"She seems to be doing well. Her movement is decent, with little wasted energy," I noted, observing Meliss' movements as she practiced an intermediate-level sword drill. "She also has a four-hundred and something year-old teacher helping her fix her mistakes," Bernar said, though I could hear a tinge of jealousy in his voice. "I mean, she does have a lot to catch up to in terms of sword skills, but she's been doing very well. I'm extremely proud of her progress so far, but…" I stopped.
"You're worried about her, aren't you?" Bernar said, as if reading my mind. I nodded. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Just because she's learning the ways of a synner, doesn't mean her past trauma isn't still there," I said, recalling the events that happened in the castle.
I know those kinds of memories don't really go anywhere, I thought.
"But what is there to be worried about?" Bernar asked genuinely. "She's taking her experiences and turning them into something she can use to drive her forward instead of letting them drag her down. Hell, I think you could learn a thing or two about that from her," he said, nudging me. "I hate it when you're right," I sighed. "I'm your older brother. I'm always right," he said, puffing out his chest and tilting his chin upward.
Just as he did so, a thud came from where Meliss was training. We turned to see what happened, but all we saw was Rosie flat on her ass, with Meliss standing over her. Bernar and I looked at each other, raising our eyebrows and dropping our jaws without opening our mouths. "I… I did it!" Meliss exclaimed, panting heavily. Rosie got back on her feet, rubbing her backside as she did so.
"Congratulations! You're officially a pain in my ass in more ways than one!" Rosie said sarcastically, but holding a warm smile. "Thanks…?" Meliss said, unsure whether Rosie was being genuine. "Ah, that's right. I forgot you're still new to all of this. I actually meant it when I congratulated you just now," Rosie said, putting a hand on Meliss' shoulder.
"What happened?" I asked with an expectant smile. "I finally knocked her down!" Meliss said excitedly.
She sounds a little too proud of that fact, I thought, putting one hand to my nape.
"I'm impressed you could knock her down like that. Not many people here can," I said playfully. Rosie, on the other hand, took a light amount of offense to it, furrowing her brow. Is she still mad about what happened with the portal stone guardians? I thought.
"Well, I had a lot of solid tips and tricks from Thorn and Roburn, so I don't think it was entirely a fair fight," Meliss said, blushing lightly. I turned to Thorn, who held the same warm expression as the first day I met him. "Diolch, Thorn," I said with a bow. "No need to thank me for… wait, you speak Elvish?" he asked excitedly, as his gray eyes widened.
"Sorry to disappoint, but not enough to hold a conversation. I figured if you and the others from Nenvalur's group are going to be around, I might as well learn a little," I replied nonchalantly. Thorn's excitement fell from his face, but he was still visibly satisfied with me thanking him in his own language.
"Nevertheless, this isn't about me. Meliss, how did you knock Rosie off her feet?" I asked, trying to redirect the conversation back to her. "I just looked for a flaw in her movements and exploited it," she said without thinking.
Just how much have Thorn and Roburn put her through? I thought.
"A flaw in my movements?" Rosie asked. "Where was the flaw? I did everything the exact way that it's supposed to be done," she said. She wasn't angry, but I could tell she genuinely wanted to know where her mistake was.
"It was in your right foot's position; it was too close to your center of mass," Meliss said, pointing it out with her finger. "Rosie, don't move," Master Pyle said, walking up to us. "What? Why not?" she asked. "Because Meliss is right. Look at the direction your foot is pointing," he gestured for her to glance down.
"Son of a bitch, she was right. My foot is pointed too close to my center of mass. But how the fuck did she notice that mid-combat?" Rosie thought aloud, adjusting her footing.
"I-I apologize if I came off as being rude, Meliss," she blushed. "Oh, nonsense! You've also taught me a lot about how a female's weight distribution varies from that of a man's, so our footing has to be a little different," Meliss replied, waving the apology aside.
"I will say, that was still quite the impressive catch," Pyle began, looking at her inquisitively. "If I recall correctly, you said that you're originally from the Gramm Isles, correct?" he asked. "Yes, that's correct," she said, nodding her head in agreement. "And your parents?" he asked. Meliss shrugged, bringing her hands up to shoulder height. "Pa died when I was very young, so I don't really know much about his side of the family. My mother, or Ma as I like to call her, never really talked about it either," she replied.
Pyle considered this for a moment, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, don't mind me," he said, noticing Meliss' eyes staring into him. "I would like to ask you about your father, however," Pyle stated. "Of course, ask away," she replied with a cheerful grin. I raised an eyebrow at her response. It had never really occurred to me to ask her about her father. I figured it was a sore subject, not unlike my situation, and so I simply avoided the topic altogether.
"Even though I was very young, I do remember my Pa being a swordsman. I don't know exactly what his position was, or if he just trained it as a hobby, but I recall sitting on the porch of our small house watching him train," she began.
I figured he might have been something like that, I thought.
"Every evening after he would come home from work, he would train. Sometimes late into the night, but he would always be happy if I sat there watching him. Occasionally, he would try to teach me something, but the body of a child doesn't have that much coordination. Instead, I learned to observe everything he was doing, even if I couldn't fully understand why he was doing things that way. Eventually, he passed away. I never really caught how he died, and Ma never talked about it either. The only thing I can remember is an old friend of his giving me these earrings, saying that they were a present from my father to keep me safe," she pointed at the small jewels embedded in her ear lobes.
Pyle's eyes widened. "D-do you mind if I take a closer look at those?" he asked. Meliss shrugged, and turned her face so he could see them better. "Have you ever taken them off?" he asked. "Pa's friend told me to never take them off, as they were a form of protection for me," she replied. "What kind of protection is he talking about, though? I don't sense any mana coming from them," I asked, finally stepping into the conversation as a whole.
"I'm not sure, he never specified," she replied. Pyle's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "I think I get what he meant," he said, nodding his head. Meliss looked at him curiously. "What do you mean, master?" she asked, touching the earring as if it were growing warm. "I need you to take them off. I have a hunch and I'm hoping I'm right," he said in a tone that conveyed safety and security to her. "Are you sure Master Pyle?" I asked, nearly whispering. "We don't know what's going to happen. If there is a spell, we don't know what releasing its seal will do," I continued.
Looking back, if there were ever a place to do it, it would have been there. Not only did we have Taegin and Pyle nearby, but we also had the Thorn, whose powers were not yet fully known, on standby.
"It'll be fine," Pyle said. Meliss gave him a curious look, but ultimately conceded. She began taking off the earrings, pulling the backstop off the thin rod that ran through the flesh of her ear. "Anything different yet?" she asked, holding the small, jeweled earring in her hand. "Both have to be removed, it would seem," Pyle said, gesturing for her to take off the second.
As she did so, I began to feel a small pulse of mana like a curtain of warm air passing over my face. As I blinked through the odd sensation her ears began to glow. After a few moments, the glow died down, leaving everyone around her curious as to what happened.