„Why am I not allowed to participate? “ Ariada almost shouted at this point.
“My dear, you know I would let you do whatever you want, but …“ her foster father Laherion tried to calm her down but she interrupted him.
“But you can! You are the leader of this city! You can force them! Please Parr, I beg you!” He was surprised there for a second as she rarely used the familiar term for ‘father’ when talking to him. Tears started to fill Ariada’s completely black eyes.
Those eyes used to scare him. It was weird seeing no white in them at all but when she became his daughter, when the Murcial gave her to his wife, he started to love them. He could find such wisdom and at the moment such force in them. He sighed.
“Well… you know you are right, don’t you? But if I force them, to let you participate, you know they’ll bully you.”
“I don’t care!” she exclaimed, already looking like a fearsome warrior. He sighed again. She knew him far too well.
“I have to see what I can do.”
Her eyes flickered with a raging fire. “I love you Parr! I really, really love you!” He laughed.
“Of course you do! Until you pull a prank or until you suddenly forget to speak the language of the humans.”
“No, I swear! When they really allow me to train and become a warrior I will be nice and always tidy up my room and pull no pranks with the servants and will do as I am told!”
He chuckled. ‘Children…’
She hugged him tight and more to his surprise wrapped her wings around him before she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you!” Slowly Ariada unfolded her wings and ran out of the room to tell Laër that she was going to become a great and fierce warrior.
Laherion still sat on his chair, baffled. It was really seldom that she used her wings for hugging. They were just too frail he always believed and she was still cautious about the skin since Laër healed them. Leaning back on his chair the leader of the big city smiled. Where has he come to? He, Laherion Albnicowminica y Slaberichomer de Sylmerioohn, the leader of the second biggest city, Hhihll, in the mighty land of Cormaggh, allowed his little foster daughter, who was not even from his own human race to join the warrior training. No, he even forced them to accept her. Still smiling he went to his chamber to write a letter to Mlironar, the head of the best warrior guild of Hhihll to let Ariada live the way she wanted.
A change of the moon later, Ariada couldn’t stop smiling. Training began today! Laër sat next to her, eating slowly his breakfast.
“Stop looking so grimly!” Ariada said and threw a fruit at Laër’s head. He ducked and frowned.
“You know I’m not into fighting! And since we’ve found out that I’m a healer, it’s accepted!”
“Laër, please!” Ariada put on her sweetest smile “you know they only let me participate and train if you come with me.”
“Yeah I know… But don’t forget: You owe me now!”
Ariada smiled exorbitantly. She rose from her seat, grabbed Laër’s hand and pulled him out of their home, past the guards and down the hill towards the best fighting league.
In front of the doors stood some of the well known bullies and even Carom, the one who threw stones at Ariada which tore her wings and did put her in the medical centre for a long time. She almost died but luckily Laër discovered his healing ability and saved her.
Some other new students looked shyly around not confident enough to enter the training hall. Ariada broadly smiled at all of them and pushed the doors open as if she would already belong here.
“Put that on!” An older student tossed some training clothes in their direction.
“How do you think will these fit me?” Ariada asked, looking suspiciously at the shirt, which of course was closed at the back.
“I don’ care how ya put ya stupi’ wings in ther’! Jus’ put it on!”
Embarrassed Laër went into the changing room together with his foster sister. Ariada was the only girl! Was she really going to undress herself in front of all?
Yes she was, but left her underwear on and didn’t care when the boys were looking at her making some remarks about her body. Mumbling she looked at the shirt thinking hard what to do. The others soon left the room leaving snide remarks about Ariada’s idea of even turning up.
“Just go ahead.” she said to Laër “I’ll follow in a minute!”
With a sigh he left the room to join the others.
“Is everyone ready?” Mlironar the trainer asked.
“Haha! All the real warriors are here. Even the whiney son-of-a-…leader is here. But the stupid and useless Murcial creature dares to come late!” Carom the biggest of them spoke.
“You dare” Laër snarled but the sweet sound of Ariada’s voice interrupted him.
“Sorry, I’m late, but I had trouble with the shirt…”
Laër’s eyes and all of the others widened as she approached them, having cut off the entire back of the shirt and somehow, with many difficult knots found a way to fix the rest of the cloth around her front.
“…it was a bit too wide.” she excused and smiled awkwardly.
“What in Tamra’s name have you done?” Mlironar asked her.
“Well, I first took my knife and”
“Who said that you could cut off everything of your training clothes?”
“No one said I wasn’t allowed. I was told no one would care how I would put it on. And for my wings I had to cut it…” Ariada’s voice trembled.
“Do you really want to have such a disobedient pupil? You see the Murcial brings trouble even before training starts! I do not want to know what this creature will do when she gets handed a sword.”
“Shut up!” Laër interrupted Carom. “Shut your dirty mouth up! She is right! No one said she wasn’t allowed to … alter the clothes! And of course she needs the holes for her wings! This darn league knew that a Murcial was coming to train here! They could have prepared something for her! And if you do not accept her as your pupil … well it’s your problem then! We thought that this was the best combat training facility but if you refuse to teach her then I can only pity you! Because you will let go one of the best fighters this world will have ever seen!
Ariada, come! Let’s go and find you a place where they will teach you!”
He offered her his hand and she grabbed it. Angrily he wanted to storm off when the trainer spoke:
“No! Stay! The Murcial … I mean Ariada can stay. I’ll teach her. And if she proves herself worthy in the next few days as all of you have to.” he turned around, shouting the last few words. “Then I will be happy to call you my pupils!”
“Thank you!” Ariada fell to her knees bowing in the old way of showing respect to a renowned swordsman.
“See! She’s already way better than you guys!”
Rumbling was heard in the room as the young men fell to their knees, trying to copy Ariada’s position.
Who knew back then, that Laër had spoken the truth that Ariada would become the best fighter the city and even the land of Cormaggh had ever seen. Laër did even bet that in Urrlung was no warrior who could compete against her!
She out-competed every pupil of the fighting league within a short amount of time only to become the most known fighter and saviour in the whole world.
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