Chapter 4: Perfect or Defect?

Laura sat on a bench, watching villagers go about their lives. Her mind was in an angered haze. The bell rang throughout the village; it was already twelve in the afternoon. Laura had started to calm herself down, not wanting to be upset at Berus’s entrance exam for school. Lost in thought, she didn’t notice Cello jogging over.

“Laura!” Cello called out. Laura broke from her train of thought and looked to her right, giving a slight smile as her friend approached. “Hey,” Laura said. “How’d it go?”

Cello turned away for a moment, having a guilty look on her face. “Oh, you know, fine,” She replied, sitting down beside Laura. “I didn’t pass, but hey, there’s always next year.”

Laura knew Cello too well to know when she was lying. She lightly scoffed and gently smacked Cello’s shoulder. “You don’t need to lie to make me feel better.”

Cello shrugged and said, “My opponent was pretty weak. She didn’t even last a minute. Sorry.” Laura chuckled. “No need to apologize. But, you’re right, there’s always next year.”

“Are you okay? Cello asked, placing her hand on Laura’s, “The general was a little harsh.”

Laura sighed, tightly gripping her scabbard with her other hand as it lay on her thighs. “It’s fine,” She paused for a moment, then continued, “it just means I’ve got some time to train more and get even stronger.” Laura stood up, letting go of Cello’s hand. “Yeah, that’s right! I’ll train even harder, even longer!” Her face filled with determination.

Cello looked up at her friend, eyes wide in awe. She was always amazed by how quickly Laura could bounce back from any negative situation. Even as a child, Laura would never give up when faced with an obstacle. No matter how seemingly impossible, she would find a way. It’s one of the many traits Cello admired deeply about Laura. Seeing Laura’s determination would make Cello’s heart lightly skip a beat.

She stood up, placing a hand on Laura’s shoulder. “Well, he was right about one thing, Cello said, “you do sometimes overdo it a little. So just be careful, okay?”

Laura looked at Cello and nodded, replying, “Got it.” She turned to check the massive clock below the bell. It was already twelve forty-five. “Oh crap! I’m going to be late!”

She started sprinting off, then quickly turned around to face Cello. “We’ll hang out later, okay?!” Cello smiled, laughing before giving a thumbs-up. Laura whipped back around and kept running.

As she passed through the crowds, Laura wrapped the scabbard around her waist. She skidded around the corner of a building and ran straight. Laura finally reached the school, luckily with ten minutes to spare. She politely maneuvered through some of the parents who also came to watch their child take the entrance exam. This exam was a special test that only a select few students could take. Only those with the best of grades were eligible to participate. Each would be given one question on any subject: Math, Literature, Science, and so on. They were given thirty minutes to complete it, showing their work to the crowd. On paper, it sounded easy, but the questions given were extremely difficult. Those who passed were sent to a special academy where only the most intellectually gifted were sent, and the ones who failed would simply have to continue school as normal. Laura never got the chance to take this exam because she was too busy with training; however, it was offered.

She made her way to the very front where her mother was sitting. There was an empty seat on Nia’s left, and that is where Laura sat. Nia took a glance at her daughter. “Are you okay, Laura?” She whispered. Laura looked at Nia, confused. “Yeah, why?” she asked.

“I heard that did not pass,” Nia replied, keeping her eyes forward, “I simply wanted to know if you were upset.” Laura took a moment to reply. “I’m perfectly fine, mother.”

Nia did not reply after that, leaving Laura to dwell on the words General Pierce had told her. Simply lacking the strength…never having a chance to join. Laura shook it off, not wanting to get upset and ruin Berus’s day. She already knew he would pass; Berus was just as smart as Laura. Maybe even a little smarter. The bell rang once, meaning it was time for the exams to start.

There had been fifteen students, and Berus was the third to last one to take his test. His subject was math, having to solve an impossible equation. The vast majority of the crowd was mumbling about how they could never in a million years solve this. Laura chuckled and smiled, watching her brother in no time flat solve it, placing the marker down. Once the judge reviewed his work, he passed Berus, and the crowd applauded, awestruck. Berus looked out at the crowd, finding Nia clapping with a big smile while Laura cheered loudly.

“That’s my brother! You’re amazing!” She shouted, jumping up and down. Some of the others around her looked on, utterly puzzled. Berus laughed, blushing from embarrassment but overjoyed by his sister’s praise.

Afterward, Berus met up with his family. He and Nia hugged tightly, his mother congratulating him on his amazing work. Laura playfully punched his arm. “Never had a single doubt you’d fail, little bro.” She commended. Berus chuckled, “Thanks, sis. I bet you got into the force even easier, right?”

Laura’s smile faltered for a moment. “Oh yeah. Turns out, I did so well, they needed to reevaluate my performance just to make sure I wasn’t cheating.” She lied through her teeth, but Berus, none the wiser that his sister could fail, believed it. Laura took a glance at her mother, who side-eyed her with an eyebrow raised.

In the evening, after they were done celebrating, Laura went to her room to read. She blankly stared at the pages, her mind still swirling with what had happened earlier. She trained for ages, just for this very day. Yet…it was all for nothing? Seemed to be a common trend in her life. No matter how many hours she’d put into training, it was never enough. She trained till she bled, till the pain was so unbearable she’d nearly throw up and pass out. But somehow…Laura always fell behind. Clearly too distracted, she closed the book and tossed it on the bed. She stood up, pacing back and forth in the room.

Was she simply not good enough? Was her goal just unreachable? Did she really spend her life training for nothing? Will she never live up to her father?

As the thoughts swarmed in her head, she refused to believe any of it. It was a lie…right? Right?! Her breathing sped up as her blood began to boil. Laura muttered curses to herself. Was she just a failure? In a fit of rage, Laura grabbed her scabbard, which was propped against a bookshelf, and started bashing it against her right leg.

“Stupid! Worthless! Pathetic! Failure!” Laura sneered through gritted teeth. Tears began flooding into her eyes, her vision becoming blurry. She threw the scabbard across the room, crashing into a pile of books. Laura sat on the bed, taking a long, shaky sigh. There was a sudden knock on her door. She quickly wiped her tears as it started to open. Nia peeked her head inside.

“Laura…” She said, seeing her daughter slouched on the bed. Nia walked inside, closing the door behind her. Laura didn’t say anything and smiled. Nia sat beside her and continued. “Do you want to tell me what happened today?” She asked, her voice calm and gentle.

Laura looked away, letting out another long sigh. “What is wrong with me?” She asked, shakingly, still looking away to keep her tears hidden.

“Nothing is wrong with you, sweetie,” Nia replied, putting an arm around Laura, “you’re perfect just the way you are.” Laura shot up from the bed and spun around to face her mother.

Laure snapped. “You keep saying that, but I know it’s not true!” She raised her voice, tears streaming down her face. Laura continued. “All my life I’ve been told that I'm perfect or that I’m different, but what does that mean?! How can I be perfect when I'm the shortest one in the entire village, or that my lungs aren’t as strong!”

She began pacing back and forth. “And is calling me different just a nice way of saying that my some kind of defect?! Please, tell me what’s wrong with me! Why will I never be strong enough?!” Laura collapsed to her knees, sobbing loudly.

Nia knelt and placed a hand on Laura’s shoulder. Nia lifted her head and said, “You are not a defect, and there is certainly not a thing wrong with you.”

“Then why?” Laura sobbed, “Why do I struggle the most? How can I be as strong as Papa and protect this village if I feel like I go nowhere?”

Nia wasn’t sure how to answer. “It…It’s not something I can just…explain to you. It’s complicated.”

Laura’s face started to contort with frustration. “Then why are you even trying to cheer me up?” She hissed. Laura quickly got up and went to grab her sword. She picked it up and walked toward the window.

As she opened it, Nia got and grabbed her hand. “Laura, wait!” She said, but Laura quickly and angrily pulled back her hand. “If you’re not going to give me an answer, then I don’t want to hear a damn thing you have to say.” Laura hopped out of the window and onto the tile roof. She began sliding down, her crows following after.

Nia stood in the room, heartbroken and lost. “Oh, Ferral,” She muttered quietly, “what do I do about her?”

Laura stormed out of the village, jumping from tree to tree through the jungle. She continued going farther and farther, until eventually coming into the deepest and darkest part. This was where she would come and get away to clear her mind. Especially at night, it was the perfect area. Laura sat in a tree and took out her flute. Even in the pitch black, Laura could play it with ease. She raised it to her lips and began playing a somber tune. Her crows were her audience, their glowing eyes surrounding the tree she was in. Laura got lost in her music, the rest of the world simply fading away.

There was almost nothing that brought Laura more joy than playing her flute. She could play for hours, never getting tired of it. She would at times play for the villagers, and they would all stop and gather around, entranced by how beautiful the sound was. They would often playfully joke and say she was using magic to hypnotize people to pause whatever they were doing and listen. Only adding to her title of witch.

Lost in her music, Laura didn’t hear the coming from below the tree. It wasn’t until her crows started making noise that she snapped out of it. Some used their beaks to point down, prompting Laura to peek her head toward the ground.

“Hello?” A voice called out. “Can you please help me?” It was a man. Laura squinted to get a better look. It was a human man.