The Black Swan

Chapter 28: Back to the Drawing Board

The sun began to fall beneath the horizon, painting the world with a gradient of mute pink to vibrant orange. A basket in hand, Yoonie glided up the steps with renewed energy, despite being after a day's work. The castle's steps were marble tiles with unblemished surfaces - the dirt and dust swept daily to keep up appearances of royalty. Yoonie wondered, how many hands it had taken to keep the castle spick-and-span.

She waved in greeting to the guards at the front - who returned her with courteous nods of acknowledgement, faint smiles etching on their faces. For a year before, coming to the castle had been a daily event for Yoonie. This was where she trained with Chaewon, who had the luxury of teaching both Yoonie and Wonyoung how to fight with magic. Surprisingly, Yoonie's rise to fame in the faction had increased Chaewon's popularity as a Battle Mage Tutor. It was the fight with Eunbi that really showed the world what Yoonie had become, with the highly reputable Chaewon as her special tutor. Within days of the battle, the nobility of parents who wanted the best educator for their children sought her out. Requests for Chaewon to be their private tutor came swarming in hordes. Much to their dismay, Chaewon could only turn them down - she was already commissioned by the King himself to teach his precious daughter.

The guards let her pass with ease - already familiar with her presence.

It's odd to think that, Wonyoung had to learn magic. Isn't she a princess? Why would she have to learn how to fight? Obviously, the Jangs were a noble bloodline. They were home to the imperial lineage of Fire Magicians - something you could not find in any other part of the Kingdom. Nevertheless, she could never really imagine the young Wonyoung using her powers to face off an opponent. She was too... kind. Sometimes Yoonie wondered if she could bear to hurt another person. At least she can protect herself, I guess.

Her mindless ruminating took the better of her time, and she soon realised that she was here - at their frequent training room. It was the earlier part of the week, which meant that Wonyoung would be honing her physical skills with Chaewon. From their previous routine with Chaewon, she knew that the girl would focus on her written components in later parts of the week - some of which included history, ethics, amongst other practical skills like court etiquette. Yoonie prayed, I might just have the chance to visit the library with her. She entered the training room, earning a glance from the two, who were almost done with practice.

"I'm here! And I brought you both some strawberry shortcakes!" Yoonie called out as she laid down her basket on the table. She added her confectionery next to the snacks and drinks, which servants had prepared for the tutor and student amidst training.

"You came for me," Chaewon sang her statement as she held Yoonie's hands, causing the girl to flush as her heart lunged out of her chest. Her former tutor's hands were smooth, yet possessing the hardiness and control of a well-trained magician. Magicians' hands weren't often rough, nor callus-filled. However, the amount of fine tuning and restraint needed to use magic had an effect on the stability and steadiness of one's hands. She couldn't help but find that so particularly attractive about Chaewon.

And she could feel the heartbeats of Chaewon pulsing through her fingertips.

"N-n.... Actually, I came for Wonyoung," Yoonie confessed, doing whatever it took to get Chaewon's seductive gaze off her person. "But uh, yes! The cakes are for your hard work." She quickly added.

Chaewon pouted cutely. At times like this, Yoonie really wondered if Chaewon was really the gifted battle mage tutor. Like many others, she was a human being, too. I should remember that - she's human too. She has feelings. Yoonie chided herself internally, keeping in mind that she should be nicer to her - even if she might not be sure of her feelings towards the overly-affectionate Chaewon.