A Light After Endless Darkness

Chapter 9

"Why don't we postpone your lesson for another day, Elizabeth?" Sydney suggested gently as she mopped her red, swollen eyes.

    Elizabeth shook her head. "No. I need to do this. When I'm practicing I feel... right."

    "Very well," Sydney shrugged. "I'd like to see your progress before giving you the next set, however."

    Elizabeth nodded, guiding her Master outside to the tree she'd been using as a training dummy. Poor thing was scuffed and scarred so badly, you might think it had become the scratching post of a particularly testosterone-fuelled lion.

She decided to go over the basics, which she wasn't terribly good at, despite her otherwise prowess. Zarix had often said that he wasn't going to waste time by teaching the most powerful being in over a century basic stance and parrying. Nothing battle strategy, survival, and complicated attacks for her. And Light help her if she failed, because if she did, it was straight back to the beginning.

Well, there was one thing to say for the teaching methods of the old fart- they were the reason she was still alive.

So, for the next hour, she drilled the basics. She showed off her stances, which were either too firm or too wobbly. She parried against the lower branches, which she let bounce back far too often. The only thing she had completely down pact was blocking. Sydney tossed small rocks out of his pockets, and she blocked each and every one of them, bouncing them off the blade of her sword so they flew erratically, like a small meteor shower in the middle of a great, cloudy day.

Master Sydney smiled kindly. "I think that's enough for today. You may return to slowly murdering this tree, if you wish."

Elizabeth bowed, and turned to the tree, doing exactly that. She parried, blocked and evaded branches (badly) and dug and sliced the blade of her sword into the thick, splintering wood. Her face was flat, entirely focused as she fought her imaginary opponent.

"Elizabeth-Person?" Said a little voice behind her. "What are you doing?"

Elizabeth whirled around, sword in hand dangerously. Of course, only Aynna, in another of her odd outfits (today was a patchwork quilt that had been turned into a gown). Odd, in her concentration she hadn't recognized her.

"I'm practicing," she told her, only now realizing how out of breath she was.

"For what?" Asked Aynna sweetly.

"For battle."

"When?"

"Well, I don't know. But it could be at any time. And I have to be ready to protect everyone when it happens."

Ayanna nodded, and Elizabeth was just about to stroke the tree again when she said, "I want to train, too."

"What?" Elizabeth replied faintly, uncertain if she'd heard right.

"If the battle could be at any time, it could happen when you're not here. I want to protect people, too."

Elizabeth studied the odd little girl, hoping to find some hint of a joke, or even misunderstanding of what the sword was or how dangerous it was. But of course, she found none. "Aynna-" she began, exasperated.

"If you're protecting us, who's gonna protect you?" Aynna pressed. "I want to help."

She blew out a deep breath. "I'll ask my master if I can teach you the basics. But I can't promise he'll let me."

Aynna seemed to think on this, chew on it. "Okay," she said. "In the meantime, can I watch you?"

She felt her shoulders relax. Finally. A request she could allow. "Okay. Just stay out of the way, alright? This is a very dangerous tool."

Aynna nodded, sat on the grass a good distance away, and watched. Her eyes were wide and fascinated as the sword cut and sliced through branches and wood and splinters. Funny, it almost helped that Aynna was watching. Perhaps it was some idiotic need to prove herself to this child, but as she went on, her stance strengthened and weakened as needed, her hands shifting and gripping in just the right ways for the different cuts. And each gasped of awe or shout of amazement pushed her to go harder. Faster. Better.

She was in the middle of a flurry of attacks that had turned into a massive chain of combos when the portal above the tree opened up. A piece of thick parchment popped out, wrapped up with string. Her reflexes hot and worked out, Elizabeth dropped her sword and caught it.

"Hey, look, it's a letter from my friend, Annalysa!"

"The one who gave you the dress?"

"The very same. Wanna hear what she wrote?"

Aynna nodded eagerly. Elizabeth cleared her throat and read;

Dear Elizabeth,

You have no idea how great it was to get your letter. I thought you'd forgotten about us! I was about to jump through the portal myself to see you, haha!
We are so so so so SO excited for the ball! I can't wait to show you my new dress, it's pink and frilly and incredible, you're gonna love it!

AND!! Hagen went out and bought a new suit just for the occasion. I caught him dancing with a mannequin yesterday! When he gets here, see if you can spare him the time of day, will you? He's so excited to see you. You should've seen his face when I told him you remembered him.

A weird thing happened yesterday, though- we were talking, and he accidentally called you Habe. I was talking about how I hoped Master Sydney wasn't being too hard on you, and he said, "I'm gonna destroy him if he's hurt Habe." Did you guys both know somebody named Habe? I'm sure it's nothing, I was just curious; he wouldn't tell me anything when I asked.

Ugh, I miss you!! We have to get together for a not-ball-thing sometime. Maybe we could practice together someday? Sparring partners are scarce around here.

No matter. I'll see you soon. But don't let that stop you from writing me!

Missing you,
Annalysa.

Aynna frowned when the letter stopped. "Really? Just about the ball? Maaan, grown up letters are boring."

"Aw, don't be like that," said Elizabeth, resisting the temptation to giggle at the child's clear need for more swordplay. "You're gonna be a grown up one day soon, too, honey." She booped Aynna on the nose, causing the girl to frantically scratch it, face puckered as if she'd just eaten a lemon.

Elizabeth couldn't help it- she laughed.

"What?!" Demanded Aynna.

"What what? I can't help it, it's funny."

"In what way was that even close to funny?!" She demanded, in a comical dowager's voice. Which, of course, only made her older friend laugh harder.

Aynna sat down grumpily on the ground, pouting. "'Nother letter," she muttered to her giggling friend.

Elizabeth mopped tears away from her eyes, grabbing the envelope that fluttered down from the top of the tree.

But the laughter stopped the second she saw the letter. The envelope was red, and the wax seal was red, and stamped in the centre of it was a "Z."

She knew this seal well. She had seen it stamped a hundred times into letters just like this. Letters she had delivered herself for different drinking parties or Apprentice battling sprees.

This letter was from Zarix. And it was addressed to her.