Selvina ducked under the slashing blade and leapt aside as it swung back in a loop, returning as a vertical downward chop. She dodged that as well and then retaliated with a thrust of her own sword. It was smacked aside, rather too easily, and Selvina clenched her teeth, fighting frustration.
The attacker lunged in with a thrust and she chopped at it with her sword. The attacker pulled back in time, making Selvina chop down at nothing, unbalancing her for a brief moment.
It was enough for the tip of the other blade to tap her throat, ending the fight.
Selvina, breathing heavily, dropped her sword and stepped back, leaning against a tree. She slid down to the ground and looked up at her opponent, frowning. "It's not fair that I go up against you. You should be like, one of my last challengers, not my first!"
Red, smiling, brushed a strand of scarlet hair from her eyes and sat down in front of her friend, resting the wooden practice sword on her crossed legs. "I'm not the best there is when it comes to swords, Selvina."
"Well, you're a hell of a lot better than me!"
"You were actually doing quite well! I was impressed, Selvina. You've come so far already. Remember when you could barely keep the sword in your hand?"
Selvina sniffed at the memory. "Yeah, and when I'd be out of breath after a few swings."
"Exactly, you're getting better and that's all you can ask for. You've only been training for a month. I've had this training for years."
Selvina took in a deep breath and nodded once. "I know. I guess I need to be more patient." She then added with a laugh, "Is there some kind of training on that?"
Red shrugged. "Merlin would be the one to talk to."
"Where is he, by the way? I rarely ever see him."
"He's with Cindy most of the time. I'm rather envious of her. I always wished being able to use magic."
"Why can't you?"
Red shrugged again. "I never tried, I guess. From what I hear it takes years and years of training and you have to start young. Cindy is already old for a student and she's only fourteen."
"Still, it can't be too late to try, no?"
"I could always ask, I suppose."
"Hey, speaking of which, did Belle finally ask Merlin? She's been wanting to ask him about giving Beast his own body for weeks now yet he's been so busy with Cindy that she never got a chance. Didn't she say she'd try last night?"
Red nodded. "She did but I haven't heard from her. I think she's too nervous to ask."
"Yeah, probably. Like, what if Merlin knows how? What if, after all this time of wondering and hoping, it becomes real?"
Red met Selvina's gaze and smiled warmly. "I'd be so happy for her—for both of them. They deserve to be able to hold each other."
"They really do."
Moments later, a young man with bushy brown hair, copper eyes, and a mischievous smirk approached, his eyes on Selvina. "Hey girls! How was the sparring today? Did Selvina kill another chipmunk?"
Selvina groaned and stood up stiffly. "That was one time, Jack! And I felt so bad! Why do you have to bring it up every day?"
"Because it was funny!" he explained, his eyes brightening. "The way you got all upset and threw your sword at the tree, only to hit that poor, innocent, and adorable little chipmunk, just stuffing his face and preparing for winter. Such a monster you are, Selvina."
"You're a real dick sometimes."
Jack's eyes widened. "I have so many things to say to that..."
"But if you know what's good for you, you'll keep it to yourself!"
"You really are a monster...denying me the pleasure of speaking my mind." Jack feigned insult and pouted, walking away with his head bowed.
Selvina rolled her eyes and snuck up behind him, hugging him tightly and giving the back of his neck a kiss.
Red picked up Selvina's discarded sword and walked away quietly.
****
Deep in Sherwood Forest, Cindy, watched by her uncle Ruslan and the wizard Merlin, sat on a boulder beside a bubbling brook, her eyes closed, her legs folded, and her mind as clear as she could make it.
"Feel the movement of the water over the rocks," Merlin's soft voice spoke. "Feel the resistance they present. Be the water as it makes its way to the sea, overcoming all manner of obstacle, more stubborn than the fiercest flame and stronger than the hardest stone. When you feel the connection, slowly raise your hand and guide the brook to it."
Cindy listened intently, fighting with her teenage mind in a never-ending battle of attempting to shut it up. Most days she managed but today was especially difficult. The sound of the brook, as pleasant as it was, conjured a most inopportune urge that she dared not share to someone like Merlin.
I knew I should have gone before coming, she scolded herself. Now I can't even focus! Come on, Cindy, you can do this. Like Merlin said, become the water, feel the world as it does. You can do this.
Cindy unleashed her thoughts and let them flow away into oblivion. She relaxed her body and exhaled slowly, feeling a tingle in her skin. It spread from her chest and outward to the rest of her body. It was a familiar tingle yet not precisely the same as what she was used to.
This is it, she thought victoriously. I'm connected. Now all I have to do is...
Her eyes snapped open, shattering her concentration and losing all connection she may have had with the brook's water. Before disaster struck, she leapt off the boulder and hurried behind a thick, mostly leafless bramble. She had nearly relaxed her body a slight bit too much.
"I told you to go before we started!" her uncle Ruslan called out. "Now you'll have to start all over again!"
"You're not the one doing it!" she shouted back. "All you have to do is watch!"
"Lower your voices," Merlin interjected. "There is no need to yell. The forest will be disturbed and finding a connection will take even longer."
Cindy cleaned herself up, leaving the rag she had with her behind, and walked back to where her uncle and mentor stood, waiting. Despite her best efforts, she blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry about that," she said to Merlin, her eyes on the ground. "It won't happen again..."
"Fret not, young one," the old wizard said kindly. "A lesson was learned and that is never something to ignore."
"I was beginning to feel something, though. It was tingling like it does when I'm connected with fire but it felt...different."
Merlin nodded once. "As it should. Fire, after all, is quite dissimilar to water. I imagine the tingling, as you describe it, was perhaps more flowing and softer than that of fire's?"
Cindy nodded excitedly. "It was! It spread out from my chest and moved through me in pulses that grew in size, like waves washing over me. Fire feels more like a tight clenching that creeps through me. This tingling moved faster."
"Then you were quite near to establishing a connection with water," said Merlin. "I am pleased to hear that. It will not be long before you can manipulate it as well."
"Does this mean I'm finished with my fire lessons?"
Merlin chuckled and shook his head. "Dear no, Cinderella. There is yet much to learn. For now I only wish to ascertain myself that you can indeed form a connection with all four of the main elements. Fire was done quickly enough and now it appears that perhaps you can do the same with water. If you can manipulate the water in this brook to, at the very least, bubble slightly, then I will be even more certain that you are an elemental."
"Still having doubts about my Cindy?" asked Ruslan, who had stood off to the side, listening quietly. "She's an element-girl, all right. She'll become the best there ever was, I'm sure of it."
Merlin smiled. "That, my good captain, I have no doubt."
****
Selvina lay flat on her back, exhausted after another bout with Red. Her blonde hair fanned out all around her head and her emerald eyes stared up at the overcast sky. She lay there for several minutes, tired and weary but proud of herself. She had managed to actually touch Red this time. Red had started it with a rather aggressive flurry of swings and stabs but she had actually managed to block, parry, or dodge most of them. Her hands and arms were only bruised and sore as opposed to being bloodied and cut up as they had usually been.
I have come a long way, she thought to herself. Sure it was just a slap on the hip but I got her!
A great flock of geese flew overheard, honking incessantly and loudly. The sight reminded Selvina of the many times she had seen geese fly overheard in her world. They'd flock on the golf courses, in the parks, and even in some people's yards. She had never cared much for geese but seeing some here in Faeryum was comforting in a way. Despite all the differences there were between Faeryum and Selvina's world, some things never changed.
It had been what she guessed over three months, if not more, since she had been brought to Faeryum. In that time she had lived with more excitement, been exposed to more danger, and very nearly died more times than she had in her entire life before that point. She had met some amazing people, most of them characters in fairy tales, fables, or literary classics normally found in books. In Faeryum they were as real as anyone else in her world.
I wonder what Sebastian would have thought of me now, Selvina wondered, remembering her late, older brother who had always been so supportive of her. He had perished in a warehouse fire as a firefighter, nearly two years ago. His memory still ached her heart and the odd tear would usually find its way down her cheek.
Today was no exception.
Sniffing away any more tears and wiping away those that had dripped down her face, Selvina blinked her eyes rapidly and sat up. She eyed the massive, Avalonian military camp in the distance from her vantage on a low hill. It was quite literally a city of tents and with every passing week it appeared to grow larger as more reinforcements and camp hands arrived from Avalon from across the wide Cerulean Sea.
To her left was the walled city of Maron, capital of New Avalon, situated atop a tall, round hill. A month after it had been nearly completely demolished, the city was taking shape once again. The streets had been cleared of debris and though many buildings still sat in ruin, many of them were getting rebuilt. Maron would never be called a beautiful city but in all the grey, smoke, and stench, the city held its own distinct, rugged charm.
Selvina raised her hand and felt the stone attached to her necklace. It was as smooth as glass yet within the stone was an ancient arrowhead. The talisman, known as an elf-arrow, could negate magic and prevent anyone from casting any spells as long as they remained within the necklace's aura of influence.
Selvina remembered when she had wandered into a training session in which Merlin was teaching Cindy about spells and energy and the like when the wizard had, quite animatedly, told her to leave. Selvina recalled how insulted she had initially felt, wondering what she had done to upset him, before reason had eventually kicked in. No one was going to learn anything about magic with an elf-arrow nearby, after all. Now she made sure to leave the elf-arrow behind if she wished to watch Cindy.
Red and Jack soon sat down on either side of Selvina and watched the Avalonian camp in silence.
"Thank you, Red," Selvina said after a few minutes. "You're a good trainer, you know."
Red smiled lightly and shrugged one shoulder. "I try."
"Well, I think you succeed too."
"I honestly see a change in you already," Jack said to Selvina. "You're more confident in yourself; you're faster, stronger, and all the exercise is making you look absolutely amazing."
"Thank you too, Jack," Selvina said before leaning over and giving him a light peck on the lips.
Red looked away and stared rather intently at an ox cart approaching the military camp, laden heavy with supplies.
Selvina noticed it but said nothing.
For now.