As much as Nat loves reading books in the Library, she still tries to have someone spar with her with her toy sword. Once again, the boys wants nothing to do with her and the other girls were uninterested in playing "dangerous" games.
That was until she met a stranger walking through town. Since Nat lived in town all her life, she pretty much knew everyone who lived here. So to see someone new was exciting for her.
The new girl was a little strange. She looked slightly younger then Nat and she was wearing the same clothes any village girl would were. But she obviously looks uncomfortable in them. It's as if she hadn't worn those clothes before... In fact, she's having a hard time keeping the droplets (sand) out of her shoes. She's constantly shaking her shoes in the hope of the droplets falling out on their own.
Nat ran up to the new girl before anyone else saw new girl first. She wants her to be her first friend! She's not going to let anyone else talk to her first! They'll just tell the new girl that Nat is annoying and then there goes Nat's chance to make a new friend!
The new girl in question was surprised when she got tackled by Nat. Apparently, there was too much too much momentum and over-enthusiasm for Nat too stop.
Once the two girls got back up and dusted themselves off, the new girl was first to speak. "Uh... Is tackling people to the ground is how you greet people in this town?" The girl asked curiously. She was trying to word her sentence as to not be offensive, but she was greatly confused by the strange town welcome she just recieved.
Nat in turn was scratching the back of head with a goofy smile on her face. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to tackle you. What's your name? Are you new here? Are you moving into this town?" She went straight for the questions.
The new girl in turn was quick to dislodge any assumptions. "What? No! I-I'm just passing through! Do you know were this village is?" She showed Nat the map she was holding and pointed to the village she was trying to go to.
Nat had no problems reading the map. Months in the library was like going to school. The problem was that Nat never left town, so she has no real idea if this map is correct or not.
"According to this map, the village you're trying to get to shouldn't take too long to get to from here if you walk. It shouldn't even take you more then half the day. Also..." She pointed to the general direction were the village should be. "It should be in the opposite direction from were the sun is in the sky. That should help guild you if you get lost."
The girl in casual village clothing bowed to Nat in a very noble manner. "Thank you. I supposed it's only right for me to introduce myself in return. My name is Isa-... er... Mary. Yes. That's right. My name is Mary."
Nat was confused. The girl was acting strangely. It's as if she wasn't even used to her own name. "Then why did say 'Isa'?"
Mary looked down in thought. "Oh, um... Isa is my nickname..."
Nat failed to notice Mary's hesitancy. "You have a nick name too? Cool! My name is Nathan! But every calls me Nat!... because they think I'm annoying..." As much Nat likes the idea of someone else other then her having a nick name, she really doesn't want to be called 'Nat'. "So can please call me Nathan? It's the name I was born with after all."
Mary let out a giggle. "Yes, of course Miss Nathan."
Nathan waved away Mary's formalities. "Just calling me Nathan will be fine." Nat noticed the sword hanging from Mary's belt. "Oh deities, is that a REAL sword!"
Indeed, the little girl has a real sword tucked away in it's sheath striped on her belt. The sheath was longer then Mary's legs so it's dragging on the floor. The sheath itself was beautifully crafted, with intricate engravings on the sides and it's made out of a silky white substance only the nobility could afford.
Mary noticed Nat eyeing her sword and was quick to pull it out of it's sheath to show it off. The sword itself was even more beautiful then the sheath. It was a well crafted fencing sword
If Nathan didn't knew better, she could have sworn that sword was fit for royalty. But that couldn't be right. Why would someone like that be hanging out with a lowly village girl like Nat? No. It must be a coincidence. She must just be someone who happened to get her hands on some fancy equipment. Expensive sword or not, it's still a sword.
"You know how to fight with a sword!" Nat's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Um...yeah. How else am I'm going to fend off any wild animals?" Mary replied uncertainly. Nathan looked a little TOO fascinated with her sword...
What Nat did next surprised Mary. She pulled out a toy sword hanging from her belt.
"Please spar with me! I haven't found anyone to play with me! Pretty pleeeeease!" Nathan's eyes were as big as the stars.
But Mary needed to clears things up. "I'm sorry, but I need to get to Mary's-... my village before too long. And besides, this sword is made for combat. I might hurt you."
Nat let out a hearty laugh. "YOU, hurt ME?! A little girl like you is already struggling to hold that heavy sword with both hands. It looks to me that you use it more for imtinination then fighting."
Mary took offense to that, and responded by taking a swing at Nat. Thanks to her experience dodging the boy's toy swords, she was able to duck under Mary's sword swipe. She was impressed but how easily Mary swung that sword. She was either stronger then she looked, or that ridiculously long sword was also ridiculously light. The way she swung that adult sword was also pretty skilled for someone her age... Maybe she wasn't lying when she said she fended off wild animals with that sword...
This just made Nat want to spar with Mary even more.
Nat pulled out a second toy sword hanging from her belt. "I had this in case someone finally decides to play with me. If you are so afraid of hurting me with your fencing sword, then just use this."
Nat casually tossed her spare toy sword over to Mary. Mary in turn hastily caught it at the price of dropping her fencing sword out of her hands. With her fencing sword clattering on the ground, Mary looked at the strange new sword in her hands. It's a weak sword made of soft clouds. Too stiff to bend but too soft to make any real damage (think of Styrofoam or pool noodles).
"This weapon can't even kill a rabbit." Mary said to herself.
Nat had a knowing smile on her face. "Of course you can't kill with these things. They're for sparing!"
Mary still didn't looked convince. "Isn't the purpose of sparing is to train in the art in fighting? Then wouldn't it be more efficient to use real weapons to get more experience using them?"
"And risk killing someone? Na ah. Just keep that fencing sword tucked safely in it's sheath please." Nat suggested.
Mary reluctantly did just that. She picked the fencing sword off the ground. The fencing sword slid into it's sheath smoothly.
Nat nodded in approval as she lifted her toy sword into a fighting stance. This was actually the first time she got a chance to play swords with anyone. But she's not going to let her lack of fighting experience to show in front of the first person willing to spar with her.
Mary in turn stood at a very casual stance, with her toy sword held very loosely. Nat wasn't sure by her casual stance if she was inexperienced or very experienced.
At the invisible single, the two girls charged each other....
The battle has begun.
...
The sun was setting by the time the two were on the ground panting. Their sparing match lasted from the morning till sundown. Since Nat/Nathan had no experience using a sword, she didn't expect the sparing match to last more then a few seconds. But somehow... she managed to hold her own against Mary... a younger girl who had more experience in using a sword.
Why did the match lasted so long? Was Mary holding back so she can teach Nat the basics of sword fighting? Was it because Nat was knocking down barrels to slow down Mary? Or was Mary less experienced that Nat initially thought?
Either way, the two girls had goofy grins on their faces.
Mary was the first to catch her breath. When she got up, she had a worried expression on her face. "To be honest, that was the most fun I had in a long time... But I need to get going. I need to get to... my village." She said.
Nat was still laying on the ground but she has enough breath to speak. "There's no hurry. The village you're trying to get to in only a few hours away on foot. You should be able to get there by nightfall... but can you stay in my place for the night? I'm sure your folks wouldn't mind if you stay here for the night. Just explain to whoever is taking care of you the situation in the morning." Nat offered.
Mary was taken aback. "Why would you do that for someone you just met?! Would your family even accept someone like me?"
Nat got back on her feet, her hands on her hips to emphasize a powerful pose. "And why wouldn't they? You're a person too, right? It doesn't mater who you are, If you need help, you need help. There's no reason why we shouldn't help you."
Mary was shocked. ”I really don't want to take advantage of you..." Mary said uncertainly.
Nat shook her head. How shy is this girl?
Nat grabbed Mary's hand and started pulling her with her. "Nonsense! I'm sure my mom won't let someone as cute as you go out on her lonesome in the middle of the night! Let big sister Nathan give you a tour of the town on our way there! I can also tell you all I know about magic to pass the time!"
Nat didn't give Mary a chance to speak. She immediately went on a rant about the landmarks of the town and what she learned about magic in the library.
'She thinks that I'm cute?' Mary thought to herself. For some reason.... she had a smile on her face.
---
Alicia finished healing Nat's wounds. The girl had a very calm expression on her face. She must be having a pleasant dream.
Out of curiosity, Alicia decided to look into Nat's dreams while she slept. It seems that she is reliving a childhood memory. What interested Alicia was how Nathan was able to hold her own against a more experienced opponent. She didn't realized it, but she displayed a great degree of cleverness and instinct. The amount of times she used the environment against her opponent or performing stunning maneuvers on instinct were amazing! She was able to dodge ever single one of Mary's attacks. That's no easy feat for a first timer.
Alicia was beginning to understand why her pen chose her.
This made Alicia want to take this girl under her wing even more then before. She wants to guid her. She can use her magic to manipulate Nat's dreams to her liking. She can do that to teach her new magic spells whilst she sleeps. That way, she would have to be aware of Alicia's involvement.
Hmm... perhaps manipulating her dreams for fun might be worthwhile.
hmm...
____________
Note: I've been wanting to write this flashback/backstory chapter ever since I wrote "Whisperings in the Clouds". I just haven't found a good opportunity to present it in the story. Until now. Reliving a memory while unconscious makes sense right?
I have recently looked back at my older chapters and I found myself surprised by how much story details I forgotten and how well thought out they were. I'm specifically talking about the chapter "Whisperings in the Clouds". There are so many back story and plot details I introduced in that chapter that I... simply forgotten. I tend to reread chapters to prevent plot holes, but after reading "Whisperings in the Clouds", which was one of my more ambitious chapter, I started to feel a little nostalgic.
Whenever I need inspiration, I read a response to one of my chapters or look back at the older chapters in the storyline. One of the main reasons why I started writing for this story was because I was inspired by how fast ChronoSeth and iWTBAT were responding with each other chapters. I wanted to take turns with other writers too. The unpredictability of taking turns and pitching your ideas is part of the adventure. With that said, I understand that life a get busy and writers won't be available all the time. So for now, I'll try to keep this story alive by myself if I have to. I don't want this story to die, but there is only so much one writer can do. But so as long people keep reading this story, I will keep writing, and hopefully inspire writers to return or inspire new writers to contribute with their own chapters.
This chapter is kinda personal for me. It's a tribute to my older chapters and a attempt to encourage other writers to return.
Thank you for reading dear readers.