“Remember, keep your eyes peeled and ears open for them, and be quiet,” Gerinna instructed her sisters. The goblin scanned the forest for any sign of Gigi or Drake. The pair had been ditching work early so Gigi could “train” for some fight. Gerinna herself was highly skeptical that any such event was incoming. It sounded exactly like the kind of lie Gigi would make up to ditch work early. Especially since it involved her new toy, Drake, who was allegedly her “coach.” Gerinna snorted at the absurdity of it all.

“I can’t believe I’m using my lunch break to spy on Gigi. What has my life come to?” Giada asked wistfully.

“Because you don’t believe she’s ‘training’ either,” Gerinna responded. “Plus, you love getting her in trouble.”

“You guys are mean,” Gena piped in. “What do you think the secret training is?” Gena asked in earnest.

Gerinna scoffed. Probably sucking each other's faces. Giada shot a deathly glare at Gerinna as if she had read her sister’s mind.

“I’m guessing she’s just sleeping off a hangover,” Gerinna said instead.

“What’s a hangover?” Gena asked.

“It’s why Gigi is so grumpy all the time,” Giada answered.

The trio stopped as they heard grunts and cries of exertion echo through the trees. I knew they were just doing it in the woods after Mom yelled at them! Gerinna sneered at Giada, who scowled back.

“That sounds like Gigi!” Gena cried. Her sisters shushed her.

“We’re going to go make sure it’s…safe for you,” Giada told Gena.

“That’s no fair! I want to see the secret training!” Gena protested.

“Not until you’re older,” Gerinna snickered.

“Because of, like, blood and stuff?” Gena asked with wide eyes.

“That’s exactly it,” Giada said with a reassuring smile. “Now, let us see first.”

***

The two sisters came to a break in the treeline, beyond which lay a clearing in the forest. They picked up spots behind trees large enough to hide them and peered forward. The scene in front of them surprised Gerinna. It was, in fact, not lovemaking. Gigi was panting hard on one knee. Gerinna watched her shoulders heave. No! They aren’t really training, are they?!

Gigi punched the ground. “Let’s do it again!” she demanded.

“Why don’t we take a break?” Drake offered.

“I don’t want to take a break. I want to try again!” she seethed.

Drake sighed and shrugged. “Alright, one more time.” He bowed his head and whispered something Gerinna couldn’t make out. A moment later, her attention was drawn to the black mass that had begun forming by his feet. It grew and grew until it started to rise into the air.

Gerinna’s jaw dropped. It was a massive snake, bigger than any she had ever seen. It was thick as a tree and longer than Gigi was tall. The snake’s dark skin swirled like living marble. Gerinna stared with astonishment as the inky black reptile slithered toward Gigi. She grunted and got to her feet, raising her fists.

Gigi struck out, but the snake swerved its head. She kept trying to land a blow, but the black serpent dodged every strike. The goblin grunted in frustration. A punch went wide, and Gigi’s foot slipped. She caught herself, but before she could take another step, the snake was upon her. It began to wrap up her leg as she fought for balance.

The giant serpent raced up her body as she tried to fight it off. It began to coil its endless body around her into a tight vice. After only a few seconds, she was ensnared entirely from head to toe. She wobbled in the breeze before she collapsed hard on the ground.

She rolled in the grass back and forth, trying to free herself. Gigi managed to flip to her side, where she then made eye contact with Gerinna. Both women’s eyes went wide in shock and terror. Gigi uttered a muffled cry, but the snake's body was blocking her mouth. She began to wiggle violently to be free.

Drake strolled over to where Gigi was trapped and knelt. “How about a break now?” He asked as the massive ebony snake dissolved into black smoke.

“My sisters!” Gigi cried as she smacked the ground.

“Your sisters?” Drake turned around and nearly jumped out of his boots.

Gerinna was now standing only a few paces behind them. Giada had followed, and Gena had snuck back into the group at some point. All three stared at Drake as if he might turn into a dragon.

“Did you see anything?” Drake asked sheepishly,

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Gigi pulled herself to her feet. “Of course, they saw!” She yelled at him. Anger radiated from her as she turned to her sisters. “Why are you spying on us?” Gigi demanded.

Gerinna tried to say something, anything, but no words came out. Instead, she just stared dumbly at her furious sister.

“We came to see the secret training!” Gena jumped up, pumping her small fist.

Gigi looked from the jubilant Gena to Gerinna and Giada, who still looked bewildered. Gigi sighed, breathing out her anger. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag anyway.” She crossed her arms. “If you want to stay and watch, I guess that’s fine, but you absolutely cannot tell anybody about what Drake can do.”

Gerinna finally found her tongue. “And why shouldn’t we, Gigi? We have no clue who this guy is,” she gestured toward Drake. “We should trust him because he can do some magic?” she scoffed. “Who is he really? If you even know.”

Gigi opened her mouth, appearing to be about to say something nasty, but Drake intervened. “Gerinna, right?” he asked. She nodded. “I’m sorry I haven’t been honest with all of you. I was asked to keep it a secret, not to cause problems.”

“Asked by who?” Gerinna inquired.

“Well…your mother, actually,” he said, rubbing the back of his tattooed neck.

“Mom knows?!” Giada squealed. She stomped her foot and began to storm away, cursing.

“Giada! Where are you going?” Called Gigi.

“I have no interest in watching you get sweaty in the woods. I’m going home.”

“Do you promise not to say anything to anyone outside the family?” Gigi demanded.

“Yeah, yeah, I promise,” she waved her hand. “Just keep me out of your insanity.”

Gerinna couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her mother knew and let him stay anyway? Envy at the emergence of more favoritism ate at her. Paradoxically, she felt a burgeoning need to protect Gigi from whatever she had gotten herself mixed up in. No matter how handsome, strange men rarely led to anything positive in Gerinna’s experience.

“You still haven’t said who you are,” she said, placing her hand on her hips. “I just don’t want to see my sister fall for some…drifter,” she waved her hand, “magical or not.”

Drake smiled and met Gerinna’s eyes. “You’re a good sister. Gigi is lucky to have you.”

Gerinna’s ears twitched. That was unexpected. However, any con man could say nice words. She still wanted an answer. She saw him sigh, and it appeared like he was trying to dredge up something heavy inside himself.

“I am-was, one of the Swords of Paxia. They called me the Shadow Drake. As you saw earlier, I can make the darkness do…basically anything,” he shrugged.

“What’s a Sword of Paxia?” Gena asked curiously.

“It means he was a kingdom-defending, bad-ass warrior, not some drifter,” Gigi pointedly said to Gerinna.

“Gigi is dating a wizard!” Gena shouted in joy, throwing up her hands.

Gerinna took in his answer and was left with one question. “If you were this prestigious “Sword” or whatever, why did you give all that up to live in our attic?”

Gerinna caught Gigi looking anxiously at Drake. He thoughtfully took in the question and nodded. Drake met Gerinna’s stare with eyes laden with sadness. He smiled wistfully. “Some gifts carry heavy burdens and take far more than they give. Being a Sword is one such gift. The weight of my title became too much to bear. So I am a Sword no longer.” He looked at the ground when he finished speaking.

Gerinna was speechless. He was either an excellent actor, or he was telling the truth. She took in a sharp breath. “Okay, I trust you…for now anyway, but if you hurt my sister…I know where you sleep.”

Drake laughed. “Fair enough.”

Gena stepped up to him, then turned to Gigi. “Do you trust him?” Gena asked her eldest sister.

Gigi looked at Drake and took him by the hand. “With my life,” she said without hesitation.

Gena nodded solemnly. “Then I trust him too.”

Drake gave a small smile. “You’re both very kind, as long as I’m here, I will repay your faith in me in any way I can.”

Gigi dropped his hand and waved her arms. “Okay, okay, we’re all a big happy family, now, can we get back to training?” She pointed at her sisters. “You guys can stay. Just try not to get in the way.”

Gerinna and Gena took up prime seats in the grass and watched their sister toil. A whirlwind of thoughts and feelings swirled in Gerinna as the hours whittled away. She was impressed by Gigi’s determination and unwillingness to quit, no matter how many times she got wrapped up. This level of focus and grit was completely different than the angry and listless older sister she had known. She had thought Gigi a fool when she found out she was going to be actually fighting someone in a match, but she was starting to think Gigi was just dreaming a lot bigger than Gerinna realized. She wasn’t sure, but she may have felt something like pride for her sister.

She was also surprised at how patient Drake was. Gerinna watched her sister periodically scream in his face in frustration. Every time, though, he would just listen to her and then calm her down to try again. He never matched her anger and seemed to have a cooling effect on her hot-headed sister. Perhaps she had been too quick to judge him. He really didn’t seem like such a bad guy, and if he could put up with Gigi’s temper and support her wild ambition, maybe she could be happy for them after all.

Sisterly love and envy vied for dominance in her heart. She couldn’t hide the fact she wanted the same kind of special treatment Gigi got. To have a dream big enough that it just consumed your every waking thought. To luck into finding potentially the love of your life in the river coming home from the bar. Gerinna yearned for her own Drake and dreams to chase. She sighed and looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set.

“Why don’t we call it a day, champ?” Drake suggested to the prone Gigi, who was heaving on the ground.

“Fine,” she panted. “But we’re running in the morning.”

“You got it,” he smiled and helped her off the forest floor. The couple motioned for Gena and Gerinna to follow them.

“Can I come?” Gena asked, jumping to catch up.

“No-” said Gigi.

“Of course you can!” Drake cut in over her.

Gerinna smiled as she stood and brushed the grass off of her. Maybe she didn’t have a dream yet or the love of her life, but if Gigi could do it, so could she.