I woke up to a pile of clothes with a note sitting on the chair in the corner. The note read: Put these on and meet me outside. I quickly pulled on the shorts and T-shirt and ran outside.

“Good morning. So, what are we doing?” I greeted Algea.

“First is the base line. I need to know your limits and strengths. So, come at me like you want to kill me.”

“What?” “She could not be serious.” I finished in my head.

“Fight me.”

I ran to throw a punch which she dodged, sweeping my feet out from under me.

“Again.” She commanded. Spitting out grass I tried to tackle her, but I ended up eating grass again.

This went on for hours until she decided she had seen enough.

“Let’s break for lunch.” She said quickly, turning to go to the cabin. “O….kay you….go on. I’ll… be there… in a moment.” I gasped out.

“Come on.” She hauled me up and dusted me off. “We’re having sliced fruit and lemonade.”

“Sounds good to me.” I grinned back.

This pattern continued for several days, and I was starting to regret accepting her offer to train me when she stopped our training early.

“You have some rough edges, but you’re not as bad as I expected. One may even have said you had some training before.” I raise my eyebrow. Considering I was starting to think I was pathetic, this took me by surprise.

“Thanks. I think”

“Now, to find your weapon. Any requests or objections?”

“Not a gun. I don’t like guns.”

She smiled. “I don’t either. Hmmmmmm, how about a knife?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

She summoned a switchblade knife and handed it to me. I hesitantly picked it up. I was heavier than I thought.

“Now what?” I asked looking at the blade.

“Try to stab me.” She said, her arms outstretched.

I took a deep breath then stabbed at her chest and fell short.

“Try again. This time, hold it like this.” She shifted my hand so that my pointer finger was on top. “This helps you guide the blade better.”

I held the knife the way she asked of me, but it felt awkward.

“Hmm.” She said as she noticed how uncomfortable I was. “Let’s try something else. How about this.” She summoned a sword.

“O-Okay.”

I picked it up only to almost drop it, but I still wanted to try so I swung at her head. I missed terribly and almost hit my leg.

“Definitely not.” She said, shaking her head. I was starting to lose hope that I would find a weapon I could use.

“Maybe I shouldn’t-” Before I could finish Algea interrupted.

“Aha! Glass!” She clapped, and a small dagger-like blade attached to a thin chain appeared in my hands.

“What?”

“It’s a kyoketsu-shoge. Remember the glass you threw when we first met? Think of it like that but with a chain attached. You can use it to wrap or stab your opponent.” I threw the head at her. It was a good shot but she was faster. It embedded itself into the tree behind her.

“Not bad. I think given a few more days, we could go see Aurelio.”

I was grinning and she put her hand on my shoulder, and for the first time since we met, she was grinning ear to ear.

“Time for dinner and a good night’s sleep.”

After dinner we sat around the fireplace. Algea gave me another book on ancient Egypt’s pharaohs to read, but I am bored all the same. Looking around I noticed Algea staring off into space.

“Hey. What’s the matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” She replied shaking her head.

“Come on. You can tell me.”

“I just, I was just gathering the courage to tell you…”

“What?”

“I’m just afraid that when we see Aurelio that he might... say somethings about me that might shock you. I just want to be the one to tell you, and I think you have a right to know.”

I quickly raised my hands to stop her.

“I haven’t told you anything about me either. It’s okay. I don’t have to know.”

“But,-”

“Actually I have to get to bed.”

“It’s only seven in the evening.” She looks worried now, but she let me get up.

“Goodnight!” I called as I closed the door. Back in the room I leaned against the door. Phew, I thought, that was too close. If she started sharing her history I would feel compelled to share too, and I don’t want to lose her. She still thinks I’m this innocent boy she found in the woods. I can’t lose that, not yet.