A Goal

"Princess, your up." Mrs. Eos said with a smile.

She walked out onto the sand, that time she was in a skin tight suit that covered her whole body. It was navy blue and smooth, almost like latex. On her thighs and forearms were bulges half as thick as they were, white, pours all over them. Her face was then covered with a mask similar to mine, white. A pistol in hand, a smaller one to mine and different in design, cock and fire.

The green hue rose once more, as she approched the maze. A hologram was then projected in front of the class as the containers opened, every angle was displayed.

The ten bots were released, and yet she continued to walk casually. As she navigated the maze, walking seemingly aimlessly, the bots had converged on her location. There would soon be three directly in front of her and she didn't have much of a gun, it seemed weird.

But as soon as they had turned the corner, in one swift and elegant motion. She raised her hand, and from the porous white bulges water emerged. Spraying out like a hose and coagulating like slime it surrounded and hindered the bots, holding them in place, they were like chains.

Then they began to freeze, the water completely froze leaving the bots stuck as they were, struggling to escape. She then walked up to each putting a singular bullet in each of there heads. Though while it looked like she had the situation under control the rest were then going straight for her.

Raising her hand once more the water thawed immediately and returned to her, though that time it flowed around her, right up against her. She wore it like clothes, and when the other bots turned and started shooting. It protected her, freezing solid her entire front half, she was then bullet proof. As each bullet hit it was defected, not even a scratch on the ice, perhaps it was because of the type of bullet. That is what I thought.

Continuing there barrage the bots soon ran out of bullets, each of them trying to retreat, but she gave them no chance. She swung her hand out in front of her as if swinging a machete, and then. The ice shot out, shaping itself into a large thin blade, it cut them down, all of them. They fell in unison, there top halves at least, there bottom halves tumbled like dominos, falling atop each other.

The buzzing was heard as she started to head back, the hue fell and so did the holograms. As soon as she came into view cheering and applaud could be heard. Even Mrs. Eos gave her a compliment.

"Well done, I expected nothing less." She said clapping as well.

"Thank you." She said as she rejoined her entourage.

"Follow me." Mrs. Eos said walking towards the back of the dome.

As we got to the back the two other sections were then in view. A range filled with targets, bullseyes, dueling trees, shooting stars, dummies and foam pads. The other a gym, treadmills, scales and the manner of things I had never seen before.

"Francis, Princess, come with me, everybody else is to do target practice, with weapons and not magic." She took the left going over to the gym while the rest of the class went to the range.

Well their bodies did, their eyes were glued to the princess.

"First physical capacity." She proceeded to walk over to a black bar on a rack. "Francis, you first." She said tapping away at the tablet.

As I got below the bar she spoke.

"It should not touch your back, squats as many as you can do, the weight will increase as time passes, no magic, begin." As her last words echoed she tapped the tablet.

As I stood up garbing the bar I, could feel its weight, no more than twenty pounds. I did the first squat ensuring it did not touch my back. As I stood up I felt it double, a forty. Again as I stood it doubled, eighty. I did another, it was then one hundred. I did another, it was then one ten.

I could only assume that was for safety reasons, I continued my squats until I got to two hundred, that was the most I could do. Standing up I placed the bar on the rack.

"Good. Its nice when someone knows their limits, less casualties. Princess." She said tapping the tablet once more.

As the girl stepped below the bar, it was apparent I had left it too high. Though this didn't seem to be a problem. The water flowed from the bulges grabbing the bar and putting it above her. As she stooped below it a green glow started to emanate from the ends.

"Begin." As Mrs. Eos spoke she stood.

She seemed to be struggling, strength was not her thing, apparently. She did the first squat and came up. When it doubled she seemed to be struggling, heavy breaths and shaking hands. Yet she went down again, when she stood again she looked as if she could barely hold it above her back. And despite this she went down again, struggling and panting she stood once more. It had gotten to one hundred and it looked as if it would crush her. She went down anyway, but she couldn't stand up.

Mrs. Eos tapped the tablet and the glow disappeared. She looked relieved but wasn't standing up. Seeing as I was only a couple of feet away beside Mrs. Eos. I walked over and picked up the bar from above her, placing it on the rack. It wasn't heavy but it still had some weight.

"Thank you." She said, her legs trembling as she tried to stand, her voice shallowed by deep breaths.

I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. I could feel the murderous gazes of her followers. They treated her like a gem that only they could touch. Standing up she leaned on me.

"Splendid princess." Mrs. Eos said but she looked angry. "To go above and beyond, to try and surpass your own expectations, that is what makes a good leader and an amazing warrior." She said as she walked over and tried to grab the princess.

"It's fine, he'll do." The princess said to the discomfort of Mrs. Eos that was now breathing heavily.

"You do know who he is right princess." She said forcing a smile, her teeth almost grinding.

"I do, and as I said, he'll do." She sounded annoyed. Though then her voice was clear.

Her voice was soft and gentle, it wasn't even loud.

"O.K on to the next test." She said stomping away.

As I tried to walk away she held on to my arm.

"You're gonna let me fall." She said as she stumbled back to my side.

We followed her over to the shooting range, and as soon as we got there, I heard a faint grin from Mrs. Eos. Her group surrounded me and they looked angry.

"Who do you think you are touching the princess without our permission." The girl said swiping away her long golden curly locks. The glare of her green eyes then clear.

"Don't let it happen again." Another said, rocking her black hair in a bob cut, just like the princess, her eyes black.

"I said... he'll do." She squeezed my hand a bit as she spoke, she didn't sound annoyed. She sounded angry.

"But prin..." She cut them off.

"You're a princess too Jane, stop acting like my body guard and worry about your self." She was too close for comfort, now.

"You can't be serious? He'll ruin your..." She cut them off once more.

"Same goes for you Abigale." She looked at the black haired girl.

"Understood..." A flame flickered at Jane's eye as she spoke.

They both walked to the end of the class, conversing with each other, two more people following them.

"Sorry about that." She said looking up into my face.

It was weird, we both had masks on and couldn't read each others expressions. I did not respond, yet she still did not move.

"Ahem... Use magic to hit the farthest target as close to the bullseye as possible." Mrs. Eos said her face dead serious, sweat on her forehead.

We were still to the edge of the class, almost at the walkway as they had confronted me as soon as we arrived. As the princess walked she still held on to me. I didn't move and she turned around.

"Are you not coming?" She said holding my hand.

I had another Zack on my hand's, literally. Again I didn't respond and just went with it. We stood at the front and she went first.

She raised her hand and as she did I could see something glisten before it disappeared. A clang was heard as something had hit the black and white target. Then Mrs. Eos spoke.

"Excellent princess, bullseye." She sounded impatient and angry.

"You next..." She said quickly and with distain in her voice.

As I raised my hand I focused the mana in front of it, more than I had before, white. I thinned it like a needle and then split it into smaller pieces. I was going to widen the area of effect. I gestured my hand as a pistol and then with a deep breath I pulled my finger back like a trigger exhaling.

It worked, I had used more mana than I had ever done before. They shot out and a whistling sound could be heard, then six consecutive bangs were heard. Though only one ting.

"Bullseye... I guess. On to the next test, The rest of the class should continue target practice for today." As she walked away heading to the front of the dome, the princess dragged me along again.

I had no choice but to follow. She led us back to the classroom and instructed us to sit, apart. I sat at the back and the princess sat to my left in the center column.

Mrs. Eos then went into her desk and pulled out two papers and pencils. She walked up and set them face down in front of us.

"You'll have twenty minutes to do the test. Begin." She said stood in the middle of the both of us.

I turned over the paper and immediately, he chimed in.

"Just mark what I tell you to." He said confidently.

"O.K." I choose to do as he said.

Listening to him, it was over in a matter of minutes. I sat there waiting for the test to be over. And soon it was, with no warning she snatched the papers and walked away.

"You can take the rest of the day off." She said sitting at her desk.

I stood up and started to leave when the princess caught up. She said nothing, it really was a Zack. As we left the class I was taking a left and her a right.

"You aren't going to change?" She said her head slightly tilted to one side.

"Change?" I asked confused.

"Oh, he speaks. Yes change, isn't that your combat clothes, they sure look like it."

She wasn't wrong but I didn't think about that, I had gloves that could turn into claws and boots that could shoot chain blades. It was best if I did.

"I don't have my clothes on me." I said as I walked away.

"O.K. She said as she turned the corner."

I went to my room and changed, taking a shower in-between. I had the rest of the day off after all. It was a little tiering, dealing with people. Having nothing else to do I went to the infirmary once more. I had therapy and didn't know where to go. I'd ask Ms. Linn.

I got over to the infirmary and as the door slid open, I saw her talking to the princess. She looked over at me in confusion, both did.

"What are you doing here?" Ms. Linn asked.

"Therapy, where?" I said entering the room.

"Oh, my bad, didn't really tell you where did I. Silly me, the door across from this one." She said pointing with a smile.

"Therapy?" The princess asked looking back and forth between Ms. Linn and myself.

"Yes, but it's not my secret to tell." She said putting a finger over her lips.

I left the room and headed over to the other. It was relatively empty. A brown sofa and a desk and chair like that in the classroom. There was a small pile of books and a metal octahedron on the desk.

Not having anything better to do I sat on the couch and waited. Though soon she came.

She barged through the door in a red dress skirt and turtle necked red cotton shirt with a tablet in one hand and an ice cream in the other. Her hair was jet black just as her eyes.

She sat down as if she hadn't seen me. She sat there eating the ice cream and giggling away looking at her tablet.

"Ahem." I made my presence known.

She jumped in her chair and she looked over, frightened.

"Oh God... oh God. Warning next time?" She said panting. "You must be Francis, my first client. Your early, why is that?" She ate her ice cream still.

"I got off early."

"Oh. Well why don't we get started. What's the issue, because I know there is one. And I need you to know this from the start, I'm here to help you, go ahead."

"There isn't one." I said laying down side ways looking at her.

"Oh God, here we go?" She said looking at her tablet. "Can you at least tell me about your childhood."

"There wasn't one."

"Really now." She looked over in confusion. "And why's that?"

I didn't respond.

"It's either, you want my help or you don't." She said softly.

"Don't."

"Well you're staying here for an hour might as well do something constructive. How was your day." She said with a smile.

"Boring."

"Why is that?"

The conversation devolved into a social interaction, we talked about pointless things for the entire time until it was up.

"That's it for today. Not much progress but that's better than nothing. See you next week." She said with a smile.

I left the room and waiting was Zack and the princess, talking and laughing. I tried to walk past but they stopped me in my tracks, the princess beside him.

"Finally." Zack said. "Where to now?"

I wanted to be alone but it was obvious that wasn't going to happen.