After the events of that day when I left the palace for the first time, something changed inside me.
It wasn't something I could explain with words, not even to myself. It was a feeling, a tingling in my chest that appeared when I closed my eyes and remembered the bustling streets, the smells of the market, the laughter of children playing, the music of lutes in the square.
I had experienced so many new things... and for that very reason, I wanted to feel them again. I wanted to go outside the palace again, wander aimlessly, discover, marvel, live.
But free days were not abundant in the life of a prince in training.
Every morning, without exception, I would rise with the sun and head to the training hall. There, my master Zekin and my sister Calithia would be waiting for me, and together we would spend hours perfecting our technique, learning new stances, repeating the same movements over and over until they became part of us, like a second skin.
Clang-clang... Clang-clang...
The sound of wooden swords filled my days, marking the rhythm of my existence. And although sometimes I wished with all my heart to set foot on the city streets again, I never complained. Because every strike, every block, every fall was a lesson. And I wanted to learn everything.
---
Sometimes, while training, my mind would return to that day in the city. I remembered the boy mage, the one with the water tricks. What he did was incredible. When he brought his hands together and the spheres of water floated around him, spinning like small planets around a sun... I unconsciously held my breath. And when he threw the ball into the air and made it explode, and the drops began to fall like rain on the children surrounding him... at that moment, I wished with all my might to be among them, to feel that magical rain on my skin.
That's why I approached. I wanted to see him up close. I wanted to congratulate him, tell him he was the best mage I had ever seen in my life (although I had only really seen the court mages, but that didn't matter).
But his mother wouldn't let me.
—Hey, son, don't talk to that boy —she told him, pulling him away from me—. Can't you see his clothes? He even has a maid. We're not on his level.
And she took him away.
I stood there, still, with the half-eaten apple in my hand, not understanding what had happened. What had I done wrong? Why did that woman look at me with distrust? I only wanted to be kind. I only wanted to make a friend.
I still think about that sometimes. I wonder if the boy mage thinks about me too. I wonder if he would have liked to be my friend, if his mother hadn't pulled him away.
Maybe she thought I was going to do something bad to her son. But that wasn't it at all. Besides, I was younger than him. What harm could a five-year-old boy do to an eight-year-old?
Well. Let's stop thinking about that. There's no use dwelling on things that can't be helped.
---
The truth is, despite that bitter moment, the day was wonderful. I saw so many things... Houses of different shapes and colors. People of all kinds: old and young, rich and poor, happy and sad. Smells I didn't know, sounds I had never heard, flavors that exploded in my mouth like small fireworks.
And although I don't know for sure when I'll be able to go out again, I hope it's sooner than I think. But next time, I'll go with my sister. Because Calithia was very upset with me that time. I didn't tell her I was going out, I didn't look for her, I left without telling her.
—Aito, naughty brother! —she had shouted at me when I returned—. How dare you go out without me?
And although I explained that I hadn't seen her, that I looked everywhere and she wasn't there, she remained angry. But I also noticed something else in her eyes, behind the anger: worry. She worried about me, even though I was fine, even though the guards protected me, even though nothing bad had happened to me.
That's why, next time I go out, I'll take her with me. I want her to see the city too. I want her to experience the same things as me. I want to share that with her.
---
After all the mischief of that day, after Calithia chased Eliel all over the hall without anyone really understanding why, after I laughed until my stomach hurt... mother scolded us.
—You two, stop fighting now —the queen said, in that voice she used when she wanted to be obeyed without question.
Eliel and Calithia stopped dead, panting. I took the opportunity to approach my older brother.
—Brother —I asked in a low voice—, what did you do to sister?
Eliel looked at me with an expression of total bewilderment.
—Huh? What did I do? —he asked, as if I had the answer.
—Yes —I insisted—. What did you do to her?
Eliel became thoughtful, furrowing his brow in an effort of concentration uncommon for him.
—Hmm... let me think... —he said, bringing a hand to his chin—. I don't... I don't know. Really, I don't know what I did to her.
Before we could continue that revealing conversation, Eliel said goodbye and left, leaving Calithia and me in the hall. She still had her arms crossed and her brow furrowed, staring into space.
—Sister... —I tried to say.
—You too —she interrupted—. You're also to blame, for leaving without telling me.
And with that, she left the hall with determined steps, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I sigh. My sister truly is a mystery. I learned that from a young age.
---
Two weeks later
The morning sun bathed the training courtyard in golden, warm light. It was a special space, different from the covered hall where we usually practiced: four gray stone walls rising toward the sky, without a roof, allowing the wind and light to enter without restriction. The floor was packed earth, marked by the footprints of countless previous battles.
Today was a special day. Master Zekin had told us we would have to face him in combat. My sister and I against him. Alone against the legend.
—Are you ready? —Calithia asked, stretching her arms with wide, calculated movements.
—Yes —I replied, imitating her stretches, balancing my wooden sword to accustom my wrists to the weight.
We had been warming up for a while, preparing our bodies for what we knew would be a losing battle from the start. But that didn't matter. At least for me, it didn't matter. What mattered was what we would learn along the way, the limits we would surpass, the lessons that would be etched into our muscles and our memory.
On the other side of the arena, Master Zekin watched us in silence, imposing as a mountain. His wooden sword rested on his shoulder, and in his eyes there was a spark of curiosity, as if he wondered what we were capable of after two weeks of intensive training.
The wind blew softly, moving my long black hair. I closed my eyes for an instant, feeling it caress my skin, recognizing it, greeting it. My element. My companion.
—If you're ready —the master said from the other side, his grave voice resonating in the open space—, let's begin now.