Time To Fight

Chapter 6

I don’t think I can hold my breath much longer.

My eardrums were being pounded by the pressure and my lungs begged for me to give in.

But I can’t.

Like my lungs cared about that. My mouth opened wide while my nose inhaled, both hoping to receive the one thing they wanted most. Instead, they were given the other most precious resource and element of nature – water.

As the water filled my lungs, through the waterfall of water I was entrapped within, a blurry figure approached the one who held my fate.

The figure threw a gust of wind towards my supposed executioner, making the water around me dissipate and letting me land to the floor. Finally, air.

“You don’t need to go this far to teach her a lesson!” Jaden could have been a Firelin with the fumes coming from him.

“I do not wish to harm to her, but I do this by Miss Leira’s orders.”

“And what? Leira wants to torture her and then kill her?”

Spurting out the last of the water, I picked up my swords and spun them around, happy to have them in my grasp once again. Sparring with Mintos has just been plain brutal. I’d prefer any of the other guards than him, but the others have been just as ruthless. At least with Garner and I fight with the same element and I’ve sparred with Jaden for so long that I’m not fazed by Shinju’s air attacks. And with Pane, he is just so nice, even when he is pinning me against the floor with a huge boulder. These past two weeks have definitely helped me improve, including to accept that I can’t always win. And to think I was one of the best at home.

“Jaden, relax. I’m not dead. ‘Any lesson is a lesson that’s useful,’ remember? How many times must we go through this?” So much for him accepting what I wanted. Ugh. And now I’m having a flash to that night in the spring bath…

“Until you realize that this would be the ‘doing stupid things’ your mother warned you to not do.” I could play his glaring game too.

Then we both looked to Ariel, who sat in a chair with her head resting on her hands. Sometimes she would be gone, off in some other part of the temple. She’d mentioned how she’d visit the garden in the back of the temple and how it flourished with bright green leaves. I guess her and Pane have had some fun together talking about the plants, but the garden is a luxury I don’t have time for.

“Ariel, a little help?” we pleaded, hoping for her to take a side.

She’d been flashing smiles for these past two weeks as much as she had been flashing frowns. When she would stay to watch me train, Ariel would sit there either amused at our endless bickering or frustrated with how we’d fail to give in to the other. But I wasn’t doing anything stupid. I’ve been biding my time, waiting for when I can get the answers I seek out of Leira. I’ve even told both of them this too. Why couldn’t Jaden just have patience?

This time though, the corners of Ariel’s mouth went downward. “Quit making me be the tiebreaker you guys. Jaden, it is Kyra’s choice on how she trains. We never commented on how you should train. And Kyra, he does make a bit of a point. You should try to be a bit more careful.”

“You sounded so wise there. Just like Miss Leira.”

“Wisdom is a good trait for her to have with such headstrong companions.” Leira appeared at the entrance, wearing a warm smile on her face. Mintos and Pane bowed their heads slightly as she passed them to sit in a chair next to Ariel.

“Headstrong is a bit too nice a word. More like blockheads,” sneered Ariel, trying to stifle a giggle.

Leira’s smile grew even wider. Over the past week, she’d been much more filled with smiles, especially to her guards. It had begun to make me think that maybe she did indeed have a kind heart like Pane has been raving on about. “Indeed. Such a word would suffice as well.”