6 Preparing for Battle

Mera looked with pity as Princess Mayumi endured the medicine being put on the wounds on her hands. She has been training for almost two weeks with the guards now whilst looking on the initial evidences they had about the masked archer.

The princess silently wept as she felt every ounce of pain trickle down her nerves. Her hands which were once soft and delicate were now covered in cuts and callouses from sword-handling. Mera finally spoke up, "Is Your Highness sure about carrying out this training? You have been crying for days."

"This was actually harder than I thought it would be. But I couldn't be the world's greatest warrior if I can't endure little cuts like these, right?" She joked instead.

Mera sighed. Of course, it could not have been easy for a princess who read books all day and played the harp at night.

"But you know what Mera? It's feels exactly as magical and powerful as the books say when you have a sword in your hand. And being able to use my mother's cherished sword, I feel like she's guiding me through every training. And every time I fall, I feel as if she's there to pick me up."

"I'm she's watching you from above and is very proud of you, Your Highness." The servant girl assured her as she wrapped up her wounds in clean bandages, "Your Highness is ready for training once again."

"You're right, I better get going. I promised the guards I won't take long." She stood up and prepared to leave the room again. Almost outside, she paused and looked back at Mera, "Have you seen how my brother was like when Mother started to teach him how to fight?"

Mera smiled as she reminisced watching Akil in the training grounds of the palace. It was also around that time when Mera was first sent to the castle as a servant. Every morning in her wee time, she'd sneak over to the training grounds to watch the little prince training with the Queen.

"He looked almost as you are now, Your Highness. The little prince fell and hurt himself from time to time but he was so determined to get back up so quickly." She said in reply to the princess' question, "What amazed me was how your mother trained him to be the skilled warrior he was. When he fell down, she didn't help him up. Instead, he'd remind him that he was strong and unrelenting."

Mayumi smiled to herself. Of course, no warrior was amazing from the start. She'd have to go through all kinds of pain if she wanted to be great. But her mother was right, she is strong and unrelenting. She waved Mera goodbye and finally went back to the training grounds.

The guards bowed down as soon as she appeared. One of them was still apologizing continuously for accidentally hurting the princess earlier. She dismissed his apologies again, explaining that it was her fault she didn't dodge the sword when it came her way, "So, shall we continue practicing now?" The princess cheerfully asked.

The most senior guard looked at her worried and tried reasoning out, "Shouldn't Your Highness take a rest today? We started practicing before the sun was up and now it's almost set, Your Highness."

She slowly approached the guards and asked them, "Are you perhaps tired from teaching me today?"

"No, Your Highness!" They all shouted in unison.

"Then we should continue the training. I'm sure the masked archer we are after does not stop her training. While I rest, she's continuously growing in strength. We can't let that happen, can we?"

They all agreed and soon enough, they were back on training with the princess.

From his chamber, the king could see the continuous training of his daughter. He has been watching her for days, and her improvement was faster than he thought it would be. Even if her brother was exceptionally good in combat, King Manos had always thought of Mayumi as a very fragile person. But today he realized it was his fault that he did not start training her even after the death of his wife.

"Your Highness," one of the king's servant interrupted his thoughts, "I am afraid the Queen cannot meet with you right now."

King Manos called for the Hera to conduct a short meeting about the finances of the palace which she was responsible for, "Why is that?"

"Her servant said that Her Highness wanted to rest and asked no one to interrupt her, Your Majesty."

He frowned, "Is the Queen ill or feeling sick?"

"The servants did not know either, Your Majesty."

King Manos nodded, wondering why the Queen suddenly asked of no interruptions. She seemed cheerful in the morning, "I understand. Thank you very much."

Mayumi fell down once again after having a practice sword fight with once of the guards in her troop. She panted and felt like fainting after. The battle has been longer than her usual ones. The guards praised her because she was starting to hold battles longer than normal. "That was wonderful, Your Highness." The highest-ranking guard in her troop, Amaro, praised her as he helped her up, "Just a little more practice and you'd be able to beat our skilled people already. You really have the blood of an Aldan within you."

"Thank you. I wouldn't be able to do it if you weren't patient enough with me, Sir."

"The pleasure is ours, Your Highness. Shall we proceed inside the palace now?"

The princess agreed and started preparing to go back to her chamber. When they were about to go, she hesitated and stopped in her tracks. Amaro noticed her and signaled for the troop to march back, "What is the matter, Your Highness?"

She smiled excitedly, "I think I know just why I can't win over any of you."

"What is the reason, Your Highness?" He asked, a little confused.

"I won't know until I try. Can I have just one last battle with one of you before we disperse?" She boldly answered.

The guards looked at each other in confusion but had no choice but adhere to her wishes. Amaro once again spoke in behalf of them, "As you may, Your Highness. You can choose to against anyone you want."

"Can I try going against…" Mayumi paused for a while, thinking carefully. If she wanted to test her theory, she'd have to go against the strongest one among them, "Can I go against you, Sir Amaro?"

They were all shocked, not expecting her to pick the strongest among them. But soon enough, everyone was gathered around the training grounds with the princess and Amaro in the middle of the crowd.

"Please do not go easy on me, Sir. I'll get hurt if I have to." Mayumi reminded him just before the swordfight started.

The guard immediately plunged an attack to princess chest which she managed to dodge quickly. She replied to the attack with jump and the sword aiming to the guard's head. He was surprised by the sudden attack from the air causing him to stumble backwards. Seeing that he lost balance, Mayumi quickly followed up and kicked on his leg, successfully making him fall to the floor.

Finally, she jumped in the air once more and twisted, making the guard scramble backwards in defeat.

All the other guards were in shock of what happened and it was only a few moments later when they were able to collect themselves and applauded uncontrollably. "Your Highness, we have never seen someone fight in air so gracefully. You were almost like a bird who fights skillfully."

She thanked everyone and Sir Amaro, as well. While resting from the fight she lost earlier, she realized she was weak with ground attacks and therefore should utilize what she was stronger in. She smiled and bowed down to everybody, "I couldn't have realized my strength if it wasn't for all of you. For now, let us all go back to our rooms and rest."

The guards bade goodnight to her and walked back to their quarters. The princess, on the other hand, headed for chamber.

As she was going up the stairs, she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. She halted, and tried to feel her surroundings, "Who's there?" She shouted, cautiously looking around.

When she looked back, she had locked eyes with a woman who wore the masked archer's outfit. She was taken aback and her heart raced uncontrollably. When she recomposed herself, the masked archer was nowhere to be found. She tried running to the direction where she thought she saw her but she was gone.

"It must've been your imagination, Mayumi. You've been very tired from training today." She convinced herself. "What would the masked archer be doing inside the palace anyway? It's your imagination."

She shook her head and finally went back to her room.