Chapter 25
…
It was a hot, no, exceptionally hot day for a spring. The air was humid, a sun scorching, and even the breeze itself seemed to grow weary and scared from the brutal weather.
"Hyaa!"
It was an open space. Namely, a large field of grass which stretched far into the horizon, where it eventually met a meadow.
"Hyaa!"
She cried out again. Her clothes damp and sticky, countless droplets of sweat flying everywhere as she moved around with vigor.
"Hyaa!"
Her long sword cut through an imaginary, invisible grimm. Thereafter, her piercing another one with her short sword. Accomplishing that, her tired features continued to deepen and distort under the strain of her grueling practice. In spite of that, she didn't stop just yet as both, old and new, sweat engulfed her slender but firm body, and she slashed her way through a horde of invisible grimm. Her long, blonde hair moving like a whirlpool, and it sometimes shielded her eyes from the blinding sun.
"Hyaa!"
She cried out one final time before finally reaching the point where she was too tired. Utterly breathless and spent to her bone, which led her to stay still for some moments, and she really wished the breeze would stop being so lazy. Unfortunately, it remained nonexistent as it was, and the girl merely closed her eyes, and emptied her mind instead. In doing so, she ceased her desires, and the only thing she was still focused on was her own breath. Her big, labored breaths.
"…"
Her thundering heart relaxed, sweat wasn't a brutal downpour, and her breathing stopped being so taxing and hard. Her lips closing, and she breathed just through her nose. And then opened her eyes, the youthful spark in her eyes not masked completely by an air of maturity she possessed.
"Oi."
A woman's voice behind her.
"Ma," She said, and then sheathed her weapons.
The older woman crossed her arms under her chest. "The dinner's ready, go stuff yer stomach. And be careful with training out're. Today's too hot me reckon."
Estelle cracked a reassuring smile. "It's alright, ma. I'm as careful as I need to be. And yes, I do want to eat something. And have a cold drink."
"Will get ya. Me special no less," She replied, and her daughter's eyes brightened a single shade.
"Yes!" She couldn't help but to exclaim like a child, and her mother grinned happily.
"Let's go home me little sunshine," She said, and her daughter was quick to oblige. Both of them walking along side each other, and Estelle glanced to her backside. To the views stretching far into the horizon, her eyes focused and sharp, as if she was searching for something.
"…"
She didn't find anything, but the hope in her crystal blue eyes didn't waver. Especially so when her mother put a hand on her shoulder, and then they looked at each other, and her blue was met with a promising smile. A smile which said everything she needed to know.
Worry not, little sunshine. He's doing his best ya bet. Regardless of where he is.
"So, what's for dinner, ma?" She asked, and her mother smiled proudly.
"Me outdid meself this time. Me…" And she proceeded to explain what and how she cooked.