After Narina's appetite was satisfied by the bounty that had been gathered from Melaine's garden, Leander decided that it was time to see what Narina was capable of. If they were to be travelling together, Leander would have to see what he was working with. Leander gave Narina one task: Land one hit on him.
"You're too slow."
Narina's fists flew in quick succession towards Leander, each punch moving with enough strength to shatter stone and yet despite her strength, Narina grew steadily angrier with each thrown punch, slowly tiring herself out.
Leander deftly avoided Narina's barrage of punches. Sidestepping, ducking, leaning to the side, allowing Narina's punch to throw her forward.
Grabbing Narina's wrist, Leander kicked the girl's legs out from under her, causing Narina to tumble onto the grass. Looking down at her, Leander shook his head.
"You rely on your strength to solve your problems, again."
Slamming her fist into the ground, Narina pushed herself up and lunged at Leander without hesitation. Her strikes came fast and relentless, each one aimed directly at his chest.
"Stop! Moving!"
Ignoring her demands, Leander continued effortlessly avoiding her attacks. His calm demeanour was a stark contrast to her growing fury.
"Strength is not a bad power to rely on."
Stepping to the side, Leander slapped Narina's back with enough force she stumbled a few steps before turning, throwing another fist, this time aimed at Leander's face.
"But strength alone will always fail."
Catching Narina's fist, Leander locked eyes with Narina.
"You must have balance. Be it speed, deceit or friends who can act as that balance. There is only one way strength can survive alone."
Struggling under Leander's grip, Narina snarled.
"And what's that!"
His eyes narrowed, Leander's empty hand tightly clenched – had his skin been alive, Leander's knuckles would have grown white.
"Strength overwhelming."
Pulling Narina closer to him, Leander threw his fist forward, the act causing Narina's eyes to widen in surprise at his sudden attack – but at the last moment, Leander's hand opened – his palm landing on Narina's chest, Leander pushed her down again.
Landing on the grass with a thud, Narina winced. Rubbing her back, she looked up as Leander offered her his hand. With a disgruntled sigh, Narina took his hand.
"And what does strength overwhelming even mean?"
Pulling Narina to her feet, Leander noticed something behind her.
"Strength overwhelming is when you are the strongest, and when you're the strongest, limits, restrictions, they stop applying."
Narina looked down, a grieved expression overtaking her frustration.
As Narina grew lost in her thoughts, Leander looked at what he had noticed a moment ago.
On a balcony overlooking the garden, Melaine leaned on her arms against the edge. Leander wasn't surprised to see Melaine there, she had been watching Leander and Narina's spar since it had begun. What had caught his eye was that somebody had just joined Melaine's side.
It was a woman – at least, Leander believed it was a woman from her long hair and the gown she wore. Leander couldn't even see her face as she had her back facing the garden.
Her wide-brimmed hat cast a deep shadow over her face, concealing much of her features. The hat's black surface was adorned with a single sweeping feather, its dark edges tinged with a subtle purple hue. Beneath it, her long, violet hair cascaded past her waist, flowing like silk in the dim light.
What little Leander could see of this enigmatic figure only added to the mystery. She wore a form-fitting black dress, its glossy fabric so dark it seemed to drink in the very sunlight that touched it. The lower part of the gown swayed with the faint breeze, revealing glimpses of her legs, which were wrapped in elegant violet stockings, their colour harmonizing with the shades of her hair.
Leander's eyes flicked back to Melaine, who had noticed that he had looked up to them. Raising a hand, she noticed his gaze, Melaine waved down at him.
As Leander was about to wave back, Narina broke out of her thoughts.
----
The sun had set hours ago, yet Leander and Narina were still in the garden. The day was over, but Leander's challenge was not. Despite her best attempts, Narina had not come close to hitting Leander even once.
Having grown sluggish because of the hours of punching, Narina's punches had become even slower than what Leander had chastised her for earlier in the day.
As Leander dodged one more strike, Narina tripped on her own feet, landing face first into the grass. Remaining still for a moment, Narina raised one arm, her hand pitifully smacking the ground.
"Why is it that you cannot use anima?"
Leander's question caused Narina to slowly look at him.
"I used to be able to when I was younger…"
Sitting up, Narina pulled her legs close to her. One hand gently rubbed the prominent scar near her breastbone.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Watching Narina, Leander gently nodded.
"I understand. Come on, let's go find Melaine, I am sure she will have a place for you to sleep tonight. Tomorrow we'll be going to the Goddess' Kingdom."
"That is true, Leander!"
Leander and Narina's attention to Melaine's loud voice. Standing on the boundary of the garden where the grass ended and the castle's stone began, Melaine had a pleasant smile on her lips.
"You will be going to the Goddess' Kingdom. But you won't be going to challenge the Goddess."
Leander raised an eyebrow.
"I won't? Why not? I thought time was an important factor here."
Stepping across the grass, Melaine brought a hand up, gently flicking Leander's nose.
"Don't be silly, silly."
Before Leander could swat her away, Melaine had already moved to kneel beside Narina.
"You can effectively beat up this sweet young lady, but if you were to go into the Goddess' Kingdom right now with the intention of striking down the Goddess. It would be paramount to suicide. Do you really intend on making my last thousand years redundant?"
Looking away, Leander glanced towards the torches that illuminated the garden. Running a hand through white hair, Leander rested his other hand on the empty scabbard.
"I assume you have some form of a plan for us to follow then?"
Turning around, Melaine held her hands up – a joking pout on her lips.
"Perhaps, or maybe I intend to let you roam Ozaria. Getting lost, going on adventures and gaining allies along the way."
Seeing Leander respond to her words with a glare, Melaine couldn't help but chuckle.
"I kid, I kid. It's why I came to see you actually. To advise you on what your next actions should be, since I thought you'd like to get on the road first thing tomorrow morning."
Leander and Narina exchanged glances. Putting a hand up, Narina asked.
"Does that mean you have a place I can sleep?"
"Of course!"
Spinning around, Melaine pointed up the tall black stone of her castle to an open window roughly halfway up the castle wall.
"You can use my bed. I don't mind lending it to you for the night, my little dear."
As Narina was about to respond to being called little, Leander spoke.
"So, this plan, are we going to the Goddess' Kingdom or not?"
Her hands moving to her hips, Melaine tilted her head.
"Yes, but not all the way. First, you must travel to the furthest reaches of my kingdom, to the border between my kingdom and the Goddess' Kingdom. From there, the general of my army will help you infiltrate the border – crossing through the no man's land – after you reach the capital of the kingdom, I'll send somebody to inform you of where you should go next."
Narina's brow furrowed as she heard Melaine's plan. Holding up her hand, she asked:
"What do you mean infiltrate? Wouldn't it be easier if I just flew Leander to the Goddess place? It would save on a lot of walking."
With a slight squint, Melaine looked at Leander.
"Do you want to answer this one, or shall I?"
Leander rolled his eyes.
"Narina, if the people of the Goddess' Kingdom saw not just a beast, but a dragon flying across their sky. Our lives would become a lot, lot harder."