A Blizzard Is Coming

So, where was I at again? Ahh, the part where I complained that I was too talented?

Nah, I'm pretty sure I never said that. I'm a humble and honest guy, the type that can get along with anyone.

You must have misheard something. I'm an honest, humble, and most importantly, generous individual. I forgive you for insulting my character.

See? I'm a stand-up guy. The world can push me around, but it's never put me down for good.

Wind and rain may come, and the snow might fall upon the plains, but like a resilient weed; I alone remain.

Heed my advice; the strongest aren't the ones who can split the mountains and seas. Those clowns don't matter.

No, no. It's the ones down below who survive those disasters that matter the most. The individuals who refuse to die every time the world tries to snuff them out.

They're the strong ones, make no mistake about it.

.....

But I won't lie that I've been in some shitty situations over the years. One meeting, in particular, set off a chain of events that still haunts me to this day ...

Several weeks passed since Reed had begun training under Axtorius's new instructions. His success ended up backfiring on him as a new chapter of pain started for him.

His days now consisted of pure torture; Axtorius ordered him to only fight the expert-level android from now on. And if that wasn't enough, the old man personally took it upon himself to guide him during his free time.

A part of him considered it a blessing that Instructor Axtorius now personally guided him when it came to perfecting Yohua, but it came at a price. The man was an unrelenting drill instructor that operated on the philosophy that every mistake one made was an opportunity to grow, as he put it.

Every time he failed to meet his outrageous demands, he would 'personally demonstrate' the intricacies of the martial art, in a manner he'd easily comprehend. He would lovingly beat Reed until he couldn't move.

Again and again, day after day, without end. Eventually, Axtorius told Reed that he would no longer have to return to the barracks.

The old man had said that it'd save him time if he just slept in one of the spare rooms inside his office, the black nail. It was an invitation into the deepest layer of hell that he couldn't refuse. The only thing he could do was smile and nod gratefully as if he was an obedient pet in front of its gracious master.

"Why do I have to sleep with an old fart from now on?! This isn't how it's supposed to go down! I...should have just let the damn android win that night," Reed told his friends as they looked at him with sympathetic expressions.

Horatio put down his fork for once and patted Reed on the back. He said, "We know that that he's harsh on you, but that's because he likes you, Reed. I heard from my father that Instructor Axtorius only personally guides people he fancies; he's still a famous figure even after he retired from his service and became an instructor, you know? Some people would kill to be in your shoes right now."

Ophelia spoke up and said, "Horatio's underselling Instructor Axtorius's fame. He's a living legend who challenged the Lion King's firstborn son and almost won back in his prime. Even now, some people still argue that the fight ended in a draw. He's a national treasure of the North."

She scowled at Horatio and said, "I think you're mistaking yourself for your great-grandfather, idiot. Only someone his status would have the right to address Instructor Axtorius as just a 'famous' person."

Horatio silently shrugged his shoulders and resumed eating as he never heard her complaint, which only incensed Ophelia further. The lack of respect the boy had was annoying, to say the least.

With a stuffed mouth, Astor said, "He's doing you a service, bud. The first gift he's given you is his guidance; the second gift he's given you is indirect but equally, if not more precious. The fact that he's bestowed upon you his family's combat art and he's taken it upon himself to guide will act as a shield for you in the future."

Pieces of food flew out of Astor's mouth as he rattled out his reasoning and hit Reed's face. It seemed like the fellow wasn't taught table manners when he was raised. Reed tried his best to keep himself from beating the blabbermouth prince as he focused on his explanation.

"He's created the image that you're his disciple in some capacity. That's huge. No one, at the very least, in the North, would ever dare lay their hands on a disciple that he picked up. It'd be the same as declaring war on him and the Leonhard family. Whoever did that would be destroyed so as long as they remained on Northern soil."

Even Sebastian nodded as he heard Astor's reasoning and found himself unable to make an interjection.

Astrid noticed the mess Astor had made on Reed's face and pulled out a blue napkin out of one of her pockets. As she gently wiped the food crumbs that stuck on Reed's face, she said, "He probably means well, Reed. It's not often someone like you shows up in our world, so you can probably imagine what an old conqueror like must be feeling right now, right?"

"Frustration? Irritation? Annoyance? I don't know," cooly responded Reed as he tried his best to keep his poker face on in front of Astrid. This she-devil was doing it again; she was too damn close. He felt his heart beating out his chest mostly out of embarrassment and slight fear.

"It's excitement he's feeling, silly goose. For the first time in hundreds of years, he's found someone that's pulled him out of his boredom." Astrid smiled as he pulled even closer to Reed and whispered, "It's a woman's intuition...I know because I feel the same way about you, haha."

"!!!?"

Reed choked on his spit and violently coughed as Astrid giggled at his excessive reaction. Astor's eyes gleamed as he stared at Reed. An ominous grin formed as he subtly checked Ophelia's indifferent face as she ate her meal.

"There are so many playmates...to tease and fool around with here. I've been blessed with the best entertainment in the North," he thought as his useless mind began churning up ideas. A storm was coming, it seemed...

Horatio kept his eyes down and pretended that he was solely focused on his meal. He wasn't about to join in on whatever nonsense Astor was about to cook up in the future. Not a goddamned chance.

And thus, Reed grueling days continued as scheduled. He'd be beaten like a rag doll, day after day, under Axtorius's guidance and eventually, the results of his beatings came into fruition.

After two months of intense training and hardship, Reed perfected his mastery of Yohua.

The expert-level droid no longer posed a threat to him to these days. Eight of the ten times he fought the android, he'd able to defeat it.

His polished techniques let him snuff the android out before it even assessed his threat level. Admittedly though, the element of surprise was the reason he was able to defeat it.

Otherwise, if the android knew beforehand about Reed's mastery of Yohua, it would have never given him a chance to act. It would have immediately designated him as a top-level threat and used its Anima skills to end the fight as quickly as possible.

Seeing that the expert-level android no longer posed a challenge to the boy, Axtorius cackled and told Reed that he'd only be sparing with him henceforth.

"Don't worry, I won't use Anima. As a handicap, I'll only be using a single hand, too," he said. Comforting words, don't you think?

Everyone bitterly smiled when they heard Reed's complaints and consoled him the best they could. It'd looked like Instructor Axtorius had really taken a liking to him...

Half a year passed by in a flash for the group as they each trained their combat arts and increased their Anima tolerance.

But the good old days finally came to an end on a particularly clear day. Axtorius had gathered everyone in the mountaintop for an important announcement. Reed and his friends sat down lazily as they waited for him to start.

His voice echoed across the mountain as he said, "I've summoned you all here to let you know that as of today, the first stage of your training is complete. You've all become well-versed enough with your combat arts that you'll at least be able to defend yourself out in the real world."

"But the most important development you've all made is that you've developed sufficient resistance towards Anima to begin the second stage of your training, which you've no doubt been eagerly waiting; learning how to shape and use Anima in a fight. Anima skills, as they called."

"Alas, I will not be teaching you how to use Anima skills. Instructor Windsong was in charge of teaching you how to manipulate Anima, but we've had some interesting developments..." He glanced at Reed momentarily before continued his speech.

"Unfortunately, Instructor Windsong will not be available for your next stage of training. Instead, we've elected to solicit one of our training academy's unexpected guests to teach you as a stand-in instructor. "

"Have no fear, the individual who will teach you is a natural-born genius when it comes to Anima control. You'll be in one of the best hands of the North has to offer."

Axtorius unexpectedly paused for a moment and looked hesitant. He rubbed his brow and quietly sighed.

Students picked up on the fact that something was wrong. They wondered what could have given the Instructor such a miserable expression. Rarely anything ever fazed this man.

"The guest instructor is someone rather...unique, you see. I'm sure you've all heard of the 'Winter Princess,' right? You will all have the honor of being taught the basics of Anima by Her Royal Highness. It's an extraordinary privilege, so take care to make the most of it while you're under her care."

"This concludes your time here at the tempering mountain. I'll activate the main altar shortly and then return to the spire. Take this time to grab your belongings. We'll be leaving in ten minutes." He vanished and left everyone to their own devices.

Reed looked at the sky happily and grinned like he had won the lottery. He had finally escaped the old man's clutches; the sweet taste of freedom had invigorated his spirit. His next destination would hopefully be with that princess the old man spoke about. Anything was better than being cooped up with the old man a day longer.

Excited, he turned around said, "Hey, Astor, who's that princess the old man was talking about? You know who she is by chance?"

But Astor remained silent. He looked sick and somewhat pale as if he had been struck by a sudden fever. Cold sweat rolled down his face as he looked at Reed and said, "Y-Yeah, I know who she is, bud. She's...an older sister of sorts to put it simply. Not that we're related or anything. It's just that she's, well, you know..."

"She's a natural disaster given human form," Horatio said.

"She's a natural disaster given human form," Ophelia said.

For the first time, Horatio's stoic facade broke as he gritted his teeth.

He had an uneasy look on his face as he said, "I guess we never told you back then, huh? Astor's a real prince, but he's was originally from one of the Kingscrown's branch families. When they discovered his latent potential as a child, the main family adopted him and gave him his title."

"The 'Winter Princess' that Instructor Axtorius spoke about is one the Moon King's direct descendants; one his great-grandaughters, and an infamous contender that is known for her unyielding attitude. She's gotten into a lot of trouble because of her tendency to break anything that gets in her way."

"Simply put, she's a princess down to the marrow of her bones. It's either her way or the highway, as they say. She's the type that doesn't accept anything other 'yes' as an answer."

Reed noticed a glaring bit of information and had to make sure that he had heard it correctly.

"You said she's an infamous contender, right? Did hear that correctly, or have I gone mad?"

"You hear it correctly, she's still a contender amid her climb to godhood. Don't even think for a second she's normal. She's an honest to god freak of nature who can stand toe-to-toe with the likes of conquerors already. A real monster who can control Anima like its part of her or something." Astor shuddered at the thought of seeing her again but knew that it was too late to run...

"You should prepare yourself for the worst, bud. I've no doubt in my mind that she came over here because she heard about your pact with Will of the World back then. She's probably eager to meet you, so do yourself a favor and try not to piss her off, please? Because if you, even I won't be able to guarantee your life if you do..."

Reed gulped as he stared at Astor and began to wonder if he had made a mistake.

"Perhaps, I had it best out here in the mountains, after all..."