Chapter 7: A Challenge

The boat ride to the castle was a good time for Beatrix to relax and think about what was going to happen next. Maria rowed in silence, dipping the paddle into the clear water slightly and navigating the gondola to the castle.

"Here we are, Danielle!"

Beatrix gazed up at the castle. It was a massive stone castle, glistening with an almost white color. Four large towers surrounded the most iconic part of the castle: the large mirror-like obelisk. The sun reflected off of the mirrors and lit up the entire surrounding area. As they passed one side, Beatrix covered her eyes from the intensity of the light. It truly was a sight to behold.

Maria rowed the boat up to a small harbor, where two more guards were waiting.

"Welcome back, Maria. And who is this?" one of the guards inquired.

"Hello. This is Danielle. She is interested in joining the ranks, so I brought her here to see if she's qualified," Maria replied.

The guards smiled.

"We've been searching for more soldiers. Perhaps General Leah will finally accept a new soldier for once. Oh, don't tell her I said that, Maria".

Maria giggled and assured the guard that she would not tell the general.

"And where is the General?"

"Well, it is around noon, so she should be with the other ladies in the training area".

"Thank you. This way, Danielle. I will escort you to the training grounds. Good day, soldiers".

The soldiers saluted to her, Maria responding with a salute.

"Come along, you must meet the General".

The two young women walked from the harbor area and through narrow stone hallways, finding their way to an enclosed courtyard. In the courtyard, Beatrix noticed other soldiers training in various exercises. Some of them were dueling with wooden swords similar to the one she used as a child, while others were doing push-ups or running.

Maria led Beatrix toward the group of soldiers. As they approached, Beatrix could feel their eyes turn to stare at her as they walked, stopping all activity in order to watch the new person. Beatrix noted that they were all women, so then this must be the Alexandrian soldiers instead of the Knights of Pluto. As the two ladies walked past, some of the girls turned to each other and whispered. Beatrix tried to make out what they were all saying, but she could only catch a few words.

"Who's this girl?"

"She looks a bit young to be here."

"She doesn't even look like she's ever held a sword".

Finally, Maria held up a hand and instructed Beatrix to stop, right in front of a tall woman.

"General, I bring you a potential new recruit".

The tall woman with a white duster embroidered with a rose on the back spun around to face Beatrix and Maria. Beatrix made eye contact with the most intense green eyes she had ever seen. The woman was slightly pink from exposure to the sun, with reddish-blonde hair being held back from her face in a braid. She pursed her pink lips together into a frown as she examined Beatrix.

"Maria, you brought me a child. You know that we cannot accept recruits younger than sixteen into the ranks", the general stated, her eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"With all due respect, General, I just did as I was asked by the young lady. Steiner brought her to me".

The general slapped her hand against her forehead.

"Of course Steiner would allow a girl as young as her into the castle".

"General, please, I think we should give her a chance".

The general stared into Beatrix's eyes.

"What is your name, miss?"

Beatrix cleared her throat.

"My name is Danielle, madam", Beatrix said confidently, ending with a curtsy.

The general smiled.

"It is very nice to meet you, Danielle. I am General Leah. Now, show me what you've got."

In less than a second, the general brandished a sword from her side and held it out to Beatrix. Maria and the other soldiers all gasped as the general pointed the sword toward Beatrix in a dueling pose.

"General, are you sure that…"

"If this girl has come here to join the ranks at this age, she'd better be a prodigy. Now, Danielle, come and fight me".

The other women shifted their gaze to Beatrix. In that instant, Beatrix felt small. All these people were staring at her and she was just challenged by the general of the Alexandrian army.

Beatrix pushed some loose strands of hair from her rounded face and pulled out her own sword, her brother's old sword.

"I accept your challenge. I'm ready".

Instantly, Beatrix was met with the general's sword hitting her own. The clang echoed throughout the courtyard and the other soldiers spread out in a circle to make room for the two fighters.

With one graceful movement, Beatrix spun out of the contact, holding her sword up in a defensive pose. The general followed suit, moving after Beatrix. Metal made contact with metal and the two were caught up in a dance, spinning and dodging each other's movements.

"You cannot just dodge forever, Danielle. You must make an attack at some point".

The general lunged towards Beatrix with the tip of her sword, Beatrix narrowly dodging the blade. Beatrix quickened her step, hoping that with speed she could make a move on the general. As she was about to go for a back attack, the general spun around and evaded the attack. Beatrix huffed in frustration. The enemies on the trail from Treno to Alexandria were not as hard as the general.

"Face it, young lady. You are not ready".

Beatrix gripped the hilt of her sword, silently praying to her brother to give her some sort of assistance.

She charged towards the general.

Her sword met with the general's again, the sound of the contact resounding through the makeshift arena.

The two continued their dance for what seemed like hours, metal against metal and slight grunts of frustration and determination ringing out.

Beatrix gasped for air. Even though she had trained long hours since her brother gave her a wooden sword and her private tutor would force her to practice moves over and over again, she could not quite keep up with the general.

"Face it, Danielle," the woman stated, "you are not ready for this".

Those words were what drove Beatrix on. She rushed forward again, this time hitting the general's sword and flinging it out of her hand. The crowd and the general watched as the sword spun several times through the air, landing on the ground out of reach for both of the women. The general turned towards Beatrix, who pointed the tip of her sword at her.

The general laughed as she raised her hands.

"I surrender to you, young Danielle".

The other female soldiers who had gathered around to watch the duel broke out into applause, cheering and whispering among each other.

"How did she do that?"

Beatrix reached out her hand to assist the general to her feet. However, the general ignored the kind gesture, choosing to pick herself up from the dirt.

"In my seven years of service to Alexandria, I have never been bested by another soldier. Not even the captain of the Pluto Knights can beat me. But yet, you won. You certainly have a gift, my dear".

Beatrix bowed to her.

"Danielle, are you sure you wish to fight for the Alexandrian army? Because going up against the enemy is going to be many times more difficult than fighting me".

Beatrix raised up her head to look General Leah in the eye.

"Yes, ma'am. This is what I wish to do".

"Then go wash yourself up and go rest. I shall see you bright and early tomorrow morning", the general said sternly, placing a hand to her chest in a salute.

Beatrix repeated the action, nervous excitement washing over her.

"Yes, General".

General Leah clapped her hands together.

"Ladies, practice is over for right now. Please lead our new recruit to the dormitories and be ready for dinner".

All the female soldiers saluted together, with a sounding call of "Yes, General Leah", before leading Beatrix to her new place.

As the group of women made their ways to the dormitories within Alexandria Castle, they were approached by a group of men. The women all groaned. One girl leaned over to Beatrix and whispered in her ear.

"That's the Pluto Knights. They're like us but we're so much better than they are".

The men all started to talk.

"We saw the whole thing! Your general got beat by a little girl. You lady soldiers are definitely going downhill".

Beatrix felt her blood begin to boil. Yes, she was the one who had defeated the general for the first time in seven years. But for these men to talk so rudely about her general, as well as calling her a little girl at the same time, that was too much.

She pushed her way through her fellow soldiers.

"You have a problem with that, soldier?" she said, poking at the chest of the one man that had insulted her and her new commander.

The soldier looked down at her.

"Ah, so this is the one who beat General Leah, the Dragon of Alexandria. Never thought she would be so young and pretty".

Beatrix bit her lip. She was ready to punch this man for being so rude.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" he questioned.

Beatrix glared, fire dancing in her usually calm brown eyes. If she answered him, he would leave her alone. It would also tell him that she was a force to be reckoned with.

"Danielle", she answered proudly, with a small flip of her curls. The men nodded.

A voice rose up from among the crowd of soldiers.

"No it is not".

The sound of footsteps approaching the front of the group reached Beatrix's ears. She glanced around, hoping to find the person who had spoken.

The voice rose up again.

"You may fool us into thinking your name is Danielle. But you cannot fool me…Beatrix".

The crowd gasped.

Beatrix, flustered from what was occurring, placed a hand on her sword as she raised her voice.

"Show yourself to me! Show your face to me, you…coward!"

The footsteps stopped near Beatrix's position. The people around her began chattering.

"My, you certainly are impulsive. As you wish, Lady Beatrix. Or should I call you, the Rose of Treno?"

With those words, the one who had spoken up and revealed her name to all of these soldiers stepped up and took his place in front of Beatrix. The soldiers' quiet whispers grew louder around Beatrix.

Beatrix, however, fell silent. Her face paled as she recognized the person looming over her.

It was Steiner.