Later that day, everyone went into a special skills area to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses and to practice for battles they would need to fight. The area consisted of a shooting range, a fencing arena, a stable filled with horses, and a challenging obstacle course. Marth sat on the ground, cross-legged, as he watched his troops with admiration. Each person was exceptionally good at his or her skill, and he was sure they'd make a great team. He saw Kaori in the shooting range with her crossbow. She was a good shot as she had said, but one thing he found peculiar was that she had yet to practice her element. Now that he thought about it, the only way he knew she was a mage was from what she had told him. He had never seen it for himself.
"Excuse me, Prince," came a voice behind him. Turning around, he saw Ren, grasping a longbow. "I've heard you're a legendary swordfighter," she said.
"I suppose you could say that," Marth answered, drawing in the dust with his finger.
"Don't be modest," she told him. "I'd like to see how you fight. How about a fencing match? I'm sure it would improve my sword fighting."
Marth smiled, looking up from the ground. "Sure."
They went to the fencing arena and put on their armor. Ren was adorned in white and blue armor and a blue cape. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.
Before he had time to think about it, they drew their swords and began to fight. Metal clashed and dust flew as they stepped carefully around the field. "You're pretty good!" Marth praised her between swings of his sword. "Your footwork is impressive."
"Thank you," she answered. "But I still have a lot to learn." Suddenly, she tripped over herself and lost her balance, flailing her arms around in attempt to catch herself. Eventually, she fell backwards, and in another second, Marth had her at sword point.
"Yes, you do," he agreed chuckling.
"Marth! Come here!" Sheeda called from across the field. Marth looked over at her, and instantly, Ren knocked the sword out of his hand and had him at sword point.
"All right, I surrender!" he laughed. She lowered her sword and smiled at him.
"Don't get distracted. No matter what condition your enemy is in," she told him.
"You're right," Marth admitted. "Now let's try again and see who gets distracted this time." He picked up his sword and Sheeda put her hand on his shoulder.
"Marth, my father is waiting," she said, seeming annoyed.
"Oh, of course," Marth sheathed his sword and followed her back inside.
The two of them walked down the hallway, hand in hand. "I missed you," Sheeda said softly.
"Yeah, I missed you too," Marth said simply, seeming distracted by something. Sheeda noticed and frowned.
"Marth?" she asked. He was looking down the dark hallway. "Marth!" Sheeda said louder. He snapped back to attention and looked at her.
"Yeah?"
"What were you thinking about?" she accused.
"Um…nothing. Are we almost there?" he asked avoiding a straight answer. Sheeda sighed.
"It's right up here," she grumbled. She led Marth up yet another flight of stairs and through a set of large, wooden doors. Her father, the King of Talis, was waiting.
"Greetings, Prince Marth," he said. Marth smiled. "I wanted to see you once again before you go," the king continued rubbing his white beard, "to thank you for saving mine and my daughter's lives, and the lives of all those in Talis. I will forever be in your debt."
"It was an honor, your majesty. It was my responsibility to defend Talis, after all your kind hospitality towards us," Marth answered gratefully. The King glanced at Sheeda and smiled.
"I wish you the best of luck on your journey, my friend. You will always have allies in Talis," he promised.
"Thank you," Marth said simply. He looked toward the door. "I must be going now…there is a lot to do in preparation for our journey." The king nodded in understanding, and Marth hurried out the door.
Later that night, everyone was sitting back in the meeting room again. Marth sat in a chair near the edge of the room, away from the conversation a bit. He suddenly got up. "I'm going for a walk," he announced. Everyone grew quiet; most of them knew what was on his mind as they watched him leave.
As he walked down the dark hallway, Marth heard light footsteps behind him. He had been expecting this; it was Ren. He felt her put her hand on his shoulder, the same way she had done earlier in the day. "I just thought you might want some company," she said softly, almost apologetically. "And I didn't want you walking around alone out there. We still have enemies here."
He smiled. They walked in silence for a few minutes and soon entered the gardens of the castle. "Your father was one of a kind," she said breaking the silence. "I remember that he always put everyone else before himself. That made him a great king."
"I know," Marth agreed. "I just wish he was a better father." He took a deep breath before going on. "With all the wars going on, he never had any time to spend with me, and I was told to keep out of his way. I felt I could never live up to him, like I was too weak."
Ren looked down, remembering a part of her past as well. "My parents died when I was twelve, so I had to learn everything myself. I grew up in Aritia, but I moved here after my parents died to live with my uncle." Marth nodded.
"May I ask how they died?" he inquired.
"Marth!" came a call from behind. They turned around. It was Sheeda. She looked at Ren and back at Marth. He saw her clench her fists, and Marth took action quickly.
"Come watch the sunset with me, Sheeda," he said grabbing her hand. Sheeda's face brightened and Marth escorted her away leaving Ren by herself in the fading light.
"Goodbye, Marth, Prince of Aritia," she whispered.
A/N: Please review, it gives us ideas on how to make our story better and to know if you enjoy it. Most importantly, it'll keep us motivated to write more! R&R! Thanks for reading!