El Destino

CHAPTER 33: TONIC

Recap -

"Good night, Your Majesty. Good night, Marines," Ally said before exiting the tent.
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After Nathan and Marina had finished eating their food, the two sat in silence staring at each other.

"You know Princess, you have to drink this tonic. So, stop staring at me and just finish it in a gulp," Nathan said while holding the glass containing the tonic.

"No, I am not going to drink this thing. I don't need it, I am really good without it. See, I can stand," Marina replied while standing with her best fake smile.

But the act lasted for two minutes only, after which she collapsed on the bed.

"Yes, you surely don't need it," Nathan answered sarcastically.

"Yes, I don't. Now keep that thing away from me."

"It won't bite you."

"But, it would taste really bad, sour and...I don't even know how to describe its taste," Marina argued back while wrinkling her nose in disgust at the sight of the tonic.

"Stop acting like a child and just drink it."

"No!!" Marina whined, covering her face with a pillow.

"Okay, fine don't. How about you drink orange juice, instead?"

"Then, I won't have to drink this tonic?" Marina asked, lowering her pillow from her face.

"No."

"Fine, then I will drink it."

Nathan went out of the tent to bring orange juice for Marina. After ten minutes, he returned with the orange juice, in his hand.

"Now, drink it," Nathan said while sitting beside Marina.

Marina reluctantly took the glass from Nathan's hand.

"Why are you sniffing it like a dog?"

"I was just making sure it is orange juice."

"And is it?"

"Seems so," Marina replied still suspicious of the juice.

"*Sigh* You know Princess, I did not know you could fight," Nathan continued when he saw Marina sipping her juice.

"Why so? You don't think women can fight? Ally are girls too and they also fight," Marina argued back.

"Its different, you are a Princess, an Ardimentoso Princess and no I am no one to point a finger at anyone's capability. Men or women, both are capable enough to fight. Their gender doesn't describe their capability. It's just men get more chance to showcase their talent, to fight and women don't. So, I was, still am really glad to know that you know sword fighting. If it were not for you, I don't think I would have stood a chance against twenty men. I think even our lovely kidnappers never expected you to know sword fighting," Nathan replied while laughing as he recalled the shocked faces of the kidnappers.

"My brother taught me sword fighting. Father and mother did not agree to it initially. But, eventually gave their consent. Though mother agreed only on certain conditions," Marina said while smiling as she recalled old sweet memories.

"What conditions?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Well, even before I started to learn sword fighting, I was never a calm kid, always running here and there and riding horses or doing some thing totally unrelated to the image of a girl in the eyes of the society. You know they expect girls to be shy, polite, submissive, always playing indoors with dolls in their hands. But, I was different, I preferred swords to dolls and I love nature. So, most of the time, I was playing outside. Well, my mother feared that she might end up raising a boy instead of a girl," Marina chuckled at the old memory.