Emin Lan Yixiu

3.

As i watched the younger soldiers to be finish their training a certain boy caught my eye he was tall for his age which i presumed to be around mine, and unlike the other children he was scarily strong, not only was he sparring with the actual soldiers but he was doing a better job in landing blows and deflecting them. And it seemed like I wasn't the only one inthralled by his capability as the soldiers once more gathered to see the spectacle. The soldiers cheered him on as he defeated his opponent a man at least a head taller than him, and they were especially congratulatory when he had his sword millimetres from the stomach of his opponent.

'at this rate Feng Lou will be the one teaching us how to spar' the crowd chortled

'I still have to work hard to become like commander Wei and Cal' the soldiers continued to praise him and his dedication, but it seemed like I had stared to hard at him as his gaze shifted towards mine, startled I looked away until I was sure he had left to continue with the second portion of training, archery. as I moved to the archery field my eyes went to instructor Wei who called out instructions.

'Load!, Aim!, Fire!' in that moment the sound of arrows piercing the air could be heard from afar, 

'When do you think I will get even half as good as you' I spoke outbound knowing Fen Cal had heard me.

'It just depends on how much you train, but to be frank, quite sometime as your are so inexperienced,' I sighed, it was to be expected after all acclaiming strength over night wasn't a possible feat.

'Thank you for being honest I smiled. I returned my gaze to instructor Wei who was helping the soldiers in perfecting their aim. 

'she really is something else' murmured instructor Rou 

'hmm?' I questioned while looking up to him 

'Ah I just meant she is like a beast, no other woman I've seen is like her' he chuckled nervously 

'of course' I grinned while turning my head towards her again

'I'm serious don't think anything weird, she's really like a beast and she's super manly' he rushed 

'its alright your secrets safe with me I grinned, finally something that made him less irritating. the fact I had found out his secret didn't sit well with him so he kept trying to justify his words until the archery session had shifted to cuju. 

'Cal you haven't done anything other than keep Miss Emin Lan Yixiu  company and though I appreciate your concern I would like if you were to also help out she sighed her eyebrows furrowed, anyway your going to be the one watching over the cuju session as I help Miss Emin in archery

'No that's quite alright I can take care of her, she seems like a good kid so leave her to me' Wei looked at him with a raised eyebrow but finally gave in with a sigh. as we walked far enough for her not to hear us Cal spoke up 'Don't tell her I said this but I'm actually better at archery than her' I laughed at his childishness.

By the time we reached the archery grounds it was as if he had transformed into a different person, although instructor Fen Cal was more cool he was equally as strict 'Again but this time focus on your actions rather than the point, remember what I've already told you and before you shoot understand your positioning' I shut my eyes breathed in and envisioned what my form should look like before imitating that image finally I pulled the string taught releasing the arrow with my breath. The air stilled momentarily until I realised I hit one of the inner rings of the board. I spun around to see instructor Cal beaming I knew you'd do well if you envisioned your movements, but that doesn't take away from the fact you've done a great job' he said while petting my head.

'I'm honoured to have received your praise' I spoke respecfully 

'you should act like a kid more often' I looked up to him confused. 'you look much more cuter when your beaming rather than when your trying to pass for an adult'. i looked at him startled, I finally spoke up. 

'a solider shouldn't speak like that' I preached 

'you know your a kid live like one, society can wait till you turn of age, anyways I'm sure general Rou will protect you like his own daughter' he cut me off before I could even start speaking. 'I'm not letting you go until you hit the red mark, we can discuss the importance of youth after you complete this task' I wanted to huff in disobediance but I knew that wasn't how a lady should act so I quietly continued training with instructor Cal every so often telling me to fix my posture or grip.

it had been heaven knows how long and my arms ached, I knew they had given me one of the lightest bows but my arms weren't used to constantly holding onto a bow for hours, it had come to a point where it hurt to pull the arrow taught. 'take a break' he called out as I tried to pull another arrow too many rings off of the red mark.

'I still haven't hit the mark though' I said while trying to maintain my frustration.

'where done here, come again early morning and we will practice again' 

'I can't leave like this not before I hit the red mark at least once' he ran his hand through his hair

'listen kid we've been here for hours already its already past the second meal and I can tell your arms are sore, as much as I admire your determination you need to understand that not everything will come to you in one go, even I had to practice for several days before being able to hit the target itself' I looked up to him in disbelief, he chortled 'it may seem unlikely now but even I had a time when I couldn't wield a bow and arrow without my arms trembling. He ruffled my hair once more before going to refill the quiver with arrows, he plucked then from the board as if they hadn't offered any resistance where as I had to struggle to get a single arrow out of the board. 'here catch' he called before throwing the full quiver my way.

'Shouldn't you be carrying this' I said while looking up to him as we both walked towards the weaponry room, 

'oh I'm sorry Miss Emin I didn't mean to offend you' he bowed in a overly exaggerated swoop, and I couldn't help but laugh, when I looked back at him again he looked at me fondly, 'you really look much cuter when your acting like a kid, you know' he said after a pause 'you should just focus on being happy I can speak on the behalf of all the other soldiers when I say we will protect you to our lives end' I looked at him surprised by his sincerity.

'Im so incredibly grateful for your honesty, but childishness is a gauze I can't hide beneath anymore, no one can protect me from the twists of life other than myself and when that twisted fate is placed before us the best decisions are made from a mind that understands its worth and to know your worth you must experience yourself as an equal to the beggars deemed as the lowest. 

Though she hadn't known she and Fen Cal weren't the only ones present in the room, and due to her sincere words this spectator was moved for he had never heard such knowledgeable words come out from even the mouth of his tutors.