"No fight is ever over after it ends."

♣

CHAPTER TWELVE ♣ RECALL



Seraphina's eyes were trained to a scarecrow-like training dummy planted into the ground.

"Now listen closely to me Valeriana," she said. "Courtney's way of fighting is intense and relentless. She won't give you a room to breathe, so you've got to be very careful and never let your guard down. Just focus on the fight."

"Got it," she answered immediately.

"Fighting is simple," she said. "People make the fight complicated. Look at this." The lady knight turned towards the human and held up a polished sword in her right hand, and a stick in another. "What do you think is the difference between these two items?"

"Uh . . ." Valeriana's mind was blank. "They are both weapons?" The girl looked expectantly at Seraphina.

"I can see that."

Valeriana grinned at Seraphina humorlessly. "Sorry."

"This mere stick can be a weapon if one focuses all his power on it. This plain wood can be as firm as metal when one knows how to handle it properly. Observe closely."

Valeriana watched Seraphina as she temporarily plunged her bladed weapon to the ground and spun to look at the dummy she envisioned as her opponent. She lifted the stick into the air and brought it down speedily to the structure she put up.

She witnessed the training dummy fall down to the ground with a cut in the middle. The stick itself then broke apart right afterwards. This forced a gasp out of her.

"Whoa. That's amazing," she whispered before breaking in a girlish scream. "Exactly like what Doug Landers did! Oh my god! I have never seen anything like that except in movies and cartoons!"

Her mentor raised a brow at her. Valeriana stopped immediately when she saw the face she was making and flushed a deep red when she realized what she was doing.

"Oh," she mumbled, redirecting her gaze down to the ground and kicking the sand.

Seraphina sighed. "Look Valeriana, there's no difference between a wooden sword and a blade when the one who wields it has a firm conviction. It's really just that the stick has less durability." She pointed at the cut where the object struck and dropped the other half of the broken stick over the other. "Knowing this technique, you'll be able to cut a thick sword, or even a tree in half without fail. But you must remember, how sharp the sword is does not rely on how well it's polished, or how sharp its blade is. It's always about the one who holds the weapon with the weapon itself. Do you understand?"

"So are you telling me I should be one with my weapon or something?"

A smile curled on her lips. "You catch on easily. A true swordsman knows how to be one with his weapon. In a battle, a weapon and its user should always be the same entity. You do not treat the sword as a mere weapon. You should treat it as if it's a part of you."

"So I should just cut Courtney's sword into half, and it's over?"

"Preferably, but having you develop that skill overnight is close to impossible. It'll be a miracle if you did."

"Then what is the point of showing it to me?"

"Cutting off Courtney's sword is not the exact reason why I showed this to you."

"You know, this isn't the time to be cryptic since there really is no time at all," she told her.

"Oh, but what kind of learning will it be if you don't figure it out for yourself?"

-*-

Valeriana was brought out of her reverie when she heard Courtney's agitated voice.

Up to now, she still couldn't get what Seraphina meant. "Crap." She could feel anxiety twisting in her stomach. "How am I supposed to do this?" Valeriana whispered, watching as Courtney opened her now red and sore eyes.

She growled. "Consider yourself dead."

A voice then chimed into her mind. The voice echoed at the very back of her head. She didn't know where it came from, but it whispered very wise words. 'Become one with your sword. Feel it. Control it.'

"But how?" She whined.

'Be the water that flows through the rivers.'

"What the heck does that even mean? That's physically impossible!"

And she heard one word she never thought her mind would call her. 'Idiot.'

It was too freaky knowing that there was a voice talking in the back of her head. But whatever or whoever that was, there was no time left but to listen to it and heed its advice.

'Do not just rely on technique or anything you learned!' This time, the voice echoed as though infuriated. 'Be like water! Swift and fluid like water!'

"Oh . . . is that you, dad?"

'I am not your dad.'

"Then who the heck are you and why are you in my head?"

'I'm your common sense. Why do you think I'm in your head?'

She thought back to their training session and wondered for a moment. Seraphina's movements when she saw her practicing before she even arrived wasn't how she thought it would be. It took her a few hours to realize. Her grace, her poise, and the beauty of how she rhythmically moved with her weapon . . . she was like water.

Water represented grace, gentleness, life, and refinement, but simultaneously, it could bring forth destruction and demise. Water symbolized generosity as well, but it could become the hands of death.

She looked down at the weapon in her hand and took a deep breath. She curled her fingers around the hilt firmly and closed her eyes as Courtney began charging towards her with her own weapon in hand. This wasn't the time to close eyes when the enemy was charging, but Valeriana felt as though she should calm herself. Her nerves were frazzled.

"One . . . with your sword," she whispered again. She chanted the same sentence over and over again until everything around her faded. All she could feel was something vibrating from the blade, aside from that, she did not hear, see or feel anything else.

"I'm going to slice you to pieces!" Courtney cried.

Her blood pulsed and her heart thumped.

Now.

Valeriana's eyes zoomed in on her enemy and she immediately swung her blade with her right hand before Courtney even had the chance to take a swing. Her limb almost felt like it moved on its own, as if the action was innate in her blood.

Miraculously, she blocked Courtney's recent attack with ease. Everything was only made hard by a wounded arm and a sprained ankle, but Valeriana successfully managed to tolerate the pain with the thought of everything ending very soon.

Their swords clanged deafeningly in Valeriana's ears, making her grit her teeth, but she immediately willed herself to relax and go with the flow of the fight. She exerted some force once in a while, but she reserved most of her energy. The next few blows they exchanged had a different rhythm. Unlike before, Valeriana could feel every movement of her hand, every vibrations, and every swing she made with her weapon. It almost made her feel like the sword was just an extension of her arm.

"Valeriana found her rhythm," Headmaster Kylon commented.

"She moves with precision," Seraphina cut in. "A swordsman will know how he is supposed to move based on the opponent. Adaptation is very important in every fight. For this one, you need to be calm and go only where the fight goes. Courtney is like fire—very passionate, yet easily provoked."

"I assume you needn't teach her how to provoke an enemy." Headmaster Kylon chuckled.

"Yes, that does seem to come naturally for her."

They shared a laugh.

Corvan silently agreed.

Seraphina sighed. "To defeat fire, you need to be like water—meandering quietly down the river. Mindless of the rocks, mindless of every obstacle. After all, you can't fight fire with fire," she whispered. "She finally got what I was trying to tell her."

They lasted a few more minutes in that pace. Courtney was taken aback by the sudden change of character, but more than everything else, it struck fear and anger in her nerves.

Valeriana eyed Courtney's movements sharply, every twitch of her brow, the flick of her wrist, and the steps she made. There was something off with how she moved, and she noticed it.

Her movements are off. She thought. She's becoming reckless, throwing mindless strikes—like an old, boring rhythm.

Something began building up inside her, and even before she knew it, her blade instinctively cut swiftly through the air with an audible swish and, unexpectedly, Courtney's weapon was sliced in half. Shocked by the sudden event, Courtney stopped and watched as the top part of her blade fell to the ground.

The whole arena went silent, all eyes wide in disbelief.

"Whoooo!" Lord Aeron yelled, pumping his fist in the air. His scream ruined the wall of silence.

Everyone looked at him incredulously.

"Did she just . . ." Corvan trailed off, eyes wide.

"Apparently, she just did." Lord Aeron grinned.

Seraphina smiled proudly. "The point where you find a weakness is the time where your enemy's defeat is set. If a warrior lets his guard down, his weapon will do just the same. Good work, Valeriana . . . but I never expected you to really cut Courtney's sword in half."

Valeriana dropped her weapon. She fell down and sat tiredly on the sandy floor.

"I . . . did it. I seriously did it," she murmured in a low voice, thankful. "That's just about everything I can do. Thank god it's over." She sighed in relief.

"Over? I don't think so." She looked up at Courtney in puzzlement. Her hair hid her face, so her current expression was shadowed. The only thing that was visible was her dropping the broken sword and clenching fists.

"Let's end this, Courtney," she suggested, hoping it would make her feel better.

"End? I won't ever lose to someone the likes of you!" Courtney's eyes peeked through the strands of her hair, wide and full of hatred.

This girl really did have anger issues. She was seriously overreacting. Was losing such a big deal?

Valeriana stood up, her knees shaking in weariness. "Look, if that's much of a big deal, fine. You win. Does that make you feel happy?" she asked.

"What do you take me as? A fool?" At that statement, she opened her hands and whirlwinds appeared on her palms.

A loud screeching noise came from a distance as Seraphina stood from her seat in abrupt. "Stop it, Courtney! You are forbidden to use your element! You might kill the girl!"

A bunch of scary-looking whirlwinds appeared behind her, completely shadowing the light from the sun. Valeriana felt her heart leap to her throat as the wind's current around her increased. The wind was so strong while it billowed at her hair.

"That is exactly the point."

Valeriana's eyes widened and she a couple of steps back, limping. She was scared knowing that Courtney would be unleashing her so-called power to wield the winds.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Have you lost your mind already?!" Even she couldn't hear herself over the wild howling of the wind, the deafening cries of the element totally muted her screams.

Courtney wasn't listening at all either. She was already blinded by her anger. She stretched her fingers before she balled her fist, causing the whirlwinds to disappear momentarily, making it seem like the calm before the storm.

She shot her hands towards Valeriana's direction. Slightly visible figures of copious, gigantic convex lines rode the wind, heading directly to where her hands were aiming.

Dust fogged the area, clouding everyone's sight. Valeriana crossed her arms protectively in front of her, closing her eyes tightly in slight hesitance to face the rapid arrival of death. The lines in the wind struck the walls of the arena after running over the position where Valeriana was situated, leaving evident cracks before it dissipated. The audience in that specific area had already scrambled to get away.

The people present were shocked by the sudden chain of events. Mouths hang open, eyes glued to Valeriana's spot in distress and alarm.

Courtney was panting heavily. Her hands were shaking. The fog gently settled, which revealed the wind-wrought markings on the sand. Everyone was watching in suspense.

Someone pointed to the spot Valeriana was standing on. The fog had cleared completely and Valeriana's condition was brought to light.

Seraphina had both her arms held out in front of her. Her brows were knitted and her eyes were hazy with focus and concentration. There were sounds that resembled crumbling and she firmly clenched her fists, the sound intensifying.

Standing there with her feet apart and arms crossed protectively over her head, Valeriana was still in one piece. It tugged a sigh of relief out of Seraphina, knowing that she was in a good state. Her wall of earth had successfully protected the girl.

Valeriana opened her eyes, arms still crossed in front of her. "I'm still alive?" She looked around and noticed that a massive piece of rock was protruding in front of her, cracked and ready to crumble after taking the brunt of the attack. Still, she could not believe it.

"Or maybe I'm just a soul . . ."

She pinched herself and grimaced.

Her eyes then widened. "Oh my god, I am alive."

"Good thinking, Seraphina. You acted fast," Aeron told the woman. "Though, you may have to hold up that wall. It seems Courtney isn't done."

At that prompt, Seraphina put more effort and reinforced the previous wall with another.

Valeriana feared for another set of Courtney's attacks as another wall of Earth rose from the ground. Peaking past the corner of the walls that had protected her, she saw that the other girl was shaking in anger. The air around her was even worse than before. Her emotions seemed to be running out of control.

Courtney howled in rage as she released a few more of her wind blades. A small frightened shriek escaped Valeriana's lips as she pressed her back against her temporary shield. The tremor shaking the ground she was standing on made her lose her balance, but she managed to keep herself upright.

Courtney finally stopped after she tired herself out from overusing her power. "You can be assured . . ." she weakly muttered. "I will not let you off for doing this to me so easily."

So she had too much pride and anger issues.

Her opponent looked up at her with a grimace before collapsing, passing out from the overexertion. The crowd chattered noisily, ostensibly relieved but at the same time, disappointed as well.

Valeriana felt relief pass through her. Her knees gave out under her and she crumpled like a heap of jelly. The wall of earth retracted and reinserted itself to the ground as Seraphina allowed her arms to fall to her sides.

"Oh, thank the gods."

She looked at Courtney.

"The healers! Please assist Lady Courtney and take her to the medical room!" someone yelled from the crowd. "The rest of you! Please apply first aid to the other girl's wounds and don't forget to check for further injuries she may have received!"

A bunch of people rushed forward led by a woman dressed in plain, white clothes. They took Courtney to a stretcher and began attending to Valeriana, inquiring about her current condition.

"Are you alright? Can you stand?"

-*-

Valeriana was brought to the infirmary and was forced to lie down. It was the first time she got a cut so big, and since she wasn't used to it, the pain was in another level.

"No! No! That hurts!" she screamed, closing her eyes as the healer dabbed medicine around her gaping flesh.

"It'll be fine." The healer chuckled. "It'll be over in a minute."

"I'm gonna die. That fudging . . . argh!"

Corvan appeared from the corner. Behind him was a person who belonged to the faculty. Lady Seraphina, Lord Aeron, and Headmaster Kylon appeared after them, all wearing contented smiles on their faces.

"Do you mind keeping it down? We can hear your screams on our way here," he told her, crossing his arms irately.

"Well, it's not my faul—ah! YOU SAID IT'LL BE OVER IN A MINUTE!"

The healer laughed. "She's the noisiest patient I've ever had. Calm down, now."

"Then stop making me scre—AGH!"

"What do you expect?" Corvan asked. "If you didn't get yourself wounded in that battle, then you wouldn't be screaming like it's the end of the world."

The whole room was ruled with silence for a moment before Valeriana suddenly started sobbing. The girl sniffed, tears pooling in her eyes. She looked at Corvan with hurt-filled eyes.

"That wasn't my fault! Why do I have to be blamed for things I didn't want to happen?" she blubbered.

"Wha—" The lord's eyes went wide as he watched the girl in front of him break down in tears. His mouth hung open at the sight. His reaction never seemed as priceless.

"From the start, you've been a real pain. You're so rude and you keep making me feel like I'm lower than the ground," she cried, sobbing violently. Her tears streamed down her face and stained her cheeks.

"S-stop crying! That's—" Corvan stumbled over his words.

Lord Aeron suddenly burst into laughter. "Ah, I see. Lord Corvan doesn't know how to handle a girl who has broken down crying."

"T-that's because . . ." he trailed off and gulped audibly.

"Alright, enough. Perhaps this might cheer you up."

"What is it?" She sniffed.

"Based on unanimous decision, Valeriana Kerrigan, you are now a student of this academy." Announced a teacher with light brown hair and rust-colored eyes.

A moment of silence passed. Valeriana's mood rocketed that she almost hopped out of the bed, if it weren't for her sprained ankle. She suddenly burst into a fit of cheers.

Corvan almost fell over in relief if it wasn't for Lord Aeron who patted him on the back comfortingly. "Who knew Lord Corvan has a weakness for crying girls?"

"That's not true," he fervently denied.

Lord Aeron shook his head with a loose smile. "If you say so."

"Also," the teacher cleared his throat and continued. "The faculty agreed that the fight ended exactly right after the sword in Courtney's hand was cut in half. We consider the elemental attack as an act of defiance, and temporarily suspended Courtney."

"I don't think it's really necessary to punish Courtney for that," she told them.

"That's right," Corvan agreed but then added bluntly, "She was really annoyed by your pesky attitude that she almost obliterated you."

This guy! She huffed. She just finished crying and now he started again?

The girl glared athis direction while everyone else laughed. "Shut up. The one with the peskyattitude is you." )^��Gf