Harmonia {Harmony}

A trail of sweat lined Arya's face and she continued climbing. It was nearly dawn right now and the sun would soon be approaching. She needed to reach the peak of the cliff before that. Not only was that Madame Kenna's requirement but Arya knew that the sun would blind her vision leaving her in a very dangerous position.

She began climbing again in small and slow steps. The rocks dug into her skin and she tried finding places where she could pull herself higher. Below her, Arya could hear the sound of the water where the waves were lapping over themselves gently. If Arya missed a step, she would end up in the freezing waters of the Tunshia Ocean.

Arya tried gripping the next nook but her hand missed by a quarter of an inch. She saw the rocks tumbling down and veered her path straighter.

That had been a close call.

Throughout Arya's climb she had more of those close calls. Right now she was almost at the top of the cliff and she could see Madame Kenna meditating. With momentum, Arya swung herself over the last bit and made it onto the luscious green grass.

"That took a while." Madame Kenna commented with her eyes still closed.

Arya remained silent and let Madame Kenna continue. "Although I will say, it wasn't horrible for your first try."  

Arya slightly shook her head. It was very hard to please Madame Kenna and even when one did, it wasn't as though she sung your praises. Arya knew that it had taken longer but in her defense, she had been unaware of where the strong parts of the cliff were and how much of her weight they would be able to hold.

"The first thing that we are going to be doing is meditating."

Arya quietly sat down beside Madame Kenna and crossed her legs, one limb over the other. She had meditated countless number of times but if Madame Kenna was telling her to do it, it must have an important lesson behind it. Arya held her tongue and allowed her senses to be heightened. It was amazing how much one could hear if they actually tried.

"The sun is going to be rising in a few minutes. Keep your eyes closed and senses open. Don't depend on the sight but your nose, touch and feeling. I want you to describe how you imagine the sunrise based on all those factors and make sure to include any animals or sounds you hear as well." Madame Kenna said softly and she lowered her voice.

Arya could sense her getting up from her sitting position and a few moments later she felt a tug on her elbow. "Move closer until I tell you."

Arya blindly nodded and moved until she heard Madame Kenna telling her to stop. "Excellent, this is the exact spot; now allow your senses to open up."

Arya did exactly as she was told. As before, she could hear the waves flowing over one another but this time, they were also crashing with something violently.

It's probably the cliff, Arya thought after hearing the sound over and over again.

That was the only thing that made sense. Based on the closeness of the sounds, Arya could also predicate that she was near the very edge of the cliff.

A soft breeze seemed to pass by which sent Arya's midnight blue hair in frenzy and the strands began blowing alongside the wind. Based on the position of her hair, Arya was able to tell that the wind was coming from the north, probably from the waterways. She could feel her skin getting warmer which meant that the sun was coming up.

All of a sudden, it seemed as though Mother Nature had awoken. Arya could hear birds chirping now, their sounds distinct, as they called to on another. Arya was pretty sure a hawk had flown above her due to his cry that was heard.

"The sun is rising now," Arya said softly to Madame Kenna who didn't reply but let Arya continue.

Arya described all the events that she could feel transpiring around her but it didn't seem as though she was blind anymore. Her mind had been awoken and was drawing vivid pictures of what her senses picked up. Arya could imagine the scene in front of her.

The sun was slowly rising from the east, various birds were starting their hunt for food, and the waves were crashing against the cliff and kissing the sandy shore. It all seemed so real and not just an imagination that Arya's brain had drawn. It was as if her eyes were really open even though she knew they weren't.

"Open your eyes now Arya," Madame Kenna said.

Arya slowly peeled her eyes open to get a look of the scene in front of her. It was marvelous and terrifying at the same time. The similarities between her imagination and the actual version were satisfying to say the least. The sky was filled with glorious shades of buttercup, pastel pinks, and light hues of blue. It was one of the most beautiful scenes Arya had seen anywhere and somehow it gave her comfort and hope.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Madame Kenna questioned.

Arya could only nod he head.

"You did well with the exercise," Madame Kenna said a slight smile gracing her face. "However, I do believe that we have an intruder."

The frown on Arya's face was enough to display her confusing. "Who might it be?"

Madame Kenna kept a straight face, "Let's find out, shall we?"

Arya nodded and begin following Madame Kenna's path as they made their way down from the cliff. She led them past the sandy beach and further on to where they had originally come from. They had bought their horses but decided to keep them further away from the cliff and suddenly Madame Kenna's decision made sense. She didn't want the horse neighing during their lesson. It was stunning how far Madame Kenna could think.

Arya mounted on Eclipse while Madame Kenna got on her chocolate brown mare. They rode in silence and Arya mostly followed where Madame Kenna was leading them since she was the one who could hear the sounds. A little while later they came to the forest located near the academy. These woods were familiar to Arya as this was one of the paths her and Eclipses liked to go through, especially in the autumn time.

"Listen," Madame Kenna said as she stopped her horse. "Do you hear that?"

Arya closed her eyes trying to listen for any side. She could hear the birds moving away from and air and flocking to the next. A few seconds later, the same thing happened again. Why were the birds fleeing? There had to be a reason as to why they were moving so quickly from one place to another. Usually birds liked to remain in one place for a while, especially if they were in a group.

And then Arya heard it. It was so faint that she actually doubted herself for a second. An object was thrown through the air and collided into something; Arya was guessing that it was probably a tree.

"Someone is practicing," Arya guessed.

Madame Kenna remained silent so Arya took that as a good sign. She got off of her horse and slowly led Eclipse through the forest. Madame Kenna was watching her and she walked on. The sounds became louder and louder and Arya was almost certain that someone was doing target practice with a bow and arrow. That was the only possibility of having such precise movements.

As Arya made her way to a clearing, the first thing she noticed was the red hair. It was tied up in a tight bun over her head and held together by a loose ribbon. Without even seeing the front, Arya knew it was Silvia. The girl drew out her bow and with lighting speed released it as it hit the red dot in one of the tree trunks. But she didn't stop there. She continued quickly drawing and releasing her bow until almost all the trees held arrows in them.

"She wields that weapon well." Madame Kenna commented.

Arya nodded in response, it was her first time actually seeing Silvia with a bow and arrow and she was phenomenal.

"It's too bad the same couldn't be said for her dueling ability."

The next words were out of Arya's mouth even before she thought about it. "But she has improved; besides everyone is strong with a least one weapon and weak with others."

Madame Kenna's eyes lit up in understanding. "Ah, I must say she did improve after she came back from your little trip. I assume you practiced with her?"

Arya nodded. "She participated in a duel against Bianca and one of the boys from the Narvanian Academy."

"Why don't you continue teaching her?" Madame Kenna questioned Arya.

"I'm not that skilled..." Arya responded.

Madame Kenna snorted lightly. "You know one of the best ways to become better at something is to teach it to others." She spoke the next words softly. "You could become a wonderful teacher if you wanted Arya."

Arya remained silent as she pondered on what Madame Kenna said. She didn't feel comfortable with telling others what to do and what not to do. Arya wasn't one to take on leadership roles which is why when she had been named the champion, didn't like the position. A leader was one that was outspoken and was able to command others.

"Shall we make our presence known now?"

"Yes," Arya said.

"Ahem," Madame Kenna said with a slight cough.

Silvia's gaze immediately met Madame Kenna and Arya. To say that she was surprised would be an understatement.

She approached them both, "good morning."

They both replied to her greeting.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"We were just travelling," Madame Kenna said casually.

Silvia's eyes lit up with curiosity and something else Arya could depict. "Were you practicing for the Heres Gladii?"

Madame Kenna seemed astounded by her quick thinking. "Why yes we were."

"Would you...I mean I wouldn't be imposing... could I maybe have a lesson?" Silvia stuttered through her speech.

A wicked grin seemed to light up Madame Kenna's face and Arya did not like it one bit. "I must be on my way to prepare my class." She gestured towards Arya. "However, Arya would happily teach since she seems to have quite some time on her watch."

Silvia's brown eyes had a hopeful glint in them. Arya wanted to refuse her, but it would be horrible to let her down.

"I'll do it," Arya said quietly.

Madame Kenna gave Arya a bright smile. "I knew I could always count on you. I'll be off now." She got on her horse before giving them a light wave. "Make sure you aren't late for your classes."

"We won't be," Silva promised.

Arya scowled in response. During the day, Madame Kenna had been way too cheerful for her liking. During normal classes, there was not a trace of a smile on her face however; at the moment she seemed to be giving full blown grins to everyone.

"Shall we start?" Silva asked politely.

Arya fixed her gaze on the girl, "do you have a sword?"

She shook her head. Arya sighed before extracting her own sword. "This won't be perfect but you can use mine."

Silva looked at the sword in admiration. "I can really use Anaz?"

Arya nodded. "Yes, for now but next time bring your own sword."

She gave Arya a dazzling smile. "There's going to be a next time?"

The only thing Arya could think through all her questions was that this was going to be one long lesson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Madame Mina placed a heap of books and paper on Arya's desk. Arya looked at it with a confused expression on her face. What exactly was she supposed to be doing with this?

"That, my dear is for the Heres Gladii. The competition will be written but can be about any part of Kalvarian History. In the academy, we don't teach you all of the history which is why I personally went and found books for you to study. You'll be writing a three parchment essay on each book and I expect this to be done before the tournament." Madame Mina finished. She peered at Arya from beneath the glasses and smiled slightly, "Have fun reading." She said.

Arya was frozen for a moment before she got up and piled the books in her hand. It was quiet heavy, heavier than she had expected. Not to mention that dust had been gathered in some of the books which was making Arya's nose twitch. If someone in the hallway brushed past her, she was sure that the books would come tumbling down.

She sighed, if she didn't want to be late for Madame Annie's class she needed to hurry up and make sure than no accidents would occur. As Arya carefully made her way out of her history class before turning around the corner when a body came crashing down into her.

It looked like her worse nightmare had come to true as the books plummeted to the ground with a loud thud. 

And that's when Arya lost it, "Watch where you are going!" she snapped at the person who bumped into her.

A sheepish red head fixed her brown gaze on Arya. "I'm sorry I wasn't looking where I was going." Silvia said.

Arya sighed. This was getting out of hand. It seemed wherever Arya was, Silvia was bound to appear as well. Arya had a faint suspicion that Silvia was actually following her.

"Where do you want me to take these?" Silvia said pointed to the stack of books in her hands.

"Just hand them over to me and you can be on your way." Arya replied.

Silvia snorted, "So they can come tumbling down again?"

Arya gave her a glare. "I was perfectly fine until someone bumped into me."

"Are we going to waste time arguing or place these books in their proper location?"

Arya let out a deep breathe. "Just follow me," she said.

Silvia nodded and skipped alongside Arya until they reached her room. She opened the door and motioned Silva to enter. The girl did and looked confused standing in her room.

"Where shall I put these?"

Arya joined her in the room before pointing towards the desk. "Over there is fine."

Silva did as she said and her desk was soon filled with books. Silvia's brown gaze wandered around the room.

"How come you don't share a room with anyone else?"

"I was the academy's first student so I got the choice of room and then Lady Zelie decided that it was okay for me to have my own room." Arya replied.

Silva nodded and didn't pose any further questions.

"Come on; let's get it class before Madame Annie starts screaming at us." Arya said.

The pair of them left the room and made their way down the hall way to the ballroom where their dance class would be taking place. The hallways were nearly empty meaning most of the girls had already made their ways to their respected classes. A few wranglers remained and Arya and Silvia were one of them.

They entered the ballroom and many of the girls craned their necks to see the latecomers.

"It's nice of you to have finally joined my class." Madame Annie said sarcastically.

Arya was not normally late and this had been one of the few times that she was. Arya would rather be late in anyone's class but Madame Annie. The teacher already disliked her so being late added to the hatred.

Her cold gaze was fixed on Arya in particular. "Take a seat and do not ever disturb my class again like that."

"I apologize," Arya said in a monotonous voice before sitting on the cold marble tiles.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted, I have invited boys from the Dzfrah to help you all practice. Many of these gentlemen are nobles so they know exactly how to dance. Your task is to outshine the rest of the couples on the floor." Madame Annie finished.

Arya wanted to dig and whole and disappear under so she wouldn't have to go through with this. On the other hand, most of the girls in the ballroom had started whispering and giggling. It wasn't often that the Narvian Academy had male members so when they did, many of the girls fawned over them. Lady Zelie hated it but understood that it was a part of growing up which is why she didn't say anything else to them.

"Stand up and make yourself presentable ladies!" Madame Annie had managed to make herself heard over the clutter of voices. "The boys will be coming any minute."

Just as the words left her lips, the doors to the ballroom opened a boys started pouring in. Many of the girls started giggling or twirling their hair. The ones that had dignity stood with a small smile on their face.

Meanwhile, Arya was scowling viciously. 

"Isn't this exciting?" Silvia asked as she brushed of her uniform.

"No."

"Come one, you should be excited! We get to dance with nobles!"

Arya ignored her as the boys made their way to the front of the class. They all stood in a line mirroring the girl's line. They were clad in similar brown tunics making Arya wondering if that was they uniform that they were told to wear.

"Thank you for joining us this today." Madame Annie said addressing the boys.

One of the males who was wearing a finer tunic than the rest answered Madame Annie's question with a low bow. "It is our pleasure to be of service to you."

Madame Annie gave a slight smile. "Do say hello to your father for me."

"I will," The lad replied.

"Who's that?" Silvia whispered to Arya as she got a good look at the person who had answered Madame Annie's question.

Arya shrugged her shoulders in response. She truly did not know who he was but he seemed eerily familiar. Maybe she had seen him in one of her travels?

The girl beside Silvia answered. "That is the Walter, son of the Earl of Dzfrah. He is high nobility!" She hissed.

Arya resisted the urge to sigh. There were countless number of nobles in the lands and the academy yet everyone seemed so surprised to hear of a noble amongst them.

"I wonder who he's going to dance with!" The girl beside Silva giggled.

The question was answered soon enough as Walter, proceeded to stand in front of Jennica.

The sighs were clearly heard in the room. Arya waited for someone to have the nerve to stand in front of her. She had put on her best scowl so whenever someone would think of getting close to her, they would move on to Silva or one of the other girls in the room. Finally there was only one scrawny boy left standing.

"You can partner up with Arya," Madame Annie said as she placed a light hand on his back.

"Arya raised your hand so the boy knows who you are!"

Arya sighed and did as she commanded. The boys came to stand in front of her and gently took her hand in his. Arya couldn't shake of the awkward feeling.

Madame Annie signaled to the musicians and they started the melody. Everyone was off dancing. Arya wasn't afraid to admit the boy was a much better dancer than her. She knew she wasn't a horrible dancer; she just wasn't willing to put in the effort in something so priceless.

"Everybody stop!" Madame Annie shouted.

The musicians stopped playing and everyone looked to Madame Annie in confusing. What was she going to say now? Would they be humiliated today?

"By the Lord, I can't count how many of you have two left feet!" She said making sure to look at Arya when she spoke.

"Thankfully, there are people that can dance." She gestured to two people in the crowd, "Walter, Jennica could you please demonstrate to the class on how you actually dance."

"We would be honoured to," Walter replied with a pleasant smile on his face.

Meanwhile, Jennica was sporting a smirk as she looked at everyone else in disgust. The two of them stood in the middle of the ballroom and Madame Annie motioned to the musicians to resume playing. Walter took Jennica gently by the hand as he twirled her around the room. The two looked like a perfectly matched couple as they glided across the floor. Arya had to admit, there was something magically about the way the moved in sync. It proved poise, elegance, and beauty. When the dance ended, Jennica and Walter bowed to one another and separated.

Madame Annie clapped loudly before allowing a smile to make its way onto her face, "That was wonderful." She turned her gaze to the rest of the class, "that is how I expect you all to dance!"

Many of the people who had not been dancing well looked down in shame but Arya was not one of them. She proudly locked her gaze with Madame Annie. Madame Annie smiled in a way that made Arya's sense tingle.

She was planning on doing something horrible.

Arya was right as minutes later she called on one of the girls and her partner. The poor girl had a terrified look on her face while her partner was trying to keep calm. When they dance, it had nowhere near as much grace or poise as Walter and Jennica had. It seemed Madame Annie noticed as well.

"I'm sure Jennica and Walter did not dance like that minutes ago." Her lips were curled in disappointment.

The girl didn't say anything. Arya looked up and her gaze met Jennica's green ones. Her brown hair was tumbling across her shoulders while her mouth was curled in a smile. Walter had wrapped his arm around her waist.

Madame Annie taught her the correct moves once more and finally on the third try she got it right.

"Let that be a lesson for you all." She said. "I do not take dancing as a foolish matter. If you fool around, I make a fool out of you."

The girl's cheeks were burning brightly as she returned to the line.

"Say goodbye to your partners for you won't be meeting until next week."

Arya bowed to her partner while he returned the gesture. It was weird; the two of them had not exchanged any words at all. While it had been awkward, it was also comforting that there were other people in the world who spoke as less than her.

"Until next time," he said in a deep rusty voice that did not fit his outer appearance.

He had just proved the saying of not judging a book by its cover. The boys made their way out of the ballroom while Madame Annie stood at the centre waiting for the last of them to leave so she could scream. Arya was sure of it.

"You're dismissed." Madame Annie said tiredly.

Most of the exchanged confused looks but did as they were told. As Arya was leaving the room she could hear the last words Madame Annie muttering to herself. Nobody bothered to care as most of the girls were as happy as Arya was about leaving the ballroom.

The rest of the journey was spent with the girls giggling about their dance partners. Arya tuned them out and instead focused on the work she had ahead of her. She found it pointless to talk about the male species because after all, boys were senseless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And we are back! Sorry about not uploading last week, I had exams but here is a extra long chapter! We are getting closer and closer to the Heres Gladii... we might be seeing a certain someone in a a couple of chapter;) Please vote and comment as usual.