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It's been a month since Lan decided to put more trust into Commander Wei and his men. Although slow at first, her cheerful personality started to show, and Commander Wei could only nod and smile in satisfaction, seeing that she is happier than before.

Lan started to include herself when she saw soldiers doing chores. She had difficulty at first, as it was something servants would do in the palace, but she learned fast. She then slowly made her way into helping cleaning after the soldiers after their training. Again, everything was heavy and hard for her, but she decided to not leech off from them. So she learned quickly to become a help instead of a burden.

Lan was spending less and less time in her tent.

Lan had always been an outside girl. In the palace, she always spent her time in the garden whenever she got the chance. She would play chase with her parents/uncle, watch the flowers bloom, or eat sweet rice cakes with her grandfather. Lan smiles at the happy memories.

One cool night, Commander Wei decided to go on a walk for fresh air. Whilst men are asleep at this late hour, he expected it to be a peaceful one. Within only a couple steps out from his tent though, he hears the sound of a girl grunting. Taking a glance, he saw Lan holding onto a sword with all her might...practicing?

For the past two weeks, Lan had been sneaking out at night to learn swordsmanship. After witnessing the soldiers train, she wanted to learn too. During the day, she absorbs what she sees[while doing her chores], and tries to apply it to her practice. Six-year-old Lan, however, underestimated the weight of a sword, so it took a whole week for her to find the strength to even hold onto it before trying real moves. She persevered through it. She wants to be able to protect the people she cares about with this sword. She was powerless before, so she couldn't save her father, grandfather, or mother, from the sword her uncle held. But she will now. She will learn to prevent anything like that from happening again.

The next morning, Commander Wei calls in Lan and General Wei. "General, I want you to train Lan." General Wei is shocked, "You want me to train Lan? Commander, are you in your right mind?" Commander Wei nods, "Do it, this is an order."

General Wei in no way could go against an order. He's conflicted because how would he put together a training schedule that accommodates to a six-year-old. "Just train her like how you do our men," Commander Wei answered without him asking...What?

Commander Wei, on the other hand, felt no worries. Last night he saw the will of the girl--literally. He was observing Lan with humor, thinking he was just going to see a sad attempt from the girl. But Lan proved him wrong when he saw her practicing with a steel sword--the kind of sword that takes a regular soldier months before mastering. Her moves were basic, but her eyes. Her eyes were overflowing with a strong aura that made even the 'basic' stances frightening. 'So this was what Jing'er was talking about.' Commander Wei, amused, walked back.

Back at the tent, Lan stood there in shock as well. Only unlike General Wei, she was shaking with excitement. She could finally learn real swordsmanship.

For the next six months, General Wei taught her the art of swordsmanship, along with martial art, archery, literature and even horseback riding. Although his task for her was only with swords, General and Commander Wei soon came to the understanding that she can be so much more with proper nurturing. Lan showed her capabilities when she was learning skills faster than any regular man would. By seven years old, Lan is proficient in all of those fields. A regular man takes over 20 years...

Lan drew strength she didn't know she had to train. She was motivated to protect those around her, so she was glad for it. If not, she knew she would die of exhaustion on day one.

During the six months, Lan got closer to everyone. She and Commander Wei developed a relationship that is similar to a grandfather-granddaughter relation. He even drew out the mischievous side of her. So much that they would sometimes collude together and prank everyone. In one instance, they tied the soldier's shoelaces together at night, and by morning, men dropped faster to the ground than a fly would.

General Wei, on the other hand, was proven to be the more mature one. Although his words were sometimes harsh and distant, he came to care for the girl too. He would train her until she was sore to the bones but come by at night to give her herbal soup that'll heal her muscles.

The soldiers all-around came to respect her, and would occasionally envy her skills. The bone wrenching training they went through for years to master, breezed by her in only six months. That accomplishment is worth commending, but they were jealous of how a six/seven-year-old could acquire such strength and skills so fast.

Lan was beginning to feel like she had a home again. She will never forget the home she had in the palace, never, but after that night, she never thought she'd be surrounded by anyone who cares for her anymore. The camp and everyone here proved her wrong.