Will of the Warrior

Ch. 3 Secrets

Years have passed since Sapphire and her family moved into our village. Even though our relationship started out rocky, we grew into best friends which Father was proud of. We grew together in our preteen years sharing our thoughts and dreams. From our discussions, I have learned that her previous village valued women allowing them to take part in being a warrior so Sapphire has had previous training. I have also learned that she cannot keep a secret so I have not revealed my secret training with Kyle.

 In school, I moved up a few grades so now I'm going to graduate next year...going from student to homemaker. In the seven years Kyle has been training me, I had the confidence to challenge my father in the next tournament that will take place in three years. Kyle told me that if I use my brain and brawn, I would at least be acknowledged by father. 

Sapphire and I were leaving school walking home together. I looked over at her seeing her bright blue eyes sparkle as she looked around at the bustling villagers. She told me her old village was small only consisting of one hundred people while our village has around five hundred. 

"Hey Shadow?" She questioned catching my attention. "Do you want to come over today and train with my family? I think you'd be great at fighting. I mean just look at you! You have some muscle going on, a body meant for kicking butt!" Her enthusiasm made me chuckle.

"No thank you, I don't like violence. I hate fighting." I lied. "Thank you for the invitation but even if I did agree, father would have my head if he ever found out."

"Okay but you might regret it later if someone tries to destroy the village." She spoke with an odd tone making me wonder if there was another meaning behind her words.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I asked wanting more information on why she would say that.

"Well there's is a group of bandits who destroy villages for money and slaves. My village was destroyed by those kinds of people and I'd hate for it to happen again. If your father would see past his frail women image, you would have more of a defense. I've noticed there are a lot more women in this village than men. You'd think he'd take advantage of that, at least teach the women self defense if something were to happen."

"I think my village can handle it." I replied turning my attention back onto the road in front of us. Her answer did calm my suspicion and she wasn't wrong. The village consists of three hundred women and children while there are two hundred men.

"Yeah I bet they can." She turned to me with a smile on her face then looked down at the ground as we reached her house.

We bid each other goodbyes and I watched as she walked into the house. My eyes scanned the area around her home seeing a few trees surrounding the back. I walked around climbing the furthest one just outside the boundary of her home watching as she trained. She started out with kicking a few training stumps in her yard eventually splitting them in half.

"Heh I can do that after the first kick." I thought as my eyes shifted to her brothers who were practicing with weapons. "They are really good though, they're at least on Kyle's level which worries me."If Sapphire  and her brothers are this good, then imagine her mother and father. I need to tell Father; I need him to teach Kyle our secret technique."

See our family has a special power that no one else can do. The only people who that we have this power is our family  since no one has used it to win a battle in centuries. The technique is passed down from father to son or daughter so they can teach it to their son.

I ran as fast as I could to my house hopping every obstacle in my way; every bush, root, animal, and rock to get to my house. I burst through the doors running to my father.

"Shadow, why are you in a hurry?" He asked looking up from his half eaten dinner.

"Father you need to teach Kyle the technique." The urgency in my voice made him give me a questioning look.

"Why? Hes too young and wont need it."

"Yes he will! For when you retire or when the tournament comes to see if someone surpasses you!"

"What do you mean? No one can defeat me, I'm too strong. Kyle and the rest of the men have many years ahead of them if they wish to beat me." He's always been so confident in his abilites which worried me. He's been to preoccupied with the duties of a leader to train properly. 

"I've been watching Sapphire's family and they are very powerful. They taught Sapphire to fight and I'm afraid her and her siblings are at Kyle's level. Please Father, she's been learning since she was eight, and shes really good."

"Fine, if you're so worried I'll teach it to him, I will also teach you." My heart fluttered with happiness at his words.

"Me? Father I am a woman, I don't know how to fight." 

"That's true but still, if something were to happen to your brother then you can teach your son this."

"I'll try my best." I said confidently with a huge smile forming.

"I'll teach you both tomorrow at noon, sharp."

The next day I awoke at eight with a smile on my face. I've always dreamt of this day for years. I ate breakfast and I heard a knock at my door. It was Sapphire; she wanted to know if we could hang out today and have a sleepover. I replied that maybe tonight I could go over, she gave me a smile and left with excitement in her eyes. I woke up Kyle to train for a while wanting to practice my swordsmanship. 

I told Kyle to lift some weights so he would be stronger than Sapphire's brothers. We sparred a little after and he did get stronger and was harder to defeat. When it was time we went to out fathers personal training area. The place was huge! It had heavy weights, patted floors and walls. with swords and various weapons decorating the area. This was the first time we were able to see in this room which left us in awe.

"Well, what do you two think?" Father questioned as he looked down at us.

"Wow Father its huge!" I shouted flailing my arms with excitement.

"Thank you Shadow, now let me teach the both of you."

He taught us the powers that we've had hidden inside us which was incredible. I had to mess up purposely so Father wouldn't be suspicious of my skills but Kyle was already handling it like he had years of practice. It was amazing, this power was inside us all these years I could never imagine that this was capable. With more practice, I would be able to defeat anyone with this ability making my uneasiness towards Sapphire diminish. Speaking of Sapphire, it was time to head over to her house for our sleep over.

Published December 4, 2011

Edited March 11, 2020