It had been a couple of hours since Amybeth's second period. Third period was a fun recap, watching Yoshio, Tomohiro, Kaede, and some of her other classmates struggle with speaking Latin, while she and her other Knight classmates spoke it fluently. Lunch was great too. She sat with Yoshio and his siblings, and tried Japanese noodles for the first time, since the cooks each had different meal options available every day, and foods from outside of Ashfeld were included. History was boring, since it was history, and the study hall was possibly even more boring, since there was no homework to get done. Despite that, Amybeth spent it with the triplets yet again, where they all got to know one another a bit more.
But now, it was the last period of the day, Hero training! The class was nearing its end, so that meant that Amy and her class had already split up across the large arena-courtyard with personalized instructors. A little way away, Yoshio was training with an Orochi instructor, Tomohiro with a Shinobi instructor, and Kaede with a Nobushi instructor. One of Amybeth's classmates was also an aspiring Warden, so they trained together under the Warden instructor. The other five were also around, one being a Raider, two being Kensei, and the final two being Peacekeepers. Students who had the same Hero type trained together. Usually, before splitting off into smaller groups, the class of ten did workouts together and occasionally participated in competitions and spars against each other.
But today was only the first day. For starters, they were all given separate clothes to wear for the class, lighter clothing that was recommended for working out. Trainees could choose to wear their armor during the workouts if they wanted more of a realistic challenge. If not, the uniform was a simple white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of dark blue cotton sweats that could be tucked into any boot and were purposefully a bit baggy in order to allow for fluent leg movements. Amybeth had opted to stay in her armor, but soon regretted it, since the workouts were not left out, even on the first day.
The class began with lining everyone up in two rows, five in front, five in back, both rows separated by gender, since Amy's class just so happened to contain five of each. Yoshio, Tomohiro, the Raider, and the two Kensei were up front as the men, while Amy, Kaede, the other Warden, and the two Peacekeepers were behind them as the women. First came group stretching, followed by five laps around the entire training arena, before lining back up again and jumping into group push-ups and sit-ups. The trainees were introduced to stone weights and other things they'd have to train with in the future, like heavy ropes, or haybales, or rolling around heavy barrels, and other various exercises and activities, including obstacle courses and such.
People really weren't kidding when they said that the Barracks cracked down on physical activity.
After the workouts, Amybeth and her fellow Warden classmate, whose name was Dorothea, were introduced to the Warden instructor, and started by getting to know basic things like his name and his style of teaching. Both Amy and her classmate were given blunt longswords to begin their training with, and were told to do some basic exercises. They began with learning various guards that they could use, when they should use each guard, what each guard offers in terms of defense and attack, and so on. The four main guards they were taught were the left and right plow guard for their side flanks, and the left and right-handed key guard for the top flank. Amybeth already showed proficiency in the guards thanks to her father's training. The next lesson consisted of throwing basic attacks against a dummy from varying directions, which Amy also seemed to have the edge with. Dorothea was pretty envious the entire time.
Finally, the blunt swords were traded out for lighter wooden variants, and Amybeth and Dorothea were pitted against one another for basic blocking techniques, where both seemed pretty hesitant about striking one another, even if the blades were practically harmless, other than blunt force damage that wouldn't do much besides some bruising.
Amybeth stood facing Dorothea, a light pant coming in and out through her slightly parted lips as she stood across from her, Amy in top guard, and Doro in her left guard. The instructor was watching the two closely as they circled one another in front of him. However, he wasn't the only one watching the two. Standing beside the instructor were two Alpha Wardens, the golden one, and the golden-eyed one. Cyrus and Emora stood side by side, Cyrus sporting a wide grin, while Emora just had a warm smile on her face.
"She's so focused, man, she ain't even noticed us. If she had, I'm pretty sure she woulda' fucked up already." He whispered over to Emora, before grunting as he received a light elbow to the side from his golden-eyed companion. "Ow—what the hell was that for—"
"The instructor's like right there, watch your language, you dumba—or… uh, dummy." Emora stammered, leaning over to look past Cyrus and to the instructor, who just turned his head over and chuckled as he eyed the two. He was an older man that stood about an inch taller than Cyrus at six foot one, his hair brown but graying, a thin beard that connected with his sideburns adorned his jaw. He raised a gloved hand up to the two and dipped his head down briefly. "It's fine, really. Lord Isola is already fairly well-known for his laidback manner of acting and speaking, so it's not something that bothers me." He said with a calm, deep voice.
Cyrus smirked at the instructor, before turning his head over to Emora and nudging her side with his own elbow as payback. Emora just squirmed, letting out a small yelp as she took as step away, before sharing a brief laugh with the blonde Warden. Both of their eyes shifted to look at Amybeth and Dorothea, who were both still anxiously circling one another, both of them occasionally jolting their weapon out as an attempt to feint attacks, but neither one really wanted to bite out for a parry.
The instructor's eyes shifted up as he saw the Kensei instructor in the distance raise his hand in his direction. The instructor nodded his head before looking back down to his students. "We're just about ready to clean up out here, ladies! Either dish out your last attacks now or save it for tomorrow!" He yelled out, with both girls tightening their grip on their swords as they focused in on one another. Amy glared at her opponent, who had straight shoulder-length brown hair, pale skin, and hazel eyes. She was a bit of a larger gal, standing a whole two inches taller than Amy at five foot eight, yet was still a solid fifteen pounds or so heavier. At first glance, one would figure she was more fit to be a Conqueror than a Warden because of her wide, bulkier physique. But everyone knew that training as a Conqueror wasn't an option.
Amy drew in an inhale, before just whispering to herself: "Fuck it." The redhead stepped forward and raised her sword up into the air, coming at her opponent with a quick downwards attack, which ended up being blocked with a grunt from Dorothea. Amy didn't let up there, though, and drew her sword back before attempting a big slash attack to Doro's side flank. Everyone watched as Dorothea attempted to lower her guard down, but panicked as she messed up her blade alignment, and letting out a small cry of pain as Amy's sword smacked into her elbow instead of her sword. She staggered to the side and held her sword with the arm that was hit and used her freehand to rub it.
Amybeth let out a small laugh, looking over to her instructor for his word, before spotting Cyrus and Emora standing there. Her shoulders came up a bit as she gasped, before her shock turned into happiness. She raised a hand up and waved cheerfully at the two, receiving a thumbs up from her instructor, an "ok" sign from Cyrus, and a little wave from Emora.
"Continue, that was good, Amybeth! Dorothea, stay calm when reacting to an attack. I see you tense up every time, and it slows you down and causes you to mess up. Fix your spacing when blocking, take a step back or lean back if you feel you need to." The instructor lectured, with both girls nodding to him, before facing one another again.
Doro again entered her left guard, with Amy raising her sword up to her top guard. This time, Dorothea went first, quickly running forward and raising her sword up into the air in order to come down with a powerful heavy attack. Amybeth braced herself, gritting her teeth as she figured parrying was her best option, before remembering that it… really wasn't. Her father's words echoed into her mind:
"The best way to defend from an attack is by not being in its way in first place."
Amy watched as Doro moved her sword down from the air, keeping her key guard up as she took a huge sideways step to the right, moving around and out of the way from Doro's blade and dodging it swiftly. Amy broke her key guard as she whipped her sword around and swung it, twisting her body along and using her hips to power the swing, which connected right where Amybeth had aimed it at. The tip of the ginger's sword wedged itself right into the back of Doro's left leg, causing her to let out another yell of pain as her left leg lost its ability to support her body, and fell forward, leaving her down on one knee briefly, before she just fell sideways onto her ass, both of her hands clutching her leg as she winced in pain. Amy just stood there with wide eyes, looking over her shoulder, where all three of her spectators were nodding with approval, Cyrus with that same huge grin.
"One more time, if you're both willing to do so!" The instructor yelled out, to which Amybeth turned back to look at Doro, who was on the ground still clutching her leg.
Dorothea's armor was a lot lighter than Amybeth's, only wearing a red gambeson, dark tan pants, a pair of brown leather boots, and some steel bracers over the gambeson sleeves that only covered the top of her forearms, with the final piece being a leather chest-guard over the torso to cover the chest and back. Trainees could borrow armor pieces from the armory, but because this was the first day, they weren't given the chance to. Amybeth put a gloved hand out to help her opponent up.
"I hope you're okay! I'm sorry if I hit you a little too hard, I was in the moment…" She apologized, bowing her head down briefly whilst still keeping her hand out. Dorothea looked up, letting out a sigh as she rubbed her leg a little more, before letting out a pained grunt as she reached up and grasped onto Amybeth's hand with her own, and pulled herself up with her help. Doro looked down to Amy and adjusted her own gloves.
"It's fine… you know, you're really good at this. Way better at it than me. The instructor has only had his eyes on you this entire time…" Dorothea mumbled, looking off to the side to her sword, before crouching down and picking it up from the ground.
Amy just watched Doro move, her happy expression fading into one of pity as she did so. She was going to say something, but she figured that doing so with everyone watching was a bad idea. Doro just moved back to her spot with a frown on her face, which made Amybeth feel terrible. Part of her wanted to let Doro land a hit on her so that she too could get some recognition, but she soon grew conflicted, as she wanted to impress both her instructor and the Alphas. She didn't know what to do.
She got into position, her green eyes growing nervous as Doro did the same. The two girls circled one another for a couple of seconds, before she decided to take a step forward and reel her sword back, telegraphing a massive side heavy attack that Doro should've been able to easily parry. Doro instead reacted with her own attack, swinging her sword right into Amy's. The two swords clashed harshly, both girls coming together in a struggle as they pressed against one another. Dorothea was the bigger and stronger one of the two, so she took advantage and pushed forward, before using her shoulder to charge Amybeth back.
"AHH—" Amybeth cried out, stumbling backwards as she watched Dorothea's sword heading right for her face. She ducked below the swing, feeling the wind of the blow with wide eyes as she took a moment to gaze at Doro from beneath, seeing her determined and somewhat angry expression. Amybeth's eyes twinkled as she saw her opponent's grit and how much more effort she was putting into her combat. The redhead knew that she too had to try her hardest. She couldn't let herself be a pushover and allow Dorothea to land a blow on her just because she felt bad. So, as Amy crouched down below her enemy's swing, she allowed one of her hands to come up from her sword's handle and curl into a fist, which then fired itself into Dorothea's gut as she stood back up after ducking, using her legs to further assist her fist's collision course upwards into her enemy's stomach, giving it more power.
Doro's hazel eyes widened as she let out a cough, feeling her body lose its wind as her stamina was broken instantly from the sudden gut punch from below. Amybeth had a stern expression on her face as she raised her sword up with her right hand, holding it tightly as she aimed its tip at Dorothea's chest. Her left hand removed itself from Doro's gut and moved to grip her sword's blade to further stabilize it, before she thrust the sword forward in a half-sword stab, right into Doro's torso.
Of course, the sword didn't pierce, because it was just wooden, but the attack still caused Dorothea to freeze up as she looked down to Amy's sword wedged against her chest after recovering from being stunned. Her eyes shot from the sword to Amy, who stared right back with a fierce gaze. Doro panted as she dropped her sword, which prompted to fall onto the ground with a thud, a bit of dust coming up from under it as it hit. The two girls stood there for a few brief seconds, before Amy turned over to look at her spectators.
Her instructor's eyes were visibly more wide than normal as he stood there, his arms slowly unfolding and dropping to his sides in awe. Cyrus had his hands on his hips, a wide grin on his face. Emora just stared with a proud smile, her hands fidgeting with her blue neckerchief around her neck, its long ends resting on the visible area of her chest, at the center of the collarbones. Her black jacket was left open, her gray tank top visible underneath. Amy just stared at the three, before watching as Cyrus began to clap his hands. Soon enough, both Emora and the instructor joined in. Amy let out a laugh as she dropped her sword from Doro's chest and let it drop onto the floor. The redhead faced her opponent and smiled, before putting a hand out for her to shake. Doro just stared for a moment, before letting out a sigh, and accepting the handshake.
Just then, the sound of a jingling bell filled the training courtyard. Class was over, and so was the school day. Amybeth looked over to her instructor, who was making his way over. Both she and Dorothea stood at attention.
"You both did well today. I'll be seeing you both tomorrow. Take your swords and place them back into the armory storage, and then you're dismissed." He spoke, watching as Amy and Doro both bowed down and responded with a simple: "Yes, sir!" The two picked their swords up and rushed off, leaving the instructor to turn about and make his way to the Alphas. He stopped in front of them and gave them a nod. "I assume you'll both be speaking to Amybeth, then? Her training takes place after school, no?" He inquired. Emora and Cyrus both nodded, with Cyrus lifting a hand out in the direction where the two girls had walked off.
"So, what'd you think of that, huh? She used a half-sword technique, that's some pretty legit stuff right there. She's ahead of that other girl, that's for sure—" He was interrupted by Emora slapping his arm with the back of her hand, making him flinch and turn his head over.
"Shush! The other girl did fine as well, don't undermine her!" She snapped.
"I'm not, I'm just sayin', she kinda got her ass kicked, thas' all." Cyrus said with a shrug, making Emora slap his arm again.
The instructor just laughed, before nodding along. "Lord Isola has a point. The first blow would've damaged her forearm for sure if it was a sharp blade, the second would've taken her leg clean off, and the third would've killed her. So, I'd say Amybeth is definitely a step above many already, but I will be teaching them both the same things regardless, so they'll be learning together at the same pace. Simply because Amybeth seems to have the upper hand right now does not mean we should count Dorothea out of the fight completely, for she could be a quick learner and could close the gap between herself and Amybeth quite quickly, for all we know." He proposed, leaving Cyrus speechless. Yeah, he brought up a pretty good point. Cyrus rolled his blue eyes, shrugging his shoulders at the same time.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm already impressed by Amybeth, though, real talk." He said, pausing to allow the instructor and Emora to present their reactions. Both simply nodded along. "Like, her father's a Warden, and he trained her a bit, so that's why she knows some stuff already. I can't exactly blame Dora or whatever her name was for being a bit behind." He sighed, looking to Emora as she let out a laugh.
The sound of rapid footsteps could be heard as Amybeth made her way back over, with the rest of the class all gathering up with the rest of the instructors across the courtyard. The Warden instructor turned to the Alphas and bowed his head down briefly as he stepped away. "I'll leave you three to discuss. I have to dismiss the class with everyone else. Though, Amybeth," He said, pointing a finger at the sky. "Don't forget the assembly later today. You'll be receiving your designated dorm key. I'm sure you want to have that on hand if you plan on having a place to sleep tonight." He joked, before beginning to walk off. Amybeth nodded her head to her instructor, watching him waltz off. She turned her head back to the Alphas with a smile.
"I'm excited to find out who my roommate will be!" She said enthusiastically.
Cyrus let out a scoff as he looked to the sky. "Roommates can be real pains in the ass, Amy, trust me. I still remember my roommate. Yeesh—dude was such a dork. I swear, Japanese dudes could pass as girls when they're young, I mean the guy literally looked like a chick, with how long his hair was and how his voice sounded. His balls took their sweet ass time to drop." Cyrus laughed, before shaking his head. He paused for a moment, Emora and Amybeth both staring at him. "He was kinda' cute, though. Wonder where he is now."
Amybeth just stared at Cyrus with wide eyes, before looking to Emora for her reaction. Emora was just looking at her friend with a smug look in her eyes. Cyrus turned over and made eye contact, which made Emora laugh. Amybeth eventually let out her own laugh, with Cyrus just scoffing again and pushing the conversation aside. "Tsk—Anyway! Emora here had somethin' she wanted to talk to you about, so."
Emora glanced at Cyrus with a smile, before turning down to look at Amybeth, her smile fading a bit as she looked at her. Amy just looked back, blinking with curiosity as she waited. Emora drew in a breath, holding it as she brought her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes. After doing so, she let out the breath and tilted her head to the side. "So… Cinder decided not to report what happened with Leanne to her Hero Academy. He considered doing so at first, but Katsue and I convinced him not to. That entire ordeal was still lingering in our heads, and I'm sure you've still been thinking about it too. I just wanted to let you know that she isn't in any trouble."
Amybeth's eyes slowly closed as she hung her head in relief, letting out an exhale. She looked back up and nodded to Emora. "Yeah, I… haven't really been able to stop thinking about it, actually. S-She's my best friend, and seeing her like that, well, it doesn't exactly happen very often, so it really shook me up. She gave me this really dirty look right before her outburst, and I… would really would like to go check on her. She's been on my mind all day, Lady Ryon."
Cyrus and Emora exchanged a glance, before both turning back to look at Amybeth. Emora nodded with a warm smile. "I figured you wanted to go see her. I would be worried too if something like that happened between me and somebody close to me." She said in a soft, sympathetic tone. Amybeth just nodded her head, before both girls were interrupted by Cyrus laughing. Emora turned her head over with a confused look. Cyrus slapped his kneecap and placed a hand on Emora's shoulder.
"Yeah, 'worried' is definitely one way to put it." He chuckled, using his freehand to twitch a pair of bunny ears he held up with his pointer and middle fingers. "You act like you wouldn't scramble after whoever you indirectly upset if they gave you some sort of dirty look, shouting and begging for them to forgive you and tell you what's wrong. I know you, 'Mora, you bubbly bundle of love." Cyrus teased, giving Emora's shoulder a light squeeze and shake. Emora pouted, her brows furrowing as she moved her shoulder away.
"No, I wouldn't! At least not for you! If I upset you or something, you wouldn't give me some sort of dirty look anyway, you'd just… s-say something witty back." She huffed, looking at the golden Warden sideways as she spoke. Cyrus knit his brows with sudden offense, moving his head back a bit as his voice lost its lighthearted tone and grew serious and deep.
"So, you're saying you wouldn't give two shits if you did upset me, just because I wouldn't make it obvious? You'd know what you did regardless, yet you won't act on it and apologize to me? At all? Seriously, Emora?" He said sternly, Amybeth's own heart dropping as she watched the two Alphas speak.
Emora's heart dropped too, her chest experiencing a brief wave of hurt as her facial expression lost its bitterness and went soft. She put her hands up and shook her head rapidly. "What—no! I-I would act on it, I'd feel terrible if I didn't! I was just kidding—or… I didn't mean it like that, I just meant that you wouldn't really—or… fuck!" Sputtered the Warden, bringing her hands up to her face and hiding it. Her face had grown red as she tried to take back her words. Meanwhile, Cyrus just had the world's smuggest look on his face. He turned his head over to look at Amy, one of his brows raised.
"See what I mean? She's such a softie." He chuckled, before Emora shot her hand out and slapped him on cheek. It wasn't a hard slap, more so a love tap that made the golden Warden flinch. His hand still went to rub his face regardless as he looked over, faking an offended look.
Emora just glared with a pout. "You're such a jerk! I thought you were being serious! You know, maybe I really should just forget about your feelings and act like I don't care." She threatened, folding her arms beneath her bust. Cyrus' eyes narrowed as he looked into Emora's golden eyes.
"You'd do that?" He asked, simply. Emora blinked, turning down to look at Amybeth briefly. The ginger just stood there and smiled at her. Everyone knew the answer.
Emora looked away from the two and moved one of her hands up to ruffle her side bangs up, having them swoop down more to hide her eyes. "N-No… but still, I would if I could. Or—I would if you did something cruel enough to get me pissed at you. But I don't think that's possible." She blurted out.
Cyrus snorted, bringing a fist up to cover his mouth. "I mean… I did walk in on you and Airi that one time when—"
"SHHH!" Emora shushed, stepping forward and pressing Cyrus' own fist against his mouth more to make him shut up. Amybeth's eyes widened, before she just looked away and tried her hardest not to laugh. Cyrus just chuckled to himself as Emora turned down and fixed her hair up.
"A-Amy, you can get going, now! Uh—try to be quick, you need to be back here in about an hour or so to get your dorm key, okay? You won't be training with us today, only because you just got started. But you still did great today! Like I said, things will probably pick up more next week. For now, things will be slow while you adjust to living on-campus and all." Emora said, her voice still a bit panicked and fast-paced thanks to Cyrus and his big mouth. "Oh—and please let me know how it goes. Leanne, was it? She's quite the character, from what I've seen and heard. I can tell she matters a great deal to you. If you're willing to talk to me about her, I'm here to listen."
Amybeth just slowly nodded, a smile growing on her face as she began to see more and more of that golden heart that Emora was known for having. She cared about Leanne, and she could tell. It seemed like after Leanne yelled out those things about the Alphas, especially the things that had to do with Airi and the Hakushi Province, Emora and her had developed some sort of indirect connection. Amybeth figured it was totally possible. The thing that surprised her was that Emora didn't seem resentful towards Leanne for speaking out the way she had, especially about such sensitive topics. After all, Emora and her friends had nearly died multiple times while out on their endeavors. "I'll be sure to tell you whenever I can, Lady Ryon. I'll do my best to be quick!"
Amybeth waved to Cyrus and Emora, before turning about and beginning to rush out of the courtyard. Emora's voice caught her attention again though as she heard the Warden yell out to her. She looked over her shoulder with a light gasp.
"You can take a horse from the stables, if you'd like, Amybeth! Just be sure to check it out with the guards at the gate before you go!" She shouted, to which Amy just stuck a thumbs up into the air, and turned back about to continue her run. Emora and Cyrus both watched her disappear from the courtyard with small smiles.
"Let's hope things go well with that squire y'all ran into." Cyrus said, with a light exhale. Emora turned to him and nodded, her smile looked cheerful, but as Cyrus turned to face Emora, he could tell that the golden-eyed Warden looked a bit anxious. He didn't say anything about it, though, as he figured that it wasn't the easiest topic to talk about. He just gave Emora a nod that she promptly returned.
"Well, we've gotta get going to that meeting Cinder and Cindra told us about. I'm pretty sure the others should be on their way too, so… come on." He brought up, motioning over in the direction of the conference building that was in the distance, beyond the Barrack gates.
Emora inhaled, fixing her hair up a bit as she nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
With that, the two went on their way.
Meanwhile…
The guards at the gates both returned to their posts after letting Amybeth out with the horse she had chosen from the stables. It was one of the horses that Leanne had let loose, and the same one that Amybeth herself had led back into the stables. She rode out from the Barracks, grasping the reins, her feet tucked into the stirrups. She had a worried expression as she rode along the busy roads of the fortress, mostly because she was anxious about how things would go with Leanne. Her horse carefully made its way along the roads, Amybeth's eyes constantly darting about below her at people who traveling on foot. She rode alongside other horses and wagons and such every so often as she began to make her way towards the fortress' biggest road, where she could pick her speed up in order to get out through the eastern gate.
Her horse galloped its way out through the gate, and started its way along the dirt pathways that connected the fortress with its neighboring towns. Because she had no one to talk to, Amybeth was completely silent for the ride, other than occasionally waving or saying hello to random passerby that bothered to do so first. After about ten or so minutes of casual trotting, Amy arrived at Cherrytown's entrance, where Amybeth rode the horse to the stables and handed it off to the stablehands, so that she wouldn't have to ride the horse within the town itself, nor would she have to hitch it up somewhere random where it could be a disturbance. Leaving it at the stables was the best thing to do. Amybeth made her way along, waving goodbye over her shoulder at the stablehands, making sure to thank them all for their help.
As the ginger-haired trainee walked along, she began to get plenty of confused and surprised looks, as it was not common to see a resident of Cherrytown, much less a young lady, wearing armor that didn't have the legion's signature dark blue, azure, and white colored designs. The armor of Azure Legion Heroes always had the designated colors painted on it, with any additional garments like surcoats and capes colored in the same way. The appearance of the armor itself could be chosen by the Hero's own will, meaning any sort of customized material color was permitted. Amybeth's armor was silver-plated, but her surcoat was purple and white, meaning that the armor was her own, and that she was not a Hero from the garrison that was settled in Cherrytown. On top of that, she was unarmed and looked a bit too young to be a Hero anyway, so it wasn't possible that she was a warrior from another Legion.
Amy was, however, fairly well known around Cherrytown, simply because her father was part of the garrison that was stationed within the town, and was a native of the town itself. As the daughter of a Warden, she was respected, and most people that Amybeth was close with knew about her ambition to follow in her father's footsteps. As she walked on the pathways, venders she was familiar with and some of the passerby sent cheerful smiles and polite waves in her direction, to which she responded to with her own smiles and waves. Her hands came up to her face to fix her hair up, her two twin braids still idly hanging down her back. She decided to bring them forward, allowing them to run down her shoulders as she approached the house that she knew to be the Bennett family's.
The redhead stopped in front of the door, staring right at it as she drew in an inhale, which she proceeded to hold in as she composed herself. She closed her eyes and held her breath, before slowly letting the breath out in a relaxed exhale. She raised a gloved fist up, hovering it over the door's surface and nodding to herself one final time, before knocking on the door thrice. Amybeth took a step back to wait, her eyes just idly staring at the closed door that was in front of her. She waited for about fifteen seconds before her eyes fell down to the ground, darting about nervously.
"Is she home? She should be, I can't think of anywhere else where she could be. M-Maybe she just didn't hear the knocks." Amy thought to herself, before stepping forward again and repeating another three knocks. She stood back and held her breath anxiously, her heart beating within her chest as she began to fidget with her own gloves, idly adjusting and tugging on them. Once again, no answer came from the door. Amybeth grew worried. She turned away from the door and began to circle the home, glancing at its windows, which were closed with their wooden covers, preventing anyone from being able to see inside. She let out a small grunt of frustration as she made her way back to the door, unsure of what to do. Amybeth looked down to her hands in debate, her anxiety growing.
"Leanne wouldn't do anything stupid over this, right? No way, she's stronger than that! She's been through worse, I… I'm sure she can handle this! But—shit, she seemed so distraught and torn up back at the stables, I… I've never seen her like that before, not to that level. So… a-angry and disgruntled…" Thought the ginger-haired trainee, her gaze switching back up to look at the door, her pupils beginning to dilate as she grew frantic. "Maybe she's not home, maybe she went somewhere else to cool off? But where—she could be anywhere! Fuck!"
Amybeth skipped back to the door, this time at a much quicker pace. She raised her hand up in a hammer-fist and knocked a final three times, though, they were less so knocks, and more so loud thuds that she had performed in rapid succession. "Leanne, are you in there? If you can hear me, please say something, or come out! It's Amybeth!" She shouted at the door after taking a single step back. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard some noise come from the other side of the door. It was abrupt and quick, as if the person inside was panicked or in a hurry. She took a step forward again and placed her hands on the door, before knocking on it an extra time.
"Leanne?"
Amy blinked as she heard the sound of light footsteps making their way towards the door, getting closer and closer at a quick pace. She took a step back and waited, her face still relaying her confusion. Finally, she listened as the door's lock came undone before slowly opening up, revealing her blonde best friend standing behind the door, peeking her head and a portion of her body out to look at her.
Leanne had changed out of her squire armor for the most part, which she was only required to wear on Mondays for routine inspections, before being allowed to wear lighter uniform. She had taken the coat vest, the chainmail, and the bracers off, and was only wearing a white linen shirt and beige trousers. The boots were off and were replaced by a pair of simple flats that she was wearing over black socks, garters holding them up at the calf beneath the pant legs. Her hair was down from its former braid, leaving it running down her back and shoulders, wavy and somewhat messy. Amybeth just looked on for a moment, with Leanne doing the exact same. The two stared at one another, Leanne looking tired and deject, while Amybeth looked concerned and anxious.
"Uh… hey." Leanne whispered, one of her hands coming up to right below her lips.
Amybeth gave a small smile. "Hey…"
Leanne paused, figuring she should explain why she hadn't answered the door until Amybeth yelled out for her. She stepped out from behind the door to reveal herself fully, her hand coming up to move some loose strands of hair up out of her face, along with rubbing her eyes, which looked tired and somber. "S-Sorry that I didn't come answer the door the first two times you knocked. Sometimes strangers come by to ask around for my mom, since… y-you know." She said, pausing. Amybeth just slowly nodded her head. Clients.
"So yeah, I didn't… really wanna open the door for them to see me and get any weird ideas." Leanne shrugged, looking away from Amy and eyeing the ground, not bothering to say anything more. Her hair draped down over her face as she faced away.
Amybeth let out a sigh, shrugging her shoulders. "It's okay, I totally get it. That's why I shouted, to see whether or not you were actually home or not. It's better to be safe than sorry." She said, with a light chuckle. She expected Leanne to at least laugh along with her, but frowned when she didn't. Leanne just looked up with a weak smile, slowly shrugging a shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She mumbled, eyeing her best friend with an empty stare, the smile she had given before quickly disappearing. She blinked and tilted her head to the side as she then observed Amy's getup. "What're you doing all the way back here? Shouldn't you be at the Barracks getting settled in?"
Amybeth felt her body tense up as a wave of pain hit her heart. Most people wouldn't react to what Leanne had said, but Amybeth knew her best friend. The blonde had said that in a way that was spiteful, and she knew it. The redhead's eyebrows knitted upwards with a hurt expression. "H-How can you say that? You really think I wouldn't come over here to check up on you after what happened back at the horse stables?"
"Oh, gosh…" Leanne scoffed, rolling her eyes and looking away out of embarrassment. She took a step back inside the house and gripped the door, set on closing it on Amybeth's face. Amy, however, let out a gasp as she saw what Leanne was doing. Her heart jumped into action as she subconsciously took a step forward and stopped the door from closing with her arm, now standing in the doorway with a visibly more annoyed expression.
"Are you serious, Leanne?! You're closing the door on my face, what the hell?! What's gotten into you, talk to me!" She pleaded, continuing to hold the door back with one of her arms as she stood in front of Leanne.
"I don't want to talk about what happened, alright? I… I just—" Leanne stammered, still gripping onto the door with one hand, before moving her second one onto it to try and push Amybeth back. "I can't, just go away! You have better things to be doing right now, stop wasting your own time!"
"Wasting my time, what do you mean?! You're my best friend, Leanne, and I'm worried about you! We can't just ignore what happened and act as if it never happened! It did, and I wanna talk about it, because I've never, ever seen you like that, and… I-I want to know what happened. I want to know what's wrong…" Begged the redhead, taking another step forward into the home and pushing the door open more. "So please, let me in so we can talk!"
Leanne just stared up at Amy, her eyes glaring with an unstable look. All the emotions she had cried out earlier began to rush back all of a sudden, and she could feel it happening. Her eyes began to get glossy, as if preparing to cry. The blonde refused, though, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. "What is there to talk about!? I fucked up, Amy, I really, really fucked up. That's it, that's all there is to it!" She shouted, beginning to push back against Amy. She wasn't as strong as her, though, so if this went on, she knew Amy could eventually just burst through anyway.
"So what? You got caught, but that's okay! If I was in your shoes, I would've probably done the same thing if it meant being able to see you face the Alphas personally. I understand why you did it, I just want to know whether or not you're okay after the… the outburst, that you had—"
"Shut up! I'm fine, alright? I don't even care about it anymore!" Leanne cried out.
"Yeah?! Is that why you look and sound like you're about to burst into tears, Leanne!?" Amybeth yelled out, making the blonde gasp as she looked up. Amy stared into Leanne's teary eyes, now aware that something was definitely wrong. She pushed forward while Leanne was off-guard, and stepped inwards, shoving the blonde back with her freehand, and using the other to close the door behind her.
Leanne stumbled back, catching herself after a few backwards steps as she looked at Amybeth with a distraught frown. "You… shouldn't… be here, Amy…" Mumbled the young squire.
"Whether or not I should be doesn't matter to me. I want to be here, for my friend, for you. If only you could see yourself right now, Leanne, you're not okay. The way you yelled at the Alphas, the way you yelled at Emora, your biggest idol, and… a-and the way you just ran off crying, I had to come see you after class." She said with a soft voice. "How could I not? Did you seriously think that I'd just forget about you and stay at the Barracks the entire time?"
Leanne whipped her head away, looking off to the side with a frustrated frown, her brows furrowing up with resent, her lips quivering lightly as she tried to hold her emotions back. She knew Amy was right. Leanne knew this was coming all along, of course Amy wouldn't just move on as if nothing had happened. But still, Leanne felt too ashamed to say anything in response.
Amybeth stepped forward, standing in front of Leanne and looking down to her. "You knew I'd come, didn't you? Why did you just try to push me away? I'm not here to do anything bad, Leanne, I just want to know what's wrong and to see if you're okay." She spoke in a caring tone.
Leanne sniffled, shaking her head more as she continued to avoid eye contact with Amybeth. She could see the other girl in her peripheral vision, and she refused to look back at her, not yet. She knew she was being stubborn and difficult, and she hated it. But regardless of that, she couldn't help it. "N-Nothing's wrong, Amy. I'm okay, just… just go back to the Barracks, where you're supposed to be, where you belong."
Amy's expression shifted in disbelief. Her eyes looked over Leanne, carefully analyzing her facial expressions and her body language. Her lips were slightly parted. "S-Stop doing that."
Leanne blinked, her eyes opening up a bit as she slowly turned her head up to look at Amybeth, whose voice had cracked and lost its composure as she spoke that last sentence. "Stop doing what?"
"Talking to me like I'm some sort of stranger." Amy began, her voice now with an audible quaver in it. "You told me that I should be back at the Barracks getting settled in and you keep repeating that I shouldn't be here, like I don't belong or something. You're acting like this town isn't my home anymore." Spoke the redhead, her eyes narrowing as she stared. "Leanne, the Hero Barracks are just a single phase of my life, I'm not… s-signing away my soul to them, or something. I can leave with permission, and I'll do so every single time if it means being able to talk to you."
Leanne let out a scoff to cover up her true feelings, in order to make it seem like she didn't care. In reality, it meant the world to her. But she still didn't understand. "I just don't get it, Amy, that's why." She said with a frown. "You're living our dream! You're getting to train with the Alphas and you made it to the Barracks all on your own. You're gonna become a Hero, Amy, it's just a matter of time…"
"I'm living our dream?" Amy retorted, moving her head back in confusion. "Aren't we both trying to live the dream, together? You're still working hard to be right there with me, aren't you?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
That was when Leanne's chest tightened up. Her lips began to tremble as she looked up to Amy with her eyes brimmed with tears. She let out a small laugh, out of pure hysteria. She blew a brief raspberry, sarcastically. "Pfft—yeah! I'm right behind you, Amy! Totally!" She laughed, taking Amybeth by total surprise. The ginger just watched as Leanne's laughter slowly turned into crying. With wide eyes, she wrapped her arms around Leanne as she watched her start to cry, her mind spiraling with confusion.
"W-What's going on?! Why are you crying, what's the matter?" Amy asked, worry riddling her tone of voice. She watched as Leanne grasped onto her arms with her hands, and looked up to her with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Don't you get it, Amybeth?!" She suddenly yelled out, sobs interrupting her breaths as she tried to continue speaking. "I'm done! I can't fucking do it anymore, I don't wanna keep trying! Today was the last straw, my last straw! Everything just came crashing down today, and it all fell right on top of me and crushed me! I've got no strength left in me anymore, Amy, I'm done—I can't fucking do it, not anymore…!" Leanne cried out desperately, tightly grasping onto Amybeth's arms, before shaking her harshly. She brought her close for a moment, before shoving her back and covering her face up with her hands.
Amybeth stood there in shock for a few moments before just blinking rapidly. She stepped forward and put her arms out. "W-Why? Is it because of the Alphas? Because they won't be coming to see your class when you get into the Barracks?"
Leanne looked up, her eyes going from being filled with hurt into anger. "What? 'When I get into the Barracks,' what kind of shit is that?! Gosh—at first, I thought I could make it into the Barracks, I really, really did… but now I know for sure, Amy, I can't do it! Who fucking cares about the Alphas not visiting the next class of trainees if I won't even be part of that class in the first place? Why would I give a shit?!"
The redhead was in even more shock and disbelief. Hearing Leanne yell out and angrily cry out like this, this was what was so out of place for her. "This is what I'm talking about, Leanne! These outbursts, I've never, ever seen them before! But now I've seen two, in a single day! I know you've been through so much, but—I just don't understand! Just how much do you have bottled up?! And what are you still not telling me?!" Amybeth yelled out, her own eyes beginning to tear up, but she remained determined to keep her composure. "Before, you believed you could do it! I still believe you can! What's changed?!"
"EVERYTHING!" Leanne suddenly thundered, making Amybeth flinch. "After six fucking years, Amybeth, after I lost my dad, I'm finally letting everything out in the only way I know how! And all of this shit that's happened, all of it has just made me realize, Amy…" She paused, her voice going quiet. "That I'm not meant to be a fucking Hero…"
"That's not true!" Amy suddenly yelled out, pointing a finger out. "You are meant to be a Hero, you have what it takes, Leanne! I know you do; I've seen it! Your determination and grit are always things I've admired about you! Your reasons to become a Hero are so much more powerful than mine, too! They're your motivation, that's what keeps all of us going! My motivations kept me going, and if they did so for me, then they can certainly do so for you!"
Leanne shook her head, sniveling over her tears. She passed her hands over her face, trying to wipe her tears away. "They can't. Everything's ruined, Amy, it's over. I've given up…"
Amybeth's heart shattered. Her emotions finally got the better of her as tears began to spill from her eyes and ran down her face, her teeth chattering lightly as she began to cry. The girl that she knew as her best friend, one she had known since she was little and shared so many memories and feelings with, was now breaking her heart. Amybeth and Leanne's fathers both knew one another. They worked together as Heroes. In fact, it was Amybeth's father that found Orson's body after the skirmish at that cathedral, and it was him that delivered the news to the Bennett family. Amybeth remembered how devastated Leanne was. And from that day forward, she knew that Leanne wasn't the same.
But out of Orson's death came something good. When Amy decided to become a Hero to follow in the footsteps of her father, Leanne was left behind, because she was younger. Amybeth knew that Leanne was hurt because of it. That's when the two decided to work together towards the same goal. Leanne too wanted to become a Hero in the name of her father, for his legacy. The two swore they'd become Heroes, and that's when they both began to train under Amy's father, with Leanne getting a head start a bit early before entering basic training herself. Now, Leanne was giving up on all of that. Not only was she giving up on Amy, but she was giving up on her father and family, too. It was heartbreaking to see.
"Y-You can't give up…" Amy mumbled, her tears dripping from her jaw and falling down onto the wooden floor, leaving behind tiny little puddles in their wake. "W-We… we were meant to do this together…!" She sobbed.
Leanne gritted her teeth as she glared at Amybeth, sniffling again to take in some air. She passed her hands past her eyes, cheeks, and nose, and sniffled again. "We were never going to do it together, Amy! You're older than me, you were always going to be a step ahead, no matter what I did! I don't know what sort of moron I was to believe that you and I could do things side by side, but you and I as people aren't even equal! You're older, smarter, taller, stronger! You're just… y-you're just straight up better than me!" She cried out, more tears beginning to spill from her eyes.
The blonde clutched her fists, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her soft palms. "I'm nothing but a failure, Amy! The Alphas, they all think I'm an idiot! I saw how angry Cinder looked, I saw how shocked Katsue was, I fucking saw how hurt and taken aback Emora felt, after I yelled out all of those stupid fucking things! Why?!" She asked herself, with Amy just staring on, completely speechless. Leanne threw her arms up. "Because I'm stupid, and childish, and immature, and too much of a senseless brat to be a Hero, much less a Warden! Wardens are supposed to be calm, reasonable, collected people who are steadfast in the face of adversity! Yet when I faced adversity," she paused, pointing to herself with a finger, her eyes dilating gradually as she grew more and more frustrated and infuriated with herself.
"I got spiteful, and resentful, and bitter! I got all fucking pissy because they weren't going to visit the next class of trainees! I got jealous of you, Amybeth, because you got to show off everything that you learned and worked for in front of them, when I won't ever get that opportunity!" She cried out, rambling her mouth off about everything that was on her mind. "You and I worked together under your father, side by side! But that doesn't matter when the Alphas won't even be there to see what I can do! And why's it matter anyways, even if they were there! I fucked it all up anyway! I trespassed, Amy, I committed a crime! And I made myself look like a fool!"
Amybeth stomped her foot onto the ground, making the ground nearby shake a bit. Leanne felt it beneath her feet, flinching as she took a step back. "Why's that matter?! Why does it mean you have to stop?! If they told you that they were going to be there for your class, you never would've never had that breakdown, and nothing would've gone wrong with the Alphas!" She argued. "They're not even angry with you, Leanne! They told me that they're not going to tell the Academies about what happened! You're not in any trouble!"
"But that's not what happened, was it, Amybeth? Sure, it would've been great if they told me they were gonna be there, but they told me the opposite, and I couldn't fucking handle it! And so what if they're not telling the Academies, it doesn't change the opinion they have on me now after what they saw!" Leanne yelled back, her heart beginning to beat faster and faster.
"You—you don't know how they feel! You can't know for sure!" Amybeth cried, trying her best to convince Leanne to keep going. She couldn't handle this. Her voice was tearing apart as she tried to argue with the blonde.
"And you can't either! Any logical person would think the way I'm thinking, Amybeth, people don't just forget about public mental breakdowns! That's not how our heads work! And if you think they're going to have a positive opinion of somebody who literally had an outburst of baby rage and spite right in front of them and then proceeded to yell out insults about them and the battles that made them famous, then there's something wrong with you, Amy!" Leanne shouted, her eyes filled with fury. She glared at Amybeth with an unforgiving, cruel gaze.
The ginger's heart stung with hurt, taking a step back as she brought her hands close to her own heart, continuing to sob as she looked at her best friend with her crying eyes.
"My father, Amy," Leanne went on, pointing at the floor. "Would be fucking disappointed in me, and I know it. If he were still alive to hear about what I did and what I lost my shit over, I know for sure he'd… he'd be so, so disappointed and upset with me. Thinking about that just cemented the fact that I don't have what it takes to be a Hero. I let him down, Amy."
"Y-You're—" Amybeth choked, letting out a whimper as she let out a sob that prevented her from speaking. She hiccupped, her lips trembling as she tried to speak clearly. "You're letting him down by giving up, Leanne! Don't give up, please! You can't!"
Leanne just continued to deny Amybeth's pleas. She shook her head and covered her ears, her teeth gnashing together inside her mouth as she tried to control herself. She opened her eyes up and shot her arms out again. "I already know I am! But Amy, that's all my family is! We're failures! My mother, my—" Leanne couldn't help it this time. She choked back a sob, letting out a small cough as she pushed onwards. "My mom made a promise to herself to forever stay loyal to my father, even if he was dead. She swore abstinence, Amy! But now look at her, she broke her promise too, she failed him too! She spends over half her time bedding somebody, and fuck—she does it drunk, too! I've heard her drunken banter, how it makes her feel good, how it fucking 'takes the edge off,' does that sound like a respectable woman to you, Amy?!" She thundered, her voice echoing throughout the home.
Amy's mouth slowly opened, her head slowly shaking. "Y-You can't—you… you can't say that about her! She did it f-for you, because she needed to! You said so yourself, she needed more money to keep herself and you fed and housed!"
"Yeah, and I let it happen! I just sat there and watched! I could've done more, Amy, I could've gone out to get some sort of job or something! I know I was young, but I—I was nothing but a liability! I can't help but feel like it's all my fucking fault! Now she's somebody that I barely get to see and whenever I do see her, she's either drunk, in a hurry, or BOTH! So fuck it! If she gets to be a failure, then so do I! I might as well make myself useful and get a job instead of trying so hard to achieve a goal that I'm not even worthy of, nor capable of completing!"
"STOP IT!" Amybeth cried out, causing Leanne to flinch. Amy put her hands over her face and cried into them, before beginning to snivel and wipe her tears away little by little. "You are worthy! And you can complete it! You just have to keep pushing! I know things are hard for you, Leanne, I can only imagine the burdens you carry! But I believe in you!"
Leanne let out a whimper. She brought a hand to her forehead and pressed her head against its palm, her teeth gritted together as she tried to stop crying. She let out a frustrated grunt, her hands beginning to rub at her eyes. She swatted tears away, feeling as they wet her hands and left them damp. "But I don't believe in myself! Nobody believes in us, Amy! We're Cherrygirls! We're not meant to be Heroes! You just got—" She paused, her eyes flaring with jealousy and bitter indignation. She pointed a finger out at Amybeth, her voice cracking as she yelled out:
"YOU JUST GOT LUCKY!"
At that moment, Amybeth's sobbing came to a screeching halt. She fell silent, her tears continuing to dribble down her face and idly drip from her jaw and the tip of her nose. Her emerald green eyes stared at Leanne, watery with tears of hurt. She didn't know what to say.
Leanne stared back, panting as she held her finger out, continuing to point at Amybeth. She soon let it fall limp at her side as she stared at her best friend, breathing in and out desperately. "All of my classmates… they all don't believe in me. My teachers don't believe in me. Not even the Alphas believe in me, not after what I did. I'm all alone, Amy. And—" The blonde stammered, remembering Meiko's words that obliterated her morale and the last little bit of hope that she had left for herself. One of Leanne's hands came up to her mouth to cover it. She spoke out from behind it, her voice muffled. "And I don't think I can win if it's just me against the world, all by myself. Just a single Cherrygirl…"
Amybeth's heart became conflicted as she stared at Leanne. But for the first time, she felt bitter towards her. What she had said about getting lucky, it belittled everything that she had worked for. It belittled and disparaged all of her hard work, all of the training, all of the dedication and time she had put into trying to become the greatest cadet, the greatest squire, and now, the greatest Hero trainee. Amy thought that she and Leanne were in the struggle together. Apparently, Leanne never felt the same. Instead, she felt jealous and resentful of her, and all this time, Amy hadn't known. Half of her felt bad for making Leanne feel that way. But the other half knew that it wasn't her fault. She was just doing her best, and if Leanne couldn't be happy for her, then… what did that say about her?
"You weren't alone, Leanne…" Amy began, sniffling. Her hands came up to her face and eyes, taking a couple of moments to wipe them free of tears. Her nose and cheeks were left red and moist from the tears, her eyes also red and bloated. The redhead looked at Leanne in a somber way, watching as the blonde cried behind her hand. "I thought it was us against the world. But apparently you just… n-never saw me as somebody you struggled with together, but instead somebody you struggled against. You're jealous of me, and you… y-you can't be happy for me, can you?" She asked.
Leanne froze up. Her heart dropped down to her stomach in shame, because she knew that it was true. She knew she didn't have the strength to admit it. She couldn't have. How would that make Amybeth feel? She probably already knew anyways; Leanne could see it. The blonde once again began to hate herself for feeling the way she did. "W-What? N-No, Amybeth, I am happy for you! I'm—I'm just… I can't—I…"
Amybeth stared on, her expression gradually getting colder and colder, more and more distant. She lost more and more emotion, though that somberness always stayed apparent on her face.
"I… I—" Leanne stammered, trying to push the words out. Her teeth chattered together as she slowly gritted her teeth against one another, her hands coming up to the sides of her head and grasping onto her hair, tugging on it as she hunched over and let out a sob, her tears splashing down onto the floor. "I tried to be happy for you, Amy!" She cried out. "But I can't help it—knowing that you'll always be ahead of me, knowing that the Alphas are with you now, knowing that it's only a matter of time before you become a Hero and leave me in the dust, all alone, with the world and my anxieties all coming together to hold me back, I can't—I can't bring myself to be completely happy for you, and I hate myself because of it! I'm selfish, Amybeth! I'm fucking selfish!" She sobbed.
Amybeth just stood there, looking down to her blonde best friend, watching as her buckled legs finally gave in. Leanne collapsed onto the floor on her knees, hunching down and digging her face into her hands as she wept.
"You are selfish, Leanne…" She spoke, in a gentle tone. "But I can't be angry with you forever. And you know that…" She mumbled, a bit of emotion returning to her voice. Leanne couldn't respond. She was out of it. But Amy knew she was still listening. "What you said… about how I just got lucky. That hurt, Leanne. It fucking hurt, okay?!"
Amybeth paused for a moment, looking down to Leanne, watching as she groveled on the floor, moving from her knees down to all fours. She looked up away her, since she couldn't bear to see her like that. Her emerald green eyes darted around the home aimlessly. "But I know my worth, Leanne." She said out loud, her voice slowly regaining its strength. "I know that I can do whatever I need to get done if I just put my mind to it and work hard enough! I know that I'm a Cherrygirl, but I don't let that stop me, Leanne! And I thought you were the same way! I know, okay, I fucking know your life is difficult, so much more difficult than mine, but you have to find the strength to look past it all! It's gonna be hard now, and… i-it might stay that way, but I hope, Leanne… I pray to whatever gods beyond our world that you can one day find that strength. The strength you once had, and have now unfortunately lost."
Leanne just continued to cry, the lecture making her feel worse. She felt weak. She felt pathetic. She felt like a former shell of herself. She knew Amybeth was right. Everything she was saying was right. But in her current state, and with how her life had been treating her, Leanne couldn't bring herself to accept it. Her sobs were loud and desperate.
"Anyone can become a Hero. Even Cherrygirls. Leanne, I didn't get lucky. I worked hard, I trained hard, my father watched us both grow stronger and better, together! You can keep doing that! Forget the Alphas and their opinions, you set out for your father! You can't know how he'd feel about your incident because he's not here, Leanne! Don't put words into his mouth!" She yelled, looking down and pointing a finger at the blonde. "Your mother may be in a bad state right now, but things can always get better in the future! You just have to hang on a little longer, Leanne! You've done it for six years; you can do it for a few more! And fuck what everybody else thinks! Prove them wrong, Leanne, prove the world wrong! Because if I can do it, then so can you! In your own way!" She continued to shout, before falling down onto one knee in front of Leanne. She stayed there, watching as the blonde slowly looked up to her, still on her hands and knees.
The two stared into each other's eyes. Leanne's blue eyes were filled with tears and pain. Amybeth's were clear and glistening with hope. Hope not just for herself, but for Leanne.
"I feel terrible, Leanne. I'm sorry that I've made you feel this way. I'm sorry that I've made you feel bitter, and jealous, and… resentful. That look you gave me in the stables, I know what it was now. I feared it was such, but… I can't blame you. Selfishness is something you can overcome and grow out of. You're still young, Leanne. You still have time to make things right for yourself." She spoke calmly. Leanne's eyes slowly widened as she stared Amy, her breaths slowing down a tiny bit as she sat there.
"But no matter how bad I feel over this, I can't let you hold me back. I did my very best, I fought my ass off against Emora, I trained hard with you and my father, and I gave it my all. If you feel like you can't be happy for me, then that's okay. It hurts, but it's okay. I know you told me you tried, and… I-I guess that's what matters. Just know, Leanne…" She paused, her voice softening. "I'll always be here for you. And I will be waiting for you on the other side." She said, with a sad smile.
Amybeth stood up, one of her hands rising to her face to finish off any leftover tear-residue from her face and eyelashes. She blinked a couple times, before looking back down. "It's up to you to decide what future you make for yourself. I've decided what I want my future to be, and I'm gonna keep working towards it, even if you won't be there by my side. It pains me to do so. But I can't let my guilt and pity over you get in the way of my aspirations."
Leanne watched as Amybeth turned about and made her way towards the door. She looked on helplessly and speechlessly, tear droplets slowly trickling their way down her face. Amy placed her hand on the door handle and pulled it open, now standing in the doorway. She looked over her shoulder, giving Leanne one last look.
"If this means that I'm leaving you behind, then from the bottom of my heart, Leanne," she said, placing her hand on her chest as she turned about, so that she could see it. "I'm sorry. But remember through all your pain that you'll always have my support. I just hope it's enough to bring you back on the path that you and I once walked together, hand in hand."
With that, Amybeth dropped her hand from her heart, and stepped out, closing the door behind her. As she walked away from the home, her eyes began to water. She held strong, though, refusing to start crying again. She realized that she was probably late to collect her dorm key now. But all she could think of was Leanne. One particular thing echoed in her mind:
"We're Cherrygirls! We're not meant to be Heroes!"
She had heard that same sort of phrase twice in a single day from Leanne. Before today, she had never heard those words come from her lips. It was ironic, now that she thought about it. Leanne's idol, Emora, hailed from Cherrytown. Amybeth had thought about telling Leanne that little detail, but she chose against it, figuring that Leanne had to find her own strength to keep going. She couldn't keep using the Alphas as a crutch. It was the Alphas and her slip up with them that triggered her descent into despair in the first place, after all. Amy didn't want to risk history repeating itself. She walked in silence as she made her way back towards the town's stables to retrieve her horse.
But back in the Bennett house, Leanne hadn't moved. She sat on the ground on her knees, her butt resting on her legs, her hands down on either side of her on the floor, her head hung low as she squeezed her eyes shut, her sobs by now had weakened into mere whimpers and soft sniffles. She opened her eyes up and stared at the floor, all of Amybeth's words echoing through her mind, bouncing back and forth. She didn't have the composure to make sense of it all. She couldn't find her strength, not now, at least.
Her shame and grief won her over in the end as she once again dug her face into her hands on the ground in an upright fetal position, her forehead touching the floor as she drowned and wallowed in her sadness. Knowing that she had Amy's support meant the world to her. But she too wondered if it was going to be enough to get her back onto the path to becoming a Hero. What Amy had said about her father lingered about, making her feel even worse. She realized that she had badmouthed her mother as well, which only added more salt onto her wounds. The Alphas and their opinions still mattered to Leanne, no matter how much Amybeth tried to convince her not to care about them. And finally, to top it all off, the entire world was against her. Meiko had Leanne convinced that she wasn't worth scrap, and that her efforts were in vain simply because of what she was. A good-for-nothing Cherrygirl. She wanted to prove the world wrong, but she was unsure of whether or not she had the courage to try and do so. She had already lost to Meiko more than once. Why even bother if only more embarrassment, shame, and ridicule was all that waited for her on the other side.
Amybeth was leaving her. It was bittersweet. Leanne knew that she couldn't hold Amy back. She had made the right choice, choosing herself and her own interests, for she had earned her current spot in the world. Amybeth was able to successfully prevent her negative emotions get in the way of her goals. But Leanne hadn't. She had failed, and because of it, her emotions were controlling her and engulfing her in pessimism and hopelessness. Even with Amy's final words of encouragement, Leanne's heart was too exhausted to try and hope again. She didn't even get the chance to apologize to Amy for the things she had yelled out about her.
The one thing that Leanne could think about was what Amybeth had said about her future, and how only she could decide what it would look like. Leanne slowly looked up, her face finally rising from its watery, teary grave behind her hands. She eyed the door, her imagination making her believe that Amybeth was still standing there to help her figure out what to do with her miserable existence. Her pitiful life.
Leanne put her hand out for Amybeth, her entire body trembling.
"The hope for my future… I can't put it back together anymore."
So, that was a long one, right? It's always shitty to see two best friends break up. Anywho, I hope I haven't lost my ability to write dramatic arguments. Let me know! Until the next one.
