Chapter 8: Witch’s Arsenal

Laura sat nonchalantly in the middle of the stairway, twirling a throwing knife in her hand. Nia came walking out of the meeting room, her head down, mumbling angrily. She lifted her head before going up the stairs, and that’s when she noticed Laura.

Nia’s eyes widened. “Laura,” She said, taking a few steps up, “h-how long have you been there?”

Laura stopped twirling the blade and slipped it back into her robe. She looked at her mother and replied, “About a half hour. I asked one of the housekeepers where you were, and when she said you were busy, I waited here.”

Nia didn’t waste time, making her way closer to Laura and kneeling in front of her. “Laura, what happened last night. I-I-I just…” Nia tried to find the words, but just couldn’t phrase them in a way that sounded right.

Laura could see her struggle, grabbing Nia’s hand and giving a lighthearted smile. “It’s alright, Mother,” Laura’s voice was calm and soft. “I was just upset about not getting accepted to the defense force. I’m sorry if I lashed out.”

Though her words sounded sincere, Laura had lied somewhat. But her mother had far too many other problems on her mind, so it would be best if Laura weren’t one of them.

Nia squeezed Laura’s hand, her head down and on the verge of tears. “It’s just…not easy to simply tell you why you are so…different,” Nia said. But before she could continue, Laura interjected.

“And that’s alright,” She replied, Nia looking surprised. “It just means I’ll train even harder. Then, when I do get accepted, it will feel even greater.”

Nia, still shocked by her daughter’s answer, smiled and wiped her eyes. “Oh, Laura. You’re so much like your father; he would be so proud to see the strong young woman you’ve become.”

Laura lightly chuckled, her heart warming at hearing those words. Even if hers were false, Nia’s were more than sincere and straight from the heart. It made Laura feel bad that she had to lie to her mother, but it was for the best. At least, that’s what Laura thought.

As they shared their heartfelt moment, a voice came from the top of the stairs. “Well, if it’s training you need, I would be more than happy to help!”

They both looked up, seeing Berus standing above them, a huge grin on his face, with his hands on his hips. He pointed a finger at Laura and continued, “What do you say, sis? Let’s head down to our training grounds and get to work!”

Laura asked, “How long have you been standing there?”

“Since, after hearing you were gonna do some training. Did my pose look cool?”

Laura and Nia exchanged glances, then broke out laughing. “So theatrical,” Nia said, covering her mouth to calm her laughter. Laura looked at Berus and replied, “Sure, we’ll go do some training.”

Berus’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I’ll go get dressed, be right back!” He bolted up the stairs and back into his room.

Laura and Nia continue to giggle. It was good that Berus had shown up to lighten up and mood. Berus was always the light of their family. Even after their father’s death, they continued to tackle life with a positive attitude and a smile on their faces. While Laura also had that positive outlook, she would go far more distance herself from the village, focusing strictly on her training. But not Berus. He prided himself on doing as much around the village as he could. Every time he’d pass by, the villagers couldn’t help but feel the warmth and kindness that radiated from Berus. He was truly the golden boy of the entire empire.

After having a quick breakfast, Laura and Berus headed out to the training grounds that their father would take them to when they were children. They expanded it as they got older, making it more spacious for their bigger bodies to move around. It was their private area; only Cello and Nia knew about it. During their stretches, Berus eyed Laura’s longsword and flute that both rested against a tree. He couldn’t help but go over to them and pick up the sword. Laura saw him move and pick up the sword. He inspected the scabbard, in awe at the wolf designs on it.

“What’s up, Berus?” Laura asked, walking over to her brother.

Berus looked up at Laura, raising the sword in both hands. He asked, “Can you teach me how to use a sword, Laura?”

Laura took the blade, chuckling with intrigue at his question. “You want to learn to fence?”

Berus nodded and replied, “Yeah! I always see you practicing with your sword and all your other tools, and it looks really awesome.”

Laura placed the longsword back against the tree, then turned to Berus. “That’s because I have to use these tools,” She said. “I don’t have claws or wings like the rest of the village. Nor do I have the strength or speed. So, I made these tools to help me even have a chance against another experiment.”

She leaned against another tree and continued, “It’s not that I don’t want to teach you, but you don’t really need it as much as me.”

Berus, a little disappointed, still understood the reasoning. Still curious, he asked, “Could you still show me what each of them does?"

Laura smiled and nodded. “Sure!”

She grabbed the dagger behind her belt and a throwing knife from her robe. “This is my dagger,” Laura said, “I use it in the event I lose my sword, or if I just need something to cut or whittle. And my throwing knives...” Laura tossed it across the training grounds, spinning in the air before impaling a tree.

She continued, “I use them if there’s some distance between my opponent. Each blade is extremely sharpened and coated with a thin layer of special gel that slowly paralyzes them.” Laura put the dagger away and took out a roll of metal wire from her robe.

“I use this for traps or tying them around the ends of my throwing knives.” Laura unrolled some of it, the wire becoming nearly invisible. “You’ll see it’s super thin, but strong enough to hold down someone as powerful as Dad.”

Berus’s eyes widened, sparkling in amazement. “Wow, they’re that strong?! Incredible!”

Laura chuckled, putting the roll of wire back in her robe. Finally, she took out one of the paper strips from her sleeve. She held it between her index and middle fingers. The strip was yellow on the back and a light brown on the front. Red flames are drawn on the front. There was a small hole at the top of it, made for something like a small rope to be passed through.

“Now this,” Laura continued, “this is my best tool. Most of the back is covered in an adhesive, except where my fingers are and the top. It will stick to any solid surface.” She slapped the strip onto a tree.

“The front is similar to those brown stripes you find on match boxes…” Laura took out a small piece of metal from under her belt, sliding it onto her index and middle fingers. The metal had two sharp fingernails on the top.

“You strike the front, and flames instantly erupt!” Laura swiped the metal nails against the front of the paper, and black and pink flames burst from the strip, quickly spreading across the tree.

Berus gasped in astonishment. “Woooooah!!!!” He gazed at the wild flames, then turned to Laura. He asked, “How do you extinguish it?”

Laura was already walking over with her jug of water. She opened it and threw it into the flames. They were extinguished as fast as they were ignited, leaving a large black mark on the tree.

“Only water can stop them,” She told him. “No water, no way to get rid of them.” 

Berus sighed, still in utter awe. “Wow, sis. You’re so amazing.”

Laura smiled, but it slowly began to fade, looking at the ground. “I’m not that amazing,” She said modestly, “I’m not strong or fast. I have to rely on…tricks.” She looked up at Berus, giving a faint smile.

“But you, well, you’re constantly getting stronger. Every day I see your improvement. While me? I…stay stuck.”

Berus saw Laura’s somber expression. He walked up to her and gave Laura a light jab on the shoulder, almost knocking her down. Berus smiled and said, “Don’t beat yourself up, sis. It’s like mama and papa always said, you’re special. You might take a little longer than everyone else, but don’t think for a second that makes you any weaker. You could kick the butts of half the empire if you wanted.”

Laura raised her head, staring up at Berus’s heartwarming smile. Once again, Berus showed why he was loved by the masses. Always brightening up the moods of those he met. Laura had told their mother that he would make a far better ruler than her, and her assumptions were still correct.

She smiled back and replied, “Thanks, Berus. That means a lot.” Laura placed her jug on the ground and raised a fist at her younger brother. “Now what’d ya say we get some training done?” She said, her voice filled with passion and determination.

Berus looked ready and eager. He nodded his head and said, “Yeah! Let’s go!”

Thus, the two siblings train vigorously throughout the morning into the afternoon. The two wanted not only to get stronger to protect the village, but to reach the same level of greatness their father had.