Chapter 17.Learning to fight

The next morning, I woke up before anyone came to call me.

For a while, I stayed beneath the blankets, listening to the quiet sounds of the palace waking around me. Somewhere beyond my room, servants were already moving through the corridors. I could hear distant footsteps, the faint clatter of dishes, and the occasional murmur of voices behind closed doors.

The palace had its own rhythm in the morning.

It was different from the quiet mornings I remembered from my other life, when the biggest decision I had to make was whether I wanted to stay in bed for another ten minutes. Here, even the beginning of the day felt organized. Servants had places to be, guards had duties to perform, and members of the royal family were expected to appear at certain times and behave in certain ways.

I sometimes wondered how anyone managed to relax in a place like this.

Then I remembered that I had more important things to worry about.

Adrian.

The training grounds.

I was going to learn how to defend myself.

The thought made me nervous, but underneath the nervousness was something I hadn't expected.

I was actually looking forward to it.

For most of my life in this world, I had been protected by other people. My father had guards. Adrian had guards. Even when danger found me, someone else usually stepped between me and whatever threatened me.

I had allowed myself to believe that was enough.

It wasn't.

Not anymore.

The Order had already found me more than once. Someone had tried to kill Adrian. My own childhood accident had turned out to be something much more complicated than I remembered. People knew things about me that I didn't know about myself.

And every time something happened, I was left asking someone else for answers.

I was tired of that.

I didn't expect to become a skilled fighter overnight. I wasn't even sure I could hold a sword properly.

But I wanted to know that if someone came for me again, I wouldn't simply stand there waiting for somebody else to save me.

I pushed the blankets aside and got out of bed.

After washing and dressing, I chose a simple riding outfit instead of a gown. It was comfortable enough to move in, and I had a feeling Adrian would complain if I arrived at the training grounds wearing silk.

I tied my hair back and looked at myself in the mirror.

For a moment, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me.

Not because my appearance had changed.

Because my expression had.

There was still uncertainty in my eyes, but there was something else there too.

Determination.

I picked up my gloves.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and one of the palace maids stepped inside.

"His Highness is waiting for you."

I glanced toward the clock.

"Already?"

She nodded.

"He said you would probably try to make him wait."

I stared at her.

"Did he really say that?"

She looked as though she was trying not to laugh.

"Not exactly."

"Then why did you say it?"

"He said you might take longer than expected to get ready."

"That's different."

"Very different, my lady."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

She lowered her head, but I could see the smile she was hiding.

"Tell him I'm coming."

"Yes, my lady."

When she left, I shook my head.

Apparently, Adrian had already decided to start irritating me before the lesson even began.

I grabbed my gloves and left my room.

A guard was waiting outside.

"Lady Seraphina."

I nodded.

"Is Adrian at the courtyard?"

"Yes, my lady."

I followed him through the eastern corridor.

The palace looked completely different in the morning. Sunlight poured through the tall windows, illuminating the marble floors and the enormous paintings hanging along the walls. Servants moved between rooms carrying trays, folded clothing, and stacks of documents, while guards remained stationed at every major entrance.

People still watched me.

Some tried to hide it behind polite smiles, while others didn't bother pretending.

I couldn't blame them.

The Crown Prince had returned from the Vale estate with me beside him, and I had a feeling everyone in the palace had already created their own explanation for it.

Lady Seraphina had suddenly changed.

Lady Seraphina had been involved in an attack.

Lady Seraphina had returned to the palace because she was plotting something.

By the end of the week, they would probably have invented something even worse.

The thought almost made me laugh.

I reached the courtyard and found Adrian standing near the stone steps.

He was dressed in dark training clothes instead of his usual formal uniform. Without the crown, the polished appearance, and the weight of royal expectations around him, he looked younger.

More like the man I had started getting to know.

He looked up when he saw me.

His eyes moved over my clothes before returning to my face.

"Good."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Good?"

"You dressed appropriately."

"I can dress myself."

"I wasn't questioning your ability."

"You sounded like you were."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I'll be careful next time."

I walked toward him.

"Where exactly are we going?"

"The old training grounds."

"You've said that already."

"I know."

"And you're still refusing to tell me what they're like."

"You'll see."

I sighed.

"You enjoy being mysterious."

"No."

"You do."

He started walking.

"I enjoy watching you become impatient."

I followed him, shaking my head.

"That's worse."

We left through a side entrance of the palace and followed a narrow stone path that curved behind the gardens.

The further we walked, the quieter the palace became.

The sounds of servants disappeared first. Then the guards became less noticeable. Soon, all I could hear was the wind moving through the trees and the occasional cry of a bird somewhere beyond the palace walls.

I looked around.

"I didn't know this part of the grounds existed."

"Most people don't come here anymore."

"Why?"

"It isn't used for formal training."

"So what is it used for?"

"It isn't."

I looked at him.

"That's depressing."

He smiled.

"You haven't even seen it yet."

We continued along the path until the trees opened into a large courtyard surrounded by old stone walls.

The training grounds were nothing like I had imagined.

There were wooden practice posts arranged in rows, several targets standing at different distances, and a wide open space covered with packed earth. A weapons rack stood against one wall, holding wooden swords, staffs, and practice knives.

Some of the equipment looked old.

Not broken, exactly, but worn from years of use.

I stopped at the entrance.

"This is where you trained?"

"Yes."

"As a child?"

"Since I was eight."

I looked around again.

"That explains a lot."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What does it explain?"

"Why you look so comfortable around weapons."

"I was trained to protect the kingdom."

"And now you're training me."

"You're not the kingdom."

"That's reassuring."

He smiled.

"I meant that you're someone who needs to protect herself."

The teasing disappeared from my expression.

He was right.

I just hadn't expected him to say it so plainly.

Adrian walked toward the weapons rack.

I followed.

He picked up a wooden sword and turned toward me.

"Have you ever held one before?"

"No."

"Not even for practice?"

"No."

"Then we'll start with the basics."

He handed the sword to me.

I wrapped my fingers around the handle.

The sword felt heavier than it looked.

I tried adjusting my grip.

Adrian noticed.

"Don't hold it that tightly."

"If I loosen my grip, I'll drop it."

"That's what you think."

"What happens if I drop it?"

"You pick it up."

"That's your entire solution?"

"Yes."

I stared at him.

"You make everything sound easy."

"It's not easy."

His answer was quieter this time.

"That's why we're starting slowly."

I looked down at the sword again.

There was something reassuring about that.

He wasn't expecting me to become someone else.

He was simply teaching me.

Adrian stepped closer.

"Hold it like this."

He gently adjusted my hands.

His fingers brushed mine, and I suddenly became far too aware of how close he was.

I cleared my throat.

"You're standing very close."

"I need to correct your grip."

"I understand."

He didn't move immediately.

Then he stepped away.

"Keep your feet apart."

I did as he instructed.

"Not that far."

I adjusted them.

"Better."

He walked around me, studying my stance.

"You're tense."

"Because you're staring at me."

"I'm trying to see what you're doing wrong."

"That's not helping."

His mouth twitched.

"Relax your shoulders."

I tried.

"You're still tense."

"I'm trying."

"Stop trying so hard."

I turned my head toward him.

"How am I supposed to stop trying while I'm trying to learn?"

He laughed.

The sound surprised me.

I had heard Adrian laugh before, but rarely. Usually his smiles were small, controlled things that disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared.

This was different.

For a moment, he looked completely relaxed.

I smiled too.

"All right," he said. "Let's start again."

He demonstrated a simple defensive movement.

I copied him.

My first attempt was terrible.

I knew it was terrible from the expression on his face, even though he was polite enough not to say so.

"Don't look at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you in any particular way."

"You are."

"I'm concentrating."

"On my failure?"

"On your technique."

"Same thing."

He shook his head.

"Again."

I tried.

This time I moved too quickly and nearly lost my balance.

Adrian caught my arm before I fell.

"Careful."

"I was careful."

"You were falling."

"I was experimenting."

"With gravity?"

"Exactly."

He shook his head.

"You have a talent for arguing with facts."

"Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"I'll take it anyway."

We continued.

For the next hour, Adrian taught me the basics.

How to keep my balance.

How to move without crossing my feet.

How to block an attack instead of trying to overpower the person attacking me.

How to recognize when someone was preparing to strike.

How to use movement instead of relying entirely on strength.

The more he explained, the more I realized how little I actually knew.

In my mind, fighting had always looked simple.

Someone attacked.

You defended yourself.

That was it.

Apparently, it was nothing like that.

Every movement mattered.

Where I placed my feet mattered.

How I held my shoulders mattered.

Even the way I breathed affected how quickly I became tired.

"You keep holding your breath," Adrian said.

"I do not."

"You just did."

I exhaled.

"Maybe I forgot."

"You can't forget to breathe."

"Apparently I can."

He smiled.

"Again."

I raised the sword.

This time, I paid attention to my breathing.

When he moved toward me, I tried to block.

The wooden swords struck.

The sound echoed across the empty courtyard.

My arms shook from the impact.

I stepped backward.

"Better," he said.

I smiled.

"Really?"

"Yes."

That small word made me feel strangely proud.

I tried again.

And again.

After another half hour, my arms were aching.

My palms were sore despite the gloves, and sweat had gathered at the back of my neck.

Finally, I lowered the sword.

"I hate this."

Adrian took a drink of water.

"You've been training for one hour and a half."

"Exactly."

"You expected what?"

"I don't know."

He waited.

"Something impressive."

"You mean you expected to be good immediately?"

"I was hoping."

He smiled.

"You haven't given yourself enough time."

I dropped onto the edge of the wooden platform.

"My arms hurt."

"They'll hurt more tomorrow."

I stared at him.

"Why would you tell me that?"

"Because it's true."

"I don't like you right now."

"You'll survive."

I laughed despite myself.

He handed me a cup of water.

I took it.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

The courtyard was quiet except for the sound of the wind moving against the old stone walls.

I looked down at my hands.

"I don't like feeling helpless."

Adrian became quiet.

I hadn't meant to say it out loud.

But once the words were there, I couldn't take them back.

"You aren't helpless."

"I was."

"Being unable to fight doesn't mean you're helpless."

"It felt like it."

He sat beside me.

I stared at the ground.

"Every time something happens, someone else knows more than I do. My father knows things he won't tell me. The palace knows things I don't understand. The Order knows things I don't even remember. Even you knew about my accident before I did."

Adrian listened without interrupting.

"I woke up in this life already behind everyone else," I continued. "Sometimes it feels like I'm running after a story that everyone else has already read."

The words sounded strange once I said them.

He couldn't possibly understand what I meant.

Not completely.

But he didn't ask me to explain.

"Then stop running after it."

I turned to him.

"What?"

"You don't have to know everything before you make a choice."

His voice was quiet.

"You don't have to understand every part of what happened to you before you decide what happens next."

I stared at him.

"That's easier for you to say."

"Maybe."

He looked toward the training grounds.

"But that doesn't make it less true."

I looked away.

There was something about the way he said it that stayed with me.

Maybe I had been so focused on recovering the memories of my past that I had forgotten I was still living in the present.

I didn't need to become the old Seraphina.

I didn't need to become the woman I had been before waking in this world.

I could simply become myself.

Whatever that meant.

Adrian stood.

"Ready?"

I looked at him.

"For more?"

"For another attempt."

I groaned.

"You really don't know when to stop."

"Neither do you."

He handed me the wooden sword.

I stood.

This time, I didn't try to copy him perfectly.

I focused on my balance.

When he moved toward me, I raised the sword.

The wooden blades struck.

The impact traveled through my arms.

I nearly lost my grip, but I recovered.

Adrian nodded.

"Better."

I smiled.

"Really?"

"Really."

He attacked again.

I blocked.

Not perfectly, but enough.

Another strike.

I stepped aside.

Another.

I blocked.

My breathing became heavier, but something had changed.

I wasn't thinking about the palace anymore.

I wasn't thinking about the Order.

I wasn't thinking about the pendant or the accident or the story waiting somewhere ahead of me.

I was simply concentrating on the movement in front of me.

For the first time in a long while, my mind was quiet.

Then Adrian lowered his sword.

"That's enough for today."

I looked at him.

"Already?"

He laughed.

"You were complaining five minutes ago."

"I've changed my mind."

"I noticed."

I lowered the sword.

My arms were exhausted, but I felt strangely proud.

"Did I do well?"

"You did."

The simple answer made me smile.

"You're not just saying that?"

"No."

I handed the sword back to him.

"Then I'll come tomorrow."

His expression changed slightly.

"I expected you to say you hated training."

"I still hate it."

"Then why come back?"

I shrugged.

"Because I want to get better."

He looked at me for a moment.

"Good."

We began walking back toward the palace.

My body was tired enough that every step reminded me of the training session, but I didn't regret it.

As we followed the stone path, I noticed that Adrian had slowed his pace.

At first, I thought it was because he was tired.

Then I realized he was walking slowly enough for me to keep up without having to hurry.

I smiled to myself.

"You can walk normally."

"I am walking normally."

"No, you're not."

"How would you know?"

"Because you were walking faster before."

He glanced at me.

"You're observant."

"You taught me to pay attention."

"Then the lesson worked."

I laughed.

By the time we reached the gardens, the sun had risen higher, warming the stone path beneath our feet.

Neither of us spoke for a while.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

I had started noticing that silence with Adrian didn't always need to be filled.

Sometimes we could simply walk beside each other.

When we reached the gardens, he stopped.

"You should rest this afternoon."

"I'll try."

"That's not convincing."

"I'll rest."

"Better."

I looked toward the palace.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"The council."

"Ah."

His expression immediately became more serious.

"Something happened?"

"Nothing that concerns you directly."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That's becoming one of my least favorite sentences."

"I know."

"Then stop saying it."

"I'll try."

He smiled.

I almost smiled back before remembering something.

"Adrian."

He stopped.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

His expression softened.

"For what?"

"For teaching me."

"You haven't learned much yet."

"I learned enough to know I don't want to be helpless."

He studied me for a moment.

"Then keep practicing."

"I will."

He started toward the palace before turning back.

"Seraphina."

"Yes?"

"Keep your pendant with you."

My fingers moved toward it automatically.

"Why?"

"Because it's yours."

There was nothing mysterious in the way he said it.

No warning.

No hidden meaning.

Just a simple statement.

I nodded.

"All right."

He walked away.

I watched him disappear through the palace doors before heading toward my own rooms.

By the time I reached them, I was exhausted.

I had barely taken off my gloves when my arms began to ache again.

I stared at them.

"Tomorrow is going to be painful."

The maid helping me prepare a bath tried not to smile.

"His Highness warned us."

I turned.

"He warned you?"

"He said you might complain."

I sighed.

"Of course he did."

The maid laughed quietly.

For the first time since arriving at the palace, I felt almost normal.

Not like someone trapped inside a story.

Not like a girl being hunted by an organization.

Just like a young woman who had spent the morning learning something difficult and was now exhausted because of it.

I welcomed the feeling.

After bathing and changing into a loose dress, I spent some time resting.

I tried to sleep, but my mind refused to cooperate.

Instead, I found myself thinking about what Adrian had said.

You don't have to understand every part of what happened to you before you decide what happens next.

It was such a simple idea.

Yet I had spent weeks doing the exact opposite.

I had believed that if I could remember everything, I would finally understand what I was supposed to do.

Maybe that wasn't true.

Maybe I didn't need every answer before taking the next step.

I got out of bed and returned to the library.

The palace corridors were quieter in the afternoon.

When I opened the library door, I expected to find it empty.

Instead, Evelina was already there.

She was sitting near the window with a book in her hands.

"You scared me."

She looked up.

"I'm sorry."

"You could have made a noise."

"I did."

I frowned.

"You did?"

"I moved the chair."

"I didn't hear it."

"Then you were thinking too loudly."

I laughed.

Evelina smiled.

"You look tired."

"I've been training."

"Training?"

"Adrian taught me how to use a sword."

Her eyes widened.

"You?"

"Yes, me."

"How did that happen?"

"I asked."

"Why?"

I thought about it.

"Because I don't want to depend on someone else every time I'm in danger."

Evelina nodded slowly.

"That's a good reason."

I walked over to the table.

"What are you reading?"

"One of your mother's journals."

I stopped.

"You found another one?"

She shook her head.

"No. This one was already here."

I sat beside her.

"Have you read it?"

"Some of it."

"What does it say?"

Evelina closed the journal.

"Mostly ordinary things."

I smiled.

"That's what I found."

"Your mother wrote about you often."

I looked down.

"She did?"

Evelina nodded.

"She wrote about your lessons, your moods, the things you liked."

I felt something tighten in my chest.

"She never seemed like that in the records."

"Because the records weren't about b