The Tragedy of Being

Get knocked down

Graveyard by Halsey

The cool winter was starting to slowly heat up, making the days a little more pleasant. It was still bitingly cold, but not the same cold that crept into your bones if you stayed still too long.

And, the almond trees were starting to bloom. These were signs that Cass associated with hope.

The weather in Narnia was odd. They had defeated the White Witch, and made it summer, but a week later it was dead cold winter, without the snow, as if they had cycled through all the seasons, just to resort to winter since it was that time of year. And now, the world was beginning to truly experience new seasons.

Cass had decided to venture out that morning to train a bit more with her sword. It was her first free moment between all of the useless bullshit Mordecai kept scheduling for them, such as etiquette lessons about what shoes to wear when. Peter was ruling, and Edmund was doing math equations. It grated on Cass' nerves, and she really needed to hit something.

So she found herself in the army's training courtyard, the northern courtyard that was underneath Peter's study. She was dressed in a loose linen shirt and linen britches, with the brown leather boots she got from the Beavers when she arrived in Narnia. She hadn't seen the Beavers since the corronation, and the thought greatly saddened her.

She had also gotten herself a new holster for her dark sword. It was attached to a brown leather belt, that she strapped over her back, to allow her more ease of movement.

But she really wanted to hit something, so when Orius told her to pick someone to spar with, she picked the biggest and beefiest soldier she could find.

She had an unstoppable, unbridled rage within her, stemming from hopelessness. It was a tragic feeling, but it was a feeling she needed to endure and respond to regardless.

Her opponent was a minotaur. He raised his sword. She remembered fighting him a few months ago in the war. But since then he had changed allegiance.

His sword came down on her with a heavy swoop. Cass parried it, just before it took her to the ground. The strength of his blow reverberated through her knees. She used her full strength to shove him off. He swung his sword at her midriff. She parried the blow again, but she used her momentum to shove herself forward.

By sheer dumb luck, she managed to push the minotaur back a few paces. They both seemed surprised by the fact that she pushed him back. He swung at her again, and she ducked out under his arm. She made a wild jab, and managed to hit him in the side.

He groaned, and backed away from her. "I yield."

Cass frowned. The minotaur was clutching his side like he was hurt. Had she hurt him, somehow? "Are you okay?" Cass asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

The minotaur grimaced, but she could tell it was meant to be a smile. "For one so small, you can make a lot of damage."

He removed his hand, and Cass saw that she had managed to nick him in the one chink in his armor. He was bleeding, but she could tell it was nothing deep. He wasn't going to die or anything, so she didn't feel as bad as she originally did.

She was however a little disappointed that her sparring session was now over. She was still a little annoyed, and needed to blow off some steam. But none of the other new recruits would spar with her.

Cass signed in annoyance. The new recruits were scared shitless of her, and she wasn't able to move up in ranks without one of her higher-ups approving it. So she was going to have to blow off steam in some other way.

The sun was starting to warm her skin now, along with the exertion it took to fight the minotaur. She glanced up at the balcony that was attached to Peter's office. It was built so that he could overlook the training of all the soldiers. Mordeccai had said it would be useful to keep an eye on the training to make sure no one was slacking off. Cass didn't understand why he was so worried about that. If the right people were on the job, Peter could spend his time doing more useful things, than standing on his balcony every hour or so.