A Deity Rose: Nature's Wrath

Chapter 6 - Orchids

"Pick up the sword, Lady Calla," Finn commanded. His dull sparring sword pressed against her neck once again. Part of Calla wished that the sword was sharp, so this nightmare would be over. For the past week, Finn and Calla had sparred for five hours a day to try and get her powers to come to light. Bruises littered her body along with tiny cuts, and everything was sore. A week ago, her sparring clothes were new and pristine. Now, dirt, sweat, and a little blood stained the fibers. They weren't even sparring anymore, it turned into Finn beating her again and again. At first, Calla fought back, wanting to at least try. Every time they sparred, Finn outmatched, disarmed and, in theory, killed her over and over. So, she gave up, which only angered Finn even more. He hit harder, gave her less recovery time and kept going even when Calla had begged him to stop.

"Are we done yet?" Calla couldn't stop the tears from falling. Each night she had nightmares of the corrupted, the dream she had, and Finn as well. Meaningful sleep evaded her every night, and her will was fading fast. Calla shut out Violet and Philomena after refusing to speak to them. They allowed Finn to do this while trying to reason with her that this was the right way. She felt betrayed by everyone she trusted and couldn't have felt more alone. Her room was a prison and a sanctuary at the same time.

"Pick up your sword," Finn commanded again, slower this time, with more malice in his voice. He flipped his sparring sword in the air with the hilt landing with grace and finesse in his hand. In her head, Calla had hoped that his sword would become sharp by magic and cut his hand off. Wishful thinking. She shook out her arm, knowing that the latest hit to her arm would be a bruise by the time she woke up tomorrow.

Calla did as Finn said and grabbed her sparring sword from the ground, "Let me go to my room."

Finn ignored her and swung his sword to slice the open air between them. Calla blocked the swing. The reverberations of the dull iron dug deep into her aching muscles. She brought her head up to look at King Nakosi. He stood on an upper balcony overlooking the yard. Curious onlookers came and went, but Nakosi stayed for all five hours every day. Calla cried and begged to the King every day. Like everyone else, he ignored her and assured her that this was the only way for her powers to show. Finn went to swing again, but Calla's fingers loosened on her swords' hilt. It thumped into a patch of mud under her feet. "Have mercy..." Finn paused, his sword hung in the air. Calla thought that her begging had got to him, but no avail. Calla felt a quick jab to her thigh, and Finn fell back in his fighting stance. Her legs buckled from exhaustion, and she fell on her knees in a patch of mud. Calla let her head drop in shame as tears fell. She tried to hold her sobs in, but they fell from her lips, not caring who was watching. She prayed for someone, anyone to intervene.

"Get up," Finn mused as he circled her.

"I can't." Her fingers curled into fists, mud squished out between her fingers.

Finn knelt next to her, and in an odd gesture, he tilted her head up to look at him. His jade green eyes bore into her blue ones with a hardness that terrified her. "You can. And you will." Calla ripped her chin away from his cold fingers in defiance to his command. He whispered, "The deities made a mistake creating you."

Calla's head snapped to face Finn, he was a mere six inches from her face. She whispered back, "You're a cruel bastard."

"Captain Quinn," Nakosi called out from the balcony. The sun was warm, and he had shed his thick fur cape and forwent a crown. If Calla didn't know he was a King, she never would have guessed. He carried himself as a normal guy.

Finn backed away from Calla and bowed his head. "My King?" Calla stood, watching Nakosi. He had a pondering look on his face.

"That is enough for today. Lady Calla take the day for yourself. We will resume tomorrow." Nakosi nodded his head towards Calla.