NOVPUBAfter the first hour of training, Vicky's enthusiasm towards learning began to wane for the first time. Unlike her progress yesterday, she barely learned anything.
Yvonne's mastery of the sword always overwhelmed her within a few moves. It was painful and annoying, as if yesterday's training was useless.
Vicky continued laying on her back, while staring up at the metal ceiling. She got there after Yvonne parried her sword for the thousandth time.
It also didn't help how much fiercer her teacher got after grabbing an actual weapon. Like a beast released from her cage. Vicky felt like a piece of meat waiting to be devoured.
She needed to get up from the metal mat. She had to continue training, so she wouldn't die in the upcoming war. These thoughts made perfect sense. However, she saw no point in continuing, if she made little to no progress.
Yvonne must've seen the hopelessness in her eyes. The tall woman didn't berate her or coerce her into getting up. Laid down beside Vicky.
"You're making amazing progress, Princess. You might not see it from your perspective, but believe me, you're improving much faster than I expected. The distance between our skill levels is still far apart. However, I'm sure you'll keep up with me in a few days' time!"
The young Princess sighed, then glanced into Yvonne's kind metallic gray eyes.
"Thank you for your words, but my problem isn't entirely because of my slowed progress. My main issue is with this sword… It doesn't suit me!"
Vicky lifted her training weapon and watched as the light reflected on its surface.
"I didn't feel it when you used your hands, but now it became obvious. Compared to you, my handling of this weapon is horrible, but I have a feeling it'll never become perfect…"
"When I fight with a sword, I constantly have this strange knot in my chest. As the weapon is wrong, and I shouldn't use it!"
Her teacher slowly climbed back to her feet and stared down at her student with a wide smile.
"Well, I already guessed as much. It probably relates to the weapon you can summon. It's only in dagger form, isn't it? That means you would feel more comfortable fighting with a long dagger… Hmm… How about this? If you can keep up with me for three seconds, I'll let you use a dagger!"
Vicky stared up at the tall woman, shocked. She felt her excitement return, and slowly, a small smile appeared on her face. However, a bit of confusion still remained in her mind.
"Fine, but why? Why can't I change weapons now?"
To Vicky's annoyance, the tall woman just shrugged and leaned forward.
"I'm not here to teach you how to fight with a dagger. I want to teach you a basic understanding of combat, and the fastest way you'll learn is with a handicap... Come now, the break's over! Let's reset!"
With that, Yvonne reached out and grabbed Vicky's shirt. A quick pull later, the small girl stood facing the tall woman, prepared for another round of training.
She still didn't fully grasp why she couldn't use a dagger, but as the fighting began, she stopped caring. Instead, Vicky focused on her new goal… Survive for three seconds!
This task, however, proved more difficult than she prepared for.
With newfound determination, she slashed towards Yvonne's belly. Her sword near immediately got in the way, parrying the blow.
The force and speed of her teacher's weapon sent Vicky reeling. She took one moment to regain her balance, but soon she had to dodge Yvonne's next attack.
The training sword cut the air, faster than even Vicky could've followed. Her loosened locks of white hair got slashed through by the blade. Even with its blunted form, it carried enough speed to cut them away cleanly.
Vicky bent away from another blow, then barely deflected a thrust. Sweat ran down her face as she took one step towards Yvonne, stabbing towards her throat.
The tall woman moved in to parry, but just as their blades would've met, Vicky pulled back and slashed towards her thighs.
Her blade moved closer and closer. It was about to touch the tall woman's skin, when suddenly everything became dark, and a strong headache assaulted the Princess.
She took a deep, painful breath and opened her eyes. The usual metal ceiling greeted her vision as she laid on the uncomfortable mat.
Multiple bones broke in her body, but as she regained consciousness, they knitted themselves together. The back of her head hurt the most, which wasn't surprising since part of her skull shattered on impact.
The blood tinged her beautiful white hair, to a light red color.
She couldn't even recall what hit her, but it was clear her attempt at slashing Yvonne's legs failed miserably.
The young Princess sighed again, before her teacher's voice echoed inside the large hall.
"Don't lose sight of your opponent! You nearly got me this time, but you committed to the attack instead of paying attention! You were great otherwise, now reset!"
Vicky groaned while climbing back to her feet. When everything healed, she looked at her sparing partner and charged again… And again… And again…
Each time she ended up back on the metal mat, and each time she got up to fight! As her pain and suffering grew, she finally, after hours of training, felt progress!
It was miniscule, barely noticeable. She noticed Yvonne's approaching swing a tiny bit faster. She felt her arm move faster and stronger. She expected what her opponent prepared to do.
A picture began to form in Vicky's mind. A picture of the path forward!
As the hours went by, her progress hadn't decreased.
The handful of moves, before losing. The fight for survival against Yvonne. The pain of her every defeat. They all pushed her along the path, closer to her goal.
By the day's end, her slow crawl of progression accumulated. The handful of moves turned into nearly a hundred. She began chuckling during the fight, not only surviving. The pain persisted though, but it only gave her more power!
Each time she fell, she got up stronger! Her knowledge increased! Her experience grew!
When they finally called it a day, her best time nearly reached one second!
This time, she didn't stay for dinner, and instead went home sooner to spend some time with her brother.
The maids and other parents took care of Nick. However, after the attack, Vicky felt guilty about leaving him alone for too long.
Each time she left the mansion, she felt terrified. A constant weight pressed down on her small shoulders since that horrible attack.
Luckily, the Order of the Raven assumed Nick was weak, since he was only one-year-old. Vicky could still vividly remember the piles of dust left in their backyard.
Nick was an angel, after all. He inherited both her mother's and father's abilities, or at least a form of them.
A dozen Transcended attacked the mansion that day, but Nick somehow erased them into dust.
Nobody was certain how his powers worked, and since he was too young to communicate properly, they had to wait before getting answers.
However, this revelation about her brother's power didn't calm Vicky down. It only increased her worries and made her even more guilty.
She was supposed to be his older sister. Someone who would always help and protect him from harm… But she let him down and left Nick to fend for himself…
His first birthday was only months ago, but he already had to kill humans!
While guilt continued eating her alive, Vicky tried spending as much time with her brother as she could. She played with him, taught him new words, and most importantly, let him ride Brian.
The spider-dog and angel-baby became quick friends. He always wanted to play with the family pet. It took serious coercing and bribing with chocolate, so young Nick wouldn't sleep in Brian's house—otherwise known as the mansion gigantic gym…
Other than spending quality time with her brother, Vicky went to speak with Kim. Lydia and Astrid still hadn't come home, but the snake-woman returned hours ago.
She found the snake-woman stretched across a large sofa, with her tail's end playfully enveloping Sam's stomach. They were watching some show on the side holo-screen, while the lanky goblin massaged Kim's snake-tail.
Vicky wasn't even remotely surprised by this sight. Everyone already got used to Kim's and Sam's strange, intimate, yet platonic relationship.
They always acted like a couple, but persistently denied being anything more than friends. Sam's denial was especially strong. He even got offended when anyone implied more to their relationship.
At some point, people just stopped caring, and acted like he gently caressed Kim's tail just because of his 'friendly nature'.
As the Princess stepped inside the room, both of them turned towards her with genuine, radiant smiles.
"Hey, Vicky! How was your training? Did you beat that towering weapon-lover?"
She smiled back as well, although she faked her happiness. The lack of progress was still a really sore spot for Vicky's ego.
"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll beat Yvonne soon enough!"
Kim chuckled at her words, then moved her tail, so Vicky could fit on the couch as well. They silently watched the holo-screen together, until a few minutes later, Vicky spoke.
"By the way, I wanted to ask. How did Thea manage on her first training with you guys?"
Both Kim and Sam glanced at each other with a strange expression. While Sam wasn't a fighter, he also attended every training session, since Kim was also there… Real 'friendly' of him…
"To be honest, she was better than either me or Astrid expected. She fights well for someone her age… The problem is with Lydia. That girl sill holds a grudge against Thea since she beat you in school. Each time they dueled, Lydia went all out, beating the girl into a pulp…"
Kim shook her head sadly. Her green snake-hair also hissed with similar emotions, while also rubbing their small heads against her face as comfort.
"That's why Ms. Astrid stayed back with young Lydia. It's punishment for her misbehaving. Hopefully, she'll learn to control her feelings, otherwise it could endanger both her and Your Highness!"
Vicky just sighed and leaned back on the couch. Sam's words provided some relief, and she truly hoped Astrid could beat some sense into her friend.
"If she doesn't behave tomorrow, message me immediately, and I'll talk to her. I won't accept someone holding a grudge in my name!"
Sam nodded with a serious expression. "Understood, Your Highness!"
The Princess smiled at the goblin, then leaned in and gave a small kiss on his green, androgynous face.
"Thank you!" She said, while jumping to her feet and marching out the door. Behind her, Sam blushed heavily while Kim laughed her ass off.
