(A/N Big thanks to
Talvin_Shinji
Talvin
for the power stones, they mean a lot. Please don't forget or hesitate to comment or review. ENJOY)
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FIVE YEARS LATER
A boy and a girl could be seen practicing with wooden swords, both striking and parrying, trying to get a hit on the other.
The boy had shoulder-length silver hair with a hint of gold at the tips of each strand, piercing golden eyes complementing a cute, handsome face.
The girl's hair was the same shade of silver, albeit smoother and straighter than that of the boy's, silver eyes framing a face worthy of a young, beautiful maiden.
The spar went on for a while, both showing unprecedented focus.
The boy suddenly parried a strike from his sister, quickly straightening up and retaliating, he sent a short horizontal swing at her midline. The girl was about to block it with her swing but stopped suddenly, her instincts told her it was a feint.
And she was right, the boy stopped midway, surprised to find her not committing to the block when he noticed her wooden sword changing direction and coming down towards his head.
He swiftly steadied himself and sidestepped the attack, switching tactics and sending a thrust to her sternum. The girl saw through his attack instantly and jumped back, creating space between them.
"So close," The boy said with a strained breath.
"You wish," The girl replied, breathing heavily, not taking her eyes off her brother.
The stare-down didn't last long before the girl lunged forward with her sword behind her.
The boy could tell she was trying to catch him off-guard with her sword behind her, most likely planning to strike randomly when she got closer, and he wouldn't give her that opportunity.
He held her gaze his sword held horizontally in a parrying stance, he waited till she was almost at arms length, before he abruptly blocked her line of sight with his sword, she had been staring at him so intensely that when she lost sight of his eye's she was a bit shaken and that was all he needed, she quickly shook off her confusion turning her gaze to her predetermined point of striking when she suddenly lost her centre of gravity.
Her first thought was magic before she looked down and saw his foot still taut after striking her knee. She turned up again to find a sword directly in front of her face. She'd lost.
"I win again," The boy said, his breath steady despite his fatigue, a teasing smirk on his face.
"You really are despicable. That was totally unfair. Why would you use your legs in a sword fight?" She replied, trying to catch her breath, with an annoyed expression on her face.
"No one said sword fight, dear sister. I remember you asking me for a spar. Besides, correct me if I'm wrong, but I recall Father saying our enemies would never give us a fair fight." He replied, the smirk still on his face.
She was about to reply when they heard someone else's voice.
"It seems Orion won again," Erevan said from a distance with a small smile on his face.
They both turned to the voice, equally startled.
"Father! When did you get here?" Orion said, shock written on his face.
"I've been here for a while, watched the whole spar," He replied.
They both looked at him with skeptical eyes, doubting the authenticity of his claim.
"Oh please don't look at me with those eyes, just because your spatial senses have improved doesn't mean you are all seeing, you are both very far from being able to sense me if I wanted to hide," He muttered, a bit exasperated by their lack of trust.
"Though I must say, you are both improving very fast, your level of combat has increased by leaps and bounds," He said, a look of pride appearing on his face.
"Orion's the one improving by leaps and bounds, he started training like when, a year ago, and he's already defeated me ten times now," Lyrielle replied with a look of frustration.
Noticing his sister's downtrodden tone, Orion quickly tried to salvage the situation.
"It's like you said earlier, I won only because of my tricks, besides, everyone has something they are better at. I might be better at close combat, but I'm sure there are millions of things you are better at than I am," He said, trying to lift her mood.
"Don't try to coddle me, I'm not a baby. I know how to handle something as little as defeat," She quickly replied with a defiant gaze.
'There's the sister I know,' Orion thought, a smile blooming on his face.
Erevan looked at his children with a proud smile on his face. He really lucked out when it came to his descendants.
"What are you both grinning at? Are you mocking me?" Lyrielle said, irritated by the smile on both their faces.
"Alright, alright, young lady, remember your manners. I believe your mother is looking for you. It's time you start preparing." Erevan replied, cautioning her.
A sad look appeared on Lyrielle's face for a brief second before changing to a look of resolve.
"Ok, father," She replied before leaving the training grounds in search of her mother.
"And you, young man, I suggest you go take a bath, you have etiquette lessons this afternoon," Erevan said, turning to Orion, who was staring at Lyrielle's disappearing figure.
Orion turned back to his father, a daring smile appearing on his face.
"How about a spare father?" He asked with an eager gaze.
Erevan just stared at his son.
"Lessons," He repeated before turning and walking away.
'Tch, stupid etiquette lessons,' he thought.
He started his lessons last year when he turned five, and he'd done his best to be diligent; his goals required that of him.
He could have started far earlier, but Aurora wanted him to have an enjoyable childhood, free of burdens, at least for the first five years.
But he really hated those etiquette lessons; some of them were interesting and worth learning, while some were downright tiring, trying to act like some stuck-up, pompous noble wasn't really as easy as it seemed.
He sighed before heading to his room for a necessary bath.
Five years had passed, and a lot had taken place; he'd become more independent in his actions, he now had his room and personal space, and he was no longer pestered 24/7 by his mother.
He'd grown far bigger and taller, now standing at about 4.5 feet, though he still had that baby fat on his face, it would take a while to lose that.
Another major thing was Lyrielle's departure. All members of the Chronos family at the age of ten were obligated to attend the Chronos Academy.
Their family controlled a large dukedom with a huge population, and their estate within that dukedom was as large as a medium-sized city, truly worthy of their standing.
The academy was at the centre of the estate grounds, quite a distance from the home of the patriarch.
They were to attend the academy for four years, learning and competing with others their age before moving to the outside world, a true grooming ground.
The thought of attending such an institution excited and intrigued Orion.
Still, as the son of the patriarch, he'd definitely have a lot of people looking up to him and watching him, both positively and negatively; overall, he knew he required strength.
'If I'm going to great, I'll be overwhelmingly great, no room for competition,' He thought with a smirk on his face.
'STATUS'