CHAPTER 7: MOTHER

FLASHBACK

"I am tired of fighting these stupid leaves stuffed sacks," said a pubescent-sized version of Azura with her mouth pursed in a pout and her arms crossed over her chest whilst her jaw jutted out in defiance.

"Are you exhausted or just throwing a tantrum?" said the diviner without bothering to look up from the fabric she was stitching.

"I am not throwing a tantrum!" She said as she stomped her foot, "I just think I am way better than stupid dummies." She finished with the pout firmly still planted on her face.

The diviner put down the fabric she was working on and looked up at the girl; after staring long and hard at the girl, she let out another sigh again before speaking.

"If you say you are ready to face a real-life opponent and that you are done with your training, then it is fine, but you have to prove yourself and your point to me."

"How am I supposed to do that when there is no one around for miles? Plus, if I do decide to pick a fight with someone, then does it not defeat the whole idea?" she asked arrogantly.

"I see. Well then, if that's the case, I guess you will just have to fight me" said the diviner whilst standing up and dusting herself off.

"I cannot fight you mother"

"Can't or won't?"

"Both"

"Either you go back to training with the stuffed sacks or you fight me and still go back to training with the dummies"

"Either option ends with me still training with the sacks"

"If you beat me in the fight you get to go back to training but only working on fine-tuning your potentially great skills but if I beat you, you will have no other option but to admit I was right when I said you are not ready to take on the real world, or you could just quietly return to your usual practice with the sacs." Azura threw a dagger at the diviner, who shifted out of the way at the last minute. The diviner stared at the dagger embedded in the tree at a spot right above where her shoulder was.

"I see you've made your decision but are already failing. Let's review all the skills I have taught you so far, my child." The diviner advanced forward with a similar-looking blade and dagger firmly grasped in each palm.

They looked evenly matched at the beginning of the match, and halfway through, Azura had sustained two deep cuts; each at different healing stages. Maybe it was a stroke of good luck or the usual maternal benevolence, but she finally managed to get a hit in, and a good one at that. Time seemed to stand still as both mother and child looked at the large gash on the diviner's thigh as blood slowly dripped from Azura's blade and the diviner's thigh onto the dry sandy ground below; pride filled each female.

Azura felt like her chest would explode from the feeling of finally coming close to winning the match, whilst the diviner felt proud, a bit of weight finally being lifted off her shoulders; her daughter was going to survive without her. The stinging in her thigh was enough proof.

That one hit was enough to cause Azura to get a big head and become overconfident, which ultimately added to the reason why she lost the match half an hour later.

As she lay on the floor wheezing in a pool of blue blood with multiple slashes varying from different degrees of depth and stages of healing, she could not decipher what hurt more; her wounds, dislocated shoulder, or pride.

"We will end today's session with an adage, Azura. Remember these words and take them as seriously as all other lessons I have taught you." Said the diviner as she stood over her daughter's defeated form. "Pride goes before fall. Pride is not necessarily a bad thing, it is the overconfidence and the idea that you know everything and no one can ever be better than you that usually accompanies pride that is bad. Had you not become overconfident and sloppy, you could have ended this match with far fewer injuries. Granted, you would have still lost, but it would have hurt a lot less." Then the diviner put her shoulder back into place and went back to her needlework.

Azura lay there letting her wounds heal and her mother's words wash over her; absorbing them just like the ground below her that greedily but slowly soaked up her blood, she could not blame the ground for being so eager seeing as her presence had deprived it of its normal supply of nutrients.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but what was only an hour; Azura got up and resumed her practice with the sacks. Two things were running through her mind now that her brain was not so fogged up with humiliation. Firstly, she needed to train harder and be better. Secondly, the next time she and her mother fought again she would win, defeat was not an option to even be considered.

PRESENT

"In as much as I would like to continue taunting you. But you are still in no shape to fight me or threaten me. So, it is pointless. We will revisit this when you are healthier and hopefully wiser." She said and, then proceeded to drop the bag down at my feet before returning to her stool; the sounds of my weapons clanging against each other as the sack hit the ground served as punctuation for her sentence.

I hurriedly scooped up the bag and held it close to my chest; finally feeling a small sense of security as I had them back in my possession. The familiar-looking woman was right, I was in no shape to fight; just merely bending down to pick up the bag took a lot of effort and put so much strain on my slowly recovering body, but it still felt better having my weapons in my possession than being unarmed and having them being dangled before my eyes by a stranger in my weakened state.

"Come here Azura and sit with me," the woman said in a low familiar voice whilst motioning to the stool in front of her, "We have a lot to discuss".

"What do you mean by we have a lot to discuss?" I queried, refusing to move from my spot.

"You have a lot of questions and I have answers, but I must warn you some of your questions requires you to answer them yourself, it is important for your journey and growth." She said, whilst pouring a brownish liquid into two clay cups.

I reluctantly approached the empty stool and sat down, "Now what?" I asked, but instead of replying immediately, she nudged one of the cups toward me before speaking.

"Now we drink!"

"I know better than to collect things from strangers, especially weird-looking things like this drink."

"But you have no qualms about stealing from strangers, right?" she asked with a smirk. If I was any lighter, my ears would be red from the sharp shot of shame. "What about collecting things from a stranger that saved your life?" She continued before I could muster up a reply. I stood still in my spot, unconvinced and unmoving.

"As I said, you have questions and I have answers, so drink and let us begin." She said with a sigh. "If I wanted to truly harm you, it would have been while you were unconscious, or before I handed you back your weapons; if it would make you feel safe, I will even let you pick a cup first."

I hesitantly accepted the drink, then she raised her cup up in a mock salute before downing hers in one gulp. I proceeded to take a shy sip, but she tutted and shook her head in disapproval.

"The whole thing, Azura, and, not a sad measly sip." She said with a stoic face. Her tone did not leave any room for any more arguments.