Mia's POV
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The next few days of training are the same, except I've been given the green rock that teleports me around to hold on to, so I can travel easier. However, Andor suggested I walk when I can, to only use the magic for long journeys like a 3 mile walk to the training arena. I'm still adjusting to the magic, and Andor tells me the sudden use of magic could tire out a halfblood like me.
Anyway, by the time the next week rolls around I've gotten basic forms down and can put up a solid fight with a power-diluted Elanil, but I'm still feeling a little sluggish with the new movements. Also, a week has allowed the news of my being here to spread around, causing elves to stop and stare at me as I walk by. I guess they've never seen a halfblooded before, plus the fact that my dad was... Who he was here.
As I step onto the mat after our warmup today, I have to ask El the question on the tip of my tongue.
"El, do you think there's a reason I feel... I don't know, held back?"
Elanil blinks at me, then a recognition passes over her face. "Absolutely. First of all, your new, but second your instincts haven't fully kicked in yet. It's normal to feel that."
"Could I do something to get better?" I ask, thinking back to all the adventure novels I've read. Funny to think I'm kind of like the main character of one right now. "Could I get angry or something, give me more power?"
"No," she says immediately. "Anger is unreliable, it can lead to... Well, let's just say the Cin elves became evil because they used hatred to fuel their powers. Not anger, exactly, but using anger too often can give you bad habits here. Sometimes you can't help it, but for the most part try not to use anger. There really is no trick. My guess is you're not used to trying to hurt someone, so you don't really want to yet."
I nod, a little confused. I do want to beat her, but maybe there's still something holding me back that I don't realize yet.
I still haven't seen Knox, he's been gone for the past week, which is leaving me feeling kind of lonely. It's not like I know him very well, but he's my only friend here besides Elanil. I haven't exactly tried to reach out to any elves I spot frolicking around. After staying in the castle and walking around aimlessly again last night, I'm ready to get out some energy.
Elanil strikes first, coming at me with a punch. I use her momentum and push her arm aside, which should've sent her stumbling from the force of her momentum, but she just jogs away from me gracefully. I duck a kick from her, sending one of my own that almost hits her as she dances out of the way, smirking at me in a hey, you almost hit me, way to go look. I smile. Maybe I'm finally getting better.
Today I decided to wear a dress to get used to fighting in, and kept my hair down, as most elves seem to do. Well, besides pulling the front up into a french braid so it won't fall in my face. I wish I could do those cool intricate braids. But anyway, I had thought the dress would slow me down, but it's not. Sure, it whips around my legs sometimes, but it seems that the elves dresses were made for movement on top of style. It flows around me as I dart away from Elanil's fist. To my surprise I'm hardly breaking a sweat, but my heart rate is doubling as I work harder, trying to push myself as I jab at El over and over. She easily avoids my movements.
After about ten more minutes of sparring my legs are starting to get tired, and my thigh hurts from a kick that landed there, but I keep pushing. As we continue our graceful, almost dancelike spar, I notice that my movements are getting more fluid, less choppy. I tip my upper body backwards to avoid one of Elanil's punches, somehow knowing just how much to lean back so her punch flies by, inches away from my face. As we continue, I feel more sure of my movements, like I know exactly what to do before I do it. If that makes sense. It's like the tiredness that had been building up inside me these past minutes were dust building on a countertop, and suddenly the dust has been blown away, leaving a shiny, clean slate that has me feeling oddly powerful.
I am suddenly acutely aware of everything around me, from my peripheral vision of the target range to the splash of someone hitting the water of the obstacle course. It's as if all of my senses have been kicked up a notch. Elanil notices this and picks up her speed, landing a kick to my stomach that sends me stumbling back, definitely not graceful. But I come right back, swinging my fist in a powerful punch that actually connects, hitting El in cheek. I would say sorry and ask if she's okay, but I'm pretty sure I hurt my fist more than her face, because she just laughs, looking at me with something like respect.
Again she picks up speed, and I know she's doing this to help me; she's trying to push me now that I've gotten some weird strong feeling. I actually start doing some moves I haven't even been taught yet, but they feel strong. The movements seem so right, it's like a strength and knowledge I didn't think I could get has settled into my bones, allowing me to think ahead and fight a good- not experienced, but good- fight. Elanil looks surprised as I catch her lightning fast kick with my arms, gritting my teeth against the force of her twisting away from me. Before she can get loose I push her leg up and away hard, which ends up leading her into a perfect backflip instead of the thump I thought I would hear on the floor as she fell.
"Showoff." I pant, which gets a laugh from El. She comes back at me fast, but I can tell she's still holding herself back. Just because I now have some wired sense of everything around me doesn't mean I'm not still a beginner. Plus, I'm finally starting to get tired again, my arms starting to feel a bit like jello. El doesn't stop, though, using the momentum from my thrown elbow to send me falling onto the mats. I roll on my stomach, watching her elven shoes walk up to me. I know she'll tell me to get back up, so I think of something first. I don't even know how to do this, but there is a feeling in my gut that's almost guiding me. I grab her ankle and, so fast I barely register what I'm doing, wrap my leg around hers and use my other one to knock her clean off her feet, letting her fall onto her back with a grunt. I drop her leg once she's down, blinking in surprise as the whole fight finally catches up with me. Elanil is clearly surprised as well. She swivels onto her butt and puts her legs out in front of her, leaning over them.
"Woah," she says, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. I nod, unable to speak just yet as I process what just happened. I sit and flatten my dress as I stretch my legs out, bending over them until I feel a slight pull.
"What did I just do?" I ask, laughing. When I look over, Elanil is grinning at me. "What?"
"You got it!" she sounds happy, but also a bit awed. "That was really fast, and you basically beat me."
"You were holding back."
"Still, you did. I was going harder than I ever have with someone of your experience and you were holding up better than any of them. But I guess it makes sense..."
"How?" I give her a bewildered look. "Shouldn't I be worse than full-blooded elves considering I'm only half elf?"
"You- Well, some elves have strong suits. Usually it's the more powerful ones, the ones who were just born... I don't know, closer to magic. Anyhow, your dad's strong suit was combat. Seems like you've caught on, you seem to have the same strength."
I pull my head back, my eyebrows scrunching in slight confusion. I don't know why I'm confused, it makes sense. But after a second I nod, putting it all together. My strong suit is combat. Cool. Useful in this world.
Cause if there is anything I've learned so far about Earthe, it's that you don't stand much of a chance if you don't know how to defend yourself.
-
I decide to walk back to the palace, figuring it would give me time to think. Plus, three miles doesn't seem as long now that I can walk faster than fully human Mia could.
For the past ten minutes, I've been thinking about my dad again. Mostly, why he died. If his strong suit was combat, how did he die? Thinking back on training today, I remember that even with my new moves and skills, Elanil still could have easily beaten me. But still, my dad was a king. And supposedly really powerful. That should count for something, right? Could there really be someone more powerful? I, of course, don't know the answer to that. But I do know that I'm proud of myself.
A smile tugs at my lips as I walk, not even shuddering at the winter wind that whips my blond hair behind me. I'd never been one of those girls who got picked on in school, like the books where the girl gets bullied and uses that anger to fuel her, eventually coming home and standing up to them. Not me. Our school was small, so I knew everyone. Everyone was either nice to me or didn't talk to me, which was fine. I had never felt strong, not really. Sure, I ran and worked out when I felt like it, but what I feel now is different. I don't just feel strong physically, I feel stronger mentally. Not a big difference, but it's there. Like a pinprick of light in a dark hallway. My movements, even walking, feel stronger. I feel like I'm meant to be here, like I can walk here proudly, instead of back home where I walked down the school hallways... Well, because I had to. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but it does to me.
-
After a quick stop at the library/ cafe to get some lunch, I head past the castle into a vast area of forest, consisting of regular sized trees and soft, untouched snow. Which, of course, I walk right on top of. Weaving through the trees, my cloak keeping me warm, I sigh in relief at the prospect of having some time to myself.
Soon I'm deep enough into the forest of pale, barren trees that I can only see the tops of the city trees sprouting up past the regular sized ones behind me. I'm not sure why, but I feel a sudden urge to keep walking, to take a slight left. After another minute of walking I find myself standing in front of a big frozen stream, with a wooden, snow covered bench overlooking it and the forest on the other side.
With time to kill I decide to stay, walking over to the bench and swiping off the feather soft snow on top. My hands get a sting of cold as some of the snow sticks to them, melting instantly. I wipe them on my skirt and sit down, wrapping my cloak around me. It's a pretty view. The wide stream is frozen over, with a dusting of snow on top of the ice. The other side of the bank is exactly like this side- beautiful, soft snow with birch, maple, and oak trees shooting up, their bare, twisting branches holding little piles of snow on top, making them look weirdly more 3D than they are. Like they're a painting. It's gorgeous, and the sun that is now poking through the clouds in thick rays light everything up, giving me a little warmth and making the snow sparkle.
I don't even know why I'm here. I guess I just needed to relax, get away from people, even if I would be perfectly alone in my room.
Except I don't get to be alone for long. I hear voices, quiet, but by now it doesn't surprise me that I can hear them. My elf senses have started kicking in more recently. I stay sitting there, though, hoping they're friendly. I mean, elves seem so regal, shouldn't they all be respectful, or at least nice?
"Hi," I hear a voice say. I finally turn around to see the group of people walking my way. Three guys and two girls, all around my age. The girls look like sisters, with similar faces, long chestnut hair, and matching blue dresses that bring out their hazel eyes. The boy who said hi has dark blond hair that only reaches just past his shoulder, devoid of braids. He's broad and muscular with rich brown eyes. The second is tall and sinewy, with red hair and freckles. The last boy is lean with muscle that shows how often he works out, paired with startlingly green eyes and black hair.
"Hi," chirp, trying to keep positive even though I don't want to be talking to anyone right now. I was perfectly content being alone with nature.
"Found the stream I see. Isn't it pretty?" The boy with red hair asks as the group walks up beside me. I nod, looking back over the frozen stream.
"It's beautiful."
"I-" One of the girls comes up to me, then her eyes widen a bit as she sees my face. "Wait, are you the halfblood?"
I almost ask her why she says the word that way. She says 'halfblood' like I'm some creature. But, considering apparently elves have only ever heard of halfbloods, I kind of am.
"Um, yeah. I'm Mia." I try to be polite as they all come over and stare at me with their bright eyes. I quickly brush my cloak off and stand, ready to leave. I don't care much for being a human-elf statue in a museum for these folks.
"I've never seen a halfblood before," the broad one says, stepping closer. I pull my mouth into a tight line, nodding. What am I supposed to say to that?
But before I can think of a reply he reaches out, pulling on my semi-pointy ear. By now he's snickering, his friends joining along. I guess there are rude elves. Teenagers.
"They're so little," one of them says. I nearly roll my eyes.
"Ok," I reply with poise, "I'll just, uh, get going now."
"You know," the boy who said hi to me says, stopping me from moving forward by putting his arm out, blocking my path. I simply turn around and start to head around the other side of the bench. In a blink he's in front of me again.
"Supposedly the original Cin elf was a halfblood. The power was too much for him and he turned evil. He's dead now, but whatever. I wonder if every halfblood is that weak..."
I breathe a frustrating breath out of my nose. I really don't want trouble, but I'm currently surrounded, sort of, and an uneasy feeling is churning in my stomach.
"Get out of my way," I snap, staring down the boy blocking my path.
"I've read that halfbloods are immune to cold," one of the girls says, giggling with her sister. The boy in front of me smirks. I know that's not true. In fact, I'm starting to feel the chill. I hear a smack behind me, and whirl around to find a rock hitting the surface of the thin ice on the stream, sending a crack spider-webbing out. Another rock thrown in by the black-haired one causes the cracks to break, creating a domino affect that, in a few seconds, has a huge hole in the stream. The stream is so deep I can't see the bottom and the water, which I know for sure is hypothermia-causing freezing, is lapping up out of the whole. The stream is big enough that a current is clearly visible, pulling the water to some river miles down.
"It seems only fair to test it out. You know, for science."
I whip back around to see the broad one advancing towards me, reaching out. My stomach bottoms.
Oh. My. God. They're gonna throw me into the stream. What the hell?
The minute Broadshoulders touches my arm, reflexes I shouldn't have yet- but luckily do- kick in.
Before I even know what's happening I have a knife to his throat. Blinking, it dawns on me that I somehow grabbed his knife from inside his tunic pocket and put it to his throat.
Broadshoulders laughs, and a second later his knife is out of my grasp. I don't even know how fast he was going, but I hear the footfall of steps behind me and act fast. I send a kick flying back, which hits one of the girls in the stomach and sends her back a few steps, but she just smirks. A pair of strong arms grab me from behind, and the other four elves grab onto my arms, pulling me to the stream bank. Their grip is impossibly strong, so hard that I grit my teeth against the grasp, of which I know will cause bruises later. I grunt in frustration, thrashing as much as possible. Which of course doesn't work. I try to scream, but a gloved hand muffles my voice. I feel hot breath against my ear as whoever is behind me pushes me forward even more. My feet are actually digging into the snow by now. No matter how hard I kick or twist, I can't get away, which is infuriating. I was just training, and I was good. But not against five highly experienced elves who, for some reason, are hell-bent on throwing me in a freaking stream.
Welcome to Earthe, Mia.
More like goodbye, because I'm pretty sure if I hit that water I'll be pulled under the ice. And I definitely won't come back up.
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Happy almost- Christmas! Happy holidays everyone❤️
-Avery