Calhoun's eyes immediately snapped at attention towards Elena once she entered the
living room. Seeing her clearly as it was bright in the morning, Calhoun thought her more
beautiful than he had expected. Her journey, despite how tiring it was, didn't spoil her beauty,
and now that she was well-rested, he felt honoured to even look at her. He watched as she made
her way to the seat the old man had pointed for her, with her two friends walking behind her and
taking in everyone. Calhoun noticed that they were still on edge, but they hid it well. She sat next
to the couch just right beside him, and her friends followed suit, sitting next to her on the same
couch. She looked around, nervous, as she clearly wasn't used to the attention. And attention they
were giving her.
Calhoun had never seen hair as white as hers. He wondered who her family was and if
they had any ancestors who had some kind of power that caused his descendants to have white
hair. Her hair color wasn't something one saw every day. He dragged his eyes across her
features, studying every ridge and edge, every color and hue, trying to imprint it into his
memories. Her eyes were innocent yet spoke of age-old wisdom. She only talked when spoken
to, yet she raised her chin with pride. He only noticed her being a bit free when she spoke to
Forest. Calhoun felt the burning embers of jealousy starting to ignite in his chest, and he
immediately quenched it before he ended up doing what he wasn't supposed to. He still couldn't
get over the fact that he had fallen for a woman at a mere glance. He wondered what his father
would say when he told him. He wasn't going to fight his feelings, no. He would embrace them
and see where they lead. But first of all, he would study her more to know just what type of
person she is.
Breakfast finished heartily with the Old man volunteering to clean the dishes. He told
Elena to wait for him in the sitting room till he was done so that they could start their training.
Calhoun had never seen the old man as happy as he was when he said that since he started living
with him. Once the old man left for the kitchen, Calhoun turned his attention to Elena. She was
facing her lap as her friends silently conversed with each other. He decided that if he wanted to
get to know her better, he might as well start it immediately.
"Elena." He called. Everyone in the sitting room went silent upon hearing his voice.
Elena slowly raised her head and turned to face him, surprise shining through her eyes.
"Where are you from? I doubt you're from this side of the world." He asked. His guards'
jaws fell off. He wasn't surprised at their expressions, though. That was the first time he initiated
a conversation with a stranger and not out of necessity.
Calhoun noticed the wheels turning in Elena's eyes. Was she supposed to take longer to
answer a simple question of where she was from? Or was there something else entirely?
"I am from Neba." She answered after a while. Though soft as the wind, her voice was
balanced and filled with pride. At what exactly? He didn't know.
"Not that I am against your visit here," Calhoun continued. "But for you to come from
Neba just to find a sword master, isn't it a hassle?"
"My grandfather and uncle told me that Old Porv was the best tutor in all the lands."
"You live with your grandfather?" He asked, noticing that she didn't mention any other
relatives.
"No, I live by myself. But I visit my grandparents from time to time. My uncle also stays
with me."
"Alone?" Calhoun couldn't help but ask, frowning just at the thought.
"No," Elena replied. "I work at a restaurant, and our boss prepared rooms for us. I, Forest,
and my uncle work there." There it was, the flames of jealousy burning in him again. He found it
hard to imagine Elena and the male beauty staying in the same room without anything
happening. Immediately, he turned and gave Forest a fierce look, which was futile, as the dolt
was focused on whatever the beauty next to him was saying. Come to think of it, Calhoun felt
that they both looked like, in a way. They were probably siblings; especially if you place both
besties together, you will notice all the similarities. For one, they both share the same nose and
smile. They are both tall, though Forest was a few inches taller, and both have a beauty that
wasn't commonly seen. He also couldn't help but wonder what type of people they were.
Turning back to Elena, he tried not to think of the annoying image in his head as he asked
her again.
"You really must be devoted to learning sword fighting. Do you have a reason for that?"
"No, no other reason. I just love sword fighting. That's all." But Calhoun knew more than
that because her eyes dulled once he asked the question. Calhoun wished that he could hold her
and make her trust him enough to tell all her problems. She must have gone through so much for
someone as innocent as her to put much dedication into learning how to protect herself. Or was it
meant for attacking?
"I would love to join you in your practice session if you would let me. I am a –general,
you would say in my land. I may also have a few pointers to give out you know? So we can help
each other."
"No," Elena said, flushing in embarrassment. "I wouldn't want you to take up much of
your time. I'm sure you have other important things to do."
"Well, I'm on a vacation. My – leader, has asked that I take leave as I have been working
much too hard. He was afraid I would literally combust out of share work overload." Calhoun
said, chuckling as he thought of his dad.
"Oh really? Well, I would appreciate that a lot. Thanks so much!" Calhoun nodded his
head and waved his hands, acting nonchalantly though his heartbeat gave a different reaction. He
silently breathed in and out, not wanting his power to rise and spiral out of control. Surprisingly,
he didn't even feel that buzz of energy throughout his conversation with Elena, which was weird,
as the force did well to remind him that he wasn't normal. There just then, he felt normal. He
wouldn't make assumptions, though. He would still test her to see if she was worthy of being at
his side.
Ancestors help him if he wasn't worthy to even be hers.
The old man bounced back into the living rooms clapping his hands as he faced Elena.
"Well, what do you say? Let's start our practice immediately.
*****
Firoza watched as the old man led the new guest and Calhoun –since he volunteered to
take part – out of the living room and towards the back area of the house. She never noticed that
when she came to the cabin and was surprised that there was another part of the house. With the
way the older man described it when they first arrived, they felt that he had allotted the only
rooms in the house to them. Despite all these, it wasn't what occupied her mind the most. No, it
was Calhoun and the white-haired chic, Elena.
Firoza could sense a rival when she saw one, and she immediately stood on alert once she
placed her sight on the white hair beauty. Firoza didn't consider her that pretty, but she was
almost like a goddess. The people she formerly lived with told her so. She was slim and elegant,
while Elena was shapely and walked with a poise almost similar to a man. This wasn't what got
her riled up, though. It was the fact that Calhoun had initiated an entire conversation with her,
something he had not done for her despite how many times she tried to engage him in one. And
judging from the way his guard's mouth hung open, she felt that he didn't do that with anyone
either. She frowned, not liking where that was going.
She was going to have Calhoun and no one else.
She stood up and headed for her room, preparing to make plans.
*****
Calhoun watched as Elena performed a sword dance of moves she had already learned.
For someone who wanted to know sword fighting, she moved with the grace of an expert.
Calhoun felt she was more beautiful.
The old man had gone through her skills before. He taught her the correct stance and had
tested her skills on the basic skills of sword fighting. Calhoun could notice his love for the
subject. His eyes shone with the seriousness he had never associated with the old man since the
first day he saw him. He corrected Elena whenever she made a mistake, and his eyes shone with
pride whenever she got a nice right.
Thinking of that, the way she grasped knowledge was genuinely alarming. Calhoun saw
her perfecting fighting moves that would have taken days for an ordinary soldier to perfect in
mere minutes. She fought with seriousness and focus, never tiring out.
The female she came with, he remembered her name– Elion, also gave out pointers
whenever she could. Calhoun was impressed with her knowledge. It turns out she really was a
dangerous beauty. Forest, the other man she was with, lost interest in the fight and told Elena to
wake him up once she cooked. He had raised his brows at that. He remembered her mentioning
that she had walked to a restaurant. All of a sudden, he wished he could taste her food. He
sighed. His obsession with her was becoming dire.
Calhoun, though was content just watching Elena fight. Her fast knowledge of grasping
skills was something that made him strangely proud of her. But he knew that wasn't where the
danger lay. She would have to practice one day with a real person, and he would see to it that he
would be the one to teach her.
*****
The Kingdom of Neba. Days after Elena left,
The King's Castle...
Guards could be seen running around every area and corner of the Castle grounds. The
stench of war and eagerness seeped through the hallways, the vigour of the soldiers
overshadowing the feminine decor of the castle. In the king's study room, the king sat on his
desk, watching his son as he strapped himself with different kinds of weapons. A few days after
Elena had left, destruction amidst a particular village in the southern part of the kingdom had
taken place. Fortunately, the casualties were not many, and there had been no death record. It
was all thanks to the anonymous info Wazir had gotten that pointed then to the area the
dangerous men were. The king was able to silently move in several of his people to warn the
citizens while silently monitoring the men. When they attacked, his soldiers were prepared. At
first, it hadn't been an easy fight, as the two men could defeat up to fifty guards or more because
they possessed magical powers. It had been decades since there was any record of a supernatural
being.
Surprisingly, Darukï and Svetlana looked at the people and grasped their movements,
skills, and weaknesses. At first, it had been a guess, something they weren't sure of, but the way
to deal with their fault worked tremendously in the fight. The king smiled in satisfaction. He
knew that they would be a perfect asset to him one day. He decided not to put them in the fight,
except it became even more severe, and with the way things were going, he might not even need
to involve them in it.
They were slowly subduing the enemy.
"Are you ready?" The king asked Wazir, graveness and pride seeping from his voice. His
son looked up at him with the seriousness he hardly ever got to see most days and nodded his
head.
He was going to deliver the final blow.