A Court of Stars and Memories

22. The Owl and the Dragon

    Mitsi surveyed the roof of the House of Wind with new interest once Lysander landed and set her down. The area was vacant, save for a few wooden dummies lined up in a row. She looked them over, then turned back to Lysander. She had no idea what this training of his would entail which meant she had to be ready for anything.

    Mitsi pursed her lips, a thought occurring to her. "I'm not very strong," she said.

    "That's all right. You'll gain strength as your training progresses." Lysander came closer and began to circle her, running a critical eye over her body.

    Mitsi averted her gaze and crossed her arms, fighting the embarrassed blush that threatened to overtake her. "But it's going to be important for you to know your limits. You'll grow stronger, but you're never going to be strong enough to overpower a full grown male using strength alone."

    Mitsi nodded slowly, still not looking at him. "I'm not saying that to discourage you," Lysander added. "But I've known too many secretly headstrong females who thought they could power through a fight using only brawn. It never ended well."

    "Your small build gives you a different type of advantage that you can learn to use. You're faster and more nimble than an average male. Combine that with the ability to defend yourself, and you'll easily be able to slip out of dangerous situations."

    "Secretly headstrong?" Mitsi repeated. She lifted her head finally.

    The corner of Lysander's mouth tilted up. "I think there's more fight in you than you're willing to admit. I've seen the way you stand up against your siblings. You know your own mind. You have your own voice. You just don't let yourself use them."

    "Why is that important?"

    "Because you're going to have to learn to use those strengths. If you don't, you'll hold yourself back. You'll doubt yourself. Doubt will cripple even the strongest warrior."

    "I don't doubt myself. This is just how I am."

    "Why are you that way?"

    Mitsi furrowed her brows. "I don't know. I just am."

    "Think. There's a reason you keep yourself quiet and submissive. There's a reason you rarely speak out or stand up for yourself."

    "I thought we were here to teach me to defend myself, not critique my behavior," Mitsi snapped. She was growing tired of these questions. They were seemingly irrelevant, and why should she tell him such things when he'd just spent the past several days avoiding her?

    "There it is." Lysander pointed a finger at her. "That's what I'm talking about. Where do you hide that spirit, and why?"

    Mitsi watched him through narrowed eyes. "Is this an interrogation or are you going to teach me to fight?"

    "I will. This is the first lesson."

    "This is a waste of time," she huffed.

    "Why?"

    Mitsi tracked him as he continued to circle her. "Would you stop that?"

    "Stop what?" That gleam in his hazel eyes told her he knew exactly what she meant.

    "Stop pacing around me."

    "Why?"

    Her hands fell to her hips and she scowled. "It makes me uncomfortable, that's why. It feels like you're trying to corner me."

    "Answer my questions and I'll stop. Why do you doubt yourself so much? Why do you hide the part of you that's stubborn and determined? Why do you yield instead of fight?"