20 I Like You More Than a Friend

Macha stood still, waiting for someone or something to make its move. She widened her eyes to make sure they were open. The darkness was so complete that she doubted if her eyelids were closed or not.

A white ceiling illuminated and Macha found herself blinded by the sudden light. She blinked furiously to regain her vision. The room had no furniture in it, except for one cathedra-like chair. The chair rested on top of wooden figures carved to resemble dying mythical creatures. Behind the backrest, gold-leafed rays of sun shot out.

In the chair, the woman who Macha followed slouched. One leg dangled from the armrest and the other was stretched out touching the floor. One of her elbows rested on the other armrest and she stared at Macha.

"I'm Mia," she said in a low direct voice. Mia said nothing more and silence filled the room again.

Macha walked across the room towards the chair. She looked up at Mia and pleaded, "Instructor Mia, please teach me how to fight and let me be your apprentice."

Mia looked at the tiny woman who bowed in front of her. She thought about the letter she received a week ago from Luna. It read:

Mia,

You will most likely be asked to take Macha as an apprentice. We request your refusal in this matter. I think it will be best for her to be tutored under Tyr, therefore it would be impossible for her to devote her full attention to your instructions. Instead, I ask that you mentor her from time to time whenever Tyr is away on business.

~Luna

The letter aggravated Mia. She was annoyed that Luna took her as some cheap substitute when she was the one who taught Tyr how to use a weapon. They may be her boss, but she was their senior in age, skill, and instructing.

No reply was given and Macha raised her head to stare at the woman. "I know I don't look like much, but I would appreciate your instruction."

"No," Mia responded. "Why do you even want to learn how to fight? Do you think this is some sort of game? You have to be dedicated to your training."

Macha straightened up. Some nights she dreamt about getting beaten up again. She didn't want to live in fear. "I have a couple reasons. I want to learn to defend myself and I can't rely on others to defend me. One day I want to help Tyr and Luna on missions. I want the ability to protect them. I am aware that this is not a game, and I want to learn," Macha said earnestly.

Macha's clear, direct gaze spoke to Mia's heart. Mia remembered that she learned to fight because she came from a large family of boys. They would always pick on her, so she fought to defend herself. She later used her talents to defend her late husband when they were out adventuring. Macha's reasons resounded strongly with Mia.

"I cannot be your instructor. You'll have to ask Tyr for that. I can guide you when he isn't around though." Mia closed her eyes and remembered the face of her late husband and brothers.

****

"You call that a jump? Are you kidding me?! I could jump farther than that when I was ten!" Mia screamed. She paced the arena as she observed Macha.

Today Mia had Macha jumping along pillars. When Macha first started the pillars were even heights and close together, but Mia had been moving them further and further apart and raising or lowering their heights. Macha had sand stuck all over her body from continually falling off the pedestals.

Macha was drenched with sweat and pulled herself out of the sandpit. When she got out her legs felt like jello and she staggered sideways.

Mia decided that Macha's body reached its limit. "Forget it. I want you to practice silence. Your body is too noisy. When I first met you, I could hear your stomach digesting across the room."

Mia led Macha to a dome-shaped room with no windows. "Walk around as quietly as you can," Mia instructed.

Macha tried to walk without a sound, but a loud echo reverberated throughout the room each time she took a step. Her breathing and rustling clothes were also amplified.

"See what I mean? You're too small to be that loud. You'll have a hard time overpowering your enemies because of your natural size. You have to rely on speed, accuracy, and surprise attacks," Mia explained.

Macha nodded and made a small pout. "Will it be impossible for me to become strong enough to overpower things? I won't always be able to do a surprise attack. In that situation, how will I win?"

"You can use magic to magnify the force of your attacks, but that is something you'll learn after training for at least a hundred years. You're still too unskilled to even think about that. It would only make your core training weak and full of holes. You would rely on it too much." Mia had seen people try to raise their fighting skill by using magic, but they died quickly because their foundation was poor.

Macha understood. She still wasn't sure if she would live the same amount of time that these people lived, but she didn't want to take a shortcut with her training. It could endanger her or her friends and would defeat the purpose of learning to fight in the first place.

****

Tyr looked out at the sea. He sat on the ground with his long legs spread out, leaning on his hands. His group had set up camp on the top of a hill that overlooked the waters. The stars shone brightly in the sky and he heard the faint sound of waves crashing along the rocks in the distance. The weather was hot and muggy with little wind.

He wondered if Macha was all right. She had talked about the menu changes with enthusiasm. Her eagerness left him curious about the changes she would implement. Tyr looked forward to getting back and trying the new menu.

Taylen gazed at Tyr sitting alone looking out towards the sea. She admired his handsome figure before walking towards him. She sat down next to him, "Thinking of Fenrir?" she asked.

Tyr was pulled out of his thoughts and gave Taylen a sidelong glance. "No. I was just thinking about how I would like to go home soon." He looked back towards the rolling waves.

Taylen decided that now was a good time to talk to Tyr about her feelings. She had been watching Tyr and noted that he was in a good mood throughout this mission. Sometimes when she snuck a peek at him, she saw a grin on his face. "Tyr, I wanted to tell you something."

"Yeah. Go ahead," Tyr felt relaxed and in a good mood.

"I... um. Well... I," Taylen rehearsed this moment thousands of times in her mind, but she was having trouble saying it.

"Taylen. Hurry up. I don't want to hear you stutter," Tyr said impatiently. He grew annoyed that Taylen interrupted his pleasant thoughts just to waste his time.

"I like you as more than a friend," Taylen blurted out.