The Woven Crown (Completed)

Chapter 15

Ryla wore her new sheath as she wielded the naked dagger at an imaginary target.

"Lead with your other foot, Ryla. You're not poking the Raveller with it, you're slashing," Sahana chided her. Ryla wondered if Sahana only put up with training her because she got to correct everything about her.

Killian wasn't at training today. He was needed for a hunting party that was going almost a half a day's walk into the mountains. Food supplies for the rest of the winter were getting low and the bigger game wouldn't venture too close to the refuge. Janek, Rhid, Killian, Willem, and a few other men had all been drafted into going on the trip. Yulia was in bed with a cold.

That left Ryla alone with Sahana with no one else to carry the brunt of her criticisms. Ryla tried to follow all her instructions carefully, but Sahana always found something to complain about.

"Blocking that way only gives him an advantage. You need to turn your body more to the side so there's less of a target." Ryla's jaw tightened as she moved to the side and tried again.

"No, not like that!" Sahana moved in front of her and took her own dagger from her sheath. "Watch. Step here, then put your weight on your this leg." She patted Ryla's leg. "Then come across his stomach where he's vulnerable." Sahana made an example strike at Ryla who jumped back just in time to miss the sharp blade. She couldn't help but glare up at Sahana.

"You've gotta move fast if you're going to last more than two seconds out there," she said without apology. Ryla clenched her fists and dove back at Sahana, pushing herself to be faster and stronger. But no matter how nimble she was, Sahana was always one step ahead of her.

At least she was aware of her own progress. She never imagined she would one day be able to hold her own in a fight like this, even if she was losing. And with each passing day, she was learning new techniques to use her magic to give her an advantage. Though Sahana told her she needed to learn how to fight without it first.

Ryla stepped back to dodge a blow from Sahana's staff and used the moment to mend strength into her right arm. Sahana dealt another blow and this time Ryla met her halfway, bringing up her forearm to block the staff. She heard a splintering crack. Sahana's staff had broken in half.

Sahana looked at it for a moment as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing and then looked at Ryla. "I said no magic!" she yelled, throwing the useless weapon into the snow. "You're hopeless!"

Ryla, her blood pumping from the training session had had enough. "Maybe if you'd let me learn how to fight with it, I might stand a chance!"

"What, so I can end up injured like Eli?"

That stung. She remembered the look of fear on the small boy's face when the force of her magic knocked him off his feet during those first few days.

Sahana saw the look on Ryla's face and jumped at her chance. "Everyone's scared of you, you know. People have been talking. They know you have something to do with the reason things have changed around here." Ryla's mind flashed to things she had started to pick up on, but had until now tried not to think about— the way a conversation would dwindle the moment she stepped into a room. Or the sideways glances she'd started to get when she entered the long hall. Now that she thought about it, the children had even started keeping their distance from her, almost as if they'd been told to.

"I'm trying..." said Ryla, her voice faltering.

"Trying isn't good enough. You're going to end up killing someone because you couldn't learn to handle yourself. I'm done. Come back when you learn to follow instructions." With that, Sahana stormed off.