CHAPTER NINE - THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS
938 Words
Night had fallen over Valoria Academy.
Most students were asleep.
The corridors were silent.
Only one training ground remained occupied.
Bang!
A wooden training dummy shattered into pieces.
Wyatt lowered his sword, breathing heavily.
Sweat dripped from his forehead.
"...Again."
He picked up another practice sword.
His muscles screamed in protest.
He ignored them.
The moonlight reflected off the blade as he launched another relentless series of strikes.
Every movement was faster than the last.
More precise.
More powerful.
Still...
It wasn't enough.
He stopped.
Closed his eyes.
And then...
His father's voice echoed in his mind.
"Second place is another word for failure."
Wyatt clenched the sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.
Another memory.
He was ten years old.
Standing in the royal courtyard.
A bruised, exhausted child after losing a sparring match to Omar.
His father looked at him with disappointment.
"He was born the prince."
"You have to become better than him."
Wyatt had lowered his head.
"I tried."
His father's expression hardened.
"Trying doesn't win crowns."
The memory faded.
Wyatt's breathing grew heavier.
He swung his sword again.
Again.
Again.
The force of each strike cracked the wooden post in front of him.
"I'm not weak..."
Another strike.
"I'm not second best..."
Another.
"I'll prove it."
The final blow split the training dummy clean in half.
Wood scattered across the arena.
He stared at the broken remains.
Still...
He felt nothing.
No satisfaction.
No pride.
Only the same empty feeling he'd carried since childhood.
He looked toward the distant royal palace, barely visible beneath the moonlight.
Softly, almost like a promise, he whispered,
"One day..."
"You'll look at me the way you look at Omar."
The wind carried his words into the darkness.
No one answered.
Unknown to Wyatt...
Someone had been watching from the shadows.
Professor Kael.
The old instructor sighed quietly.
"You're fighting the wrong opponent..."
"...The battle has never been against Omar."
He turned and walked away before Wyatt could notice him.
The young prince remained alone beneath the moon.
Still training.
Still chasing a crown.
Still chasing a father's approval that always seemed just out of reach.
The academy was unusually quiet.
Most students had already returned to their dormitories after dinner.
The moon hung high above Valoria Academy, bathing the deserted training grounds in silver light.
At the center of the arena stood one lonely figure.
Olivia.
She stared at the training dummy in front of her, her hands trembling.
"Come on..." she whispered.
A small flame flickered in her palm.
It danced for a second...
Then exploded into a wave of fire.
BOOM!
The training dummy burst into flames.
Olivia gasped.
"No!"
She quickly tried to put it out, but every attempt only made the fire spread.
Within seconds...
Three more dummies were burning.
She stumbled backward, panic flooding her face.
"Stop..."
"Please stop..."
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I'm trying..."
The flames ignored her.
Suddenly—
CRASH!
A massive stone slab landed between Olivia and the burning dummies.
The impact smothered the flames beneath a cloud of dust.
Silence.
Olivia slowly turned around.
Standing at the entrance of the arena...
Was Omar.
He lowered his arm.
The enormous stone he had thrown now lay across the scorched ground.
His expression remained calm.
"You'll burn yourself out before you master your fire."
Olivia quickly wiped her tears, embarrassed that someone had seen her.
"I thought everyone had gone back."
"I was."
"I heard the explosion."
Silence settled between them.
Omar walked toward the destroyed training dummies.
He examined the blackened wood.
"You've been training alone."
Olivia looked down.
"I don't want to hurt anyone again."
For the first time...
Omar's expression softened.
"Fear makes your power hesitate."
She looked at him.
"I can't control it."
"No."
He shook his head.
"You don't trust it."
She frowned.
"There's a difference."
He picked up a charred piece of wood.
"When I was younger..."
"My strength was impossible to control."
Olivia blinked.
"You?"
A faint smile crossed his face.
"I broke every training weapon I touched."
She couldn't help smiling.
"I don't believe that."
"My father didn't find it amusing."
She laughed quietly.
The tension eased.
Omar looked back at the flames still smoldering on the ground.
"You keep trying to stop the fire."
She nodded.
"Because I'm scared."
He met her eyes.
"The fire already knows that."
She looked confused.
"Power responds to emotion."
"The more you fear it..."
"The less it listens."
Those words stayed with her.
He turned to leave.
Just before reaching the gate, he stopped.
Without looking back, he said,
"Tomorrow morning. Sunrise."
Olivia tilted her head.
"What?"
"If you're serious about mastering your abilities..."
"I'll train with you"
- Writer
