I wasn’t sure how I came to be. My earliest memory was that there was a bright hole in the sea of darkness I was born in. A voice told me to get out and to start killing everything. It felt like instinct to just mindlessly obey that order and none of us refused. I wished I hadn’t listened and just stayed in my comfortable sea of darkness. Never would I have thought to become a captive of a truly horrifying being.

Albeit it had been some time since I have been taken hostage, I still couldn’t get used to that…thing. I wasn’t sure what it was. Was it a man? Was it a monster? The other beings seemed to think it is a man so I would go along with that.

Regardless, my journey as his captive has brought me into this snowy place filled with trees and pointy-eared beings. Recently, my captor had developed a strange hobby of teaching me how to use a sword.

Though it would’ve been obvious to see that it was impossible as I was, what my captor would call me, a ‘giant cassowary monster’, he insisted in teaching me on how to swing a sword. He instructed me to practice swinging my sword and that he would know if I didn’t follow his orders. The idea of him turning me into dinner was truly frightening so I had been diligent in my practice.

Not unusual nowadays, he hadn’t visited the stable I resided in but I wasn’t just going to sit around and be turned into food. I bent over and used my beaks to grab onto a specially crafted sword to begin my practice.

The pointy-eared beings would ignore me whenever I practice my sword but the small men would sometimes disturb me.

“Hmm? It would’ve seemed to be teacher’s honorable mount.” A black-haired human approached me wearing a thick brown fur coat. I gently placed the sword down and flapped my wings a few times. I hadn’t gotten the chance to interact with the smaller humans, not that I would want to.

“Croo,” I responded.

“This is very strange to see. My teacher is so diligent that even his steadfast mount is training on how to use a sword!” The human looked at me with admiration in his eyes. I felt slightly weirded out by him, but then again…I was weirded out by anything not of my kin especially that thing which was my captor.

“Coo,” I chirped at him while swaying my head to the sides. It is truly hard to talk to these beings.

“Commendable! I shall train with you! Pick up your sword and I shall show you some moves of mine!” The black-haired person, which I shall dub ‘Blackhair’, unsheathed his sword and started showing me some swings.

Biting the hilt of my own sword with my beaks, I swung my sword and tried my best to copy him. I have no idea what I am doing.

“R-Raymond? W..What are you doing?” This time, a human whose hair is yellow had come! It seemed that my luck truly was the worse. If not my captor, it would be these small humans that would come torment me!

“It would’ve seemed that Cass is training on how to use a sword, look!” Blackhair pointed at the sword I was holding, and I respectfully bowed my head as I was taught by my captor. Truly, the things I am forced to learn are unnecessary!

“Really? Can I…Can I train with you?” The human with the annoying twin tails had a flushed face when asking. But why?! I did not require more training instructors! I am a free ‘giant cassowary monster’! I did not need any human helping me!

“Actually, this would be a good time to brush up our skills while teaching Cass a thing or two. Let’s have a sparring match!” Blackhair enthusiastically offered.

It’d be amusing to watch you two kill each other but like I said, I didn’t need any instructors!

Wait…Damn it! It would’ve seemed that another thing my captor had taught me was leaking into my thoughts. For reasons I couldn’t fathom, my captor also taught me how to ‘nag’. Let me see…I would have to show displeasure at this! I flapped my wings forward and jerked my head forward a few times.

“See, even Cass agrees!” Blackhair waved at me.

Oh no, this is the part where I was supposed to facepalm! But how was I supposed to do so?

By quickly thinking on my feet, I raised one of my wings and rested my face on it. By not quickly thinking on my feet as well, I had nearly sunk my sword into my body! Luckily I dropped my sword in time. I was lucky to not have been turned into my captor’s dinner by my own hands!

Truly, I was born unlucky!

The two humans fought it out for a few rounds before resting onto the ground. Although I had learned nothing, it still bought me time to allow me to practice by myself.

“You still have the habit of shouting out your moves, Aera. Teacher had told us not to do so.” Blackhair was discussing with Twintails on how to improve their swordsmanship.

“Cass, why not spar with me?” Blackhair stood up and turned to me.

I shook my head quickly in order to shake this human off but he mistook it for me taunting him because I was still holding my sword.

“Whoa! Just like teacher, his mount likes to play it dirty!” Blackhair said as he held his sword in position. I backed off, not knowing what to do. I started digging a hole, hoping to hide in it. I didn’t want to be turned into dinner!

“Looks like you’re really raring to go, so here I go!”

Oh crap! He mistook me for preparing to charge at him and now I have to pay for his stupidity! I spread my wings out and swung my sword at him wildly. Blackhair managed to dodge my amateur attack and brought his sword forward.

My instincts took over and I kicked him like what a normal giant cassowary monster would do. His body was sent flying across the field but he managed to correct his balance mid-flight. Before he could lunge at me once more, I heard a voice shouting at us.

“Hey, you damned kids! Stop bullying Boss’ dinner!” A masked person angrily shook his fist in the air as he ran to us.

“Oh, er…Sir Daggerless, was it? We were simply having a friendly spar,” Blackhair tried to explain to the thing called Daggerless.

“I don’t care what you do, Boss cares a lot for Cass and he doesn’t want her hurt!”

I appreciated the sentiment but didn’t you just call me ‘Boss’ dinner’?!

“Sir Daggerless, where is our eccentric teacher? He had been skipping out on doing what he should be doing – Mentoring us! If my father, a Duke of Angolia, hears this, he would be crying tears of blood!”

“Pfft, threaten him all he wants. Boss is in the princess’ good favor, you know? Indirectly, he’s the one that brought her back to Angolia,” The disguised moving bits of bone mockingly shrugged at the human while giving a sigh of contempt. Daggerless sighed once more and said, “I was ordered by Boss to train you guys in the art of swordplay and dirty tricks. There’s nothing much to do so I might as well entertain myself.”

“D..dirty tricks?! We are heroes! We couldn’t possibly do such evil acts!” Blackhair was the first one to reject.

Heroes? What nonsense. This world is eat or be eaten! Just like how my captor would eat me someday!

“Would the fairies…I mean…demons play fair, hmm? Would they not take your loved ones hostage?! We must be ahead of them, thus we need to learn how to take their beloved ones hostage!” Daggerless proudly proclaimed.

True! True! I nodded my head in agreement.

“But first, I am to teach you how to properly use your swords. Now, the first trick I should teach you is aiming below the belt…”

Daggerless wouldn’t hear of any of their complaints and the humans gave up soon after. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to join them in practice as I was done with my practice for today!

The skeleton even gave me some bird feed before letting me off so I was satisfied for today. Perhaps, my captor and his companions aren’t so bad!

“Grow fatter and we’ll have a great feast prepared by Maven…” The skeleton whispered to itself.

…Or not…