When Kingdom Goes

Act I - Chapter 2

The following day, Rose awakes to a knock on her door.

"Madame Azor? Are you awake?" Calls out Helen from the other side of the door.

"Oh um, Yes ma'am, you can come in." Rose says as she fumbles out of bed. The door opens as Helen enters the room and closes the door behind her.

"Rex and Hiro are awaiting you in the courtyard. Hiro says he needs to speak to you both before your training starts. Also, Rex says you'll primarily be training today, so you don't need to worry about your appearance." Helen says.

"Rose responds as she looks around for her shoes. Once she's ready, they both walk out of the room and walk to the courtyard.

"There you are. It's about time you got here!" Rex shouts from across the courtyard.

"I wish for your training to be fruitful." Helen says as she turns and leaves. Rose begins to jog over to them after waving to Helen as they leave.

"Sorry for being late. I guess I was more tired than I thought yesterday." She says.

"It's fine, we're not in a hurry." Hiro says nonchalantly.

"What I needed to talk to you about was your training and my departure."

"Departure? You're leaving?" Rose says with a confused look on her face.

"Yes, I'm leaving to go to Kennis shortly to have a meeting with their King. I hear he's one the most intelligent people on the planet and is the world's leader in mana related studies. His help might be necessary in solving a problem I have." Hiro explains.

"I intend to be away for a week, but if things go better than I hope, I might be back a few days sooner. While I'm away, I am entrusting you and your training to Rex. He is the strongest fighter in the kingdom and my most trusted member of the royal family. I know you have a history of not believing things that people say, but trust me when I say that you are in good hands. That being said, I will be leaving you both now." Hiro says as he begins to walk out.

"Well... Now that he's gone, how about we get started? For the first 4 days, we'll train you in hand to hand and general close quarters combat. We'll start barehanded and gradually add in weapons and eventually abilities. If you have any questions, we can stop at any time." Rex says.

"Yes, sir!" Rose says with a hint of anticipation in her voice. "Wonderful. So come at me with all you have!" Rex says, getting into a boxer's stance. Rose hesitates for a moment before lunging at him and attacks with a flurry of wild punches. Rex immediately notices that she hasn't fought much prior to this, as a lot of her attacks feel amateurish, sluggish, and leave her open to counterattacks. He dodges all her punches and trips her after she throws the last of her wide swings. "Hiro was right. We do have a lot of work to do." Rex says, sighing as Rose plops onto the ground, face first.

"If you're disappointed, then actually TEACH me something before you judge me!" Rose says defiantly. "I had to see what you were capable of so I could make sure we focus on your weak points. If this is where you are in terms of skill, you have quite a bit to learn before Hiro's return. Come here, and I'll show you how to throw a real punch." He says as he helps her up.

"Watch me, and then you try for yourself." Rex says as he takes his stance and throws two slow jabs and then throws them again at a slightly faster speed. Rose observes and mimics him almost perfectly. "Good. You got the form down, now try swinging at me." He says, turning to Rose.

"Yes, sir!" She says as she entries a near identical stance to Rex. She then attacks with the same punch she practiced.

"Good. Now try throwing a few more a bit faster." He says after taking the first hit. After a few more, Rex says, "Excellent progress so far. See if you can try dodging my attacks as you continue to strike me. I'll progressively get faster, so stay on your toes."