For the first time ever Cosimia was looking forward to her monthly training sessions with her mother and Geneva. Usually, Cosimia would wake up, wishing she could be part of a different family. But today she practically jumped around her room, collecting her selected weapons. She tied her hair up and ran down the serene corridor, running on the balls of her feet so she wouldn't disturb the other 10th years.

It had been 3 weeks since Manai had been brought in to the conference room. Cosimia finally felt that maybe she had some control over her life, and was determined to protect her beloved Saturnus from the Unbalance. Whatever it took. 

The many rays of moonlight speckled the city with light and dark spots. Cosimia slowed her pace a little so she could admire her city. At this time she would usually be sleeping, enjoying every minute of sleep that she earned. In the Elite, naps were myths. Considering that she didn't sleep for more than 15 minutes yesterday night Cosimia was surprised at how much energy she had. Her mind was a storm of thoughts about the rings, the Unbalance, Manai, and the cosmos in general. She had so many questions, but no one she could trust to vent them to. Even though her mind wasn't as filled with ideas and thoughts like it was from before, she still felt overwhelmed. 

The only person she could think of was Mathias, but he was working with the king and queen. But that wasn't the real reason why she didn't want to tell Mathias. What if he thought that her dream was stupid and completely impossible? She has adored Mathias for as long as she could remember and she didn't want to lose him.

Lately, no one had seen much of Mathias. It felt like he was a ghost of the past, a figure of their memories and nothing more. She knew he was busy, but a small, selfish part of Cosimia hoped that one day he would come to visit her just like he used to.

Thankfully she had gotten ready early so she didn't have to worry about being late to the combat training. 

The combat room was in one of the bottom levels but that was the general training room. Her family had their own room at the top of the Minerva Elite tower where they had practice sessions in the morning bi-weekly.

Cosimia nodded to the servants scurrying past her like ants. As Huntress, everyone had to address her as so unless they wanted a slap to the face or some other form of painful punishment. But Cosimia didn't really care for the title because it made her feel disconnected from the other 10th years. She was just like them and yet they still treated her as they would, well, her mother. Thankfully, her patrol team still considered her the same Cosimia.

She pressed her middle finger to the keypad and stepped through as the doors slid open with a hiss.

The Nedias training chambers were state of the art but Cosimia had never really preferred to train here. She loved to train and practice all the same with her friends. But today she was eager to show Geneva her skills with the Deam Gloria. She had been practicing for quite some time now and was fairly adept with using it- it now felt like an extension of her hand.

Mother was there, looking as immaculate as always in her training uniform. All members of the Elite had training uniforms fitted by year but Mother and Geneva had special ones tailored to them. Recently, Cosimia had gotten her own suit but she tried not to wear it.

Geneva was stretching on the rings, with each foot through a ring. Her legs were straight out, and gracefully she fell over, her navy and silver-streaked hair falling from her elaborate updo. As Cosimia passed Geneva sent her a devious glare, lips curling up at the edges. Mother nodded approvingly as Cosimia stepped out of her trousers and shirt into the full-length bodysuit. The suit was equipped with many features, such as conditioning and heating, bulletproof material, and miniature missiles.

"I see the suit fits you well." 

"I've been using it quite a lot." With a scoff, Geneva nimbly leaped down from her position in the air and elegantly stretched her leg in the air, toes pointed perfectly. Mother paid her no mind and grabbed one of the practice swords on the rack. Cosimia frowned. Out of the 6 practice swords hanging from the rack, two were gone. Who had taken the second one?

Air whooshed past her as an arrow embedded itself deep in one of the new targets. Cosimia whirled around, expecting Geneva. But Geneva was just as surprised as she was. Cosimia crept closer to where the arrow had been shot and reached into the darkness.

The person grabbed her hand and spun her around. As she saw her assailant, her heart bloomed with happiness and surprise.

"Mathias!" Cosimia gasped, wrapping her arms around his neck. Geneva growled and stomped up to him, her cheeks as red as her eyes.

"You idiot! What were you thinking?" Geneva hissed, glancing at Mother who was watching us keenly while she lazily swung her sword in circles.

"C'mon, Gen. I'm wasn't going to hit her. I've been training longer than you. I wouldn't hit my favorite sister." Mathias winked at Cosimia. Geneva stomped back to her bag, sifting through it angrily.

"When you three are done chit-chatting, we have training. This isn't socializing time." Mother called sharply, rubbing her index finger along the smooth blade.

Grabbing the Deam Gloria from her bag, Cosimia held it up in the foggy light, inspecting it. Mathias whistled in admiration.

"Man, what it would be like to have a weapon like that," He said with a wistful smile.

Cosimia gave him a playful smirk. "It's great." She breezed past him and onto the mats, testing its springiness and bouncing on the balls of her feet. She moved the Deam Gloria in the way she had taught herself, smooth and connected. It hummed louder and louder as she practiced her feints, jabs, and rolls.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Geneva said, slapping her hands over her ears. 

"Calm down. You aren't afraid of humming, are you?" Cosimia called out above the low sound.

Mother clapped her hands and Cosimia stood up as the humming sound died from the room.

"We will practice group fighting today- we must be vigilant and alert, knowing where our opponents are at all times. No stopping. One touch and you are out." Cosimia felt a smirk carve into her face. The Deam Gloria was effective in many ways- knowing who was behind or approaching her was one of them. This would be an easy challenge.

"Marks." Cosimia crouched at the corner of the mat, holding the Deam Gloria tighter in her palms. Breathe, focus, and make your strikes worth it.

A small bell chimed in the corner and simultaneously, the four circled each other. Geneva jumped for Cosimia first and the Gloria hummed its warning. Sliding to the side, Cosimia aimed her kick to Geneva's knees which had her falling to the floor. Touching the sharp tip of the Gloria to Geneva's shoulders, her sister was out. One down, two to go. Geneva stomped off, sending glares of murder towards her. The expression was so familiar that Cosimia thought it might one day freeze on her face.

Mathias was coming towards her meticulously from behind and Mother was in front of her. When the Gloria hummed more urgently, Cosimia spun around and showered a flurry of attacks on Mathias. He was surprised but recovered quickly enough that he was able to counter them quickly. Gritting her teeth, Cosimia threw the Gloria in the air and ducked under Mathias's attempts to get her with the sword, dancing around him until they were both in front of her. She caught the Gloria and continued her attacks. Mathias was countering her and blocking Mother's punches and attacks. When Mother's attacks became smoother and more consistent, Mathias turned to her for a brief second. Cosimia took that moment to land a double punch to the stomach and while he was keeling over, trying to recover, Mother tapped her sword tip to his broad shoulders.

"It was a brave effort, my dear. You are getting better in spite of the huge amount of responsibility you are shouldering. That's my boy." She said, glowing with pride. Geneva looked like she was about to explode from her twitching shoulders and her face, which was bursting with red. Geneva had always felt jealous of both Cosimia and Mathias, from the amount of attention Mother spent on both of them. Cosimia had felt quite bad for her for some time but after Geneva's cantankerous personality revealed itself, Cosimia tried to tune her out. Mother turned to Cosimia, face serene and calm. Cosimia searched for weaknesses but as always, Mother was like a smooth, unbreakable piece of diamond. This would be the difficult part.

Mother walked towards her slowly, holding the sword in front of her. Cosimia held the Gloria in her hand and let it lie by her side.

"Given up already?" Mother said, arching a brow. Cosimia snorted.

"Hardly." The silence was thick, tense. When Mother came close enough, Cosimia dropped to the ground quickly and swept Mother's legs from the mat. She fell and sprung up just as quick, but Cosimia had already started her attacks. The fight raged on for what seemed like forever and Cosimia got the sense that neither of them were getting anywhere. As Mother continued to parry and jab, Cosimia formulated a plan. Holding the Deam Gloria up, she brought the handle down hard on the practice sword, which clattered to the ground. Mother recovered quickly and evaded her attacks nimbly, without worry. Cosimia had to keep her away from the sword on the mat. Diving for it, Cosimia grabbed it and intercrossed them, shoving the flats of the blades against Mother who stumbled back. Then, with a quick kick, Mother crashed to the floor. Before she could get up once more, Cosimia tapped the Gloria's tip to her shoulders.

"Well done, Huntress Nedias." A smile grew on Cosimia's face. She felt like she had truly earned the title of Huntress. Before she felt like just winning the Trials didn't make her worthy enough for the position. But now, she realized that it wasn't what you've done only- it's what you're planning and going to do in the future. Cosimia promised herself right there and then that she would make sure her future was one that she would be proud of.