"Hayah!" Diane began, by swinging her sword. Once again, a blade of water slashed out, cutting the projectile perfectly in half. "Wow, that is even better than last time." Natasha said, as she applauded, while Diane immediately sat on the grass. "Does it.. have to consume this much energy?" She inquired, while trying to catch her breath. "That is why I always advised you to ensure that you have a full stomach, before each training session." Natasha said. "Okay, let's go again." She said, with a determined look on her face. "Are you sure you have rested enough?" Natasha inquired, a bit surprised at her level of endurance. "What can I do about it?" The sooner I master my skills, the better it will be for me." Diane stated, while gripping her sword.
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Theodore walked down the hallways, humming under his breath. He took a particular bend at the end of the corridor, while before he came to a magnificent door, and opening it. "Good morning! I came to check up on you." Theodore said, ignoring the deadpan face of his older cousin. "I wish you a good morning, Master Theodore." Egiel, who was standing next to Diego, greeted respectfully. "Good morning." Theodore replied with a smile, before sitting himself down opposite his cousin. "Why are you staring at me as If I murdered someone?!" He nearly fell off his chair in fright, as he saw the overly Stern look on Diego's face. "You do realise that you can't always barge In here as you please?" Diego asked him, while refocusing his attention back to his work. "Really, I didn't think it was that important to knock. I mean, It is an office afterall, it's not like it is someone's bedroom." Theodore said, as he hung one of his leg on the armrest of the chair, while resting his right hand on it's head. "And you do realise that you ought to be here everyday. But you are always wandering off to goodness knows where." Diego retorted, obviously not too pleased about the matter. Theodore wringed his ears. "Now you are beginning to sound like My dad." He said, as he gave a side eye to his cousin. "And besides, you have Egiel and Hugo assisting you as well. Ah.. it has been a while since I saw that old man. What happened to him anyway?" Theodore asked, after coming across that sudden realization. "Well, I prefer Egiel here. He is not as incompetent as you are, at least." Diego said. "Hey! I am not incompetent! I am not just interested in office work, it's too gruesome!" Theodore exclaimed immediately. "Well you should be." Diego frankly said. "And Besides, why weren't you at the breakfast table today? It's not like you to rise so late." Diego observed. "That is my own personal business, which I am not willing to mention for certain reasons." Theodore stated. Diego however, had turned a deaf ear to his cousin's bantering. He proceeded to stand from his chair, and moved towards the window sill. Apparently, something intrigued him greatly, for he stared out of the window for a while. Slowly, as though he was under a spell, a smile crept onto his face. He turned back to Theodore. "Well then, Let's see how competent you are." He said, as he walked back to the office desk. "W-what do you mean?" Theodore, suddenly alarmed, stuttered stupidly. "I have forty-two files left. All you have to do is to fill them, sort them out, stamp them and store them. Easy right?" He said, with a smile, as he bent down behind his desk. "Wait, Hold on a second, I didn't come here with the intention to do this!" Theodore bolted upright suddenly, while protesting. "You don't have to be mentally prepared, I already did most of the work. And Besides, you have Egiel here to assist you." Diego said, turning to the latter. Egiel flinched for a brief moment, before a helpless smile nestled upon his features. Diego drew out a sword from underneath the table, which was enclosed in an intricately crafted silver sheath. "Why do you have that thing with you at the office, anyway?" Theodore asked, as his eyes rested on the sword. "Do you really need to ask?" Diego said, as he raised an eyebrow. "Wait, hold on where are you going?" Theodore called out suddenly, when he noticed that Diego was taking Huge strides towards the door. "Egiel, please ensure he does what I assigned him. If he becomes uncooperative, do inform me right away." Diego told Egiel, ignoring Theodore blatantly. "Hang on a moment..." Theodore began, but the sound of the door slamming mercilessly made him to terminate his actions. "Agh." He groaned, as he moved over to Diego's chair. "Honestly, Diego is something else." He said, as he scratched his head in frustration. "What was he gazing at anyway?" Theodore inquired, turning to Egiel. "Well, Lady Natasha and Lady Diane are currently training down at the courtyard, and My lord's window is directly opposite to them. I suspect that is what caught his attention." Egiel explained. "The way Diego has been all over Diane lately, is he maybe interested in her?" Theodore pondered out loud, as he rested his hands on the table. "I am not quite certain, my lord, but I believe it would be good if it was so." Egiel mused. "Actually, I would hope that isn't the case." Theodore said, turning to Egiel with a serious gaze. "Why do you say so my lord?" Egiel inquired, visibly puzzled. "Because they are still going to part ways eventually. So it is better if they do not develop feelings for each other. I don't just want either of them to get hurt, that is all." Theodore explained. "My lord, I will best advise you to start your work now, there Is still much to be done." Egiel stated. "You don't have to tell me!" Theodore said, with an extremely sour look on his face, cursing Diego a thousand and one times In his heart.
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Diane was still busy swinging her sword, trying to get the angle right. Though this time, she did not activate her powers. "Are you sure you aren't exhausted? You have been going at it for quite some time now." Natasha commented, from underneath the tree which she sat. "I am sure." Diane replied, as she still continued to do her practice strikes. "And you actually believe her?" Diego said suddenly, making both women to jump in fright. "How long have you been here?" Diane asked, pleasantly surprised. "That Is not important." Diego said. "Are you sure you are not exhausted? You are perspiring and out of breath." Diego observed. "I said I am not!" Diane exclaimed. "You and Natasha get worried so easily." She said. "Well in that case, I will like to spar with you for some time." Diego said, unsheathing his sword, which made a pleasant noise as he did so. "Are you sure? Don't you have work to do at the office?" Diane asked, as she moved closer to him. "I saw you from the window, your swordmanship still seems to be stuck at the basic level, So I wanted to give you some enlightenment." Diego said, with a smile. He said. "You won't use your powers will you?" She asked him. "No, I won't. It's not like you could keep up with me, anyway." He added. "Yes, Yes." Diane impatiently said. "Honestly, I am actually surprised that you came out of the office, you are such a workaholic." She said, making Diego to roll his eyes. "It seems like that has become your favorite phrase." Diego observed, as the both of them got into position.
Diane exhaled, as she suddenly dashed forward, while swinging her sword. Just as she was about to make a clean cut, the sound of metal hitting metal could be heard. As it so turned out, Diego had blocked her strike effortlessly. Although she was surprised, she knew she had no time to waste, and she immediately created a distance between them. 'I put my all into that strike. How could he have avoided it without budging an inch?' Diane thought, as she could feel the the sword reverberating in her hands due to the intense impact. Even her hands shook slightly. She looked up, and saw Diego just standing there, gazing at her with calm eyes. He seemed to be giving her sufficient time to prepare herself. She composed herself as she charged in again, only for her attack to fail once more. This time, she lost her footing and stumbled on the ground. This time, Diego was not as merciful as he tried to strike her a she was down. She quickly rolled over on the ground, as the sword struck the empty hair. She got Into a half-kneeling position, and she saw Natasha anxiously standing up from the corner of her eye, obviously worried about her. She sprang up to her feet, as she closed in for another attack. Deflected. One more time. She began to close on on the gap between Diego and herself, so he will not have sufficient footage to escape. When she got close enough, she slashed her sword vertically at him. She thought she had him, but Diego suddenly tilted back, allowing the sword to miss him by just a few centimeters. If he had been any slower, it might have made a shallow cut straight across His chest, given the fact that he was not wearing Armour. Diane huffed loudly at this point, her hands trembling. This time, Diego took the initiative to go offensive. 'He is fast.' Diane thought, as she quickly brought her sword back up to defend herself. But he was swift as the wind, and she was unable to keep up. Eventually, there was a loud clang, accompany by Diane's sword soaring high into the air, and landing a good distance away. She was still staring at where her sword landed, when she felt a blade light touching her neck. "I concede." She muttered, raising both of her hands up, as she stared warily at the man in front of her.
"You are so mean!" She complained as soon as She got released, as she sat back down on the grass. "You are better than I thought." Diego complimented her. "Although your footwork is quite sloppy." Diego stated. "I can tell. How were you able to predict My attacks?" She asked, as she stood up, walking towards him. "From your stances. I have been in a lot of sword fights, and some particularly range of attacks requires specific stances." Diego explained. "You can't even quantify how much blood Diego's sword has devoured." She said, as she got up and strode over to where they were. "You haven't told her yet, have you?" Natasha inquired, looking at Diego with a straight gaze. "Told me.. what exactly?" Diane inquired, as she turned her head from the latter to the former. "His birthday is this summer, and I guess you are probably not aware." Natasha said. Diane Pratically gaped at this point. "For how long do you intend to hide things from me?!" She said, as she began to punch him with her small fists. "Will you stop?" Diego asked, while grabbing the both of her hands. "It's not like I celebrate my birthdays, anyway, I really don't know what Natasha is going on about." He said, as he glanced at the latter, who just had a smug look on her face. "Why not?" Diane inquired, as Diego released her hands. "It is not like he doesn't celebrate his birthday, he just hasn't since his parents died." Natasha corrected. "I don't get the big deal, it's just a birthday afterall." Diego stated, as he sheathed his sword. "It is very much a big deal!" Diane said, while stamping her foot on the ground. "You will celebrate it this year, understood?" She demanded. "Morris is training at the green house today, why don't we go see how he is doing?" Diego asked, ignoring Diane's statement. Natasha could only sigh helplessly, while turning to Diane who was currently scowling because she was being ignored. "Forget, it Diane." Natasha said. "Let's just head over to the green house now."
"Wait a moment, if you are here, then who is at the office?" Diane asked, as she tried to keep up to the man who was taking gigantic steps as always, while Natasha who was further back, stepped in accordance to her own pace. "Don't worry, Theodore is there to handle it." Diego said, while Diane scowled lightly. "Oh, my. I wonder what tactic you used to make him come to the office this time." Natasha stated. "I didn't use, any tactic to make him come, he came out if his own free will. I only took advantage of the situation." Diego stated. "Well at the very least, I am quite sure that father will be glad to know that he did something productive again." Natasha stated "Um, Diego." Diane began, a little fearfully. "I can see it too. Let's hurry up." Diego said, as he took even bigger strides towards the green house.
They trio had passed through the courtyard to the garden In order to arrive at the greenhouse. Just as the name implied, the building was big, not necessarily huge, and it was made up of glass the color of a dull jade. Calling it a glass house might fit its description better, because even the doors and the roof was made out of glass, which was so translucent that one could even see the plants from the exterior. And right at this moment, an enormous sunflower had smashed through this 'glass house', spreading its petals far and wide without a single care.
Diego and the other two ladies stepped into the greenhouse, which was overwhelmingly dark from the huge shadow that was cast down at it. When they initially stepped in, there was anindistintive form of bickering. "I wonder what that is all about." Natasha inquired. Diane however, could not say anything, she was far too preoccupied with gripping Diego's arm hard. "Are you that terrified? It is just a sunflower." Diego said. "Just a sunflower!" Diane repeated, turning to face him. "Can't you see how huge it is?" She inquired. "There has to be a logical explanation for this." Diego explained to her. "It is your fault!" They heard a childish voice say. "You are the one that distracted me!" Another voice refuted. "Is that so? I wouldn't have accompanied here you know, but you made me to!" A female voice retorted. "Bla, bla, bla, not listening!" The first voice continued. Not too far away from the plant, stood Morris and Leonia, who were whose argument was so intense that they failed to notice the adults that stepped in. Not too far from them, was a gigantic sunflower, which had bored its roots into the ground, causing insight cracks to appear on the sight of impact. And Behind Morris and Leonia stood Maria, who had her hands on her forehead, her eyes closed. Diane subconsciously released Diego's arm, and proceeded to gape in shock.
"Aunt." Diego began, making Aunt Maria to come back to her senses. "Oh, thank goodness you are here." Maria said, the relief more than visible on her face. "What exactly, happened here mother?" Natasha asked, her eyes gazing to the broken clay plot on the floor. Upon Seeing the three adults, the children paused their bickering and proceeded to glare angrily at each other. "Nothing serious, Morris Here just lost control." Maria said, as she tapped Morris lightly on the head. "I wouldn't have lost control if Leonia wasn't constantly talking into my ears." Morris grumbled. "You know what, I shan't talk to you anymore!" Leonia said, as she ran over to her brother's side. "I didn't say you shouldn't talk to me!" Morris retributed. "I only said that you were distracting me!" He added. "Children, enough." Diego said. "How about we take a break for the time being? But first of all, Morris, do you think you can reverse that?" Diego said, as he pointed at the monstrous sunflower. "Sure." Morris muttered under his breath. He stood before the flower, closing his eye with his right arm outstretched. A drop of sweat rolled from his face and fell to the floor. A greenish-yellow hue soon spread from him, spreading towards the flower, which began to shrink rapidly at a visible rate, leaving only a slightly wilted normal sized flower with nearly shrunken roots on the table. "I didn't mean to ruin it." Morris said, nearly sobbing. "Don't worry, Mom and I will fix it up." Nataha assured him. "And before you realize it, it will be as good as new!" She said enthusiastically. Diane just gazed around, now that the source of the shadow had been taken care of, she now had more than enough time to look around the greenhouse. Apart from the regular flowers which she saw on an everyday basis, she also saw some numerous and exotic plants. Although out of them all, there was a single one that fascinated her. It was nursed by a red vase, and was pure white in color. It seemed like Liliac, but the petals of a Liliac weren't shaped that way. She was about to peer deeper into it, when Diego's voice brought her back to hersenses. "What are you doing?" He asked, when he saw that she was a bit dazed. Leonia had grabbed his left hand, and Morris his right. "Oh, sorry I got distracted." She said, as she slightly ran towards them. "Natasha, aren't you coming with us?" Diane asked, as she turned around. "I will be there soon, I just have to help mother tidy up first." She said, as she held a piece of broken pottery in her hand. "Okay then. I will see you later." Diane said, as she crossed the threshold.
On their way back, the children were still silent. It was evident that they were still upset with one another. They eventually underneath a tree, while the grasshoppers and crickets chirped and hopped around the neighboring vegetation. "Hey, you still haven't told me about 'The lost ones yet.'" Diane reminded Diego, while Morris laid his head on her lap. "Oh, that." Diego said, an awkward expression on his face. "I know that story." Leonia, who had clung to her brother, quipped in. "I haven't heard it though." Morris said. "Alright, alright. I will say that now. But listen closely, because I can't bear to say it twice." Diego stated.