The King Trials.

Long Ago

His boot struck my stomach, and I flew back, my rear smacking against paved stone. My back arched at the burst of pain, gasping for breath. The sword landed on the ground with a dribbling clatter. I unpeeled my back from the floor, stuck on my side. Kai strolled to me and moved the tip of his blade beneath my chin, forcing me to raise it.

"Don't be so quick to move or you might find yourself at the end of a blade," he said. Another of his irksome, vague counsels.

I tried to rise, but pain punished me. I coerced myself to look at him. Father, who always had a look of sheer disapproval on his face. To be honest, I wasn't sure what the look was. His face was naturally warped in that surly expression.

"Stand up," he said with calm coldness.

"Please." The plead in my tenor was shameful. "I have had enough."

Father rose from his seat and strode towards me. He stopped and said, "Stand up." He stared down at me with petrifying placidness. "True strength does not come from one's physical being but from indomitable will. Now, arise."

Demanding every ounce of willpower, I huffed and puffed until I stood at full height. "What is this all for?" I asked exasperatedly. My arms billowed from my sides, only to slap back. "The archery...the sparring. I'm a Hera. I do not need to fight. One day I will be forced to marry a Nobleman, and he will protect me. Because that is the way, it's all mother ever speaks of."

"My daughter, life gives no such guarantees," he said ominously. "History has an awful way of repeating itself and I need you to be ready. War does not determine who is right - only who is left. In the event where peril threatens your life and the standing of Regnum Valwa. You must be prepared to defend it."

My fingers twitched at my side. "But all of Urium is at peace?"

"For now," he added. "In the Decuria, we see what truly brews behind the facade of a peaceful realm, factions forming. We are trying to stem the rising tide of anti-monarchism, but they are growing stronger. The Vanguard forces are thwarting their aggression. But for how long? As long as the nature of beings endure, so will the threats that they invoke. Balance is a law that cannot be transgressed. If there is good, there is evil. If there is light, there is darkness. If there is peace, there is—"

"War," I interjected. My eyes hooked on a random spot on the ground.

He reeled in my gaze. "You will know how to defend yourself, so one day. You will know how to defend others."

I shook my head absently. "I do not understand...."

Father stared at me with this desperate look in his eyes like a part of him wished to say; to confess something but the other half was keeping him from doing so. Restraining his words causing more deep lines to form around his face.

"There is a reason why I have trained you, and so rigorously. Unlike other Heras, you will master the skills of war because you are unlike any other Hera. My daughter, you are more than different. Aurora...you are destined for unfathomable greatness."

His words deposited a heavy heft on me. My unfit shoulders slumped at the burden. He held such faith in me...and I never understood why. 

I averted his gaze. "What if...what if I fail to achieve such greatness?"

"Being great does not mean doing great things. Being great means inspiring others to do the greatest things. I know—I believe—" He stopped himself, withholding a disclosed truth from me. 

He stepped forward and clasped a hand on my shoulder before it rose to cup my cheek.

"Destiny is an ancient calling, one that cannot be silenced or be ignored. Your destiny calls out to you, Aurora. And one day, you will be ready to answer it." 

He shifted his gaze above my head, focusing on something beyond. "Now, I think it is time for you to resume your studies. Do you have a lesson in geography, or was it history today?"

"Neither." I whirled around and marched over to my sword to pick it up. And I held it with a firm grip. "I need more practice."

I know enough languages, the topography of Urium and most of its inhabitants, and our dark history; all useful. But now I needed to surpass in the skills of war, so if it comes. It shall not overtake me or my Regnum.

I returned to a fighting position, standing in my first stance.

I aim the point of my blade at my swordmaster's heart.

"Again."