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"The hardest step she ever took was to blindly trust in who she was." -Atticus
I walk up the hill at a slow pace, rubbing the tiredness of my eyes as I do so. This morning, the sun isn't as bright as it was yesterday and in his place, dark clouds shade the sky. I only hope rain won't start falling during my training with Kian. The last time it happened, it took at least half an hour to get out of my soaked clothes.
"Ah, there you are, honey!" Kian shouts as I approach him slowly.
Although it is still hard to leave the softness of my sheets in the morning, I have gotten used to waking up early for my lessons. And I don't despise them as much as I did. With Kian's fantastic training, my level has already upped significantly and now, I can put up a good fight against him. Like he said, it seems like sword fighting is really in my blood.
"And I'm right on time," I state proudly.
"Congratulations, that's an accomplishment," he teases as he starts leading me away from our usual spot.
"Very funny," I mutter. "Where are we going?"
"Well, your fighting skills have improved incredibly and I remember promising you much too long ago a stroll in the forest," he responds entering the stables.
"Only if you help me up the horse," I debate, suddenly remembering my terrible attempt at mounting the animal a few weeks ago.
He laughs joyfully. "You've got yourself a deal."
•••
"Look at how beautiful that one is," I whisper, amazed by the birds perched on the forest's branches.
"Shh, listen to its call."
The small bird opens its beak, letting a melodic call fill the clearing. His cry is soon joined by others coming from all directions and surrounding us in a beautiful orchestra.
"Are you getting along with our visitors?" Kians asks me after a few moments of silence as I trail beside him on my horse, the path wide enough for me to do so.
"Oh yes, they're all so kind and I won't be as lonely in the castle now that they're here," I tell him with a small smile tugging at my lips. "Yesterday, I showed Jane and Malcolm a map of the stars. You should've seen how fascinated they were, I swear they are the cutest. Oh, and then Lorenzo took them outside and me and the girls talked for hours..."
Listening to my rambling attentively, Kian nods along, smiling just as much as me. I truly loved our newcomers. Yesterday, I spent almost an entire day with four of the sweetest girls I have ever met. I hadn't experienced the joy of a simple girls talk since Daisy's departure from the orphanage. I forgot how comforting it could be.
