Chapter 4
I have never experienced anything like Tova’s mother’s wrath. I occasionally forgot she was a fire fairy, despite her red eyes, because she rarely lost her temper the way most fire fairies have a tendency to. Their argument last night was nothing compared to the one that occurred when Tova told her she was joining the guard. The whole house nearly exploded in flame.
“TOVA, I FORBID IT! NO DAUGHTER OF MINE WILL DISGRACE MY FAMILY THIS WAY!” Sparks flew from her and caught on random items. In that moment, my biggest wish was that I was a water fairy. I did my best to smother the sparks before they turned into roaring fires.
“YOU CAN’T FORBID IT! IT’S HAPPENING!” Fire shot out of Tova as well. She didn’t use her elemental much, preferring her sword, fists, and feet. With so much untamed power, she was close to losing control.
“THEN GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! OUT!”
Tova left, slamming the door. Her father and I shared one last sympathetic look. He was as unprepared for this as I was; he just so happened to be an earth fairy too, though Tova didn’t inherit any of that. Then I left after Tova, barely escaping without burns.
I caught up to Tova as she stomped through town toward the castle. “Where are we headed?” I asked her.
“To the guard compound. I’m signing up right now.”
“You’re not worried about being kicked out?” I wasn’t trying to change her mind. I just didn’t know where she’d go, and I couldn’t let her be on the streets at night.
“The guards have their own barracks. Florian told me. I’ll stay there. I belong there anyway.”
I nodded and followed her right up to the building. She stopped and stared at it. I glanced back and forth between her and the building. “What are you waiting for?” I asked.
She shifted uncomfortably. “What if they don’t want me?” she asked quietly. She looked more nervous than I’d ever seen her.
“They will,” I reassured her. “How could they not? You’re tougher than all of the other UnSeelie combined.”
It didn’t seem to be working. She was still staring at the building and not going in. Then she turned her pleading eyes on me. “Come with me.”
“What? I—”
“Please. Do this with me.”
I don’t think I’d ever seen her scared before. I couldn’t say no. “Alright.” I held her hand, and we walked the rest of the way together, only letting go once we walked through the door.
The area we entered was small and sparsely furnished. There was only a chair and a small table. A thin boy that didn’t look like he belonged in the guard at all—probably why he’s here instead of outside, now that I think about it—sat there looking bored. “Can I help you?” he asked.
He directed it at me, but Tova answered. “We’re here to enlist.”
The boy’s eyebrow quirked up like he didn’t really believe it. “You’re a girl,” he said.
I couldn’t help but say, “astute observation,” while I rolled my eyes.
She elbowed me to quiet me. “Women are allowed in the guard. Officer Florian told me so.”
He still didn’t look like he was buying it. “Wait here,” he said before trotting off to an adjoining room. We could barely hear voices, so no way could we make out what they were saying. I was pretty sure there were only two. When they were still talking after a couple of minutes, I got sick of waiting and straining to hear, so I crept closer. Tova tried to pull me back, but I waved her off.
“You’re going to allow a girl to join, when you keep me in there doing clerical work?”
“You had your chance to prove your fitness for the guard, and you failed.”
“But a girl?!”
“Women are able to join as long as they can prove they are as fit for the tasks as men.”
I assumed the second voice was from someone higher up in rank. He was willing to give Tova a chance. I smiled and nodded at her to let her know the conversation was going in her favor.
A door opened and closed from the other room and a third voice joined in. “What seems to be the problem?”
“A woman wants to enlist,” the second voice said.
“He will take a girl over me!” the boy exclaimed.
“Who is this woman?” the newcomer asked.
“Why does it matter? She’s a girl.”
“Answer me, boy.”
“I didn’t get her name yet. She’s a fire fairy. About this big. She won’t even be able to lift a sword!”
The newcomer laughed. “Trust me, boy, she’s already much better with a sword than you ever were.” Footsteps moved closer to the door I stood next to. I rushed back to Tova’s side before it opened. Through it came the guard we met last night. He smiled warmly at her. “Tova, I’m glad you decided to join us. And is your friend joining as well?”
“Yes,” she answered for me.
“Great. You’re right on time to begin today’s training. Just sign your names here.” He pointed to a scroll on the table. We both went to sign as the boy sat back down, giving us a dirty look. We didn’t pay him any attention. When that was done, the guard gestured for us to go through the door. “This is Philip. He’ll be training you. I’m off to the castle now, but it was nice seeing you both.”
“Thank you, sir,” Tova said. Then she faced Philip. “Where do we start?”
He looked delighted at her readiness. “Right this way.”
He led us to a large, open field where about two dozen other fairies were gearing up. “If you pass the initial training, we’ll have you fitted for armor and weapons. For now, we’ll just have you practice with extras.” He pointed to a pile of leather armor and told us to find whatever fits.
Putting on the armor was harder than it looked, especially for Tova. I was thin, but at least I was the right height. She was tiny, so nothing fit her. I tied it up for her the best I could, but it still bagged on her. She looked like a kid playing dress up. She glared at me like she knew I was thinking that. I attempted to wipe my smile away. I knew how badly she wanted to be taken seriously. If I laughed at her, everyone else would too.
By the time we were headed over to join the group, Philip was walking back to us, carrying two swords. The gleamed in the sunlight, and Tova stared at hers with awe and eagerness. Philip said, “You can take your places over there.” He pointed to the front line, and the recruits shuffled over to make room.
Philip handed the swords over to us. I grabbed the hilt of mine and nearly toppled over when Philip let go. Snickers came from behind me, and when I looked up, even Philip had laughter in his eyes. “Careful now,” he said.
“Real swords are heavier than I realized,” I muttered, not that it made it any better or less embarrassing. I glanced over at Tova to see if she was having the same problem. She was looking back at me with a slightly worried expression, her grip on her sword casual as she leaned on it, tip in the ground. I guess I was worried for nothing.
We took our places in line and training began. We started with basic posture. I thought I’d be alright at this, but alas, no. I could barely lift the metal sword, which weighed a thousand times more than the wooden one I’d made. Tova did better, somehow prepared for the weight. When Philip moved onto strikes, I was done for. The others made it look easy, as if their weapons were lighter than air and their armor wasn’t the least bit constricting. Tova wasn’t quite as smooth, but she knew how to move her body. She was just getting acclimated to the weight and the ill-fitting clothes. I, on the other hand, could not balance for the life of me. I fell face-first several times, luck alone saving me from impaling myself. The quiet snickers from before turned into full-blown laughter.
“Alright, calm down, soldiers. Let’s break for a meal,” Philip said hours later. When most of the others had wandered off toward the kitchens, Philip and Tova came over to help me up.
“I’m terrible at this,” I said, staring at my feet.
“Ha!” Philip clapped me on the back so hard I almost fell again. “Ye
s, you are! For now. Don’t worry though, lad. A lot of the merchants’ kids are bad at first. You just need to build up your strength.”
“Really?” I looked at him, unsure. Tova appeared hopeful at his words though.
“Really,” he answered. “Give it a few weeks. You still won’t be great by then, but you’ll improve.”
Tova was nodding at me. “Alright,” I said.
I gave it a few weeks. And a few more after that. I did not improve. Tova did though. Her sword became an extension of her arm, and she wielded it with a ferocity I’d never seen before. I spent most of the training sessions watching her. It made me fall on my face more, but that was going to happen anyway.
If only the rest of the recruits saw her the way I did. They picked on her even when she was doing better than them—maybe because she was doing better than them. They would spar with her, and she’d beat them. Then they’d roll their eyes and laugh, saying they let her win. But I saw the frustration, desperation, and occasional fear in their eyes during the fights. They just wouldn’t admit it.
I was proud of her. She was as perfect for this as we’d always pretended. I could tell she liked it here despite the attitudes of the group, and I was too for the simple fact that I was with her.
One evening, we were walking to the barracks. We’d been taught a new move that Tova was very excited about. She’d mastered it, and I’d been horrible as usual, but her enthusiasm was infectious. She talked on and on about it, and I smiled as I watched her. She was demonstrating it, spinning and swinging an imaginary sword, and nearly hit Philip in his face.
Tova’s eyes widened as she realized what she’d almost done. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t know you were there.”
He laughed good-naturedly. “Now don’t waste all your energy when you should be going to sleep. Training begins again bright and early tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir. Did you need something?” she asked. We’d never seen Philip at our barracks before.
“I only wanted a word with Randolph,” he replied.
My brow twitched up in curiosity. Tova looked between us and said, “Oh, alright. Goodnight then, sir.”
“Goodnight, soldier.”
Normally she would kiss me when we parted, but it felt inappropriate in front of the instructor, so she nodded to me awkwardly.
Alone now, I asked, “What did you need to speak with me about, sir?”
He shifted uncomfortably, like he wasn’t sure how to start. “There’s one week left before we start the second stage of training.”
I didn’t know how he was expecting me to respond to that, so I stayed silent.
“I’m going to be brutally honest with you because I don’t think you truly care much… You haven’t improved as much as I was hoping.”
Oh… “I’m aware of that, sir.” Honestly, I was surprised he’d waited this long to kick me out. I was wasting his valuable time.
“You need to get better quickly if you want to stay. You have one week.”
I nodded. “I understand, sir. Thank you.”
“Good.” He nodded to himself as he thought about something. Then he looked back at me and bid me goodnight.
As he strode away, I slipped into the barracks and over to Tova’s bunk. She was wide awake. “What did he say?” she whispered.
“He’s going to cut me in a week if I don’t get better.”
“No! He can’t!”
I studied her expression, anger mixed with sadness. “It’s no surprise. You see how bad I am at all this. It’ll be alright. I’ll go back to the woodworker’s shop—if he’ll have me, I suppose. I’ll still cheer you on.”
“How? You won’t be able to see me. No, you have to stay. I’ll help you. We’ll train more. One on one. You’ll get the hang of it if you just try.” She didn’t give me a chance to argue. She turned away and settled back onto the bed.
I tried to stifle my sigh. I knew it was probably hopeless, but I’d try for her.
***