Author's Notes

I'm really sorry this one is so late. But hey, at least it's not a day late, right? And, uh, to add to the situation, this chapter is actually 200 words short. So, sorry about that. I'll make sure the next chapter is at least 200 words over my self-imposed limit.

Also... well, the biggest problem I have when writing is lack of inspiration. I have ideas, usually time, and music, but not inspiration. So... I would very much appreciate it if you would follow and or favorite my story. As petty as it might seem to you, checking my mail to find out I got a new review, or that somebody started following KOS really boosts my self-confidence and will to write. So please, follow, favorite, and review. It helps me get through rough patches and in turn ensures I don't skip a week because I didn't finish the next chapter in time.

Anywho, Reviews!

ScarOfHerobrine, heh, they do. Yeah, sorry. Most of these are... ooh, they're not. Heh, he's going as fast as the airship can sail!

GiggiEba, I'm glad you liked it! Heh, they're a lot worse than everyone's. Nah, they'll be fine. I'm glad you did, and the wait is over! (for now)

Now, let's get on with the story!

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Sarah's POV

I waited patiently at the center of the unoccupied section of airfield. The sun hadn't risen above the outer wall or any of the city's buildings. You couldn't even see a single ray of sunshine yet. There were, thankfully, torches set up on the perimeter of and at certain intervals within the airfield to discourage monsters from sneaking in somehow, so the dark was not an issue. It just felt kind of sombre and lonely. Leaning close to one of the redstone lamps nearby to take a better look, I checked my watch. There were still a couple of minutes left until 5am.

Looking up from my watch, I absently began scanning the edges of the large concrete space. My gaze locked onto a thin shape jogging its way towards me. It's not like I expected Dick to be late, but I still felt a little surprised that the guy had even showed up. I pulled the heavy leather bag containing an assortment of weapons off my shoulder, letting it drop to the ground with a clatter of metal.

Dick came to a stop, breathing laboriously, in front of me. He straightened up for a second and gave me a salute before bending down again to catch his breath. I crossed my arms, giving him some time to recover. The young man eventually heaved a deep breath and nodded, staring expectantly at me.

I shrugged at him, searching through the leather bag and taking out a light shortsword. "Morning. First I want you to stretch and warm up. Run five laps for me after. Then we'll get to weapons training."

The young man looked like he was going to argue but then nodded, quickly walking over to our makeshift track and beginning his run. I wandered around as I waited for him to finish. I had thought about how this was going to go down for hours last night. Training Dick was more off-putting by the minute. Honestly, I was kind of worried that if I did so like I had with my other troops, the boy would break. I sighed as the young man sprinted at an incredibly slow pace, and hid my face from view as he stumbled onto his back.

It took the young man more than half an hour to finish five laps. Half an hour! Dick walked over, breathing heavily, and flopped down at my feet. I stared down at him, unable to hide my disappointment. "We're going to have to work on your cardio. A lot."

The young man simply nodded, trying hard to catch his fleeing breath. I picked up the shorsword again, lifting and lowering the weapon experimentally. It suddenly felt heavier than I imagined Dick could carry. So I put the sword down and picked out a large hunting knife from the bag.

"Here," I told him, handing Dick the weapon. "We'll use this first."

The young man took my offering with his right hand and stared at it. "I'm sure I ca... can lift a sword," he muttered.

"Not as you are," I answered, picking out a dagger similar in size to his knife. I kicked the bag of weapons away and got into a defensive stance a couple meters from him. "Start with something small, and once you catch your breath, we can use swords instead."

Dick nodded, trying to copy my stance where he was. It was lopsided, and wide open on the left flank. I frowned at him. "Normally I would have you on your back with a blade to your throat in less than two seconds, but I don't think you'll learn much that way."

I walked up to the stunned young man. "Widen your stance. Otherwise, someone could come along and do this."

He had barely a second to register what I said before I gave his right shoulder a firm shove. Dick flopped onto his side the way you'd expect a bag of flour to do. I offered him a hand and helped the young man find his feet.

"Raise your dominant arm more," I instructed once he got back into the proper stance. "You must keep your face protected at all times, and that means raising your weapon to cover it."

Dick nodded, lifting his left arm a little. I frowned. "I thought you were right-handed."

"No, I use my left," he told me, a little confused.

"Then why are you holding the knife in your right hand?" I asked him.

The young man blinked and then swapped his weapon from one hand to the other. "Sorry."

I rolled my eyes and looked at his stance again. Now he had both his hands raised, leaving his torso exposed. I reared back and feigned a kick at his midsection. Dick flinched back, eyes widening. "You must keep your head protected, but that doesn't mean ignore every other organ. Lower your right hand."

Dick sighed, relaxing a bit and doing as told. His stance wasn't perfect, but I hadn't expected it to be. And I wasn't about to get touchy-feely with him to make sure it was. "I'm going to pretend-hit you, alright? Five attacks, random order, in random areas. Drop the knife and try to defend yourself with your hands."

The young man frowned a little, crouching to let his weapon rest on the floor quietly. He straightened up and got into something similar to the defensive stance I'd told him to take. He was doing a weird chicken-wing thing with his left arm, leaving that flank wide open. His legs were also crooked, which would make him easy to topple. If I threw kicks at those two areas, his face and right shoulder would make easy targets. And I'd simply push him back for the finishing blow.

I rolled my shoulders, reminding myself that I wasn't actually going to beat him up. "Ready?"

Dick took a deep breath. "Ready, general."

Not a second had passed after the words left his mouth when I struck. I swung my right leg at his left flank, catching him by surprise. I stopped myself before landing the blow and recovered, immediately going on to swing my left leg at his right knee. Dick almost dropped to the ground by himself while trying to avoid my faux attack, letting his guard down to maintain his balance, as I expected. I threw a right hook at his left shoulder, making him rear back. His head was like a big target screaming 'hit me', and I swung a fist in his direction, stopping less than an inch from his nose.

I didn't even have to land the fifth blow. Dick stumbled back, tripping over himself and dropping to the floor with a surprised grunt. I frowned down at the young man. "You need to improve your stance. What could you have done to avoid all these attacks?"

Dick rubbed at the back of his head, frowning up at me. "I could've stayed at home," he mused.

"But you didn't," I said, feeling inspirational as I stretched a hand out to help him back up. "And that alone proves to me you do want to be a good soldier. So get on your feet, and improve your stance. What could you have done better?"

The young man sighed, rubbing his sore backside. "Uh... lower my left elbow? Maybe widen my stance? And try to not fall?"

"Don't drop your guard," I said with a nod. "If you feel like you're going to fall, lean back. If you land face first, there's nothing you can do to defend yourself, so it's preferable to land on your back. Above all, don't let your guard down. Keep your left arm in front of your face at all times."

Dick nodded, trying to fix his stance with what he'd learned. His dominant arm was a bit close to his face. I showed him this by giving it a slight shove, causing him to hit himself gently. "Don't have it so close to you. Keep it in front but a safe distance away, maybe four inches."

The soldier rubbed at his nose, a little surprised at the soft attack, and got back into an improved battle stance. There were still minor flaws I could exploit to take him down, but he'd learn to do better in time. I got into position again. "Ready this time?"

He gave me a little grimace. "You're not going to hit me, are you general?"

I shrugged. "I should, but I'm not going to. Ready?"

Still unsure, Dick rolled his shoulders, and nodded. "I am."

He relaxed somewhat after rolling his shoulders. There was now a weird spark in his eyes as well. The spaghetti man was plotting something. His left leg had spread open a bit, almost inviting me to kick it out from underneath him. His right flank was also exposed now, as Dick had moved his arm a little ways away. I didn't know wether to feel proud or insulted that he believed a trick like that would work on me. His leg was in position so that if I struck at it, he'd be able to regain balance, and if I attacked his flank, he'd take hold of my foot.

I feigned a kick, aimed at his right leg, and caught him by surprise. His knee shot out in fear of being struck, and he almost fell on his side. The young man stopped himself with his right hand and kept his left raised to protect himself from any more incoming strikes. All I'd really have to do to knock him down was land a firm kick on his shoulder, but I managed to refrain from doing so.

I extended a hand out to him. "That should teach you to not get funny with me. On your feet, and let's do this properly."

Dick sighed, sitting up and taking my hand. "Sorry, general. I won't do it again."

"It's not a bad strategy," I told him as I pulled the man up. "But you need practice. What you did there was expose two flanks and then a third you didn't consider. If that happens in battle, then you will not live to tell the tale."

The young man blinked at me, and nodded with a downtrodden look. I got into a battlestance a short distance away. "Ready?"

Dick took up his own battlestance and gave me a firm nod. I faked seven attacks in rapid succession, aimed at the different areas where he could improve. It only would have taken two more for me to knock him down, but I stopped myself. We repeated this exersice another five times, and he improved little by little. I recovered from one last kick and walked over to the leather weapons bag. I picked up my dagger and walked over to him.

"Now you know how to defend yourself without a weapon," I told him. "Let's work on defending ourselves with a weapon, against a weapon."

The young man frowned at me, going over to pick up his knife which lay on the floor a couple feet away. "Shouldn't we be wearing armor for this?"

"Did you bring armor?" I asked. "Can you carry armor?"

Dick shrank back a little, and I kept going before he could speak. "The training armor is just as heavy as the real deal, and I can't carry two suits of it. So we won't be using armor."

He gave me a small nod, staring down at his knife and picking up his defensive stance. I walked up to him and pretended to slice every unprotected space. "It's much different to defend yourself with a weapon. You depend on it to block or parry an attack, so you're going to have to react quickly. Especially when I'm your opponent."

The young man swallowed a little, moving into what he thought would be a better stance. "I'm ready."

I gave him a nod and walked a couple meters away, picking up my own stance. "Good." Then I rushed at him, my dagger whistling as it sliced across the air.

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Eba's POV

Annie, Cynthia, and I sat at a table on one of Globe Chapel City's many parks. Well, Cynthia was sitting on the table. She didn't have her strange shutter glasses, revealing her eyes to be an emerald green. Annie had pulled me out of bed earlier today, had me get dressed 'as prettily as possible', and then dragged me out of my apartment all the way over here. We were supposed to go to the park yesterday, but it had been raining, so instead we went today. It was cloudy, but no rain had fallen which is good. It was still cold though, and I was really starting to miss my hoodie.

We weren't really doing much at the park. Annie sat us down, and then she and Cynthia started talking about stuff. I felt a little excluded, just sitting there with my head propped up on my hands, staring at everyone else running around and enjoying their day. Annie suddenly wrapped her arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to her.

"We," she said excitedly, "are going to be helping Eba hook up!"

I blinked, pulling away in surprise. "Wh-what???"

"Wait, seriously?" Cynthia asked. "What's why you brought us over at eight in the morning?"

Annie nodded. "Mhm. There's lots of people around early, but not so many that it's suffocating for her," she said, pulling me close again.

I frowned at the many people going about. "Why? I-I don't... want to do that."

"Yeah, Anne," Cynthia said with a nod. "You can't force her to hook up if she doesn't want to. Besides, I'm not really good at that." She placed her head in her hand, leaning down and staring at me with a weird smile, halflidded eyes, and a raised eyebrow. "But I am great at making beauties look even better."

I looked away, not really knowing how to feel about the way she was looking at me. Annie gave me a little hug and then stood up, pulling my to my feet. "Leave her be, Cy. And come on, it'll be fun! At least talk to some new people. We're trying to help you recover confidence, right? Learning to talk to people is a great way to do that."

Still uncertain, I looked around and then down at myself. I was wearing my penguin-tail blouse, my black sweatpants, and my pink sneakers. I liked the outfit when I looked myself in the mirror, but now I wasn't sure if it was good enough.

Cynthia seemed to read my thoughts, as she got up and wrapped her left arm around my shoulders in a comforting manner. "You look great, trust me. You look drop-dead gorgeous no matter what you wear, alright? Believe me, I would know."

I smiled at the woman, my cheeks feeling warm. She pulled away after giving me a squeeze, crossing her arms. "What's your plan exactly, Anne?"

"I was thinking a damsel in distress scenario," my friend began excitedly. "She'd be jogging on the path, and if she finds a cute guy she likes, she would pass them and 'accidentally' trip. They'd be all gentleman-like, helping her up, and she'd go 'hey, wanna watch a movie or go have a coffee' or something, and tah-dah!"

Both Cynthia and I frowned at my friend. The woman shook her head. "She's not doing that."

"It's foolproof!" Annie told her.

"Proof you're a fool," Cynthia shot back. "Why fabricate a scene when all she has to do is just walk up to someone..."

She turned around, standing inches away from me. I took a step back, surprised. "Say hi," she went on with a wave, giving me some space. "I'm Cynthia. Who are you?"

I blinked, barely keeping up with my thought process. "Uh... E-Eba."

"Nice to meet you, Eba," she said, extending a hand out to me. "You're beautiful. Would you like to go on a date with me sometime?"

I shook her hand timidly. "S-sure?"

Cynthia smirked, looking at Annie over her shoulder. "And that's all I had to do to book a date with her."

My brain simply went out. "Wh-wait, huh?"

The woman shrugged, looking genuinely pleased with herself. "No take-backs, you agreed to it, handshake and everything."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Stop teasing her like that, Cy. And she's not as confident as you are, so I think it'll be easier for her using my method."

"Come on, she's plenty confident," Cynthia said, pulling me close to them.

"But it'll be easier if we generate a more... organic environment, instead of shoving her in front of a guy and telling her to say hi."

"There's nothing organic about the environment you want to generate," the woman said with a disapproving frown. "Alright, let's do this instead. What do you want to do, sweetheart?"

I had yet to restart my brain, and the 'sweetheart' thing really threw me off. "Uh… I… wh-... want to go home?"

Annie rolled her eyes, and I earned a giggle from Cynthia. "I bet you do. Let me put it this way: would you rather start a conversation by pretending to trip and fall, or by going up to and talking to someone?"

I frowned, considering my options. Neither option was very attractive to be honest. I guess I could just firmly say 'no' and then go home… or just warp away without a word. My apartment is pretty far though…

I sighed, looking back up at my friends. "I-I think I'd rather… talk to someone. L-like, go up to them."

The young woman gave me another little hug. "Attagirl. Look around, see if you can't find anyone interesting."

Annie nodded, pulling me away from Cynthia. "I spy a handsome one over there," she said, discreetly pointing at a tall man with slicked-back hair and okay features.

Cynthia huffed, walking up to us. "He's as generic and boring as they get. Do you have any idea how many dudes ask for a hairdo like that? There's nothing behind 'em, trust me."

"Alright, how about him?" My friend asked, pointing at someone else.

The young woman hummed disapprovingly. "D'ya see his face? Probably started working out so people would ignore it. I think Eba deserves better."

"What would you know about guys anyway?" Annie asked, hands on her hips.

"Same as you," Cynthia answered, copying our friend's stance. "Just because I think women are the most attractive creatures on the planet doesn't mean I can't tell if a guy's hot or not."

I stepped away from them as their argument went on. In all honesty, this little outing was fast becoming my worst one. I started wandering around, simply wanting to stay away from my two bickering friends. I saw a group of people tossing a frisbee, another just kicking a ball around, a third sitting on the floor... meditating, I think? I sighed, wishing to be doing something as fun as what everyone else was doing. I continued to walk in a straight line, watching everyone without really looking where I was going.

I suddenly hit my head against something hard. I stumbled back, managing to stay on my feet, and blinked. A guy around my age flopped onto his rear, groaning a little and rubbing his head. I knelt down immediately, offering a hand to him. "Sorry- I'm sorry! I-I should've looked where I was going!"

The guy opened one eye, smiling at me. He noticed my hand and took it. "I'm sorry too. Are you okay?"

I helped him up, pulling my hand away afterwards. "Y-yeah, I-I'm fine. Di-did you get hurt?"

He shrugged, dusting off his bottom. "No, I'm good. Sorry about that." The guy stretched out his hand, giving me an apologetic smile. "My name's Gabe. Nice to meet you."

I took his hand and shook it. "I'm Eba. A-again, sorry..."

Gabe made a waving gesture. "It's fine. I wasn't paying attention either."

We just stood there for a moment. I fiddled with my blouse's sleeves, staring at the ground in shame. The silence got awkward, I started debating with myself if I should say something or not, but Gabe beat me to it. "So, uh, what are you doing out here?"

I looked up. "Oh, u-um, I'm here with some friends..." I turned around, scanning the area for Annie and Cynthia. My friends were standing next to our table, holding hands and staring back excitedly. They waved and made hand gestures at me, which from here looked like they were crazy. I smiled apologetically.

"I-I-I- th-they're usually not like this," I said, unable to keep an embarrassed and nervous giggle from my voice.

Gabe's mouth turned into a bemused smile, and he looked at my friends over my shoulder. "They seem nice. So you're just hanging around?"

I hugged myself, nodding. "Yeah, I guess. My, um, my friend, the uh, the one on the left? Sh-she dragged me out of my bed at ten in the morning because she wanted me to, um... wanted to help me... hook up with... someone..." I immediately regretted every word that left my mouth.

The guy snickered a little. "I've been there too. I appreciate that of them, but it's kind of awkward, don't you think?"

I nodded, trying to hide from my batty friends. "Mhm. It makes me sort of uncomfortable, to be honest..."

Gabe crossed his arms, looking around. "Um... a-are you here with friends?" I asked after a moment.

He turned back to me and shook his head. "No, I was just jogging. But my head was in the clouds, so, I ended up crashing into you."

I nodded again. "Right..."

Silence stretched between us again. Gabe eventually shrugged. "Hey, I have an idea."

I raised an eyebrow. "An idea?"

Gabe nodded. "Why don't we go have a coffee sometime? Y'know, So our friends stop pestering us about not getting dates, and maybe to make up for having hit you?"

I blinked at him. "Uh... o-okay, I-I think. Um... wh-when?"

He frowned thoughtfully. "How about... Tuesday afternoon? When do you get off work?"

"A-at... um..." I was still processing his offer. "2pm. I work in the, uh... grocery store, n-next to the Puffy's Bakery to the east?"

Gabe thought for a minute and then gave me a nod. "I think I know which one you mean. The one with the big red letters on top?"

"Mhm," I answered with a nod.

He smiled at me. "Okay, So, I guess I'll pick you up when you get off work? I'm sure we could find a nice coffee shop around there somewhere."

I was still hugging myself, but I forced my arms to hang—albeit stiffly—at my sides. "Y-Yeah, that sounds g-good..."

Gabe nodded again. "Awesome. So, I'll see you on Tuesday?"

I hummed in agreement. It had been chilly mere minutes ago, but my cheeks felt warmer than an oven. "Y-h-huh, uh-huh. O-on Tuesday."

His smile widened. "Great. Uh, bye, then."

I waved a little, unable to keep my arms from hugging me. "Bye..."

Gabe turned away after a second, almost hesitantly, and continued with his run. My brain finally processed what had happened, and I went running back to my friends. They looked just as nervous and excited as I felt. Both of them met me in the middle when they realized I was coming back. Annie enveloped me in a hug, and I felt Cynthia doing the same to my right. I... I cried, a-a little, because I just couldn't... believe any of it.

"What happened?" Annie asked, pulling away a little. "What's he like? What'd he say?"

Cynthia pulled me close to her. "Take it easy, Anne, don't you see she's still shook up? Alright, try to organize your thoughts, slowly, carefully, and tell us what went down."

The woman led me back to our table and sat me next to her, arms still holding me in a comforting embrace. I wiped those embarrassing tears from my face, blinking at her. "U-um, I... w-we crashed into each other, because we weren't paying attention. A-and we talked, a little..."

Annie took my hand. "What's his name?"

"Uh... G-Gabe," I answered. "He, uh, he... invited me to go have a coffee with him," I told them, losing my voice with every word.

My friend shrieked excitedly, startling both me and Cynthia. "Oh, Lords, that's amazing! You did it, Eba!"

She sat down and hugged me tightly again, squeezing the breath out of me. Cynthia pushed her away. "Let her breathe. I'm proud of you, sweetheart. But you still owe me that date, hear me?"

I shrank a little in her embrace. I was probably beet-red all over at this point. "Uh-y-hu-yeah-huh..."

Cynthia squeezed me a little. "Great. When's your other date?"

"Um... t-Tuesday..." I answered quietly.

"This is so exciting!" Annie said. "You're going to tell us aaall about your date, okay?"

I gave her a little nod, trying to make myself seem as small as possible. Cynthia frowned at Annie. "She won't if she doesn't feel like it, okay? Don't push her around."

My friend blinked, her smile dissipating a little. "Right. Sorry, it's just very exciting... I haven't been pushing you, have I Eba?"

She suddenly looked very guilty. I shrugged, not wanting to make her feel worse. "A little, b-but it's fine. Don't worry about it..."

Annie sighed, moving closer and wrapping her arms around me like Cynthia had. "I'm still sorry. I was supposed to help, and- actually, I was supposed to help you train for the tournament!"

I frowned, and then it hit me. "You're right! I forgot about the tournament!"

Cynthia looked deeply confused. "What tournament?"

"Lady Anastasia," I began, wiggling out of her embrace, "th-the queen of the endermen, is going to retire as monarch."

Annie nodded. "But because she doesn't have an heir, she's hosting this big fighting tournament to choose a new ruler."

Our friend digested this information slowly. "That's pretty interesting. And you're going to be participating in the tournament?"

"That's the plan," I mumbled. Then I mentally slapped myself. "But I haven't even signed up for it..."

"What?" Annie asked disbelievingly. "Why not? When do the admissions close?"

"I-I-I was w-with you," I stammered out. "A-and I think tomorrow..."

My friend suddenly pulled me to my feet. "Then let's go! We have to get you enrolled now!"

Cynthia rolled her eyes, following us. "Do you know when the tournament starts?"

I looked at her over my shoulder. "In a week, I think."

The woman nodded. "Then we have a week to make you the best fighter we can. Although, to be honest, I'm not sure either one of us could help you much in that aspect."

I made Annie slow down and then stop, considering Cynthia's words. I knew Annie could barely swing around her family heirloom sword, and I didn't think my other friend was that great at fighting either. I could probably ask one of my other friends to help me train... but who? Annie and Cynthia waited patiently, exchanging looks, as I racked my head for an answer. Sarah's a great warrior, but she's usually very busy. So is Adrian- everyone, really, has been busy.

Then I remembered the only one of us who isn't. She probably doesn't know how to fight either, but there's someone in her head who does. I blinked uncertainly at my friends. "I have a... friend who can help me train."

Annie smiled. "Really? That's great!"

"It certainly helps," Cynthia conceded. "Where do they live?"

I pointed uncertainly at the southwest. "Um... in a big house, maybe a kilometer from the city's outskirts..."

My friends exchanged looks. Cynthia shrugged, draping her arm over my shoulder and leading us to where I was pointing. "Then let's go. We're going to get you into the tournament and then we'll go meet your friend. Sound like a plan?"

I nodded, thankful that she was being so supportive. Wait... was she trying to woo me with support? "Do you know where to sign up for the tournament?" Annie asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"O-oh, uh... a-at the Globe chapel," I answered.

My friend sighed. "That's in the opposite direction..."

Cynthia turned us around and continued onwards without a hitch. "Then that's where we'll go first. Come along, Anne."

I smiled apologetically at my friend, who smiled in return. I was glad to have them around, even if Cynthia was... well, not bothering me, exactly... j-just, being her, I guess. It felt good to have friends who wanted to help me, like the others had when we lived in the valley. Like Blight had when we lived in the valley. I suppressed a sigh. I missed him so much... but at least I'd get to see him again soon.

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Author's Notes

The chapter actually got to 5k words, but I'm not counting it because 200 of those are from the AN and Reviews! sections.

I really liked Cynthia's character, and I wanted to add more of her to the story, so I did. We"re going to be seeing her more often, wether you like it or not. :P

I'm okay with this chapter, but it's not one of my favorites. Hope you guys like it better than I do!

Thank you all so much for your time and support! Have an awesome day!

~ LeMafiaKreb