burning pile of bodies in particular. I gasped, my body starting to shake again. It felt too real to have just been a dream.

There was a weird nothingness I felt in my chest. As if today was just another day, no, maybe even more mundane than that. My mind, in stern contrast to the rest of me, acted like today was just another day like any other.

I rubbed my eyes, which felt dry as sand. My sight was really bad, blurry and distorted. Yet my mind did not react to it, instead instructing my body to stand up from bed already. As I did I caught a glimpse of my right hand, which somehow looked much sharper than the rest of the world around it.

There were bruises all over. My fingers were swollen, a reddish color engulfing them. Below them, on my palm, rested a strong red indentation the size of a hilt of sorts, like the one one would get when working hard with a tool. Cuts and bruises could be seen all over my hand and fingers. My fingers hadn’t been that way just a day ago… yeah, they must have turned out this way after my duel with the man.

I stood up, my whole body aching in ways I never felt before. It was as if it wanted me to go back into bed, but I wouldn't have it that way. I needed to get out and see it for myself, the horrors I had witnessed last night. There still was a part of me that couldn’t believe that it had happened.

At first I checked my surroundings, just to find out that I was standing in my own room. I could identify the crooked woodwork from a simple glance, the way the wood split in the corner...

Looking around more, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The window pointed out towards the forest, so it gave me little clue as to how the village looked outside. If it weren't for my aching body and bruised hands I could have easily assumed it was all just a dream. But speculating like this wasn’t going to do me any favors. Slowly, and with a hint of fear in my heart, I opened the door to the living room.

In front of me laid… nothing, really. Someone had washed the floor clean, but didn’t do so methodically enough to get all the blood out. A huge black stain remained right where my mother had laid, the floorboard was slightly cracked too. Behind it laid a sword, a very old but well maintained one. It was the one of my father, the one I used in my battle with the man. I had let go of it yesterday and not picked it up again, so it being here made perfect sense.

Everything was as I remembered it, but it still felt so unreal. My mind was realizing it all, but it felt like my body didn't react at all to it. I was strangely calm, only my heartbeat was a little elevated. Carefully I walked around the stain to pick up the sword, my hand stinging from merely touching it. My hand really was swollen, and I could feel it with every move I made.

The sheath was sitting next to the door, so I went there next. Putting the sword inside was rather difficult, considering how long the blade was. It made me think about how father would manage to sheathe it so quickly. He was a good bit taller than me though, so maybe it was just a height thing.

I tried to think of a time where he showed me how it was done, but I didn't remember a single time where he did. All he did was polish it, clean it, and put it next to the door again. Never once has he swung it, not with me watching at least. It was a tool for him, one that was used by warriors and warriors alone. I stood back up, putting my hand on the door handle. I breathed out, ready to face whatever was waiting for me.

The village was destroyed. No, it was worse, if the houses had simply been destroyed then one could still use the wood for something. Maybe some items would even survive. But that wasn't the case here. All the houses were made of wood, and with only a few exceptions, all of them had burned to the ground. There was nothing but black ash that was left behind, the grass fields around them charred and dead. It was a horrible sight, one that no one wished on their worst enemy.

Yet, even face to face with all this destruction, I felt nothing. There was nothing but emptiness in my chest. No fear, no worry, no anxiety, nothing but sheer emptiness.

“Where to go…”

The village or the graveyard, where should I go first? In the end, I decided on the graveyard, as it wasn't too far away.

It was the one place that hadn't burned to the ground, at least it felt that way. Did the bandits have some respect for the dead, or was there simply nothing loot worthy in here? Or it could simply be that stone just didn't burn as well as wood did. Whatever the reason may have been, I was ready to see the grave of my parents. Gripping the sheath of my fathers sword with one hand, I used the other to open the gate.

Gravestones stood next to each other in perfect symmetry, creating room for many holes to be dug. I wondered how long it would take me to find the grave.

Wait, had we even put a cross on top of it? Would I even be able to find it? That question alone made my heart race more than the destroyed village, somehow. I looked around and around until I finally spotted a small bump in the ground. The dirt looked fresh, as if it had only been put there recently. Its appearance was entirely out of place, especially as it broke the symmetry of the other graves around it. I walked over, just to notice that there was something sticking out of it. It was a small wooden cross, about the width of my upper arms. Two thick twigs were held together with some rope, which didn’t exactly gave it a professional look. There were a few signs engraved into it.

“How I wish I could read…”

It gave me, however, some hope that it may just be the place where my parents were buried. I felt the soil beneath my fingers, it was much softer than the ground besides it. As I played around with it i my hand, I noticed how empty I felt once again.

I sat in silence for a long while. My head was empty, devoid of thought. It was only when my legs started hurting that I stood up again.

“Right. I should look into the village, I guess.”

Just as I was about to leave I turned around just once more. Was it the man who placed the wooden board there? I hoped that he was still here somewhere, waiting for me. With his help, I may just avoid starving to death. Opening the gate in front of me, I left the graveyard behind.

The streets were messy, with thrown over carts and sunken in footsteps everywhere. It was more of a battlefield than a village, really. At some point, I started counting the houses which had become nothing but charred ash. One, two, three… it went on, every few steps I took increasing the number. At some point I lost count, and decided against counting up again.

It was like a ghost town, nothing alive anymore. Not even a cat, dog or bird was in sight. I expected some vultures, but there were no corpses lying around. The man must have been very thorough. I walked on until I reached a big building that somehow hadn't caught fire. Behind it was a place I dreaded to visit, the one that had started that whole disaster yesterday. I took a deep breath, trying to steel my nerves. Then again, I didn’t feel a whole lot with all that emptiness in me.

To my surprise, however, there was no mountain of bodies standing in front of me. There was a small hill of ash, but that was about it. It didn't even look too much out of place next to all the collapsed buildings.

There was something else there that grabbed my attention much more however, and that seemed way more out of place. It was a man, sitting on a log, stirring a pot in front of him. It that the man from yesterday.

I stood there for a second, in utter disbelief. In my mind, I already felt abandoned, left here to die alone. But there was someone, someone who looked just like he was waiting for something, or someone. Maybe, just maybe he was…

After staring at him for a while he finally noticed me. His eyes lit up for a second, after which he signaled for me to come over. My body moved entirely on its own, not caring much for the signals my mind tried sending it. Why was he still here? Was he waiting… for me?

“You have been sleeping for an entire day. You must be hungry.”

Reaching behind him he grabbed a small bowl made out of wood. It looked crudely made, as if someone tried to make a hole with nothing but a small knife. It was coated though, at least that part seemed well made. He dipped it into the pot, then reached it out to me. It took me a second to take it, still in utter disbelief.

“I wasn't able to cook much, but it should be enough for you. Here, sit down.”

With almost excessive amounts of force he slammed a medium sized stump of wood into the ground right in front of me. The man sat on it before, but now he was offering it to me?

After having sat down he handed me spoon made out of wood. It looked just as crude as the bowl, if not worse. If one was to rub their fingers on it the wrong way they might very well get some splinters.

However, none of this interested me at all. In fact, I hadn't even taken a look inside the bowl yet. The only thing I could stare at was the man. His face looked stern, but I felt like I could also see some happiness.

“You should eat. We can talk after.”

At first I didn’t respond. He repeated these words in some way, shape or form multiple times before I finally figured out what he meant, and began eating. It wasn't that it was difficult to understand, but more that my mind was entirely focused on him.

“T-thank you…”

My voice was weak and frail. I was a little embarrassed hearing it, so I immediately took my eyes off the man. The bowl was filled with a stew of some sort. There were some vegetables, some meat and spices mixed together. It looked really good, so I decided to give it a taste.

I'm unsure whether the stew really was that good or whether I was just hungry, but I gulped down bowl after bowl until the pot was empty. My stomach was full, and I wanted to lay down and sleep. Had the man even eaten a single bite himself?

There still was a weird feeling in my heart, but I was starting to grow accustomed to it. Focusing my mind was difficult, but for some reason, I still felt happy. I felt like everything was beginning to turn out okay.

The man had taken a seat on the ground next to me some time ago. He simply sat there, watching me eat his entire stew without asking whether he wanted some himself. Even after I was finished, he still simply sat there.

“That was soooo good!”

The man smiled a little, but said nothing. We sat there for a while in silence, taking in the warmth of the sun. Or at least that was what I was doing.

After a while the man spoke up.

“Say, what do you want to do from here?”

The question came out of nowhere. It took me somewhat off guard.

What was my plan, really? With everyone gone, there was no way for a girl my age to properly survive. I had no skills relevant to survival, after all, and heavily relied on my parents to cook me food or keep me warm. With them gone, what did I have, really? The only person… was that man.

All of a sudden, it all seemed to make sense to me. Why I had this emptiness inside me, why all the death and destruction hadn’t affected me much. My subconscious was simply processing everything faster than I could keep up, and thus had already figured out that there was no need for sorrow if I was presented with certain starvation. Alone, there was no way to survive.

Still… the man was here, was he not? He had fed me, a warm meal no less. I was stuffed full, and he didn’t even complain. Not all hope was lost with him by my side, was it? Even if he simply took me to another village, that alone would be enough for me to survive, I was sure of it.

It did not fill me with much happiness, thinking of living on without my parents. But at least I was alive, and barely hurt at that. I could still do great things with my life, I was sure of it.

Slowly I turned to face the man, wanting to give him some sort of answer. I wouldn’t be able to be very specific, but I was sure we could work out a plan together.

Yet as I looked over I was greeted not with his face, but with his back turned towards me. He had stood up, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword, the other raised to his chin. He was mumbling something, but I couldn’t understand it. After a short while he turned around.

All of a sudden he drew is sword. I looked up, puzzled and scared. The tip of his blade was only about half a meter away from me, the reflection of the sun blinding me on its shiny surface. I looked at the man, searching for answers, but found none. All I saw were his eyes, fixated on me in a serious gaze. It was terrifying, enough to make me want to go and run away. There was something surrounding him, some sort of aura that was difficult to describe. Simply standing in his wake was enough to make one's leg tremble, that’s how terrifying it was. My chest felt compressed, and the air seemed to suck right out of my chest.

“W-w-what is happening?”

I asked, my words weak and frail. There was nothing brave or strong about them. I felt ashamed of myself, and my mind started to spin in confusion.

“Pick up your sword.”

His words cut right through my train of thought, sharpening my senses. My sword? Did he mean my fathers’? I looked over my shoulder and saw it, lying in the dirt. I must have dropped it when I sat down earlier. Trying to keep my thoughts from coming back, I quickly grabbed it by the sheath. I was heavy, much heftier than anything I had used before. By no means was it a huge sword, but I was simply too weak and afraid to properly handle it. With great effort I pulled, managing to get the blade out of its sheath.

“The sword may be too big for you, but you should not take this long to unsheathe it.”

I was aware of that, even a little ashamed. But what was I supposed to do? I was just a young girl, was I not? As I looked over to apologize, my eyes suddenly met the sight of a blade coming down. There was speed to it, so much so that I could see it split open my skull in my inner eye.

“AAAAH!”

I shouted, putting all my energy into swinging the sword upwards. By some miracle I managed to parry the man's blow, but it sent my sword flying. It was my bruised fingers’ fault, they simply hurt too much. The man was towering over me, looking down at me with the same, terrifying expression he held before. This aura that seemed to surround him… it made him terrifying beyond belief. Simply standing still was a challenge.

“You respond well.”

Suddenly, the man sheathed his weapon again. Was he trying something? I wasn't sure, and I wasn't ready to find out. Without thinking much I jumped back, grabbed my sword and held it in his direction. The man noticed, fixating his gaze on me once again.

I did not know what to think. His expression had not changed one bit, not from when he attacked me up until now. For all I knew he might try to trick me into believing him, striking me at my weakest point. I wasn’t about to let him down like that.

We simply stood there, none of us moving a singular muscle. It took me an incredible amount of effort to simply stop my legs from shaking. Whatever he was planning, I was not going to disappoint him. I believed, with all my heart, that this man was not going to abandon me. All I had to do was not disappoint him.

“Girl, do you want to learn the way of the sword?”

I opened my eyes wide as he asked his question. Was this an invitation? Not thinking too much about it, I simply nodded, my heart feeling somewhat ecstatic.

“The training will not be easy. Ready yourself for what is to come.”

Having finished his sentence he immediately pulled out his sword, beginning to point it in my direction once more. A heavy swing followed, forcing me to raise my own sword in defense. I parried, let go of my sword, ran to get it back, just to be greeted by another swing in my direction. This scene repeated again and again and again. My body felt weak and hurting, but I didn't stop chasing my sword. I had to prove myself somehow. If not, he might just be gone tomorrow, abandon me here alone.

As time passed I got slower and slower, but the man did not stop his barrage of attacks. He did slow down together with me, but waited until I got hold of my sword again. After that he would immediately swing his own down on me again, which repeated the whole ordeal. One time I didn't quite manage to grab hold of the sword and it slipped out of my hands, making his attack strike the blade while it was airborne. It hit me right in the face, fortunately with its side. Still, it hurt pretty bad, leaving a heavy bruise behind.

I wanted to grab my nose to check if it was bleeding, but was afraid of what would happen if I did. The man was relentless in his attacks, striking down any and all efforts of mine that weren’t about getting the sword back. He was still standing there, staring down at me from above. So instead of checking my nose I rolled to the side, grabbing my sword again. It would be different this time, however. This time, I managed to hold the sword with just one hand. As I turned around I saw the man, his sword raised high into the air.

I needed to protect myself, or he could hurt me again. I raised the sword in front of me and held on tight. Just focus on the blade, I thought to myself. This was going to work.

And then the man landed his blow. A loud clinging noise came from the blades as they crashed into each other. I gripped the hilt of the sword with all my might, concentrating entirely on keeping my grip firm. My entire arm vibrated violently as I did, sending down heavy vibrations that shook my entire body. Yet, to my surprise, the sword did not fly out of my hand this time. It held its weight against the blade of the man, if not a little jittery from my exhausted arm. Just as the blade of the man began to slip off I jumped back.

Getting some distance now was the best idea. There was no way an attack from my side would grant me any favors.

“You got talent, girl.”

With that, the man sheathed his sword, and gestured to me to put mine down as well. He breathed out, looking out into the sun. I, however, could focus on nothing but him. What he said right now… it almost sounded as if he was happy with me. I hoped he was. All this effort… it was all in hopes that he would stay.

“Your hands are still that of a child, however. For now, take some rest to heal. Your house should still be a good place to stay.”

“I-I can still go!”

I was desperate, fearful that I might disappoint the man if I went. He could teach me how to swing a sword, make me something to eat, maybe I could even help him somewhere. That was all I could think about. As things stood, I would never get any rest until my future was at least somewhat certain. Before anything I must prove my worth, show him that I was worth keeping around.

The man went over to me, his sword still in its sheath. Was I supposed to attack him? Was I supposed to dodge? What was he planning? As I thought on and on, he managed to get close to me and push my blade out of the way.

“You are my student now. I will not run away.”

A rush of emotion washed over me. Did I do it, did I earn his trust? Was I enough? The strength suddenly left me, and I let go of my sword. With an sharp clinging sound it fell on the stony floor beneath me.

“We will continue training tomorrow. For today, lay down and get some rest.”

I quickly got on my knees and picked up the sword, holding it close to my chest. My mind started to fantasize. What would happen tomorrow, how will my life change now that I was his student? It would get more difficult than it was before, but I was ready for that challenge. With this opportunity, I would make the most out of me. I would not only survive, but flourish.

Training

The next day came quickly, as the fight had worn me out enough to make me sleep though an entire day again. As I awoke, I found a small jug filled with water next to my bed. Without thinking much of it I gulped down the entire container in one go. My lips were dry as sand after having drank nothing the day before.

With great enthusiasm I jumped out of bed. My legs felt a lot better now, and my hands didn't hurt as much as they did yesterday. I was confident that I was in top condition. With quick steps I ran out of the door, grabbing the sword on the way. Never before had I felt so excited for the coming day. Back when the village still existed, my days were normal and regulated. None of those days were ever as exciting as this one, and I felt strangely happy for my disposition. I ran past the destroyed houses, not giving them the smallest bit of attention. Today, after all, my training would begin for real.

I found the man standing on the plaza once more. This time he had a rather big bowl in front of him, into which he sliced some vegetables. I wondered how long it had taken him to gather all these. Had he been up for a long time already?

“Hm? Oh, you are awake. Here, eat.”

I came closer, once again placing myself on the only stool available. It was a sort of salad with a weird mixture of berries, fruits and vegetables in it. I had never seen anything like it before, but it really didn’t matter much. The man was here, and he had prepared food just for me. This was as close to heavenly as I could imagine life getting for me, considering my position. The meal wasn't very filling, but I was still happy.

I had already realized that it must have been rather exhausting to gather something to eat each day, as all the fields were either burnt down or trampled. With no one but us living here, we were completely on our own after all. For how I was concerned, the man could have given me a fistful of berries and I still would have been happy.

After having finished eating the man offered me to start the training. I braced myself to be attacked again, but the man didn’t do so. Instead, he told me to run after him. Well, to him it was more of a jog, really. It was rather difficult to keep up with him, his bigger size undoubtedly giving him an advantage. I had to take about double the amount of steps as he did, or at least it felt that way.

He explained to me how stamina was the first important step to learning the sword, and that having a healthy body was of utmost importance. I listened carefully, trying to keep my breathing steady despite the strenuous exercise.

After what felt like an eternity we finally finished our jog. We had taken about twenty loops around the plaza, but I wouldn’t count on myself having counted correctly. For all I knew it could have been only ten, but I told myself that that couldn’t be. I was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily and my legs were shaking. My body was not used to exercise like this.

“We will continue these runs until you can do them comfortably. Until then, we won't be touching the sword.”

It infuriated me a little, but I assumed that he knew best, so my anger quickly faded. I was happy enough to not be alone in this, so the frustration quickly faded again. If it was going to help me in the end, then I had no reason to be negative about it.

That sentiment of mine wavered many times, however. Day after day passed, and while I felt like was making progress I was still very far behind the man. What was a full on sprint for me looked like a small jog to him, all thanks to our height difference.

It took me multiple weeks until I was finally able to keep up with him. He congratulated me on my achievement, and assured me that proper training would start tomorrow. It had been so long since I last held my sword in hand, I almost forgot about it entirely.

The progress I had made was quite substantial. Thinking back to how athletic I was at the start of my training… the difference was night and day. Maybe it was my young body that was quick to adapt, but even then my progress felt insanely fast. Was this progress possible with the sword as well? Maybe I really had a bright future ahead of me.

That night I felt too excited to sleep. My achievement kept me up, my body wanting to jump up and run another lap around the plaza. Next day I would supersede the man, there was a weird certainty in me that compelled me to believe it.

The night just wouldn’t end, and my mind wouldn’t stop fantasizing on its own. Frustrated, I decided to stand up. For some reason a very peculiar idea came to my mind.

“I should follow the man tonight.”

I did wonder how he was able to cook up an entire meal each and every day. Even more peculiar, he always seemed to have something on hand. No matter whether I woke up early or late, there was always a meal waiting for me just before training.

I exited the house, unsure as to where to look first.

The fields were destroyed, and we never made any attempt at restoring them. There also was no trade that happened with our village, so there was no way for the man to buy the ingredients off of someone. Curiosity got the best of me, and with a little luck I managed to spot the man’s silhouette at the edge of the nearby forest. Quickly, trying to stay as quiet as possible, I sneaked after him into the forest.

I kept my head low and took great care to walk as silently as possible as I tread through the forest. Every now and again there was the sound of birds chirping, but besides that there wasn't a lot of noise. Looking at the ground in front of me I managed to spot some footprints at regular intervals, making me certain I was on the right track.

Then, suddenly, I heard a snapping sound behind me. I quickly pulled out my sword, managing to slide it perfectly out of its sheath.

But there was noting behind me. Breathing out a sigh of relief, I lowered my sword and turned back around, ready to continue my tracking of the man. I was just a little too paranoid, is all.

All I saw at first was a little shadow. It could have just been a small animal, or a weirdly formed branch. There was no sound, an almost eerie silence engulfing the forest all of a sudden. Out of pure instinct I swung my arm up, raising my sword above my head.

Almost immediately I felt an incredible force pushing my blade down, forcing me on one knee. The force was so great and abrupt that I let out an audible gasp, my heart immediately beginning to race. A loud clang, the sound of metal hitting metal, rang through the forest. Quickly, using my second hand as support, I pushed my sword upwards, trying to push back against that great force. All I needed was a little distance and I could make a swift escape. And that opportunity presented itself to me.

I jumped back about half a meter, then looked forward. There was nothing there. No sound, no shadow, nothing. The forest was dead silent, as if every semblance of life had disappeared in the blink of an eye. I quickly started scanning the area for anything suspicious when I suddenly noticed a bush next to me starting to ruffle. It was a barely noticeable movement, but I somehow still picked up on it.

I ducked, raising my sword in front of my face this time. The very second my sword reached its destination a small dagger came flying through the air, hitting the blade dead in the center. By now my subconscious went into overdrive, my body quickly warming up and sharpening its senses. There was something out there trying to attack me, and I would only be lucky if it was the man. Maybe it was a bandit, ready to take my life? There was really no way to know.

I pushed my right foot into the ground, ready to jump at any moment. Right, left, above… where would an attack come from next? I needed to get out of here as quickly as possible if I wanted to lose this disadvantage. Not immediately noticing anything unusual I chose to rush headfirst into one of the many bushes besides me. If there was someone inside I would stab them with my sword, and if not then at the very least I secured myself a place to hide. The very second I started to push my foot into the ground, however, I felt the hairs on my neck stand up. There was something behind me, I simply knew it. With no time to waste on thinking, my body took over.

Quickly turning around, throwing my sword upside in an awkward angle, I managed to block another attack. The impact was strong enough to make me close my eyes, making me miss both the attacker as well as his weapon. I still did not know what I was up against.

My situation worsened substantially with that. I now laid on the ground, my sword only in one hand instead of two. If I wanted to stand up it was very much likely that whoever attacked me would use that opportunity. So instead I decided to crawl backwards, trying to get a good grip on the ground beneath me.

Then came a slash from behind me. I saw the shadow approach quickly, it looked like it just appeared out of thin air. Had the moon not shone so brightly I would have undoubtedly not even noticed it. With some luck I managed to block the blow, but again failed to get a good view of my attacker. I had to try something else the next time they attacked. And I already had an idea.

Putting one of my legs into a right angle, I tried to pretend like I was standing up. I had no intention of doing so, however. Whatever it was that was attacking me was quick enough to strike me down again before I could even get halfway up standing again. This was going to be a trap.

And they came exactly from where I expected them to: behind me. I thrust my sword upwards with one hand, blocking the attack. By now everything was going according to plan. The next thing I did was fall back down again, using my contracted leg as a weapon against the persons shins. Contorting my body somewhat into an awkward position, I kicked out with all my might. The kick was right on target. With that, the most important part of my plan had come to fruition, there was only one thing left now.

The shin is a weak spot of the human body. Everyone gets to know that once they hit it on a hard surface, not even speaking of a full on kick. Even if my attacker was a hardened warrior, it would still take them a moment to recover. It was a subconscious thing, to react to sharp pain like that. Even more so because they couldn't have seen this attack coming.

With my other hand free, I decided to turn my body violently like a screw, using leverage to get more momentum into my arm. As I reached the highest part my hand could reach I opened my fingers, revealing the dirt I had hidden inside. This was my master plan. With great force the dirt flew in my attackers face, leaving them temporarily blinded.

I used the momentum to follow up with an attack of my own. Gripping the hilt of my sword tightly, I turned back around to hit my attacker with a lethal blow. I already felt myself victorious.

But as my body turned I finally got a good look on my attackers face. It was covered in dirt, but I could still see the man's face underneath. That was not my problem, however.

My attacks had all definitely landed, there was no doubt about it. The problem was that the man simply didn’t seem to care that much. His sword was held high, and already on its way down.

With a strong swing downward he hit my blade at full strength, immediately disarming me. My sword flew backwards with great force, hitting a tree in its directory. Anxiety washed over me.

He towered over me, his feet by my side. There was a menacing look in eyes, one that would scare anyone to submission.

But I wouldn't let it get the best of me. I had to escape this situation after all, even if it was only the man and not some bandit. With great force, I punched his shins with my fist, hoping a second time would bring him down. But no, there was no reaction, no flinch, nothing. It didn’t even tickle him.

As I looked upwards, I saw his hand slowly reach out to me, ready to grab me. I couldn't let that happen. A man his size would overpower me without issue, so it was utmost priority to make sure he didn't grab hold of me. I wasn’t about to disappoint him.

There was no way for me to escape though, so my first thought was to beat him in speed. I quickly shot my arm upwards, grabbing the man by his forearm. He seemed a little surprised, which provided me an opportunity to attack. With all my might I pulled myself closer, and then…

Bam!

A headbutt. My vision got dizzy the very next second, and my forehead started to hurt like crazy. But maybe it was enough to secure me an escape out of this. It was a much better position to be in than I was in before.

My hopes, however, were quickly squashed. The man grabbed hold of the back of my head, then pinned my right arm to the ground with his spare hand. With tears in my eyes, I looked upwards towards him, now lying belly-down on the ground. At this very moment, I felt like I had failed him.

“You fight like a beast, girl.”

The man let go of me. I took the chance to quickly get away from him, picking up my sword on the way.

“The way of the sword is paved through discipline and repetition. I am no fan of that.”

I was still on edge, but as I saw the man lower himself to take a seat I finally decided to lower my sword. Sitting down myself, however, was out of the question. The encounter before taught me that the man was much quicker than me, and him simply sitting on the ground might just even out the odds should he decide to attack again.

“I will train you differently. You possess the mind and body of a beast, willfully going beyond what most people are capable of. I will not squander this potential.”

The man stood back up. It was awkward, as he had just sat down a moment ago. Was there some kind of plan behind it? Maybe it was another test. I gripped the hilt of my sword with both hands, ready for an incoming attack.

“Come. Let us hunt together for tonight.”

Surprised, I quickly sheathed my sword and ran over to him. The offer of hunting with him completely turned my head around, making me forget about everything I just prepared for. Had this been a test, then I would have woefully failed it.

In the end it didn’t matter though, as it was a genuine offer of his. I was excited to see him hunt, and anxious to give it a try myself. My father came to mind, and I felt like he would be very excited to see me hunt myself. It never even occurred to me to ask the man why he had to attack me so viciously, even though my subconscious was somewhat yearning for an answer.

The hunt went well. We used a small spear to hunt a few rabbits. After showing me the ropes with the first rabbit the man handed me the spear, seemingly confident in my abilities. In the end, I managed to kill three rabbits, having missed 5.

Once we returned to the village the man quickly created a small fire. By adding wood slowly the flame increased in size until it was just big enough for the man to be pleased with it. We first skinned the rabbits, with the man showing me how it is done. He seemed surprised to see my eagerness to try, and how I had no trouble handling all the blood. Afterwards, we impaled the deskinned animals on a few thick branches and placed them over the fire, using a pair of old pitchforks to keep them suspended evenly over the fire. The man taught me to turn the meat slowly, so that everything cooked evenly.

After some time we finally pulled them off, putting them into a big bowl of sorts. The meat was steaming hot, so neither of us grabbed it just yet. I wanted to add a few vegetables, but the man reminded me that we hadn't gathered any that day. It made me realize just how dependent I was on him, as getting anything to eat was a challenge in its own right. Back at the village I could have just asked about anyone, and if I was hungry enough they would surely have offered at least something to eat.

After a few minutes the meat had finally cooled down somewhat. With great enthusiasm and an empty stomach I grabbed one of the rabbits and took a bite. The taste was rather bland, as we hadn't added any spices, but I didn't mind. I took bite after bite, ripping through the at times rather tough meat. It didn't take me long to finish it, leaving little more than bones and cartilage behind. I took note of which parts of the rabbit tasted good and which didn’t, and started fantasizing about how we could cook it differently next time.

As I got ready to grab my second rabbit, I noticed that the man hadn't eaten a single one yet. He simply stared at me with a an expression that simply screamed concern. I didn't care much about it though, hungry as I was.

The next day came rather quickly. After the food had left me satisfied I returned to my house, where I fell asleep the second I laid down on my bed. Bright light was shining into my eyes as I stood up, grabbed my sword, and eventually went outside. Before going over to the plaza however I decided to give my parents a visit and tell them of my successful hunt.

It had been quite a while since I last visited. In fact, this was only my second visit. I had been so preoccupied with training that I completely forgot to tend to the grave.

Things had been at least a little weird on that front anyways. It’s been some time since the attack, but I somehow expected to… feel more discouraged, more distraught than I was. I wasn’t even sure whether I lived a happier life back then or right now. It was a weird feeling, one that felt like had more to it than I thought.

Thoughts like that weren’t going to help me though. I shook my head as if trying to get the unnecessary theories out and made my way towards the grave. Not long after I reached the gate and entered the graveyard.

I squatted before the crudely made grave and started talking. In great detail I explained how I trained, how I felt, what I wanted to achieve today. It made me feel good, as if I was accomplishing something in life. I wondered if they would have been proud of me. Would this have been a life they would have congratulated? Or would they have tried to pull me back home?

No reason to think of ifs, is what I told myself. Slapping myself on the cheeks slightly I readied myself for today’s training session. It did not take me long to get out the graveyard and towards where I always trained.

The plaza looked the same as it always did, with the man sitting on his usual log making something to eat. This time it was a soup of some sorts, with some potatoes and carrots mixed in. My stomach growled loudly as I approached, revealing my presence to the man. But who was I kidding, I was certain he had already noticed me long before.

We both ate in silence. This was normal, as the man really did not talk much, but it was nice to finally have him eat proper portions too. The days of me eating everything alone seemed to be over, then.

After we ate the man gave me my first real lesson in the art of the sword. True to his word, he did not preach the usual 'swing your sword one thousand times' lecture I expected most swordmasters would preach. He, instead, simply attacked me.

“Ah! Huaarg!”

I blocked most of his blows. Even though he used the sword sheathed, it still felt like a real weapon to fight against. Those weren't practice swings either, like a caring master would use. There was real might behind them, each blow feeling stronger than the one before.

Every now and again one of his blows hit me, giving me a few nasty bruises. I felt each and every one of them, and they hurt greatly. I tried to power through it with sheer force, but my resilience eventually failed me. I fell to the ground, reaching my hand out in a surrender.

“You were hit 23 times before giving up.”

The man sat down next to me, staring into the distance. I sat up too, trying to massage the bruises I suffered from the fight. It was a bearable amount of pain, but I was still happy to have given up when I did. Another hit and my arms mobility would have been somewhat compromised, even if just for a few days. I was happy to still be young, imagining how long it would take to heal if I were just ten years older.

“I have trained with seasoned warriors just the way I did with you today. Do you want to guess how often I had to hit them to give up?”

I though about it, considering the amount of pain I felt. Using simply gut instinct, I answered.

“Maybe a hundred?”

“You do not still realize just how inhuman your resilience is, do you?”

Inhuman? I did not understand what he meant by that. Maybe I should take it as praise, but I really wasn’t sure.

The man mumbled something under his breath, but I didn’t manage to understand him. Just as I was about to interrupt him he broke his train of thought, taking a second to seemingly change the topic.

“Go home for now and rest. You body needs some time to recover from these bruises. For the next few days we will take it a little slower.”

I wondered whether I had disappointed him. Should I have endured more hits, was this what this training was about? Would he have been satisfied had I surrendered after thirty hits? Maybe forty? I sank into the floor, sad and disappointed in myself.

Before leaving, the man, turned around once more.

“Say, do you think you guessed too high or too low?”

I looked up with puppy eyes.

“Too low. I shouldn't have surrendered, I know that now.”

The man gave me an awkward smile, looking relatively pleased. I thought at that moment that maybe, just maybe, I hadn't disappointed him too much.

“I trained with a hardened warrior once. He was a giant, maybe twice your size. He had scars all over his body. How many hits do you think it took for him to surrender?”

“You defeated a man like that?”

That comment only resulted in a somewhat awkward expression from him. Maybe I shouldn't have asked, but how could I blame myself? He sounded like a scary guy, after all. There was no real comparison to be had to judge the man’s strength from.

“Two, three hundred? Maybe more.”

The man's expression suddenly changed into what looked like disbelief. It felt as if he didn't quite believe me.

“You can’t be seriou… Just maybe, your blood is…”

Quickly, noticing that his words came out louder than he wanted, he cut himself off. He looked puzzled, confused. It was as if he was trying to understand me, but it was so far out of the realm of what was reasonable that he needed some time to process it all.

“It was thirty. The young man he traveled with only handled four hits before giving up. That man would have been your senior, so the reasonable amount of hits you were supposed to handle would have been one.”

I was in utter disbelief. What, thirty? If I had simply endured a little more I could have gone with that many hits myself. Sure, I probably couldn’t raise my arm anymore after that, but it would heal after a good nap for sure. How could a real warrior only handle so little more than I could? It made no sense to me. I thought about it over and over, but when I was finally about to ask he was already gone.

Growth

I fell into bed with a thousand questions in my mind. In the past weeks I always fell right asleep after training, but these days were just so different. I couldn't calm my mind, not getting the words of the man out of it.

“Only thirty, huh…”

Reaching over to my shoulder, I felt an intense burn. This is going to be a bruise, alright. Thinking about some warrior writhing in pain from this seemed too silly for me to believe. I stood up, making my way to the bathroom. There, on the wall, hang a small mirror. I wanted to take a look at me, as if expecting something out of the ordinary to be there. Ever since the attack on the village I never once looked into the mirror again. It had simply never occurred to me, as I always went straight to bed after training.

There I was. I looked so small and frail. In fact, I even had to find a small box to stand on just to see my upper body in the mirror. I rolled back my sleeves and started flexing my arms. There was quite a bit of muscle there, true, but they wasn’t even remotely as big as those of the man.

I removed my shirt to take a better look at my bruises. All over my body I saw little cuts and black spots, a sign of my training with the man. They weren't particularly nice to look at, but it looked like they some were already starting to heal nicely.

I looked really thin, as if there was nothing but bone and some muscles on my body. Sure, I ate one or two times a day, but I was doing a lot of physical activity over the course of the day too. There was no time for my body to grow a little fuller. I wondered whether this lack of size was holding my strength back.

I stroked my upper body, feeling the bones beneath my skin. Was the man just as skinny as I was? I looked so… ugly. Not because of the bruises, but because of my lack of fat. Had I always been this way? For some reason I could not remember.

In a rush I stormed out the bathroom and into my own room. There was a small wardrobe sitting right next to the window. I opened it to take a look inside.

There were multiple different kinds of clothing in there. They were all rather simple, and most of them were bad to wear in sword practice. There was one in particular that I wanted to try on, and it didn't take me too long to find it.

It was a dress, one my mother made for me not long ago. It was rather simple, consisting of of only two colors and almost no fancy details. There was a small pocket at the side, but that was it. Without thinking too much about it, I put it on and walked back into the bathroom.

The dress fit me rather well, but that didn't mean it looked good on me. Not only was I too thin, the muscles that had developed on my arms made me look quite boyish. The only saving grace, really, was my sort of long hair. It was unkempt, but at least it did look a little feminine.

“Mother, would you be proud of me the way I am right now?”

I couldn't help but think about what she would think of me if she were still alive. She was quite adamant on her own femininity, making sure to wear dresses and the like and carrying around a scent of flowers that made her smell pretty nice. I, on the other hand, looked like some orphan that hadn't bathed in weeks. In fact, that was exactly what I was. I resisted the urge to smell under my armpits, a little afraid of the smell.

It felt like it filled something that I was missing, the thing my parents would have wanted me to do besides mastering the sword. I had plenty of time off anyways, so why not try to become more feminine as well? My life couldn’t continue like this forever, after all. The man was undoubtedly making time for me, but I was sure he had some responsibilities he’d have to get back to at some point. If we were to ever part ways, I would need to find my place in society again, and for that I needed more than simple skills with the sword.

But what would I do to achieve that goal? I definitely wasn't interested in housework the way mother was, and the man was the one who was cooking. As I walked around the house, searching for anything to occupy myself with, I suddenly spotted something familiar.

It was a book, one my mother often used to read to me. I knew it like the back of my hand, line for line. Maybe I could try to learn to read and write? My father was an illiterate, with only my mother being able to read. She had a small book collection too, consisting of three books she bought from traveling merchants, plus the children's book she’d always read to me.

Grabbing a nearby chair, I decided that I would use my time off to learn. I was tired, but that didn’t stop me. With great determination I opened the book on the first page.

“The red sea, a beautiful sight… The… T…H…E… so that's how your write that! Red… R…E…D… okay. Wait, there is an a in sea, but I can't hear it! I don't get it…”

I studied the first page over and over, trying my best to read the passages instead of simply reciting them from memory. It had already gotten dark by the time I managed to properly read the first sentence. I didn't fully understand how everything worked and had to take a few guesses, but it seemed like I could make good progress in no time. And, if I really didn't understand something, I could always just ask the man. Many warriors could read, and I was fairly sure he was one of them, considering how strong he was.

With my mind exhausted, I slumped into bed. It was quite comfortable, lying there in that dress, so I decided to wear it every time I was home from now on. It was exciting, feeling like some sort of play. Warrior by day, student by night. I liked the sound of that. In the seconds before I fell asleep I wondered about all the things I could learn during my training break.

The next day I awoke, changed into my fighting attire, which was basically just pants a short sleeved shirt, and went right out towards the plaza. To my surprise, the man was not preparing anything to eat. In fact, it seemed like he had already finished. Was I late?

“You came later today. Did you stay up late yesterday?”

I did study the day before, so I must have gone to bed a little later than usual. Or maybe my body simply needed more rest than the days before, which would make sense. The bruises I suffered the day before had already healed substantially, hurting a lot less now. Still, I was a little confused. Was I really that late?

“If you want, you can tell me what you did. Here, take your bowl.”

The man had a soft expression on his face, which was nice for a change. As it would seem, he also managed to use the extra time yesterday for something productive. There was a second stool now, one that was a little bit bigger than the old one. No doubt this once suited him a lot more. It made me wonder whether he made the first one with me in mind, which made me feel pretty fuzzy inside.

I sat down and took the bowl. It was the same soup we had yesterday, which only made sense. I didn't feel the need to complain, it even tasted a little better than the day before. The man must have seasoned it somehow, making me wonder whether he had a little stash of spices hidden somewhere.

Before long, I told the man about my study plans. He congratulated me, seeming happy with my progress. To my surprise he even offered to help me if I was struggling with a certain passage. It would seem my intuition was right and he really wasn't illiterate.

I decided to not tell him about the dress in fear that he might feel guilty about creating so many bruises on my body. I didn't want my study plans to interfere with my training, after all. It was still the most important part of the day for me, especially with the man here to teach me.

That day, we did the swings a normal sword student would do. Despite having said that he didn't like it the man must have realized that it was a good idea to at least do them once in a while. They were a good tool for days where I still had to recover too. Up… then down… and back up again. No wonder the man hated this exercise, it was incredibly boring in comparison to sparring.

It took me three days to fully recover from my bruises and use my arm without it hurting again. I made significant progress in my reading journey, now having managed to read the entire first page of the book. Sure, it was only a single paragraph long, but it was more than the zero paragraphs I was able to read just a week ago. I was very proud of myself in that regard, and ready to put the same effort into my sword skills again today.

Before heading off to the plaza I visited my parents grave again. I told them about my progress, and asked them to not be too harsh on the man if he hurt me again today. There were some nice flowers on a nearby grave, which I, without second thought, plucked and put on my parents' grave instead. I bowed a little, then gripped my sword tightly, readying myself for the day ahead.

The day went about just like any other. I ate, trained, got my ass beat, went home, studied and eventually slumped into bed. That schedule went on over the course of what felt like months. I had not counted the days, and with no one else living here to do so I had no idea how much time had actually passed. But I was still young, and with that came growth.

My body increased in size substantially, making my clothes tighter and tighter until they eventually ripped. The dress I wore indoors became so small that I couldn't slip in anymore, as my shoulders had widened too much. The shirt I wore every day eventually became so ripped apart that I had to find an alternative, so I took an old shirt from my father’s closet and cut it to size. Luckily, my pants were just old ones from my father anyways that were shortened, so I could continue using them when it was a little hot outside.

My growth felt… unnatural, somehow. Was I not a little too old to grow this much still? Height wise I was now at shoulder height of the man, which was probably about as tall as my mother was. My muscles had grown quite a bit as well, making me wonder if I even look like a girl anymore. With that thought in mind I went into the bathroom.

I undressed, then looked into the mirror. My body had accumulated marks all over from my sparring sessions with the man, leaving me looking bruised and battered. It was not a pleasant sight, but it made me feel proud. Still, I felt like my parents wouldn’t have been all too pleased if they saw me like this. But it was my choice, and I was proud of it.

I felt like a warrior that had endured heavy battles, even though all my battles had been against the man thus far. My hair had grown considerably too, and I decided to keep it at a little longer than shoulder length. It reminded me of my mother, and gave me a feminine appearance even with all the bruises on my body. Every now and again I even missed the dress, how comfortable it was.

I had tried to wear one of my mothers dresses just a few days ago, but it didn’t fit. My muscles had grown enough that both my shoulders as well as my arms were ripping the fabric. I definitely didn’t have the slender appearance that my mother had. Still, I was sure that I looked at least somewhat feminine and slender, but that was more because of how thin I was rather than anything else. I wondered how different I would look was I to gain some weight. Would I not fit into any dresses anymore? With those thoughts in mind I went back to bed.

As winter came over the land, I had achieved a lot of things. For one, I managed to read the entirety of my mother's book without trying to remember the passages. I even found some paper in my parents bedroom together with a few pencils, so I tried writing something akin to a journal. For what swordplay was concerned, it became something of a specialty of mine. Every day I went out to train with the man, even a thunderstorm roaring outside couldn't stop us. By winter, I was able to keep up with his attacks for a considerable amount of time. I set myself the goal to keep going until the sun touched the horizon, but that goal was still a long way off. At most, I was able to fight him for maybe an hour at the time, and that only if he was slacking. There were some days where he raised the training intensity considerably, and I was only able to stop his attacks for a minute or so at most.

The way we fought was entirely different to the stories my father had told. He often talked about proper form, and a very dutiful mindset. It sounded like a prayer, the way he used to talk about it. In contrast to that, what we did seemed even a little barbaric.

Besides the occasional sword swinging and running sessions we were essentially just always sparring. Not once did the man tell me about proper technique, of a way to approach combat or about what I should work on, or improve. He simply attacked, his sheathed sword in hand. When I fell he did not stop, so I had to adapt. When my sword would slip out of my hand he would use the opportunity to attack. When my defense was lacking his barrage of attacks would only increase in speed and intensity, leaving me bruised and weakened. Through this training I learned not only the way of the sword, but the way of fight and survival.

When the man would disarm me I would instead use my body as a weapon. I would charge his legs, trying to topple him over. Maybe I would try to dodge his attacks and disarm him myself, even though that never worked. I would throw myself to the ground, throwing up dirt and sand. One day I even went out of my way to spread extra soil over the plaza, just so I had more substance to work with. It was a direct fighting style, one that included a lot of close combat, rarely using the length of the sword to my advantage. It was a result of the weight of the sword, and the pure viciousness of the man's attacks.

I had managed to score a hit on the man a total of two times. The first one was when I managed to land some dirt in his face, back at one of our first sessions. The second, however, was one I was especially proud of.

We had our usual fight, with the swords clashing against each other at high speed. I had lost badly the day before and was a little agitated, using the unrest inside me to fuel my muscles with energy. I swung my sword faster, harder and with less delay than I ever had. But the man simply adapted, leaving me no room for an attack. At that point I had tried a lot of tactics, and was sure that whatever could actually reach him had to be some sort of surprise. I couldn't think about it too much and simply let my body act on its own. And at that day, I decided to try something bold.

I had trust in the man. Trust in his skills, and trust that he would do all in is power to keep my injuries to a minimum. I also had a suspicion that he was slowing down his sword a split second before he would land a hit on me. At least I was sure that the blows I felt on my sword were a lot stronger than the ones I felt on my body. I breathed in, grinning to myself. My plan seemed so devious that I couldn't help myself.

The man's blade came rushing down towards mine, ready to greet my blade in return. But just as I was raising my hand, I decided against blocking this attack. I swung my sword sideways, aiming for the man's stomach. He, however, was quick to react, using his spare hand to push my sword arm down, lowering the blade enough the miss him entirely. I had predicted this. As the blade came crashing down to meet my shoulder, I decided to use my leg to jump up slightly. That changed the subject of the man's attack from my shoulder… to my neck.

I saw his eyes widen a little the second he noticed this. There was a conscious thought in his mind that realized what I had done. As my body rose up from the jump, getting closer to the blade, the man suddenly changed his stance, trying his best to pull the sword away from me. That was just the split second I needed. Turning my body as I got closer to the man, I clenched my hand into a fist as hard as I could wound up for a punch. It wasn't much, but the little wind up was enough for me to get momentum, and without much effort my fist shot forth, reaching the man's face a split second later.

I had put all the force I could into that punch. My knuckles hurt almost immediately upon impact, signaling to me a successful hit. The man's face was firm, and his neck stiff. He did not sway back, but instead stood there like a brick. I wasn't able to see much after the fist had made contact, but I could swear I've seen some sort of fire in the man's eyes.

Without flinching he grabbed my arm, the one I had extended for the hit, and ripped it backwards. My body simply followed, getting dragged across until I fell to the ground below, hitting it with a loud thumping sound. The man did not let go of my hand, instead bending it at an awkward angle. It felt like it was about to break, my joints starting to cry out in pain. I, however, could do nothing but laugh.

“Haha! I made you mad! O-ouch!”

The man quickly let go of my hand, which gave me instant relief. My arm had a sort of numbness to it that didn't exactly feel all to well, but I didn't give it much thought.

“Putting yourself near deaths’ door just for a simple attack… your ferociousness never dulls.”

I looked up, seeing the man extend an arm towards me.

“Come, let us take a little stroll for a change.”

That day we went through the forest. He showed me how to sneak up on an animal, which mushrooms and berries I could pick and how to stay warm and safe should I not get back to a village before nightfall. It felt like a reward for managing to surpass the man, even if only for just a second. I happily listened to all the things he taught me, and once I got home tried to put as much of it on paper as possible. It made me realize all the progress I had made until then, and it filled me with happiness.

It’s been quite a while since that day. When I stepped out of the house, I was greeted by a sudden freezing cold. It had snowed at night, and the entire village was covered in thick snow. I went over to my parents grave, trying my best to shove away as much snow from it as possible. I wondered how the sword session would be like today, with all that cold around us. Was the man going to revise his training plan now that the floor was so slippery, or would I need to come up with new techniques?

I walked over to the plaza, trying not to let the freezing temperatures get to me. Why had it suddenly gotten so cold? The day before I could still go out like this, but now I was freezing from top to bottom. My old coat and cloves had gotten to small for me, so I was still walking around in a shirt and shorts. At least it made me more excited for the meal, which was most likely going to be warm.

I entered the plaza to see the man sitting in front of his pot. He was wearing winter appropriate clothing, a long sleeved coat and big stuffy pants. It made me jealous, but I thought it might prove good mental training. As I approached, he suddenly looked over to me with concern written all over his face.

“You are wearing too little.”

I was a little taken aback by his words, somewhat having expected that he was just going to ignore it. But it was freezing, and my body was shivering. Instead of trying to stay headstrong, I decided to stay truthful with the man for the time being.

“My old coat is too small for me. I-I could look for one from father, but I couldn't train in something so-”

“Forget training. Come, it's warmer near the pot.”

I did not expect such care from him. If my empty stomach hadn't chimed in just in time I would probably have cried a little. I really had no idea what I meant for the man, but this action alone made it feel like I meant quite a lot to him. Small thoughtful actions like this were rare, especially considering his normally cold nature.

It was a stew with potatoes and meat inside, with a few green leaves sitting on top. It smelled incredible, and I immediately started gulping it down once the man handed a full bowl to me. The meat was tender, the potatoes soft and the broth warm and filling. It made me think about the simple meals the man would make back when the village burnt down, and how much he improved his cooking skills since then.

“Winter is a difficult time to survive, especially if one is separated from society like us.”

The man suddenly started speaking, something he did not do very often. I put down my plate on my lap and decided to eat a little slower. After all, I was curious about what the man would want to tell me.

“I was thinking of something. How would you like to attend a school?”

“Huh?”

Shocked by his question, I let go of my spoon, letting it fall right into the bowl on my lap.

“W-what do you mean?”

“What I said. There is a school a few days on foot from here that teaches swordsmanship. We could go there, if you want to. It would get us out of this cold, too.”

That was a possibility all this time? I never thought about it, for me living here and only here was a given. There was no way I would leave this village, even after it was burnt down to the ground. My parents lived here all their life, so why should I be any different?

But I had become different. I did not have a village to rely on, no neighbors, family or something of the like. Visiting a school had a certain ring to it, one that made my heart race. It's not that I disliked my life here, quite the contrary. Despite all the hardships I felt like I was making great progress, and I was happy with how everything was going. Still, my answer was absolute.

“I'd really like to!”

I leaned forward, no doubt light shining in my eyes. I was excited, ready for another adventure.

“Very well. Eat up, then we'll find you some appropriate clothes. We will leave today.”

It felt sudden, so much so that I got a little sentimental. Was it weird to miss the sparring sessions, and all the pain accompanied by it? I felt like school wouldn't be able to fill that hole, and that I would have loved to spar with him just once more. But I didn't want the man to change his plan, so I decided not to speak up against him, instead gulping down the rest of the food.

Before going over to my house the man removes his coat, placing it over my shoulders. An immense warmth immediately washed over me, making my body feel fuzzy all over. The man really was nice today.

We entered my house and quickly packed our things. The man permitted me to take a small bag with me, which I quickly stuffed full. I packed my mothers books together with my notes and a few pens, which filled almost the entire bag. I picked up some spare socks to fill the holes, and the bag was filled. In the meantime, the man had found a coat to wear. It looked rather simple, but that didn't matter much to me. It must have belonged to my mother, but I never saw her wearing it. With everything being packed, I looked around the house one last time. I would miss it. Giving the man back his coat and putting on my mother’s, we went outside.

Next stop was my parents' grave. It only occurred to me on the way that I would not be able to visit it anymore now that we were leaving. The man said it was only a few days on foot away, so I might be able to visit it again sometime, but it still felt like it would be a while until that day would come. I knelt down, putting both my hands hands on the cold soil below.

“Mother, Father, I will be leaving the village behind now, I hope you won't be mad. I will try my best at school to make up for it, I promise. It might be a while, but I'll visit again.”

I stood up slowly, then looked over to the man. His hand was extended, handing me a pair of gloves.

“The soil below is cold. You can't let that cold reduce your grip on the sword.”

I took them, looking at the man's hands as I did. They must have been his, as he was not wearing any despite the cold temperature. Taking a moment to compose myself, I put them on. They were a little big for me, but they kept me warm. Steadying my focus, I pulled my sword out of its sheath. Holding it was awkward, as the glove made the hilt of it seem wider than it was. I simply had to grip it harder with them on.

“Father, I will take your sword with me. When next I come to visit, it will have dents and possibly lost its sharpness. It will have a story to tell of its own, I promise you.”

Pausing for a second with my sword extended, I tried to separate my mind from this place and brace myself for the road ahead. I breathed out, then put the sword back in its sheath.

“I can see you have been reading, judging by choice of your words. You will not disappoint at school, I am certain of it.”

I nodded, smiling. There was nothing keeping me here anymore. I looked back one last time to the grave of my parents, a singular flower sitting atop the frozen soil.

“Goodbye, everyone.”

The Village

The snow laid thick on the grassy plains, covering my feet completely after each step. It didn't take long them to be soaked in ice cold water. I wondered how long I could keep that problem from the man, and took it upon myself to set myself a little challenge of resilience. Hopefully I wouldn't get sick from it, though.

It only took us about an hour to get as far away from the village as I'd ever been. The hills that surrounded my life were now out of sight, revealing a beautiful landscape in front of me. The snow might have hidden all the greenery from sight, but I still couldn't help but gaze at the beauty in front of me.

“Wow.”

The man gave me an awkward stare. It must be weird for him to be amazed by something as simple as a big field filled with snow. He must have seen it many times before, during his travels. I wondered what he did before he met me, if he had a job, a family or simply some friends waiting for him somewhere. Yet I decided not to ask, and instead took one more step forward, filling my boot with a little more ice cold snow.

We walked across the plains, holding a large stick in each hand to help us balance. It felt like a a real adventure, somehow. Every now and again I tripped, but the man helped me up every time. For someone his size it must be easy to walk through such thick snow, his legs were considerably longer than mine after all.

Night approached, and I became increasingly concerned as to where we were going to sleep. After all, we couldn’t exactly lay down in the snow, could we? Maybe we’d have to climb a tree and sleep up there.

Luckily there was a small cabin standing nearby. It seemed pretty regularly used, and as such we expected some company. With great confidence, I strode in front of the man and pulled down the door handle, ready to meet whoever was inside. However, as I opened the door, no one greeted us. For the night, it would just be the two of us. I saw that as a sign of luck. It’s not like I wanted to meet some weird adventurer here anyways.

The cabin was rather spacious. A fireplace, four beds and a table adorned it, giving it a lively look. The beds were nothing special, but it seemed like they were made out of quality wood. They must have been built to last, and probably quite old. We had to use our own equipment to keep us warm, which did not prove much of an issue. After managing to light a small fire in the fireplace we went to bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next day we stood up rather early, ready to continue our small adventure. After walking for a few hours we found ourselves in front of a little hill, which we climbed with some difficulty. The man assured me that we could take a little rest once we got to the top of it, but I refused. This was a challenge for me, and I wouldn't give up no matter what happened. It wasn’t even about impressing him, but simply my own stubbornness.

The sight from the top was marvelous. There was another huge plains, but there was something much more interesting sitting in the middle of it: a small village. Smoke escaped the chimneys inside, and the roads leading towards it were shoveled free of snow. One of those roads was only a short distance away, and led towards a forest to our left.

“We can buy some weather appropriate clothing there. Do you want to take a rest before we go?”

“No!”

My answer was short and concise, leaving no room for debate. This was definitely because I didn't want to loose the challenge I set for myself, and not the fact that my feet were freezing like crazy.

“Hm, the way down is rather steep. You'll fall down if you're not careful.”

That was true, and I could see that. The snow seemed especially deep on the way down, and who knows how slippery the ground below was already. I might just hit my foot on a little rock and stumble down the hill if I wasn’t cautious.

Suddenly, as I was thinking of a way to get down there, the man bent down towards me.

“Hop on, I'll carry you down. You can walk again once we're on the road.”

I was conflicted, my eyes jumping from left to right. What about my goal of going to town all by myself? Would I fail my challenge? But the man was offering me to be carried on his back. He never did that. Would I regret it if I didn't agree to it? Would I get another chance? It did seem enticing.

“I'll carry you down one way or the other. This one is more comfortable, trust me.”

With some deliberation I finally let go of my pride and hopped on, throwing my arms around his neck to hold on. He then grabbed my legs and pulled them up. I was now on his back, elevated off the ground about a meter, if not more. His coat was cold, but I could feel the warmth radiating from his neck and face. It was comfortable, a lot better than when I had to stumble through the snow just a moment ago. As the man was about to start his descend he stopped, grabbing one of my boots.

“You should have told me about your boots, you'll get sick. I'll carry you into the village, and we're going to get you new boots.”

It felt to me like there was no debating him on the matter. No matter what I did or wanted, he would carry me into the village. There was a small part in me that felt ashamed and wanted to jump away from him, but that was about all the resistance I had in me. It felt nice to be carried like that, and his shoulder proved to be a very comfortable pillow. I'd definitely use this opportunity for all it's worth.

The man carried me down the hill without problem, entered the snow-free street and made his way towards the village. After only a few minutes we stood right in front of a small gate, guarded by two heavily armored guards. One of them stepped forward, a rather big looking man. His was a little taller than the man.

“What is your concern here, traveler? You are no merchant, so you must provide reason. Is the girl ill?”

The man was silent, simply looking at the guard. I started to worry a little as the seconds passed, not understanding what his plan was. Just as things were about to get awkward, I decided to speak up myself.

“We need some clothes for the winter, so we came here! I-Is that okay?”

I was unsure whether that was enough of a reason for the guard to let us in. After all, there must have been a reason for the man’s silence. He asked if I was ill, so maybe I had some advantage here?

“Hm, I can see that you two are indeed in need of better clothing. Fine, you may pass. But do not draw you sword in there for any reason, traveler. Many do not take kindly to strangers here.”

The man nodded, then took a polite step back. Why would he not say a word? There was no way he was too shy to speak, was there?

After opening the gate for us we stepped inside. I was waiting for the man to let me down, but to my surprise he didn't. I didn't mind, as I enjoyed how comfortable it was to be carried like that, and the man was pleasantly warm too.

We passed through streets filled with people of all kinds. It looked just the way my village did, back when everyone was still alive. It gave me some nostalgia, and I felt a little sad. After passing through a small alley we finally found ourselves in what looked like a bazaar, with little propped up shops lining the streets from left to right. People were bustling through the streets, buying and haggling for whatever goods they found interesting. It was then that the man bent down, giving me the opportunity to walk again. I almost found myself holding on to him even tighter, but my pride wouldn't allow it.

“We’ll start with your boots. Actually, let's replace everything on you besides that coat. The school might have a problem with you wearing such old clothes.”

At first, I was hesitant to throw away my old stuff. After all, I fixed it up myself, even if it was done a little amateurishly. However, once I got my first look at the wares on display my opinion changed in a heartbeat.

They looked colorful, with beautiful designs on them. And on top of that, they all looked well made. I couldn't help but stare, with the shopkeepers all throwing me grin after grin. It didn’t feel like I was unwanted here at all, in stern contrast to what the guard had mentioned. As I stopped to look at a particular pair of boots, I managed to overhear the shopkeeper talking to the man.

“What happened to the girl? She is all bruised up. Did you rescue her?”

I flinched the second that question left the shopkeepers mouth. Was the man smart enough to not tell him the truth? 'I beat her with a sword every day' did not exactly sound all too great, after all. Or wait, the man didn't even talk to the guard earlier, surely he'll just ignore him. Or so I thought.

“Her village was burned to the ground. She's the only survivor.”

I did not expect that answer. Trying my best to look at the boots in front of me with even more interest than before, I turned all my attention to the conversation next to me.

“That's horrible! I will give a discount for my wares.”

“Thank you. I have a question for you actually on that matter, if you don't mind.”

“Sure, ask away.”

Now the man was asking questions. He was talking as much with that shopkeeper as he did on entire days with me. It made me a little mad.

“The village was just behind that hill over there. It's been about half a year since the village burnt down, but no merchant ever came over to look. Can you tell me why? I find it hard to believe that you merchants didn't know it existed.”

“Oh, so she's from that place…”

Wait, did he know something about what happened? Maybe who the bandits were? I was ready to go after relatives to satisfy my cravings of revenge, so that would be great.

“Listen, we heard that bandits had their eyes on the village. We just didn't want to deal with them, that's all. We don’t have enough protection against them, you see….”

The merchant seemed strangely agitated, as if he was scared. Was there something he was not telling us? It seemed a little suspicious almost.

“And after half a year you did not plan to check even once?”

The man seemed to think so as well. His voice was stern, and his question sharp. No doubt did it scare the merchant a little. The man was intimidating in his own right, which only added to the tension

There was no answer from the merchant, however. I turned around and looked at the merchant, who looked at me with fear in his eyes. There was a hint of regret and sadness in his eyes, nothing about him screamed bad will. I wondered why he felt so connected to it all?

“L-listen, sir, there was talks about one of them b-being from Narka, okay? And there was a fire, right? We could see it from here, it was huge! Not even the night could disguise it.”

Narka? What was that? Was that another village? And what did it have to do with the bandits?

“Y-you know… them… with… the Amulets… if one was a… wielder… we…”

I did not understand what he was talking about. The more he talked the more he shook, sweat forming on his forehead. I could see that he was sorry, with him glancing over to me every now and again. It was as if he was trying to right some kind of wrong, but at the same time he seemed powerless. Did he have anything to do with that Narka he talked about earlier?

“I can understand your concern. No money is worth dying for, and not selling to bandits is an honorable way of going about life. Please, don't pay us any more mind.”

“T-thank you, sir.”

The merchant bowed deeply before the man. Me, being a lot shorter than them, could still look inside his eyes as he bowed. He was scared, his body shivering from fear. This was not just a little scare he had there, it was straight up terror he felt. Even if he did know something, I did not want to torment him with this so much that he would have to be so afraid. I left the store with many questions on my mind.

We managed to find myself a pair of boots, gloves and pants in no time. The man paid for all of them without haggling, and without asking for the price beforehand. Whatever I picked out he bought, only when I offered him a shirt that looked a little small for me did he protested. 'You'll barely to able to fight in this' he said, which was only fair.

Everything we bought so far was rather simple, and made for the cold winter. For a top I wanted something a little more elaborate, something that looked a little nicer. And as we perused the wares of a rather nice looking shop, I found something else that caught my eyes. I picked it up, looked at it, got a feel for its texture and material. There was nothing about it I disliked, down to the minute details. But there was no way the man was going to buy it for me.

“Hm? Oh, you looking for something like this too?”

It was the man. I clinched my fists, ready for him to tell me that it 'isn't good for combat', so much so that I felt the material might rip. It's not that man would be wrong in his assessment, there was no way I could swing a sword effectively in this. And what's even more, this thing wouldn't help against the cold weather at all too.

“I remember you told me about one you had at home. It must not have fit you anymore.”

What I had in my hands was a dress. It was made of a thick fabric that felt great to touch, with red and white stripes going down from top to bottom. The dress had a black color, and a little belt to better bind it to your waist. It looked very different to what I had worn back at the village, but for some reason I liked this one a lot better. That might have been because the one I had at home was only a single color and very simple, but I didn’t know for sure. This one, on the other hand, must be extraordinarily expensive. Not royally expensive, but for a simple orphan like me it was definitely out of budget.

“Hm, you are still growing. Look, it's the same dress in a bigger size.”

The man handed me the bigger dress. I was taken aback, uncertain of what was happening. Surely he wasn't planning on buying me a dress? Back at the village he even told me to only pack a single bag, so something like this was simply dead weight.

After he took the dress I had before away I took a closer look at the new one. It was the same design, same material, same everything. Even the colors were the same. The only difference was that this one was little bigger.

I wanted to try it on. It had been a while since the day the old dress stopped fitting me, and I desperately wanted to wear one again. Sure, I couldn't strip my clothes here, but even over my clothes would be a nice experience. I looked over to the man with question marks all over my face, to which he simply nodded. Taken aback by all this, I couldn't help but shake my head and throw the dress over me.

It was a very wide fit. The only thing that really fit were my arms, which was no surprise as I had amassed more muscle there than the average woman. The dress itself was a little too long, almost reaching to the floor with only a few centimeters to go. The waist was also set too low, leaving it sitting awkwardly above my thighs. Still, I patted it down from top to bottom in awe. It felt incredible, it was comfortable and it looked good. If I could I would buy it immediately.

“Hm, the girl will surely grow into it. What do you think, sir?”

It was the shopkeeper of the store, who took a stance right next to the man. He was looking at me with great interest, his finger at his chin. Normally, this would look really weird, but to me it felt like all his attention was on the dress instead of me.

“She has been growing a lot the past couple weeks. Maybe it will even be too small for her in the future.”

“Haha, that's the gamble you have to take with girls her age sometimes.”

Why was the man talking to him? It's not like he was going to buy it for me anyways, right? What a mean tease. Not ready to be disappointed any more than I already had, I decided to pull the dress up and away from me. Goodbye, beautiful, I will miss you.

“Oh, you sure are generous, sir. But look, I have seen the wounds on the girls body. I could not charge this much just so a girl could wear something nice for a change. Here, take this back. Oh, and that belt might help her if the fit is a little awkward. I will not charge you extra for it.”

“Thank you.”

Wait, what just happened? Why did the man hand over a few coins? And that didn't look like it was just a little, it looked like quite a sizable sum. I was confused, looking from the man to the shopkeeper and to the man again erratically.

“What is it, ma'am? Not so happy with the purchase anymore? Haha!”

The merchants tone was playful and full of joy. Weren't people like him normally a little more agitated when customers held their wares too long?

“No need to be so coy. Give it another half a year, and it will fit you just fine.”

The man went over and gave me a pat on the head. I had to fight against the tears coming out.

“Does that mean… I can keep it?”

“Yes, it's all yours.”

“Thank youuuu…”

I ran headfirst into the man, throwing my hands around him. People must have looked over awkwardly, but I did not care. I wondered if I really deserved this present, if I really impressed the man enough to warrant something like this, or if my performance in recent months even had anything to do with him buying me this dress. A few small tears came flowing out, even though I tried my best so suppress them. After holding on for a few seconds, I finally let go.

“I'm glad you like it. Come, let's find you a shirt, it's getting dark.”

True, we weren't even done yet, the man was going to buy me even more stuff. I felt like the luckiest girl on earth, as if I were in a dream.

The shirt we picked out was rather simple. In fact, we even bought two, as sword practice could easily rip a single one apart. It was sturdy and on the thicker side, perfect for the winter season. After that, we went on a search for an inn to sleep.

The one we found was close to one of the gates surrounding the village. It included dinner and breakfast, so it was a no-brainer to us. For dinner, they served us local bread together with some ham and cheese. It was a sizable portion, and even with my incredible hunger I was unable to finish my plate. After putting the rest together as a sort of sandwich, the man pulled out a cloth from his bag and put the bread inside. It would seem I'd have something to eat tomorrow as well!

The bedroom was nothing out of the ordinary. There was a single large bed in the middle, with a small desk to the side and a fireplace in the middle. It was warm, that was all that mattered. I removed my boots, wet socks and immediately planted myself in front of the fireplace, feet first.

“Give me your sword. I have bought something against the rust.”

Without looking towards him I handed over the sword. Oh, the feeling on my feet was heavenly, almost as if all the possible sickness from the cold was vanishing into thin air. After sitting there for about half an hour, I finally got up. Looking over to the bed, I saw the man sit next to it. It looked as if he was meditating.

I didn't want to interrupt him, so instead I decided to be at least a little productive for the rest of the day. Placing my bag on the nearby table, I reached inside and pulled out a book, a piece of paper and a pen. Yes, today I would start to try and read one more book my mother left me. And not only that, I would try and write the sentences on a piece of paper too! It only took me a few seconds for sleep to take hold of me though, and I fell into a deep slumber.

On The Way

The sun’s rays shone into my eyes the next morning, waking me from my sleep. I found myself lying in bed, a warm blanket covering me from top to bottom. It felt warm and cozy, so much so that I barely wanted to stand up. I pulled the sheets back over my face, not ready to leave this cozy heaven behind just yet. After lying there a while, I finally grew tired of snoozing around. What if the man was displeased with it? Hyping myself up, I finally managed to get up and look for my clothes.

The man must have left already, as there was no sign of him anywhere. Even his bag and sword were gone. I hoped that I didn't oversleep too much, and as such hurried to get dressed.

I couldn't find my pants however, even after having searched all over. They were simply gone, and so was my old top and my shoes. Even my socks were gone. The only thing left were… my new clothes. Ah, that made sense, maybe the man disposed of them. They were all ripped and worse for wear anyways. Still, I wanted to give my shirt one last look over before throwing it away. I repaired it myself, after all.

I put on my new socks, pants, shoes and shirt. All of them fit nicely, if only a little big for me. The man said many times yesterday that we had to keep my growth in mind, but it still felt a little weird, almost as if my old clothes fit me better. Still, it wasn't unusable by any means.

I put on my coat, the one thing left of my old clothes, packed my bag and grabbed my sword. Today we would leave the village, and head out towards my new school. The man said that we might have to travel the rest of the way without stopping by another village, so I mentally prepared myself for a long walk. With the new shoes at least I wasn’t getting my feet as cold as yesterday. As I turned around to see if I left anything in the room I spotted something on the desk. How could I forget that of all things? I went over and stroked it, it felt just as good as it did yesterday. My very own dress. I felt a strange connection to it.

Moving down a set of stairs I found myself at the main hall of the inn, where there were many people sitting and eating. I was looking around until I finally found the man. He sat at a table, a few plates of food in front of him. It looked delicious, my mouth watering at the mere sight of it.

“Good morning. You have slept quite a while, so I already had to check out. Come, eat.”

There was a stew on the table with potatoes, carrots and some meat soaked in a brown sauce. It reminded me of what the man used to make for me. I took a spoon and ate a little.

“Hm, yours is better.”

I finished the plate only a short while after. It was undoubtedly better than what the man had made for me in the past, but it lacked the sentimental value his held.

We left the village a short while after. The guards gave us some pointers as to where to go and which places to avoid, and the man thanked them for it. With that, we looked onward to the great plains in front of us.

It was still cold, but a little warmer than the day before. That change in temperature was enough for much of the snow to melt, revealing part of the greenery beneath. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

“The plan for today is to reach the mountain back there. Are you ready?”

“Ready!”

I was brimming with excitement. What was I going to see, to experience? What adventures laid before me? This might very well be one of the last days in the company of the man, so there was some sadness in me as well. As I took my first step out of the village gates, I could already see myself in front of a huge school with many people running around.

The way was not an easy one. Judging by the trails old carriages left behind we were sort of able to stay on a paved road, but it wasn’t like the snow had completely melted yet. Worse still, the road was a lot more slippery than one might believe. It was quite frequently that I nearly fell, the man luckily catching me every time. Frustrated I started walking by the side of the road, but that only slowed us down further. In the end we didn’t make it in one trip, and had to stop for the day.

Eventually night fell, and with it came what felt like a small blizzard. The man had packed some sort of tent, which he quickly and expertly put up. I was amazed at how skillfully he did so, for some reason. I had expected him to do a half-assed job at first, but that proved to be incorrect.

The tent was rather small, so we had to sleep right next to each other. On the plus side, this meant we didn’t need some sort of fire or blanket. The night was still cold though, and it took me quite a while to finally fall asleep.

If our calculations were correct we would only be about a day's walk away from the school now, considering in my speed. I was excited, which helped me power through the frustrations I still held. My feet felt a little better as a result to that, which was pretty nice. It was a good thing, as the small blizzard the night before had increased the snow beneath our feet, making it both more difficult to walk as well as erasing the tracks of the carriages we used the day before. Still, it wasn’t like we were taking a lot of turns, so we would probably just move in a straight line this day as well.

We did not remove our little shelter, which felt at least a little weird. Guess it was dead weight after having been used, or be useless if we were to enter a city that day anyways. The man had caught a single rabbit near the woods with a makeshift spear, so that was what we were eating that morning. It didn't taste very good over an open fire, but at least we weren't hungry anymore. It made me wonder whether he food at my new school would taste good. Somehow I forgot about the food I had packed, which I noticed just a few hours later.

Around midday, after having walked tirelessly, we surprisingly came across a merchant of some sort. He was sitting on a little carriage carried by two horses in front.

Something was off about that carriage, however. There were holes all over the protective sheet keeping the wares inside. I wondered whether the merchant had been attacked, and told the man that we should help him. He agreed, but told me to stay behind him for now. I was happy he was taking this so seriously.

“Ah, who are you? You have a little girl with you, so surely you are no bandit, no?”

The merchant sounded scared. Maybe he really had been attacked, that would explain all the holes at least. Also, the man had a certain… menace to him, which I could very well understand if it scared people.

It was the man that started the conversation.

“We are wanderers, trying to reach the school nearby.”

“Ah, so you're good folks. I'm glad.”

There was a certain exhaustion he radiated, as if he hadn't slept in days. He wore a hood over his head so I could barely see his eyes, but judging by his reddish hands holding the reigns of his horses I assumed that he must have been quite weak. If he wasn’t careful, they might just fall off, that’s how red they were.

“Your carriage looks worse for wear. Has something happened?”

“Oh, a great unfortune. God must have punished me for something I had done. Ever since that day I’ve been doing nothing but repent and regret my misdeeds.”

Not once did he look up. His face was glued downwards, as in prayer. Taking a closer look at it, his hands might very well have been held in a praying position. It was just that they had been weakened so much from the cold that he could barely hold them together anymore.

His voice was weak and frail. He seemed remorseful, despair and sadness radiating from every part of his being. It was a worrisome sight, and it made me curious for what his story was.

“Did bandits attack you? If yes, we might be able to help somewhat.”

“Do you have a way to cure wounds, dear traveler? You know, my son, they attacked him and wounded him deeply. I tried mending his wounds as best I could and put a cloth over him to keep him warm, but when I checked on him this morning he looked worse than he did yesterday. Please, if you have any kind of remedy for him… help him, I beg of you. I will repay you however I can, I promise.”

The man nodded, then grabbed my arm. I was going to follow him no matter what, but he seemed to be quite suspicious about this entire ordeal. We went around the carriage until we reached the end. A wooden board was put in place to keep the wares inside, with a large stretched fabric to keep onlookers from looking inside. It was about the same design the merchants used back at the last village, only with a lot more holes and cuts in it.

The man carefully put his hand on the wooden board, then pulled it down. It didn't take much to do so, most likely because the carriage was a little older than the ones back at the merchants’ village. I wondered whether the holes simply came from years of abuse, and that I was overthinking this. Some part in me was hoping for that to be the case.

Then the man pulled away the sheets, and with it came a horrific smell. It knocked me right back to reality. The man quickly turned around to me, told me to wait outside and went inside. Now it was just me and the merchant standing outside. I couldn't stand it, not knowing what was happening in there, so I decided to ignore the man's words and stepped inside myself.

What I found in front of me was horrific. First, there was the smell. Something was rotting in here, and not just for a day or two. In some way, it reminded me of the way the village smelled back when it was burning. This time there was not the smell of burned corpses, however, but instead was a lot more acidic. It scared me.

“You shouldn't come closer. The boy here is long dead, and riddled with disease.”

The man stepped over towards me, holding his shirt over his mouth. He then grabbed mine and put it over my nose as well.

“You also shouldn't look too closely. We can't have you getting sick so close to our destination.”

With a tap on my shoulder, the man left the carriage.

Before heading out myself, I wanted to take a look at that dead boy. I walked over, and as I inched closer I noticed that specific smell getting stronger and stronger. Right as I knelt above a piece of cloth hiding something beneath I could finally figure out what that smell was. It was the smell of death.

With one motion, making sure to stay as far away from the dead body as possible, I ripped away the cloth that concealed it. What I found beneath was something straight out of a nightmare, which made me jump back in fear. My eyes went wide, and I started to sweat. This was no human anymore, this was a monstrosity. It was like one of the corpses I saw in that huge pile of bodies back at my village, only that this felt much more real.

His skin was a mixture of purple, white and black. It sticked to the wood beneath as if it were bonding to it, distorting the face in a weird way. The simple act of having removed the blanked had ripped the skin, resulting in a dark red, if not almost black liquid to erupt from the wound. An immense smell followed, almost making me puke.

Bones were visible on all parts of the body as the muscles and skin broke down, leaving behind a grotesque imagine that barely represented a human. It was like a monster out of a nightmare, and I couldn't stand to see it for even one more second. With great speed I sprinted out of the carriage, only barely getting grabbed by the man mid air. I was sure that I would have stumbled out and fell to the floor had he not caught me. Had my mind not been so preoccupied with what I had just seen then I would have most likely thanked him for it.

“And?”

The merchant was the one that broke the silence. He stood next to us, his bright red hands folded in front of is body in prayer. His hood was removed, giving us a glance of the old man beneath.

His face was like that of a skeleton, with sternly visible cheek bones and eye sockets. It was as if his face was stretched, tightly enough to reveal the true look of the skull beneath. His gray hair was unkempt, and he stank. As I looked at him my heart froze, tears starting to well up in my eyes. This was not a pleasant sight.

“How long has it really been? This has not happened yesterday, merchant.”

The man broke the silence. He voice was stern and serious, the way he always was.

The merchant was silent at the man's question, only looking to the ground. No word escaped his lips.

I wondered what we were going to do. We couldn’t just leave him like that. It didn’t look like he was still able to continue living like this.

“Maybe we’ll be worse than bandits, but we cannot see this go on any further. Girl, make sure he does not get away, I will get something from the nearby forest.”

I could already take a guess what he was planning to do. While it did scare me, I did approve. Putting down my bag and dress next to me, I put my hand on the hilt of my sword.

Poor man, but this was a necessary evil. A few minutes passed before the merchant spoke up again.

“What is he going to get?”

“He didn't tell me either, so I couldn't tell you.”

There was a silence, one that weighed heavy on both of us. I was used to awkward silences with the man, but this one wasn't of the awkward variety. It was depressing, heavy and not once did it let up.

“What does he mean by being worse than bandits? What could possibly be worse than what they did? There is no atrocity in this world that could rival what they did to me.”

His eyes were red, as if they wanted to shed tears. But it seemed he already wept them all a long time ago. All that was left was a weak voice, and those red, dead eyes.

It was a perfectly reasonable question. I was pretty sure that I knew what the man had meant, but I wasn't sure whether I would call it worse than the bandits. At first it will probably feel like hell though. This man was going to hate the both of us with his entire being, I was almost certain of it.

Suddenly, the man appeared next to us again. He had the two horses that were carrying the carriage next to him, holding them on their leash. I did not know how he did this without any of us noticing, but it did not matter now.

“What are you planning? Are you trying to take my horses away from me? Do as you will, but you will never reach the amount of evil those bandits did to me. If this is just a play, you will surely lose.”

“We will not take the horses from you. Girl, hold the leash for me.”

I nodded, then took the leash in my hands. Normally I would stroke the horses, fascinated by them. After all, I had never been this close to one. But there was no time for me to do that, no wish for me to extend my hand. I needed to stay strong for what was about to come.

With big steps, the man strode forth towards the side of the carriage. When he knelt down, the merchant finally noticed what the plan was all along.

“Wait!”

His voice was weak and frail, and not very loud. Yet there was a certain volume to it, one that was filled with all the emotion he could muster. It was a desperate cry for help, and one of great fear.

What we saw was an assortment of twigs lying below the carriage. There were plenty of them, the man had probably laid them there just a moment ago. Neither the merchant nor me noticed it. What must have caught the merchants eyes, however, was not the twigs themselves, but the fire that engulfed them.

In just a few seconds the once small fire erupted, producing a huge gust of smoke almost immediately. It took but a moment for the entire carriage to catch fire, cracking loudly as the wood below began to crumple away into ash. A smell I remembered too well followed soon after: the stench of burning flesh.

It took me a couple of seconds to gather my courage and look over to the merchant. I expected anger, despair and many more of those emotions. I fully anticipated him to run over to me or the man and attack, all the while shouting in anger and anguish.

But what I saw was something entirely different. The old man was looking directly into the fire, standing still. His eyes were blood shot red, and tears were flowing out in great amounts. Maybe they were the last he still had in him.

He was smiling, his swollen cheeks and wrinkled skin showing a part of him that he must have forgotten a long time ago. He did not look like a man at the edge of despair, one that would break down crying at any second. When I saw my dead parents back at the plaza, lying in front of that burning pile of bodies, I was close to despair. When we found my mothers corpse and the man handled her even the slightest bit wrong, I snapped. I attacked him, shouted at him, blamed him for everything bad that had happened that day. But this merchant, he looked different. It looked like he had found piece.

We stood there until the carriage burnt down completely, leaving nothing but ash behind. During this none of us spoke. We simply watched the flames engulf everything in its path, until there was nothing left for it to burn.

“You truly did the one thing the bandits never dared to try. In a sense, you really are worse then them, in every possible way. You took the last thing my boy left behind from me.”

I was not able to understand the emotions this man felt. Maybe it was my youthful mind, but I could very well see him attack us still. But he never did, instead simply turning around to face us. His face looked even worse than before, with his eyes blood shot red and his skin torn from all the tears that flowed down. The small drops of blood that flowed down his face scared me, but I decided to keep quiet. But he, he was smiling.

“Still, you freed me. How long has it been since they attacked me, and took my boy from me? I do not know. But that time had been hell on earth. I couldn't face it, you know, couldn't look back there. Every day I stood up and walked back there, and every time I touched that piece of wood that holds everything inside. Yet not once did I dare to took, afraid of what would greet me inside. You freed me of that burden. Instead of repenting, I can now move over to prayer. Prayer for a better life for my son, in another life.”

With those words, the man fell to his knees, crying deeply. I did not know what to do, and started to panic. Did we do the right thing? If yes, why was he crying so earnestly? I did not understand, and instead looked to the man for answers.

“Let's leave him some of our food and the horses. They are good animals, and he will be able to life his life with them at his side.”

Having said that, the man went over to put the leash on a nearby tree so the horses wouldn't run away. I myself took out the food I had packed back at the merchant’s village and placed it in front of the old man, trying my best to keep out of his sight. Not knowing what to do, I simply said what came to mind.

“I'm sorry for your loss.”

I tried to sound polite, but in the end it sounded rather awkward. I wondered if I should have kept my mouth shut.

“Thank you, girl. Thank you.”

I reunited with the man, and with a heavy heart we continued on. It did not take long for the old man to disappear out of sight.

Nothing happened for the rest of the day, the two of us simply stayed silent. I couldn’t get that man out of my head, shoving the thought of my new life in school to the back of my head.

As night began to fall a village came in sight, one with a big tower in the middle. There were a few lights still burning, and people walked around the streets.

This was it. The place where I would start my new life.

A New Start

A guard greeted us as we approached the village gate. The gates’ size was impressive, with huge wooden pillars holding everything in place. In contrast it almost seemed comical, the fact that only one guard was stationed here. Where there other guards stationed nearby? Even weirder still he approached us with a smile on his face.

“Hello, travelers! Are you here to join the school perhaps, young girl? And you, sir, the guild?”

He was huge, about an entire head taller than even the man was. In every sense of the word one could call him a giant. He held a halberd in his right hand, and wore steel armor from top to bottom. I wondered just how strong one needed to be to wear such bulky armor while wielding such a mighty weapon. I definitely couldn’t compare with my, in comparison, rather puny sword. Good thing he seemed friendly.

“Yes, we came to get the girl a proper education. She has some reading and writing skills already, should those be required.”

“Oh, no, they are not needed, but it's wonderful that she has already been so diligent at her young age! You, sir, what is it you wish to accomplish here?”

I couldn't help but be taken aback by the question. Was it normal for kids to enter the village alone, or why did the man have to answer to such a question? Was it not enough to be an adult that took care of the kid? I had a rather bad feeling.

“I will help out however I can. I could join this guild you were talking about earlier.”

“Ah, the guild actually needs a few more hands these days. They are rather short staffed, especially when it comes to seasoned fighters. You look like you can handle the sword well, so I'm sure they'll be glad to have you.”

Breathing in slowly, the guard readied himself for something. I was a little confused, but tried to ready myself for whatever it was that was coming.

“While this question does not matter much, can I ask which country you hail from?”

The question took me by surprise. What, where there people of multiple nations living here? Would I have to learn different languages? I didn’t exactly look forward to it if that were the case. Then again, my father had been from a different nation as well and he spoke the same language as my mother.

Even the man seemed a little confused, being the next to speak up.

“We are in Burha territory, are we not?”

His words were cautious, and I saw him straighten up as he asked his question. It was as if he was bracing himself for the worst, which didn’t exactly give me much confidence. To both our surprise, however, the guard just flashed us a great smile.

“Yes, you are indeed correct. This town sits at the border between Burha and Narka, inside Burha territory.”

Narka? Wait, I heard that name before. A merchant back at the last village spoke of it. With quite some fear in his eyes, too. Before I could think much more of it the guard continued.

“As a border town, we are in a somewhat special position. We accept people of both nations to enter, trade and work here. One could call us neutral territory, so-to-speak.”

I did not understand much, no, it was better to say I didn’t know anything about the two nations the guard mentioned. There were only a few things I did understand:

The man said we came from Burha territory. So that probably meant that I was a citizen of that nation. I never heard that name in my life, but we didn’t talk much about nations and the like back at my village anyways. Or maybe the adults simply shielded kids from such topics. I was a bit younger then after all.

Secondly, I remembered there being much talk about my father’s heritage back at the village. The other villagers often times ridiculed him for coming from some not-so-popular region. They never said the name of the nation though, as far as I was concerned. Maybe it was Narka? All I heard about it up until this point was negative, so it sort of made sense for it to be unpopular back at the village.

I looked over to the man, wishing to gauge some kind of reaction from him. Was it a good thing that people of both nations lived here? The guard said that was somewhat special… so I couldn’t stop but wonder whether this could prove problematic.

But, just as he always was, the man looked on with indifference written all over his face. It was almost as if he didn’t even care, maybe he was even a little annoyed to be held up at the gate like this. After not responding to the guard for some time I got nervous, signaling to the guard that we understood everything with a thumbs up. Luckily he responded with a wide grin, seemingly not the least bit annoyed by the man’s silence.

With a big step backwards he made way for us to enter. Slamming his halberd into the ground beneath, he took on a stiff and formal pose.

“You may enter, travelers. May you bring good fortune to our humble village.”

After having said those words the guard bowed his head, which made feel almost like royalty. The man however simply stood there, making this whole ordeal incredibly awkward. With a gesture, the guard invited us inside, and just like that we entered the village.

There were lots of houses left and right, with most of them still being lit despite the late hour. There wasn’t much out of the ordinary with them, looking similar to those we had back at the village. I wondered if it was normal for people to stay up this late here, worrying that my sleep schedule might be inadequate.

We continued on, walking through the streets with laser focus. There was a specific place that had caught our attention: the big tower standing in the middle of the village. It was undoubtedly a place of interest, one that was meant to draw in travelers.

After having walked for just a few minutes we found ourselves in front of a rather sizable garden. It wasn't a garden in the sense that there were flowers and roses everywhere, it was more like a little grass field. Looking at it more closely I saw lots of footprints and trampled grass, a sign that this place was used frequently. In response to my staring the man spoke up.

“This must be the training grounds. The school can’t be far off.”

The grass was cut rather short, so practicing on it would be optimal. We had always trained on the stony streets of the plaza back at my village, it made me wonder how I'd fare with grass beneath my feet. Would rain be much of a challenge? Would the increased grip of the soil make me stronger, or make me stumble? Imagining it all made me very excited.

The training ground laid in front of the big tower we saw earlier. From right beneath it it didn’t look that tall, only having a few floors from the looks of it. Huge spikes sat on top, which gave it its impressive appearance. There was a definite attempt at making this building stand out, either to signal its importance or to draw attention to it before anything else. Still, it seemed friendly enough from up front, shining nicely in the dim light the moon shone on to it.

We entered the tower through a huge door in front. The hinges creaked loudly as we entered, announcing our arrival to everyone that might have been nearby. However, as I looked inside, I found that there was no one inside.

A huge hall stood in front of us, adorned with many fancy and expensive looking paintings and texts. Above us hung a huge chandelier, which was still lit despite the late hour. The floor looked clean, as if someone had just cleaned it. On one of the paintings, the image of a warrior holding a sword was engraved. He looked strong, like a protector of sorts. I wondered who this man might have been.

The staircase led upwards, then split up into two. We decided to go up left, but there was no real reason as to why. Once we climbed said stairs, we found ourselves around five or six meters off the ground. It gave me a sense or grandeur I had never felt before, making my heart beat a little faster. Never have I been in a building this tall, nor have I been in one so fancily decorated.

We entered a narrow hallway. There was a light burning at the very end of it, with the other lights across the room having already been extinguished. Doors sat to our left and right, with a small lantern sitting in between each one of them. It made me wonder why they were even there, if they weren’t illuminated during the night. Maybe it was simply too late already, but there was no real way to know for sure.

I could tell what the man was thinking, entering this hallway: There must be someone inside the last room if there is still a light burning. As we passed the first set of doors I became curious, taking a quick glance to one of them. It was a wooden door, its color uncertain due to the very dim light. Next to it hung a sign with what looked like a fancily written number on it. Was it a classroom, perhaps? It was just a guess, but I couldn’t really think of another reason for a door to need to be numbered. I was exited to enter one of them eventually, but it could wait until tomorrow.

We finally reached the end of the hallway. Before us, right next to the lit lantern, there was a door that looked a little different than the rest. There was something painted on it, the picture of an animal. I had seen it in a book before, noting its fluffy body, giant teeth and short tail. The name, however, didn’t occur to me.

Next to the door hung a sign. It looked just like the one I had seen before, but there was something off about it. Instead of a number there was a word engraved into it. Trying my best to concentrate despite the lateness of day, I eventually figured out what it said. My heart skipped a beat a little, realizing that this was the first time my studies had actually come in handy.

“Principal’s office… What is a a principal?”

I asked without thinking, not really expecting an answer. The word was new for me, as if it was from a different language altogether. Still, I was able to read it, so it couldn’t be that far off from my language. It was far more likely that I had simply never heard it before.

With two heavy hits the man knocked on the door. Only a second later, a voice could be heard from inside.

“You may enter.”

The man grabbed the door handle, opening the door with mildly excessive force. We stepped inside, and were immediately greeted by a blinding light. I pulled my hand up to shield myself from it, frowning as I did so. My eyes had accustomed so much to the dark corridor that the singular light inside the room was enough to blind me for a second.

The room looked incredibly expensive. There were paintings hanging all over the walls, showing off different warriors with swords in their hands. They were exquisitely painted, no doubt about it. I wondered if they were real people, and became a little engulfed in my own fantasy.

“Oh, the girl seems to have taken a liking to my paintings. Those are all honorable students that passed our school at some point, and became great warriors in the years after. It became a tradition here to offer a painting to our school, should one become known enough throughout the land to warrant a portrait of their character.”

A man had suddenly appeared next to us. He was rather short, about my height, with a sizable stomach. His head was bold, and he wore a mighty beard. Looking down to his clothes I immediately noticed just how expensive they looked. He worse some sort of dark green suit, with gold accents all around. His pants were the same, with a small chain holding a pocket watch hanging from his belt.

There was one thing I noticed above all else, however. He wore a little medal on his chest, a golden one with a book engraved on it. It looked exquisite, important, as if it held some significance here. The man had undoubtedly taken great care of it, as it shone rather brightly simply from reflecting the light from the room.

While I did realize that there was no chance this man could be a warrior, I still respected him almost immediately. He was a leader, a person representing others. Maybe, if this man was this ‘principal’… then maybe he was a sort of leader of the school.

“I assumed this place to be rather ordinary.”

The man's words cut right through my thoughts. Even someone my age could see that he should have chosen his words a little more carefully. How could he be so distasteful? Ready to clear out any possible misunderstandings, I opened my mouth. But the principal managed to beat me to it.

“Haha! Yes, that is true, indeed.”

His voice came across as a little melancholic, there was a certain pride in the way he presented his words. He had undoubtedly answered this question many times before.

“We were a prestigious school around a hundred years ago, back when our country was still united as one. Nowadays, we are simply a school like any other, occasionally producing exceptional students. Still, I must say we have a high education standard here, with some wealthy folks even sending their offspring here to learn. You will surely learn many things that are exceptional about this place.”

With a little turn, the principal suddenly laid his eyes on me. It took me by surprise, and I instinctively put one foot behind me. I was glad I didn't just pull out my sword out of sheer instinct.

“I haven't seen the two of you around here yet. Are you new, trying to enter our school?”

The man stepped forward before I could react. Seeing him next to the principal was an almost comical sight: The tall, trained body of the man versus the smaller, much rounder body of the principal. The way they lived their lives was visible from a singular glance.

“Yes. I want the girl to have a proper education, in academics and in swordsmanship.”

The principal took a finger to his chin, looking me up and down. His expression was warm and welcoming, much different than that of the man. I tried to relax a little, but still felt a little awkward being eyed like that.

“The girl has no doubt seen quite a few battles in her days, hasn't she? The way she has her hand on that sword's handle, too… she has experience, no doubt. Still, I'm sure we can teach a thing or two here. Does she know how to read or write?”

I looked over to the man, unsure as to how to respond. Yes, I had already managed to read a book, but if there was a certain standard to uphold here I didn't know if I was quite good enough yet.

The man, instead of saying something to the principal, pointed towards the bag hanging from my shoulder. Almost immediately I squatted down, rummaging through my things. I knew what the man had meant, and knew that there was no better way of knowing if I was good enough than this.

After having rummaged around somewhat I finally found what I was looking for: a piece of paper on which I had practiced some writing. A little embarrassed by how crumbled up it was, I eventually showed it to the principal. It would be a good representation of my skills.

“Oh, would you look at that. I even know the story you wrote about, I read it to my grandchildren just the other day, hahaha!”

The man already had grandchildren? Yes, he wasn't the youngest, but somehow he still felt too young to be a grandpa. Still, he was grinning to himself, which gave me some confidence in my writing skills.

“Your handwriting could use some work, and I see some errors here and there. Still, it is most definitely more than most girls your age and upbringing are usually capable of. I can guarantee that we can teach you plenty on that front.”

With a great smile on his face, he handed me back my paper. Somehow I felt like I was being praised, and it made me happy. Maybe the guard was right, and they would have accepted me even if I had no experience at all.

“You come just at the right time. Just recently we held the last exams of our graduates here, meaning that tomorrow starts the new semester. There are many people here just like you, those that never attended a school in their life, and look to make the best of themselves here.”

Still smiling greatly, the principal went back to his desk. It was huge, with more papers on it than I had ever seen in all my life. I was unsure as to what to think of all this chaos. Before I could think about it too much though, the principal revealed a small key from below his desk. With a sway of his hand, he signaled for me to come over.

“Here, this is your dorm key. The girl there was quite sad to have no roommate, so I'm sure she will be very pleased to see you. As your arrival was rather sudden, you are still missing a few things. We wear a uniform here, you'll have to grab yours tomorrow, together with a wooden sword. I bet you’ll manage that quite fine, I’m sure of it. Welcome to our school, dear student.”

He still held his warm smile, slowly and carefully placing the key into my hands. My heart began to race the second the cold metal touched the palm of my hand. It felt like a start, like a new beginning. There was an incredible excitement I felt deep inside my chest.

The idea of a roommate was intriguing me as well. It had been a long while since I last talked to someone approximately my age. I wondered if it was going to be blessing or a curse, and it made me pretty nervous. What if I was unfit for this academy, and she shunned me? I was unsure if I was able to handle the pressure.

Just as my thoughts were getting the better of me, the principal spoke up once more.

“I can't offer a room for you though, sir. You'll have to find your own place.”

“That is no issue. I thank you for your hospitality, and I'm sure the girl won't disappoint you.”

“Haha! I never doubted that in the first place.”

With a small wave, the man gestured for us to leave. It was late after all, and the principal would surely have to go to bed at some point himself. We exited the room, went through the hallway, down the stairs and eventually found ourselves right in front of the training grounds again.

I was unimaginably happy. It felt like I had just started a new chapter of my life, and I was ready to take it head on. I didn't imagine it to be easy, but I was sure I'd manage. After all the things I did that past summer, there was nothing that I couldn't do.

The man led me across the training ground towards a rather long building. A shield hung over its entrance, with a sword attached to it. It looked well made, but also rather old. The building itself looked a little newer, and was quite pretty to look at. I wondered, however, what the man was trying to accomplish here.

“This should be the dorm. Why don't you try one of your keys?”

I looked down into my hand, where I was still holding on the the keys I had gotten earlier. There were two keys, one with a plus etched into it, and another with a minus. I tried inserting the key with the plus on it first, and it fit. With a twist, the door suddenly gave loose and opened, swinging inwards.

“We will part ways here. Enjoy your first day tomorrow, and give it your best.”

“W-where will you go?”

The question escaped me quicker than I could think. I had acted before I spoke, in other words.

After about half a year, I felt like I was getting separated from the man. I had feared that something like this might happen, after all good things rarely came for free. Some part of me wanted to continue tomorrow just like I did the day before, wanting to spend another day with the man. But with school coming up so soon, this was more of a fantasy than a reality.

Still, the man put his right hand on my shoulder. Having a somewhat awkward expression on his face, he looked me deep in the eyes. It was obvious he didn’t quite know what to do himself.

“Don't worry, I'll stay here. If all goes well, we'll see each other again tomorrow.”

I nodded, sort of happy with his response. Him thinking about it was enough to give me the strength to properly say goodnight. If he was going to be here, I was not going to complain after all.

Maybe it wasn’t all going to be so different. It wasn't like we slept in the same house back then after all. For all I knew he could become an instructor or something. The thought alone made me quite excited.

Still, it had gotten quite late. The darkness of the night was deep, and the lights in the streets had gotten dimmer. I waved the man goodbye, then went inside.

The Roommate

I found myself in a large corridor. It was lit brightly from left to right, making it easy to navigate. An elderly woman stood next to one of the doors, holding a broom in her hand. In a moment she spotted me, and strode on over.

“Are you a new student, young girl?”

The woman was old, and her back crooked. She wore a handkerchief over her head, and had a warm smile on her face. I wondered why she was still up so late.

“Y-yeah. I was given this key here…”

The woman opened her hand, and with some hesitation I dropped the keys into her palm. Looking at them for a moment, she started to chuckle a little.

“I already assumed it would be that room. If you move across the hallway, there will be a staircase at the end of it. Go up, and take the third room on the left.”

With gentle movements, she placed the keys back into my hands. Were all people here going to be this nice? Excited to see my room, I gave the old woman a slight bow.

“Thank you. I will be going now!”

Not waiting for a response, I immediately headed for the promised stairs. As I passed the hallway, I overheard people talking from inside the rooms to my left and right. There were only female voices, and all of them sounded rather young, some maybe even childish. Not that I knew much about it, having not even seen a girl my age or younger since my village had burned down. And, for some reason, I didn’t remember any of their voices anymore as well.

At the end of the hallway I found the staircase to my right. I climbed the stairs, and found myself in another long hallway. It was just like the one below, just a little shorter. Again, as I passed the first couple rooms I could hear people talking. All the liveliness at this hour… were the people not sleepy?

One, two, three, this was my room. I put my ear to the door, trying to take a listen to whoever was inside. Who knows, maybe the girl talked to herself at night? After listening for a while and not hearing a thing, I decided to finally insert the key. I breathed out, readying myself for what was to come.

“Ah, wait! Don't come in now!”

I opened the door to a girl screaming. It scared me for a second, making me flinch. As I looked forward, I saw a pair of legs standing on a small stool, and that stool falling forwards in my direction. Quickly, I stepped back, trying to prevent a collision. But I was too slow.

With a loud thump, the girls’ body slammed into mine, throwing me backwards on to the ground, and her on top of me.

“O-ouch…”

It took the girl a second to finally get a hold of herself. The whole situation was bizarre, sending my mind into a spiral. I got a little dizzy from the collision too, needing a second myself to focus again. There was no thought inside my mind for a few moments.

“A-ah! I'm sorry, I was trying to hang something on the wall. Are you hurt?”

I opened my eyes back up and took a look at her. My inner eye had already tried to paint a picture of her, which wasn’t exactly a nice one. Still, it wasn’t like it was a conscious thought, so I quickly sidelined it.

I had expected a young girl with messy hair, and I expected her to smell funny. Yet as I laid eyes upon her, that image completely evaporated.

She was the very picture of a beautiful young woman, besides her sort of messy hair. She had long, brown hair and wore a light blue sleeping dress. From a first look she seemed to be a little older than me, but was still young enough to not be considered a proper woman yet.

There were a lot of… qualities to how she looked that made me weirdly jealous. From her good looks, to her gentle appearance and even her dress. For some reason my heart began to race, filled with a great amount of jealousy. I was sure a girl like her would leave me in her shadow when it came to speaking with others.

“Y-you should be more careful!”

However, my jealous anger gave way to social awkwardness the second my mouth opened. I wasn't very used to talking to people, even less to people that close to me. How was a girl my age even supposed to react to this? After all, this girl was essentially sitting on me, not even having the courtesy to stand up.

“Yeah, I know, hehe… Oh wait, let me help you up.”

She stood up, her hair falling over her shoulders as she did so. Oh mother, why did you have to curse me with such bad looks! My shorter hair was no match to whatever she had going for her.

She extended her arm to me after standing up, and with some hesitation I finally took it. Her hand was warm and soft, and I could immediately tell that she had never had a sword in her hand her entire life. I felt bad about taking her hand with such force, feeling the stern gaze of my mothers ghost behind me.

“Who are you, by the way? Why do you have a key to my room? It's kind of creepy, you know?”

I couldn't help but make a face, wondering what she was thinking. If I really was some kind of creep, then how stupid would it be to tell that to my face? Sure, I was smaller than her, but it must be quite apparent to her that someone of her stature can't hope to compare to mine, at least in the strength department. I shook my head, assuming that some people simply talked before they started thinking. I mean, I did the same just a second ago.

“I am your new roommate. The principal gave the keys to me just a short while ago.”

As I said those words, the girl suddenly started acting weird. First, her eyes widened substantially, as if she was being ecstatic. Then, she put her hand in front of her wide open mouth, which I assumed was supposed to be a way to hide it from sight, but it was so incredibly obvious what was going on there that it almost seemed theatrical. I didn't understand why she made the gesture at all.

After that whole ordeal she suddenly started jumping up and down, not very high but still a little, using nothing but her toes do so. It seemed erratic, non sensible to me why she would do such a thing.

“Really? Really? Do you mean it?”

The jumping would not stop. It started to annoy me, so I couldn't keep my disgruntled face to myself anymore, flashing it for all to see. The girl seemed to have caught on immediately.

“O-oh, sorry. I was just getting a little excited. But tell me, is it true? I was told I wouldn't get a roommate while all the other girls had one, are you some special kind of girl that needs to be hidden from out of sight?”

Hidden, but placed in a room with someone like her of all people? If she had thought about that for even a second she would realize how stupid it sounded, but apparently she didn't. It was as if an invisible fog existed inside her mind, one that bent reality in ways that she wanted to perceive it to be. I couldn't keep up with all that energy, so I had to exhale first before talking to her again. In my mind, I was hoping that the girl would get easier to work with, or the time here was going to be even more strenuous than the training with the man.

“No, I only came here today. I was on my way here just yesterday, so the school didn't know about me yet.”

“Oh! And the principal still let you join? Hm, no, don't answer that, I don't need to know the details. After all, I don't want to lose my precious roommate!”

There was a smile on her face that was quite difficult to describe. Or at least it was for me. If there was anyone else I'm sure they would have been able to describe it a lot easier. It was a wide smile, one filled with explicit content, as if there was nothing going on in that head of hers that even had a semblance of negativity.

Back when I saw myself in that mirror at my house, wearing the dress I outgrew, I had a similar expression on my face. I felt happy in those moments, fulfilled and ready to take on any task. But there was always a sorrow in my eyes, sadness about the loss of my parents. I saw none of that in the girl’s eyes, and it made me question how I could possibly be a good roommate to her. We couldn’t have been any more different.

“Come on in, I decorated a little, I hope you don't mind. Like all the others here I find it quite hard to sleep today, you know? With all the school stuff happening tomorrow. Come, I'll show you around.”

The girl happily entered the dorm room with great strides, and I followed. As I took my first step inside, however, I got stunned out of my mind. When she said decorated, she really meant it. Did she have some kind of condition that made it so it had to be that excessive?

“T-that's a lot.”

“H-huh? Really? For girls our age this is actually quite little, you know? At least I think so. Hm…”

There were brightly colored papers on the walls, stuffed animals left and right and a bed that was, simply speaking, buried under an assortment of clothes. At the edge of the room stood a large table with a wide variety of fancily bound books neatly placed next to each other on it. It was just so much stuff.

I moved closer inside to get a better look at it all. In all honesty, I was a little scared to see what still lied beyond, fearing for more stuff to line the walls. Yet, as I turned the corner, I found only a single bed. The sheets were folded nicely, with a flower-like pattern on it. It had a nice green tone, like that of a lime, that was quite pleasant to look at. I didn’t know much about colors, but I liked the fact that one bed had light blue and the other light green sheets. It simply looked nice. On top of the bed laid a folded paper that was easy to read, even from a distance.

Welcome, dear roommate!

I didn't know what it was, but my heart instantly began to race. The girl was told she wouldn't get a roommate, right? So why did she put that paper there? And on the same note, was she the one that folded those sheets so nicely too? The colors seemed to match hers a little too well as well. It was like there were two sides of that single room, one for her and one for her roommate, and she never overstepped her side of the room. Considering that she knew she would be living alone, I started to wonder what all this meant.

“I can tone down my stuff a little, if you want. I just needed some things to keep my mind occupied, especially those plushies. They will go back in the box tomorrow anyways, so you don't need to worry!”

I stepped over to what was, quite obviously, my part of the room. Other than the already made bed there was little else that the girl seemed to have changed. There was no desk on this side of the room, but the big one I saw earlier had two chairs in front of it, so I just assumed we would have to share that one. There was a door near my bed that was closed, a wardrobe and a small bedside table. I walked over and put my things on the bed, the girl eagerly watching my every move. Just as I let go of my stuff, she suddenly spoke up again.

“Oh, what is this? You've got a dress! And it looks really cute too.”

I half expected her to just go over and pick it up, but she just eyed it from a distance. The dress was really nice, and it made me happy to see someone else see the beauty of it. Still, I picked it more because of the comfort of it than how cute it looked, but I wasn't about to complain about that.

Just as I turned around to take a look at the wardrobe, an unpleasant smell entered my nostrils. I immediately made a face, wondering what that smell was. However, the second I had turned around it was already gone. I turned again, and suddenly the smell was there again. My eyes got wide in fear, and I started to put my nose down my shirt.

“Hehe. Do you want to wash yourself, maybe?”

Slowly, I turned around to look at the girl. She was smiling at me, and I could not find the smallest bit of dishonestly in her face, even though I was really looking. She not only looked good, but also smelled pretty nice. Quite the… contrary to me.

“I-I'm sorry, I hope I don't smell too bad…”

The man never complained about my hygiene. If I hadn't gotten injured in a few weeks and hadn't taken a bath he would most likely not have said a word. It was only when I got a cut or a strong bruise or some other injury that he insisted that I take some sort of bath, simply so that I wouldn't get sick. This has been the case for our journey as well, during which I didn't wash myself even once. Not even back at the hotel, which I now regretted.

“Y-yeah, maybe I should.”

Not even a second after I said those words the girl happily went over to her side of the room, searched one of her bags and eventually revealed a big towel. It was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of color, but it was a lot larger than most towels I'd even seen.

With the same happiness as before she handed me the towel, then went over to the closed door besides my bed. She put her hand on the door handle, and in one elegant motion opened the door for me to step inside.

Inside was a small table with a bowl on top of it, together with a mirror in front. On the table were a bunch of different kinds of soaps, none of them particularly fancy but still, more than one seemed excessive to me. Next to it was a big metal pipe that stuck out of the wall about two meters up, and below it there was a steel handle, almost like a falsely-fitted door handle. About shoulder height was a window that was made in such a way that one could neither outside nor inside. The glass had a weird texture to it that I had never seen before. Maybe it revealed some sort of image when there was light shining on it?

It was definitely a bathroom, there was no doubt about it. But how was I supposed to bath here? There was no bucket anywhere, and the little water in the bowl on the table definitely wasn’t enough for washing.

“You didn't bring any extra clothes with you, did you? I can give you some of mine, if you don't mind.”

She was right, and with the way I was smelling at the moment there was no way I was going to decline her offer. It only took her a moment to get me a few things to wear. Flashing a happy smile, she pushed me further inside the room and closed the door behind me.

Baffled, I simply stood around for a second. Even her spare clothes smelled nice. I was sure mother would have been much more pleased if I had turned out like her, but she seemed a little richer than us anyways.

I put the clothes on a nearby stool and removed my clothes. There must be some sort of way to get water in here, and I simply didn't know how. The amount of water in the bowl was puny, there was absolutely no way that it sufficed. Before I started my search, however, I looked into the mirror.

The mirror showed everything from my chest and upwards. The person I saw in that reflection had cuts and bruises everywhere, had messy hair and big black circles under her eyes. She was also quite muscular, so much in fact that she had to flex her arms for a second just to believe her eyes. They had really grown since I last properly looked at them.

When her roommate was the very picture of a young beauty, then this one had a boyish charm at best. Cut the hair and put on a pair of pants and people were bound to call her ‘mister’. Would the dress even suit her, with this body of hers? Just as she was feeling her mothers gaze from behind her, she shook her head and turned her head from the mirror.

Next objective, find a way to get water in here. Maybe this handle here will do something? I had no idea what it would do, but it couldn’t hurt to try.

I turned the handle with great force, and almost immediately ice cold water shot all over my body. My muscles tensed up, and I couldn't stop myself from acting out.

“Aaaah! Cold! Cold! Cold! Stop, stupid water!”

I turned the handle again but nothing happened. This water was unbelievably cold, and I couldn't stand it. Suddenly, the door behind me swung open.

“W-what happened? Is everything alright?”

The girl stood by the door frame, looking inside with worry written all over her face. She looked over to me, who stood there hunched down, trying to make the water stop. No matter how much I tugged on that handle the cold water just wouldn’t stop. Oh, it was so cold.

“The other way around! Push it! Ah, I'll help you!”

The girl suddenly ran over to me, into the freezing cold. Her clothes and hair immediately got soaked, and I could feel her tensing up from the cold water pouring down on her. After having pushed the handle inward, the water suddenly stopped coming out of the pipe above. Stupid pipe. Why would it shoot out water this cold? What even was this apparatus?

“A-are you alright, are you freezing? They must have turned off the heat already… Here, your towel.”

She ran over to the little stool and reached for the towel. Meanwhile, I had effectively fallen to the floor, sitting in a small puddle of water. Somehow, the girl's actions seemed so heroic that very moment, and I couldn't help but stare.

As the girl came back to me to give me the towel, her eyes suddenly opened up wide. Her words were quiet, and barely escaped her lips.

“Y-y-your body. Oh god, what happened to you?”

She reached out, circling one of the many bruises on my body with her finger. I remembered where that very bruise came from, too. By then, I had already learned how to guard that spot better from attacks, but I had to start somewhere. It did not hurt in the slightest, and I wore it as a badge of honor, even though I didn't find it looking all too appealing.

“My sister… she has wounds just like those. I had to clean them many times before, so I know how much they hurt. Excuse me asking, but my sister is an adventurer so her wounds are normal, but you are… much younger. D… do you come from an abusive household?”

The way she phrased those words, it felt like she was trying to be polite and caring. There was an uncertainty in her voice, and a fear in her touch. It made me freeze in place, not knowing what to do and say.

“I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't ask such questions so soon. J-just you know, this place does not tolerate violence! My sister always said that, at least, and she takes that fact very seriously!”

With a quick move, the girl stood up, trying her best to rush out of the room as quickly as possible. It took me a moment to compose myself, not entirely understanding the situation that had just unfolded in front of me. How was I supposed to explain those wounds to her now? It felt like she already created the entire reason for them in her head, after all. Abusive household… I really had to clear this misconception up.

With slow steps, I went over to the stool and picked up the clothes she left for me. After putting them on, I took one more look in the mirror. There were still a few scars and bruises visible on my arms, but most of them were now hidden beneath the thin cloth on top of them. Still, it wasn’t like some clothes could hide the scars and bruises on my hands, face and neck. With most of my nasty looking wounds being on my upper body, however, the clothes nicely hid the worst of the worst. I pushed down the door handle, then went back inside the room.

The girl was sitting on her bed, her hands balled into fists on her legs. She seemed pretty let down, entirely different to the way she was just a few minutes ago. I couldn't just let it go on like this. This was my fault, in a way.

“L-listen, I think we went off on the wrong foot here…”

But my lips failed me. The man was not one for conversation, and I didn't speak much before I met him either. Against a girl like her, I was bound to stumble over my own words.

“You know, there is this man, and we trained together…”

“No training leaves marks like this. Did he beat you whenever you did something wrong?”

“N-no, he just didn't stop attacking when I lost my sword and stuff…”

“He attacked you even though you were disarmed?? Is he crazy?”

At this point, I was realizing that I was digging my own grave with every word I spoke. Still, somehow, I believed that I should clear this one up here and there.

“Well, he only used his sword sheathed… so it didn't hurt too much…”

“You didn't even use wooden swords??”

The girl had stood up at this point, looking at me in utter disbelief. She was clearly in shock about what she was hearing, and had gotten a lot louder with it.

“N-no, we didn't have those. L-listen, it's not that bad! It doesn't even hurt! Don't worry about it!”

“Whoever this man is, I will make sure he will get a beating himself once I get a good look at him, you can believe me!”

“Don't do that, please…”

I felt like the girl had stopped listening properly, so I simply dropped my shoulders accepted my fate. Just don't mention who that man was exactly and all will be good, for now at least.

“Okay, but it's getting late. You can shower tomorrow morning if you want, the water should be warmer then. Does that sound alright?”

I simply nodded, still thinking of ways to clear the man's name. After all, he might come to visit for all I knew. As I was starting to try and find a solution, the girl suddenly came closer and threw her hands around me.

“I don't know what's going on inside that head of yours, but I'm glad you're here. Let's be great roommates, alright?”

With some hesitation, I put my arms around her as well. Having a nice roommate is a good perk after all, and it made living a little less lonely. I was afraid that she might become overbearing, after all I was used to living with the man, who was essentially her perfect opposite personality wise. Still, I was looking forward for the next day, and my life at school. It seemed that my life was going somewhere new, and that made me quite excited.

That night I barely got any sleep. Just as I managed to doze off a little my roommate woke me with a splash of water. After complaining to me about how difficult it was to wake me she finally pulled me out of bed and showed me the way to shower. It was quite easy, honestly, you just had to shower before it got too late.

We emptied my bag before heading off, placing my papers and books on the table, and the spare socks on my bed. The girl looked excited at first, but the second she got a glance at their spines her enthusiasm immediately vanished. Maybe those books brought up bad memories, or maybe it was simply because they looked so battered. Her books looked pristine, after all. As I got myself dressed, the girl suddenly gave me a weird look.

“Did you not get a uniform? Wait, you really didn't, I emptied your bag with you! But we're already late…”

I wasn't entirely sure where I would get the uniform. Maybe at some sort of entry ceremony? At any rate, I didn't care much about wearing one on the first day, and was instead ecstatic about what would happen instead. My new roommate seemed to have some sort of idea about the day's structure, but I was completely out of the loop. While I could have just asked, I also didn't want to spoil the surprise for myself. With great strides I followed her out the door, all the while wearing a big grin on my face.

School

The girl was adamant about not being too late for the first day. For me, however, the concept of 'being late' was pretty new, as neither the man nor my parents expected me to follow some kind of tight schedule beforehand. I simply stood up when I felt like it, and that was it. What mattered was that I did everything I had to that day, not when I did it.

That being said, we were apparently so late that I didn't even have time to clean myself properly, not mentioning the shower I was promised just yesterday. Fortunately the girl had some kind of spray with her that smelled good, after which I apparently ‘smelled acceptable’, whatever that meant. Jogging along with her we finally managed to enter the training grounds. It was the same place me and the man had walked across last night.

It was a nicely kept little field, now that I got a good look of it. The grass was cut short, and no pest plants were in sight. It was quite sizable too, spanning around the size of the plaza back at my village. At the end of it, towards the school, was a short walkway that split into three parts.

To the left one would get to where we had come from, the dorm.

In the middle stood the big tower-like building, appearing weirdly round from below it. Now that I got a third look at it… it seemed a little bigger than last night still. Weird, it gave off such a different impression from where and when you looked at it… maybe it was all part of the design.

To the right stood a long building that looked like a picture perfect copy of my dorm. I had wondered the day before as to why I hadn’t heard any male voices… so I assumed this must be the boy’s dorm. It was just a guess, though.

There were about twenty people standing on the grass field. Their ages varied widely, with some around my age and others around that of my roommate. In essence, we ranged from young teenagers to young adults from the looks of it.

Something I noticed immediately was their clothes: they were all wearing the same outfit. There were some subtle differences between the boys’ and the girls’ outfits, and two of the boys had in some way tempered with their uniform, making them stand out somewhat. Just as I started looking around my arm suddenly got pulled backwards. It was my roommate.

“Come on, we're the last ones! Hurry!”

Within a few seconds we reached the group, trying our best to blend in without anyone noticing. Only a small girl around my age saw us, but she simply shrugged, looking incredibly tired. She must have been just as excited for the day as I was, only that I got a little more sleep than here.

All of a sudden the voice of a man rang through the air. It had a loud and stern tone, and commanded respect. I was sure that this man was a warrior just from his voice alone.

“It is now ten o'clock. Let us see if everyone is present first. Please, from left to right, count up.”

The man was about middle aged, the wrinkles on his chin giving him an older appearance. He seemed relatively fit, and wore a long sword at his waist. For clothing he wore nothing special, just some lofty shirt and baggy leather pants beneath. It looked like it would hinder his movements very little, but at the same time it provided little protection. Still, from the way he presented himself it was quite obvious that he was a mighty warrior.

One after the other started counting. I had missed the first few numbers, and we were already at fifteen. For a moment I felt like I had forgotten how to count, trying to think of the numbers quicker than they were spoken. But the people around me were really fast. In no time it was my time to speak up, and fortunately I had managed to count properly. It would have been rather embarrassing to fail now, after all I was the last to speak up.

“Twenty-three.”

“Hm, that's one too many…”

As the teacher looked down on his clipboard, one of the students suddenly pointed his finger at me. Even though I hadn’t seen it with my eyes, I could still sense that he did. The result of my sword practice, no doubt. It made me proud.

“You! Where is your uniform? Even worse, what is with that stuff you're wearing? Are you not taking this serious?”

It was one of the boys that I noticed right as I entered the training grounds. In contrast to the others, he wore an outfit with a slightly different color. It made him look much more important, and a lot wealthier, with the colors much more pronounced. There were a few rings on his fingers, and a small chain dangled from his neck.

He looked rich, there was no doubt about it. Even his longer brown hair was well kempt, with small metal rings holding keeping everything together. I had not expected a boy with such well done hair, but it’s not like it made him look any less manly. Undoubtedly did his age play a role in this too, which was probably even a little higher than that of my roommate.

Still despite his rather glamorous appearance, there was a certain presence he held. It was the way he stood, firmly and confidently, both hands at his side. Did he have fighting experience? Somehow he seemed dangerous, as if he could easily take me in a fight.

As my mind began to fantasize a loud voice suddenly brought me back into reality. It was the teacher.

“Ah, you must be the new girl, I completely forgot about you, apologies.”

Taking some sort of note on his clipboard, he eventually continued. His eyes were fixated on me, which made me a little nervous.

“You came here only yesterday, correct? Your outfit sits ready at the principals office. Please get if after school is finished for today.”

So I was supposed to get it after school. Well, it’s not like it mattered a whole lot. I nodded, making no attempts to escape the training grounds just yet. The teacher gave me a pleased nod, then turned his attention back towards the rest.

“All you that are gathered here today will, from this day moving forward, be part of our esteemed school. Here, you will be educated both in academic fields such as language and mathematics, but also on practical skills with the sword. I hope all of you are ready to give it your best, and strive to become the best version of yourself.”

“Easy work, looking at the people around here…”

With a hushed voice, the boy from earlier made his little remark. Not everyone heard, but the teacher and me definitely had ears good enough for even a voice as silent as his. He would have to be more careful with those in the future, and it seemed like he noticed.

It seemed my estimation was wrong, however. There was one more person that noticed his remark, one that had somehow escaped my view. With a wide grin on his face he slapped the rich-looking boy on the back. He then whispered something in his ear, but it was too quiet for me to understand.

The boy was, by all accounts, radiant in appearance. Being a little younger than the richie, he still had him beat in height and size. Below his admittedly not quite adult-looking face was a strong and toned body that somehow made my heart skip a beat.

He wore the same uniform as the other boys, but his sleeves were rolled up, as well as his top button being undone. While the others looked like students with their well maintained uniforms, this boy looked much more like a warrior. Not only did the outfit give off that expression, but also the sheer amount of muscle on his upper body. His sleeves outright stretched under the strain of his sizable biceps.

His short black hair slightly ruffled in the air, being just short enough to not fly into his eyes. On his face sat a few scars and bruises, and his right ear had a small cut in it. He had a bright smile on his face, giving his face a surprisingly pleasant look despite all the cuts. He held his body and chin upright, giving him the appearance of a leader.

By all accounts did this boy strike my attention. From all the people standing here he was the one that reminded me the most of myself, in a way. Well, despite the fact that he was obviously quite well off himself, in stern contrast to me. The sword at his waist especially looked quite expensive, shining nicely in the midday sun.

“How about you two let me finish before you make any more unnecessary remarks? We can talk about the details of how your schedule will be once we're done here.”

To my surprise it seemed like today was not going to be a normal school day. Instead we were instructed to grab a few chairs from a room in the school, which was apparently the big tower-like building. Not that I was too surprised by it, but it still struck me with awe that someone like me was allowed to learn in such a prestigious-looking place.

Right as the teacher gave us permission to leave, some one grabbed my arm from behind. Unsurprisingly, it was my roommate that had pulled it.

She had a weirdly excited look on her face. It was as if she was drooling, ever slightly so. Her head was pinkish red, and her hands were sweating, shaking slightly. All of it was very subtle, but you could really tell from up close.

“Have you seen him?! Oh god, he was so stunning!”

Her voice was shaking slightly. By all accounts, she was excited beyond belief. I did not quite understand about what exactly though, so I simply shrug my shoulders.

“W-what, you don’t know know what I’m talking about? Oh, that means you won’t be competitive about him then. Good! Yeah, good! Oh god, how is that even possible, though?”

She was speaking really fast now, almost yapping. While I still couldn’t follow her train of thought I was at the very least happy that she was so excited, her positivity downright entrancing me. Still, she gave me this look of disbelief. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Come on, you can’t be serious now, can you? How can you not fall for him, as a girl? The guy from earlier, you know, the boy with the nice hair and fancy clothes?”

Oh, so she meant the richie. I had sort of labeled him ‘richie’ in my mind already, but I guess he had a few good qualities about him. For one, I was sure he was going to be one of the top students here, and somehow I knew that he was a skilled swordsman already.

I couldn’t share my roommate’s enthusiasm about him though, so I simply shrugged again, which resulted in her almost flipping out in front of me. I already saw her eyes light up, that’s how close we were to disaster. Luckily we had reached the school gate already, so out attention quickly turned to that.

The entry hall was the same as it was last night, unsurprisingly. I hadn’t gotten a good luck at it back then, but it still held the same kind of grandeur it held then. Its ceiling was huge, its stairs as wide as an entire room and the chandelier hanging above looked about as fancy as can be. I was struck with awe, again.

It didn’t take us long to get the chairs. A nearby room was open, with many chairs sitting inside. Two of the boys, one of which being the not-so-rich-but-still-rich guy from earlier, stepped inside and handed the chairs out one by one.

As I saw them work I also saw the richie my roommate had just swarmed over standing nearby. He already had a chair next to him, on to which he leaned slightly. It was as if he was striking a pose, even though it seemed like he wasn’t exactly doing it on purpose.

He sure was pretty though, in both a masculine and pretty way. I could sort of see what she was talking about. Still, I really didn’t care about getting to know him too much yet. After all, he seemed like quite the character.

As I was thinking about it someone touched my shoulder. It was a younger girl, a little shorter than me. I had never seen her before, so I didn’t quite know how to react.

“Don’t keep him waiting, get your chair!”

I took a quick look around, noticing that I was somehow the only one without a chair in front of her. The strong looking boy faced me, a chair extended in my direction.

“No time to slack off yet. Here, your chair.”

His voice was a little deep. Oh, and he was tall, now that he stood in front of me. Not like the guard yesterday, but he had definitely grown to adult-height already. I was sure he was a little older as well, about the same as the richie most likely. Reluctantly I took the chair, not quite managing to get my eyes off of his face. Why was I feeling so hot anyways?

It didn’t take us long to get back out. On our way to the training grounds I met up with my roommate, who grinned at me with a bright smile on her face.

“I see, I see.”

I didn’t really know what she meant. How was it possible that I could barely read her? I could see her every movement, but when it came to her mind it felt like I was walking through a thick fog. It must have been because I had so little human interaction up until now, I was sure of it.

“So, is everyone back?”

The teacher had instructed us to sit down in a circle around him. I felt awkward, as if I was stared at from every angle. So much social interaction was a little too much for me yet.

Holding a wooden board in his hand, he began his speech. It was probably something he did for every new class, so he had it all written down on a piece of paper already.

“Before we can start off our regular school life, it is important that each and every one of us understands the school rules, as well as to how work run around here. I know some of you may be tired, but I will not tolerate any nodding off now, are we understood?”

Did students often times fall asleep during his lectures? This wasn’t exactly a good first sign. Even worse, was this part of what was written on his paper? Thinking about this being a regular occurrence, I couldn't help but chuckle at least a little.

“First, we start off with school rules. Basic human decency, friendliness, and helpfulness. Don’t run around naked, don’t insult each other and help those in need.”

I could hear a few chuckles from all around me. Did they find the ‘naked’ part really that funny? I didn’t have such bad humor, I was better than this. Well, at the very least I managed to stay quiet. My face told a different story, though.

“Secondly, and this is the most important part, so everyone listen up.”

All of a sudden the chuckling stopped. It was now dead silent and, looking around, I noticed a whole lot of serious faces. Whatever was coming now, it felt like the others were already warned about this.

“This village holds no name. Does anyone know why this is?”

Looking around for an answer, he quickly pointed his finger at the rich boy. I somehow already assumed that he was going to be the one to answer.

“This village lays at the border between Burha and Narka. As both nations gave this village different names in the past, it was decided to stay nameless to prevent conflict.”

“Very good, an excellent answer. The question now is, why do we even care about pleasing both nations?”

There were exactly two things I knew about the nearby nations: One was that my father had been from a different nation than the rest of my village, which resulted in quite a lot of trouble. So it was easy to assume there was some conflict between the nations, and by the sound of it he might have very well been from one of those two.

Secondly, when I visited the merchants village together with the man there was a mention of this ‘Narka’ region. I didn’t know back then, but it looks like it was actually a nation, not just another village. Putting things together, I could manage to find some sort of conclusion.

I must have hailed from the Burha region. The merchants fear of Narka back at the merchants village was reason enough to believe so. Someone with such fear would not venture into, for him, dangerous territory.

Additionally, if I really came from Burha, then my father must have been from Narka. ‘To prevent conflict’ sounded like the two nations weren't exactly on friendly terms, which would explain my villages sentiment towards my parents back then.

All of a sudden, my train of thought was interrupted by a loud noise. As I looked up, I suddenly saw a finger being pointed towards me.

“What did I say about paying attention? If you have time for a nap then surely you know the answer to my question.”

Having suddenly been called out startled me a little, but I quickly composed myself. Not much time had passed, so I was sure he was still at his old question: Why does this village need to please two nations? I couldn't think of a solution on the spot, so I went with gut instinct alone.

“The two nations are on bad terms with each other, right? So it would be stupid of us to displease either one, sitting in striking range of both.”

The teachers shoulders dropped at my answer, his once stern face falling flat. Had I said something wrong?

“E-excellent answer. I must say, I didn’t quite expect you to answer this well. You should be proud.”

A warm feeling washed over me, even though I felt like everyone was actively staring at me. I could live without all this fame, thank you all very much.

After a short break the teacher continued. It was rather amusing to see him try and keep his composure. Had I really taken him this much off guard? Wait, could it be that he simply hadn't expected me to be smart enough to answer that question? Thinking about it made me a little angry.

“Let’s continue. The last question I have for you is the following: As you might have noticed there are no guards or soldiers here. Can you tell me why that is?”

I didn’t quite understand. Had I not met by a guard at the gate just the day before?

It would seem I wasn’t the only one confused, as a lot of chatting and arguing followed the teachers' question. Just as the talking began to get irritatingly loud, the warrior-boy raised his hand. This simple gesture put a stop to the noise, which filled me with awe. It made my heart skip a beat. He was really cool.

“Teacher, many of us were greeted by a guard at the gate.”

The teacher, seemingly already prepared to answer that question, raised his chest. He seemed quite proud, as if what he was about to say was something extraordinary.

“Excellent observation. No, this person, whoever it was, was not a guard. It was a guild member.”

I remembered both the guard as well as the principal tell the man about some sort of guild. It was probably a big deal, with it being mentioned this much. I wondered if the man had joined it already, just as he had been suggested?

“We differ heavily from other villages in that regard. Most villages hold a few guards, or some sort of mercenary force. We do not have that, as people are, by their very nature, intrinsically drawn to their own nation. Instead, we have the guild.”

Taking a moment to let this information sink into our heads, he eventually continued.

“The guild is a neutral entity, entirely indifferent to the concept of nations and the like. It provides quests for warriors seeking work, as well as build a protective force for our village, should we get under attack. As such, we provide services for both nations while securing our own independence from them. Both people from Burha as well as Narka can work there, facing no repercussions for their heritage.”

There was a certain tension in the air. I could not quite read it, but I was sure that no one was about make a funny remark about any of his words. The matter seemed to affect everyone here dearly.

Suddenly the teacher turned around, looking everyone in the eyes, one after the other. As his eyes met mine I looked into a cold stare, one that wasn’t too different to that of the man that had trained me. There was some sort of aura emanating from him, not a visible one but one that was most definitely there. It was like a strong gust of wind pressing against your chest, but it didn't push you backwards. Had I not endured the stares of the man so many times before, I would most likely have reacted quite a bit differently.

The other students were, by any means, terrified. As I looked around I saw nothing but shaking bodies, people staring blankly at the ground beneath them. It was a horrific sight to behold, as if everyone here had suddenly seen some kind of ghost. Well, everyone besides one person, that was.

The warrior-boy stared straight at me, a wide grin on his face. He didn’t seem bothered, not terrified in the least. It was as if he was even one step ahead of me, as if he didn’t even feel that great pressure under his chest. For me it was difficult to change my face into a grin under all the pressure, but at the very least I didn’t tremble like the others.

I wondered what all this was, and why it hadn’t affected this body in particular. But just as I did so the pressure suddenly vanished from my chest, forcing a lot of air out of my lungs. In unison everyone started to cough, creating a feeling of powerlessness.

Through all the coughing and wheezing cut a strong and stern voice. It was that of the teacher, who held no sign of fun or joy in his voice.

“In this circle sit both people from Burha as well as Narka. Your parents may have brought you here in order to kill those around you. We are well aware of that. Learn, children, see what those around you have in common with you. I assure you, you will not find the same anger in your heart your parents and grandparents did, and still do.”

The air was sickeningly heavy. What once was a nice and joyful circle of students now felt like torture chamber, oppressive without end. Still, the stern voice of the teacher brought some solace, in a way.

“If you still feel like you will not be able to live together, take this opportunity and leave. No one will judge you, or be able to look up and identify you.”

An oppressive silence followed. Yet, as time went on, this silence became something of a joy. If no one stood up… did this mean no one held those hostile beliefs? Slowly but surely everyone looked up, a look of happiness on each and every face. Even the teacher flashed a smile.

“It is very rare that no one stands up after my speech. I am proud of you all. It is young people like you that both Burha as well as Narka need.”

A lot of chatting followed. Somehow it seemed to me that most people here expected a speech like this, almost as if they had been warned. It made me wonder about who they all were.

A different question occurred to me then. Were the two nations on such bad terms? Killing someone simply because of where they were born… it seemed so... unnecessary, even stupid. I could think of no reason for this, especially if the nations weren’t in active war with each other. Considering that a town like this, near the border, could even exist was a prime example for there being no war going on, right? If there really was war soldiers would have had this place surrounded already, I was sure of it.

The teacher didn’t stay for much longer after this. He told us where we would have to go the next day, and explained that we had to be careful around the dorms. It seemed my suspicion earlier had been correct, the dorms really were sorted into boys and girls. The girls had the left dorm, while the boys had to stay in the right one. They were apparently identical, something the teacher mentioned quite sternly.

“We do not accept dorm swaps, and visits are also not allowed. Some of you are at quite the precarious age, and we had a few… problematic issues in recent years because of it. Going near the other dorm puts you at risk of expulsion, so better just stay away from it.”

I had no intentions of going into the boys dorm anyways, but for some reason my roommate seemed quite let down by the news. Well, that was her problem so I didn’t meddle much with it. She hadn’t planned on sneaking there at night though, right? For some reason I thought myself better off not asking.

After his talk the teacher left, leaving us students sitting awkwardly in a circle.

Introductions

The atmosphere was awkward, to say the least. Yes, it was true that no one had stood up earlier, but the entire ordeal still left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. No matter whether you knew about all this beforehand or not, the mere thought of ‘someone might want to kill you’ made all of us feel uneasy.

It didn’t take long until a particular sound interrupted the oppressing silence. It was a sigh, one that was loud enough for everyone to hear. It seemed like it softened the atmosphere somewhat, after all it was quite apparent who it was that let out that sigh. I looked up from the ground, just to see a boy with long hair and expensive clothing standing in the middle of our little circle. It was the rich boy from earlier.

“I see everyone here is still under quite the shock from earlier. Let me call out everyone’s fear outright: you all are afraid of getting killed, correct?”

There was a special way in which he said that word. It was almost derogatory, as if he wanted to downplay the seriousness of the situation. While I understood mocking our senseless fears might be easy, I still couldn’t believe that he’d do so out of sheer fun. There must have been a reason for it, I couldn’t imagine him being so distasteful.

I looked around a little, seeing the angsty faces of those around me. They were like little kids looking up to their parents after they did something wrong. Only difference being that those ‘children’ were actually about my age or even older.

Yet as my eyes returned to the boy, I was met with a bright, almost manic smile. It was not directed at me, but I could still see it very clearly. Boasting his chest proudly, the boy spoke.

“Let me take the first step in establishing a healthy sense of community here. My name is Liriam Borothea, son to the esteemed Lord Borothea.”

Chatter began to break out, each and every person in this circle looking to their left and right, seeking confirmation for something. Their eyes were opened wide, as if full of surprise. It didn’t take long for my roommate to look at me the same way.

“Hey, you don’t think it’s that Borothea family, right?”

Looking at her with an awkward grin, I was lost for words.

Was I supposed to know this guy? I mean, he did look quite important, so it was no surprise to learn that he was famous. I really didn’t know anyone yet, and the man had never mentioned famous people during our practice sessions.

The puzzled look on my face was apparently enough to get my roommate quite worked up. Putting her hands on her waist, she looked at me with a mix of concern and disbelief in her eyes. Trying her best to stay quiet she silent-shouted at me.

“Have you been living under a rock or something? Borothea, Bo-ro-the-a. You know, the famous merchant family? No, scrap the merchant part, they are effectively nobility nowadays. This is a big deal! You should react to it like ‘Oh my god, how can I learn at the same place as someone like this!’ or something.”

My eyes turned back to the boy in question. I did not care much about the wealthy part of him, but still felt there was something special about him. Maybe I’d heard of him before? His name was Liriam, right? Hm…

All of a sudden, a thought entered my mind. Cold sweat dropped down my face as I tried to make sense of it.

“Liriam…”

I said his name out loud, in a hushed voice so only those close to me could hear. There was something about his name that suddenly turned my mind upside down. It made me think about something, a very normal thing for pretty much anyone, a very normal part of their everyday lives. Something I had completely forgotten about ever since my village burned down.

Names. When had I last asked someone for their name?

Thinking about it, it never really occurred to me how I’d completely forgotten about naming people. It was as if the concept of ‘names’ had vanished from my mind some time ago, leaving me with blank descriptions and broad categorizations.

Mother, Father… wait, what were their names again? How come I didn’t remember? Maybe it’s just been too long, that must be it.

Then again, had I ever asked the man for his name? Wasn’t that… at least a little worrying? How come I never once thought to do so?

He had always just been ‘the man’ to me. Not even once did I think of him in another way, except maybe ‘warrior’ or ‘teacher’. There was never really a reason to ask, it’s not like there were a whole lot of other men back at my village. Yet I wondered, if I never asked him about his name, did he ever…

“Hey, are you alright?”

Placing her hand on my shoulder, my roommate gave me a little nudge. It was enough to bring me back to my senses, my body twitching slightly in response. I looked over into the girl’s worrisome face, noticing that I hadn’t asked her her name yet as well.

“Hey, w-what is your name, if I can… ask?”

The girl looked at me with surprise in her eyes. Almost as if she had realized that she also forgot to ask for mine. There was some embarrassment I could see in her face, which had reddened a little in response.

“I-It’s Sara. I c-completely forgot to tell you, did I? H-Haha…”

Yup, she sure was embarrassed. I hadn’t seen her stumble over her words this much ever since last night, when she saw my scars.

All of a sudden there came a sensation over us. In an instant all sound vanished, leaving only the occasional ruffle of the wind. A weird tension hang in the air, and my chest felt like it would carve in ever so slightly. It was a similar feeling to that of the teacher earlier, as if I was being pushed back without my body actually moving. My finger tips were tingling slightly, and breathing became a little more difficult. In response to this my heart began to race, and anxiety washed over me.

As I looked forward I suddenly saw a second boy standing in the middle of the circle. It was the warrior-boy. He had a bright smile on his face, and was positively radiating with confidence. The students sitting around looked exhausted, anxious. The oppressing feeling in the air was enough to make everyone flinch, staring at their feet in terror.

It wasn’t as if this was the worst feeling I’d ever felt. There was no competition between this feeling and the stare of the man, for example. With him it felt like he’d looked right through me, as if he was on an entirely different level of existence than I was. The boy was similar to him in a way, but also different. I wondered if I even had a chance of beating him in a fight, should it come to it.

“Liriam Borothea, you say?”

He then spoke up. His tone was serious, almost unbefitting his age. Standing next to Liriam he looked massive, his shoulders wide and his arms big. It was obvious he was the physically fittest in the class, and the way he held himself left me with awe.

Liriam did not answer, instead staring into his eyes. He seemed weary, almost cautious. There was a sword at his hip that he always had his hand on, but right now I could swear he was gripping it. Was there going to be a fight?

Luckily the warrior-boy did not make any moves. Instead he held his gaze, speaking again with the same seriousness in his voice.

“The Borothea family holds great influence in Narka, most notably over the army. You family was essential in equipping them with armor and weaponry after the war, playing a big part of the after war killings Narka is so well known for nowadays.”

The air seemed even tighter all of a sudden. There was a small shake from Liriams hand, small enough for only a trained eye to notice. Yet it was there, and I was sure the warrior boy had sensed it too.

“You announce your name so openly, but I feel like not all of us here quite understand you final goal.”

A small grunt escaped from Liriams lips. The pressure was undoubtedly getting to him, his inability to respond proving it.

By now I was the only one that was still able to watch those two properly. The denseness of the air had increased substantially, and it wasn’t certain anymore whether it all came from the warrior boy or whether Liriam was contributing to it as well. After all he was still standing, and quite proudly so.

The air was so dense that breathing became difficult. It was as if one stood at the top of a mountain, with a heavy rock lying on one’s chest. People were not made to endure this for very long. Yet still, I managed to endure. As the last of the people still sitting down, I managed to look at those two, even if it took me quite a bit of effort just to sit upright.

After a while Liriam finally managed to open his mouth. The words first came out weak and shaky, but it didn’t take long for him to regain his pompous attitude.

“M-my name… Yes, my family was essential to Narka’s after war efforts. With a name like mine, I need only walk a few steps into Burha until I’ll find a bounty placed on my head. Ah!”

There was anger in voice, rage, and a sense of helplessness. The boy seemed conflicted, but at the same time determined. It was a beautiful thing to witness, really.

“For those sitting here, for those thinking about death and despair, I proclaim my family name with great pride! For if one was to be killed here it would be me, for if one was to be assassinated in their sleep it would be me! As I am heir to the name of Borothea, the great nobility that stands at the forefront of Narka’s after war efforts!”

As more and more words had come out of his mouth his voice began to gain volume. At the end it was more of a shout than anything else, his voice echoing though the training grounds and into the streets around us. The silence that laid in the air carried his voice wide, spreading its message around like a wildfire. Undoubtedly did it reach the outer village as well, making its way through its streets and opened windows.

The warrior-boy seemed pleased, his face filled with great joy. Bowing deeply, he held his hand at his chest. It was almost military, the way he moved and held himself.

“My name is Kura Ghandiere, son of Bora Ghandiere, a war general of the Burha army. The Narkan royalty had placed a bounty on my head every since I was a little boy, seeking to end my bloodline once and for all.”

The air had lifted significantly in an instant. Coughing and wheezing followed, the students around us trying to catch their breath. The oppressive push against my chest faded, as did my anxiety. I wondered what this meant, what this actually was. Was is some kind of ability you got as you got stronger as a warrior? It seemed… so fantastical.

But none of that mattered right now. What I saw happening right in front of my eyes… it was monumental.

“Kura, yes, I heard of you. Many times before was I warned of you, and many times did I hear of attempts to eradicate your family line.”

“Funny thing you say. It wasn’t much different on my end, with my father always adamant to end your life and that of your father.”

Their words spoke of death and destruction, assassination and killings. Yet the two of them seemed friendly. On their faces laid big smiles, and their eyes radiated with content. It was hard to believe they were enemies, the way they looked at each other. If I hadn’t known about the things they just said, I would have assumed that they were friends.

All of a sudden Liriam extended his hand towards Kura, the warrior boy.

“What say you, shall we end this senseless fighting? I much prefer the sound of birds and the smell of fresh roses to that of steel and blood.”

Next came Kura, who grabbed his hand tightly.

“It was our parents that waged war against each other, so it shall be on us to bring back peace. They say this place is a safe haven for citizens of both nations, so let us uphold its good reputation.”

I was so entranced in what I was seeing that I almost shut off the entire world around me. Those two seemed grand, as if I could never hope to reach their greatness. Yet still, I couldn’t help but wish to get closer to them.

All of a sudden someone was ripping on my arm. Like a kid trying to get their parents attention, Sara was trying to get me to look at her. With my eyes glued to the boys in front of me there, however, she needed to shake me quite a bit until I eventually looked over.

The girl looked pale. No doubt did the oppressive feeling on her chest take a toll on her, especially with how difficult it became to breathe. It wasn’t impossible to resist, even without training, but still It wasn’t exactly easy to breathe in properly with your chest compressed like that.

“H-how come you look so unaffected? We’re all sweating like crazy here, and you just sit there like it’s nothing! I-I know those two there are, like, really hot but…”

I was wondering the same, actually. The first part what she said, at least.

It wasn’t that I was the only one here that looked like they’d held a sword in their hand before, after all. There were those two boys, yes, but there were other students here that had honed bodies as well. One girl even already had a wooden sword at her side, which she had probably used in the past to train.

Still, as I looked over to that girl I saw her struggling to catch her breath. She was hinged over, spit drooping from her lips. She wasn’t unconscious by any means, but it was obvious her mind hadn’t yet completely taken hold of her body again.

I realized that my thoughts wouldn’t get me any further. Wondering about this, no matter how many times, wouldn’t get me any closer to the truth. Maybe I could ask one of the boys later, or the man if I saw him. It could very well be that the teacher would tell us about it later too, after all he had used the same kind of ability as those two.

Kura, Liriam, Sara. For now I would need to remember those names first. It was rather easy, fortunately, as I was already thinking about them with their names in mind. Still, it was awkward knowing that it hadn’t even occurred to me in so long that names were even a thing. It made me wonder…

The two boys had now started going around to the other students, trying to wake those that were struggling to keep awake. It was a funny sight to behold, almost as if they were trying to wake them up from a small nap.

“H-hey.”

Sara’s whisper reached my ears. Her voice was hushed, silent enough that even I was barely able to understand her. With her hands on her lap she pointed forwards, towards Liriam, who was trying to shake some boy’s mind back into reality.

“A-are you still sure you’re not into him? L-like, not at all?”

This was the second time she asked now. Not knowing what to make of all this I simply shook my head, which resulted in a nice large smile on Sara’s face. Her mind really was a mystery to me. The others were trying to make sense of all that had happened, while this girl was here, staring at a boy with passionate eyes.

After most students had sort of found themselves awake again, Kura stepped back into the midst of the ring. He looked like a leader, speaking to his subordinates.

“Alright, everyone. First of all, I want to apologize for the hell I have put you all through. This ability is one warriors learn as they mature, and I did not factor in how far I was in my journey already. Really, I am sorry.”

His words were really nice. It didn’t look like anyone took any offense to it too, which surprised me a little. I mean, he had effectively launched an attack of sorts, so should you not get at least a little agitated? Still, it wasn’t as if I was complaining. Maybe he was what we all strove to be, after all. A warrior that can keep the peace, that can command the masses. It seemed almost fantastical, such a thought.

After a short delay, he spoke again.

“Thank you, everyone. I do hope we can all get along with each other. Both me and Liriam hold great value in this peace we have here, and we are proud of it. I hope we can all hold on to what we have here, by living with people we’d never get to meet were we to still live in our respective nations. We can hold pride in our heritage, but it should never be a cause for conflict. Please, everyone, find it in your hearts to always stay true to this belief.”

Some chatting broke out, with people discussing what they had just heard. It was effectively the same thing that the teacher had tried to bring across earlier, but it seemed to matter more when a student said it.

“Soooo, you’re into him?”

Well, everyone except one girl were talking about it. As it seemed Sara was thinking of a few other things instead.

I simply shook my head, disappointed in her unseriousness. She probably understood the tensions between the nations much more than I did, yet still she couldn’t get her mind to focus on what was important.

What was even worse still was that it seemed like she took my head shake as some sort of response, pondering about what to seemingly ask me afterwards. I was really wondering if I was going to keep getting along with her so well, after all I was planning on taking this whole school thing quite seriously.

After the chatting between the students had ended Kura spoke up again. This time seemed to be the last, somehow.

“Next, before we all go out separate ways, I think we should all introduce ourselves. Why don’t you there start by telling us your name, and a few little about yourself.”

He had pointed to some guy sitting a few chairs to my right, who in response shot up and bowed. It was awkward really, but I liked the energy he had. It seemed that everyone had calmed down considerably, most even looked cheerful.

And just like that one after the other said their name. To my demise I had tried to remember the name of the first boy, but then the next person already said their name. Trying to remember hers I forgot how the boy was called, and with that missed about five more introductions.

In the end I didn’t catch as much as a single name. I exhaled, believing I’d just have to call them by their features again. This one would be glasses boy, this the wooden-sword-girl, this one is the short girl… it would be a pain, I already knew.

All of a sudden all eyes were on me. Wait, was it my turn now?

Kura, who still stood in the middle of the circle, looked me up and down. His gaze was similar to that of the man, which made him quite endearing. It was cold and stern, but I liked it.

Suddenly I felt finger shoved into my side.

“Come on, tell us your name!”

Sara was looking at me with bright eyes. Ah, yes, I never got to telling her my name.

“H-Hello everyone, my name is…”

Hold on. Hold on hold on. What was my name? Had I…

All of a sudden all the eyes fixated on me seemed to stare right through me. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and I began to sweat. I was mortified.

“Hey, don’t tell me you have stage fright or something.”

I wish she would have been a little quieter when saying things like that. No, I obviously wasn’t just a little afraid! I forgot my own name! Goddamn, how could this happen? Who even forgets their own name? This was problematic, I’d give off the wrong impression right at the start.

Just as my silence was about to turn awkward, Kura chimed in. His finger was at his chin, and he was looking straight at me. Somehow Liriam was also standing next to him now, I hadn’t even noticed him approach.

“Tell me, girl. I saw you resist the teachers gaze, did you not? You sat there like nothing had happened.”

Was this supposed to be a question? Well, it was better than continuing this awkward silence. Maybe he would get me out of this awkward dilemma somehow.

“I did feel a strong push against my chest… But I didn’t react as much as the others, yeah.”

“Hm, and just now, when Liriam and I spoke, how did it feel then?”

“Well, similar, but maybe a little weaker. It was more difficult to breathe, but that was about it.”

Both Kura and Liriam eyed me suspiciously, as if I was some sort of difficult thing to comprehend. This time it was Liriam that spoke up.

“People cannot resist these things on pure instinct. You must have trained with a strong warrior in the past if you have no concept of what it was, or what it represents. Hm, say, did you perhaps take this warrior with you?”

I assumed they must be talking about the man. True, none of them had seen him yet. The only one that knew anything about him was Sara, and she had a very twisted image of him. I hoped those two would see him in a brighter light.

“Y-yeah, he said he’s going to the guild for work. I-I’m sure you’ll see him soon.”

The two of them seemed a little concerned, to say the least. Still, after a short while their frowns turned into little smiles, and with it their voices turned soft and nice.

“Well, that’s alright. Nice to have you in our class.”

“Yes, I am we sure we can learn much from you, and you from us.”

And just like that they turned their eyes to Sara, who seemed just as surprised as I was. It didn’t take her long to compose herself, however. He voice was soft and professional, almost similar to that of Liriam, if maybe a little more shaky.

“My name is Sara. I am sorry, for personal reasons I do not hold a family name, so you can all just call me Sara. I traveled here with my sister, who is currently working as a warrior at the guild. She’s pretty good, so I’m sure we’ll all hear of her achievements soon enough.”

She seemed really proud of that sister of hers. Her eyes were positively sparking as she talked about her. It was a cute thing to witness, and I was sure her endearing nature instantly resonated with the rest of class. In contrast to me, who didn’t get to say anything about herself at all, she seems mysterious, friendly and focused on family. There was no doubt she was going to be popular.

A few more people introduced themselves, but I was too occupied with my own thoughts to listen to them talk. In retrospect it was quite rude of me, but it’s not like I was just senselessly drifting off.

After that everyone stood up, taking their chairs with them. Me and Sara followed, who on the way to the school told me a great deal of things. To her demise, however, I was still struggling with my own thoughts, and was just nodding along to what she said, not really listening.

We all put back our chairs in the same room as before. More people were helping out now, so it went much smoother than last time. I was just about to head out when Sara suddenly stopped me.

“Say, you still need your uniform, right? The principals office is nearby, you could just get it now, now that you’re here.”

I nodded, ready to go back to the office I went to last night. To my surprise Sara was not following me, but maybe she just wanted to watch Liriam a bit more. I hoped her enthusiasm would go down as time passed, but there was really no way to know for sure.

After climbing the stairs and turning towards the corridor I finally found myself in front of the principals office once more. I knocked, then went inside.

Trouble At The Training Grounds

It didn't take me very long to grab my new outfit. The principal had readied a small room for me to change in, so I was already wearing it on my way down the stairs. It looked exactly like the uniform the others were wearing, which was nice. Its blue-blackish color looked professional, and it was light and lofty enough to move in. In other words, it stroke a good balance for both academic and sporty use.

As for my old clothes, I had left them in a small basket that stood next to the principals office. I was sure he wouldn't mind, and that I could just take them with me later. Together with said outfit, the principal also gave me a wooden sword.

It laid well in the hand, being much shorter and lighter than the sword I usually carried. I was unsure as to what to make of the thing. On one hand, it made it perfectly obvious that I would learn swordsmanship here, which was good. But the thing felt more like a toy than something used for combat, and I feared that it would dull my senses. I did not expect to fight with the same intensity here as I did with the man back at the village, but I had expected a little more than such a small sword.

Still, it would probably be a good idea to train with something a little lighter. The man often times commented on my fathers sword being too big and heavy to me, even after having grown a substantial amount of muscle. Considering that I didn't yet know how much I'd grow in the following months, I convinced myself that a shorter sword was at the very least good for practice, if nothing else.

As I walked down the stairs towards the training ground, the door suddenly swung open violently. Inside came Sara, seemingly looking for something, or someone. She was agitated, to say the least.

“A-ah! There you are! T-the ceremony isn't over yet, apparently, so you'd better hurry. There is quite some… commotion, and I don't know what to do…”

Increasing my speed, I jogged over to her. There was no reason to keep her waiting, after all. I couldn’t say I wasn’t at least a little curious as to what she meant.

“Oh, nice fit by the way. You look great in that outfit. Hm, but maybe it’ll be a little too small in a few months.”

“H-huh?”

A weird sound escaped my lips, one I hadn't made in quite some time. It wasn't my fault though, saying something like that was was embarrassing, after all! Like I’d grow fat or something.

With some reluctance, I managed to get a barely audible 'thank you' out, one that was so silent in fact that the girl in front of me simply responded with a confused 'huh?' in return. I shook my head, trying to get the embarrassment out of it. We left the house, and like that already saw the commotion that was happening at the training grounds.

“Are you incapable of speech, or what? I asked you a question!”

As I looked towards the training grounds I found it to be full of many new people. All of them were adults in one way or another, ranging widely in age and size. The one who just spoke was one of them, a rather large man wearing a fancy coat together with a hat made out of colors I had never seen before. His whole appearance screamed 'expensive', being overly fancy in every possible aspect. Compared to him even Liriam looked poor, in a way. In fact, Liriam was standing right next to the man, which made it even more apparent. Even from this distance I could see that he was quite embarrassed, though.

The fancily clothed man was pointing his finger at someone, making an annoyed face. He seemed rather agitated, which didn't match much with the clothes he was wearing. I couldn't help but think of all the ways one could trip on such a long coat, it was definitely not suited for fighting, that's for sure. If whoever he was shouting at would lash out at him there was nigh a chance of him properly evading that attack.

As I panned the area more, I spotted even more adults. Almost all of them stood together with one of the kids from earlier, making it look like some kind of parent meetup. Yet, some of them definitely looked too young to be a parent, more like elder brothers and sisters. One of those exceptions was a young woman, and she was coming straight at us.

“There you are. Oh, is this your new roommate you were telling me about?”

“Yes! She was just grabbing her outfit.”

The woman couldn't have been that much older than Sara, definitely too young to be her parent. She must have been a little kid when Sara was born, judging from her appearance. There was a certain similarity in the way their faces looked, which made it obvious to me that they were sisters.

Almost immediately she stroke me as a warrior, with the way her long black hair was held back from falling into her face, as well as her mildly muscular appearance. She was wearing leather armor from top to bottom, with a sword at her waist. Somehow she didn't seem to be freezing, despite her rather short clothing, considering the cold. Still, if it came to a fight, she would have the advantage in term of maneuverability. She even wore gloves, so the cold couldn't come to her fingers all too easily. In essence, she only covered the parts which were necessary to properly keep warm.

“Hey, I'm Ellen, your roommate's big sister. Who are you?”

With a warm smile on her face, she extended her hand towards me. She was only a little taller than me, but I still felt small in her wake. The way she moved, she presented herself… it was obvious that she was a seasoned warrior, and that she could take me in a fight any day. I told myself to stay on her good side, even though there was no reason for me not to. Without properly looking her in the eyes I extended my own arm and shook her hand.

“Hm. Your hand, you do not grip like girls your age do. Yours is much firmer and stronger. I can also see quite a few callouses and cuts too, like on a real swordswoman.”

It felt like she was looking straight through me, noticing every small weakness and insecurity inside. Kura had looked at me in a similar way just a moment ago, but her gaze was much stronger. Behind those kind eyes and wonderful smile were the senses of a seasoned warrior. She was entrancing in both a beautiful as well as mighty way. In a way she really reminded me of the man, which only made her more captivating.

My train of thought was interrupted by a loud noise. It was the man from earlier, still shouting. He seemed enraged, judging from his tone of voice alone.

“Who are you with anyways? If you won't say a word, you shall leave these grounds immediately. There is no place for people like you here!”

I never really registered who it was the guy was shouting t before, so I turned around to look. My eyes went wide as I saw who it was.

It was the man, the one that took me here, standing in the middle of the field, the tip of a sword only a short distance away from his neck. The scene must have unfolded rapidly while I was distracted, as all the other adults had already taken a step back.

There was the royal man, his finger pointing straight at the man. His face was red, and he was fuming. In front of him stood another man, one in chain mail armor. He had raised his sword, threatening the man with pure hatred in his eyes. I immediately sprung into action.

“H-hey, get your sword away from him!”

I jumped forward, ready to push the guy away. The man I knew could be unpredictable, and I was afraid that he might try something stupid. I wasn’t fearing for his life, but still wanted to prevent a conflict. Yet before I could get there a loud voice brought my body to a stop, one that came from the man in chain mail armor.

“Silence.”

His voice was deep, sending shivers down my spine. It was the same feeling Kura and the teacher had given off, but the sheer malice in his words made it even more terrifying. In an instant all air forced itself out of my body, making me almost fall over in response. For just a second, I stopped my pursuit, stumping headfirst over my own feet. As I looked forward, I saw the guy retreat his sword from the man, and turned it towards me.

Was he about to strike me with it? I had just charged him blindly, not anticipating much in return. But if he were to strike down from that position, I would surely…

Then came a loud bang. No, 'bang' would be the incorrect word to use here. It was more like a loud thud, one that sent chills down ones spine. In a split second, the man had rushed the armored guy himself, delivering a straight punch to his jaw. With his other hand he grabbed his sword, pulling it out of his hand with great force.

Just a second later, the armored guy regained his senses. He stomped the ground, taking a wide stance to stop himself from falling backwards. There was blood coming out of his mouth, and pure anger was written all over his face.

“Don’t raise your sword again.”

It was the man who spoke. Not wasting a single second, he threw the blade back towards the armored guy. It landed right next to him, its heavy blade sinking into the ground below.

“You dare disrespect a man of my standing?”

The sheer rage in this man's eyes was enough to make anyone flinch. This was not just anger, it was a mixture of many different emotions convulsing in one, resulting in the terrifying sight in front of my eyes. After ripping his blade out of the ground, he exhaled once. I wondered if he was trying to calm himself and stop this madness for a second, but I was mistaken.

With a loud roar he stormed the man, holding his sword close to his chest. It was a thrusting attack, not one anyone would use in a spar, or a simple duel. Even with wooden swords an attack like that would be incredibly dangerous, being able to inflict heavy damage on the body from the blunt force alone. But those were real swords, and with the might and speed this guy was attacking with, it was obvious what his intention was. This was an attack meant to kill.

I might have missed what had happened here before, but I was certain that nothing could have been bad enough to warrant such an attack. He was attacking the man with the intent to kill, unprovoked and without good reason. Was this what the teacher had warned us of, why he asked us whether we wanted to kill each other? Was this the murderous intent he spoke of?

I couldn't step in to stop it. The guy was menacing beyond believe, from his voice to his body to his sheer anger. I simply stood there, afraid of what might happen.

He was only a short distance away from the man when it happened. In what seemed like lightning speed, the man unsheathed his sword. Using only one hand, he struck the blade of his attacker, resulting in a loud clashing sound. Using his body as leverage, he managed to change the direction of the attack, making it miss by a short distance. His attacker, however, had used a lot of momentum to carry out this attack, and as such wasn’t able to interrupt his dash. The man used that opportunity, kicking the armored guy in the leg with great force. There was an audible crack, like that of bones breaking, and after that a loud thud. The armored guy fell to the ground, with the man standing over him.

“F-fuck, my leg!”

He was grabbing his leg, crying out in pain. It would seem his bones had really broken, with only his long pants concealing the damage. Still, there was a spot of blood visible for all to see.

The man went over to his now defeated attacker and knelt down. Grabbing him by the hair, he lowered his head and spoke. It was loud enough even for a bystander to understand.

“How pathetic. There will not be a next time.”

The man was utterly terrifying. In fact, he was much worse than the armored guy in that regard, even before his defeat. The malice in his words felt real, they held real weight. One didn't have to be a warrior to understand his intentions. Even an infant who couldn't speak yet would understand it. That's how terrifying it was to see him.

Letting go of the armored man's head, he stood back up. The guy laid on the ground, defeated unable to move anymore. In fact, he wasn't even crying out in pain anymore. I wondered whether he had passed out, but I couldn't see his face.

“W-what is the meaning of this?”

The man who spoke up was the wealthy one with the fancy clothes. He was sweating, looking visibly afraid. Had he known the attacker? They had stood next to each other, so it was very well possible.

My heart raced at an unimaginable speed. The man might have reflected that attack, but barely so. Was he hurt? He was the kind of person to not show his wounds to anyone, so I had to run over and check.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

My voice was weak and frail, afraid of what I might see. I didn't want people to blindly attack the one person that had been with me these past months, especially not like this. He was a seasoned warrior, and one I did not expect to lose in a duel, yet still my mind was filled with fear and anxiety.

The man looked over to me, his face stern as always, as if nothing had happened. If anything, he looked calm. Suddenly a small smile appeared on his face, which took me quite off guard. He extended his arm, and stroke my hair. He did not say a word, but I was happy regardless. There was not a spot of blood on him anywhere as far as I could see, so I assumed he wasn't hurt.

“So you are not alone. Could have said so from the start, you… ugh.”

The royal man was still annoyed, but seemed to have calmed down somewhat. Was it defeat in his eyes, or simply a matter he didn't want to pursue any further? I was unsure.

Still, he seemed annoyed. Turning back around again, I could see him raise his finger again.

“Listen, we get that he attacked you and all that, but you really didn't have to go that far. I demand you pay for his recovery, oh, and in full.”

There were still two guys standing behind him. They were a little smaller than the armored guy, but still looked impressive physique-wise. Both of them held a sword in hand, looking at the man with hatred in their eyes.

Yet the man stayed calm. Standing next to him I sensed no anxiety, not even a hint of nervousness. If I were to be put on the spot like him my body would surely shake like crazy, but he was much different. With a calm and collected voice he spoke to the rich man.

“The moment he spotted the girl his eyes couldn't stop but glance over to her. Not a second did he hesitate to attack her, not one bit did he attempt to soften his blow. I have no respect for people like him, attacking students like that. You should be ashamed to employ him.”

The response to his words was essentially an angry growl. The two swordsmen that had stood behind were now standing in front, staring at the man like rabid dogs. The royal man looked furious as well, his face a hellish color of red.

Why had I left my sword at the dorm? The wooden toy I held was barely worth more than my fists in a fight, and against opponents like those they were absolutely useless. I wanted to fight, wanted to help the man, but I didn't know how. All I could do was to stay back, trying my best to stay out of his way.

Suddenly, as I was starting to fear another attack, a different man stepped forth. He wore a bright smile, and was clad in a mixture of iron and leather armor from neck to toe. His sword he wore on his back instead of his side, and, by all accounts, it looked massive. If he had attached it to his hip, it would surely scrape the ground, that’s how huge it was.

In a moment he unsheathed it, placing it on his shoulder. His movements were smooth and elegant, undoubtedly trained to a high degree. The sheer fact that he was able to wield such a massive weapon without problem, and with only one arm, left me with awe.

Somehow, he seemed friendlier than the others, even though his actions and looks didn't quite portray him like that. His face was filled with scars, as were his hands and arms. It looked like a wild beast had slashed him again and again, yet still he survived. On his head was barely any hair, just enough so one would not call him bald. In every sense of the word, this man embodied what one would imagine a stereotypical warrior would look like.

“How about we don't play dirty here, Lord Borothea? Let me take the lead, and keep your lackeys to yourself.”

There was a certain heroicness in his voice. Not only did he look a leader, he also had the appearance of one. If he came up to me in casual clothing and said to me 'I am the general of this town' I would not doubt him for even a second.

“Huh? And who are you supposed to be?”

In what felt like a split second the warrior raised his sword, swinging it down violently. Just as the blade was about to hit the ground he stopped however, not even cutting the grass below. It was an impressive feat of strength.

“My name is Tyran. I am the guild leader, and by title most powerful warrior in this town. My duty here is to keep peace, which the few of you seem to want to disturb.”

With the click of his tongue the rich man turned around, and with him the two warriors at his side.

I couldn’t help but notice that Liriam was closeby. This Tyran guy… he called the rich man ‘Lord Borothea’, did he not? It made me wonder… was he Liriams father, the man that was so influential to Narka’s economy and war efforts? After the speech Liriam had held just a moment ago I assumed that I’d never see the guy, after all there were people in this nation that wanted to kill him.

Despite his horrible manners, it could very well be that he simply wanted to see his child off to school. I wondered if that was the case, it would make him at least a little more likable.

It was Tyran, the guild leader, that spoke up again.

“Now to you. The guild receptionist told me of a man that wanted to join just last night. The description she gave me suits you to a T.”

All of a sudden I felt the man’s hand on my shoulder. He bent down, whispering directly into my ears.

“Stay back, and take a good look. See this as your first exercise, in a way. The moves you will see now will be ones you will learn here, so pay close attention.”

Huh? Wait, I think I must have misheard. It almost sounded like he wanted to fight this Tyran guy? How, and why? His opponent held a sword about twice the size of his, and he was a lot more muscular. Yes, I knew the man was powerful, but compared the leader of a guild he was surely going to lose.

“Do you have a name? You didn’t give one last night.”

The man did not answer the warriors question. Instead, he drew his blade slowly, almost in a derogatory way. As he did the people standing around the plaza began to panic, many rushing to get as far out of the way as possible.

“Not one for words? No matter, we even take people like you here. If you wish to prove your strength and resolve with the sword, so be it. But be warned: if there is anyone here that people would consider the strongest it would be me. And don't take that as selfish praise, I mean what I say.”

“I would believe you even without the use of words. The way you look, stand, and hold your sword is enough to tell me all I need to know about you. Still, I need to know one thing.”

“Tell me.”

Suddenly, I found myself pulled back. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Ellen, the sister of my roommate, looking at me with worry in her eyes. Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

“You need to stop this madness. Tyran is a man of great conviction, and he didn't take himself lightly when he said he was the strongest. Your father might be a great fighter, but no one has a chance against Tyran.”

“H-he is not my father!”

Somehow, this was the thing that stood out to me the most. By the time I realized my mistake it had already been too late.

“Let me be clear beforehand. You seek a duel?”

“Duel, spar, call it whatever you like. I want us to fight with our swords tightly sheathed, instead of our real blades. That must be no problem to warrior like you, does it?”

The grip on my shoulders suddenly tightened. As I grabbed her arm, she suddenly let go.

“H-he made a mistake… Fighting with only blunt weapons will be the death of him…”

Standing up quickly, the girl rushed right in between the two men. My inability to do something must have forced her to act, which made me a little embarrassed.

She looked tiny compared to those two. It was a crazy sight to behold, as I was certain that she was an excellent warrior herself. Maybe it was just her stature and height, but there was no real way to know for sure.

Still, the tension that hung in the air was incredibly dense. For her to stand in between the two of them, and so valiantly at that… It was prove of how brave she was.

“Tyran, stop this! You needn't go so far!”

She rushed over towards the warrior, now only a short distance away from him. With concern in her voice, she pleaded him to stop the duel from taking place. But he did not seem to listen, instead focusing intently on the man in front of him.

“Hey, girl.”

It was the man, speaking to me. His back was turned, but I immediately knew he was talking to me. I would take offense to him calling any other girl ‘girl’ anyways, so that was that.

“When there are two enemies in front of you, your chances of winning decrease substantially. Even if one of them is inexperienced, it will still take double the effort to defeat even just one of them. In most cases, you should run from such a fight. But in case you ever find yourself in an inescapable situation, remember this day, and what you witnessed.”

The man then took a stance, making both Tyran and Ellen step back in surprise. I, too, wondered: will he really make the first move? Will he really make an enemy of Ellen as well? I simply couldn’t see the man against the both of them, and got scared.

With incredible speed, the man rushed the two of them. Clank, clank. Two hits on the sword of the warrior. If his sword wasn't as massive as it was he would surely have been hit already, but the sheer weight of the blade and his incredible strength resisted the attack. Clank. A third hit, this time on Ellen. She parried just in time, having unsheathed her sword just in time. Wasn’t this duel supposed to be held with the blades in their sheath?

With a quick evasive manoeuver, the man managed to dodge an incoming attack from Tyran’s blade. On his way down he grabbed some dirt, throwing it upwards. It was a technique I often used, which almost made me jump up from joy. In a way it made me forget about my worries, if only for a second.

Disoriented, the warrior stepped back, trying to get the dirt out of his eyes. As he did, the man tried using the opportunity to land a strike. But, just a second before his hit landed, it was parried by Ellen. Using all her might, she managed to push him back just enough to get some space between them. In sheer strength she was no match for the man, but it was apparent that she knew how to deal with such situations. She offset her weakness with technique.

Clank, clank, clank, clank. In an incredible speed, the two of them faced off against each other. Their swords collided, again and again, until finally the man managed to hit her on the shoulder. In contrast to hers though, his sword was sheathed, and as such didn’t cut her. In a sort of reflex, the woman jumped back. She fell to her knees, holding her shoulder in pain. I knew how it felt, to be hit by a blunt attack coming from him. It hurt like crazy. Still, I was sure that he didn’t use full force, after all he never did with me either.

Just as the man wan wound up to deliver a devastating blow, Tyran managed to get his composure back. With a big swing from top to bottom, he cleaved the air right in two. The blade struck the dirt at an astonishing speed, creating a 'whoosh' sound that made my skin crawl. Luckily, the man had managed to avoid that attack just in time by jumping backwards.

Now it was two versus one again, and the man had lost his element of surprise. Both of his enemies stood ready, sword in hand. By now, it was only his sword that was still unsheathed, with his opponents both having drawn their blades, both of which shining brightly in the afternoon sun. My body trembled in fear. Please, don’t let them land a hit.

“Wow, your guy really is strong. He can even compare to sister!”

Sara suddenly came over to me, talking all excitedly. To her, it all seemed like a game of sorts. After all, her sister was not at the mercy of a drawn blade like the man was. There wasn’t a whole lot she had to fear.

Still, I couldn’t let that stand. Boasting my chest with pride I spoke up.

“As far as I saw it he even beat her.”

“Hey, that was a one off thing! Next time he'll lose, trust me.”

She held a confidence that was almost laughable. It was obvious she had no idea what she was talking about, instead simply cheering on her sister as if this was nothing but sport. Still, it was nice that she eased the tension in the air somewhat.

I decided to keep my mouth shut. It was clear to me that I was filled with anxiety, and I didn’t want to sour my relationship with Sara by saying something stupid.

Tyran then started his next attack. Running forwards with his blade at his side, he closed the distance between him and the man in no time. Ellen was not far off either, running just behind him. Without saying a word, the two of them had created a team with one goal in mind: Defeat the man.

The warrior swung his sword, still quite a distance away from the man. It was the size of his sword that made it possible, giving him an incredible range advantage. The man, however, simply jumped back, not faced by the attack whatsoever. As I started to breathe out, happy that the attack missed him, I suddenly saw something astonishing.

It was Ellen. From behind, she jumped over the warriors shoulder, landing right on the edge of his sword. With one foot she dashed forward, ready to deliver a devastating blow to the man. She flew at a high speed, and it was obvious that the man could not dodge the attack.

There was a smile on his face when it happened. A smile so devious one would believe it was the one of the devil itself. In the split second after, the match was over.

He had let go of his sword, instead balling his hand into a fist. He went into the attack head on, ready to face the blade with all he had. As the tip closed in on him he suddenly moved to the side, barely escaping it. Instead, his fist reached the woman's chest. With a loud bang, she flew backwards, ramming right into Tyran, toppling him over. The sound was more that of an explosion than that of a punch, making the entire ordeal seem unreal.

How was the man able to move that fast? I was sure that blade was impossible to dodge. And while we were at it, what was with that punch? It stopped her body in midair, throwing her backwards with insane speed. This was either some complicated technique or the man somehow held inhuman strength.

Just as Tyran was trying to stand back up he was stopped by the man. Relieved of his sword, he simply laid there, powerless and at the mercy of the victor. Ellen was lying on top of him, being in a similarly poor position to fight.

“Well, I guess this must be enough then. Surely, I have proven my worth enough with this?”

Extending a helping hand, the man helped both of them up to their feet. Despite the serious situation from before, the three seemed to be on surprisingly good terms.

“Ugh, yeah. Even though you didn't have to prove yourself. A simple name would have been enough. Not that that is needed now anymore.”

“You are crazy strong to not only have defeated Tyran, but the two of us at the same time. And that after your little speech.”

The man did not answer them, instead turning around and walking over to me. Just as he started walking I felt something cling on to my arm: my roommate.

“H-h-h-he defeated sister. I'm scared, safe me!”

She was shivering, and it didn't seem like she was faking it. I did not mind though, simply seeing this as a token of the man's victory. Somehow it filled me with pride, knowing I had someone this strong that trained me.

After a short while everyone returned to their original positions. I stood besides the man, who was in turn standing next to my roommate who was standing next to her sister and so on. There was still some unrest between the royal man and his subordinates, but besides that everyone had calmed down somewhat. It was then that the teacher made his appearance, seemingly having come out of nowhere. Where had he been this entire time anyways?

“Well, now that that is settled I suppose there will be no more problems between the families here. Please, for the sake of everyone involved with this school, refrain from such activities in the future. We do not want to give the students the wrong image about swordsmanship. And remember: The concept of nation and heritage does not belong here.”

Such activities? Was that all he was going to say about it? I was about brimming with anger, ready to lash out at the teacher at any moment. They used real swords just now, this should me much bigger of a deal than he made it out to be! But I had the man next to me, and did not want to disappoint him, so I decided against speaking up.

As it seemed the day was about saying goodbye to your parents and properly entering into school yourself. As all students were supposed to be living at the dorm together there was no need for parents or older siblings to be here.

The only person that really made a fuzz was Liriam’s father. As it turned out he really was ‘Lord Borothea’, the merchant that held great influence in the land of Narka. He was… quite the character, even after the feud with the man. The amount of self centered shit that surrounded him was quite funny to look at though, and it was readily apparent that Liriam was not about to become someone like him. I did not expect him to be quite as eccentric as his father, which I was really happy about.

There was very little me and the man said, but we still managed to navigate through. After what he’d just done none dared to asked us for our names, so I didn’t even manage to manage to ask him for his. It was a shame, as I really felt like I’d slowly started getting the hang of remembering names again.

As the sun was about to set the teacher gave us a short overview of what to expect tomorrow, then dismissed the class for the day. Without saying much of anything the man left, simply wishing me good luck on my next day. Exhausted from all the stress the day had brought with it I went straight back to the dorm, with Sara following me closely.

Nightly Conversations

I was standing in front of my dorm room when I noticed something. My old stuff was still at the principals office. Excusing myself from Sara I rushed over as quickly as I could. It was already late, after all.

Luckily the basket was still where I had left it. I grabbed my stuff, then made my way back outside.

As I began to slowly descend the stairs I saw the silhouette of a boy standing near the door. It was so dark that I could barely make out anything about him, only that his shoulders were rather wide. It was the only thing that made me believe that it was a boy, after all he had rather long hair.

Having reached the main door I finally got to see who it actually was. It was Liriam, standing laid back against a wall. As I met his eyes he leaned forward, taking an upright stance in front of me. It was rather formal, but I assumed nothing less from him.

Looking at me with a serious expression on his face, he spoke up.

“Sorry for taking up your time. Do you have a second to talk?”

Great. I was hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation, but here I was. What was he going to say, after all that had happened today? I hoped that he wasn't too attached to the man that got his leg broken… it was rather excessive what the man had done, so I didn't really have a way to defend him for that one. And it’s not like I could pay for his recovery either.

I eyed him up and down before answering. He was wearing a little less than before, most likely having just put his coat somewhere. With his arms now revealed, it became apparent to me that he was quite trained. He had wide shoulders for someone his size, and his arms were quite sizable as well. Even though I had trained myself to the bone these last couple months I was aware that, when it came to strength alone, I was no match for him or Kura. Still, his hands looked soft and lacked callouses. Maybe he wasn't very experienced in sword fighting, or in fighting in general, but did other exercises to stay fit? I could have an advantage there, if push comes to shove. The fights with the man had taught me many underhand tricks as well, so I was confident to fight someone much stronger than myself if it came to it.

Suddenly a sigh escaped his lips.

“Don't tell me you are as silent as your patron…”

He seemed a little let down. That was a bad path to be going, so I panicked. I knew I had to correct this, before any more misunderstandings could arise.

“O-oh, no, no. I talk more. Sorry, I was just occupied with my own thoughts…”

“I see. In that case I hope I am not too much of a disturbance to you, but I need to talk to you about what happened today.”

Of course he would, what else would he want from me? I sighed, ready for Liriam to bring the anger of his father down upon me. The two of them seemed different enough, but that didn’t mean that he would take to disrespect kindly.

“How do I… put this… Okay. I want to… ugh… I want to sincerely apologize for what happened today! My father was way out of line, and I already saw to it that the brute that attacked your patron be expelled from his service. Please, I beg you to forgive me and, to some degree, my family for this horrible blunder.”

Huh? He was not only apologizing, but bowing deeply as well. Wait, was he not angry at me, or the man? It confused me, and I didn’t know what to think. I took a step back, trying to make the situation a little less awkward. Still, it wasn’t like I knew how to handle any of this at all.

“Y-you don't need to apologize. It wasn't you fault, was it? So no harm done, ehehe…”

God I was awkward. How else was I supposed to talk anyways? I was standing in the wake of actual royalty right now, for all I knew. People like him normally didn’t even grace the population with their presence, right?

Still he continued to bow in front of me, speaking to me in a formal and clear tone.

“It was my underling that attacked your patron will ill intent. If what your patron said was true, then he even laid eyes on you, a fellow classmate of mine. Those are unforgivable acts that I, and everyone in this village for that matter, cannot forgive. So, again, I want to apologize.”

It seemed to be very important to him to say those words. I did not get the impression that he expected me to actually forgive him, but the act of asking for it was what was important.

Still, I couldn't let this stand the way it did. There was no way that I wanted to start my school life like this. With regrets, apologies and uncertainty. It did not matter to me what had happened in the past, or who did anything at all for that matter. What was important was that school would start without a hitch, and that I would make the best of it. I wished for a peaceful start, not one with worrisome eyes laid on me from all sides.

“I forgive you, you don’t need to apologize. I-I am sure you will do your best to stop those things from happening in the future.”

“Yes, I will. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I hope we can start this school as colleges and friends, not enemies.”

“Y-yes, me too. Let's just leave this in the past, shall we?”

With another polite nod and a smile on his face, the boy wished me good night and left the room, heading over to his dorm. I exhaled, happy about how this went. Still, I wondered if I could have made some sort of demand, like that he would give me my own servant or something. Realizing how silly that idea was I quickly filtered it out of my head, instead making my way over to my room.

“Good thing I kept my mouth shut…”

With some hesitation I inserted the key into my dorm room keyhole. Sara had taken Ellen’s loss quite badly, so I was in a little afraid of how she would treat me now that she calmed down. I turned the key, and with a click the door opened.

“There you are! Finally! You always run away! Come, I don't want to wait anymore.”

The door hadn't even opened fully yet when the girl rushed over to me. She was wearing barely anything at all, and held a large towel in her hand. Without hesitation she grabbed my forearm and pulled me inside. It was so rough I wondered if it even was the same person as before, with all the strength she suddenly had.

“Quick, undress yourself.”

“H-huh?”

“I said remove your clothes! Strip naked! No, not naked, keep your underwear. Come one, quick!”

She was certainly in a hurry. I wondered what got her so riled up this late. Was this going to be some sort of revenge?

It didn't matter, I thought, I should just play along for now. She has had a difficult day today, seeing her sister defeated like that. It still took me a second to finally find the courage to strip myself in front of another girl, but did so in the end. I hoped that the girl hadn't forgotten about my wounds, and that they wouldn't remind her of her sister again.

However, as I stood in front of her, she simply looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

“Where's your, you know, that?”

She was pointing downwards, towards her chest. There was a piece of cloth there, wrapping around her upper body, covering up her chest and upper back. I felt like I remembered mother wearing something similar, but it had been too long for me to properly remember.

“I don't have something like that. Do I need that?”

“Wha- You can't be serious! Of course you need that! People will stare, you know?”

Well, people are bound to be staring when you run around half naked. I didn't understand how this piece of cloth in particular was supposed to help in that regard. We could just, well, not be naked as well.

All of a sudden I remembered something: my smell. I had completely forgotten about it. Surely she wanted me to hurry before the water turned ice cold again.

“Oh, are you going to wash yourself?”

“No, I'm taking a bath. And you will come with me! And you will not go out like this!”

Stepping back with weirdly aggressive steps, she picked up a cloth similar to the one she was wearing. I assumed that she was wearing a specially made piece of clothing, but it was really just a piece of cloth that she would wrap around her chest. After having wrapped her spare around my chest, she seemed to be a little happier with me.

“Really now, you actually go around without wearing one without a thought in the world. Even worse, you traveled with a man! You should be more careful, you know? Dangerous things will happen to you once your chest grows a little more, trust me.”

Ah, so that's what this was all about. My chest hadn't grown a lot yet, so I never really paid attention to those things. If my chest were to grow like it did for her it would for sure be noticeable even under the uniform. In other words, it made sense to restrict their movement somewhat.

I gave the girl a nod, to which she replied with a simple sigh. She seemed a little tired after that whole ordeal, even though I did not quite understand why. After giving me a towel of hers she grabbed my hand again and pulled me out of the room.

We went down the stairs to the first floor, where we met up with a bunch of other girls. They were all wearing the same kind of outfit, meaning practically nothing. I wondered if there was a special place to bath somewhere, after all around that time yesterday the water in our room was ghastly cold.

To my surprise Sara made no effort to talk to any of the other girls. I expected her to do so, after all she seemed like the outgoing type. But no, she was simply holding my hand, dragging me all the way across the first floor until we finally reached an open door standing to our right.

As we entered, a great deal of fog entered my field of vision. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get to see clearer, but it was no use. Sara, however, simply strode forth, tightly holding on to my hand. I did not much like how much I relied on her for guidance, but I guessed it would be okay.

“Be careful, there's a step here.”

As I took another step, my foot suddenly found itself in some nice, warm water. I walked on, until I was up to my knees was in water. The fog had cleared somewhat, revealing a large water pool all around me. There were a few other girls sitting around its edges, talking and laughing. I had never seen something like this, but the atmosphere alone made my heart race. This was exciting, somehow.

“We can sit here, come on.”

Still not having let go of my hand, Sara pulled me to a quiet corner of the pool. I sat down, and just like that my hand was finally freed again.

The water was about the height of the cloth I was pressured to wear, drenching it in water. It didn't feel bad though, as the water had a near perfect temperature, making all my muscles and bones relax in an instant. It was a pleasant feeling I was not used to.

“It's great, isn't it?”

Sara seems to be enjoying herself as well, sounding pleased with herself. I simply nodded, not wanting to move any more muscles than I had to. The feeling was incredible. Some time passed before anything happened again.

Suddenly I felt her head on my shoulders. It must just be a way for her to relax, I thought. I'd do the same, if only I found it in me to move even a single muscle.

Sara… I decided to let her name run through my head one more time, trying to etch it into my subconscious. Looking around, there were a lot of people here, and I was looking forward to meeting many of them. We even introduced each other earlier, but I had already forgotten everyone’s faces, not even talking about their names.

Ever since I was living with the man, I had let go of all names in my life. I forgot my parents names, those of my neighbors, hell, the name of every person I've ever known. Even worse, I never even once tried to ask the man for his name, and he never asked me for mine. But what would I have even told him, should he have asked?

Almost as if she was able to read my mind Sara spoke up.

“So, you don’t know your name, right?”

“You… believe me?”

I couldn't get my head around that fact. If someone came up to me and said 'I don't know my name', I'd probably start laughing. After all, it was an insane notion to forget one's own name. A name was what made a person, what identified them. Everyone had one, even some animals did, even though they probably didn’t understand them.

“I mean, it is a little difficult to understand. But your father… no, patron? Whatever, he also refused to give his name earlier. It makes it a little more believable, you not having a name of your own.”

Somehow, it made me incredibly happy to know that she believed me. Had I not been as relaxed I would have gone for a hug then and there. Instead, I leaned back, trying to think of a way to respond. What came to mind first was to tell her a little about myself, and him.

“He’s not my father, yes. He rescued me about half a year ago, I couldn’t tell you who he is exactly because, well, I don’t know either.”

“Wait, what happened? He rescued you?”

The girl suddenly turned around, looking right at me. There was concern in her eyes, and it was obvious that she wanted to know what I was talking about. It made sense, when you try and get to know someone it is only natural to talk about one's past. For me, however, this was still a little difficult. The words wouldn’t come to me, so I simply sat there in silence.

I could feel another misunderstanding brooding right between me and Sara. The way she looked at me was heartbreaking, with all that concern in her eyes.

Some time passed, with none of us saying a single word. It wasn't an awkward silence in the way it often was with the man, but more like the two of us having to sort out our thoughts before continuing our conversation. I was happy for that, as it gave me strength to pull myself together.

If I was to live here, trying to get to know people and make something out of me, I had to change. The first step was trying to remember names. I already remembered a few, but I needed to make sure they stayed in my mind. For all I knew I may just forget them tomorrow if I wasn’t cautious.

The second part was facing my past. If I was to understand who I really was, I would need to dig deep. With the man, I had only overcome my fears and doubts, making sure I was still functioning after all that had happened. But I had never faced it, overcome it, and came to peace with it. There was still a lingering anger inside me, one that made me furious simply at the thought of those bandits that took everything from me. To start, I had to tell someone all about it.

And so I did. Leaving out the nasty details like the massive pile of bodies, I recounted everything that had happened during that one night. I told her how I buried my parents, and how the man had stayed with me, never once leaving me alone. How I learned to fight, to read and to write, how I tried to enter into the footsteps of my father and make my mother proud, should she still watch me from somewhere in the afterlife. After everything was said, I looked over to her.

She had tears in her eyes. They were rolling out lite little stones, making her eyes blood shot red. Snot ran down her nose, which she quickly pulled back up with a strong sniff. Trying her best to wipe her tears away she spoke up again.

“I-I don't even know what to say… I'm so sorry for you…”

It took a few minutes and a couple hugs for her to finally calm down. After wiping away her tears, she looked at me once more. She wore the face of someone trying their best to look brave, and I couldn't help but smile at that. I thought I had been lucky, getting a roommate like her. Her compassion might just be what keeps us together, despite our differences.

“You know… I had a hard time before coming here as well. It's nothing compared to yours, but I'd still like to tell you about it… if that's alright.”

I nodded, which gave her the strength to tell her story.

She told me about her parents, their names, faces, what they wore and what their jobs were. There was a melancholy in her voice, as if she were talking about good memories.

Then she talked about how they abandoned her. Apparently they found a way to raise the ranks, earning them a way into the upper classes. They told her about a trip to a new home, and made her prepare for it. But when the day came for all of them to leave, both of her parents simply vanished. All that was left was a note on the table which read 'Things changed. You will have to find your own way'.

This had happened when she was still a little kid. Her sister, Ellen, had found her, and as an elder sister in her teens felt the need to protect and care for Sara. She took on dangerous missions to keep the money flowing, developing into a seasoned warrior in only a couple short years, while Sara was trying to learn how to read, write and learn common etiquette.

The idea was to get her into a school of sorts so that she could live an easier live as well as provide for her sister, should she get seriously injured during a mission. The years were hard on the two of them, but it formed an incredibly strong between the two. She admired her sister greatly, appreciating her for everything she'd done for her over the years, and swore to make the most out of her time here in school.

I tried to piece everything together in my mind. In the end, it all didn’t seem that much different to the way I had to live. My parents also left in a way, and I too lived most of my time since then in solitude. The man was similar to me than her sister was to her, so even those things matched. Yes, our lives were very different, but on a deep level we weren’t so far apart from each other.

I decided to speak up, trying my best to sound calm and collected.

“Your story isn't any less sad than mine. You had to live with your pain for years, for me it's only been a few months. In a way, you had it worse than me.”

“Still, it's not like I had to bury them. If I had to bury my sister… god, I can't even think about it. I would probably give up then and there. Become an empty husk or something.”

We stayed inside the bath for quite a while longer, not saying another word to each other. I can't speak for her, but I couldn't help but think about her story, and how I would have fared in her shoes. It didn't leave me any room to think about anything else. After a while, she suddenly turned to me once again.

“It's getting late, we should get out. But I have one more question, if that's okay.”

I nodded, being a little sad to have to step out of the comfortable bath already. Most of the girls around us had already left though, so it only made sense.

“You said your village was raided by a lot of bandits, and how fire engulfed everything. I wonder… how did all the bandits die in the end? My sister had fought a few packs of bandits before, but only in big groups. She often told me about their ruthless way of fighting, and how dangerous it was to face one alone. Do you think… your patron is strong enough to kill so many of them by himself?”

I had never thought about that. To me, they had simply died, killed by the wrath of god fall I knew. It didn't matter how they died, as long as they were dead, burned to ash in that horrible tower of bodies.

Still, had the man really killed all of them? There were a lot of them back then, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to destroy an entire village. I couldn’t imagine the man walking in there and fighting each of them one by one. Maybe he had used the shadows as cover, stabbing all of them one by one?

But the bodies didn't look like that. I vividly remembered sword slashes across some of their bodies, signs that they had been brutally slashed from the front. Some even looked charred, as if someone had willingly held them into the fire. With all that fire around, there was little place for someone to hide and mount a surprise attack too. I'd have to ask the man about it next I saw him, and find out what truly happened. He might not like me asking questions, but I couldn't stay the quiet girl all my life, especially now that I was in school.

“I will ask him next time I meet him.”

“Alright. Tell me about it then, I'd like to know. Let's get out of here for now, okay? We have to stand up early tomorrow, after all.”

“Again?”

“Always! You better learn to live with that from now on.”

I sighed, a little annoyed at the prospect of not being able to sleep until I pleased.

Still, I was excited. It felt like there was a way forward, and I was making progress. The teacher mentioned sword practice tomorrow, and I was ecstatic to see how that would go. With great strides we went back to our room, changed into lighter clothes and slumped into bed. It didn't take me long to fall into a deep slumber.

First Day

“Sleepyhead! You sleepyhead! How many times are your going to fall asleep again?”

Sara was a little angry with me when I woke up next morning. Apparently she had woken me up multiple times already, and I've fallen asleep again every time.

“Ugh, I'm coming.”

At a snails pace I stood up and changed into my uniform. Before putting it on, however, I gave myself a little smell. The bath yesterday had helped a lot with removing the sweaty smell, but it didn’t hurt to check nonetheless.

A pleasant odor came over me, reminding me somewhat of how it had smelled back at the bath. Happy, I finally put on the uniform, which still fit me rather nicely. I grabbed my practice sword and turned back my eyes over to Sara. She looked a little annoyed, to say the least.

“Wow, you really are slow. I hope your sword skills are a little more… elegant than your morning routine.”

It seemed that, simply from talking with her yesterday, she got the impression that I was some sort of sword prodigy. Training with someone the strength of the man everyday definitely had its perks, but I felt like she was expecting too much. Especially compared to Kura and Liriam I was probably just a beginner, the way they presented themselves. There was no way I could keep up with their year long training just with what I’d learned this past half a year or so.

“I'll try my best.”

Letting out a huge yawn, Sara began to look at me with the eyes of a disappointed mother. She played that role really well. It wouldn’t be long until I’d have to call her mom or something.

“Ugh. Come on, we shouldn't be late today. Yesterday was bad enough.”

The two of us then left the room, heading straight for the training grounds. We met a few other girls on the way there, all of which Sara seemed to know from somewhere. Or, at least, they were talking quite casually. I didn't know how bring myself into the conversation, so I just hid behind Sara the entire way. Still, I hoped that she might introduce me to them someday.

We entered the training grounds with most of the kids from yesterday already standing ready. The teacher was there as well, but something was a little different about him. This time he wore a wooden sword, a big one about one and a half time the size of mine. In a way it was much closer to the length of my father’s sword, maybe a little longer even. It gave me some comfort to know that even the teacher was fighting with those wooden swords, which made them seem less than toys and more like tools, in a way.

“You are just in time. It seems like everyone is here already. I applaud you all for being here on time, most first years don't manage that as easily as you all did. Usually we have… quite a few slackers on the first few days.”

Sara tapped the side side of my stomach, bringing her head closer to mine.

“Good thing I pulled you out of bed.”

Sara seemed to be quite happy about that fact, not hushing her voice too much as she said those words. It made me a little embarrassed.

Did you have to say it out loud like this?

“Now with everyone here, we can start sword practice. Which of you had held a sword before? Please raise your hand.”

From the twenty-three of us, seven raised their hands. It was four boys, including the two from yesterday, and three girls, which included me. Sara did not raise her hand, which didn't surprise me.

“Okay. From those of you that just raised your hand, who held a real sword in their hands at some point?”

Now there were only four people left. The two boys, another older looking boy and me. It made me wonder, did the others really consider this toy sword, like, a real sword? Did they really only ever practice with this little thing?

“Good. Now, the last question. Who of you has ever swung a sword, with the intent to use it against another human being?”

The question sounded a little bizarre to me. It was almost accusatory, as if he would ask 'and who did you use it against?' right after you raised your hand. I was unsure as to what to do, so I waited a little to see if someone else would raise their hand first.

And someone did, only a single one. It was the Kura, raising his hand just above his head. And… he was looking at me. Did he already know that I had trained with the man? He couldn’t have been in the bath yesterday, so how would he know? Still, it wasn’t as if he was wrong.

I raised my hand as well, ever slightly so. Kura didn’t exactly throw his hand up in the air too, so it would have only looked weird if I had. Looking over to him I noticed a smile appear on his face, a small one that was barely noticeable. It had 'I knew it!' written all over it.

Thinking about it, it was fairly obvious that I had experience with the sword just from looking at me. Most of the other students held their swords awkwardly, not knowing where to put it. Some sticked it into the ground, but then it was too short to lean on to. Others held it in front of them, but with the length of the blade made it either weird or difficult to hold. There were only a few that held it tightly at their waist, similar to the way it would sit in a sheath attached to the hip. That was the first sign that they had no idea about holding a sword, even less use it.

Then there were my scars. I held them proudly, even though I thought they might make me look ugly. There were some on my face and the back of my hand, and the inside of my hand was practically filled with callouses. One would have to have a big imagination to think of anything other than sword fighting to explain all of those. Well, maybe there was domestic violence as well, judging from how Sara had reacted to them, but I hoped that most wouldn’t come to that conclusion.

The teacher seemed interested in all of this. His eyes were darting between me and Kura, and a smile sat on his face.

“Well now, that is quite a surprise. The last couple years, not a single student has raised their hand at this question. I am sure the others can learn a lot from you. You two, please step forward.”

With some hesitation I did as I was asked to. Even Sara seemed to be a little concerned, looking at me with an anxious expression on her face. In a moment I reached the middle of the training grounds, now standing only about a meter away from both the teacher and the Kura.

“I want the both of you to show the others how two swordfighters spar. Use any style you have learned so far, but take care to not hurt each other. This is only supposed to be a presentation.”

Kura bowed a little, and after seeing him I did the same.

So, I was going to have to spar with him. This was quite exciting, as I was really looking forward to seeing what the others could do. From everyone here, I assumed there was no one stronger than him. His only potential match was Liriam, but he looked to be more on the intellectual side than a gifted swordsman. Getting to be the first to fight him got my blood pumping. Gripping my sword tightly, a small grin began to form on my face.

We walked a meter or two away from each other, giving us a little space to manoeuver. This was about what I was expecting. With the man I didn't always have that comfort, as our sessions sometimes just started out of nowhere after I had put down my plate. This was more civil, which made perfect sense for a school spar.

The boy held his sword with both hands, while I only used one. He was taller than me, and much more muscular. Seeing him wield this proportionately small sword with both hands looked a little funny. Still, it would give his swings more power. It wasn’t a tactic I was going to use though.

From my fights with the man I had learned that gripping the sword with both hands against an opponent physically far superior to me only made me dodge slower. It was better to hold the sword in one hand and increase my speed, using underhand tactics and quick dodges to get close to him. There was always the possibility of him knocking the sword out of my hand, but I got used to that when fighting the man. I simply had to grip with all my strength every time I moved the sword in front of my body, and everything would be fine.

He seemed composed, controlling his breathing and taking on a wide stance. His form was definitely one he had trained many times before, which made me a little nervous. I was just about expecting him to jump me any second, when he suddenly spoke up instead.

“You didn't tell us your name yesterday. Can you tell me, now that we stand against each other?”

There was a courageous smile on his face that simply radiated confidence. It gave me a weird feeling, as if all the troubles in my mind would disappear when I only looked at him. If there was a quality a leader would need it was this, and he had already perfected it. I shook my head, trying not to get enchanted by his charisma.

“I don't have a name. Just call me what you… like.”

It seemed like an admission of guilt, and me stumbling over my words did not help. Well, there was nothing to be done now that I had already opened my mouth.

“You don't have a name? How?”

The boy suddenly let go of his immaculate stance, instead looking me right in the eyes with question marks written all over his face. Our serious spar seemed to have turned into some kind of casual conversation. It made me both a little mad, as well as embarrassed.

“I… have forgotten my name…”

Now that I was actually trying to learn names that matter became increasingly problematic. I wanted to remember my name, but I simply couldn't. There was a fog in my mind where it should have been, and it was too thick to see through. Or maybe I never held a name to begin with, but that was very unlikely.

“Hm…”

He looked deep in thought, holding his finger to his chin. There was no resemblance of his proud stance to be seen anymore, with more angles of attack open against him than I could count. I could have charged him then and there, but that wouldn’t exactly make me look good in front of the others.

All of a sudden he seemed to have thought of something, turning his eyes back to me. His expression was stern and serious, but behind it laid a gentleness that made my heart skip a beat. He looked like an adult, the way he stood there.

“Until you remember, I shall call you Elaina. It is the name of a sword maiden from many generations ago, one that was revered for her incredible endurance and sophisticated way with the sword. Will you accept this name temporarily, so that we can have a proper duel?”

I was taken aback, immediately letting go of my own stance. Did he just give me a name? And such a big one at that, it sounded like he had really given it some thought.

How did he even come up with this, though? Who goes around naming people?

…

Well, I didn’t exactly have a name, so maybe it wasn’t that weird. In fact, it didn’t even feel particularly so. It was more that I was washed over by a wave of emotion, and that I couldn’t understand them.

As I turned around to get a grasp of Sara’s reaction to it I saw her face, it was bright red. She looked embarrassed, as if something had happened to her. God, with how hot I felt I could even look similar to her. This situation was bizarre, with seemingly no real way out of it.

I shook my head once more, trying not to think of it too much. Still, I thought I should remember that name at least. Elaina. It had a nice ring to it.

“Elaina…”

I liked it, I really did. Whatever name I had before definitely wasn't as nice as this one. Maybe I should just keep it? It would be a little weird, but compared to having no name at all… Ugh, it was something to think about later.

“W-what is your name?”

My voice was awkward and silent. The mixture of the many eyes staring at me as well as the name situation made me really uncomfortable, even though it didn't feel too bad. Asking his name, even though I already knew it, was more of a formality than anything else. It felt awkward not to, and it would end the awkward silence at the very least.

“Oh, have you already forgotten? I introduced myself yesterday, you know?”

There was a bright smile on his face. He didn't look the least bit offended at me for asking his name, instead feeling proud about being able to say it once more. Or he was just teasing me? His grin was a little wider than I liked, at least.

“My name is Kura. It is nice to meet you, Elaina.”

Him calling me that felt direct, personal, maybe even a little too much for me to handle. It was really embarrassing, and I could feel my cheeks start to heat up even more. I had to shake my head one more time just to get the weird feeling out of my head, earning me a few gossiping and snickering voices from the crowd. In terms of image, I had definitely already lost against him, not that I ever really had a chance. For now, I would need to get back into the sword fighting mindset.

“Elaina…”

I breathed out, feeling confident to carry that name, even if only for the duel. In my head, this fight had turned from a simple spar to a duel, even Kura had called it that. There was to be a winner after this, no matter what. Looking into the boy's eyes, it would seem he had the same idea. He smiled at me, his teeth showing a little. Maybe, if I was lucky, he would underestimate me. Otherwise this battle would barely last a moment.

I took on a low stance, gripping the hilt of my sword tightly. The boy returned to the way he stood before, holding his sword with both hands. The amount of angles I saw for an attack immediately dropped to zero.

“Kura… let us fight until the bitter end.”

“Heh, exactly my words.”

Suddenly the teacher chimed in, saying something about not hurting each other. I did not intend to listen to him though. There was no way I'd dishonor my opponent by not giving it my all. With this sword I could barely hurt someone like him anyways, I was sure of it. Breathing out one more time, I steeled my nerves, and dashed forwards.

My blade met his shorty after. I felt the incredible power in his arms through our swords, which almost pushed my sword out of my hand. However, I had trained with the man many times before, and as such was able to withstand such power. Driving my heels into the ground I jumped back, ready to get some distance between the two of us.

But he was fast, almost matching me in speed. I just barely managed to dodge his attack, falling sideways in the process. With my toes I managed to keep my balance, keeping me from falling over.

This was a good position for me to be in, one I often used to deliver an underhand attack against the man, even though he blocked it every time. Quickly lowering my sword, I aimed for Kura’s abdomen. With the way he was holding his sword at the moment, high above his head, this was really the only place to strike.

Yet, as I was about to strike him, he suddenly grabbed my other arm. His grip was firm and strong, yet it felt like he wasn’t gripping with his full strength. Maybe he took the words of the teacher more seriously, trying his best not to hurt me. Still, if I was to stay in that position he wound have an easy time hitting me. I couldn't let that happen.

Using locked arm as leverage I managed to get my feet off the ground, delivering a devastating kick to his face. I was a amazed by how beautifully it landed, considering that attacks like those never worked on the man. On impact, he let go of my hand, making it possible for me to garner some ground between us two. Had he held on to it, like the man would have, then the fight would have already been over for me.

As I looked forward however, I saw that I actually hadn’t hit his face at all. He had blocked my attack with the palm of his other hand, which he held a short distance away from his face. The fact that he was able to block a kick with nothing but his arm was incredible, displaying just how much we differed in strength. It was a scary thing to witness, but fortunately I was already used to it due to my training with the man.

While I wasn't exactly getting tired already I was feeling my body and mind slow down. Hesitation and doubt set in, and it was difficult to keep these emotions from conflicting with my combat abilities. Thoughts like

I can't get a hit on him!

and

He's simply too strong!

went through my head, and no matter what I tried, they wouldn't go away. I had to end it with the next strike, or my fighting spirit would be the end of me.

Driving my foot into the ground with all my might I started another charge. This time much faster and stronger than the one before, not thinking of my own safety. I held my sword close to my body, ready to strike him quickly when I got close enough.

Kura stood ready. He had let go of his sword with one hand, imitating the way I was fighting. I assumed that he wanted to grab me, therefore needing a hand free, away from his sword, but it was only a guess. As I got close enough for my sword to hit him I swung down, using all the strength my body would allow to grab on to my sword tightly. I needed all the strength my body could muster to hold on to it, should he manage to block my attack.

Just as I feared, his speed was evenly matched to mine. Swinging his sword up with incredible speed he blocked my attack, which not only stopped my attack but also threw me back ever so slightly.

It looked so easy to him to handle me, and it made me mad. He wasn’t treating me lightly, that much I could see, but the difference in technical ability as well as strength between us was definitely there.

Retreating my sword, I swung again. And once more, he reflected it. This turned into a flurry of attacks, all of which he somehow managed to counter. Still, as I looked into his eyes, I could see him getting slower after every hit. At least in terms of endurance we were similarly skilled.

I retreated again, this time only a short distance. His blade was still over his head from the last blow I delivered, which was a low blow aimed at his head. With great speed I attacked again, ready to deliver a strong strike near his torso, where he was not protected. It was much easier to attack than his head anyways due to our height difference.

This time my attack hit. Using all my might, I hit him just above the hip, resulting in a small gasp from him. This victory was short lived though, as he grabbed my uniform with his free hand only a second later.

I swung my sword once more, hitting him on the shoulder this time. He barely reacted to this attack however, instead lifting me off the ground with nothing but sheer strength. Fear washed over me, the similarities between him and the man seeming ever so more apparent now. How was I supposed to topple such an unmovable mountain, if none of my attacks had any real effect?

I was not about to leave myself open for attacks though, as this would be the end of me. Using the fact that I was somewhat airborne to my advantage, I twisted my lower body, delivering a strong kick to his abdomen. It felt like I had hit a rock or a wall, that's how strong his muscles were. Still, it was enough for him to loosen his grip on me, if even just slightly. It was a good thing that I had hit the same spot with my sword before, as without it he might have just been able to ignore the kick entirely.

I was confident in my abilities. Was this a real battle, he would for sure have fallen by now, considering that I hit him with a sword twice. This fantastical situation gave me ego a boost, giving me the confidence and courage to fight on.

With my spare hand I pushed myself away from him, my outfit slipping out of his grip in the process. I was now free again, which only helped in feeding my confidence.

But as I looked forward, into the eyes of my opponent, a small shiver ran down my spine.

There was a confident smile on his face. It looked as if he was content with himself, and with what he was doing. He was loosing, no doubt about it, but it didn't go to his head. With a mental fortitude I could only dream of he kept on fighting, not thinking of what might happen to him. It was not a madness either, it was simple fighting spirit, a love for the sport.

“K-Kura, you shouldn't continue on like this. This is enough.”

It was the teacher who spoke up. I found it incredibly disrespectful. We were in a fight, and he dared interrupt us. If I had the chance I would have shouted back at him, but Kura beat me to the punch.

“This is fine. I want to fight like this.”

“This is ludicrous! You two, the performance is over!”

My blood began to boil. What was his problem? I wanted to punch him in the face with all I got, then continue my fight with Kura. No, I would not listen to him. His opinion did not matter.

I was now only a short distance away from Kura, far enough to not be in range for an attack but close enough to still close the gap between us in no time.

Gripping the hilt of my sword tightly once more, I began another charge. I would continue to attack his abdomen, as I had already struck it a few times now. It was the only place where I felt like I could hurt him, the only path to victory I was able to see in front of me. Even as I heard the teacher next to me yell I continued, only my goal in mind. I wondered… how would Kura reflect my attack this time?

However, as I came closer, there suddenly was a change in his eyes. It was as if he realized something, and that something took hold of him then and there. Just as the distance between us began to close he let go of his sword, instead lowering his body, holding his arms out in front of him. I hesitated for a split second, thinking of what his intentions might be. The way he stood there, it was almost as if he was ready for me to charge him this exact way. In other words, it was a trap.

But it was too late, my charge was impossible to prevent now. Whatever his intention was, I must face it straight on, using only my skills and my sword. I’d have to react instead of think, act only in accordance to my instincts.

He came into striking distance, and I swung down my sword. I planned to hit his abdomen, but his stance had caught me off guard, so I was instead focusing on his neck now. Surely he would parry my strike somehow, seeing what I was aiming for.

But he did not counter or dodge. He extended his arms further, aiming for the lower part of my body. The tables had turned, and for the first time I was the one looking down on him, a situation I was entirely unfamiliar with.

Afraid of being caught by his grasp, I pulled my sword inwards, towards my body. There was no rime or reason for it, only simple instincts and a hope for luck to grace me. Like a wild animal I stormed forwards, somehow managing to escape Kura’s arms in the process.

I bumped right into him with great speed, making him topple over and fall on his back, with me on top of him. The force I applied to his body shouldn’t have been able to push him back that easily, but I wasn’t about to think about that too much now. Seeing the advantage this would give me I immediately raised my upped body, now sitting on top of his chest. There was no escape for him, so I took my sword and quickly rammed it into the ground besides him. I had become quite tired at this point, and my aim had suffered with it. Luckily, I had missed him by a hair. Was this… the end?

Kura looked me right in the eyes, his face covered in sweat. There was a mild twitch in his eyes the second I rammed my sword into the ground next to him, but other than that he didn’t seem the least bit scared. In fact, it looked more like he was happy, a wide smile slowly forming on his face.

“Ha…hahaha!”

His voice did not hold much volume, but his laughter still seemed genuine. Maybe it was because I sat exactly on top of his chest that he couldn’t get his voice to ring out louder.

“Get off of him, girl! You are taking this way to far!”

Suddenly, I felt someone grip my arm and pull me upwards. It was the teacher, who was looking at me with what could only be described as fury in his eyes. It made me shiver, and I could feel my chest cave in just like last time. He was about to use it again, that ability of his. Only this time I was tired, and afraid of whether I would be able to handle it.

However, just as he was about to open my mouth a figure appeared next to him. It was Kura, who had raised to his feet in surprising speed. Was he not tired from our spar, that he was still capable of standing up so fast?

I could feel my fingers tingling as Kura faced both me and the teacher. It was that feeling again, but it was very weak. Breathing was still easy, and besides the fingers I didn’t exactly feel anything pressing down on me. What was the case, however, was that Kura looked absolutely terrifying.

“You wanted a duel, there you had it. Leave her alone already.”

“This was barely a duel! While you held back to not strike her she abused each and every weakness you gave her! This is…”

All of a sudden Kura seemed to fly into a fit of rage. Shoving the teacher backwards I was released of his grasp, falling to the ground like a sack of potatoes. My arms were weak from the fight, and as such immediately gave way under me. Lying on my back now, I could only hear the two of them shout.

“It was not your duel but ours. Your words do nothing but disgrace our sense of swordsmanship. You should be ashamed!”

“You cannot be serious!”

The teacher was fuming with anger. I understand that we overdid it a little, maybe, but why was he getting angry at Kura now? I was the one who attacked so ferociously after all. It seemed… unfair, to just be lying around while all this happened around me.

Suddenly, as the teacher was about to start his new sentence, Kura spoke up again, is voice filled with malice. The air around us began to weigh down, and I could feel an immense pressure push down on my chest. Exhausted as I was I failed to resist the pressure, instead trying my best to breathe slowly and steadily. Breathe in, breathe out… don’t lose your head, Elaina.

This ability… how come he never used it during our duel? Would I have even had a chance to fight against it? What would I have done then? It made me wonder.

“I don't care the slightest what you think. This duel is done and over, and you will leave it at that. I understand you are our teacher, but that does not mean that I will take lightly to such disrespect!”

“B-but…”

The teacher was undoubtedly affected by this pressure as well. His voice was suddenly frail and stuttery, as if he was afraid. It was a crazy thing to behold, especially as he was able to use the same kind of power that Kura held right now.

“Think of your rank…”

From the corner of my eye I saw Kura open his mouth in response, ready to go at it again. But he was interrupted by the teacher, who effectively cut himself off.

“But it is your choice. If you are okay with all this, then so be it. It was my mistake to have her fight you.”

Somehow, I knew exactly that that was thinking of me. I was this ferocious beast and Kura was the brave warrior. The fact that Kura stood up to me was probably the only thing that saved my image towards the other students, otherwise they might just start avoiding me.

Look at her! She can’t even compose herself! Poor Kura, having to defend her after all this too!

I could see it all so very clearly in front of my inner eye. It made me a little depressed.

Suddenly, as I looked forward, I saw Kura glance over to me. His face was still filled with anger, and for a split second increased the pressure on my chest to its max. I exhaled sharply, not feeling like I’d be able to breathe in again after this. My eyes lost focus, and I could feel my consciousness fading.

This feeling faded quickly however. In a second all pressure lifted off of my chest, and I was able to breathe again. After catching my breath somewhat I managed to properly realize the world around me again, spotting Kura sitting right next to me.

“Hey, Elaina. Please don't think too much about the teachers ramblings, okay? He simply doesn't like to see nobility lose. I can’t stand people favoring me simply because of my family name.”

He extended his hand, all the while throwing me a big smile. There was a look of content all over his face now, which made feel all warm inside. In a way I felt like I lost to him, considering how I laid on my back and he was offering to help me up.

Still I wondered. He had let go of his sword at the end, embracing my attack with open arms. Was there a reason behind it? It made me wonder, again and again, about how far he went to heed the teachers words. About how much he held back, just to not hurt me with the sword.

What bothered me most, however, was that he never used his ability on me. This feeling that made your chest cave in, restrict your breathing. Had he used it just once during our battle, then I was sure he would have beaten me. Quite easily so as well. So much of how I swing my blade was about breathing control, tensing up certain muscles. Interrupting this careful balance could throw off my entire fighting style, I was sure of it.

There were so many things about this fight that just felt, well, off, that I couldn’t help but wonder if he had just let me win on purpose. He did take the fight honestly, yes, but that possibility didn’t seem that far fetched. Either way, it felt like I was playing into his hands, somehow.

Afterwards the teacher gave us all a short break. Undoubtedly did he need it himself, the way Kura had treated him. The two of them seemed to be on better terms afterwards though, acting as if nothing had happened.

For the rest of the day we were tasked with simple sword swings. I had expected as much, as even the man had me do those from time to time. He hated them, but to me they felt like a good way to practice. I could really try and pay attention to my form all the while I took swing after swing. In no time had the sun begun to set, and the class was dismissed.

I returned to Sara, who was completely soaked in sweat. The way her outfit sticked to her body made me wonder whether she would actually be able to wear it again tomorrow. We’d have to wash the sweat off somehow, that much was for sure.

It must have been a hard day for her, but I was sure she gave it her all and learned a thing or two. Luckily it seemed that my fight with Kura had slipped most people’s minds, including hers. After all, for most of them this was the first time they ever held a sword in their hands, which is bound to make them run into all sorts of problems.

I approached her carefully, not wanting her to feel all too pressured by me.

“Ready to head back?”

“Yeah, I'm sooo hungry…”

She seemed to be in high spirits, at the very least. A food lady had come over to the training grounds during the afternoon, giving each of us some sort of soup to eat. It was delicious, but didn’t exactly fill the stomach a whole lot. For tonight we’d have to go and find food elsewhere, it seemed.

Luckily to us, the food lady returned once more just a few minutes later, carrying a little carriage behind her on wheels. On top it laid bread, cheese and slices of meat, all neatly organized. We ran over to her, each getting two big slices of bread with either cheese or meat, which we were allowed to choose from.

The slices of bread were big enough that they were almost too filling, making my body feel heavy and full after having all of it stuffed down my throat.

We thanked the lunch lady in unison, orchestrated by Lord Liriam himself. He did still take himself as something special, but it was nice how much he was willing to live by the rules of us commoners in comparison. It was not long after that we all headed back to our dorms, exhausted and tired from the day.

Life At School

I completed the first semester of school without much issue. There were a lot of things I learned, all of which I’ll try to get to in some detail.

The first thing we learned was how the calendar system of the village worked. In an effort to not offend citizens of either nation the school decided to take on an old, outdated way of using the calendar, one that was used back when the nations were still united as one.

Instead of counting the year once the snow had melted and spring began, the way most people in Burha did it apparently, we used a fixed calendar system. With it, a year concluded after 400 days had passed, no matter the season. The teacher was adamant about us using this way of looking at the way from now on, as there would only be problems should we try to work with the systems of the respective countries. It took me a little while to understand it all, but apparently it wasn’t that different from counting the seasons. The year still roughly began with the first fall of snow.

A semester was half a year, so 200 days. After that we were granted ten days of free time to do whatever we pleased, and the next semester would be 190 days. This would continue for four semesters, after which we were to take a test and graduate school. In other words, I was still quite far away from graduating yet, which I saw as more of a blessing than a curse.

Furthermore, the days were counted in even and odd numbers. On even numbered days we had academic lessons including reading, writing, mathematics and history, while on odd numbered days we would have sword practice. Some students tried to change this rule, claiming that it was too restrictive and that it should instead consider season and weather. I found this idea stupid, believing that training in every kind of weather was important to grow as a swordsman. Their attempt went nowhere anyways, with the teachers shutting it down outright.

Reading and writing was rather easy for me. Apparently I had made good progress on my own, beating almost half the class in terms of reading speed. While the teacher often times complained about my bad handwriting, he was always happy that I completed my homework on time. Sara was pretty good at this as well, only second to Liriam, who was unsurprisingly more than just one cut above the rest.

Mathematics was a different story for me though. I struggled to wrap my head around the, apparently, easiest concepts, faltering at trying to understand what multiplications or fractions were even supposed to be. I was the bottom of class in that regard, relying on others to help me out by copying their homework just to please the teacher somewhat. It was frustrating, but I kept at it. Maybe the next semester would be better. If I was lucky Sara could teach me a little during the semester break.

History was an interesting subject. We mostly talked about the royal families of each land, and the wars they've fought and won. It was all ancient history by today’s standard, all of taking place right before the old nation split into two. Next semester we’d actually learn about the war that created Narka and Burha, which I was quite excited for. After all, I really had no idea about any of it, the subject of kings, royalty and nations never really being a subject back in my village, or during my stay with the man.

I was a little lackluster when it came to history. While I had no issue reading the texts we were given, remembering the content was still a little bit of a challenge. The teacher, for one way or another, was quite adamant that we’d have to remember all the little details, which I struggled with. Once the next lesson rolled around I had already forgotten most of what I've read, as the sword practice in between had completely shuffled my mind around. I tried to write little notes to help me remember, but even those didn't help much. Often times I needed to stand up a little earlier before class and discuss the material with Sara before heading off to class. Luckily she was an ace in every academic subject, and was quite fond of me waking up early (which still wasn’t very often).

I could not properly put into words just how good she was academics. She was an absolute prodigy when it came to swinging the pen, leaving the rest of class behind her without breaking a sweat. The only person who could keep up was Liriam, but even he struggled sometimes. I almost expected a rivalry to form between the two, but nothing of the sort happened. Quite the contrary in fact, it seemed that Liriam did not care at all to fall behind sometimes, while Sara felt his cold attitude towards her charming somehow. Even after one semester she was still head over heels for him, so much so that everyone in class knew it with absolute certainty. Still, neither she nor Liriam ever tried to meet up or do something at all together, so everything was still up in the air.

On a different note, Sara was about the best person I could have ever met. She taught me a lot, keeping me up at night to study with her once she noticed me falling behind in class. More than once did we stay up until morning rose again, earning us angry glances from the teacher next day for our drowsy look. Still, she was always there when I needed help, and we became best friends. The amount of days we left the dorm alone in those 200 days could probably be counted on one hand.

But academics was not all that we did at school. There was also sword practice, where I excelled at much more than at academics.

When it came to sword practice, I was apparently some kind of ‘half animal half insane’ kind of girl. At least that was what the other students were calling me.

According to them I was emitting a really dangerous kind of aura once I got serious, which scared them so much so that they would forfeit the duel on the spot. I wondered if it was the same ability that Kura had used back at the entry ceremony, but somehow I never came around to asking anyone about it.

My fight with Kura had left people speechless, after all he was the son of one of the strongest generals of all time. His form was immaculate, and his strength unmatched. We never had a fight like that one again, only a few spars, but every time we did I could only wonder: how did I ever manage to beat this guy? He was stronger, faster, quicker to respond, his form was perfect to a T and his warrior spirit was impossible to break. I was certain there weren't a lot of adults that could beat him, even those that had trained their whole lives. He was just a different kind of beast. I could not help to compete with him, most of the time even with Liriam, so I sat about 3rd place in the class ranking when it came to swordsmanship. At least there wasn’t another girl that could compare to me, so I at least had that.

Sara on the other hand was incredibly clumsy with the sword. She could barely hold on the thing, letting go every time one hit it with ever so slightly too much force. She had delicate hands, which were perfect for writing, but unusable for sword fighting. Even when she wasn't defending she would often times stumble over her own feet, landing head first in the dirt. This was alright for a while, as there often was a thick layer of snow that would dampen her fall, but as spring had started to melt it all away this became a serious issue. To prevent injury, I would often times train with her after class, focusing mostly on her footwork. She was still quite clumsy even after the semester ended, but at the very least she managed to catch herself before she would fall on her face. In terms of fighting ability she was entirely unfit to become a swordswoman, a stern difference to her sister. The two were like two sides of a coin, in a way.

I managed to get to know that sister of hers a little better over the course of the semester. She would visit often, about every ten days or so. We sat in our dorm room together, and Sara would tell her about everything she'd learned the last couple of days. It was obvious that she wasn't quite as smart as Sara, with her asking questions about the sometimes most minute little things. Still, she was happy and always wore a smile on her face, letting herself get talked into the ground for multiple hours at times. I not only respected her for her capabilities as a warrior, but also as a human capable of enduring Sara for so long.

She was a born warrior, a simple look at her was enough to make that sure. As the temperature started to rise, she would remove her jacket and instead wear a sleeveless top made out of a soft fabric. It revealed the muscles he had hidden underneath, as well as all the scars that came with her profession. I understood what Sara had meant when she said I had similar wounds to her sister, they were definitely similar to mine. However, it was apparent that those hadn't come from rough practice with sheathed swords, but instead from real combat. Those were real scars inflicted by real weapons, and no doubt some of them were deep.

It was normal for patrons to visit every once in a while. The gender rules in the dorm were even bent a little to accommodate for it, as some girls only had a father and vice versa.

The man, however, only very rarely visited, into which I will go later on. From Ellen’s stories I managed to garner a rough understanding of what he was up to, though.

Apparently, he had become a sort of legend back at the guild, earning him quite a high rank. Not only because of his victory over the warrior Tyran, but also because of what he did for the guild over the time of the semester. Ellen had become part of his party, which also included another strong warrior by the name of Elm. While parties often times varied, the three of them effectively always stuck together, only expanding the party size when needed. When I asked her what the man’s name was, she simply shrugged and sighed, as if that question was a daily drought she had to go through.

The way the man entered the guild apparently made waves for the other warriors. He was different, in more ways than one.

She explained that the man had a reputation of taking on extremely dangerous jobs with exceptionally low payouts. What was even more puzzling was that he was doing them alone, at first even insisting on doing it that way. It wasn’t long ago that people believed that he was simply risking his life for a little extra coin, but as his achievements amassed they managed to notice a trend.

All the quests he did were rescue quests, be they about individuals or entire villages. They would often times include skirmishes between the nations, where one would try and take over land from the other, just for the guild to step in and give it back to the respective nation. He never explained his reasons, or talked much in general, so no one really understood why he did the things he did. Still, his actions saved countless lives, which earned him the unofficial title of 'Hero' back at the guild. Apparently, however, he despised that name with a passion, cursing at everyone that called him by this name.

In contrast to the man, who still presented himself as a nameless warrior or mercenary, I had embraced my new name. After my duel with Kura Sara told me we would have to have a serious conversation, to which I agreed. We sat on the bed, and with the most girly voice I had ever heard she started swarming over Kura. Apparently, he wasn't lying when he told the story of the name 'Elaina', about the legendary swordswoman and her legendary techniques.

And Sara wasn't the only one who flipped out about that name. As we went into the bath a couple days after the fight we were approached by quite a few girls that just had to tell me about how 'romantic' he was, giving me such a name. It had already occurred to me that both him and Liriam were the dream boys of almost all the girls in our class, so it was no surprise to see their reaction to one of them acknowledging me. 'He is so strong!', 'He is so forthcoming!', 'I wish he would give me a name too!' were only a few of the things they annoyed me with, which luckily started to happen less and less as the semester went on.

As time passed I also started to grow more and more. By the end of the semester I had gotten both taller and more muscular. I was proud of my body, often times flexing in front of the mirror just to adore the way I looked.

This fascination was very unnatural for the rest of the girls, however. More than once did I hear some comment on my physique as 'boyish', especially as I hadn't grown much in the hip and chest area. Sara often times addressed this as well, being 'concerned about my future', as she put it.

I didn't give it much thought and simply ignored it, instead looking at Ellen as inspiration. Sure, her female features were more apparent than mine, but her muscles still shone through. And I wasn't entirely boyish as well, often times wearing the dress the man had bought me during my study sessions with Sara. It fit me well by now, which made me incredibly happy. No longer did the belt sit just above my hips, but now right below my belly button. Thinking back on it, Sara never said anything about my appearance once I wore that dress… instead she would often pat me on the shoulder and give me thumbs up.

I really enjoyed my stay at the school so far. Sure, I felt like sword practice could be a little tougher, sometimes missing the sessions I had with the man, but at the same time I didn't want Sara to fight like that. In the end I more or less accepted it, instead focusing on my form and stance, often times looking over to Kura and Liriam to see how I could improve. The two of them were much more impressive than I was, so I set a goal for myself to beat them one day, in a proper by-the-rules kind of duel.

There was one aspect of school that was nagging at me, however: Romance.

I knew I didn't dress to impress, and its ramifications didn't bug me that much. Still, I saw many people fall in love over my time there, which made me jealous. What made this worse was that Sara was really, and I mean really, popular with the boys. They would often times swarm around her like flies, write her letters, pick flowers for her or try other things to get her attention. Thankfully all of them were nice, even when they got rejected, but it still buggered me. After all, the girl was head over heels for Liriam, and no one else.

I never got a letter, or flowers, both of which I didn't even want, but it still felt bad to not get any. It felt unfair to be left out like that, to feel so ignored. I sometimes felt like I wasn’t meant to find love here, to always be the ‘crazy girl’, never to be handled with the same compassion the other girls were. What made this even worse was that the boys seemed to fear me more than anything. While sparing with one of the other girls they would soften their blows and talk in a warm pleasant voice afterwards, but when it came to me they came shouting and cursing, using their full force most of the time. I beat them rather easily almost every time, as they all still were amateurs, but every time I did it felt like a bad outcome for the both of us. They hated me, and I felt like a failure of a girl, somehow. What worsened this feeling even more was how things stood in terms of swordsmanship skills between us students.

The difference was staggering, to say the least. One could easily group the entire class into three segments: There were those that couldn’t hold swords at all, like Sara. Then there were those that were clear beginners, trying their best to keep a good form and do as the teacher asked. Almost the entire class consisted of those two groups, split about evenly. The third group consisted of only three people: Kura, Liriam and myself. The three of us never lost to anyone except each other, and were on a whole other level in terms of swordsmanship. The others actively avoided sparring with us, and it was clear that we held some sort of authority over them during sword practice.

It was here that I found someone I could talk to without feeling bad: Kura. The other boys had started to avoid me even outside of sparring, with only Kura having the courage to actually tell me when something was up. We didn't talk about anything special, mostly just discussing sword practice or tell each other when something special was going on. In essence, we simply kept each other up to speed, and that was that. It really was not much, but it still mattered a lot to me.

Next to him, I only ever spoke to Sara. I did make an effort to speak with the other girls, but they would often times either just talk about Kura or hide behind Sara, making me feel like some scary monster. I apparently didn’t scare them as much as I did the boys, but that didn’t change a whole lot, as they still avoided me. After a while I simply gave up on trying to make any more friends, instead hanging around Sara and getting to know people through her. It wasn't too bad honestly, and I made the best of it.

Then there was the man. In my 200 days in school I only saw him a total of three times, and our conversations were rather short each time. I didn't mind the second part too much, but I wished he would come to visit at least half as often as Ellen did.

The first time I saw him was when he was casually walking around the school grounds (which he wasn’t allowed to, but apparently he didn’t know). I asked him about his and my name, to which he didn't really respond. Either he was oblivious of names the same way I was, or he was deliberately keeping it a secret. This made it a little awkward to address him, as I had already gotten accustomed to calling people by their names by now. I suggested to call him ‘Hero’ just like the others, but he shot that idea down quite adamantly. Ellen wasn’t kidding when she said that he hated that name, that much was for sure. So, at least for now, he would still just be ‘the man’ for me.

The second time I only saw him passing, really. He had just gotten home from a quest, and seemed exhausted. I simply waved from a distance, to which he nodded with a tired smile on his face. The teachers threw him out again because, well, he wasn’t exactly allowed on school grounds still. To this day I don’t know what he did that day, and I probably never will.

The third time he visited me at the dorm. I had nagged Ellen enough to convince him to visit at least once, and this one time he actually did. Unfortunately our conversation was quite awkward, as there was a certain not-to-keen-to-get-to-know-him kind of girl sitting in the corner, giving us angry glances.

In the end we decided on some small talk. He told me many things, but what I remember most was his story about how he saved a merchant from a bunch of bandits, which made me incredibly anxious. I jumped up, telling him that he was insane to take on such quests. Even after all this time I was still afraid of what those bandits had done to my home village. Still, he assured me he was save, and that he wouldn't take on reckless jobs if there was a team behind him. He didn’t exactly sound to be too concerned with keeping himself safe, having a sort of impossibly high confidence into his own abilities. But when it came to others, especially his team, he would start implementing strategies that kept everyone’s safety in mind. According to Ellen, at least, he was quite serious about keeping everyone out of harms way.

Before he left he told me something, across the hall.

Keep at it, Elaina. I’m sure you’ll do even better next semester.

It was the first name I ever heard him say, and it was the one that Kura had given me. It cemented my willingness to take on that name as my own, making me forget about ever trying to find out my original name again.

That night I could barely sleep because of it, which Sara said was pretty stupid. She still hated him for all the cuts and bruises he had given me, and barely accepted him entering our dorm room. If it wasn’t for Ellen she would have most likely just sat next to the door, making it impossible for anyone to enter.

That was about all the important things that happened over the course of the semester. It wasn’t too exciting, but I still very much enjoyed my time here. Life was easier than before, the food was better (sorry…) and I had a lot of fun doing stuff with Sara. Still, there was one more event that took place during the semester that I want to talk about.

On the last day of school Sara suddenly approached me with a few other girls, as well as Kura and Liriam behind her. She seemed excited, her body rocking back and forth as she talked to me. I looked at her with my eyes wide open, completely flabbergasted by the fact that her oh-so-great love, Liriam, was standing right besides her without her flipping out over it.

“So, before we do this, I have a question for you. Your village didn’t have a calendar system like we have here, right?”

Her answer didn’t exactly make sense in and of its own, so I decided to just play along for now. It would have been weird to do anything else too, with all the other people standing next to us.

“N-no? We only cared for the seasons.”

“Hm, okay… hey, do you think you will be angry at us when we make a few assumptions? You know… about you?”

I wondered what this was all about. People never flocked to my desk like this, especially those girls. This must have been some sort of important occasion for all of them to treat me different. Still, it was really nice to be noticed like that, so with a little, if maybe a little awkward, smile I nodded.

“Okay okay. Y-you are all ready, right? M-me too! Okay, we need to do-”

As Sara was starting to panic a little Kura suddenly gave her a little chop on the head. He, as well as all the others, had a really warm expression on their face as they looked at me. My heart was beginning to race, even if just a little bit.

After Sara had composed herself again, she took a deep breath, and with a coordination one would only ever see in sword practice the entire group spoke in perfect unison.

“Congratulations on your sixteenth birthday, Elaina! Happy birthday!”

I must have almost fallen off my chair that very moment. Still, before I could even say anything Sara would throw her hands around my neck, hugging me close. She was trembling a little, no doubt nervous about what just happened. Suddenly, as I was trying to get her off of me, Liriam spoke up.

“We had to make a few guesses, but we all decided that today would be a good day. After all, we can't have your birthday left uncelebrated, don't you think?”

“A-and with today being the last day, it was a very convenient day…”

It was a little girl that spoke up. I had never learned her name, as she was quite shy around people and rarely spoke up in class. Her sentence also seemed to have come out a little wrong, with her getting red all over after having said it, another girl playfully scolding her for it. It was rather cute to look at, actually.

My birthday… I had not given it much thought ever since that day, like many other things. How old was I when I last celebrated my birthday? Was it fifteen? It could have also been fourteen, of sixteen. I wasn't sure at all about how old I was, honestly. There were people around here that had grown similarly to me, and they were about sixteen. It was a good guess they made, at least I thought so. I was happy with it.

With Sara still clinging to me I stood up, not being able to conceal the smile on my face. Was this going to be my day? I didn't quite know what to think or how to act, but I was happy nevertheless.

That day, the entire class held a little buffet in the entrance floor of the school tower. Normally it would have been prepared to celebrate the students having passed the first semester of school, but the boys had kicked the teachers out that day. In a very dramatic, almost theatrical way so.

This is Elaina's day!

It made me feel a little fuzzy inside, but at the same time I found it a little cringey (In a good way). After all, I had to actively prevent myself from jumping up and down in excitement. It was all so… different to how it normally was.

There were many adults here too, no doubt the patrons of some of the other students. Ellen was there as well, but the man was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he was still out of on a solo mission at the time.

The other patrons had brought food and drinks, many of which I had never seen before in my life. Some even brought what they had with them over to me, congratulating me on my birthday. At the end of the day I could really feel the muscles in my face, the constant grin on my face no doubt the reason for it. It was a really nice party, and I enjoyed myself fully.

I returned to my dorm together with Sara afterwards. In stern contrast to me she had barely eaten anything, and as such looked a little thin. Apparently it was 'uncouth' for a lady to eat so much, but just as she was about to ramble on I stopped her, telling her that I would much rather sleep. I knew her well by know, and with that her eternal ramblings. Sighing playfully, she spoke up once more.

“You know, tomorrow we have the day all to ourselves, with the semester break and everything. We should do something nice, don't you think?”

Sara stayed at my bedside as I was drifting off to sleep, stroking my head. It felt nice. Like I was some kind of cat or something.

I couldn't help but think of my parents in that moment. Ten days would be enough to visit them and return here on time. I wondered what they would think if they'd seen me here, living life as a student. Back then this wouldn't have been possible, we were simply too poor. Would they be happy to see me here, instead of taking care of the house back home? Was their grave already filled with pest plants? As my thoughts went on and on I made a decision.

“I want to visit my parents… do you want to come with me?”

“Huh?”

Sara was a little taken aback by the question. Honestly, I was a little surprised myself. The thought just came to me, but I already saw myself making the journey.

I had expected Sara to be a little cautious. After all, she knew that my village had been destroyed, so there were all sort of possible dangers lurking on the way there. Even more, I was almost certain that she had already made her own plans, even though it was a little weird that she hadn’t told me about them yet. I turned my head to look at her, expecting to be shot down immediately.

“Sure, I'd love to. Let's do it.”

A bright smile started forming on my face. Some part of me had expected her to defy my expectations, so her doing so made me incredibly happy. That night I struggled to fall asleep, too excited for the days to come.

Back Home

To my surprise Sara didn't wake me the next morning. Instead, I woke up to the sun shining right into my eyes. I rolled around, not wanting to stand up yet, my body feeling weirdly more groggy than usual. Just as I was about to fall asleep again however the door to my door room flew open, creating a loud almost crashing sound as it hit the wall behind it. I looked over to see what had happened.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Brought you some breakfast.”

It was Sara, fully clothed in her usual school uniform, her hair made and smelling as if she had just taken a shower. How long had she been up already? And, on that note, how late was it anyways?

She held a small plate in her hands on which a few pieces of bread were laid across. There was some meat and cheese on the side as well. It was a fairly regular meal we ate, but it still always smelled delicious.

I sat up, at which point Sara sat down on a chair besides me. She was full of energy, effectively beaming. I couldn’t exactly keep up with her energy, so I started the conversation with a loud groan.

“Good morning Sara…”

My tone was quite sleepy too. Laying around in bed hadn't made me any more awake than normal, in fact I almost felt more groggy than I normally did. What an unpleasant sight to behold for someone trying to become such a mighty warrior.

“Open wide. Aaaaah.”

Doing as she said, I opened my mouth. Shortly after, a piece of bread was put inside it with some cheese on it. It was tasty. Yes, I was no mighty warrior, I was just a little girl getting fed. Thank you, mama Sara!

“I want more. Aaaah.”

And just like that, she fed me all two slices of bread she had with her, giggling to herself as she fed me piece after piece. I was so sleepy I barely noticed what was going on around me, or how stupidly I was behaving. Good on me that Sara wasn’t exactly the gossiping type.

It was only after I had splashed some water in face that I completely woke up. After cringing to myself for how I behaved just a moment ago I finally managed to compose myself. Sara was already standing ready by the door, so I put on my travel gear, grabbed my sword and followed her outside. With school on pause for now I was sure no one would mind me not wearing the uniform, even with Sara next to me.

The weather was beautiful. Spring had started just a few days ago, leaving no snow left on the ground. Instead, trees were green again and the scent of flowers filled the air. I liked this part of the year much more than winter, the atmosphere it had was just so much better.

Sara was eager to show me something, but didn't specify what, only that I should follow her. We exited the school grounds and entered the village surrounding it. In my time here I hadn't done that too much, as there was little to do for a student there anyways. To be precise, we were even somewhat told to not go there, and the fact that outsiders were forbidden from entering the school grounds made it seem even a little scary.

We followed a stone paved road for a while. Houses with two or three floors each stood to our left and right, with people looking out of their window every now and again. The street itself was rather empty, with only a few merchants trying to sell their wares.

After a while turned we turned right, into a small alleyway. It was dark in there, so I was a little taken aback by Sara’s sudden bravery. Having passed that, we found ourselves in front of a huge plaza.

Huge was, honestly, an understatement. Compared to the plaza at my old village this one was huge, almost twice the size if I were to guess. There were many people sprawling around, most of them heavily armored and armed with various kinds of weapons. There was a huge building standing right at the end of it all with a sign on top that read 'Guild'. It was a giant building, about four of five times wider than the other houses, but at the same time still only about two stories tall. This was probably so the school tower was more noticeable from a distance, with it’s great height and spikes on top.

I was in awe. Us coming here was, honestly, quite random, but I wasn’t about to complain.

So this is the great guild I heard so much about, eh?

Looking at the people walking around I couldn’t really tell who belonged to which nation, but that only made sense. After all, they were once one and the same, I learned that much at school after all. I hadn’t yet learned too much about what divided them though, but just from the looks of it here it seemed that the divide wasn’t as big of a problem at the guild. It really was as the teacher always reminded us of: the concept of nations didn’t exist here.

Sara grabbed my hand and guided me through the plaza, passing many warriors on the way. Around half of them of them had some sort of deformity, be it a missing arm, leg or eye or similar. It was obvious that those people had faced many dangerous opponents and situations in their lives, which formed them into seasoned warriors. It made me wonder whether I’d lose a part of my body in the future as well, or whether I’d avoid it like Ellen and the man did. A few scars were enough damage to my body, thank you very much.

Just as we approached the front gate a familiar face approached us. It was Ellen.

She spotted us almost immediately. Ignoring the people around her she directly made her way over to us, having a somewhat conflicted expression on her face.

“Hey, what are you two doing here? They won't let you do any quests while you're still in school, just so you know.”

She looked as dashing as ever. If I trained harder I may just look a little like her in the future, with those stunning muscles and that strong warrior-aesthetic. Maybe someday I’d even learn how to make my hair like hers, which, while essentially just put up to keep it from falling into her eyes, looked really good on her. Compared to her, and maybe even some of my classmates, I still very much looked like a kid.

Sara walked in front of me, a wide grin on her face. It was obvious that she was really happy to see her sister.

“Oh no, we don't want to do a quest. We just wanted to say bye before we head off. Right, Elaina?”

We were heading off? Thinking of it, she did say yesterday that she was willing to visit my parents' grave together with me. I was a little surprised to see her actually try and keep that promise. While she wasn’t one for false promises, she did often times chicken out when things became too uncomfortable for her. As it seemed, today wouldn’t be one of those days.

“Oh, you are headed off? Not too far, I hope.”

“Well, how far away is your village, Elaina?”

Just as she said 'your village', Ellen reacted. Her eyes lit up like a fire, which scared me a little. It was a very intense reaction, even though it barely felt like she’d moved a muscle. With one quick, almost unnoticeable step she grabbed hold of Sara’s shoulder, staring her right in the eyes as she spoke.

“You are going to her village? The one that burned down?”

“Y-yes?”

There was worry written all over her face. It only made sense, after all we were essentially just kids trying to go on a field trip on a whim. Even more, the road was dangerous and at parts difficult to navigate. Even with my stamina it was hard to make the tour, back when I took the route with the man. There was no doubt in my mind that this trip would be hard on Sara, physically speaking.

Letting out a sigh, Ellen eventually let go of Sara’s shoulder.

“Well, I won't let you go alone. Good thing I don't have any quests going on right now… I might just take a small break anyways.”

“You are coming with us?! Really?”

Sara was ecstatic, jumping up and down while hugging her sister closely. She really did adore her much. In a way though, it seemed like she anticipated all this beforehand. Maybe this was all part of her plan.

And just like that it was decided that Ellen would accompany us. She was a welcome addition to our party, reducing the amount of things I was worried about to, honestly speaking, zero. With a warrior like her behind us there was nothing that could harm us, I was certain of that. If I was lucky, I could even train with her a little, learn a few things from her.

We visited a few stores to buy some food and water, together with nice bags to carry everything in for Sara and myself. Ellen seemed pretty well off money-wise, insisting that she’ll pay for everything.

We were standing at the village gateway when a thought suddenly occurred to me.

I should probably say goodbye to the man as well.

I turned to Ellen, asking her if she knew where he was. Putting her finger to her chin, she took a second to respond.

“Hm, that might be a little difficult. You see, he is still on a mission and still hasn't returned. I wouldn't worry about him too much, you know how well he can handle himself. Sometimes not everything goes as planned, it is not all that uncommon.”

I still couldn't help but worry. Was it really normal to return later, or was she just trying not to scare me too much? By now I knew her well enough to know that she often sugarcoats dangerous issues, so I didn’t exactly trust her words all too much.

I shook my head to get the negative thoughts out of my mind. Even if something had happened, what could I even do? I also didn't want to keep the others waiting, who essentially agreed to be my escort of sorts. The man would for sure have returned here by the time I got back, then I could tell him all about what had happened. Especially about my birthday party yesterday. I was really looking forward to how he would react.

With great motivation the three of us left the village behind. Moving through the huge gate and across the stone paved streets leading out, we quickly found ourselves in front of a big hill. I still remembered it quite vividly, even though back then everything was still covered knee deep in snow. It gave me confidence that I could guide us to my village without much issue. After all I was the only one that knew where that village even was to begin with. We could have tried and asked for a map somewhere at the market, but we weren’t about to head back now.

I still remembered the challenge this hill hat presented me with, back when I came here with the man. We could have just continued down the road, trying to circle it, but that seemed excessive. After all, we had all trained a lot over the time of the semester, and were surely fit enough to climb it despite its steepness.

And I was right. Even Sara only fell down on her face twice as she tried to climb the hill, somehow. The soil was rich, and as such did not give way when we dug out feet into it. In no time the hill was climbed, the village now officially behind us. After removing the dirt off of Sara’s uniform we continued on, towards the merchants village.

It was deep in the afternoon when we suddenly spotted something weird. We had reached a crossing of sorts, a place that I had gone through back then. There was a black spot on the side of the road, right about the size of a merchants carriage. I knew exactly what had happened here, and who was responsible for all this ash and soot on the ground.

Ellen approached the place carefully, her sword drawn. She was cautious, as if she was expecting an ambush of sorts.

Even an inexperienced warrior could tell that something awful had happened here. The black and gray ash had buried itself deep into the ground below, mixing with the dirt to create that black spot in the ground. Sara and I followed Ellen as she carefully examined the site.

“This is ash. Something burned in a bright fire here… Must have been a merchants carriage, by the looks of it. No normal fire would have left this much ash behind.”

I knelt down, touching the ground below with my fingers. After all this time I had expected the remains of that day to scatter into the wind, flying to wherever it would be taken to. But it hadn’t.

I looked up into the sky, wondering how the merchant was doing nowadays. When we burned his carriage, he seemed relieved, ready to start his life anew. But he was also old, and it didn’t seem there was a lot that still kept him going. I hoped he was doing well.

After remaining there for a short while we finally decided to leave the place behind. The two of them didn't ask me questions, instead trying to figure out what had happened by themselves. I decided to stay quiet as well, not wanting to worry those two too much with it. Ellen’s suspicions had been for naught as well, with not a soul nearby ready to attack us.

We continued on our way at a surprising pace, reaching the merchants village just as the sun was beginning to set. I was amazed at Sara’s speed and endurance, but she did breathe rather heavily as we approached the village gates. Just after entering Ellen ordered us to stay close to her, promising to bring us someplace safe.

Shortly after Ellen brought us to an inn. It was different than the one I had stayed in with the man, looking much more expensive and accommodating. There were a lot less people walking around, and those that did looked significantly better off than those at the last inn.

The reason for Ellen’s choice was at least partially my fault. I had told her about the cabin we would be staying in for the next night, an idea she didn't like at all. Crafting a makeshift plan on the spot, she decided to rent an expensive room for the night before.

She was adamant about getting enough sleep so, in case something was off about that cabin I had mentioned, she could stay awake and watch over Sara and me as we slept. There was also no arguing with her, with her pretty much forcing her decision on to us (not that we were about to complain).

I thought she was overthinking it though. The room sure did look expensive, and the other guests all looked like wealthy merchants to me. I didn’t have to pay anything for it, but it still felt like I was being a bit too much of a burden for Ellen. After all, were it not for me she wouldn’t have to spend all that money. At the very least Sara did seem to enjoy the room quite a lot, which put a bright smile on Ellen’s face. So not all was bad.

The bed was huge, a fireplace heated the room nicely and the shower room even had pleasantly warm water despite the late hour. I slept like a queen that night.

The next day was difficult for Sara. For once, she was really interested to see what the merchants were selling down the street. I could picture her as some sort of merchant, in a way. Maybe selling nice clothes would be something she could do, in the future?

Ellen, however, was adamant about not buying anything, proclaiming that we were simply 'passing through' for now. This left Sara quite disheartened, as she had found a few items she wanted to buy, from her own savings no less. In the end she listened to her sister though, putting on a brave face as we left the village gates. It was quite adorable, honestly. Maybe we’d have to sneak-buy something on our way back, without Ellen noticing.

The way to the cabin was filled with many obstacles on the way. As we passed by the forest that would lead us to said coffin we got attacked by a pack of wolves, which scared Sara so much she almost fainted. I drew my sword and slayed wolf after wolf, until none were left. Ellen had helped a lot as well, but she was more focused on protecting the scared Sara than anything else. I felt strong, having slayed more beasts than the seasoned warrior I was traveling with.

“You fight really well, Elaina. Good job.”

We gave each other a fist bump, after which I couldn't help but start giggling. No wonder Sara adored her so much. Warriors like her always had a sort of presence that surrounded them, almost like a personality trait. Hers was warmth and admiration. I could not help but look up to her like an idol, in a way.

Next thing we did was skin one of the wolves. According to Ellen the meat was unsafe to eat, but the hide was sold at extraordinary prices. We could buy a nice souvenir back at the merchants village if we sold some of them. I thought it was a nice idea, and a better thing to do than just leave the animals here to rot. Not everyone agreed with me on that, however.

Sara didn’t handle the situation all too well. She shouted and cried, almost like a little kid. It was the blood, the brutality and severed body parts that scared her, as well as all the blood that sticked to our skin as we peeled the hide off of the corpses.

At first we didn’t mind her too much, believing that she should just get used to it eventually. After all, if she was to wield the sword one day she should be able to handle blood and gore, at least to some degree.

But even I couldn’t stand her crying too much, especially after she pleaded for us to stop. We managed to skin two of the wolves by then, which was already quite a lot to carry. Nodding to each other we stepped away from the dead animals, washed off the blood with part of our drinking water then went back to Sara.

Ellen was much better at handling her than I was, so we quietly decided that I would be the one carrying the pelts while she kept Sara occupied. I was a little concerned that the whole ordeal could poison my relationship with the two of them, somehow. It was with these thoughts that we continued on our way, walking ever so slightly faster than before.

We reached the cabin by nightfall, and after carefully opening the door noticed that it was empty. I had expected as much, but for Ellen this was a sign of relief. She told us about being careful if we wanted to sleep in places like this, and to always have someone with sufficient strength or skill with us to protect us should any issue arise. She tried her best to talk around the subject, but both me and Sara quickly realized that she was talking about bandits and the like. We were young, inexperienced and a whole lot physically weaker than most bandits, making us a prime target for them. Still, with her around there was nothing to fear.

Sara and me slept quite soundly that night, with Ellen trying her best to nap every now and again, otherwise keeping her eyes on the window the entire time. We kept the pelt outside the cabin for now, keeping them as far away from Sara as possible. This would also dry out the blood a little better. The sun rose, and we made ourselves on our way, only a few hours away from my home village now.

Luckily Sara seemed to like me again after a nice, long sleep. In fact, she acted like nothing at all had happened the day before, and when confronted with the hides outsides she simply noted that they looked ugly. We all laughed, and with that the whole ordeal from yesterday seemed to be behind us.

As we continued on our way both of them started asking me about my village, about how my life had been and who my parents were. There wasn’t much I was able to recall, but it was enough to satisfy them. I also explained my time with the man to Ellen, as I really had only told Sara so far. She listened carefully, and asked questions when I skipped over something.

It didn’t take much longer for us to reach our destination.

The village was just the way how I remembered it. Buildings laid burnt and destroyed, it's wood rotting under the searing sun. Rats could be seen fighting over scraps of food between the wooden boards, squealing loudly as they ran across the broken street. It was as if the fog of death laid over everything.

We entered the village silently and with weapons drawn, ready to meet any possible aggressor.

The first place we went to was my old house. It still stood, only looking a little worse for wear. It was built well, and still stood the test of time. Even the change of seasons hadn’t affected it much by the looks of it. The door creaked loudly as I opened it.

A rush of emotions came over me as soon as I entered the large room that was our living room. There was a huge stain in the middle of it, eroding and rotting wood all around it. It was the place where my mother lied, and the place where I first picked up the sword now sitting at my hip.

Taking on a stance I learned at school, I forcefully swung my sword forwards. An upward swing, then a dodge, a slash to the right and at the end a stab. It was a sort of dance, one that I practiced many times over the course of the last semester. A testament to how far I’d come with the sword. Back then, I was barely able to lift it, but now it all felt so easy.

I found myself right in front of the black spot then. In my inner eye I saw her still there, lying on the ground, bleeding. I could hear the words the man had said to me, and feel the anger I felt in response. It made me nostalgic, not a pleasant type of nostalgia but one of complex emotions. Tears started flowing as I remembered it all, and as they did I felt a hand touch my shoulder.

“A-are you okay, Elaina?”

Now I've brought total strangers into this house, strangers my parents would never be able to meet. It was only due to their deaths and the teachings of the man that I was able to meet and befriend those strangers. I was better off now, living a live a peasant like me was never meant to experience. Still, the memories of their deaths hurt like hell, as well as memories of what I felt back on that horrible day. I decided to tell them about it, about happened here.

“My mother died here, on this very spot. And it was the first time I picked up the sword.”

Sara cried with me, taking me in her arms while she sobbed for me. It was exactly the way I expected her to react, yet I still told her. This friendship I had with her… I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

We exited the house not long after. There wasn't much else in there that was worth looking for, and I wasn't about to tag Sara along for unnecessary sob stories. Still, there was another place I needed to visit before heading over to the graveyard. With great strides I guided the two of them to the village plaza.

Now overgrown with grass and pest plants, the plaza looked a little different to how I remembered it. I looked around, and after a while stumbled on something. I bent down to pick it up: it was a small wooden bowl. Frantically looking around, I eventually found a small spoon as well. Somehow the wood hadn’t rotted yet, which I was quite happy about.

remembered the meals the man would make for me, how he would watch me eat and teach me the way of the sword afterwards. I was accustomed to much better meals at school now, but I still longed to taste his cooking just once more. Pulling the bowl and spoon close to my heart, I felt great happiness over what the man had done for me. Just like those two behind me, he was a person I held very dear.

I walked on, stopping in the middle of the plaza. Sara and Ellen must have wondered what I was trying to do, looking at me with confusion in their eyes. Maybe I should have told them what was going on inside my head, but my mind was too occupied with itself to notice. I simply stood there and stared.

After a short while, an image appeared in front of me. It was an illusion, but also horrifically real, even emitting a blazing heat and foul, hellish smell.

In front of me stood a huge pile of bodies, defiled and cut to pieces, their blood shot eyes and sliced faces staring back right at me. They were burning in a great fire, their bones and skin evaporating under the immense heat. If I stood silent, I was sure to hear their screams and pleas, but I refused to do so. Shaking my head, I let go of memories past, deciding to move on from that horrible day.

Using the new calendar system I’d learned it had been about a year since that day, give and take a few dozen days at most. There was a new life waiting for me away from here, free from that despair. That event might have shaped me into who I was now, but it wouldn’t stay to haunt me.

Not saying a word to the girls behind me I moved on, heading straight towards the graveyard. They simply followed, undoubtedly a little weirded out by my actions. I’d have to make it up to them later.

The small gate was rusty and needed a strong kick to open. The seasons hadn't been particularly kind to it, reducing it to little more than rusted steel. We walked on, passing graves with names on them I did not recognize. I was the only survivor of that village, but I did not remember those people. They were not even a memory to anyone anymore, their existence now reduced to a name on a stone cross.

After a while, we suddenly encountered a grave that looked a little out of place. It was crudely made, a blank and hastily crafted wooden cross the only indication of this even being a grave at all. A sentence was carved into the wood. Back then I couldn’t read it, now the letters all made sense to me.

May your souls rest easy, and free

I knelt down, staring at the ground beneath me. Sara did the same, but keeping a little more distance from the grave than me. Ellen stood behind me, her hand on my shoulder.

I wished I had brought a few flowers, to put something on this empty grave. It looked so… empty, so devoid of life. Not that I expected anything else, of course, but it still made me a little sad.

I told the others how we had buried them together, the man and me. How the soil felt after we had filled grave, how I felt as I stood there, how I couldn’t make sense of things. I told them about the man, about the way we fought, going into great detail, detail that I skipped on willingly in the past. The meals, the fights, the swings… I revealed scar after scar, telling them how it hurt and how proud I was to wear them. As I rambled on, tear after tear started flowing out of my eyes.

I would have been dead with out him.

I would have starved to death.

I would have been forgotten.

These thoughts shot through my mind, over and over and over again. They stung with the might of a thousand sword strikes, leaving me beaten and broken. But I wasn't feeling empty. This feeling has faded since then, and I explained it to the girls as well. I did not know how to articulate it properly, but even Ellen started to cry a little too, so I must not have missed the point completely. It took me several minutes to compose myself again.

Our visit may have been brief, but that was alright with me. I felt happy that I had come here, having finally found closure with everything that had happened. It was the only thing standing in between me and my future self, and I was happy to finally leave it behind.

As we exited the village, Ellen suddenly stopped. I turned around to look, only to see a puzzled expression on her face. It wasn’t exactly a surprised kind of expression, but more one that comes after you realize something. As if she had just strung together multiple different thoughts, and created something didn’t quite sit well with her. Her face held complex emotions, making it difficult to guess whether she had something good or bad on her mind.

“Hey, Elaina... Say, have you ever heard of 'Amulets'?”

The question came out of nowhere, taking me a little off guard. Still, I could have sworn that I'd heard the name before. I rummaged around in my mind, and after a while it finally came to me.

“There was a merchant who mentioned it before. I don’t quite remember what it was about though… Wait, where is this even coming from?”

There was no response to my question, only a deep sadness in her eyes. Her normally so proud looking shoulders sagged, her face wilting as she looked at me. Whatever she had in mind, I felt like it wouldn’t be a nice thing for me to know.

“The village burnt rather brightly that night, did it not? A great, bright, big flame... God, the tragedy…”

Suddenly, she went over to me, hugging me close. I was confused, having thought that the time of tears and hugs had already come to a close. There was something bugging her, and I couldn't guess what it was. What even were those 'Amulets' she spoke of? I didn’t even have the slightest lead on what that could even be.

After a minute or so she let go, looking me deeply in the eyes. There was worry written all over her face, with them darting left and right ever so slightly. I could also swear that she was starting to sweat… and that she was shaking.

Sara, in a hushed, scared voice, tried to talk to her sister.

“Sis… what are 'Amulets'?”

She didn't answer. Was it some sort of secret, what those ‘Amulets’ were? It seemed to gnaw at her, not being able to answer Sara’s question. Walking around in circles she tried to think of a good answer, but in the end simply told us that it was ‘something dangerous’, and that we shouldn’t think about it much.

She shook her head, slapped her cheeks with her hands and put on a brave face again. It was a sign to move on, and leave that question unanswered for now.

I tried to feel indifferent to it all, after all I tried to put this past of mine behind me. So what if those ’Amulets’ had a part in the destruction of my village? It was over now, so it didn’t matter anymore.

On the way back we visited the merchants village again, where we sold off the pelts for a sizable sum. I gave my part of the money to Sara, expecting her to use it on fancy clothes and the like. Yet the only thing she bought was flowers, which she placed at the edge of the village at night, all alone. Ellen was terrified, horrified that she hadn’t even noticed Sara sneak out.

While she didn’t say who those flowers were for, I had my suspicions. After all I wasn’t the only one that had lost her parents. Those two had to go through as much, if not more pain and suffering as me to get to where they were now. Maybe, just maybe, Sara was ready to leave that awful part of her life behind as well.

Our trip had lasted about five days in total. While Ellen was still rather fit after that whole ordeal, Sara and me needed to rest a bit. The entirety of the next day, in fact. Time just seemed to fly by, and before we knew it the ten days of holiday came to a close, and the next semester begun.