Shining light

Chapter 5

Eleanor was woken up by a knock on the door. It was Lilya, who had come to help her get ready. The king had arranged some type of training for her to help her understand and control her powers and to confirm that she really could control portals. After Lilya finished dressing her, Lucas and Daren arrived to escort her to the training location. As they walked, Eleanor couldn't help but comment on the events the other night,

"That was one hell of a show you guys put on at the king's dinner the other day. Are you guys okay?" She looked at them, searching for any signs of the wounds they had sustained during the fight, but there were none.

"We're a lot tougher than we look," Daren replied, flexing his arm to demonstrate. "It looked like it hurt a lot," Eleanor responded.

"Thank you for your concern, Eleanor, but we have plenty of experience in fighting. This was nothing compared to what we've been through. Besides, the castle has the best healers to take care of our injuries, so after we visited them, it was like nothing had happened," Lucas explained.

"Yeah, Lucas is used to getting his ass kicked," Daren smirked at Lucas. "I let you win, and you know it," Lucas retorted. "Whatever you say," Daren replied, rolling his eyes.

Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at their banter. She was relieved that nothing serious had happened to them and that they remained good friends.

"What are you laughing at?" Daren asked. "I can't help it. You guys are cute," Eleanor teased. Lucas's face turned red. "We are not cute!" Daren exclaimed, his voice raised.

Eleanor flinched and looked away. They continued walking in silence for a while.

Breaking the silence, Lucas spoke up, "Before we reach the training room, we should probably warn you about Master Gabriel. He can be a bit intense, but he means well." "His training methods may seem unorthodox, but he's the best trainer in the kingdom," Daren added.

Eleanor couldn't help but feel a bit apprehensive about what she was getting herself into. They arrived at the door to the training room, and both Daren and Lucas quickly left, wishing her good luck.

Eleanor took a moment to gather her courage before opening the door. The room was spacious and filled with various weapons, armor, training dummies, and targets. Obstacle courses with ropes and climbing walls were set up, and she was pleased to see a running track along the walls.

In the middle of one of the obstacle courses stood a man on one leg with his eyes closed, balancing on a pole. He was tall, muscular, and had a ponytail with brown and gray hair. Eleanor approached him cautiously, afraid to startle him.

"Come join me. Stand on one of the poles with one leg and your eyes closed, then introduce yourself to me," he instructed.

Eleanor hesitated for a second before climbing up onto a pole. Balancing was not her strong suit, and she kept falling down.

"Focus on the task, concentrate, and believe in yourself. Nothing else matters," he advised in a calmer voice. Taking a deep breath, Eleanor told herself, "I can do this!" She managed to hold her balance for a brief moment.

"Good. Now maintain that focus, and when you're ready, introduce yourself," he urged. His sudden comment startled her, causing her to lose her balance and fall down. "Again!" he demanded.

After hours of struggling, Eleanor had only managed to tell him her name and he wanted a long introduction. It became increasingly more difficult for her legs to support her weight, and she couldn't help but shake while on the pole.

But her trainer insisted she kept going. He wanted her to introduce herself before he did. He remained standing on the pole with one leg and never switched sides. Eleanor was impressed.

"Focus on your task. Forget everything else, even the pain," he advised. Taking another deep breath, Eleanor climbed back onto the pole. Her legs throbbed with pain, making it nearly impossible to ignore, but she recognized the familiar sensation. She wanted to complete the task so she could finally relax.

Summoning all her determination, she pushed through the pain. Closing her eyes to shut out distractions, she channeled her focus solely on maintaining her balance. The room faded away, and she felt a surge of inner strength.

"Hey, my name is Eleanor. I'm 17 years old, and I come from an orphanage in another world. I love running and nature. I arrived here through a portal, and it seems I might have the power to control them," she shared.

As soon as she finished speaking, her body collapsed, and she fell off the pole, ending up on the ground. The man jumped down from the pole and extended a hand to help her up.

"That was some good progress. My name is Gabriel Rider, but you can call me Master Gabriel. See you tomorrow at the same time and place," he said before leaving.

Eleanor trudged back to her room. She collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.

Later in the night she woke up and was unable to fall back asleep again. Her mind was filled with thoughts, so she decided to go to the gardens.

When she reached the bench where she had previously had a picnic with Adrian, she was surprised to find someone sitting there. They turned around upon hearing her footsteps— it was Adrian.

"Couldn't sleep?" Adrian asked. She sat down beside him. "No, I woke up, and then I just couldn't sleep anymore. Too many thoughts," she confessed, looking down.

They sat in silence for a while. "I wanted to ask you something," Adrian said, looking at her.

"What do you want to ask me?" she replied, meeting his gaze. "I wanted to know why you feel lonely."

She looked away and took a deep breath before answering. "Well, my parents abandoned me as a baby, and then the only person I ever cared about, my best friend, also left me. Now I have no one."

"You have me," Adrian stated. She looked at him and smiled. They fell into silence once more.

Eleanor picked up a stone and threw it into the water. "Do you think we will ever find any information about my parents?" she asked. "Of course we will. We already discovered that your mother might be Margaret Thompson."

They sat there for a while longer, contemplating in silence.

Adrian suddenly stood up. "I'm going to try to get some more sleep. You should do the same soon," he said with a smile and then he left.

Eleanor remained on the bench for a little while longer, attempting to calm her mind, before eventually returning to her room and falling back to sleep.