Garden of the Lion and the Dove

Chapter 21

Over the next couple of days, she was a staple to the training grounds. The first day back, Ri-is was there and he was surprised to see her return. Of course, she had woken up that morning sore but a little bit of her magic had taken care of that. She was not going to be able to take down a trained official in any way but at least she could hold her own for perhaps a couple of seconds. In a fight that could mean life and death and compound with her healing power, she might be able to do some damage.

"I've been meaning to ask, is it alright for you to be spending so much time here?" Ri-is, like always, did not look winded.

Hakuno pushed her sweat-plastered hair out of her face. "Yes? Enkidu is out with the King so I am just finding ways to entertain myself. Not like I am not taking this seriously," she added quickly.

Ri-is laughed and scuffled up Hakuno's hair. "I can see that. If my men worked as hard as you did, I would not need to yell at them." The last part he said in a loud voice and he eyed the nearby training soldiers.

Hakuno blinked. "Your men?" She took a step back and really took in Ri-is's appearance. He was older than most of the soldiers, she realized. Something clicked, and she remembered a meeting she had sat on with Gilgamesh. A war council before conquering Nippur. "You are the trainer," she said in awe. "You train all of Uruk's soldiers." She dropped into a bow, not really sure what one was supposed to do in this situation. Oh Gula, why did she not remember this before!?

Ri-is waved her attempt at formalities away. "I have trained you for the past couple of days, you do not have to be so formal with me, you are not one of my soldiers."

Hakuno stood, her face burning. No wonder many of the guards would pay attention to the lessons. "I, I'm sorry you took so much time out to teach me a few things." She looked down at the practice sword.

"Nonsense." Ri-is leaned against the fence and barked out a few critiques to the guards practicing in the fighting ring. "The lord of yours has put our King in a good mood and when our King is in a good mood, everyone relaxes. Think of it as a little payment."

"I will."

Ri-is looked like he was going to say something else when he noticed something behind Hakuno. "Ah, you finished your shift at the gate?"

Hakuno turned and froze. She could not hear the conversation buzzing between Ri-is and the guard, her focus was entirely on the guard's face. She took in every detail and matched it to her memory. The black hair was longer and he had a jagged scar across his shoulder but it was him. The guard that told her to hide in the forest.

"Zaibu? Are you alright?"

Hakuno blinked and focused on Ri-is. The soldier he had been talking to had walked away. "Yes, I'm sorry."

"You were really focused on Rigiljo there, are you sure you are alright?"

Rigiljo. Hakuno stored the name away. "Oh, he looked like someone I knew from the mountains and I was taken aback. It was not him though." Why did it seem like she had gotten so good at lying? She glanced over and saw Rigiljo was wrestling with another guard. Was this the guard that caused everything?

Hakuno turned to Ri-is. "I am sorry but I must be going. Enkidu will be returning tomorrow and I need to make sure the rooms are in order before they return. Would you like me to return the swords to where they belong?"

Ri-is shook his head. "That is alright. Do not be a stranger now, if you want to return here, I am sure I can spare a little bit of time to teach you something." He gestured to the archery rings. "Try your hand at archery?"

Hakuno shook her head. "I would probably break my arms even trying to pull back one of those bows." After a few more pleasantries, she excused herself. Before returning to her room, she found Shub by the kitchens and relayed the name to her.