The Princess and the Shadow

Chapter 3: Princess Warrior

                Masayasu noticed Ina looking at him, her eyes met, now would be the first moment they would be alone, together and alone. No servants, no maids, no nobles, no guards, only he and she, and the sound of the wind in the forest.

               Ina saw those blue eyes looking at her, she smiled at him, she could not stop smiling at him, maybe she was happy that he was well, that he slept well and that he was with her there, towards the forest. She felt a bit foolish to think of it and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks, so she averted her gaze.

               Masayasu noticed the slight blush and smiled a little, Ina felt a little embarrassed by his presence, maybe it was not because of discomfort, maybe it was just because she was getting used to his presence, he wanted to believe it was just that.

               Walking together into the woods, the soft wind made their ponytails move with the wind. Ina still looked at Masayasu for a few seconds, he looked better than last night and it calmed her heart completely.

               She then realized that they had stopped in front of the forest. Masayasu turned to her and let a brief smile appear on his face. He was not a man with big smiles, but she was getting used to it.

               Ina saw in his eyes a lot of mystery. Why did they stop in front of the forest? What did he want to show she before? She glanced toward the forest and then looked at him again. Masayasu was making her a little tense. Was that intentional?

              "What happened, why did we stop?"

               She decided to ask and saw a slight gleam in his eyes. She then felt a chill, she knew, this training would not be easy today, perhaps the most difficult training she ever had in her life, although her real father, who was her master, trained her rigorously, but perhaps Masayasu was more rigorous, she could feel it by his look, by his posture.

              Masayasu glanced toward the forest for a few seconds, then looked at Inahime. His blue eyes were serious, but not completely cold, there was no coldness in his eyes, there was something, but she did not know what it was.

              "I know you've never had training this way before, so if you get hurt tell me, do not hide it from me, okay?"

               He spoke in a serious tone, his eyes fixed on hers. Ina was confused, said nothing, just nodded in agreement with her words. Then he began to walk into the forest.

               For a few seconds Ina stood in the same spot looking toward the forest, confused, her heart pounding. Masayasu's words had made an impact on her. Was that a dangerous training?

              When she realized it he was gone through the foliage. She quickly followed him into the forest with long strides. Then she found him standing in an area without too many trees. He was with his arms crossed, looking at her.

              Ina realized he now had a wakizashi on his back. What kind of training would that be? She quickly looked around, confused, looking for targets or any sign of a workout. Her violet eyes met his. He can see confusion in those eyes. A brief smile appeared.

             "How's ... how's this training?"

              Ina asked. Masayasu saw that she was tense. He uncrossed his arms, perhaps his gesture made her even more tense.

             "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. We're going to use the forest completely for training, you're going to need to hit me with your arrow."

              He pointed at the arrows in her quiver. Ina glanced up at her wide eyed arrows and then looked at his face, frightened, confused. Hit him? What does he mean by that?