Arslan and Eliza ran together towards the Academy, smiling and laughing as they hadn't done for more than a month already. A feeling of interior peace pervaded Arslan. He missed that sensation that could make him forget about all of his problems and questions.
"Pant pant... When did you become so fast?" Eliza asked halting on the spot and bending her upper body forward to take a break.
"My Steps Of Silence are unbeaten!" Arslan proudly answered as sweat ran down his body. He was less tired than Eliza though, thanks to his hard training based on physical resistance.
"Yeah... pant pant... I should have frozen you from the start..." She said as she sat down.
They were just a few steps away from the monumental Outer Gate of the Imperial Academy. Eliza leaned her back on the wall to rest her legs as she had been standing almost all the time in the forest.
"That would have been cheating!" Arslan said as he sat beside her.
