I let out a low groan as I tried to stretch. I was sitting on a soft patch moss and stretching out. At least, trying to. I was never the most flexible. My hands only reached my shins as I tried to touch my toes. It has been two weeks since I came here. My ankle was finally not hurting. After getting checked by Alder and getting cleared, I was now able to start my training with Stolas.

He was currently stretching next to me. He was able to reach his toes just fine, despite his height. His body was practically folded in half, his wings stretching to their full length. What a show off. I slowly straightened my body. I leaned back and laid against the moss and grass. Ah, it was so soft. I could take a nap right here if I wanted. And there would be no danger of evil, sharp toothed fairies. That was tempting.

"Get up, little elf." Stolas unfolded himself and then stood up. "It's time to start."

"Are you going to go easy on me?"

"Of course not."

Of course not. Why would he? It wasn't him. Stern, all business, and loves torturing people. That was Stolas. I stood up and crossed my arms. He waved his hand and a black staff gilded with gold accents appeared in his hand. It was almost as tall as him. Stolas twirled the staff languidly in his hands, despite the sheer size of the thing. He slowly circled me. I could feel his eyes. His judgment. I didn't blame him. I didn't exactly look like the picture of a warrior.

"We'll use today as an aptitude test. We fight, I judge your skills, then I'll make a training regime based on what you need to learn."

I could already feel the energy draining from me. "I have no skills."

He scoffed. "Surely, you have some."

"I don't."

"Let's just get started anyway. Enough talking."

Stolas lunged at me. I let out a panicked yelp and dove to the side. Okay, so he was definitely not holding back. But this was a test. I had to try, at least. My mind went back to when I sparred with my siblings. I spent the whole time dodging their attacks. Not once did I ever fight back. I should try that. Fighting back. Maybe it would do me good.

I let out a small yell, trying to instill myself with confidence. I ran towards Stolas. I didn't have any type of weapon. My fists would have to work. Stolas straightened and gave me an opening. I knew it was a trap, but I would take any chance I got. As soon as I got close to him, he swung his staff. I didn't have time to duck, so I grabbed the staff. It was a big mistake.

The full weight of his swing was too much for me to handle. My feet skidded backwards. My balance wavered. I huffed and ran a hand through my hair. I could feel my body growing hot from exertion. Stolas smirked at me. That stupid smirk. He was provoking me and it was working. A growl left my lips before I ran towards him again.

I swung my fist. It seemed unfair doing staff-to-fist combat, especially since I had no abilities. It seemed even more unfair as Stolas whacked my fist back and then poked me in the stomach with the end of his staff. I grunted and tried to keep steady on my feet. I tried a side swing with my left hand as a distraction and then used my right hand for a hook. It didn't work. He just dodged and made a counterattack.

It seemed with every hit I tried to make, I would just get hit back. Every opening was a trap, every swing useless. That stupid staff of his was a nuisance. Despite the size of it, he moved it like it weighed nothing and was the size of my flute. I was getting too frustrated to even think clearly. The little information I had learned about how to fight just left me completely. I wasn't even close to the skill Stolas had. He wasn't even sweating. Here I was, a total and complete mess. I was panting as if I just ran through the whole entire forest. I wanted to wipe the stupid smirk off of his face.

"How are you so weak?"

Sweat dripped down the back of my neck. "I told you, I'm not good at fighting."

He shook his head. "No, that's not it. You grew up as a war elf. you can't possibly be this bad."

"Well," I put my hands on my hips and tried to steady my breathing. "I didn't train like my siblings did. I tried, but I didn't have an innate talent."

"And your parents were okay with that?"

I shrugged. "Not really, no. They were kind of too busy leading our people. Plus, they wanted me to follow my dream of being a bard."

Stolas's eyes shined, as if something clicked. He let out a scoff. "I see. You're lazy."

"What?!" My face grew red, but not from the heat of fighting. It was from anger. "I am not lazy!"

"Yes, you are. You didn't try hard enough to learn how to fight. You tried, failed, and went to playing your flute. Do you think it comes naturally?"

"To war elves, yes."

"No. It's wrong."

"What do you know?!"

"I know what I've seen! Cahira, you are a privileged elf. You weren't forced to learn how to fight. Your parents let you do what you want. Most people would be lucky to be in your position. But you set yourself up for failure."

I didn't want to hear him talk any longer. The audacity of his words made my blood boil with anger. Of course all war elves were born with an innate talent to fight. I wasn't. He didn't know how hard it was to grow up differently. To see the disappointment in my parents' eyes as I failed again and again to be a war elf. I stalked towards him, my fists clenched until my knuckles were white. I got up into his face.

"You don't know shit."

"Work harder."

My nose scrunched. "Why are you such a jerk?"

"I have to be if you want to defend yourself and not be some damsel in distress.

"Stolas, Cahira." Alder poked his head out of the entrance of the tree. "I have made lunch. Come eat."

"Oh, goodie!" I said, my expression immediately changing to something more relaxed and happy.. 

I went to quickly follow Alder. Stolas grabbed the back of my collar and yanked me back. "Tomorrow. Bright and early."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You can beat my ass tomorrow too, Snappy."

He let go of me, twirling his staff once more. It disappeared in a poof of sparkles. Fancy bastard. I walked into the tree trunk and down the winding stairs. The further down I got, the more my mouth watered and my frustration waned. Something smelled absolutely delectable. I could think about Stolas's words later. For now, I just focused on filling my stomach with food.

Alder was an amazing cook. The food was healthy, hearty, and always made me full and happy. War elves usually ate a lot of meat and rice with the occasional vegetable as a side. They always needed to bulk up and keep their strength. I didn't and usually opted for making my own concoctions. I wasn't a big fan of pure meat. Alder's food was a delicious and perfect blend of everything. 

Before stopping at the kitchen, I went into the bathroom. This place was amazing. Alder had somehow used the river and the power of magic to make water come out through a spout in the sink. And instead of a bath, he had a taller spout with a bunch of tiny holes. It was a much easier way to clean myself. That man was a genius. It probably helped that he had over thousands and thousands of years of Fairy King knowledge in his brain. After cleaning my hands and washing off my face, I went to the kitchen.

Today's spread looked just as delicious as yesterday's. My plate was already made and in my place. I sat down, politely placing my napkin on my lap. There were three things on my plate. A buttery biscuit, flaky and warm. Sliced carrots covered in a sweet smelling sauce. And finally, a sandwich. I picked that up first and bit into it. A groan left my lips. The bread was toasted perfectly, nice and crunchy. There were strips of pork that just melted in my mouth. It was accompanied by freshly picked lettuce and sliced tomatoes. There was a sweet yet spicy sauce covering the ingredients of the sandwich.

"Oh my Empyrians…" I mumbled around the food. "This is delicious, Alder."

Alder, who was pulling apart his biscuit, looked up at me. "Thank you. I am glad you enjoy it."

"Where did you get this porkbelly? Isn't it really expensive?"

"It is from a village on the east border of the forest. Stolas gets some of our ingredients from there."

My eyes widened. "Wow."

Stolas smirked. "He's a king, little elf. Buying porkbelly doesn't even make a dent in the amount he has."

I hummed and set down my sandwich. It made sense. He was a king. Of course he was rich. That's what kings were. I don't really know how, but it wasn't my business. As long as my belly was happy, I did not need to pry. I went for the carrots next. Another groan of pleasure left me. They were sweet, tender, with a nice blend of spices that complimented the sweetness well. I felt like I could just die right now and be happy.

"So, how was your first day of training?" Alder asked. He looked between me and Stolas.

"Stolas is a bitch."

"Cahira is weak."

Alder paused in eating. "Oh. So it went well."

I didn't say anything and stuffed my mouth with a forkful of carrots. Stolas spoke instead. "Cahira needs more training than I thought. I think she's lying about her lineage of being a war elf."

"Stolas, that is unkind." Alder chided. He took a sip of his special blend of tea. "Please, treat Cahira with kindness."

"Not my style."

Alder let out a huff that was akin to a chuckle. "I know."

My face scrunched. If Alder wasn't going to tell Stolas to change his ways, then I was stuck with this. If he wouldn't make it easy for me, I wouldn't make it easy for him. We were both going to suffer trying to make me into a warrior.