Stretching awake, I shifted my body amongst the quilt on my bed. I peered outside my arched stained glass window and saw that it was well after midnight but not early enough for it to be daylight. Perks of being an elf, I guess.

As Theoden sensed I was awake, something he was able to do through the bond, he utilized the telepathic communication that we had to communicate with me. Meet me in the training room. He spoke a bit groggy but as orderly as he could, as he was just waking up.

He may be a dragon but as he lives mainly in elf form he has adapted to our way of life. Flicking on the magic lights, I sighed heavily. I did not want to leave the comfort of my bed but I knew I needed to train.

What type of training? I asked him because that would determine if I wore comfy clothes or slipped on a dress this morning.

I heard his water running through the bond as he responded to me, Magic training. I slipped on a tight fitted A-line black dress that hugged my body. Something I knew he would appreciate.

I slipped on my black boots, grabbed my bag of holding and tied it around my waist and headed downstairs and out the door to meet him for training. Checking in on the bond I could sense he was already there. As he must have used a spell after he got dressed to get there to set things up. A spell I do not have the capabilities of casting yet.

As I entered the training room of the colosseum, he was in the middle of doing a few minor stretches, something he had told me I would benefit from as well. “Let me show you some of these stretches before we start,” he said as he stretched his legs, arms, you name it.

He then sidestepped and moved next to me to do them with me, watching my body’s form as I attempted them. “Not bad. Could improve. But not bad.”

He then moved a few things out of the way and stepped five feet from me. “Today, I want you to target me.” He counted ten steps back.

I looked at him dumbfounded. There was no way in hell that I was going to use my unstable magic against him and he fucking knew that. I crossed my arms and sighed heavily, “I am not hitting you.” I spoke as clearly and firmly as possible.

I could tell he was a bit annoyed with me as he let out a sigh of his own. “You hit me yesterday.” Reminding me of yesterday's events. How could I forget? “You can hit me again.”

I shook my head no. I was too scared I would hurt him. “I..I don’t want to hurt you.”

I knew he was annoyed with me by the sound of his voice, but he had to understand. Right? “Maria, please.” I saw his hand move swiftly and quickly as a flash of magic appeared in his palm. “Target me.” He ordered, and the flash depleted, as his spell Icy Spear: a bolt of icy liquid shot from the palm of his hand and raced towards me.

I managed to dodge the attack just in the nick of time. “Please!” I shouted, “I don’t want to do this!” I was begging him at this point.

He motioned his hands, using both this time. “I am not giving you a choice today.” He growled, “Hit me.” He repeated. One hand released one bolt of an icy liquid bolt first missing me. “I can sense how you are feeling, use it.” He said, reminded me of how my emotions influenced my casting abilities.

He released his second ice bolt at me as he finished speaking. However, this one I did not dodge. It smacked my leg with force. Sending a chill up and down my leg, causing it to instantly turn a bluish purple color at the point of impact which began to spread up my leg. I could feel my leg start to stiffen and the cold sensation took effect.

“Théoden!” I shouted furious at the impact of his spell. But he did not even respond before I saw his hand glow again as he threw another of these icy bolts at me. The first one missed me as I could quickly pull a dance-like maneuver and dodge it, but that caused the other to smack my hand as I lost a bit of control with my body as I dodged his attack. The same effect the spell had on my leg occurred on my hand.

Each spell he threw at me. Each hit. Caused my blood to boil more and more. What irritated me the most was that he was not listening to me. “Fuck.” I said as he watched me briefly before sending another bolt of liquid ice my way.

As with this spell, he could target his target thrice with each use. And just like the other one, this one nailed me. Hitting my stomach hard. Caused my insides to almost freeze on impact as the burst of cold wrapped around my organs, causing some of my blood vessels to even freeze. I instantly started to shiver as the spell’s effects occurred. I knew This spell, if casted higher, could easily freeze someone if he really wanted it to.

As the spells effects faded and I managed to regain control of my organs I breathed heavily, “Fuck it. You asked for this.” I warned him as I was fucking pissed at this point.

My body ached from his attacks and not to mention the fact that he had yet to listen to me. I used one of the many gestures he had taught me with my hands, a flash of magic and released the spell Ember Essences at him. As it released it roared across the training room smacking him. But atlas, he could dodge most of my attacks from hitting him. Damn him and his draconic skills.

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As he stood there simply brushing off any remaining flames before they scorched his leather too much more. “I should have reminded you about control.” He said as he glared at me. I couldn’t tell if he was proud or pissed at this point.

“Though, that was my fault. I should have put up my shield.” He smiled at me. I sighed a bit. That smile, I knew he was proud.

“Hey, you asked for it,” I reminded him. At this point, all his spell effects had faded, for which I was grateful.

“You left me no choice. Besides, I can not have you hesitate.”

Damn it. I knew he was right.

I sighed, “I know, but I still don’t like the idea of hurting you.”

“You think it is easy for me to hurt you?” He questioned me. “Well, it’s not. I hate it. But I know in time, I will have you combat ready.”

As he finished his statement I saw a bit of a spark from his hand as he threw yet another round of the spell Icy Spear. In order to dodge this one, I managed to plant myself hard against the ground. The thud of my body hitting the pavement echoed in my ears. The amount of sheer force I utilized to get myself down here…hell I did not want to get back up. My body ached from the force of impact. I heard his footsteps approach me and could sense him as he knelt down next to me.

“At least I know you can dodge well.” He grinned. I may have planted myself into the cement but hey the spell missed. I sighed as he just stared at me with his crystal blue eyes, with almost a look of amusement on his face.

He extended his hand downwards, “Need help?” He asked me. I could almost sense his enjoyment behind those words. Perhaps maybe I shouldn't, but I let my intrusive thoughts take over for a moment.

As I reached out my hand to his, a quick flash of arcane magic pulsed from my palm into his, as I used the spell Electric Shock. The spell sent a pulse wave of energy from me and into him.

He quickly pulled his hand back “Fuck.” He said as he shook the hand that received the bolt of electricity.

“Hmm. .That was interesting.” He shook his head and offered his hand one more time a bit more cautiously this time. As soon as he pulled me to my feet he stepped back a moment to give me some space.

He glanced at his palm then at me, “I guess I should listen to my own lessons, expect the unexpected.”

I grinned at him. Damn that attack made me feel good. “So…” I breathed, brushing off any dust that had collected on my dress, “are we done with practice now?”

He grinned back at me. Using his Draconic Leap he vanished and reappeared thirty feet away. Reappearing on the other side of the training area. He pointed in my direction as three simultaneous flashes of arcane magic left his finger, twirling towards me. This spell was called Magic Bullets.

All three darts were impossible to dodge as they hit no matter what. I fucking hate these darts. But these did come with an advantage in battle as it meant automatic damage.

All three darts targeted my chest. Well, at least I know where he was looking. Using their energy I threw a glowing bolt of liquid fire at him. But just as skillfully if not even gracefully he managed to dodge my attack causing me to grumble.

I saw the flash in his palm. I knew another attack was coming but I didn’t know where or what. I thought for a brief second. I had a cheat. I snuck into his mind through the bond, searching where he was going to through his attack, I smiled.

I pulled out of his thoughts just to watch him side step briefly and the flash of arcane magic disappear as his liquid bolt of cold left his palm and darted towards me. This one, I was able to avoid with ease.

He looked at me a bit disappointed. He knew what I had done. “Maria,” he growled, “when you go into battle, you can't always rely on a bond to know when attacks are coming.”

I sighed, “I get it. Can we be done with training?”

He thought briefly for a moment. “I suppose…” He spoke with a small sigh, “I have to do some rounds before breakfast anyways.” He walked over to me and reached his hand out, to which I took and pulled him close.

I could feel his aura pulse through me calming my emotions. “I am impressed with how quickly your skills are improving.” Theo bending, he kissed my forehead. Every time he did this, my heart melted. He knew this was something that he did that I loved. “If we continue, at your growth rate, you’ll be able to defeat him easily.”

I looked up into his crystal blue eyes. “You think I can defeat him?”

He thought for a moment, causing me to glare at him, making him laugh, “I have full confidence that you will, Maria.” He tilted my chin up as he bent down to kiss my lips. I felt the aggression behind his kiss, I knew he hungered for more. But I know he dared to push it further. He walked over and I watched him slip on his armor, as he had his armor off for training purposes.

“I’ll see you in an hour.” He flicked his fingers and seemingly vanished as he used the spell Teleportation.

My body ached as I walked back to the castle. I was pretty much healed but I still felt the after effects of our training. As I entered the castle I walked up the staircase to my room, closing my bedroom door behind me. I walked over to my floor length mirror and examined my body, examining the damages.

I sighed in relief as my dress was not ruined in battle. I mean there were a few little holes in my chest area where the magical darts hit but that was about it. I pulled off the dress and opened my wardrobe and pulled out another similar black dress and slipped it on.

As I was changing in my room I could feel my body ache as my muscles was being used more frequently. Something, I had lacked in doing.

Sitting on my bed I tried not to think about the soreness of my body. Well, I tried but it was not easy for me to do. Each twist, each turn, each pull of my muscles caused an ache of pain. And that pain, well it sucked as I knew rest was not going to come easy.

I forced myself to lay down against my bed in hopes of finding comfort. However, to my surprise a sharp jolt of pain raced through my skull. I sat up quickly and instantly felt around the pillow. After a few seconds I found the culprit. It was a small black jewelry box with a bow across it.