Chapter 10- Training

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After the conversation with the king was finished a pair of maids came to escort us to our rooms. The room I was brought to was three times the size of the room I had at the Ackford duchy. Cream-colored curtains draped over the stained glass windows. Each pane looked unusual but created a large extravagant picture. Blues and greens melted into the reds, steel rods making the design.

"Gorgeous," I murmured. I gently glided my fingers across the glass. Looking back to the center of the room the soft pinks and creamy browns covered the room. The couches surrounded a mahogany table decorated with a vase full of flowers unknown to me.

"Midnight roses," the maid said, "They only bloom at midnight, it's said that they grow where death has visited."

"They're beautiful," I smiled. Alessia jumped around excitedly before laying down on the queen-sized bed. A huge canopy sat above the soft, powder pink and white bedding,

"I'll leave you to rest now My Lady, your companion is through that door next to the wardrobe,"

"Alright, thank you very much." Giving a small curtsy the maid turned around and left the room. I decided to pay a visit to Letifer, walking over to the door I swung it open.

"Good gods Cassie, you scared me," Letifer gasped. He stood next to his bed holding his shirt in his hands. I opened my mouth to say something but the only thing that came out was a gasp. He was muscular, almost perfectly well-built. His torso was chiseled like a statue that had just come to life. The only flaw to his soft pale skin was the large scar reaching across his chest.

"I am so sorry Letifer," I gasped, pulling my eyes away.

"Never mind that Cassie, it's time for me to explain some things," Letifer said. I looked up at him confused.

"Like what?" I wondered.

"The beginning, come we will walk and talk," Letifer said, pulling his shirt on.

Five millennia ago when the world was still new, a single goddess walked the earth. She was the mother of everything. Throughout history, she would become known as Mother Aurelia. She wandered the lands creating life wherever she stepped. Each step created forests teeming with life. One day she came across a dying land, plagued by fire and ash. From the flames, a man walked out his footsteps laying waste to the world. The only other god, Diatus himself. Mother Aurelia fell in love with Diatus, the only one to balance her creations. Together they created the circle of life and humans in their image. More gods and goddesses were born from the earth and grew enraged at this. Daken, Diatus's second in command created monsters to destroy what his master and lover worked to create. He became known as the god of curses, he gathered more and more followers. With his followers he destroyed what Aurelia and Diatus had built, laying waste to a once beautiful land. In the end, Diatus was cursed, unable to leave the underworld forever separated from the one he loved. Mother Aurelia cried for days, splitting the lands and creating the oceans. The humans, terrified, turned their praises of Daken to hatred. Knowing that Diatus could never again hold her in his arms, she wandered aimlessly bringing life back to the land. Even though most humans worshiped Mother Aurelia as the all-powerful, some still chose to follow Daken.

"But, Letifer, what does that have anything to do with what's happening now?" I asked.

"Daken's followers are corrupting humans, leading us away from Mother Aurelia," he said. "Terrunini is a land ruled by corrupt followers."

"What does that have to do with us and Alfred?" I muttered.

"Terrunini used to be part of this land, but due to corruption it was removed to keep the homeland pure,"

"So now we have to fix the corruption,"

"Not necessarily, we could leave the world to burn and just kill Alfred,"

"So we have the option of doing nothing, but if we do the world is gone,"

"That pretty much sums it up,"

"No pressure or anything," I sighed.

"Momma, I hear someone talking to me," Alessia cut into the conversation. I looked over at her and focused my mind to see if I could hear what she was hearing.

"Young dragon, come and we will teach you," a mysterious voice said. The voice was soft, almost like a mother's call.

"Momma?" Alessia asked.

"Go on, come back when you're ready," I said. Alessia gave me one last look before flying to the west, toward the mountains.

"She'll be fine, the other dragons are calling her," Letifer said, "Now onto the first order of business."

"Which is?" I asked. Letifer gestured to the area around us, a bare, sandy training area that stood surrounded by weapons. Soldiers of all ages were training, sharpening their skills in archery and swordsmanship. I pointed at the weapons and then pointed to myself.

"Yes, you will be trained to fight," Letifer chuckled. He then proceeded to explain the basics and set me off to practice on my own. He had other matters to talk to the king about that didn't concern me. Sighing I walked over to the weapons rack, it was stocked full of swords, each sword a different size. I opted for the wooden sword, the only one I couldn't possibly kill myself with. It only weighed around three pounds and sat easily in my hand. I gazed over to the soldiers watching their movements before I tried any of my own. The easiest one seemed to be an over-the-head strike. I faced my straw dummy and raised the sword above my head, using all my strength I swung it down. The sword bounced right off and I landed on my butt with a heavy thud.

"Ow," I mumbled, rubbing my now sore bottom. I heard the men chuckling around me making my face flush. I stood up straight and brushed the dust off. "If any of you had any tips I would greatly appreciate it."

"Yeah put down the sword and get me some water," one laughed. A few others laughed along with him. I could hear more sarcastic comments coming from all around me. I sank my head low, these men would help me. I was a girl, I didn't belong on the battlefield.

"Enough, with enough training a woman could best any of you sorry men," a heavily built man said, coming forward. He towered over me and gave me a small smile.

"Hello," I smiled, scared. This man was much taller than me and looked like he could decapitate a bull with a single arm. He had dusty brown hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Don't use all your strength in one swing, build up muscle first," he explained gently, taking my arms, he guided me through the overhead strike motions.

"Alright," I nodded. I followed his instruction when he let go and he nodded in satisfaction.

"You have some decent muscles already, that's good. Now do those reps until your arms fall off," he grinned.

"Wait what," I muttered in disbelief. "What about other movements?"

"Get this one down first, I'll find you and teach you another move when I think you're ready," he said as he turned away. I hung my head and sighed heavily before getting back to the reps. I lifted the sword over my head and swung continuously. My hands and arms felt like they were going to fall off after just 20 reps, but I kept going until I fell to the ground.

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