After his impressive fights with Collab, the boy always went to train with Helare. For some reason, those moments caused a pang in Filoria's heart. She had come to the compound hoping she'd get the chance to fight the boy again and show everyone he'd just been lucky with their last match. He'd avoided her so far.

And at some point, she had started to think it wasn't fair. He forgave Helare for her comments that first day. She did not deserve such mercy. She was born lucky, Helare Clearsea.

The boy was clearly antagonistic toward Filoria, and for good reason she supposed. Filoria had tried to kill him. And she thought she had, and she had been sick about it for weeks. Couldn't he see she regretted her rush actions. She supposed he couldn't. The shiny princess had blinded him, just like she blinded everyone else.

Filoria watched the boy slow down, just like Collab had slowed down for him. She watched as the princess raised her spear and took a stance, smiling brightly all the while. Those smiles Helare had these days, Filoria had never seen them. Could someone one she had known for all her life smile like such a different person?

She watched their weapons clash. Helare had only been training for a few days, but she wasn't totally incompetent. Filoria had thought the princess would be worse than a five year old Ma'la with weak hair, the ones who couldn't become pure mages, but she was a little better than that. She was competent at wielding weapons even though she was born to be a mage? Was it Rafael's training method? Was it that revolutionary? Somehow Filoria doubted it.

It was the spear. It must be that damned weapon Rafael had gifted her. He had also gifted her earrings to apologise for going off on her on the first day. He had apologised to Helare, but he'd never felt the need to apologise to Filoria. It was unfair.

And the damned spear he'd gifted the damned princess was a magic amplifier, making the impressive natural born mage even more impressive. A pang went through her chest at the thought. A pain she had never known or felt before she met Rafael Kingsley.

And then she once again saw Helare try to trick the boy using her water magic. She used basic spells so as not to cause too much damage. It was like they were playing. The princess was being playful during training. The trick hadn't worked since the first time she'd done it, but she was always trying to do it since then.

As her trainer, the boy should have reprimanded her for it, but he just went along with it. Filoria could admit that if the move was well trained, it could become an important part of the princess's arsenal. It could become a really impressive move. But it was being practiced so unseriously.

The boy dodged it so easily, like he'd known it was coming the moment Helare had started casting. Maybe because her smile always turned goofy like a kid about to play a trick. She was predictable like that. He danced gracefully through the attack. He wasn't using any skills or techniques. Just his body and base level fighting movements.

She could see what Collab had seen when she herself had sparred with him. He was built to be a warrior.

They fought for a few more seconds, but the fight ended in a win for Rafael, predictably. Although what was surprising was how again, in the end he'd had to lock Helare's neck with his arms, and position himself behind her in a very risque kind of fashion.

The princess had dropped her spear and was trying to claw at the arms to escape, wiggling the rest of her body against him in her bid. They both didn't seem to mind they were being indecent, and neither did the rest of the warriors here. How quickly the princess had taken to fighting with all her body instead of only her mind. How quickly she'd learned to struggle.

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"Are you alright?" Filoria had the boy ask after the bout.

The princess was still on the ground, trying to draw in breath. The boy was looming over her, offering her a flagon of water. Filoria blinked at the scene. The princess of a whole world lay in the dirt and was not going on about the boy not knowing his place. It was like Primus had lost all meaning.

She found herself walking towards them. She didn't know why she did that. That pang in her chest had gotten stronger the more she'd watched that last scene of the fight.

"I'm fine," Helare said, her voice heavy. "I'm fine, I just…" and then she giggled. "That was fun."

The boy clicked his tongue, but he was smiling a little. "It isn't supposed to be fun, princess. It is supposed to be—"

"It was also very tiring. Can't you tell by all the perspiration on my body?" she interrupted him.

For some reason, Filoria thought the boy tensed. She thought she saw his nostrils flare a bit.

"I mean…with your water magic," the boy started. "It isn't quite so easy to tell."

He spoke slowly, his face turned away from the princess. The selfish girl lying on the ground and slurping from the flagon he'd handed her did not notice the inflection in the boy's voice. Filoria did though. And by all the gods, the fool must be in love with her.

What stupidity was this? Who was he to love a princess? What in the abyss was the princess doing leading him on like that? Why was her heart hurting so?

"The princess shouldn't be rolling in the dirt like that," Filoria said the moment she reached them.

The bastards had the gall to be surprised. Like they hadn't known she was walking up to them.

Helare blinked at her, then she looked down at herself sheepishly. She held out her hand and Rafael helped her up. She started to dust herself off.

"Does this mean I'm a warrior now?" she asked the boy, completely ignoring Filoria, again. "I rolled in the dirt and didn't seem to care."

The boy snorted. "Being a warrior isn't about rolling in the dirt like that, princess. It's also about rolling in the blood and piss of your enemies."

The princess snorted water through her nose and doubled over gasping.

"You evil boy!" she proclaimed playfully. "Are you trying to say I'm not a warrior yet?"

"You are embarrassing yourself, princess," Filoria said through gritted teeth, tired of being ignored. Tired of whatever game these two sick people were playing.

The princess tensed. She started to turn around, probably to unleash her sharp tongue and barbed words at Filoria. She had wielded words as weapons for as long as Filoria had known her.

But then she froze just as her blank face was about to meet Filoria's. She got that vacant look of someone reading a system notification.

"Is something wrong?" Filoria had Rafael ask.

"Hey Rafael, didn't you say one of the advantages of your training methods was increased organic growth of physical stats?"

Filoria saw the boy blink in surprise, his voice still sounded worried. "Yes…"

"I got two to agility and one to strength!" she screeched.

Filoria reeled back in shock. Rafael jumped in close to the princess, like he was about to smush their faces together.

"Really! That many? At once?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I have been getting a few stat increases these past few days, but I figured it was consistent with what I've heard about beginners training. But two to a stat at once! There is obviously a difference."

Rafael's enthusiasm seemed to have ebbed during the princess's gushing.

"Hey, don't go nerding out, alright? You'll kill the mood," the boy told her.

But then he smiled again and embraced the princess. Their excitement had been doused, but the silence was more intimate anyway. They embraced each other, were quiet, their eyes closed. Filoria saw the princess take a deep whiff of the boy's sweaty stench.

And she couldn't stand it anymore. She walked to them and pulled them apart. A little violently even.

Helare looked like a Burned youth. She didn't even seem to have noticed Filoria's rude action. The boy was looking at the ground, frowning slightly. But under his dark grey tattoos Filoria could see a hint of persistent red.

"I will see you tomorrow then," the princess said.

"See you," the boy said.

Filoria watched the princess turn and walk away in a most peculiar wooden fashion.

"Thank you for that," Rafael's voice said, surprising her.

She frowned. "For what?"

The boy shrugged. "For splitting us up, you know?"

Filoria didn't know how to feel about that. The boy seemed… scared of whatever had happened in that last moment. He had said thank you, and that had made her heart skip a beat. And Filoria was happy. And she was not happy that she was happy.

"Don't worry though. I will not be here much longer anyway," the boy said before parting from her.

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