After eating I stumbled my way back to my room. The living quarters were situated down long halls, each room side by side. Every room had its own theme, mostly depicting desert flowers or landscapes. I had chosen the desert rose. The room was dimly lit by dusty pink colored torches, draped in crimson red silks and blackened stone furniture. It was elegant with a rich earthy ambiance. I loved this room very much, Vance seemed to like it as well.

I stumble into the doorway snagging the end of my gown on a chipped piece of slate.
"Shit." I curse, catching the attention of Vance who is lying shirtless on his back on our bed.

"What in the?" He asks. "Are you drunk?"

I unsnag my dress and push the door closed with my entire body, mostly to hold myself up. It would seem the food has done nothing to sober me up, and I feel slightly worse than before.

"Yes I am Drunk Vance and I've smoked too much skunk weed."

He sits up watching me with the most concerned look on his face.

"Where were you?" He asks suspiciously.

I stagger over to the bed and slump down on top of it face down into the silky sheets.
"I already told you, I was drinking and smoking." I muffle through the sheets.

He lies back down beside me, our heads at the same level.
"I can see that...Did you want to talk?"

I peak my face out of the sheets to look at him. Those amber eyes greeting mine, and I take some time to examine his familiar face, one that has comforted me in so many ways. Instinctively I reach a hand out and brush his cheek with my fingertips. He stares at me deeply, patiently waiting for a response. But before I can get out another word he answers for me.

"Your eyes have just told me everything I need to know right now. You need sleep now, my love." He smiles genuinely, but I can tell there is some pain behind it.

"Thank you." I whisper.

"Let's get you tucked in." He takes my hand forcing me up into the pillows then drapes the sheets over top of me. Then he climbs in beside me, situating himself comfortably. He runs his fingers down the length of my arm and back up, he repeats this until I feel my mind slipping away into sleep. My last thought was a prayer, I pray to the gods for guidance, to show me I am on the right path. Because in all honesty I believe I may be losing my mind.

————————————-

I wake up to the bright desert sun peering into our red silked room. Vance has opened the drapes letting all the light in blinding my unready eyes. He is feeling overly enthusiastic this morning. I squint up at him as he turns towards me, vibrating with excitement.

"Bri!!! Wake up!!! Let's go do something!" He bounds over to me, jumps up onto the bed and begins to poke at my sides.

I groan in annoyance and pull a pillow over my head. My head was aching from the alcohol, skunk weed, and loss of mana from taking on that evil Queen.
"Vaaaance, I'm still sleepy!" I protest and he continues to poke at me begging for me to get up.

"Pleeeaaaseee?"

I sigh under the pillow and pull it off my face to reveal big needy puppy eyes eagerly staring back at me.

"Alright, alright...if you weren't so cute right now..."

He scowls at me.
"I'm not cute, we've been through this. I'm undeniably handsome, with a great body. Remember?" And he flexes his arm muscles as much as he can.

I giggle as I watch him display his overconfidence.
"Ok, ok."

He winks at me.
"Let's go check out Lira! I bet they have some nice jewelry and things for you to try on!"

I sit up and laugh wholeheartedly at that. He should know by now I am not attracted to luxuries.
"I'd rather get some training in...."

He rolls his eyes at me and replies in a jealous tone.
"You sound like Kit."

He gets up off the bed and begins to get dressed.
"Let's go train then..." he huffs.

It was then I recalled my father telling me Kit is to do my training. I curse yo myself knowing how this conversation is going to go. Deep breath.

"Well...Kit is supposed to do the training...." I reply quietly.

He blinks twice almost in shock before responding with a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Of course! How could I forget...What about magic training?"

"I guess we could do that...actually that sounds like a better idea. It's been awhile since I used my book in training."
I leap out of bed more excited than anything now. It was true I haven't used the book since....well since Isotora and I know there are other spells in that book other than summoning spells. It was definitely time to experiment.

Vance throws me my gown and I stop there looking at the fabric.
"You think this will be good for magic?"

He looks me up and down.
"Well if you do it naked we won't get anything done."

I laugh. "True."

I pull the dress over my head and let it drape over my body but this time I leave the bustier off and tie it at the waist with a black leather strap used to keep my bracers on.

Vance bows to me.
"Ready my lady?"

I nod and take his arm in mine. As we leave the room we bump into Kit down the hall dressed in soft white linens that are tight around his chest but loose around his legs. He was definitely ready for training, which has me cursing again.

""And what are you up to?" Vance asks, eyeing him up.

Kit looks at him the same.
"It's time for my queens training." He replies gruffly and pulls two daggers from his belt and hands one to me. I hesitantly take it, staring equally at both of them and they are staring equally at each other.

"Well, she's coming with me for magic training." Vance protests.

Kit chuckles.
"You'll have to take that up with Jed, he specifically sent me to fetch her for training. He is waiting in the courtyard."

"Damn..." Vance says under his breath and both look to me.

"I-uhhhmm...Vance it looks like you are outnumbered. And I should probably listen to my emotional guidance on this one."

Kit smiles to himself and sheaths his dagger then takes me by the waist. Only to be stopped by Vance's strong hand and burning eyes.

"You can take her, but you keep your hands off her."

And we are both taken back by his behavior, it was blatantly obvious Vance knows of our love, or at least of our attraction to each other. Kit immediately removes his arm from my waist and surrenders.

"It's not like that Vance, I'm only courting her. Don't get the wrong idea here." He lies.

Vance stares daggers at him, not moving an inch and we all stand in silence.

"Let's practice magic this evening Vance." I compromise, placing a hand on his arm and his eyes soften.

Finally Vance waves his hand for us to proceed and Kit nods then leads me down the hall with me following behind completely embarrassed.

We walk in silence together, both thinking. Try as I might to enjoy the tapestries on the walls or the color of the flames today I can't be bothered. I am frustrated with how things have turned out, we're supposed to be fighting with each other not against each other.

As we get closer to the courtyard, Kits hand brushes against mine. I look up at him questionably.

"I'm sorry Bri." He says.

I sigh heavily.
"I know."

"I'll talk to Vance later, maybe try and ease things. Let's stay on track though, once we make it to Ashura we will all be back to where we should be. You will pledge to Vance and I will go back to what I do best...training armies...."

I can feel his eyes on me as he says that, he can see the sadness in me so I look ahead in hopes to hide it.

"Ok." I reply.
He sighs in response.

He leads me through the dimly lit corridors and into more widespread areas that have openings in the walls to bring light in. As we approach the court yard he stops me, gently taking my hand.

"We need to focus on training, nothing else ok? I also want you to use magic while in combat ."

Using magic while in combat? I believe that is what I've been doing this whole time.

"I believe I've already mastered that." I reply proudly.

He shakes his head.
"Not exactly. You stop your  movement to use your magic. You need to be able to use it while you stab someone." He says and whips out his dagger flipping it in his free hand then makes a stabbing motion.

He was right, I have only used magic during battles when I had time to cast. This should become a natural motion for me, not something I need to conjure.

"Here take the daggers." He hands me the other. "You're getting rusty with smaller weapons and close contact grappling. That buster sword has made you lazy, and maybe being queen has too." He snickers.

I burst out laughing.
"Hey!, that is no way to speak to your queen. Kit Mercer."

He cocks an eye.
"Once we enter that courtyard, you are no longer my queen, you are my student and I will treat you as that."

And you can't help but playfully test that theory.
"Is that so?" I reply, locking eyes with him, I take a step forward towards him. He doesn't budge, although I can sense his breath quickening. "I think you chose daggers and grappling just to get me closer to you."

He smirks at me with a glint in his eyes then presses his forehead against mine.

"If this is the only way then so be it. Summon that book battle queen, we have work to do."

I flip the daggers in my hands remembering the feeling of it's short grips and agility then summon my book. It hums in the air just beside my right shoulder. And I carry on into the courtyard.

—————————————————

"Shhh...don't move." I hush Chase and Candice. Immediately they stop and crouch down beside me, camouflaging ourselves in long ferns. It is just before dark and we are spending yet another night hunting the demons who hunt us. We have spanned throughout the breadth of the forest, keeping a stealthy demeanor so we can get the jump on our enemies. It has become our best defense to keep our numbers from dwindling lower than they already are.

We are just under two hundred now, but that isn't nearly enough for what is festering at Lesteros castle. I have sent our spies out to gain information on the Queen and her plans, and so far they have returned with some intriguing news. Isotora has fallen, not only does our enemy control Khaleda, Isotora, and Lesteros they have gained the widest and largest army we've ever seen. We are in trouble, and if Brianna doesn't join the rest of the realms together soon we are all doomed.

I was ecstatic to hear Emeriss was cleansed by Brianna, and although my letters have made it to her palace she is away on business and won't be answering me anytime soon. All we can do is defend ourselves and wait. We are surrounded by evil in all corners but one, mount arrowspeak. It is there where we will set up our rebellion, for the ridge lines are treacherous and the ice planes span over the glaciers, which is perfect for keeping things unwanted out. It is the protection we need.

Here we sit crouched in this dimming forest just outside Khaleda, they haven't found our camp yet and they won't if we keep moving further up the mountain. We must also keep the darkness at bay.

I flick my fingers and point off into the distance towards the snap I'm branches. It was getting much easier to sense the creatures. They were loud and intrusive which made it easy to surround them. They weren't all that smart either.

Candice raises her bow and knocks an arrow, and I signal to the others hiding in the trees behind me. Each silently prepares for the ambush. And through the bushes steps three howlers as we call them. Their screeches pierce your ears loud enough to stop anything in its way before they disembowel you. This will be an easy take down, although they are black skinned canine like creatures, their growls and shrieks can be heard for miles.

As they come into the fading light, I drop my hand and everyone let's go of their shot. Arrows and lightning bolts shatter the air around us, whirling towards the three. And before then can even look up they are taken out. But not exactly, for the dead to die you need to either tear out their heart or chop off their head. So I unsheath my sword and scale the thick brush towards the dead.

With a swift slice to the neck each are beheaded, with thick black blood spilling over the ground.

"Don't touch the blood." I tell Chase as he approaches.

He stares at it for a few moments curiously.
"It smells bad." He replies.

"That's because it's rotting. Everything about this demon is." I kick the head into the bush beside me and signal for everyone to show themselves. They gather round us all staring at the carcasses.

"They are coming more frequently, we will have to move camp again." Cora says.

"Yeah, I have a plan, I'll explain later Let's head back to camp. Burn the bodies."

And she sets them all a flame. I take Chase's hand and court Candice back to our horses....

Back at camp, things were becoming more challenging and it wasn't because of the dead. It was the cold that was wearing on us. The frozen forest floor left us little wood to burn for warmth, and it is not possible for a mage to cast flame for hours on end. Foraging was our enemy right now, it took time, men, and split us up into groups I don't personally feel comfortable with. Sticking together is our best chance at survival. But luckily we had stumbled across a large cave big enough to house us all.

Could this be the mystical entrance into arrowspeak so many have spoken about? We know the cave runs deep, but how deep?....we are not sure if it is worth the test. For now we will stay until we can't any longer.

As we approach the cave entrance I am stopped by my second in command.

"Sir! We have stumbled across a pack of wapiti, we have taken several down and are skinning them as we speak."

This was great news! We will have meat for a while now and blankets for warmth. I sigh in relief. It isn't often we catch breaks like this.

"That is relieving news! Do you need help?" I ask.

"We are fine Gregory, you take your kin and get some rest. The night is drawing late. I'm sure the children need sleep."

"Thank you. And good work." I reply.

I dismount my horse and help chase off just as Candice dismounts her horse. The children look tired, and I can hear chases stomach growling.

"Food and bed?" I ask, leaning down to his ear. He nods quickly and smiles.

"Alright, let's see what they've got cooking."

As soon as we entered the cave we could smell meat roasting and root vegetables cooking. The cave gave us earth that was easy to grow in with mage's help and provided us with just enough food and spices to survive on. We approach the flames flickering in the distance to see an entire wild boar roasting nicely on a stick over blue flame.

I seem to catch everyone's attention as I walk in and the helpful and generous group that I have created is already situating the children beside the others with plates of food.

One young mage in particular, an unpledged mage named Amelia leaps to my side.
"Sir Gregory! I'm so glad you're back, I was worried." She says walking closely beside me.

I glance at her.
"I'm fine Amelia. Everything is alright."

She smiles a very pretty smile, one that is contagious you when you see it.

"Would you like something to eat? I can get it for you."

And before I can turn her eagerness to please me away she is already diving into the food and placing it on a plate. I shrug and sit down on a piece of wolf fur and warm my hands up by the fire. She hands me the plate and sits down beside me.

I dive in savoring every bit of it, everything cooked to perfection. I thank the gods for stealing the queen's finest chef from her. He joined us eagerly after realizing what was being put in the wine by that evil witches command. I laugh to myself thinking of what queen Evelyn is eating now.

And my thoughts are interrupted by Amelia's kind voice.

"So...I...was thinking about something the other day. Well maybe not thinking, it was more of a dream...a fantasy really...."

I half listen as I devour my plate.

"I was thinking that we should pledge together!" Her last words were but a whisper but still rang in my ears.

I nearly choke on the roast.

"I...cough...well...I ..." I begin to stutter.

In all honesty I haven't thought of pledging for a long time. Not since Brianna, I swore to myself I wouldn't pledge to anyone else without her permission. If there was a chance, even the slightest I could be Brianna's knight, then I would be stupid to pledge to Amelia right now and boycot my luck. Amelia is sweet, kind, and very pretty, but Brianna is my course for now. I will need her word first.

I look at Amelia who is staring deeply at me.

"I have sworn to pledge to Brianna nobile, and if she refuses me or has a Knight already, I will pledge to another." I state, something I have replayed in my head more than once.

She lowers her eyes to look at the fire, then confusion streaks across her face.
"You mean like Brianna, queen of all the realms? That Brianna?"

I laugh.
"Yes, that Brianna."

She sighs.
"Wow, that's a little high on standards for you isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, taken back by her comment.

"Well, she's the queen of all the realms. She most likely has hundreds of knights who want to pledge with her..."

I sigh. "....I know, but she is my queen, and I will ask her permission first."

"And if she says no?"

"Then...I guess I'm free game." I reply and wink.

She giggles finally and accepts that answer. I know it's not the best one for her, and seems far fetched but it is the truth I belong to the queen, and that is how it will be until said otherwise.

We sit silently after that and watch the flames as I finish my meal.

—————————————-

"SHE MELTED MY FUCKING ARM OFF!" Jewel squeals, as she waves the disgusting stub of what is left around like a half cooked pig.

Evelyn has been very patient with her, taking her under wing, making her as powerful as she is. Even feeding her the blood of a babe to keep her skin looking soft and young. But her minor annoyances have become more than just minor. She is unruly and the queen can barely withstand her voice.

"I want that bitch to burrrrn! Burn slowly, every inch of her will..."

The queen stands holding up her hand to her. A motion of silence in her throne room. But jewel doesn't stop, for she knows she has won favoritism with her love Thanatos, and she uses that as much as she can.

"Don't you raise that hand at me! This is your fault! You just stood there!" She shouts inching forward.

The queen has had enough of her insolence, it is time to remind her who is queen and who will always be queen. For her power is strong, but not as strong as Evelyns. Not even close.

With a quick snap of The Queen's wrist, jewel becomes nothing but a feather floating in the wind. Her magic, try as she might to draw mana, is being ripped from her circuits and poured onto the floor.

She screams wildly as she shakes and contorts her body to the pain. And a small smirk twitches at the lips of her challenger. She drains her until she can no longer speak or hold her head upright then drops her to the floor in her own pool of mana.

She lands with a thud and looks up at the queen. A perfect picture of where this tyrant girl should be, placed underneath her, a groveling mongrel, only used for a purpose not of her own.

Evelyn leans down slowly, locking eyes with her. And the sheer look of terror written across those black veined eyes pleases her in ways it should not.

"Now you listen to me, your place is just where you are, below me, drowning in your own pool of rotting construct. You may be the favorite, but you are still the weakest link to Thanatos. Why do you think that is?"

And a tiny tear slips down her cheek as she realizes her purpose in this world. Just a vessel.

"Now repeat after me."

She does as she commands, lowering her eyes to the floor, she whimpers softly.

"I am but a vessel to my queen, I serve her in her purpose or die with no purpose." 

She repeats the words as quietly as possible.

"You are my queen and I serve you until I am of no use any longer."

She pauses long enough for Evelyn to grow impatient. She snatches a clump of her hair and forces her to look into her flaming red eyes.

"Say it!!! Or die here right now!" The queen seethes.

And jewel does as she is told, obeying her master to save her own life. As she should. The queen, now satisfied with her response, releases her and calls forth a guard.

"Guard! Bring me Ratchet the tinker man."

The guard salutes and turns about face then storms out the doors.

Jewel looks up at the queen who stands proudly beside her.

"Tinker man?" She whimpers. "W-why?"

And an uncontrollable cackle erupts from the queen at the sight of this foolish girl.
"To build you an arm decent enough to look at. I can't have you walking around with that ratted stump in front of my kingdom, now gather up your mana and meet me in the dungeon."

She whines nervously back and begins to gather up what mana hasnt dissipated into the air.

————————————

You could hear wind chimes in the distance ringing in the breeze. They are the only sound around us. Kit standing in combat stance ten feet ahead of me fists raised, and my father to the left laid back on the floor smoking skunk weed from his cob pipe.

"Are you just going to sit there and get high father?" I snicker.

He cackles back at me as usual.
"I figured it would be far more interesting this way. Kit has gotten soft over you and I feel this spar session is going to be lacking in entertainment...so skunk weed it is...."

I wince at that, there he goes again running his mouth and embarrassing me in front of people.

"You just wait and see old man! I'm not holding back this time." Kit snickers.

What does he mean this time?

"This time, kit?" I ask.

He laughs.
"I went easy on you last time. Didn't want to knock you on your back right away. That's not very gentleman like."

I roll my eyes.
"Right, sounds to me you like to be the first one on your back." And before he can respond I lunge at him with daggers in both hands, one raised higher than the other. Just as I was taught by my father, it keeps the enemies focus on only one at a time. I slice at his neck then his stomach in quick motions. He nonchalantly steps out of the way of every strike. I attempt to strike at him faster only to be thrown off balance with a quick turn in his step. He spins around to my side and elbows my ribs knocking some wind from my lungs. I gasp and jump back squaring off once again.

"Rustier than those blades your father carries around, Bri." Kit chuckles.

"Hey now! No cheap jabs, my blades are sharp enough and the rust adds a bit of poisonesque to the wound." He replies grinning wildly.

Kit laughs, and so do I.

"You dish it, you gotta take it too, father." I shout, brushing off the hit to my side.

"But seriously Bri, I know you're better than this."

I sigh.
"I haven't used daggers in a long time. Why don't you show me what you can do with them? Maybe I can follow your moves."

I flick the handles upright in my palms and hand them over, he shrugs and takes them spinning them around before locking them into his strong grip. Then leaps forward, his speed was much faster than before and I barely side stepped his stab towards my stomach. He throws an elbow up to counter my dodge aiming for my head and I block with my forearm pushing him back.

He stops and shakes his head.
"That was a fair move, but you could be faster. You know when I train with Vance he uses mana to enhance himself. You should try it."

"But I don't know how to do that yet, not without my buster sword at least, it carries Andai's power through it. And even then I'm just borrowing it." I sigh regrettably.

"Are you giving up? Should I call in your servants to put you back in one of those posh gowns and serve you wine for the rest of the day?" He says slyly, while flicking his hand in the air. My father keels over on his side laughing at me.

I cock an eye at him and smile. "You are treading on thin ice....It's on!

"That's my girl." He replies and we both get into position. This time I mimic Vance's stance, if he's able to draw in mana while using his movement his stance will most likely start it off on the right track.

One foot forward, one foot back in lunge position. Weight on the back foot...I begin to picture his movements, everything that I've watched him do. Although I carry no Lance I will hold myself situated in just the same way, one fist forward in front of my chest, and the other up high ready for a strike. Then I connect my mind to my book which raises into the air and floats beside me.

"Good, keep that up." Kit encourages.

I draw in mana, the air picks up quickly whipping around my hair until I have felt it in my chest. But instead of forcing it out into the book I hold it there tightly, picturing my intention, as if I had captured a dove and placed it in an impenetrable cage. The world seems to slow down when I do this, even the wind in my hair slows like the long pull of tidal waves.

And I move forward testing my ability to hold this all together. He moves as I do, swiftly and smooth, I had no idea he was this quick. We are completely in sync this time and I am able to maneuver around him just as fast. I slide by his blades around to his back then call forth a small but effective blast of mana and drive it home. He grunts and is suddenly sent into the air twenty feet away, but Kit being who he is, regains himself mid-air. He tumbles on the ground and lands back up on his feet sliding to a stop.

I gasp, hoping I hadn't broken anything.

"I'm sorry Kit!"

"Now that's more like it." He shouts."What are you sorry for? I'm teaching you to win, don't ever be sorry."

I flush at his words and curse myself for being too soft on him.

"That's right Breezie, you will be facing things you can't even imagine. Grow some balls." My father states.

I roll my eyes and finger him.

"If you're afraid of hurting me, we won't get anywhere." Kit says as he walks closer to me.

I blow out my fears with one deep breath and get into position once again. He takes his position, and this time I close my eyes and pull a substantial amount of mana, enough to lighten the weight of my body. I feel as if I am floating although my feet are still planted on the ground and this catches their attention. But only because the loose dirt and rubble around us begins to rise into the air. Kit and my father look around nervously. And I open my eyes, sighting my target. Kit sees my determination and spins his daggers into position, he takes the lead. However his movements have slowed as if I had bent the wheel of time. I lower my stance watching him gradually strike and as if I was just stepping aside, I easily dodge his movement as he raises his dagger slashing horizontally at my neck. In the motion I hook my leg onto his tripping him then kick his backside and let go of the mana draw. Kit crashes into the dirt below tumbling twenty feet away. It was then I noticed the prickling of mana around me, light wisps of purple specks circling the air as the world around me returned to its natural gravitational pull.

Kit skids to a stop on his stomach and groans coming up onto his knees. He looks up at me astonished.
"Where did you go?" He asks.

Confused, I reply.
"I was here the whole time."

He shakes his head.
"You disappeared right before my strike!"

I shake my head.
"I was right here."

He stands brushing off the dirt from his clothes. Jed interrupts still staring wide eyed.

"She was there the whole time, although I could barely see her move, and it may have seemed like she disappeared but I believe she had slowed time, Kit. At first I thought it was the weed." He laughs.

Kits eyes haven't left me.
"Jed, when's the last time you heard of a mage bending the wheel of time?"

I look to my father who is studying the stone steps below him.
"Not since I met your mother, Brianna. She could do similar things, even twist gravity upon itself."

"Like when you raised our ship out of the ocean..." kit replies. "Remarkable...."

"Yes...she is the best of both worlds now, harnessing god-like power, and time bending. I'm glad I brought you up with a good heart, I couldn't imagine what damage you could cause if you were on the dark side." My father says.

I blush at both of them. This seems so strange, I have gone through so many obstacles learning my power and I haven't even touched it's true potential.
"I don't think I will ever master this stuff." I huff, pouting.

Kits chuckles and walks towards me.
"Did you know your bottom lip puckers when you pout?"

I glare at him.
"I'm not pouting!"

Jed laughs.
"Her mother's did the same."

"Fists up? But this time I want to see some projectiles with that magic." Kit says getting into position once again.

I sigh.
"Alright." I pull mana once again and we square off. This time I focus the energy into my hands, my book still flapping through spells as I do and I read it in my mind, I have selected two spells already before we have even made a move.

I lunge at Kit sweeping low with a fist, he spins out of the way, and stabs at my head with a dagger. I cast my spell and fire explodes from my hands. I duck under his weapon, and meet his wide eyes, then pour the flames out, he crosses his arms holding the daggers tightly as the flames roar towards him. He braces himself taking the hit with his blades, and astonishingly he forces them to the side, reluctantly directing them towards my father who ducks just in time, then he unexpectedly throws the daggers at me with the quick snap of his wrists. I had not anticipated this, I curse myself for trusting he would always keep his weapons close. The daggers slice into both my upper arms as I have no time to think or even move past them. But Kit being the expert he is made sure the daggers would not harm me too much. I grasp at the blood seeping down my arms and into the clothes as the daggers stab into the stone behind me.

"And THAT, Kit Mercer, is why you are the best of the best." Jed says proudly.

Kit glances at Jed with a shameful expression.
"Are you alright Bri?"

I nod, wincing at the pain and heal myself back up quickly.

"Do you want to stop?" He asks approaching me. He places his hands on my shoulders and looks me in the eyes.
"No, we keep going." I say with determination.

He hums nervously.
"Training with you is different than training with anyone else, not even Vance has this power, with the strength you have I need to be sharp and strong against you. It could injure us both severely, are you prepared for that?"

My brows furrow thinking about it. If this is the way we train to get to our objective then, so be it.
"Bring it." I say challenging him. He sighs at me.

"As you wish." Kit says, and surprises me with yet another strike sending me tumbling back, doubling over onto my knees. He had hit my stomach causing me to lose my breath. Before I can regain myself he is on me again, throwing strike after strike with no hesitation or stopping. I block most but take some hard beatings.

"Use your mana dumb dumb!" My father calls out to me. There is so much to think about all at once, I am finding it hard to focus on combining both, it's either one or the other. I hear my fathers words and pull mana then block Kits last kick coating the hit point on my body with arcane crystal. His foot hits the armor and he is rebounded back.

I gather more mana and launch at him taking my books spells with me and we fight ruthlessly.

It was four hours of pummeling each other until we couldn't stand anymore. I have nearly run out of mana and Kit has used up all of his energy. We both lie on our backs on the ground after taking massive strikes from each other. Mine was an explosion of ice which freeze burned his chest, and his was another dagger into the shoulder followed by a last minute and desperate punch to my jaw. We both flew back equal distances and Jed howls.

"Well done, both of you!" He claps and then we notice the audience that had formed around us. Including Vance who looks furious.

I sit up cringing at the pain in my shoulder, I look down to see a dagger buried to the hilt protruding out of me just below an artery. Even in his ruthless defense Kit still is cautious not to cause any fatal damage. I am completely starstruck by him.
Kit sits up and calls out to me.
"Are you alright?"

I curse at the dagger gripping the hilt in an attempt to pull it out.
"Yeah...are you?" I ask and rip it from my body crying out in pain.

"Yeah." He replies as he struggles to stand.

I stumble to my feet myself and look around. Everyone one of my counsel is here, and even our new recruited leaders. They stare in shock at both of us not saying a word. It was then I noticed the damage done to the area, there was not a statue or pillar intact, the stone floor has been torn up completely, I am not sure how we were able to fight in all of this rubble. I hold my shoulder looking around and my eyes lay on Vance who looks mortified.

I smile at him through blood stained teeth trying to ease his tension. Thankfully Kit didn't knock any out, that would be horrible.

"You got anymore in you?" Kit asks, out of breath, cursing at his own wounds.

"I think that's enough." Vance answers for me. And pushes himself through the crowd coming to my side.

"Gods, Brianna, there isn't one part of you that isn't bleeding. And your mana levels are critically low." He removes my hand from the dagger wound and blood pours from it.

Anger tears through his eyes, he stands puffed chested snarling at Kit.
"Was stabbing her necessary?"

Kit shamefully looks down.

I manage to muster up a healing spell to close the wound and answer for him.
"Yes."

Vance glances at me and shakes his head.
"No it's not." He snaps.

"I'm so sorry, Brianna." Kit says a fair distance away.

I glare at both of them, I am not some frail little girl. I recall saying this more than once to Roan, yet he continued to court me around as if I couldn't defend myself just like these two. I have had enough of it. I shove my way past Vance and climb my way out of the rubble then turn to face the three. My father, Vance and kit watch me silently, they most likely notice the angry look on my face.

"I am not a child, I can handle this. If we are to win this war I need the right training to do that without hold backs or hesitations. Once again I will ask all of you to put your emotions aside, we are running out of time for god's sake!"

I point to my father.
"You think my father went easy on me? He has knocked me unconscious more than once during training, this is the way!"

Jed stands proudly.
"You train hard to fight easy! Depending on the strength of the enemy will determine the strength needed during practice."

"Wise words, Jed." Kit says.
Vance is still not sure of our training. He follows me to the entrance of the pyramid and waits for me.

I nod at my father and he nods at me.
"This session is over, go get cleaned up, both of you." My father commands just as he used to do when I was a child.

"Let's go, Bri." Vance says and takes my hand walking me into the pyramid.

—————————————-

We get to our room and Vance breaks down.

"I am not ok with this at all." He says, and sits down on our bed.

I strip off my blood covered clothes, although it wasn't an easy task as the rips and tears on my skin catch or are stuck to the fabric opening the wounds further. Vance runs his eyes over my bruised and tattered body.

"We have to train hard, Vance, I would expect the same from you when we train with magic."

I pull a robe from the closet and throw it over top my bloody body, the fluid seeps into the fabric showing every wound given.

He places his head in his hands.
"I don't think I can do that, and I don't like Kit beating up on you."

I sigh, if he can't do it, then it shouldn't affect my training as he is only my temporary teacher until we reach Ashura.
"It's ok, if it's too hard on you Dione will take over once we get to Ashura."

I smile up at him, he still doesn't look at me.

"I feel like...I...just..." he chokes on his words.

I sit painfully down beside him watching him fall apart.
"What is it?" I rest a hand on his back.

"I feel like I'm losing you....you're different...everything is...so different..."

I sigh.
"Since Emeriss."

He lifts his head.
"Yeah....what happened to you?"

I swallow hard as he stares at me. I can't tell him right now, it just isn't the time, so I play it off as if I had taken on too many injuries and gasp at the pain and double over.

"Fuck...I'm sorry Bri, you need some healing... let's get you fixed up. We can talk about this later."

He lifts me in his arms just like before and carries me out the door to the bathing quarters.

The bath was heavenly and sunk into my wounds, closing up the torn flesh and reducing the swelling. Vance had taken his time and effort to put something together for me, even red flower petals. But this time he doesn't join me, this time he sits on the floor with his back turned to me leaning against the side of the tub. It for some reason reminds me of the first time I had Roan in the same bathing room as me, although the feelings were different, the longing was the same, and so was the distance growing between us. Speaking of Roan...I had almost forgotten what happened at the life tree with Evanora.

It may be a good time to tell Vance, it might take some focus away from everything else.
"Vance."
He turns his head slightly.
"Hm?"

"I need to tell you something."

I can hear his breath hitch.
"I feel like I already know what it is."

"Roan came to me at the life tree."

I can see the muscles in his back tense up.
"What?" He turns around to face me dead serious.

"Tell me how..."

"I was kneeling before the tree, Evanora had gotten up pacing as she spoke, then all of a sudden I felt a cold chill. The torches behind us blew out and although I couldn't see him, I could feel him, even smell him. He spoke to me." I pause for a minute trying to remember the exact words.

"What did he say?"

"He said the next time I see him he will kill me. It was mostly just threats on my life. It was horrible."

His brows furrow.
"Well at least it wasn't something we already know. But this may not be a good thing. He most likely astral projected, which means he knows exactly where we are right now."

My eyes grow wide.
"He will do something."

Vance nods.
"Yes, inevitably."

We need to call a meeting." We both day at the same time.

He straightens up and I grab him before he can get up off the floor.
"Vance, I'm sorry for everything. Things will settle out, I am just so overwhelmed with everything I've been through. I'm trying to cope with what I've seen and felt so far. Please be patient with me."

He sighs in relief as his muscles relax slightly.
"Alright, I will be patient, as long as you still have love in your heart for me I can wait for you. And I will always be there by your side."

I smile at him.
"I know. I love you, don't worry." Which wasn't untrue, I do love this man very much.

"Let's go sweetheart."