Chapter 5 - Enter Helios

As I approach the training grounds, I see my step-brother Adelphos and his friend Helios training together. The moment I was step foot onto the training ground, they both stop and look at me but I decide to ignore them and move to the other side to practice. If they don't wish to greet me then I don't need to greet them either. It's childish perhaps but since I've become a child, I should take the opportunity and act as I wish for once. Perhaps playing with children had brought out the immaturity within me, I chuckle at that thought. I decide to do some basic workouts to test my general strength in this body. Throughout my entire work out session I could feel my brother and Helios boring a hole into my head. Why they focused on me rather than training is beyond me. Perhaps to laugh but that's none of my concern. I sat down on the floor and began to drink water while wiping my sweat. I'd overexerted myself but at least I know that I'm relatively fit. I'd never exercised before but I guess being a villainess in an otoge would have its perks, one of which would be a naturally fit body. I was planning to take a break before running laps until I felt like I'd collapse. 

Now that I was resting, Adelphos and Helios returned to their training and continued sparring, so I in a way it was my turn to stare at them to my satisfaction. I had nothing better to do during my break anyway. Watching them was helping me grasp some basic ideas on how to hold a sword and move. However, at the forefront of all of those thoughts was how they both seemed to excel at everything. Even to a layman such as myself, I could see how swiftly they were moving. The smooth movements seemed as though they could predetermine one another's movements within second. Although I only planned to watch them during my rest, I could feel myself straying away from that plan as j became entranced in the sounds of their wooden swords clashing together, in their rugged breath overlapping one another, and in the excitement burning in their eyes. Coming back to my senses I shook my head to break myself away from thoughts of what I had just witnessed. I stood up to begin running my laps when my field of vision was suddenly blocked by Helios' appearance. 

"Hello." He smiled. Even Adelphos who stood behind him looked confused as to why he would greet me, let alone first when he's older than me and is of a higher status. If anything I should be reprimanded for not approaching and greeting the crown prince on my arrival. 

"Hello. I greet the empire's sun." I respond as I curtsy, my confusion evident in my voice. 

"Would you like to spar with me?" He spoke with enthusiasm that was hard to miss. But even more prominent was the competitiveness in his eyes. Although I could feel my own competitiveness urging me to accept his request, I would be foolish to think I could in any way face him after what I had just seen.  

"You should know this already but I have yet to take lessons, I start tomorrow. So I apologise, but I'll have to respectfully decline as I am not yet fit to be his highness' sparring partner."

"That's okay." He waves his hands between both of our faces with a friendly atmosphere. "It's only for fun. Anything goes. I'll even hold back to make it more fair. I could also give you pointers before your lesson. What do you say?"

"Anything goes?" I ask with an eyebrow raised but he only answers with a smile. It was hard to decide whether or not to agree, especially given how much he'd tried to convince and accommodate for me. I look to Adelphos to gage his reaction but he's entirely unreadable, staring at me with emotionless eyes.

"Alright." I respond with a small smile that should have looked friendly but probably looked creepy from how forced it was. If it all goes south he's the one that asked for it anyway. Anyway, it would be useful to get tips before the lesson so as not to make a complete fool of myself. 

Helios was beaming at my response and guided me towards the centre of the field to begin our match. Adelphos moves away to give us room and keeps his eyes on the both of us. Funnily enough, it almost seems as though he's concerned for me. Maybe he's more fond of me than he lets on, I smile. 

I stand holding the spare wooden sword in the way I feel comfortable, between both hands. I'm not sure of the correct stance but at least I know I have a solid grip on it. I guess I'll be going on instinct for now. Me and Helios stand opposite one another with one leg ahead of the other, slightly crouched, watching each other for any movement. I've never been the first one to make a move in any fight, so I waited until he moved first and he didn't disappoint. Helios begins by swinging the sword towards my left, he moved slowly to gauge my response time so I quickly swung my sword upwards and to my left to block it before using force to push it away towards my right. I could've sworn I saw a brief smirk but I couldn't be sure because he quickly came back blow after blow, aiming for my neck. I was barely keeping up but as he stated, he was clearly holding back his strength, so I was still able to push his sword back each time.

The sound of our wooden swords smacking each other repeatedly was resounding loudly across the otherwise silent training field. His movements were fast and fluid. I was doing my best to keep track of each swing to replicate it to the best of my abilities. To throw me off a few times he would duck my attack and try to swing from beneath me. But given our height difference I could see that it was uncomfortable for him and that he would mostly focus on the top half of my body when swinging. That made things simpler for me as I defended myself. After a couple of minutes I was growing tired from the pace so I decided it would be best to use the advantages he'd given me. As he swung towards the right of my head I slightly lowered myself and spun around his arm enough to be able to hit the base of his sword with all of my strength and knock it out of his hand. Knowing that he would be able to retrieve it if I delayed, as he began to move down to grab it, I wrapped his ankle with my foot and pulled him flat on his back. As I rested on my knees either side of his chest I pushed his sword far away with one leg and brought my sword down to the floor beside his neck. 

I was glad that I had won but it left a sour taste in my mouth, seeing how out of breath I was while he lay beneath me smirking. It hardly felt like winning when he put little to no effort in.

"Congratulations on your win" he said as he held his arms up next to his head in defeat. I got up while using the wooden sword for some support and held out my hand for him. He took it and I began pulling him up.

"Let's go again" I suggested. 

"Why?" He asked curiously. 

"Use all of your strength."

"No. You won because you're fast, you'll get stronger over time." He spoke firmly, rejecting me without showing any signs of budging.

"Let's go again. I hate being give an advantage. I'd rather lose fairly. Knock me out in two seconds, I don't care. Show me just how good you are." I was speaking frantically. Frustrated at how everything had gone. The frustration was quickly turning into unreasonable anger at both Helios and myself.

He looked at me quizzically, trying to figure out whether I would actually be okay with it. Given the fact that he nodded in agreement I suppose he could see what he needed on my face. Whether it was anger or desperation I don't know. All I know is that within the next minute, after just barely catching my breath, I was facing him again. I tried to pay more attention to any slight movements and strengthen my body, not just in my arms but also my core and legs. Unlike before, he quickly came at me. Out of pure instinct I dodged rather than blocking it, but he instantly came back the other way. I brought my sword up and held it in tight grips while bending my elbows and keeping my wrist strengthened to block the attack, but his strength was still too much and knocked the sword out of my hands. In that moment he looked entranced as he brought the sword down near my neck before stopping. Unsurprisingly he won within less than a minute but it felt good. Better than winning in an unfair manner at least, it got rid of the loser taste which is funny considering I had only just became the loser. 

"Again." My loss. "Again". Another loss. "Again. Again. Again. Again!"

Once I finally had enough and felt tired enough to pass out, I stopped challenging him. It felt cathartic almost. I bend down to grab my sword before grabbing some water and wiping my sweat. I hand the sword back to Adelphos to put away. He simply looks at me confused, as though he had never seen me before but I ignore it all, feigning ignorance. Instead I drink some water to quench my thirst before walking up to Helios. 

"Thank you, your Highness."

"What for?"

"Taking me seriously. I mean I haven't even started my lessons but you willingly listened to me regardless. Anyways..." I scratch the back of my neck, "thanks."

"Don't worry about it." He responds nonchalantly. 

I clear my throat "so where are the pointers you said you'd give me?"

"Oh right," he chuckles, "I think instinctively you have good movements which are fluid and fast. But your stance is wrong which influences your movements. And strength wise you're severely lacking. But if anything you're better than most people who have been training for at least a few months." He speaks as though he was tracking my every move though I'm unaware of how he had the time to do so.

"You'll do well" he says, simply smiling. "You've got talent. "

I guess it comes from being an important character. Having a good physique and being better than the norm for many things. It's a shame it's not from my own effort but who am I to complain. I realised I probably looked upset even though he had given me a compliment, so I force a smile.

"Thanks for the help and giving me time. I'm gonna get going now, have fun". I wave towards both of them. "Goodbye."

They both watch as I leave without saying anything. An awkward first encounter with the man who might imprison me and his best friend, my brother who might kill me. I would've hoped that Adelphos would've spoken to me at the very least since Helios did, but it's enough that he didn't tell me to get lost. Is it better for him to hate me or be indifferent to me, I thought as I made my way back to my room for a bath. There was no use thinking too much about the one encounter, I would have to wait and see how it would influence our future interactions.