A Lesson Learned

Rhea adjusted the leather armor as the servant led her to the training grounds outside of the armory. The four Keepers were already there sparring with each other while Monteros monitored their every move. Rhea watched them from behind him. She imagined all the ways she'd incapacitate Monteros if she wasn't so injured.

"Enough!" Monteros yelled at the Keepers, then gestured for Rhea to go forward and called for another soldier who was waiting on the side. "You and Haverford, spar. Elemental abilities prohibited."

Rhea eyed the soldier closely, watching for any obvious tells that would give her an advantage. Haverford was average in size but had a weasel-like face that was asking for a beating. He was full of openings that Rhea would've been happy to exploit if she didn't think the Master of Arms was up to something. He did say he wanted to teach her a lesson, so why pit her up against someone so weak?

"Start!" Monteros yelled and Haverford charged. Rhea easily side-stepped him, tripping his foot in the process. He stumbled to his knees and Rhea waited for him to stand. She was a fair person when it came to sparring. Assassinations on the other hand is free for all. Suddenly, Rhea felt a sharp sting on her back, and she turned quickly to see Monteros pulling a whip back to his side. "No powers!"

"What are you a moron?" she shouted. "You forget your monocles by your bedside table?" He swung the whip out in a flash and Rhea was barely able to avoid it.

"Disobedience means punishment," Monteros growled. "Hold your tongue else I'll cut them out. Continue!"

Haverford stood up and Rhea faced him again. He charged her again and once again, Rhea side-stepped him. She sighed with impatience as she waited for Haverford to regain his balance. Another sting licked Rhea's back.

"What the hell?!" She turned to Monteros who was smiling mischievously like a Cheshire cat.

"No powers," he only said and gestured for them to continue. Rhea finally understood what he meant by teaching her a lesson. No matter what she did, he would always use it as an excuse to whip her. This was nothing but a hazing ritual. Something Rhea had been through before while she was training with her Mentor. "Again!"

Rolling her shoulders, Rhea faced Haverford, but this time didn't wait for him to charge. She shot forward like a bullet and jumped. She threw her legs around his neck, and using her momentum, rolled to flip him on his back. She stood back up and looked down at her handwork. Her mentor would've been proud. She heard the whip this time and caught it around her hand before turning to face the Master of Arms. She tugged the weapon, and it came flying into her hands easily.

Monteros' face was beet red and Rhea was satisfied to disrupt his little game. When Rhea played, she plays to win. Soldiers surged forward, but Monteros stayed their approach as he marched his way to the field. Bren, Caius, Winchell, and Terra stared at her shocked, surprised at her little stunt, but seemed pleased at the same time.

"Looks like I underestimated you," he snarled. Rhea shrugged her shoulders and toyed with the whip before throwing it back towards Monteros. He let the whip fall to the floor next to the servant who brought Rhea there.

"Send your best then," Rhea taunted. Monteros stared down at the whip, then at the servant that stood on standby, waiting for his instructions. Her eyes looked downwards as most servants usually do. She was a small, skinny little woman with hair done up in a bun hidden under a servants cap. Her hands were rough and dirty. Looking at this woman, Monteros' demeaner grew calm. He smiled eerily at Rhea.

Rhea frowned, wondering what he was up to now. She followed his gaze towards the servant who helped her with her armor and grew worried. She watched as he dragged the servant over and told her to pick up the whip.

"Fight and you won't be punished, refuse…well, you know what will happen," Monteros told the servant as Rhea saw her physically pale. The servant looked towards Rhea fearfully, knowing that she would never be able to win against an expert. Bren grew furious while standing on the sidelines. Caius and Winchell had some trouble keeping him back.

"Monteros!" Bren shouted, "You go too far!"

"You may be of royal blood," Monteros replied unconcerned, "but this is my training grounds, and how I train my soldiers is my decision."

"She is not a soldier," Winchell said, "She is but a civilian!"

"I am well aware, Levi," Monteros said. He turned back to the servant. "If you lose to this aberration, I'll feed you to the dogs!"

The servant took a hesitant step forward. Apparently, it was too slow for Monteros since he shoved her until she stumbled a couple of feet away from Rhea. She was still holding the whip and looked back and forth between Rhea and Monteros. Rhea was appalled by Monteros' behavior, but she thought that maybe she played her cards too soon. Maybe she should have feigned weakness so that he would let his guard down. She realized that Monteros wasn't one to play fair. He'd use any means to win due to his pride. Even if it meant trampling over innocent people.

Rhea looked over at the servant, who was trembling with uncertainty and practically close to tears and nodded to her reassuringly. Rhea can take a beating, but this servant couldn't and that's what Monteros' was counting on.

"Hit her!" Monteros demanded. Startled, the servant lifted the whip and snapped it towards Rhea. Rhea stood still and took the hit. It didn't hurt as much as when Monteros whipped it, but it still stung. The servant paused and Monteros threatened her again, but she hesitated.

"It's alright," Rhea said to her calmly, "I can take it."

"I'm sorry," the servant sobbed and lifted the whip again to hit her.

"Harder!" Monteros yelled and the servant tried her best but without much muscle on her bones, it didn't make much of a difference.

The servant whipped Rhea for ten minutes before she began to get winded. Rhea was bleeding from open wounds, and the servant's arms were shaking from the exertion. The four Keepers looked on from the side with worry. Bren looked as if he wanted to strangle Monteros who was grinning wide while watching. Caius' hands were balled in tight fists. Terra's face was expressionless, but a slight twitch of her brow gave away her concern. Winchell was wrenching his hands as he stared at the old and new wounds forming on Rhea.

Finally, the servant collapsed and Monteros ordered others to take her away. He walked over to Rhea, looming over her slumped, bleeding form. He knelt down so he could speak face to face with her, a smug smile tugging at his greasy lips.

"Not much of a fighter, are you?" he said as he poked at Rhea's hunched body with every word spoken. "Such a disappointment."

Those last words echoed in Rhea's mind and brought her back to her days of training with her mentor. Everything she did, every move she made, it was nothing but a disappointment to him. It made her work harder and smarter. I drove her to strive for perfection and she finally gained that approval from the one person she respected.

Rhea felt something pulsing inside her chest. The feeling grew steadily and spread throughout her body. She began to glow a golden color and her wounds gradually closed and healed. She stood up stronger than before, fully healed to face Monteros. His mouth hung open in surprise and a hint of fear. Rhea never really took this man seriously. He was nothing but a large bodied coward that hid behind his title.

"I don't need to prove anything to you," she said. Monteros regained his composure. The Keepers looked on with awe, excited to finally know Rhea's element.

"No powers!" Monteros yelled and pulled his sword from his waist to swing down on Rhea. With a flick of her hand, plants sprung from the ground, wrapping itself around Monteros' arm to stop him from cutting her down. The wind began to pick up as the skies grew darker and lightening began to split the clouds. Monteros began to scream as the plants slowly dragged him into the ground until only his head was just above the dirt floor. Rhea grew dizzy and swayed back and forth until she fell against a strong body that supported her. She looked up to see Bren staring down at her with concern.

Everyone else surrounded Monteros' head as he threw out expletive words, telling them to get him out. Caius crouched low and smiled sweetly before stuffing Monteros' mouth with a dirty rag. Winchell watched astounded by the plants that slowly sunk back into the ground. Terra came over to Rhea and helped her to a seat along with Bren who sat beside her. The skies began to clear as if the coming storm had shifted its path.

"What was that?" Rhea asked while holding her throbbing head.

"I don't know," Terra said, "I've never seen anything like it before."

"You can control plants," Bren muttered as he looked back towards Monteros. "And the skies." Winchell studied the remaining plants that didn't sink back under.

"Seems like it," Rhea said, shocked at the ability she thought was just a dream. "But I'm guessing that isn't normal."

"No." Bren stared at Rhea, as if trying to decode her thoughts and abilities.

"I think we should head back to the tower," Terra said, "You think you can move?" Rhea nodded and Bren helped her up. Before they could take a step, they were all surrounded by soldiers and heading towards them, Crown Prince Rhoderick.