The Warrior’s Apology – Ch 118
I let the river of lava spew across me for a couple minutes to let my mind reset a bit. Its calming flow of water soothing me back gradually from the second of what will surely be several emotional and heavy moments for today. I hope I can kind of... knock this out as quickly as possible, because I hate feeling like this even though I 100% realize that I'm the one who put me in this situation to begin with. But I also know that my opinion on that doesn't really matter. It's the people I have to make up with that will decide how long I'm going to be in the metaphorical doghouse, and they're more than justified holding that leash.
I do my best to not imagine them actually holding a leash with me attached - for reasons - and instead take solace in the fact that at least it's gone smoothly with Ios and Akiko so far. Well, partially. I probably need to spill the beans about my little tantrum with the Empress to the group too, which is sure to not throw gas on the fire at all... God damn it, why did I do this to myself...
I thump my head against the tile, letting the liquid from on high flow down the back of my head, hair, and spine as I grumble annoyed mumblings at myself for another minute or so. With a final sigh of defeat, I emerge from my steam clouded refuge at last and do the finishing touches of morning preparations before donning my battle robe as well as my uber weapons and making my way to the kitchens, my brain starting to work on the how's of forming an apology to everyone as I stroll through the corridors.
Still lost in thought and looking downward absent mindedly, I bump into a familiar citrus and smokey scented obstacle right before the last turn to the kitchen, a muted huff escaping the lips of Samantha as I flick my head up in surprise. "I was just coming to fetch you, Amelia. We are late enough for training to begin, even if the Mistress explained your absence. Come, Gerra left some food for you." She says after readjusting the work apron, her uniform of the trade the choice of dress she decided on today.
I involuntary shrink a little at her clipped and neutral tone, but trail along behind her with my head hung low regardless as she walks us the last final few yards to the double doors of the kitchen. Inside, the lingering smell of meats, breads, and other assorted lovely scents wave in the air, which would usually be a welcome sensation. Sadly though, all it can do is awaken my stomach a tad as Sam makes me a plate of food, leaving me to hop up in one of the barstools with an anxious storm cloud above me.
Sure footsteps precede the outline of her boots in my vision as she lifts a plate filled with the Mara equivalent of sausage patties, bacon, and - to my surprise - a couple round pancakes adorned by a square slice of butter. The sparkle in my eyes waves off a few of those roiling clouds in my mind as I eagerly take the plate and utensils from Samantha and ravenously tear into the fluffy comfort food, its sweet and filling texture further shooing away the bad thoughts~.
To my relief, a much more amused exhale of breath sounds out from the curly blonde headed woman as she watches me go to town on the quickly disappearing delicious food, further bringing a bit of hope into my mind. Almost quicker than when I got my ass beat by the Empress, the plate stands barren as I lick my lips in satisfaction, lapping up the last vestiges of the lovely breakfast.
"You are going to have quite the time when Jun Li begins instructing you on etiquette, Amelia. Truly, it may be your most difficult challenge to date, even taking into account your second tribulation." She jokes in a soft chuckle, although I can't help but feel a shiver of apprehension at the prophecy. I give her a little smile and then hop down to go put the plate in the wash basin, preemptively making sure to get rid of any lingering butter or grease to make the job easier later.
Samantha nods in approval before clipping out a turn and heading back to the doors, prompting me to jog and catch up as we exit the homey atmosphere back into the lit hallways of the estate. The plodding along of my feet, and the firm steps of Sam are the only sounds that accompany us on our journey. I look down to her hand longingly as we walk, debating if I should reach out and grab it even though we're on rocky ground right now... With a heavy heart, I lower my outstretched fingertips instead, letting the heavy silence last all the way until we reach the stone stairway leading down to the training rooms.
Continuing on without sparing a glance backwards, she heads downwards and then activates the same door as last time before opening it up for me to enter. I give her a quick thanks and shuffle inside to the familiar purple cuboid shape taking up the middle of the room. The heavy door shuts behind me with finality as I turn around, only to see Samantha doing the same toward me with that same indifferent stare.
I lower my head slightly, close my eyes, and take a deep breath, psyching myself up a little before raising my vision once again and starting to voice out, "Samantha, I'm sor-" My speech halts as I realize that Sam is no longer standing there in front of me. With a few confused looks around the room, I catch the last traces of her form crossing into the briefly shimmering barrier of the cube, its edges rippling out from where her body phased through it.
I rub my face a few times, realizing this may be a bit more... involved than simply apologizing. I clap my cheeks a couple times to refocus myself before breathing out a slightly stress tinged breath and marching toward the barrier to follow in Sam's wake. Once more the tingling static feeling coats my skin as my body passes through the membrane, depositing me in a wide, colosseum-like structure after all is said and done.
The center of the arena where I now stand has to be at least a couple football fields wide and circular in shape, with grand terraced stone seating worked up and up and up until I loose sight of it, creating a veritable walled in bowl. I'm broken by my investigation and intrigue at the Romanesque architecture Sam has conjured up for today by a clang of a metal boot on stone from across the arena.
There, at the far side of the level cement floor, Samantha stands in a suit of full plate armor, a large kite shield strapped to one of her arms with the hilt of a sword at her hip. The armor is gorgeous; even from here I can see detailed gold filigree trimming every joint and end piece. A beautiful yet simple depiction of a sun rising over an open plain - again all etched in gold - lays on the breastplate of the armor with a full knight helm being held in her free hand as she levels her gaze to me, hair waiving in the wind.
"Our training for today will be a bit different, Amelia. I shall test your progress and resolve. Afterwards, you can resume studying your manuals and learning your martial art techniques. Prepare yourself." Her cold voice nearly freezes me in place, my eyes going wide at the sudden turn of events.
She goes to don her helmet as I hastily call out with anxious sweat forming on my brow, "Sam! Wait!" She stops mid motion, turning her neutral face back towards me as if telling me to get on with it. "I know you're upset with me, and you have every right to be, but can we please try to resolve this without fighting? I don't want Akiko to get mad at you like she did with Gerra. Please." I choke out pleadingly, the desperation in my voice palpable as I stand across from her.
The faintest twitch of her lips upward is the only response she offers before completing her paused task and fitting the helmet atop her head. Her voice rings out in a metallic muffled echo after she does so, "I am glad that your first concern was for my well-being. Rest assured, I already informed the Mistress of my intentions when she met with me earlier, and she is aware that you may be in a bit of... distress this morning. Now, arm yourself. I will have your apology by action, and we have put this first spar off for far too long as it is."
'Yikes... Good luck honey. I'll have my finger on some healing pills from the shop, don't worry.' Ios oh so helpfully chimes inside my head as I swallow a massive knot of apprehension.
Phantasmal wind whips and swirls down from the open sky above, its whistle singing past us as it darts and cuts itself on the empty stone seating. Samantha pulls out the enchanted longsword from its sheath at her side, the metal scraping against the scabbard making a crip, high-pitched ring echo out around us until its freed, the melody of the blade still loudly reverberating as she pushes it forward into an attacking stance.
I timidly recreate the winged spear, a weapon I keep forgetting to feed to the [Mercurial Weapon] although that doesn't really matter right now. I level the pointed tip towards Samantha who is still a couple hundred feet away with shaky hands, my whole body trembling at the thought of going toe-to-toe with her. Why couldn't she just be into spanking like Ios?! I'd so rather have that as a punishment than... whatever this is about to be!
In a silent flash of movement, the far-off form of Samantha, armor gleaming in the sunlight, is suddenly right on top of me with her sword poised overhead and ready to strike downwards on my stunned and surprised form. My eyes go wide and I quickly raise my arm in front of my face and summon an inscription laden shield with the spare silvery bracelet. I try to angle it in a way that her blade will scrape off to the side after impact, hoping that the torrent of hastily created glyphs can redirect the force and energy of her strike.
Her masterfully forged weapon crashes against my shield arm, the bones in the appendage feeling like they nearly fracture and break from the collision as the deafening *Clang!* of metal-on-metal rings in my ears. Some of the inscriptions fire off, transferring the force of the impact against the sword which softens the blow somewhat, but it seems like most of them are inert or drawn wrong due to how quickly I had to make the object.
With a grunt of effort, I reform the spear in my other hand into a hammer with a much less complicated enchantment to ensure it will actually work, knowing that I already lost the main advantage of the spear: distance. With a growl of exertion, I bring the new weapon towards her exposed knee on her flank, her sword still sliding off of my shield and leaving her open. If it wasn't for her own shield.
Another ear-splitting confrontation of metal sings out as she interposes the kite shaped protection between herself and my strike, leaning back on the now protected leg to raise up her other one and kick it towards me. Now stretching to the size of dinner plates, my eyes widen in alarm as I find that I'm now the one stuck out of position, unable to react or do anything as the metal booted foot of Samantha collides into my torso and sends me flying across the stonework.
8,673 damage taken! Luck activated! Damage reduced to 14!
I tumble and twirl through the air, skipping off the ground a few times leaving behind plumes of dust as my vision become an incoherent mess of sky, ground, sky, ground. Eventually, my rag dolling body impacts with a mighty sunder of stone against the 20 foot high walls of the colosseum's arena. The force of the meeting of flesh to cement wrenching the last remaining bit of wind from my lungs as well as some droplets of red, copper smelling liquid as the stone spiderwebs behind my star fished form.
1,287 damage taken!
2,639 damage taken!
5,412 damage taken! Luck activated! Damage reduced to 9!
10,627 damage taken!
Gravity and momentum reassert themselves as my body peels off of the slightly elevated Amelia shaped imprint on the wall, my legs giving out from underneath me as I land. I barely catch myself from face planting with my outstretched hands, pain throbbing through every square inch of my body. A couple specks of red dot on the ground beneath me as my vision hazes and tries to refocus, the razor blades in my lungs sending out wheezing breaths from an aching ribcage as tinnitus rings steadily in my ears.
I robotically raise one of my hands up to my mouth and nose, wiping off a feeling of wetness before lowering the appendage comes back down to my concussed eyes, the palm and digits painted with my own blood. The high-pitched tone in my ears becomes louder, my breath more and more labored as my core starts to become awash in ruby red fires of outrage. I shakily get to my feet, dismissing both weapons to aid in the process as my now bruised and slightly bloody face flicks up to where Samantha was last.
Like a statue, she stands there holding her sword to her side without a care in the world, like she didn't just launch me into a fucking wall! My teeth grit together as the anger rises, nearly enough to cause pain as I finish the final climb back to standing. Qi whirlwinds around me, sucking into my flow model as I mutter out with subdued rage, "Fine. Let's do this."
The weapons reform into a bow and arrow, the latter infused with about half of the power of the heat seeking missile variant. I don't want to legitimately hurt her, even if she's going overboard right now. Before I string and loose the weapon of moderate destruction, I chant out with anger, "[Moonlight Body Strengthening] [Unending Flow of the River] [Combat Recovery]!"
Power surges within me as my wounds begin to knit back together, knocking most of my stats either to or past 180k as I whip the arrow against the silvery metal bow string and set it loose, a loud *Twang!* following my echoing voice. Oddly, a disappointed air wafts from Samantha as she vaults forward in a sprint, closing the distance between us to half with just a few steps. And launching herself right toward the arrow.
Confusion and concern briefly mix with hurricane of emotions inside me as I watch her charge headfirst the loosed weapon, only being replaced with awe as she indifferently speaks right before the impact between the two occurs, "[Sun Forged Iron Carapace]."
As soon as she completes the phrase, her body turns completely to metal, its pure steel gleam shining for a moment before a *ka-BOOM!* sounds out from a created fireball of force. Wind and smoke fill the space as a small mushroom cloud begins to form, my lungs once more burning from the drifting soot before I cover my mouth on instinct. Blind, I'm unsure quite what to do before a feeling of danger and dread tickles through my spine. Purely on reaction, I bark out, "[Quick Thought] [Precognition]!"
Time slows to a crawl, the ambient clouds of roiling smoke gaining a mirror image that seems to move just slightly ahead of where they're at, flowing there a scant fraction of a second later. I whip my head to the side, my instincts guiding my movement to see the front of a pure metal kite shield now devoid of embellishment only a scant foot away from me poking through the smoke, its gray tendrils rippling off of the shield's momentum.
I shift all of the body technique to my legs, desperately trying to put as much energy there as possible before I kick out to the side and away from the danger. That unknown whisper of foreboding pokes my attention again as I begin to vault, pulling my eyesight to a second shiny and metallic surface erupting from the obscuring smoke. A sword, one aimed directly where I was going to try and flee to.
The jump changes to a tumble, the whistle of metal barely missing my head and shoulders as I roll and recover, changing the one of the weapons to a scythe and the other back to the bracelet as a backup. Smoke clears just from the speed and strength of Samantha's swing alone; the whoosh of her blade emptying the area as her solid-colored body shifts and turns to face me once more. I leap forward with the twirl of the scythe, my minuscule bravado already being chipped away.
The wicked hooked end of the weapon flies downward as I roar, being met and caught by the top of her shield as she strikes out with a thrust to my center. Images of the second tribulation briefly flash to my mind, my defiant cry becoming more animalistic as I form a small buckler with the free band and bat away her sword with all of my strength. In the process, the scythe reforms to a longsword to untangle itself from the shield, my hips twisting for both the buckler and sword to gain momentum.
Luckily, the attempt at defense is enough to offset her attack's trajectory, making it skim past the hem of my robe instead of my gut. Unluckily, my sword strikes harmlessly against her iron plated shoulder. The only thing it actually achieves is sending painful shockwaves through my muscles and bones from the impact. Also unfortunately, I notice that even with the time dilation Samantha moves at basically a normal speed, making the worry build up even more in me as the fight begins in earnest.
I jump back from the engagement with the brief window of time afforded me by blocking her blade, but like a relentless automaton she never lets up. Darting after me as the smoke clears from our rapid movements and attacks. Parrying and expertly defending any weapon variation or trick I can muster as my hair sticks to my face and my stamina begins to dwindle ever downward, reaching nearly half its enhanced pool after what is surely only a couple minutes of fighting at most. Annoyingly, sometimes she doesn't even bother to block with sword or shield, opting instead to just take the hit with her enhanced defenses and forcing me even further on the back foot with masterfully aimed strikes that I can hardly react to.
My breaths come out heavy as I twirl an inscribed maul to crash into her shield, the enchanted *Boom* of additional force only managing to make her feet slide a couple paces before she leverages the slab of metal skyward, throwing me off balance as she swings her sword down to my vulnerable, open body. With toes barely still touching the ground, I kick back with everything I can making the blade sing through empty space. Barely. Jesus Christ, she might actually kill me at this rate...
I struggle to keep my balance after a landing again, shifting the cumbersome maul back to a scythe as we both seem to pause some thirty feet away from each other. I take the moment to activate [Steady Breathing], desperate to try and stem the bleeding of my stamina pool as she speaks for the first time since we began this fucked up 'training' exercise as well as apology, "Do you think me naive or dull, Amelia? Why are you not using your full power? We all know you have an Intent, as well as the soul technique. Have I not displayed enough threat to warrant your serious consideration?"
"W-what?" I breathe out between shuddered gasps of air, turning off the two massive drains of [Quick Thought] and [Precognition] to try and build up my reserves.
"On top of wounding me by your lack of trust the night prior, you compound it by thinking me a fool or unworthy now in the heat of battle. Something sacred to me." She says coldly in response, a dangerous aura beginning to form around her as she regards me.
"Sam, I don't want to use those powers but it's not because I think you're not worthy of them or something! You clearly out match me in everything! How could I even think that right now?!" I fluster out in reply, my breathing still minutes away from resembling any sense of normal rhythm.
"Then why?!" She yells out angrily in a robotic voice, beams of sunlight erupting from her metallic form as she continues, "If you know you are up against a stronger foe in a position where you cannot run, why are you holding yourself back, Amelia?!"
"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU, IDIOT!!" My voice cries back, arms flexing behind me in anger as tears begin to well in my eyes. "I don't want to sic the Empress on you and have to live with the knowledge that you got wounded or worse because of me! Look what she did to the Heavens!! Look what I did when I activated the Berserker Intent!!" I shudder out between sniffles and staggered breath. "Even if you're mad at me right now, which I still completely understand, I would never want to hurt someone I love on purpose like that!! Is that so fucking hard to grasp?!"
We both stand there for a few moments, Sam returning to her suffocating silence as I wheeze and cry, the last remnants of the dust cloud from earlier sticking to my tear-stained cheeks. In a shimmer of gray Qi, the metallic form of Samantha and her armor slowly peels away, starting from her toes then traveling up her body. When the fluttering energy reaches her head, it reveals equally wet cheeks on a round shaped face, bloodshot eyes staring back at me as her curly hair once more dances in the wind.
My heart breaks as I regard her, wanting nothing more than to just be done with this whole farce and dive into her arms so that I can just show her how I feel, how awful this whole experience is even if its my fault to begin with. As if she read my mind, her shield and sword disappear on the wind as she opens her arms in invitation. I rush forward, still empowered by the two techniques and bodily crash into her torso, knocking both of us to the ground as we lay our crying faces against each other.