Wonder Woman - The envoy of Artemis

4 : Tests & Powers(1)

" FASTER ! FASTER ! STRONGER ! »

" I am tired ; My whole body hurts... "

" AGAIN ! »

Antiope was always very attentive with me. She often took me for walks with her and told me about these epic battles of the time when the Amazons had to fight to free themselves from the slavery of men. Apart from Diana; she was the person I felt closest to and she was truly a mother figure. I considered Queen Hippolyta my mother too; but she was much more severe and was not as approachable as her sister; which made me really feel more comfortable with Antiope.

However, on the training ground, Antiope resumed her General of the Armies costume. The formidable warrior let absolutely nothing pass until perfection was achieved. And this morning, she kept yelling for me to outdo myself.

Although Diana was already a confirmed warrior; Antiope did not hesitate to make her work hard; more than any amazon. And me too, even if I was only a beginner, I had to bend to this discipline. Many times, I ended the day with more bruises on my body than I could count, without ever having been able to hit my opponent once.

It was very frustrating, because I wondered if one day I would become the warrior destined to protect the Princess.

Diana was always there to accompany me and help me enter the pools of healing water. But even if my bruises disappeared immediately, for me they were as many synonyms of my shortcomings as a warrior.

She tried to be reassuring and to encourage me: "Everything will come at the right time, it is normal that you cannot yet face fighters who have several hundred years of practice and training. Only recently have I been able to defeat Antiope.... So please be patient with yourself."

**

The months, the years passed quickly. I excelled on horseback and archery, I had no trouble beating opponents who were much more experienced than me. On the other hand, when it came to hand-to-hand or sword combat, I often lost focus and let myself be impressed by my opponent size.

The year I turned sixteen, Diana convinced me to participate alongside her in the Equinox games, which were done by team.

Since my arrival on the island, she kept telling me about it: it was something she absolutely wanted to accomplish with me, her little sister. But even if I wanted to please her, I couldn't help but remind her that she had a better chance of success with another partner than me.

Some events literally scared me, especially the diving one. It took place at dawn, while it was still dark. You had to jump off the cliff in full combat gear, with the shield and swim across the bay to reach your horse. I was still traumatized by the circumstances of my arrival on the island and every time I jumped in the water I felt like I was reliving that night. The darkness made it even scarier; but Diana had trained with me for several weeks, and little by little I had overcome my fears.

The next two events were easier for me: obstacle course on horseback mixed with archery and simple target archery. The tournament ended with a sword fight event that I dreaded.

I looked nervously at Diana, who leaned over to me and put both hands on my shoulders.

-Don't worry Katai, you could hit the targets with your eyes closed if you wanted to; you are much better at the bow and on a horse than all the amazons there.

-I don't think I'm better than you! You just say that to reassure me. In addition, I risk being massacred in the sword fight; especially if we meet Inga and her friend. She hates me and I know she won't hesitate to show it to me in the arena!