Sister of Time

9 Stronger

I've finally finished editing/ revising this! Time for SLEEP! Enjoy:D

Chapter 9 -Stronger

Arie’s POV-

Walking down the garden path, I search for Lady Briella, sweeping my eyes left and right. I stumble a bit over something and when look down to see what I had stepped on, I almost run head first into Sir Leoh.

“Sorry!” My voice cracks as I try not to giggle at my own stupidity.

“No, no it’s fine.” He clasps his hands behind his back and stands up straight, recovering from his surprise. That’s when I realize just how tall he is. Taller than me, which is strange for me, considering I’m among the tallest here. I step back and bow slightly, greeting him formally.

“Good morning Sir Leoh.” He bows in return with a soft laugh.

"Just call me Leoh, please." I look up to find him smiling at me. Nodding I watch as sweeps his arm behind him suggesting that I follow him. While we walk down the path I study him, noticing his dark hair, tan skin, and his child’s face. Today he wears a light blue tunic, belted at the waist, over brown pants. His cloak is a shade darker than his shirt, looking more like the ocean than the sky. My attention is brought back by his voice breaking the awkward silence that had fallen.

"We will train you here, in the gardens, because you will need the quiet to concentrate. We'll start the day with physical training with your sword, your bow, and your own body." He coughs awkwardly and I  nod, unsure of what to say. As we walk towards where Lady Briella and Lady Camilla sit, he seems to grow more comfortable.

"I will be training you physically, Camilla will train you in the history of both the Gewls and your family, and Briella will train you in the ways of Layinth." He points with his hand to each of them in turn, all three wearing huge smiles on their faces. You could almost feel their excitement radiating off of them.

"Briella will also teach you stealth and tracking which will come in handy later." He adds looking back at Briella.

"Now, do you have any questions before we begin?" He turns to face me, still smiling. I pause, about ready to say no, but then find myself nodding slowly.

"Do you know where my sister is?" My words are soft, but they tumble out of my mouth quickly, slurring together and coming out in more of a strange hoarse whisper.

“I’m sorry?” Camilla asks, obviously confused by my mumbling.

“I- well I...” I pause, realizing that I already knew the answer.

“Please, don’t be afraid to ask us anything. We are here to help you you know. You aren’t alone now.” Camilla stands and walks over to where I stand, grabbing both of my hands and holding them in her own. I smile nervously and stare at the ground, unsure of how to pose my question now.

“I just wanted to know... if maybe... would you happen to know... I just.. where is... I- I...” I struggle to think of a way to phrase the simple question, my brain fumbling.

“You want to know if we know where Aleaya is...” Briella finishes for me, also stepping towards me.

“”You know that we’ve searched, but so far we’ve come up with nothing. We will find her though, I promise.” Briella’s voice was soft, calming. I sigh and accept the fact that they’ve had the same amount of time as I did to look and they had other things to take care of.

"Fine. Well then I guess I should get my training over with... What's first then?"  I look at Leoh, remembering him saying we would begin with physical training.