A Fate Unchanged: A Fable Story

"No, you're still not doing it right. Again," Maze said, and swung the wooden training sword, hitting Jetta hard on barely covered thighs.

Her legs almost dropped out from under her again. She regained her balance and gave an annoyed huff. "You can't expect me to know what it is that I'm doing wrong. You have to actually tell me!" Jetta bent over to rub her overly abused legs. That earned her another, softer strike. Grumbling slightly, she trained her eyes towards the wooden dummy ahead of her.

"Precision, Jetta. Precision is the key. Now spin kick. I want to see that head fly across the ring." He took a step back while watching her feet. The wooden dummy in front of her was filled with rock and straw that were brutal on her un-protected feet. Maze had ordered that she remove the footwear that she had on earlier. Feet conditioning, he said. At this point her feet were already raw and bleeding. It only made the thought of impact that much more frightening. Readying her stance, she slid her right leg back behind her making sure that it kept contact with the ground as she did so, even if it did cause more pain. Sizing up the linen figure again, she focused solely on where its 'cheek' was. Ready to strike, Jetta started her assault. Before she could make contact, Maze swept her back leg out from under her. The sudden impact of the harsh ground knocked the breath from her lungs, making them burn.

"You move to slowly. Any opponent would have already removed your head from your shoulders. We'll have to do another speed session." He grew a thoughtful expression and looked towards the horizon. "Later. Go wash up and get yourself something to eat. You did very good today. I'd dare say that I'm proud of you," he said, a half smile on his face. Starting off for his own quarters, he stopped.

"I hope you understand just why I am so hard on you." Without waiting for any reply, he continued walking leaving her behind.

Jetta was still laying on her back, thinking of how wonderful it would be to never get up again. This dirt could be very comfortable if she thought about it. Closing her eyes she just kept slowly breathing, most of the pain already gone.

"Advance training proving to be a bad idea yet?" Jetta knew that voice, and was thankful that it wasn't Maze. She opened her eyes to see a small but strong hand in front of her face. Both belonged to Snow a white haired beauty who at first glance appeared to be weak. Jetta knew better though. Snow was amazingly strong and smart. She was also the only student who would even talk to Jetta, so it was easy to say that the two were friends. Jetta snorted at her friend.

"Oh no. It was a lovely idea. I don't see why everyone doesn't do it," the sarcasm could almost be seen dripping from out of her mouth. This just earned a laugh from her friend.

She couldn't even complain though, as Jetta was the one who had requested the advanced training. After a quick discussion between Maze and the Guild Master, both agreed that one on one training would be the wisest choice. It just wouldn't do to have the seventeen year young women in class with children only barely the age of ten. Most others her age were almost ready to graduate. Some already had.

Jetta grabbed Snow's hand graciously, pulling herself to stand while being careful not to cause more damage to her already injured feet. Snow then held her other hand in front of her friend, showing her what she had been carrying. A pair of cloth slippers.

"Snow, I could kiss you right now!" Snatching them from her hands, grateful for her attentive friend. Making sure to wipe off the excess dust and rocks that were fixed to the bottom of her feet, she swiftly placed them on her feet.

This had become a routine of theirs. Jetta was always thankful for the thoughtfulness of the girl beside her. Glancing down at her now covered toes, she knew that it wouldn't stifle the already existing pain, but it would certainly keep any new pain from occurring and any more gravel from getting in.

"You know, this place has changed you," Snow noted as they made their way towards the dining hall. Jetta gave her a quizzical look. "For the better. Don't worry." Both of them let out a small giggle. Jetta had her arm around the shorter, but older girls shoulder as they finally made it to the stone steps. "When you arrived, you wouldn't say a word to anyone save the Guild Master and Maze. Not to mention how ridiculously clumsy you were." Jetta gave the girl a small smack to her arm.

"Hey!"

"Well it's true! At least you're not having the nightmares anymore either. Vanessa is still scared of you," She teased.

Jetta groaned. "I keep telling everyone that it was an accident! No one but you believes me," She said sending a silent glare to the room full of student.

The first week of Jetta's arrival, her nights were plagued with vivid nightmares about Oakvale. Vanessa, who had already taken a disliking towards here since people were taking the attention away from herself to talk about the mysterious newcomer, was apparently annoyed by her whimpering and decided to do something about it. Subconsciously, Jetta was aware that someone was near her, and in her dream she was already thinking of her father. When Vanessa had come close, Jetta's unconscious body took over, again, and Force Pushed her across the room. Luckily she landed on someone who was sleeping instead of out a window. The girl who was so rudely woken up by the flying body, was now Jetta's best and only friend.

"Go ahead and take a seat, I'll grab our food." Jetta nodded and made her way to the back corner, closest to the library. As she walked, few looked up to see who had come in so late, but quickly dismissed her. It was a welcomed change from when she had first arrived. Then, they were constantly whispering and pointing.

A few moments later, the smell of lamb brought her out of her thoughts. Snow was holding a plate under her friends nose, teasing her with it. "I thought you was hungry? Here's your plate. Lamb, potatoes, and some cabbage." She sat down across the table and poured herself some mead. She took a sip and sighed at the taste. "I'll never understand why you don't just drink like a normal person." Snow commented, referring to the fact that Jetta preferred to drink water. Everyday, she made fun of her for it, at least once.

"Like I've said, I don't want to be impaired." Jetta took a few bites of the tasty food. "There's no telling when Maze will show up to test me." The sentence brought both girls thoughts back to a night when he had decided to train right before bed, and well into the night.

"Well, let's finish eating so we can go heal your feet some." Snow, who had been training for years now, was taught the healing spell. It had become part of their routine. She would heal Jetta's minor wounds every night. It was beneficial to both. Snow had the chance to practice, and Jetta didn't have to deal with as much pain. She had become much better than the first time they had done it, which had been a nightmare, ending in more blood than when she had started.

Back in their dorm, Jetta sat on the bed, watching as her friend worked.

"So, how hard is it? To do the spell?" Snow stayed quiet for a moment as she finished the right foot, and was getting ready to work on the left. She was actually able to rid Jetta's foot of most of the wounds.

"Well, it's not too hard. It just takes a bit of concentration. It's something where you really have to want to help." Snow's hand hovered above Jetta's ankle. "And when I do the spell, I just think about what's hurt and imagine it how it's supposed to be. How I want it to heal." Her hand took on a soft white blue glow. After a moment, when the glow went away, most of the visible damage had gone away. "It's pretty simple actually. I just keep wondering why it wasn't the first spell that we learn."

"It's to stop students from acting foolishly. If they learn to heal, before they understand the damage they can cause, they will just restore themselves without the thoughts of possible repercussions." Maze said, standing right behind Snow. For such a large man, he could be very quiet. To Snow, he was still a teacher. A scary one at that. Babbling over herself, she gave an apology for her ignorance, and excused herself. Mumbling something about library, she excused herself quickly. The girl hadn't even finished healing Jetta's legs.

Jetta sighed to herself and pulled her left foot towards her, placing it on her thigh. Maze quirked an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" Jetta held her eyes closed. "Ignoring me now?" Though she couldn't see it, she could feel him raise an eyebrow at her curt nod. After a few moments of silence, her hand started to glow that same soft bright color that Snow's did minutes ago. Her foot began to tingle, as it did when Snow was working on her.

When she opened her eyes, and pulled her hands back, she was not disappointed to that the base scratches were gone. She was surprised, however, by the fact that there were no wounds left at all. The lesions from her earlier training that day were no longer there, along with those that Snow had been unable to get. Even the scar that she had received when she fell as a small child was almost gone.

"I was wondering how much longer it would be before you tried to do it yourself. Well done." Maze bent down to look at her handy work. He grinned at his student, a small amount of pride evident on his face. "Much better." Jetta blushed slightly at the comment.

"Well, I figured that if I was able to do such a strong Force Push, this shouldn't be that hard either." She then pulled her other leg towards her torso. When she set to begin on this one, the glow started instantly. Once finished, which was very quickly, Jetta wiggled her toes. A smile graced her face. Her feet held no pain and felt better than they had in ages. She'd have to try it on her back when she had the chance.

Maze's fingers played with his wisp of a beard as he thought. "Hmm, I suppose this means that you are ready for your Will training. We shall start that tomorrow morning." He turned on his heel, ready to leave. "Oh, you'll want to go ahead and relax tonight. Get some sleep." He smirked. "You'll need it."

For the four months that Jetta had been at the Guild, not once would Maze train her in the power of will. At most he would just tell her that she wasn't ready yet. Apparently, all it took was for her to finally do it herself.

Excited about the news, Jetta made her way towards the library to find her friend, and tell her about all that had transpired.

"That's great Jetta! I'm happy for you," Snow said after hearing what had happened. "For the life of me though, I will never know how that man does not scare you. For Avo's sake, he could pick us both up." She paused. "Probably with the same hand."

"Well," Jetta said as she opened up a book. It was on the art of stealth. "After he hits and smacks you around a good couple of times, you start to see him as more of a nuisance." Snow just rolled her eyes playfully, a smile on her lips. Jetta just smiled back, keeping the fact that she didn't mind his presence to herself. He was the man that helped her after all.

Snow looked back to her book, one on archery, and started to talk absently. "His skin still gives me the chills." She turned a page. "I wonder if it keeps him awake at night. I bet he glows everywhere." Snow paused, and looked at Jetta, a look of shock now on her face "What... what if he glowed..." Jetta sent a look at her, disturbed that the thought crossed her friends mind.

"How could you even think of that?" Both girls laughed, and continued with their books. The pair stayed in the library for a while longer until the bell chimed, signaling that it was time for bed. Luckily, the two shared a room to themselves, as most were scared to sleep near Jetta after the incident with Vanessa. As the two made their way to bed, her head was full of thoughts of tomorrow, and the new magic that she would learn.

Jetta was awoken abruptly when ice cold water drenched her face. Screaming, she jumped out of bed trying to become aware of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was Maze, then she could see the large glass that was still in his hand. "Just what the hell was that about?" She demanded, her temper about to burst. "That was completely uncalled for Maze. You could have just prodded me or something!" She tried to wipe away the rest of the water from her face with the back of her sleeve. It was then that she noticed something else. The window. It was still dark outside, only moonlight trying to make it's way through. "And what happened to me getting some sleep?" She grumbled, throwing her half wet hair up in a high bun, making it looks less of a mess than she was sure that it was.

"I told you to get some sleep. You should have went straight to bed." Even in the dark, Jetta could see the smirk that graced his face since the swirls of magic that were on his face moved as well. She couldn't be sure if the patterns that covered his body kept him awake, like Snow had suggested, but he did seem to actually glow in the dark. "Now get dressed. You'll want to put on some clothes that can breath today. It's supposed to become very hot by this afternoon. Meet me by the demon door after you grab something to eat."

"Great," she mumbled to herself, walking to her chest to find something suitable. The typical outfit was made from a heavy linen and would be much to hot, if what he said was true. Searching through her small amount of clothes, she found a long tan tunic that went below her bottom. She then pulled out a dark brown pair of pants that were form fitting, but still very thin. It would work nicely. Finding the rope that she usually would use for a belt, she tied it around her middle to help keep her shirt in place. Jetta didn't even bother with shoes. The chances were that he wouldn't allow her to wear them today as well. Even though she was tired, she couldn't hide her excitement as she made her way down to the kitchens to grab some fruit, before making her way towards the Demon Door.

The small clearing where the Demon Door was found, was stunning. Moonlight reflected off of the water that was near, casting almost a glow. Some small fire flies were dancing their way across the grass, making their last few trips before it was time for them to rest. It was still fairly dark, and the sun wouldn't start its journey its the sky for at least an hours time.

Jetta walked silently, taking a bite from the peach that she snatched, the juices running down the sides of her mouth. It was delicious. Of course, she was still keeping an eye out for tell tale sign of the blue glow that was Maze. It was impossible to know when he would do try to attack her suddenly. The only person she could see though, was the Demon Door.

"Well good morning to you young one," He greeted her with a smile, well as much as a door of stone could. The very first time that she had seen the door, she had been absolutely petrified. What kind of magic could do something like that? Very old magic, apparently. After she had calmed down, Snow had introduced the pair, the two had been friends ever since.

"A good morning to you as well Arios. I hope your night went well. The frogs weren't too annoying I hope?" Jetta asked, placing her leather canteen of water as well as her other food beside the short stone wall closest to Arios.

"Always, but there isn't much that I can do being just stone and what not. Even my meanest face only makes them croak louder." The door made a face to show her. He was right, the just became louder. Arios' eyes shifted behind her to look up towards someone else who had joined them. "Ah, I should have known that you would be joining her Maze. You never give the poor girl a break." Maze continued walking towards Jetta. He had tied back his shoulder length icy white hair with a cord of leather. His outfit consisted of a breezy shirt, and calf length pants that were obviously meant to help regulate his heat later.

"Hello Arios," Maze greeted. "Don't worry about Jetta, she doesn't mind."

Jetta gave a small huff, but smiled as well. "I'm sure that it's worth it. It's not exactly like going easy will help me right now." It was true. She was so far behind that if he were to go soft on her, she would never catch up. The only part that she really had problems with, was having to wake up so early. Or the abuse of her feet, things, and ribs. Other than that though, she actually enjoyed it. Something that she could ever quite admit to Snow. Her friend would think that she had lost her mind.

"Well, let's get started. I didn't wake you up this early to stand around and talk." He took a few steps back and faced himself towards the three targets. They were just like the one that she practiced on the day before. Linen and full of rocks. "We will start with something simple. Lightning." To demonstrate, he raised his hand and attacked all three of the dummies at once, an alarming light leaving his hand. The air around Jetta changed dramatically. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, feeling the threat that was around her. Maze turned back towards her. "Now it's your turn."

Arios spoke to Jetta quietly, "You can do it. You're more of a natural than any I've ever seen, and I've been here for a long time." It was a small vote of confidence, but it did help.

She made her way out towards Maze, and faced the wooden figures. "You have to channel your energy towards your hands. Just like when you was healing. Think of how it would look and feel with your mind." Maze said placing a hand on her back, the other grabbing her right hand and facing it towards the target. "It will feel strange at first, but you'll pick it up quickly. Just try not to fry it." If Jetta had been paying more attention, she would have seen the smirk, instead of thinking that he was mocking her.

"Maybe I will, just to spite you," she retorted quickly, and moved all of her focus to the straw figure in front of her. It was crudely put together, and someone before had burnt it while casting a spell improperly.

Jetta wasn't certain about this. The spell that she had done before was healing. This was completely offensive. While she wasn't exactly a tame girl, the thought of purposely hurting someone seemed peculiar to her. As for her target, even though she knew that it was inanimate, it was still strange to attack something that couldn't even defend itself.

Holding her hand out more firmly, she envisioned in her mind, the dummy and her hand being connected by an arch of lightning that she was sure would leave her. A moment later she attacked. A small lightning strike landed in the center of her target. Jetta smirked. Piece of cake. She released another one. This one came to her easier, and was bigger than the last one. What she was most surprised about was Maze's tone of voice.

"No! Come on Jetta, you can do better than that! That was practically beginners work." He was disappointed.

"Well excuse me for never doing an offensive spell before. It's not exactly like it's much of a target anyway." Jetta said while walking over to said target. She gave the wooden beam holding it up a small kick with her foot. "How am I supposed to attack something like this full force. " She looked towards the tree line, seeing that the sun was indeed going to peak soon. "When I attacked my father, I was thought I was going to die. It was a completely defensive reaction."

Maze stood there, thinking on her words. "How about this then." He placed his hands back in the same place where he held them earlier, firmer though. "I want you to think of what happened that night, the fear that it did invoke. You need to think of that as your father," He motioned towards the target, "Imagine that it wants to kill you. If you do not kill him, he will kill you."

The new train of thought already had her heart beating faster. She could see her father standing there before her, that wicked grin on his face. "You're helpless little girl. Ain't nobody gonna' save ya." Before her memories could continue, lightning exploded from her palm. The force of it sent Maze, who was still standing next to her at the time, to the other side of the clearing. Jetta hadn't even noticed. She was still staring at where the dummy was. Well, where it had been anyway. It had completely disappeared, leaving only a smoldering pile of ash in its wake. The power was something that she had not expected. It had felt like a fire that wasn't hot to touch, almost as if playing her hand through a very think fog. Hearing a groan behind her, Jetta turned to see that Maze was sitting up, holding a hand to his head. Her body tightened up, preparing for the yelling that she was bound to receive.

"That was amazing! Bloody brilliant!" Jetta's mouth dropped. She had just thrown him, and he was grinning.

"Uh, are you okay? I swear I didn't mean to throw you, or fry the dummy." She looked down sheepishly. "You told me specifically not to fry it."

"Oh that was just a joke. There are plenty more," He stood up and dusted his self off. Jetta finally started to relax, and asked what was next. "I want you to attack me of course," He said as if it was obvious. She just stared at him as though he were insane, though he very well could be.

"Are you mad? I can't do that!" Her eyes were wide, and her voice shook some. Obviously that fall hurt him more than she thought. Maze just gave her a slightly annoyed look of his own.

"Why do you think you're being trained? It's not to hunt rabbits. No, you're here to learn how to kill. How to protect. How to bring pain to those you believe deserve it." He was now standing directly in front of her, looking deeply into her eyes. "You are here to become a Hero."

Of course it was all true. He was right. There was a reason that she wanted to do the advance training. So that she could learn, and leave here as soon as possible to avenge her mother. "I'm sorry, you're right. I'm still acting childish. There is much at stake here, and I'm acting like a sniveling little girl." Maze grinned in approval and gave her a small nod.

"Well then," He moved back taking a defensive stance, "Attack me."

That was all she needed. Smoothly, she raised her hand towards him, calling the power back to her, and pushed them out of her palm towards him. The strike almost appeared to slow down in her eyes, getting closer and closer to her opponent. Right as it should have made contact, Maze raised a shield around his self, effectively deflecting the lightning. When she lowered her hand, it was still tingling fro the power that had passed through. Looking to Maze, she was curious if that was what he had been expecting. She could see the answer already on his face.

"That! That right there!" He exclaimed. "That's excitably what I want you to do every time you strike. Do you hear me?" His ice blue eyes shone with an excitement of his own.

Jetta just stood there dumbly, a great grin on her face. "Thank you Maze. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you." She looked again towards the horizon. A swash of pinks and purples of the beginning of the sunrise had started to peak through. One that she would not have seen if it weren't for him. "Thank you for bringing me here, for saving me." She smiled, the most heartfelt one that she had given since she had been here.

Maze found his voice was caught inside his throat. That was not something that he had expected. "Yes, well." Jetta couldn't be sure if it was the color of the sunrise reflecting on his face, but it seemed that Maze had started to blush. "That's enough talking. Come on! Strike me again," He commanded, his voice now holding a much more determined. Maybe, now he would take her more serious, as she would now do to herself as well.

She stole one last glance towards the skyline. Today marked another new beginning. Maybe even the true beginning. Turning back to Maze, she smirked as she pulled up her energy again. She was planning to take full advantage of it.