"I want to grow and become strong. I just don't think I can do that with you there, ensuring I don't get hurt. I need to fail and to stumble and find a path so that I can grow truly strong."
Lucas blinked a few times as the words repeated themselves for the hundredth time in his head. He had thought they had come to a compromise in the garden. That they would become true partners and she would allow him to watch over her. To ease her burdens. Yet, the next day she had spoken this cruelty to him. It felt as if she were pushing him away again. Where had it all gone wrong?
The branch creaked under his grip as he hid his presence like some kind of criminal. She had sequestered herself in the small training ground surrounded by walls. It was usually used for the spellcasters in their ranks. The bricks that made up the walls could withstand the attacks that magic often employed.
