Before she could even start training, she needed the correct attire. She couldn’t run around as a hunter in a skirt! She needed to search for a pair of pants since she didn’t have any. Perhaps if she had learn horse riding like her father one day proposed she would have had the excuse to get herself a pair, but alas she didn’t thought about it. Paul proposed her to search for old clothes in the mansion, maybe there was something that she could use (if not, Paul proposed to ask the tailor to make a pair, but it would be harder without her measurements; not to mention, it would take longer). Lizzy went to the basement, an immense place that guarded all sorts of odd stuff, surely there would be something there?

The basement was dark and dusty, probably the only place that wasn’t often cleaned by the servants of the mansion. It was filled to the brim with chests, other types of boxes, and even old paintings that could have belonged to her mother — all of them covered by white sheets. Lizzy wanted to ask them if somebody knew where the old clothes were, but that would raise suspicion, so she didn’t. She, instead, took a whole day opening chests and inhaling dust (which probably would be bad for her health), until she found something. Apparently the basement was organized, but Lizzy didn’t know what the system was, which is why she took so long finding the boxes containing the old clothes that nobody used anymore (it would be such a shame to get rid of well-done clothes, those were expensive!).

Opening more boxes and chests, she found very old pieces of clothing (especially dresses) but finally, after what felt like years, she found clothing that was meant for men. She found tucked in a chest a pair of pants that were probably too long for her. She decided to keep searching until she found another pair of black pants that probably was meant for a younger man, which would be around her height. They didn’t even look that much used, its owner probably changed of attire because they grew up too fast. Lizzy went back to her room to try them out and it turned out they fitted well enough to be used. Adding a long-sleeved blouse with a ruffled neck, a belt and a pair of dark boots completed the outfit perfectly.

Now, she was finally ready for her training,

Lizzy might have been ready for the training, but her body was not. She was one who could do a bit of manual labor every now and then, yes, but she was also a little bit of a pampered child. For her physical training she first had to better her stamina, she needed to be able to keep going even if she were tired, as the enemy would gladly wait until she was too tired to keep swinging her sword. They didn’t have a lot of space, so when Lizzy was asked to do laps around their training room, she had to do more than usual and she had to do them fast.

At first, Lizzy felt like she couldn’t keep up, and her body was ready to give up at any moment, but she didn’t cave in. She kept going, knowing that the weight of her whole village was on her shoulders. Through stubborn determination, she managed to raise her stamina after a couple of weeks, which was very useful because she was learning to use a sword.

“The good thing about your enemy is that they won’t have a sword, but they still have sharp claws.” Paul handed a two-handed sword to her so that she could take a closer look. It was a bit heavy, but not by much. Maybe all that training helped? “You could have a rapier if you want, but that sword is meant to be use for thrusting. This sword will help you slice through them! And since it’s made with silver, they won’t be able to touch it with their bare hands!”

He motioned to give the sword back and Lizzy followed. Then he handed her a wooden sword for practicing. They then practiced how to swordfight. For his age, Paul was surprisingly agile with the blade, or maybe it was Lizzy who was clumsy because she never held one in her life. He would disarm her with very ease again and again. Eventually, Lizzy began getting better, blocking incoming attacks, parrying and finding an opening to hit her opponent.

Lizzy felt like a child again. When she was younger she was curious about the decorative blades that adorned some places of her home, wishing to be able to use them to fight like the knights of the storybooks. Marcus didn’t accept, for he thought that she was too young to think of using a weapon created with the sole purpose of killing (or at least that was what he told her, he probably cared too much about their family’s reputation). Now, she was finally able to learn how to use a sword, and she was enjoying every minute of it.

“I knew that I was right to have chosen you!” Paul felicitated her after she managed to disarm him for the first time. “You are the vivid image of your father, lassie!”

“Really? They always tell me that I look like mom.”

“True, you do look at her, if I didn’t know any better I would have thought that she had risen from her grave! Ha, ha!” he laughed. “But you also have that look, that same look your father had when he was just getting started. The look of someone too stubborn for their own good, someone ready to do anything to protect who they love.”

“But… dad didn’t have anyone to love, not before mom, that is.”

“Oh, you are wrong. Your father probably didn’t have Anna yet, but he still loved this village, just as much as you do. He still loves it, even though it doesn’t love him back. He had spent a lot of money trying to better Riverbel, you know?”

“I… I had no idea…”

“Yeah, thanks to his generous donations the place hasn’t been falling apart. And thanks to his business, there are merchants that still come to Riverbel,” he said. “Don’t assume that your father hasn’t done anything during his retirement, lassie!”

“I... guess I shouldn’t have…” It surely changed everything. She always resented her father for abandoning his role as The Hunter, for abandoning Riverbel, but it turned out that he never stopped trying to help. She remembered once again Jimmy, and how he found a way to save his life without killing the vampire that harassed him, then smiled sadly. She was like everyone else: ungrateful.

“So, ready for another round?”