Forbidden

The prince has improved so much since he opened up to me. He also practices authority most of the time and that's a good thing already.

During my personal training, a lot of the soldiers in training were asked to spar with me, but of course, I'm not gonna do it with them. Everything has been well here in the training ground, except, everyone seems to hate me so much because of the favors that I have been receiving. 

As I began my work in the training area, I couldn't help but notice Milla. She was always on her own, sparring with no one but herself. It was hard not to see that she was being bullied by a group of female knights. They would throw things at her and even go so far as to splash her with dirty water. It was cruel and unfair treatment, but Milla never seemed to react to it. Instead, she would just look at them and walk away, which only caused the other soldiers to laugh at her. It was far from the Milla I knew in the training camp. Back then, she was a fierce and fearless fighter, a true tigress.

Thinking about it, I remember her encounter with Liam that made her so furious. And it's really a different Milla from before. Ignoring someone is the last thing that she will do. If she's still in the camp and the trainers there are bullying her, she would have beaten them up to the pulp. 

As days went by, I got curious, to the point where I was secretly following her in the isolated place of the training camp. There, she will sit on the floor and will just stare at the nothingness as if contemplating things.

And today, their whole squadron was asked to spar with each other, and she was paired with another female soldier. As someone who already saw what she is capable of, I was shocked to see that she is actually holding back, unlike before where she will go all out no matter what.

"Kriss won against Milla." Their Captain announced, and their whole squadron shouted praises towards Milla's opponent named Kriss. I can't help but be disappointed. Did she just go here to be bullied and be at the bottom? 

"That Milla is an outsider." Salen, the soldier who is assigned here on the ground with me, said. "She came from the western region and managed to land a job here because the rumor says that she is a spy from the empire next to our kingdom."

"Is that the reason why they are doing that to her?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, and they said that they will try to make her leave since it was the King who made her the winner in the Sataraia camp, just like you-- wait! She's the one who beat you! You are both from the Western Region and you were defeated, but you have great skills that's why the King still recruited you to be the Prince's trainer, right?"

He is such a chatty soldier, but sometimes it's actually a good thing because he keeps me awake during times of my battle with sleep.

"I was just with her in just a short period. And that's not how she was when we were in the training camp." I said looking at Salen. He is listening intently and now looking at me as if he wants to hear more.

"She is way stronger than me when it comes to physical combat. And since she has a pool of mana in her, it enhances her power in a very dominant way." I continued. "She could have been the Prince's tutor if she didn't win the tournament."

"Ohh, now I'm wondering why she's letting them do all those things to her." He said while looking at Milla. I follow his eyes and exactly as I move my gaze towards her, her captain punches her in the gut. 

"There they go again-- Nicholas! Where are you going!" He said as he pulled my elbow to stop me from going to Milla.

"I can't stand this kind of thing, Salen," I said then pulled my arms away from him and went straight to where Milla and her squad were.

It only took me a few steps to reach Ugon, the Captain of Milla's squadron. I grabbed his shoulder and threw a punch straight to his hideous face. He fell instantly.

"Captain!" The other soldiers exclaimed when they realized their captain was now sprawling on the ground. 

I forcefully grabbed Milla's arm and forced her to stand. 

"Why are you meddling with my affairs, Avenier?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Did you know what kind of disrespect have you made towards our captain?" The girl that Milla faced earlier said attempting to come near me but her co-squad stopped her.

"You all think you're superior just because you beat her?" I confronted her entire squad, my voice firm and unwavering. "What a bunch of cowards! Or maybe you're just afraid that the new recruits will surpass your abilities? You all are so abusive. Is this how you plan to protect the country?"

"That's rich coming from someone who hasn't even a month here." The Captain said. His upper lip is bleeding.

"And what a nice way to treat a recruit." I fired back.

"Nicholas, stop it. Just follow me." Milla said as she walked away holding her stomach.

"You're lucky that a lot of people favor you, but this is not our last encounter, I will pulverize you if given the chance." Milla's captain said.

"Nice threat, may fate be with you," I said sarcastically, then made my way towards Milla who disappeared into the weapon room.

I saw her sitting in between the weapon racks. 

"You shouldn't have involved yourself with me." She said, playing with the tassel of her sword.

"Why didn't you fight? You acted all high and mighty when we were in the camp, but now you are letting them beat the hell out of you?" I said, wasn't able to stop myself from the annoyance that I was feeling.

"I have no choice. It's only natural for them to think that I'm a spy because I am an outsider. " She said unusually calmly.

"Are you just going to let them think of you that way?" 

"Can you just shut up for a moment Nicholas? I didn't ask for your help so don't nag at me."

"You look pathetic," I said straightforwardly. She looked at me with fierce eyes and stood up. 

"You don't get to tell me that I'm pathetic when you're the one who looks far more pathetic than I am," she remarked, her nostrils flaring in response to what I've said. "You don't know anything about me so mind your own damn business."

"Okay, I guess that's how you thank someone who just saved you from the hateful things that your own squad does to you," I said then turned my back on her.

"I was banished from my beloved homeland," she whispered, her voice barely audible. I turned to face her, and there she was, bowing her head, looking so vulnerable. This was not the same proud and confident Milla that I knew. She had been seething with anger just moments ago.

"I had to use forbidden magic to save my younger sibling's life," she continued, her voice trembling with emotion. "The Elders of the Magic Tower found out and forced me to swear never to return to Rendyl again. It was a painful and difficult decision, but I had no other choice." She said trying to hide her trembling voice.

"I want to see how my family is doing right now. I am the only one they can rely too because our parents were long dead. And now, I was exiled, and I don't have any news about them anymore. I just want to have a good reputation as a royal soldier so I can get them out of that damned empire." She continued. Still bowing, silently crying.

I felt my heart clenched because of the sudden revelation. She acts all tough but she has this burden inside her that is restricting her from saving herself from what others are doing towards her.

"I'm sorry to hear that," is the only thing that I can say.

"Since you now know the reason, I insist that you keep away from me and not involve yourself with me."

She said and immediately went away.

I stared at her until she was out of sight, unaware of the inner battles she fought.

How insensitive of me.