Ina woke up early next morning, still unsure if it this was all the dream.
But it wasn't.
The silk sheets, the soft gown, the golden celling. The palace was real, the queen was real, Rehan was real.
So was her destiny.
She dressed quickly and stepped into the hallway,.where Rehan was already waiting .
He wore black again, his sword at his side, his expressions unreadable.
" Ina," Rehan said, his voice calm but serious, "today's training is different ."
"Ready?" He asked.
"No," ina said honestly . "But let's go."
Instead of taking her to the shining Courtyards or gardens, Rehan led her to the oldest part of the palace -- a broken--down wing with crumbling walls and cracked windows. The air smelled like dust and old stone
She stepped inside and froze.
"Nope. Nope. Nope." She said stepping back.
The floor was covered in roaches. A few crawled along the walls. A spider dropped from the celling, right in front of her
"I hate this place!" Ina squealed , jumping back. "Why here?!"
Rehan chuckled for the first time. " A warrior must face her fears."
"Can't I face a demon instead?" She muttered, weaving her arms like a maniac to keep bugs away.
He didn't budge. "Come."
Gritting her teeth , ina stepped in, holding her breath.
The training room used to be the ballroom--- giant mirrors cracked with age, torn velvet, curtains, and a broken chandelier above. But it had a space. And Rehan liked its silence.
"Lesson one." , he said , tossing her a wooden
Sword again. "Balance."
She caught it --- but almost dropped it because a cockroach 🪳 ran over her boot.
"Ahhhhhhh!" She shrieked, hopping in circles.
Rehan pinched the bridge of her nose , and said "focus."
"I'm trying! They are everywhere!"
He walked over and calmly crushed one under his boot. "They don't bite, you do."
Ina stared at him. "That was gross. And oddly charming."
Rehan smirked.
An hour later , she was sweating , swinging the sword clumsliy, but still standing. Every time she screamed at a bug, Rehan corrected her grip. Everytime she panicked , he reminded her she was chosen for more.
By the end , her arms ached, her heart race, but...
She was still there.
Still standing.
Maybe even stronger than she thought.
"You're not just here to swing the sword," he said. "You have to stay here. All day."
Her eyes widened. "All day? All alone? With them?!"
A fat roach scurried across the cracked mirror.
Rehan nodded . "Yes. You have to face fear without running from it. No leaving until the moon rises."
Ina dropped her sword. "Are you serious ?"
"As a scar onyour soul," he said.
She narrowed her eyes. " That sounds dramatic. And Terrifying ."
He leaned closer . " So is being choosen."
Before she could argue more , he turned and left, clossing the heavy door behind him.
Click.
Locked.
🪳🕷️ Hours in the Darkness.
Ina stood in the centre of the room, sword in her hand, sweat already forming on her neck.
" I can fight demons," she whispered "but not bugs."
A spider crawled over an old piano in the corner . She shrieked and threw cushion at it. "This is so unfair!"
Time passed slowly . She paced the broken floor. She kicked at roaches. She screamed into a dusty curtain. Then, she sat on the floor and cried a little.
But she didn't leave.
She stayed .
After a while,. the fear started to shrink. She lit a candle . She practiced her sword swings. She whispered to her self. She even gave names to the bugs.
"That's one steve ," she muttered , watching a roach crawl into the crack. "Still gross , but less scary now."
Then , around sunset something changed.
🌙 The First Glimmer.
As the last sunset faded through the broken windows, ina stood still.
The room grew colder . Her scar begin to glow again--- soft, silver light.
The sword in her shimmered . Just for a second.
She gasped.
"I saw that," she whispered "I saw it."
She closed her eyes and focused. She remembered the painting . The moon behind her.
And in the silence, for the first time, ina felt something inside her shift- like a lock had turned. A door had opened.
Not wide. But enough.
Enough to feel power.
Enough to feel magic.
Rehan opened the door, just after the moonrise.
He expected to find a crying girl.
Instead, he found ina standing tall in the center of the room--- dusty, sweaty and surrounded by bugs .... But glowing faintly in the dark.
He didn't smile. But his eyes softened.
"You stayed."
"I did ", she said proudly . " And I didn't even kill steve."
Rehan raised an eyebrow. "Who's steve?"
"A roach," ina replied.
He said nothing. He just nodded his head, but in his heart , he knew .
She was becoming something more.
But suddeenly ----her knees wobbled.
"Ina" , he said, stepping forward.
"Yes, I'm fine." Ina replied. Wiping her sweat.
"Let's go from here" said Rehan.