Chapter 41

"What is it, Hero?" I asked, knowing full well that it was about training.

"It's about... Why do you keep sending me home early?" He asked impatiently.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked curiously.

"I'm the one with the best base to work with, and yet I'm the one you won't train!" He complained.

"Because you don't want to push yourself like Mary does. Like Vincent does. Didn't you say you were happy with being average? I thought you'd be happy to skip out on the hard work," I said harshly.

Hero went silent for a while. Then he sat on the grass as I stared at him shocked.

"I didn't want to be a knight..." He said distantly.

"It was my parents' dream. To have a Hero for a son," he sighed.

"But when I joined the knights, I was good at it. But that thought came up in my head. 'I thought you hated the thought of being a knight?' because that's all my parents' could ever talk about. Be a hero. Be a knight. Raise your rank..." He ranted.

I was slightly confused how he could open up so easily to a 12 year old but I sat down and listened anyway.

"I didn't want to be a knight. But I also wanted to be a knight. So I did something in between. I became an average knight," he chuckled.

"I've heard of that problem many times before. You don't want to enjoy something forced onto you. Even if you enjoy it, it'll feel wrong. Like you've betrayed yourself," I said sadly.

He looked at me shocked, "How could you... That's... Exactly how it feels..."

"But there is a solution to it you know, you don't have to always be stuck in that feeling. It just stops you from reaching your full potential," I smiled.

He looked intrested, "Will you tell me? How to get rid of it?"

I looked into his eyes seriously, "There's a difference between 'wanting' to be a hero and 'willing' to be a hero. To 'want' the work needed or 'willing' to do the work needed. So which is it, Hero?" I asked.

He didn't answer me for a long time. As I was about to get up he replied.

"I want it. I want to be a hero," he answered.

I smiled, "Then do it. Not for your parents, not for your people, not for the kingdom, do it because this is the honor you 'want' to earn for you,"

He looked at me with starry eyes and a genuine smile that could outshine the sun.

"Your training starts at 4 am tomorrow," I said, ruffling his hair before leaving.

"Thank you, Princess. The kingdom is in good hands," he said with a serious salute.

I knew he meant me. "Get some rest. Hero," I smiled.

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I woke up extremely groggy because now I had to get up earlier than before so that I could make up the time lost with Hero.

"Princess, it's only been 4 days and you look like you've been pushing yourself too much already," Sierra said worriedly.

"Well, that's what happens when you choose the hard way out, Sierra. But I think I'll be fine," I smiled, dragging myself to the bathroom for a bath.

"Aren't you going to ask me how your father's been doing? I don't mind keeping a secret," she suggested.

"No, no, Sierra, that's cheating. I told father that you wouldn't help. And besides it's the knights that are doing the training, I'm just supervising," I laughed.

"Alright, please take care of yourself, princess."

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"Alright, Hero, you'll spar with Harley this time. And show me just how much you want to work," I smiled with a snap of my fingers.

"Don't bore me," Harley chuckled.

"Not too hard, Harley," I warned as Harley sighed.

"Fine," he whined.

I smiled when I saw the improvement. Hero worked till he was sweating like crazy, unlike the first time he didn't even break a sweat.

His techniques were mediocre but his natural talent was showing. He showed strength and precision.

Harley was pretty happy with the spar as Hero upped the tempo.

Speed is good. Form is good. Footwork needs work. I took mental notes.

Then Harley knocked Hero down with a bow.

"The evaluation is complete, Snow," Harley smiled as I dismissed him.

"So what did you think about yourself, Hero?" I asked gently.

"Oh, um, judging from Harley's fast footwork I'll need some training on speed and agility," he reported.

"And?" I continued.

"Technique?" He asked as I nodded.

"Let's add flexibility on the table. Follow me," I grinned.

We warmed up by stretching then continued on to do taichi, planking, pull ups, push ups, obstacle course running, swimming, jogging, sprints, and a breakfast break.

"Jeez, is this how the princess always trained?" He asked panting.

"No, not always. But we need to push all of you to your limits if you ever want to defeat the best knights in 4 months," I laughed.

As we were eating Vincent and Mary walked towards us.

"Princess?! Hero?! What are you two doing here so early?!" Mary asked.

"Hero wanted some overtime so we started 4 am," I answered.

"Can I join?!" Mary pleaded.

"I'm out. That's too early for me," Complained Vincent.

And the day went on as normal, giving Mary and Vincent their normal exercises, I'd do taichi and yoga with Vincent then I'd watch Mary try and climb the tree, and I gave Hero his specialized obstacle course that he had to complete within a certain time.

But Arian didn't show today. I was disappointed. Arian had a lot of potential.

"You better be done in 10 seconds, Hero!" I screamed from the sidelines.

"Y-Yes, princess," he huffed.

"Vincent, don't you dare drop before time," I said, threateningly.

"Yes, Princess..." he strained.

"Faster, Mary! Pick your feet up!" I shouted.

"Yes, Princess!" She whooped.

I was happy with this team. And they were happy with me. We talked a lot after training and we became friends. After a few days Arian did come back and he was more determined than ever to try the stair case again.

"You can do it, Arian!" Mary cheered as Arian stopped at the 4th step.

"Yeah! Don't be a wimp--! Ow!" Vincent groaned as Mary smacked the back of his head.

"Come on, Arian! Do it for the team!" Hero encouraged.

The moment he finally got the gull to jump onto the 5th step he fell off because of the sound of the cymbals.

"I'm sorry..." Arian apologized.

"It's alright, Arian. We'll try again next time. Everyone, do your normal work outs," I smiled as the three knights went on to continue their day.

"It's already been a week! I can't do this... The knights were right... I'm just a chicken," Arian complained.

"Arian, snap out of it. This isn't a pity party. You're the best knight here, but you're the only one that brings yourself back to the beginning. 5 steps forward 10 steps back," I said seriously.

"I know you're trying, and I appreciate it. But since you insist on being 'just a chicken' then I won't be able to help you... Take a break, Arian. Come back when you're ready," I smiled sympathetically.

I walked back to check on the three knights and saw they were doing their training properly without me, even Vincent, surprisingly.

But Vincent still struggled a bit on speed and flexibility, he was a big guy after all.

"Mary! Vincent! Hero! Come here!" I shouted as their heads turned to me and they jogged over.

They saluted and waited for my command.

"I'll be teaching all of you something new," I smiled.

The three knights glanced at one another in fear and excitement.

Knowing that my new exercise would cause them great struggle or fun.

They followed me into the forest as I summoned a few of my spirits who were holding instruments.

"Today, I'll be teaching you how to dance!"

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