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Not magic. "Um, the bark is rough."
"Good." She nodded. "Now, feel deeper.”
I looked at her. “In the cracks?”
She cocked her head a moment before responding, slowly. “No, feel with more than your hands. You must reach into the tree and feel the magic with your senses. Can you do that?”
I looked back at the tree and tried to focus. I thought about feeling the middle of the tree, and what I thought magic would feel like. Searching with my senses. I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my forehead as I focused so hard my eyes began to strain. This magic could help to save us from Rekker, and to defeat Asena, I needed to be able to figure it out, yet the longer I stood there, the more my frustration rose. This wasn’t helping me to tap into my power. I felt like a fool, standing here with my hands on a tree’s bark.
I dropped my hands from the tree. “There’s no magic in a tree.”
“I assure you, Lady Arrow, there most certainly is.” Queen Mavka intoned. “Do not be discouraged if you cannot connect with it immediately, magic such as this takes time.”
“I don’t have time!” I exploded. “Rekker already knows where we are, which means Asena will know shortly. Our moment of peace,” I gestured to our surroundings, “is fleeting.”
Queen Mavka stood quietly listening a moment after I finished shouting, my breath heaving out my chest. The moment dragged on, and the weight of her gaze seemed to drag at my shoulders.
“All moments of peace are fleeting; it is up to us to treasure them while we prepare for the trials to come. Are you feeling alright, Lady Arrow?”
“Why can’t I ‘feel’ the magic you say is in there?” I spewed, pointing to the tree. “Epione didn’t seem to have a problem accessing the magic.”
“Epione has been exposed to magic, and been trained to access it. She did struggle to handle elemental magic, but what does that matter?” Queen Mavka’s voice became sharp, and I winced.
“I just thought I should be able to at least feel it.”
“Lady Arrow, what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. Ability does not indicate worth. You too can learn to access elemental magic with practice. It cannot be forced.” She took a deep breath, “Why don’t you find a way to expel your frustrations, and then we can continue with our training?
I stared at her for a moment, digesting all she said. “You still wish to train me?”
“Of course, Lady Arrow,” she smiled. “After all, peace is often fleeting.”
I watched her as she gracefully turned and walked back to the tents. I regretted my harsh words as soon as I had spoken them, but it was too late to take them back. I clenched my fists, irritation still riding me, and looked around the clearing, pondering Queen Mavka’s words to ‘expel my frustration.’
“Arrow?” I turned, surprised to see Will standing behind me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m…” I released a deep sigh. “It doesn’t matter. What are you doing?”
“Oh, so you don’t have to tell me, but I have to tell you?” He smirked. “For your information,” he hurried on before I could say anything, or do anything, like punch him, “I was about to join Einri in the training ring when I saw you standing here looking off into the distance.”
The training rings. Now that would be a great way to expel some frustrations. “I think I’ll join you.”
* * *
Standing around the practice ring, I watched as Einri taught Will how to better fight with his wolf, instead of against it. As I listened to their voices float from the center of the ring, I couldn’t help but fidget.
“Oi, you got a sword?”
I turned to the familiar voice just in time to catch the practice sword he threw at me. “I do now,” I muttered wryly.
“Good. You look like you could do with a round or two.” Little John said as he rolled his shoulders. The motion had me on edge.
“So do you. Is this to be a friendly bout?”
He grinned at me wolfishly. “It can be whatever you want it to be.”
I smiled in response as I studied him. Tension radiated from him so thick it was almost visible in the air around him, like smoke from a freshly banked fire. I raised my sword. “To friendships, may they last.” I muttered the last under my breath, but the spark in Little John’s eye let me know he had heard.
With a silent rush, Little John swung his sword at me, narrowly missing my head as I ducked under the swing, bringing my own practice sword towards his thigh. He parried, and just like that we were swinging our swords almost too fast to track.
