Chapter 20

In the beginning, Brynn thought she'd never be able to stay on her feet long enough to do anything but kiss the ground.

The days blurred together, a cycle of aching muscles, bruises, and exhaustion so deep she thought she might collapse in the middle of the training floor. She lost track of the number of times she was knocked to the ground.

In time, she learned instinct, developed through ruthless repetition. Neither Lianna nor Master Thelleron had any tells, no signals to clue Brynn in on what they'd do next, when they would strike. Brynn was forced to learn how to react fast enough that when she saw them coming, she could ride the power of their strike, lean with the momentum, and use it not just to stay on her feet, but to earn the opportunity to retaliate.

Each day, Master Thelleron would touch her on the shoulder when they were finished, her gaze stern. But there was some kind of approval, some acknowledgement of her efforts. It wasn't a doting praise, but neither was it absent of encouragement.

Lianna made it all the way to the fifth week before she snapped. Brynn had managed to move out of the way just in time, and then follow up with a quick spin, turning to strike her from behind. Lianna didn't fall, but she stumbled. Brynn thought she saw her life flash before her eyes when Lianna turned to face her again, her face filled with rage. She had released a bestial roar that Brynn thought she saw the walls trembling.

She had crossed the distance between them so fast that all Brynn remembered was leaving the mat, flying through the air, and falling hard on the floor. The impact had blown the air out of her lungs, and she'd gasped the gasp of the waking dead.

Graciously, Lianna had appeared standing beside her prone form, her long arm reaching down to help lift her from the floor. She ran her fingers over the sides of her head before turning to Brynn. "I apologize, Auro Phytrelia. I promise if you say nothing to Korran about this, it will never happen again."

Brynn had chuckled a little. "Okay, but only if you tell me what the terms were."

Her head jerked to look at her. "Terms? What do you mean?"

Brynn sighed, patiently responding with, "You told me that you and Korran had a wager. If you lost, what was at stake?"

Lianna seemed instantly uncomfortable, and Brynn had to cover her mouth. Lianna looked downright bashful, and Brynn couldn't believe it. When she had composed herself, Brynn said, "Oh dear, that sounds ominously serious. Very well, if you will not tell me, then you leave me no choice but to ask him myself."

When Brynn turned her back on Lianna, Lianna moved in a blur, vaulting over her with effortless speed. Her feet landed firmly in Brynn's path, her arm outstretched across the space between them. Brynn lurched backward, her balance teetering on the edge before she managed to steady herself. "No. Wait." She looked toward the ceiling, muttering something in a language Brynn didn't understand. She sighed, her shoulders rising and falling as she did so. "Ulch Seeker Korran said that if I was not able to rein in my emotions during your training that I would be forced to..." Lianna's mouth was open, but her voice seemed to leave her. She shut her mouth and turned away from Brynn. "... To wear a dress. He had a human style gown made, like your women wear, and he'd made it to fit my superior size. I tried to burn it when I thought he wasn't looking, but somehow, he caught me."

Brynn's eyes were the size of planets. "A... a dress? You?!"

Lianna turned to look at her, her hand covering part of her face. "Yes. A human dress! And, worse, I would have to leave our quarters in it... and attend dinner with the ship."

Brynn could not restrain herself, laughing uncontrollably. Lianna only sighed and closed her eyes. "By the stars..."

Brynn eventually caught herself and quickly pressed her lips together, biting down to suppress her laughter. Then she nodded. "I... I see. Well, that's a... I could see how you might not find the appeal in that arrangement."

Lianna's expression fell into an irritated stare. "Hardly."

Brynn titled her head again. "Wait, so what do you get if you win?"

Lianna's face immediately lit up like Brynn had never seen. "Oh, that's simple: if I win, then Ulch Seeker Korran would be forced to confront Szen Seeker Xedrin, in the general hall, and tell him that he thinks he is a decrepit, tactless relic, a bull who tramples over wisdom and reasons like a stone."

Brynn's eyes grew wide again. "Oh. Wow."

Lianna nodded slowly. "Exactly. The silly, stuffy diplomat would have to do something to trigger real rage in someone, in front of enough people for word of it to spread through the ship."

Brynn shook her head, laughing. "You two are out of your minds, and you're perfect for each other."

Lianna straightened. "Well, of course we are."

Brynn laughed again, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "I still can't believe Korran would actually agree to that."

Lianna shrugged, smirking. "He's proud. He thinks he'll win."

Brynn snorted. "You're both insane."

Lianna grinned but then noticed a chronometer on the wall and frowned, "It's getting too late, Auro," she said, tone returning to something closer to instructor mode before she looked at her. "You will need rest."

Brynn blinked. "What? I'm fine."

"Yes, you will be... after you sleep. I don't want you dragging your feet in the morning, and then claiming it's because we stayed out too late."

Brynn raised a brow. "So now I'm going to drag my feet?"

Lianna crossed her arms, mock-serious. "I'm saying I don't want Thelleron thinking I wore you out with gossip instead of sparring."

"Right, right," Brynn said, pushing to her feet. "I'm going."

Lianna gave her a little shove toward the exit. "And don't focus too hard on anything tonight, little Auro. Just get some sleep."

Brynn turned for a step, saluting lazily as she seen the others do, pounding her fist against the right side of her chest, before turning to continue to her quarters.

The walk down the corridor felt a little longer this time, but eventually the aperture to her room dilated open and then contracted closed behind her again.

Brynn let out a long breath. The lights dimmed automatically as she sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the space softly lit in blues and grays.

She slowly stripped out of the that days' training gear, groaning a little as she felt an unexpected pain caused by the days activity. Then she lied on her back, staring at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take her.

**********

Her eyes opened slowly. The first thing she saw was... sky.

Or the space where the sky should have been. But there were no clouds and no sun. Though somehow, the light around her was as ambient as a bright cloudy day. Just a dull, pale emptiness above her, like the idea of a sky that had never been finished.

On either side, vines reached upward, disappearing into that blankness, the tops fading like into a haze that she couldn't see. The stalks of the vines swayed ever so slightly, as if touched by a wind she couldn't feel.

Her gaze continued down where she saw stone at the base, cracked and weathered. Covered in moss and creeping green. The walls on either side of her were ancient. They looked like unbroken stretches of fitted stonework, tall and irregular, swallowed by time.

And she was lying between them on the ground. As she moved to sit up, she noticed it was some kind of path, like a stone and mortared walkway. Her palms felt the small pebbles and sands between the stones.

She sat up slowly, her palms scraping against the rough path.

It was quiet, but still she heard the subtle sounds of a forest. Vague noises like birds or other animals wandering on the other side of the wall.

She turned her head, scanning the path in both directions. It stretched endlessly, disappearing into the horizon she couldn't see. The same stonework repeated again and again with identical seams and patterns. Each vine curled at the exact same angle. It didn't look grown or placed, it looked made, like someone had built it in a hurry.

She pushed herself up off the path with her hands and looked around once she'd stood.

Then she heard it.

A voice.

"Help..."

It was soft and weak. It Echoed faintly between the stone walls.

Brynn's head snapped toward the sound, but there was nothing there.

"Help me..."

Now from the opposite direction.

She turned again, pulse quickening.

Nothing.

Then, the third time:

"HELP ME."

It didn't echo, it filled her mind.

She gasped and shot upright in her bed.

She was back in her quarters, covered in sweat. Her sheets were twisted around her legs.

The room was dark and still. But the silence didn't feel like rest.

It felt like a warning.