• “I will not lose to you! I’m tired of being humiliated in front of you!”
    Lynn swung the wooden sword at Hector, hitting him square in the forearm. “i am not weak like they think. They think I can’t fight. I will prove them wrong.”
    “Lynn? Aren’t you taking this too far? I mean, I can’t feel my arm.” Hector heaved himself off the ground and stood before Lynn, a great pain in his eyes.
    “Okay, I admit, I can’t hurt you anymore than i already have. You are my friend of course.” Lynn smiled softy. “Here, I have something that might help your arm.” Reaching into her bag, pulling out a leaf, Hector’s eyes followed her hands, watching for something she might pull out that could be dangerous. But he didn’t think a leaf was her way of fixing his arm.
    “How is a leaf going to fix my arm? I could pick up a leaf off the ground and use it to fix this?” he said, first pointing at the leaf and then his arm. Laughing, Hector suddenly doubled over in pain, clutching his arm.
    “Hector, you idjit, this is a special leaf from a healing plant. You eat it and it reduces the pain instantly.” Hector looked up at her as she spoke; looking at the 14 year old girl he had been friends with since she was 7. He had been her only friend. But she was beautiful with her night black hair and fair skin. Kneeling over the bag in the pale green dress she had worn everywhere. And the only thing that was different about her was her eyes. They were a daunting green that glowed in the dark, haunting you, following you.
    “Hey! Muscles for brains! Are you listening to me? Stick it in your mouth and chew already.” Lynn shouted, reminding him of his stupidity and failing grades.
    Hector put the leaf in his mouth and almost screamed. It was spicy and burned like hot peppers. He spit it out and scrambled to find his water.
    “I have a limited supply of these plants, so don’t waste ‘em please and thank you. They’re not that hot, are they?” Lynn looked puzzled; she obviously hadn’t needed to use it. She pulled out of another leaf and handed it to him. “Maybe if you don’t put it on your tongue, it won’t burn as much.”
    Hector tried her suggestion, and the pain was swept away. “You know you could be a doctor. You have good grades. Plus you have a bit of a natural eye for those things. You’re like the healer we never officially had.” Smiling, Hector looked into Lynn’s eyes. That usual unsettling green was gone, replaced with the soft color of moss. Her smile was soft, her teeth the whitest he’d ever seen. He was the one that had helped her overcome her fear of the dark. And he was the one to scare the bullies away from her at school. He was her hero, and she trusted him.
    “You should be a warrior. I mean, you’re strong and brave and a born leader. And you’re a great teacher. You taught me how to use a sword. You could teach the new recruits, or be a leader in the royal army. Or you could be my royal assistant.”
    “You picked up a sword and said you wanted to know how to use it. I asked you to show me what you could do, and you were a natural. I didn’t have to teach you anything. I just had to let you master the technique.” Hector had to tell her the truth about it. He had been hiding it from her for the past few years and he didn’t like lying to her. “I saw something today. Your eyes weren’t the normal harsh green. They were softer and gentler. It was when you smiled at me, and laughed. And when you were fighting me, they turned a greenish-red. You don’t see it, but everyone else does. You are special, almost as if the Heil has blessed you. You are hiding something from everyone. And I think we need to know what that is.”
    “Hector, I know you want to know, but I can’t tell you.” Lynn looked down at her feet and took a deep breath. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, it’s that I really can’t.”
    Hector gently touched her arm. “You can tell me anything, and if you don’t want anyone else to know, I won’t tell. I promise.”
    “I want to tell you. I know the goddess has blessed me with something, but, the fact is, i don’t know what it is she’s given me.” Lynn looked up and gazed into his eyes. Apparently, he had the bluest, most handsome eyes in the whole village. But Hector didn’t believe them, but because his family didn’t have mirrors, he couldn’t know for sure. They also said he was the most handsome person in Evelonia, but again, he couldn’t be sure.
    “Hector? Hector? Are you listening to me?” Lynn asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “i would like you to come stay at the castle with me and be my royal bodyguard. You don’t have to though. But only if you want to.”