"If you remain this weak how would you become a powerful warrior?"
A small girl dropped on the ground after getting beaten up by an old man. She had tears in her eyes as she was about to burst into crying.
"Stop crying like a child!" The old man shouted and pointed the tip of the wooden sword in his hand towards her. "A valiant person never cries. Now, get up."
The girl wiped off her tears from the back of her arm and stood up with her wooden sword held tightly at front.
"Come at me again," The old man said and put one hand behind his back. It was as if he gave her a handicap.
The young girl wore a white Gi for the rigorous training her father made her go through. She wore a white waistband as well.
"You hit too hard, father," She said and rubbed the top of her head. "It hurts."
"I am still showing mercy on you. The enemy won't show it on the battlefield," The old man replied with an unfriendly face. "If you don't want to die on the battlefield, you must not complain."
She sprinted towards him and swung the wooden sword in an arc from up to down, hoping that it would hit the old man but he just stepped aside and dodged it. He then again brushed her head from his sword, so that he does not injure her.
A girl in her teenage arrived on the grassy lawn in the back of their house and saw them training with the sword.
She was quite a beauty with milky white skin, sharp features, big ocean blue eyes, and heart-shaped pink lips. She seemed to be in her teenage years. She wore a purple robe over a white shirt. She tied her black silky hair in a ponytail so that her hair does not disturb her during battles.
The small girl sat on the ground, threw her sword away, and held her head from both of her hands.
"You… hurt… me," She stuttered and cried. Her cry was loud enough to scare the ravens away from the nearby citrus tree.
"Ah, here we go again." The teenage girl sighed with a facepalm.
The old man glared down at the young girl and hissed, "Didn't I tell you to not cry?"
The small girl looked at his scary face and cried even louder.
"Father!" The old man heard a voice. He turned his head and saw his elder daughter coming towards him.
"Oh, Rebecca, how was your first day in the training center?" He asked.
"Big sis!" The small girl ran to her elder sister and hugged her around her waist. Rebecca smiled at her and enveloped her little sister around her shoulders.
"It was a good day. Do you know Governor Leonard arrived today and shared his battle experiences? He even gave useful advice to us." Her eyes shone as she talked.
The old man clicked his tongue and looked away. "As if that b*stard has any battle experience."
She frowned. "Father… He is the governor of our province."
"He is one arrogant b*stard." The old man pumped steam out of his nose when he spoke. "If anyone should have been there to share his battle experiences, it should have been me."
"I know all the stories you would have told there. I would not want to hear them again," She told her father while looking at him from the side of her eyes.
"You know there is no one in this empire with more battle experience than me. There are only a few who come close to me, including our emperor."
"I know. I don't want to hear it again." She ignored what her father said and walked inside her house after she slid open her back door to enter through it. Her younger sister ran inside as well.
Her father saw her and shouted, making her stop midway, "Marya! I am not done yet."
"Father, let her be for today," Rebecca said and looked at her sister. "Go, play outside."
Marya jumped with joy as soon as she heard it. "Yay!" She ran away.
The old man sighed and shook his head sideways. "If she won't train, how would she get stronger?"
...
Rebecca and the old man sat on the floor in a room and sipped tea.
"You go too harsh on her. She is very young to train this hard," Rebecca mentioned.
"You have been training this hard from around her age as well. Look what you have become, one of the strongest fighters of your age," The old man reasoned and took a sip.
"I don't want the same to happen with Marya, father." Rebecca's eyes showed sadness as she spoke. "I want her to enjoy her childhood and live her life to the fullest."
The old man sighed and kept the cup of tea on the floor beside him. "I understand your concern, daughter," He said. "But what I am doing is for her greater good. She won't regret it in the future just like you don't regret it."
Rebecca stared at the floor with sad eyes, and the old man noticed it.
"You know, your mother…" He mentioned and gained her attention. "She was one of the first female warriors to gain recognition in the empire. Women are not meant for fighting in our society, and she wanted to change it. She even got fairly successful in her dream."
"Did you meet my mother on a battlefield?" Rebecca asked.
"I met her in a training session which was held when our struggle with Alabusia made us go through tough times. Arsner Devonté Albus ruled Alabusia back then." The old man's eyes slowly sank into the vast ocean of good old memories.
"What was she like back then?" Rebecca showed some interest in knowing about the first meeting of her parents. Of course, she would be.
"She was fierce yet elegant. She was the prettiest and strongest woman I had ever known. I realized she was way stronger than me when our commander made me spar with her. I denied as I didn't want to hurt a woman."
"What happened then?" Rebecca asked.
The old man scratched his cheek. "I remember little but I was lying on the ground the next second and she sat on my chest forcing me to admit defeat."
Rebecca laughed. "So, she beat you up."
"Yeah, you can say." After a few moments of silence, he stared at the floor and said, "She left her legacy as my two daughters after her martyrdom on the battlefield. Do you know why I go so harsh on you two?"
Rebecca searched for the answer in her father's eyes and also knew what he wanted to tell her.
"I don't want you two to lead a life like other women around you. I want you two to take your mother's dream forward and become like her," He said.
"Don't worry, father. I will carry on her legacy," Rebecca mentioned with a confident smile. "I will work hard and become the strongest warrior."
"I am sure you will."
Someone listened to the entire conversation from behind a closed door. It was little Marya. She walked away after their conversation was over.
The next day, she trained with her father willingly but got beaten up again. She sat on her ground with her eyes shut closed with tears in them and held her head with both of her hands.
The old man glared down at her and groaned, "Are you going to sit here all day?" He raised his wooden sword over his head and swung it down to hit her.
She saw the sword approaching her and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a hit any moment.
Clank!
She heard a metal clanking sound and someone's voice.
"Are you going to sit here all day?"
It was a boy's voice.
Marya opened her eyes and saw Alan stood in front of her blocking the monster's claw-cum-tail with his strange-looking daggers.
She realized she was watching a fragment of her memories. Alan pushed the claw away with all of his might and grunted. He did not look at her but gave his hand for her to hold and stand up.
"It is not the time to rest, Marya. I need your help," He said while following the monster's tails swirling around in the air from his eyes.
Marya was still alive, and she could not believe it. Her hand went into his hand on its own as if she had lost control of it. She took the support and stood up to face the monster.
"I hope it did not damage you enough for you to fail in following this tough guy's movements," Alan said while looking at her with a slight smile forming on the corner of his lips.
She snatched her hand away and replied, "I can beat a dozen guys like you even in this condition."
"That's what I wanted to hear," Alan said and turned looked at the monster. They both got prepared to take it on again while it growled and glared at them from its blood-red eyes.