"Victoria: You gotta fight for it, every single day"
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TIME SKIP TO 13 YEARS LATER
YEAR: 1213, SOMEWHERE IN THE MONTH OF MARTIUS, OF MERIDITH'S LUNAR CALENDAR.
KINGDOM: WARLOSENCE.
VICTORIA'S POV:
The practice field was filled with the sound of clashing swords. The air was ruffled by dust and the sound of each step that the swordsmen are making to get me.
My golden hair was tied up in a pigtail that fell on my back. Black leather pants and a sleeveless top were good on the sword field. After all, we need to be comfortable fighting back.
The opposite five swordsmen wore our traditional soldier uniforms marked with the flammable sun in their armour as the flag of Warlosense. The legacy goes on: only the winners get to stay alive. And to stay alive, we need to fight.
I stood almost reaching the edge of the given circle as the swordsmen circled me. Keeping my eyes on each other and gripping my wielded sword, I take each step very carefully. Observantly. Their eyes were stuck on my every move as if they already knew all about me.
But that is where they are wrong. They'd never know me. I'll always be better than them.
"Victoria lay down your weapon. There is no chance of going ahead from here," one of the swordsmen tells me.
The fools think that they finally got me. But I refuse to back down today. I have been practising this situation almost my whole life. There is no way I am backing down now. I need to prove that no matter what they talks behind my back, I'll always come back stronger.
That's who I am. Victoria. I was born to win.
Finally gripping my swords I pound towards them. Indeed they outnumbered me, but I fought with all my might. With all that I have learned so far. You must die with dignity, knowing you didn't back down.
Dodging their every action and moving in defence, I finally could take three of them down. But there were still two of them left.
"What are you doing?" A voice yelled behind me. He always does so. As if I was already a gone game. But today I wanted to tell him that I am not the one they could think to take down easily. Even if I had to go all the hard way, I am all in.
"You are slow" he yells once again, breaking my concentration. And that is when I was hit hard to fall straight on the ground. My birthmark glows. It has always been like that. It starts glowing from time to time.
"Aish," he says in frustration.
Finally defeated, on the ground, I turned back. I saw him. The man who is known for his inhuman skills in swords stood tall above the stairs, looking disappointed at me. My master. Fortunate for me that I get to train from him and unfortunate for him to get the most so-called weak fighter in her group.
My master looks at me in disappointment. Like always. His aged face was still radiant with pride. Pride of being the high priest of Meredith's soldier. His grey hair and beard were almost the same size, which gave him more of a rugged look.
The only thing which was missing from that perfect man was a smile. I never saw him smiling, even for once. Nobody did.
"I am sorry, I will try harder next time," I say. I am sure if it was not for his yelling, I could easily take those swordsmen down.
"There is no next time, Victoria. All you have is today. So you must prepare and train until you are sure that, you can make up today to reach the next day. You must edify yourself," he says. My eyes stick to the ground. I was ashamed of losing once again.
"I will practice more then," I say as he walks off without saying any further words. That is how he is. The one to give lessons the hard way.
As I picked up my sword and started walking away, I heard a few people gossip. I knew it was all about me, but I choose to ignore it.
"Wise men always avoid chaos," my master always says. And I chose to listen to him today. As I knew there was no point fighting about it.
I keep walking away from practice but they just don't wanna stop.
"Hey Blondie, I hear that you are the weirdest and the weakest. Is that all true?" one of them mocked derogatorily. The others followed him as they started teasing me once again. "If that was all true, you can beg me, I might help you." He sneered.
I clutched my fist in a ball trying hard to ignore them.
"Well, I have also heard that you try hard to fit in, but you know what, if you beg me, I might help you save your ass?" he laughed. Every time he does, he was getting on my nerves.
"Why don't you guys just leave me alone?" I finally yelled asking them. "I guess it was not hard to do."
"Why? Are you afraid? That you are weak?" He mocked taking a step towards me. "Weirdo"
That two words, have haunted me almost all my life.
"You are so weak."
"You are weird. You are different."
"No don't come near us. We don't want to play with you"
"Stay away you foul creature. You are neither fae nor a witch, but how can you still have such powers?"
The words began to ring inside my head, making me crazy all over again. Like something is fighting within me to break free. Something so powerful to behold. Something I have always felt throughout my life. "No" I yelled, covering my ears. "I can't hear it anymore. I am not weird. I am not weak. I am not" I cry.
Hot tears rolled off my cheeks, as the haunted memories flashed through my mind over and over again.
I have been criticised all my life for being different. My brothers and sisters were Fae and they were great soldiers. Although my father the general of Warlosense loves me very much, my mother says that I am adopted.
That is why she despises me. She always thinks that I am the father's illegitimate child
"Make it stop, please" I cry, not holding onto myself.
"Leave her she is just a girl, I think we have had enough. Let go" One of them suggested. But it was too late to back off. I took a deep breath before I opened my emerald green eyes shooting dangerous stares at them.
The bully who has picked on me for years. They were saying that I was weak.
I held my sword strong before attacking him. But he was fast enough to put up a defence.
"I see you are hyped up." He mocks as he looks into my eyes, trying to anger me more. But the more he does, the worse it gets today.
"You are going to apologise to me," I say almost pushing his sword with all might.
"Yeah sure, as if" he mocked once again.
I withdrew my sword attacking him once again. With my flexible moves, I could easily dodge his hits. It was not difficult. But for him, today my attacks were constantly aggressive.
I couldn't see when my master came again sharing all those cheering noises. He was not happy to see all this, but I could care less until I give this bastard a good lesson.
For the first few minutes, people could only hear the sound of swords and ruffling steps on the ground. The air once again was dusted and filled with dust fog.
As I was about to take my final moves by attacking from the right corner with a spin, he held his sword up in the air, before attacking mine and it broke into two halves. He stood there with a victorious smile and kept his sword on my neck as I sat there looking shockingly at him.
I lost.
Once again.
I cannot believe it.
His mockingly emphasized the last words, "If you practice a little more, your father will certainly put you up in one of the maid's chambers."
And that is when I lost it.
"You can do it. You are stronger than them. let me out" I could hear the voice in my head.
How does this motherfucker disrespect me? I am General Kang's daughter. Nobody could disrespect me or my father. I won't allow it.
As he turns back, his friends start laughing at me. Causing my anger to only double each second.
Unknowingly my eyes began to glow golden as I felt a tingly sensation within me. As if, I am the only superior. The one who was willing to come out. I didn't fight it. I let it take over me.
And surprisingly I jumped off the ground effortlessly, Drawing a sword of air from nothing I pulled off to his left shoulder. Within a second screams filled the area. A pool of blood filled the ground as his left-hand detached and falls on the ground.
I stood there still in shock at what I had just done right now.
The gasp and murmurs filled the practice field as I stood still, shocked by my action. It was magic. It is for me. I am not worthless.
With utter shock, I look at my hands which still hold the sword of air dripping a few drops of blood.
"Take the boy to the medication room." I heard my master's voice finally.
I quickly look over him hoping for praise or an answer maybe. But the stone he is, he says "Well, now that you finally have discovered a new part of yourself, you must practice unless you master it"
I stood still as he left without even praising me, or thinking about his other disciple whose hands were still lying on the floor. How heartless a man could be.
People started dispersing as they said in a hushed tone "She is a monster". But this time it didn't affect me. I finally let it be free. I always had it in me. I just couldn't accept it.
"Victoria?" My mother yelled as she ran to the field. "How many times do I have to say, you are forbidden to be here!" She shoots some of her sharp glare. "Come home with me now!" She ordered. But I wasn't going to go back now.
"No," I said sternly. I cannot go back to my pathetic life. I finally started accepting myself. "I will stay and learn"
"Victoria!" she warned.
"Mother, I am sorry if I displease you, but I am not going to go back to that house, pretending to be what I am not. I was born to be here. In this field. Like my father. I want to be a soldier." I let my heart out. Tears were rolling from my eyes.
It was overwhelming for me. But I have decided now. And for the first time, I saw my mother couldn't answer me back. I guess she saw the determination in my eyes.
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THIRD PERSON'S POV:
But what she don't know was, her eyes were glowing again. Her powers were taking her over. It was the first time her mother had encountered such a powerful being. Being too stunned she couldn't move.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
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