Elina dragged her feet as she reluctantly followed Milina down to the Maliri training field. They were both wearing simple cotton shirts, dark pants, and black boots that reached just below their knees. It was the first time either of them had worn anything like this, but unexpectedly, they both found it quite pleasant. The freedom of their legs was something Elina had never experienced. Running without worrying she would trip was amazing.

Still, that didn't mean she wanted to learn to fight! Daydreaming about wielding a sword and chasing down kidnappers was not the same as actually training! Why am I here? It’s too early to be awake! I don’t want to learn how to fight. I don’t want to be here! she complained, her shoulders drooping as her sister briskly moved farther away. Why is Milina like this?

Taking a deep breath of the crisp morning air, Elina stomped after her sister, her knees moving up and down. Maybe this time she will listen to reason,” she tried to convince herself. “I don’t need to learn how to fight! We can hire more soldiers. Overhead, the songs of birds filled the sky, causing her to frown. Usually, their melodies made her happy, but today the mess of chirps and beeps only upset her. They sounded like a disjointed harmony, composed just to spite her.

“Milina, do we really need to learn to fight?” she complied when she caught up. “Maybe I can learn to use a bow instead? I saw June making arrowheads, maybe he can teach me how to shoot.”

“That may be a good idea, but we should learn the basics of how to fight with a saber at the very least,” Milina replied, her eyes glancing at the training guards as they passed by. “Fighting with a saber is part of our family tradition.”

“But we never had to before!”

“Why are you complaining? I thought you always wanted to learn to fight. I caught you trying to convince Todo just last year.”

“But that’s different!”

Ignoring Elina’s complaints, Milina pursed her lips. “It should be around here,” she muttered to no one in particular.

Getting the same answers as this morning, Elina sighed. It was no use—she couldn’t convince her sister. She was doomed. Honestly, learning to use a saber was something she had always wanted to do, but for some reason receiving formal lessons from a stranger made her anxious. Maybe it was the endless etiquette and embroidery lessons, where strict and cold teachers yelled at her, but Elina did not like formal lessons. Learning from someone she knew, like Todo, or even June was preferable.

Glumly following Milina, Elina tried to convince herself that this time it would be different. This could be fun. You always wanted excitement in your life, she told herself. I’ve always gotten along with the soldiers and warriors back home. Maybe the instructor will like me as well. Besides, this time I’m allowed to move. I don’t have to smile and pretend that embroidery is my favorite activity.

As the two princesses kept walking, they spotted Mr. Maliri and Ashley standing beside a tall man. “That must be where we are supposed to go,” Milina said, picking up her pace. “That man must be our training instructor.”

The man appeared to be in his thirties, solid in physique, and standing around six feet tall. His dark brown hair was cut short like most soldiers, sides shaved with only a little on top. On his body, he wore a dark gambeson vest with diamond stitching. Just by looking at him, Elina knew the man was deadly. There was something about the way he carried himself— a sense of controlled danger that some of the Arcane Warriors back at the castle had.

“Princess Milina!” Ashely had noticed the pair. Lifting her arms above her head she waved them over. “Let me introduce you to our training instructor! This is Sir Zenrom. He is an Arcane Lord and leader of the Diamond Guard. Previously, he was a First Pillar of the Salizian army and commander of a cavalry group!”

Cautiously walking forward, Elina could not help but hear the pride in Ashley’s voice as she introduced Zenrom to the two princesses. Her tone was pitched slightly higher than usual. It was the first time Elina had heard Ashley sound so lively, almost as if Zenrom’s presence gave her energy.

“A former First Pillar! And an Arcane Lord,” Milina exclaimed, her voice rising slightly at the news.

Tilting her head at her sister's outburst, Elina racked her brain, remembering that a First Pillar was a rank within the Salizian army—someone who oversaw a thousand soldiers. Why is a former First Pillar working here? she wondered, glancing at Ashley in question. A First Pillar was one of the cornerstones of the army and rarely left their post—and an Arcane Lord too! Someone that strong should have been a general!

Noticing her questioning expression, Ashley spoke, a smile on her face. “General Todo introduced Sir Zenrom to us when he was no longer part of the army. He has been an extraordinary member of the Maliri Guards since then—he is practically family.”

Still unable to understand why someone who should have been a general in the Salizian army was acting as a guard for a merchant—even if the merchant was the richest in the Kingdom—Elina turned to her sister with a questioning look, her brows furrowed.

“Elina, you must learn to read between the lines,” her sister whispered, her voice barely audible to her. “He is someone that was kicked out by Queen Kina to make room for one of her subordinates.”

Taking a breath in understanding, Elina blushed in embarrassment, her eyes looking down at the ground to hide her red face. I should have been able to pick up on that, she scolded herself. As a princess, she was expected to piece together such things. Glancing up at him, she felt an odd sense of guilt settle down on her. I know I’m not responsible for his situation, but that doesn’t make me feel less responsible, she caught herself thinking. My family’s faults feel like mine.

“Sir Zenrom, it is our pleasure to be your acquaintance,” Milina’s words interrupted Elina’s thoughts. “My sister and I will be troubling you.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Zenrom replied, offering them a perfect salute. “General Todo has often spoken highly of both of you. If even half of what he said is true, I’m sure you’ll do well. Especially you, Princess Elina. There will be no embroidering here. And you can run around all you want.”

Blinking at his words, Elina found herself grinning at him. Todo had told him about her dislike of embroidering, did he? “Why, thank you, Sir Zenrom. I’ll do my best to live up to his words,” she said. Seeing the smile he returned, Elina decided she liked the man. He wasn’t stuffy or devoid of humor; he reminded her of the soldiers back home.

Witnessing the interaction between them, Mr. Maliri laughed good heartedly, his double chin quivering. “Princess, I hope you will excuse me,” he sang when he stopped. “Regrettably, I have some tasks that I must take care of. I hope you will let me take my leave. My daughter and Sir Zenrom will take care of both of you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Maliri. Please don’t let us keep you,” Milina replied, nodding politely in gratitude. “I’m sure your daughter and Sir Zenrom are more than capable of keeping an eye on us.”

“Thank you, Princess.”

As the round merchant tottered away, Zenrom began the lesson, his deep, voice a rumble in his chest. “I do not know how much you know, so I’ll start from the beginning,” he said, calmly directing the girls to a bench.

“Are you joining us?” Elina asked Ashely as she sat down.

“Yes, Princess. I’ve asked my father for permission to accompany you. I hope you do not mind?” Ashley replied with a warm smile.

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“The more, the merrier,” Elina voiced in relief. With Ashley present, she was sure her sister wouldn’t push too hard. She had been worried about that since this morning.

Turning back to what Zenrom was saying Elina tried to understand what he was saying.

“When talking about the strength of a warrior, we talk about how strong or weak their Auctoritas is, but many people do not understand what that means,” Zenrom was saying, his hands crossed behind him. “Auctoritas is a combination of how skilled a warrior is at manipulating Aether, and how skilled they are at a Martial System. It is not just about Aether or how skillfully they can move a sword. For example, having the ability to draw a large amount of Aether will not make you a better warrior—no doubt stronger—but not better. At the same time, even if you master a Martial System, if you are unable to manipulate Aether, you will be too weak to fight against someone even halfway decent. Having the knowledge and skill to use a Martial System with Aether is what makes you a better warrior.

“As you all know, not everyone can draw Aether, only those who are born with crests can.” Zenrom paused, his forehead wrinkled as he thought of the best way to convey his knowledge. “Most people are born without a crest, like Lady Ashley, due to this people who are born with crests are known commonly as Warriors. These warriors can draw the Aether that surrounds them into their bodies through these crests—called the Gate of Power.” Pulling up his sleeve, he showed them the Blue Jay crest on his shoulder.

“From what we can tell, the Aether is made up of two powers: the morning and night energy. Your crest acts like a filer as you draw the Aether causing different ratios of morning and night energy to enter your body. Interestingly women seem to have an easier time benefiting from the night energy while men usually benefit from the morning energy.”

“Why do the crests move up your arm as you become stronger?” asked Elina, raising her slender hand and interrupting Zenrom.

Lowering his sleeve Zenrom answered. “In order for you to start rotating the Aether throughout your body, you must first move the filtered energy from your Gate of Power to your Energy Core.” Gesturing to his chest, Zenrom showed them where the energy core was.

“The Energy Core is in the center of your chest. As your Gate of Power moves closer and closer to your Core the faster and stronger you can harness your power. This is because the distance between your Gate and Core becomes closer and closer. The gates have checkpoints within the human body, it starts on the hand, then arm, shoulder, neck, and lastly your back. This correlates to the arcane levels of Warrior, Knight, Lord, Master, and Grandmaster.” Zenrom paused, making sure that the girls understood what he had just said.

“Do any of you have any questions?”

“I do!” Elina said, jumping up and stretching out her arm.

“Are people with short arms stronger than those with longer arms? If the distance is what matters, the distance from my hand to my core is shorter than Milina’s.”

Zenrom stood there in mild dismay. This was clearly a question he had never expected. “Honestly, I have no clue,” he finally answered. “However, I have never noticed shorter people being stronger when using Aether. But that is a good question.”

Clearing his throat, he continued. “Let's put that aside for now and talk about rotating the energy within your body. Once the energy enters the core, the energy can be used to enhance your body by moving it to where you want. There are basic patterns that optimize the pathways that the energy can travel through that I can teach you, but each House has a time-tested method that fits their Crests the most. Because of this, I will not be teaching you princesses the basic pattern. This is to make sure you do not learn bad habits that can potentially hinder you when using House Salizia’s energy patterns. In the long run, it is better to learn your house’s techniques. What I will be teaching you is the very basic physical forms of a martial system. Although each House has their own way of fighting, the basics are all the same.”

Picking up a sword he pointed to the tip and edge. “For example, you can stab with a sword or slash with it, this principle does not change depending on what system you use.”

Turning to Ashley he spoke. “Ashley, I will teach you how to use a sword, it is what I am most proficient at. As for the two princesses—you will learn to use the two-handed saber, it is the weapon your House is famous for wielding.” Strolling over to a large sack he had prepared earlier, he pulled out two wooden sabers and a wooden sword.

“Usually, we use blunt metal weapons in training, but I have specially commissioned these wooden weapons for our training.”

“Wooden weapons!” cried Elina offended, voicing what they were all thinking.

“Most recruits that come to us have passed some sort of physical test,” Zenrom explained, passing the training weapons to the girls. “It is better to learn proper forms using a lighter weapon than to start with a heavy weapon and acquire bad habits. We will switch to a metal one once we build our physical strength.”

Begrudgingly accepting his reasoning, Elina started to swing her wooden saber around, quickly realizing the strength needed was much more than she had expected—her arms were already burning—and she had just started!

Putting the point of her saber into the ground Milina looked up, asking the question they all wanted to know. “Sir Zenrom, what is the first thing we will learn?”

“We will be learning the most important technique in combat. How to fight someone stronger than you,” Zenrom answered, a mischievous smile on his face.

Hearing his words, Elina jumped up and down in excitement, a surge of anticipation rushing through her body. Maybe learning to fight was much better than she had thought!

Seeing the excitement and joy on the girl's faces, a sinister glint appeared in Zenrom’s eyes. “If you ever come across someone you cannot beat, what do you think is the first thing you must do?” he asked.

“Never back down!” Milina answered.

“Try to outsmart him?” Ashley questioned.

“No. Both of you are wrong. The real answer is. RUN!”

“Run?” Both Elina and Ashley questioned, looking at each other in confusion. How would running help them win?

“Yes, unless you are buying time, there is no reason to fight someone stronger than you. Now I want all of you to run while holding your weapons until I say so. GO!”

Standing there in uncertainty, Elina glanced at her sister. This was not what she was expecting. Running did not seem very noble or honorable.

“You heard our instructor!” Milina smiled, lifting her saber and starting to run. “Both of you start running!”

Glaring at her sister as she ran down the field, Elina growled in helplessness. This was a foolish thing to do, she was here to learn how to fight, not run.

“What are you waiting for? Run!” Hearing Zenrom yell at her, Elina started to run, her arms swinging by her side, Ashley a step behind her.

“You forgot your weapon!” Zenrom shouted from behind them.

Looking down and realizing she had left her saber on the ground, Elina tried to curse but stopped, realizing she did not know the appropriate words—being a princess had its faults. Allowing Ashley to pass her, she sprinted back, clumsily scooping up her saber. Awkwardly clutching the wooden weapon to her chest, she chased after the two, her legs moving under her, shoulders slumped in disappointment—their first day of training had begun.

Hours later, the three exhausted girls slowly walked back to the Maliri Manor, heads down dragging their wooden weapons in the dirt, a trail from their weapons leading back from where they had come.

“I don’t think I can make it,” Elina cried, pushing her hair out of her face—replacing it with a streak of dirt. “I didn't even know my legs had some of the muscles that are hurting now. Sister, when I fall, please just let me die. Ashley, I would like to be buried next to that tree over there!” Dramatically stopping she pointed to a dead tree.

“You won't die,” Milina laughed, attempting to use her saber as a walking stick. “Personally, my chest and arms are more sore than my legs, carrying this wooden saber was a lot more painful than I imagined. Sir Zenrom is very demanding of us.”

“But isn't he quite grand?” Ashley cut in, a happy look on her face. “I really appreciate the time and care he put into teaching us.”

There it was again, the strangely pitched voice from when she introduced Sir Zenrom! “Do you like him?” Elina gasped, flabbergasted by the way Ashley was talking. Noticing the slight blush appearing on Ashley’s face she dropped her saber on the ground. “You do like him! But he’s so old! You're blushing!”

“I’m not blushing” retorted Ashley, angrily marching in front of her. “My face is red from all the running we’ve been doing.”

“Elina don’t tease your elders, it is not polite,” Milina spoke up, witnessing the antics between the two. “Regardless of his age, Sir Zenrom seems to be a proper gentleman. Judging him by just his strength, most Lords would offer their daughter's hand in marriage.”

“He is a gentleman,” agreed Ashley. “And you are correct Princess! He was engaged to Lord Galra’s daughter, but they broke off their engagement before he found employment with us. He looked so sad back then. I wanted to fix him.”

Sharing a terrified look with her sister, Elina silently swore to herself that she would never become this lovestruck over anyone, the secondhand embarrassment she was feeling was too much.

“Let’s keep walking you two. Elina, make sure you pick up your saber,” Milina said, giving her a look that said to behave. “The manor is just up ahead.”

As the trio finally made their way back, Elina noticed Milina stand up straight, lifting her practice saber into her arms as she turned to them.

“I will be meeting both of you tomorrow at the same time?”

Ignoring the groaning that came from Elina, she continued. “I will freshen up before lunch. I suggest you both clean up as well.” Putting on a radiant smile she walked into the manor, not exhibiting any signs of exhaustion she had just been exerting.

Noticing Ashley looking over at her, Elina raised her eyebrow in question.

“How did she do that?” Ashley asked. “One moment she was like us, exhausted. The next moment it looked as if she was fine. I still need to hold myself up with my sword.”

“I don’t know,” replied Elina plopping down on the stone steps to the Manor.

“She’s always been like that.”