The Matriarch instructed Prelinsa to change into something more suitable for a workout. After this was done, she spoke once more.

“In addition to learning the Path of the Phoenix, you will be educated in other areas. Common subjects such as math, reading, and science, as well as etiquette. You will also be taught practical knowledge about common lifestyles across the Realms. While little is expected of you right now, your station will continue to increase as you gain power. Therefore, people will judge your behavior and knowledge, and see it as a reflection of House Silvermoon as a whole.”

Prelinsa nodded. “Right. I’m looking forward to learning how to read better.”

“It is good that you are eager to learn. Many people are not.”

The Matriarch guided Prelinsa through some corridors. Along the way, they met back up with Missus B. and the Silvermoon representative.

“Heyo, Prelinsa. I was being ‘briefed’ about the living situation. We’re gonna be living in one of those houses outside, and they’re bringing me to check it out. When ya get back, I’m gonna have a proper welcoming feast prepared for ya!”

“Make sure there’s a lot of meat, okay?”

“I will, but ya better not skip out on veggies now, ya hear me?”

Prelinsa rolled her eyes. “Come on. You know I’m good about veggies.”

Missus B. laughed. “I do, I do! Take care with your training!”

“I will!”

They parted ways again. The Matriarch guided Prelinsa out of White Blossom Castle and part of the way down Castle Hill, to a large walled-off space. A dirt training field, with some dummies and a number of people already present. Some were taking breaks, but most were practicing martial arts – either barehanded or with training weapons. Only a few were practicing with real weapons, and they were all in a different section of the field that was fenced off, away from the rest. Some people were instructors, overseeing the training.

“Give the Matriarch and her disciple your greetings!” An instructor ordered loudly.

Immediately, everyone stopped where they were and knelt before the Matriarch. Even those taking breaks got up and did so.

“We greet the Matriarch and her disciple! May the fire of the Phoenix burn eternally!” They all said in unison.

Prelinsa blinked a few times.

“At ease!” The Matriarch replied, slamming her staff and projecting her voice clearly. “Resume your activities!”

“Yes, ma’am!” With that, everyone stood, and continued what they were doing, though some continued to sneak peeks at the Matriarch and Prelinsa. Prelinsa did her best to ignore them, but the attention was definitely a little uncomfortable.

The Matriarch guided Prelinsa along one wall of the field, until they approached a pokkit wearing a black martial arts outfit, and a mask similar to the Matriarch’s. The mask wasn’t covering her face though, it was being worn off to one side. The pokkit looked like she was in her late teens, but what was really striking was her resemblance to the Matriarch. Though her hair was shorter, her eyes were bigger, and her ear and tail fur seemed a bit less fluffy and more fuzzy. She also had some reddish triangular tattoo-like markings on her cheeks, which looked somewhat like very thick whiskers – three on each side.

Despite these differences, Prelinsa felt almost as if she was seeing a younger version of the Matriarch herself, rather than a daughter.

She smiled placidly, and Prelinsa immediately noticed another difference. The way she carried herself was unlike the Matriarch’s charismatic and controlled demeanor – she seemed docile, friendly, and approachable. It was just a little uncanny with how strongly they resembled each other.

“Mother,” the pokkit said, pleased to see the Matriarch.

“Corynn,” the Matriarch replied. “This is Prelinsa Brunswick, my newest disciple.”

“Uh, hi,” Prelinsa said, a bit awkwardly.

“Hi, Prelinsa,” Corynn replied, waving a hand in greetings. “I’m Corynn Silvermoon. I think you’ve heard already, but I’ll be helping Mother out with your training. This is all new for me too, so I’ll do my best.”

“For now, I would like to simply observe the two of you as you spar,” the Matriarch said.

“Sure,” said Corynn. “Prelinsa, is there any weapon you’d like to use? You can choose from the racks over there.” She pointed to a section of the wall, where there were a variety of training weapons.

“Not really,” Prelinsa replied. “I don’t really know any weapons.”

“Barehanded it is, then. Let’s move away from the wall.” Corynn stepped into the field. The few people who were in the way naturally stopped what they were doing and stepped aside to make space for her. Being the daughter of the Matriarch had perks and it looked like she knew it well. A number of people also just stopped what they were doing to watch the upcoming spar between the Matriarch’s daughter and newest disciple. Some of them whispered to one another. They did their best to remain unheard, but Prelinsa’s fox ear caught bits here and there.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Surely Princess Corynn. She is so young, yet already so talented.”

“Are you sure? There must be something to the new disciple if the Matriarch chose her.”

“I don’t know if the point of this spar is to see who wins.”

“Stand about 6 meters from each other,” the Matriarch instructed. “You will begin the spar when I say begin, and cease when I say cease.”

Prelinsa got into position, taking a fighting stance.

Corynn bowed to Prelinsa. Then, she closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply once. When she opened them again, she took her own stance, and there was a completely different vibe to her demeanor – she was deeply focused, sizing Prelinsa up as an opponent. Prelinsa tensed up, preparing for battle.

“Begin!” The Matriarch said.

“RAAAARGH!” Prelinsa yelled, charging at Corynn and trying to punch her in the side. Corynn just stood there and blocked it effortlessly, counterattacking with a slow punch in return. It felt deliberately slow, but Prelinsa avoided it regardless. Prelinsa continued to press the attack, trying to land blow after blow. Corynn simply stepped back to avoid some of them, and deflected the rest with her forearms. But it didn’t really seem like she had to step back. More like she was just holding back and allowing Prelinsa to take the initiative.

To Prelinsa, this was frustrating. In the past, she’d often lost fights because she was sick, but ever since taking the medicine, her body acted as she wanted. Even when she was sick, she’d still been able to make progress against some opponents, like Vincent. This was the first time that she was struggling for a reason not outside of her control – it was completely due to her own lack of ability. The fact that Corynn was going easy on her didn’t help matters.

This made Prelinsa impatient, and Corynn caught on to it. She suddenly vanished from sight. No, it wasn't that – she had suddenly shifted to a smaller form, causing Prelinsa to overcommit to an attack and miss wildly. Then Corynn lightly rammed into Prelinsa's legs. It was precise, and just enough to cause her to fall over and eat dirt.

“Cease!” The Matriarch ordered.

Corynn shifted back up and offered Prelinsa a hand. Prelinsa reluctantly took it and pulled herself back to her feet, wiping dirt and dust off herself. Then Corynn stepped back, and once again, bowed to Prelinsa. Prelinsa paused, then tentatively and awkwardly bowed back. There were some murmurs among the crowd.

“…That’s it?”

“Kinda disappointing.”

“Shh! You’re being rude!”

“Silence,” the Matriarch ordered, and everyone immediately shut up. She approached Prelinsa and Corynn.

“Corynn. You can afford to go more on the offensive. I believe a more direct approach may be beneficial for Prelinsa’s learning.”

Corynn bowed respectfully. “Yes, Mother.”

The Matriarch turned to Prelinsa.

“Prelinsa. Your technique was not poor. But you were a bit too aggressive. Be mindful of your impatience. You were defeated easily this time because you grew frustrated, and left yourself open. Let this be an important lesson for you.”

Prelinsa nodded silently, and sourly. It didn’t feel good, but she did understand.

“Your talent and instincts are excellent for someone with so little martial arts training. Especially considering your circumstances,” the Matriarch continued. “You have great potential, and with proper guidance can become a truly skilled warrior. Do not allow this experience to dampen your spirit. Let it become motivation for you to improve.”

Prelinsa nodded again, more determinedly. “Alright.”

“I have some matters to attend to, so I must leave for now. I will meet with you again this afternoon.” The Matriarch turned away from them. “For the time being, continue to train on your own as you see fit. Corynn, instruct Prelinsa on proper technique, and where she can improve. Do not be afraid to be direct with her. I believe Prelinsa herself would appreciate this.”

“Alright, Mother. You can count on me,” Corynn said, seemingly happy to oblige.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“You are instructor and student right now. It will be good if you can get along, and understand one other.” The Matriarch left the field. Corynn turned to Prelinsa.

“Well, for now, I think it’s best if you just show me what you’ve got again,” she said. “While we’re fighting, I’ll call out where I think you can improve.”

“Okay,” Prelinsa said.

“This time, we’ll start 3 meters apart. Begin when I say begin, and cease when I say cease.”

----------------------------------------

By the time midday rolled around, Prelinsa was exhausted. Even though she worked out often, the level of physical exertion demanded of her was beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Meanwhile, Corynn seemed to be barely sweating. She was going easy on Prelinsa, and it felt like she could keep going for a long time. And yet Prelinsa had not managed to land a single clean hit, which was incredibly frustrating. At least this time, Corynn wasn’t knocking her to the ground, and by this point, most of the other people training had lost interest and were preoccupied with their own activities.

“Cease! We’re stopping for lunch.”

Prelinsa dropped to the ground, panting heavily. She lay down on her back to rest.

Corynn once again bowed to Prelinsa. “You kept up well! I’m impressed,” she said. “You already have a lot of the basics down. Did you learn from someone who knew martial arts?”

“…I learned from watching Missus B. and my mom,” Prelinsa said, sitting up.

Once again, Corynn offered her a hand, and pulled her up.

“You learned well from them,” she said. “Remember to keep your movements a bit tighter. You’re wasting too much energy, especially with your punches and kicks. You also need to build up your stamina more – in a longer fight, you won’t be able to keep up.”

Prelinsa nodded. Everything Corynn said either made sense or was completely right. It was annoying to be seen through so completely, but she did appreciate the directness. It would’ve been much worse if Corynn beat around the bush before explaining things.

“I think stamina is part of why you try and end things quickly, by being aggressive,” Corynn continued. “Sometimes, that is the right approach, but you need more options.”

“Yeah. Speaking of options, why haven’t you shifted again since the first round?”

“It’s because most shifters don’t have enough speed or dynamic range to use shifting in the middle of a fight,” Corynn replied. “They’re limited to just one form, and that form is usually big. It’s an upshift. On the other hand, most people can’t downshift at all. So making you fight me with shifting isn’t really fair until you have more experience.”

“Got it.”

“Let’s go get lunch,” Corynn said. “I’m sure you’re hungry after that workout. I am, too.”

----------------------------------------

After cleaning up a bit, the two of them headed down the hill and into a little commercial area of White Blossom Fortress. There were no cars – it was a fully pedestrian street, with people walking along the paved stone, or sitting on benches. Some of them were carrying food and eating while walking, while others sat down to eat. Pear trees lined the streets, in front of the pagoda roofed stores.

Along the way, they ran into Missus B. again.

“Prelinsa! Girl, you’re looking worn out. That training took a lot outta ya, huh?”

“Yep, it was hard. But what are you doing here?”

Missus B. outstretched her hands. “Buying food for our dinner feast! Lotta stuff here that I don’t know about! Always exciting ta try new food, but for now I’ll just stick with what I know. The new stuff can come another time.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t want you to mess it up. We know what happened last time,” Prelinsa commented.

“Awww, don’t sell me out like that! Anyway, who’s the fluffy with ya?”

“I’m Corynn Silvermoon. I’m helping Prelinsa out with her training,” Corynn said, smiling amicably.

Missus B. offered a handshake, which Corynn accepted. “So you’re Missus Matriarch’s daughter, huh? Well, I’m Heather Anne Brunswick, Prelinsa’s guardian. Just call me Missus B.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Missus B,” Corynn replied. “Prelinsa and I are just taking a lunch break from training.”

“Well now, I don’t wanna interrupt your lunch! And I’ve still got to buy food for dinner. Catch ya later, alright?”

“Bye, Missus B!” Prelinsa said.

Missus B. slinked off into the crowd, her tail the last part to vanish from sight.

“Mother told me a little about Missus B. She seems nice,” Corynn said, watching her leave.

“She is,” Prelinsa agreed.

----------------------------------------

After the two ate, Corynn gave Prelinsa a tour of some areas of White Blossom Fortress, while they digested. They passed by a black-colored fox laying on its side. The fox raised its head and stared at them as they walked by.

“Right now, we’re on Little Silk Road,” Corynn said. “It’s a busy merchant’s district. Mostly shops, but a few houses and some restaurants. Around this time of day, it’s quite crowded as you can see.”

“Yeah, I can smell the food.”

Regardless of their feelings, no people dared approach Princess Corynn Silvermoon – she was too high above them for that. The crowds simply parted way for, and otherwise ignored, the two pokkits. Some people gave them respectful or curious gestures – after all, it was rare to see a Silvermoon Princess with a new disciple. To these people, Corynn would smile and wave in response. But there were a select few people who gave them a nasty looks, or even whispered rude comments. They were by far the minority, but that just made them stand out more.

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Prelinsa asked, as someone walking in the opposite direction glared at Corynn.

“Not really,” Corynn replied. She really didn’t seem bothered by this, which honestly impressed Prelinsa.

“Well, it kind of bothers me,” Prelinsa admitted.

“It’s normal to feel that way,” Corynn said. “When people think badly of you, you want to do something about it. But remember – when you’re someone important, you end up dealing with lots of different people. Some of them will never like you, no matter who you are or what you do.”

“I guess so.” Prelinsa immediately thought of Vincent. She probably wouldn’t ever like him.

“For a Phoenix Warrior, it’s especially important to think this way. You’re going to live for a long time, so you’re going to meet a lot of people.”

“Yeah.” Prelinsa frowned. “I still don’t really know why the Matriarch – your mom, I mean – chose me to learn the Path of the Phoenix.”

“I think for now, that’s something Mother wants you to figure out for yourself. Maybe she’ll tell you later if you get stuck.”

“Hmm. I don’t really like it when people keep secrets,” Prelinsa complained.

“I don’t really like it either,” Corynn agreed. “But sometimes, there are good reasons to keep them.”

“You think so?”

“Mhm. Think about it – with just innate magic, a shifter is already so much stronger than a non-shifter. Acquired magic is even stronger than that. What would happen if you let criminals have that much power?”

Prelinsa thought about it. She’d already seen a lot of mayhem caused by shifters, like in the Friendly Fox. “Ah. Yeah, that would be bad,” she agreed.

“Right now, things are okay because magic is being managed carefully. House Silvermoon oversees all the mages in the East Realm. It's not perfect, but it limits the damage that magic can cause. It’s similar for all the other Realms.”

Prelinsa thought about that for a few moments.

“…So I’m being taught magic because your mom doesn’t think I’ll do anything bad with it?” She wondered aloud.

Corynn shook her head. “I don’t think that’s exactly right. There’s more to it than just that.”

“Hmm. This is annoying.”

“You’ll figure it out soon enough. For now, let’s go back to training. I think we’ve walked off enough.”

----------------------------------------

Training in the afternoon was just as hard, if not harder than in the morning. Prelinsa took Corynn’s advice into mind, and tried to reduce her movements. But it was difficult to make her body move in ways she wasn’t used to – her movements became very stiff, and felt really bad. Corynn reassured her that it was normal to feel this way. “Sooner or later, you’ll get the hang of it,” she said encouragingly. “It’s better to get this out of the way now. Get your fundamentals down first. Otherwise, it’ll make things a lot worse when you move on to the advanced stuff.” It seemed like as the day went on, she was adopting more and more of Prelinsa’s informal speech mannerisms, which definitely made Prelinsa feel more comfortable.

Later that afternoon, the Matriarch dropped by as promised, and once again the entire training field greeted her, including Prelinsa this time. She complimented both Prelinsa and Corynn, while giving them additional advice. She also agreed with Corynn’s assessment that it was better to address Prelinsa’s movement now rather than later. “Dealing with this relatively small problem now prevents much greater problems in the future,” she said. “This is the correct approach. Do not be disheartened by a lack of immediate results. You will see improvements with time and practice.”

By the end of the afternoon and the training for that day, Prelinsa felt terribly sore and weak all over – even after taking multiple breaks, which were ordered so as not to make things overly taxing. It was a little hard not to feel somewhat discouraged, but the Path of the Phoenix was even more challenging than this. If she couldn’t deal with some physical training, then her resolve would be a joke. She would not let this bring her down, no matter what.

As the aurora began to appear in the night sky, she dragged her body back up Castle Hill, heading for the third house on the right. Something smelled delicious, even before she opened the door.

“Welcome back, Prelinsa!” Missus B. called out.

“I’m back,” Prelinsa said wearily, taking off her shoes.

“Food’s still cooking! Take a shower and get changed!”

“Okay.”

Prelinsa did so as quickly as her tired body would allow. By the time she got back to the dining room, her hair still damp, Missus B. was bringing the last of the food to the table.

“Just in time!”

There were a lot of good meat dishes, and some vegetables. Missus B. sat down, and raised a glass of water as a toast.

“Here’s to a new life for ya, Prelinsa,” she said.

Prelinsa took a seat. She raised a glass as well, and clinked it with Missus B.’s.

“Cheers.”

She began quickly taking stuff onto her plate. The workout had made her very hungry.

“How was th’training?” Missus B. asked.

“Tiring,” said Prelinsa. “There’s a lot I need to work on.”

“It’s gonna be tough for ya, since ya kinda just learned how ta fight by watching. I’m sorry I didn’t teach ya better.”

“It’s okay, I know why you didn’t. I was sick, after all.”

“Thank ya kindly, Prelinsa.”

Missus B. took some food for herself as well. She drank from her glass of water. There was some silence as the two of them ate for a while.

“…How’re your new teachers treating ya?” Missus B. finally asked.

Prelinsa chewed and swallowed what she was eating. “Good. The Matriarch’s always serious, but she’s trying to be nice. I think,” she said. “Corynn is easy to talk to and gives me good advice. Maybe it’s because she’s around my age.”

“Love to hear it. Ya didn’t get to make any friends your age in the slums. Now you’ve got Rona and Corynn. Ya got Rona’s contact info, right?”

“I did, yeah. We keep in touch a little.”

“Good kid, that Rona.” Missus B. thought for a moment, frowning. “Hmm. Do I call ‘er a kid when she’s older than me…?” She came to her own answer quickly, doing some math in her head while counting on her fingers. “Meh. Seventy-one is like what, fifteen in elf years? Fourteen? And she looks fourteen, too. Guess I’ll just stick with kid.”

Prelinsa snorted.

“Well, I won’t ramble more. I know ya must be hungry after all that workout.”

Prelinsa nodded, and ate in silence for the rest of dinner. She slept very well that night.