Luna and Theia sat on the grass as Mytri knelt before them. "So, from now on, I will explain your training," he said. "I will show you, and you must replicate it to the best of your abilities. If you do the movement wrong, I'll point it out. Please do it exactly as I do. Is everything understood?"
Luna and Theia nodded. Mytri stood and walked back four steps.
He drew the wooden sword from his belt and gripped it in front of him. "From this day on, you will practice this movement for at least a month."
Mytri tightened his grip and struck downward. A shock of wind shook the grass where he stopped his wooden blade. "Etch this movement into your mind. Practicing downward strikes with a sword teaches you to target an opponent effectively while maximizing power and control. This movement also helps defend against incoming strikes and maintain balance in combat," Mytri explained.
"Do you understand? Here, take this wooden sword, Luna. After her, Theia—show me what you know."
Luna nodded, stood, and walked to Mytri. "I understand, Master." She took the sword as Mytri went to sit beside Theia. Both watched her attentively.
Luna extended the sword in front of her body, gripping the handle. Slowly, she raised it over her head, aligning it horizontally before slashing down effortlessly, perfectly stopping before the blade struck the ground.
She smiled. "How did I do, Master?"
Mytri's expression did not change, but a smirk appeared. He muttered to himself, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Theia proudly nodded in affirmation, though no one saw.
"Perfectly done. I have no issues with this, so you'll proceed with the training for now—at least a month."
Luna looked puzzled, raising an eyebrow. "But you said it was perfect. Wouldn't it be faster to move to another thing?" She struck the sword into the ground.
"You have a good point," Mytri said. "But even though you performed it perfectly, you weren't confident in your movement. You had to manually correct it. It has yet to become muscle memory. For a swordsman, such movements are practiced their entire life, such movements are fundamentals for a swordsman. For a strong knight, the work is endless. They must always be prepared to fend off anything that could harm their master. Do you understand what I said?"
"Mostly… I think," Luna added.
"Good enough," Mytri chuckled to himself. "Then, Theia—your turn."
Luna stepped back. Theia stood up, her gaze locked onto the ground, gripped the sword, and without hesitation swung it down—as perfectly as Luna had. She placed the sword back into the ground.
"See, Luna? You must do it like Theia," Mytri said.
Luna admired the effortless motion. "Perfect, sister… But how were you able to do it so easily?" Mytri added
"I-I am older than I look," Theia stuttered, her face filling with a blush under Luna's gaze.
"How so?"
"I'd… rather -N-not say."
"I understand. Then let's return to the terrace. I'll prepare your dinner." Mytri stood. Luna walked alongside him, gripping the wooden sword she had pulled from the ground. Theia followed, holding onto Luna's clothes, her face beat red, unable to look up for fear Luna would see.
Feeling Theia's touch, Luna chuckled and said, "You were amazing!"
A voice inside Luna's head added, "She'd be far better than that if she belonged to you.", Luna ignored it.
"T-thank you," Theia whispered.
"No problem! I loved the movement you showed."
"I-I see." Theia's smile twitched, her heart swelling with happiness at the words.
***
In the same evening, Luna sat in her chair by the table in her room, as Theia lay in the bed. With a smile, Luna wrote a letter to her family.
Dipping a feather into ink, she wrote,
"I miss you, Dad, brothers and sisters. I wish I could see you, but sadly I can't."
"Since I arrived here I have had fun, although Master was lazy in the first week, I think."
"He gave me garden tools and told me to clean out the garden as he sat in his rocking chair on the porch. Even though I didn't understand why, I did so. It took me a week."
"I really enjoyed it. The most I enjoyed was trimming the tulips and roses. It was fun."
"Me and Theia today, the day I am writing this, finally practiced swordsmanship—but only downward strikes. The master said that one needs to practice this movement relentlessly for the rest of one's life, as that is the struggle of a knight. Alongside those words."
"And that's all I really have to say. There isn't much that has happened to me."
"I'd love to hear from you—things that happened, places you have been, anything that crossed your mind. I'd love to hear it."
"I love you all, Luna"
Luna grinned as she placed down the pen. She didn't have many things to say, but the things she said were sincere.
"Choke her. Choke Theia. Make her realize that she is nothing without you. Make her realize that she is everything with you," a voice from inside Luna's head spoke up, but Luna ignored it.
She placed the page into an envelope and sealed it by licking the opening and pressing it between her hands. Then she placed it onto the table and walked to Theia, getting into bed. Theia hugged Luna's stomach tightly as she closed her eyes.
***
In the shade of night, Luna lay in bed as Theia's head was buried into her stomach. She couldn't sleep, and so an idea came to her mind. Thinking of it, she called Niva in a whisper, "Niva, are you there?"
Niva immediately answered, floating through the wall. He looked at her. "I am always near. So what might my lady need from me, the great ice spirit?"
Luna chuckled gently. She looked right at him with a smile and said, "Why are you constantly outside of me, floating everywhere and nowhere?"
Niva clicked his tongue three times, shaking his head to the side. "Luna, Luna, Luna, do you want to parade with a snowflake symbol atop your forehead for everyone to see?"
"…No?" Luna answered.
"Then it's good I am outside. I don't really know why it's like this, but that's how it is. So I choose to make your life easier. Is that understood, my little Luna?" Niva kept looking away from Luna, but his eyes stayed on her as he concealed his smirk.
Luna barely held her laughter inside, saying, "Y…Yes, I understand… Thank you, o kind spirit."
"Kind? Is that all I am?" Niva pouted as he spun in place, acting all high and offended.
"No… of course not? You are very strong, you are intelligent, and really, really pretty."
"What was that supposed to mean… I mean, thank you! You really do know my worth! Then I'll go now, for adventure calls! Call me anytime you need help!"
"Thank you. See you later," Luna said as she closed her eyes, attempting to fall asleep.
Niva's eyes lingered on Luna and Theia. He exhaled, and with a smile, he floated through the wall.
***
As Luna and Theia pulled on their boots, Mytri stood in the doorway and with a gentle smile said. "Ready? The capital's palace awaits."