Yelana arrived at the training room. She took a deep breath before she stepped in. She still felt a little nervous, and the goddess’ constant pestering didn’t exactly help the situation. She didn’t really have a plan other than actually teaching Lily. The rest, well, she will have to improvise.
Inside, Lily was already waiting. She, just like Yelena, wore the training outfit provided by the school. Yelana walked over and greeted her.
“Hey! Are you ready?” She asked.
Lily was already holding a wooden training sword. She nodded, with an enthusiastic smile on her face. It seemed she was excited about their training. More than she seemed to be about the class earlier.
“Good! Now I’ve seen they've started teaching you the basics. Let’s start from the beginning, stance. Show me what you learned today!” Yelena told her.
Lily immediately took her position and stood in the basic stance she had just learned. Yelane began inspecting her form. She had already noticed some issues, but she didn’t expect Lily to be perfect after just one class. They can work on that.
Yelana moved around the girl, looking at her stance from behind as well. Her gaze wandered down her bare legs and her butt that was barely contained in those shorts.
“Oh la la! Just look at that. Guess what this girl is missing from the front, she got it in the back. Big and firm. I bet you are already imagining having those cheeks in your hand.” Lucia, of course, couldn’t leave that without a comment.
Stop! I’m here to teach her, not to molest her! Yelena was not happy about the interruption. Especially because she knew, the goddess was right. She did think about those things. Yelena really hated the fact that she couldn’t hide anything from Lucia.
“Okay! There are a few issues. That is expected. You’ve only just learned all this; today was the first day you’ve ever held a sword in your hand. We can work on this. Here, let me correct it for you.” Yelena stepped in front of Lily.
She put her palm below Lily’s hands that were holding the sword. She gently pushed it up a little. Then, she placed her right leg between Lily’s. She pressed her foot against the girl’s left foot and started pushing it outward.
“You need to widen your stance a little. It is important to have good balance at all times. The last thing you want during combat is to fall because you couldn’t maintain your balance.” Yelena explained.
Lily was following along as best as she could. She paid close attention to what Yelena was showing her. She didn’t want the other girl to waste her time, so she wanted to learn as quickly as possible.
“I also saw you were practicing some basic one, two, three combos. Can you demonstrate?” Yelena was satisfied with Lily’s stance at the moment and moved on to the next part.
Lily nodded. She was ready. Yelena walked back a bit and kept her eyes on the girl. Lily raised the sword above her head, then swung it down. She turned the sword, bringing it up in a diagonal slash, then she sliced down with another diagonal one.
Yelena watched closely. Of course, there were issues. Mainly that she was pulling the sword back way too much, leaving herself too exposed. She stepped behind Lily.
“Let’s try it again; this time I’ll help and guide you, okay?” Yelena asked.
“Yes, that is fine.” Lily replied.
Yelena moved close behind the girl, their bodies touching. Yelena reached around Lily, grabbing her wrists with both hands. She started to guide her, lifting her hand above.
“First, you don’t have to raise it too high or far back. It is not about strength. You are not planning to crush your enemies. Besides, I don’t think it will be your style anyway. The enemy could strike at any moment, so you always have to make sure you don’t leave yourself too exposed when you attack. Only do what is necessary, while keeping yourself covered.” Yelena explained while showing the correct position.
Yelena noticed something. She didn’t pay attention to this before, but now she couldn’t ignore it. They were so close. Their bodies touched each other; her breasts were pressing against Lily’s back. She could smell the faint, flowery scent that was coming from Lily. It was pleasant. Not like what she was used to. Nobles tend to use stronger, sweeter perfumes. Yelena didn’t really like that. She always felt it was too much, almost to a nauseating degree. This, however, was very pleasant.
Unfortunately, Yelena started to feel something else too. The same burning sensation she felt just yesterday began to return. The heat rose in her body, and she started blushing.
Shit! Why now? Lucia, can’t you do something about this? She asked the goddess for help.
“Sorry, I can’t control it. It will happen. Did you really think some kissing would be enough to keep it away for long? No, if you want more time between it happening, you will need to go further. Also, it is more likely to trigger near people you are attracted to.” Lucia looked at Lily when she said that last part.
“Everything okay?” Lily turned her head back to look at Yelena, who had been frozen for a couple of seconds now.
“Yes… sorry, I was just thinking about some stuff.” Yelena couldn’t exactly tell what was going on, so she just decided to keep it vague.
The white-haired girl was pondering whether to call off the training session or just keep going. Both had their issues. In the end, she decided to keep going. She could handle this feeling for a little while.
Yelena guided Lily over the motion. She did her best to stay focused, but the building arousal and the closeness of the two didn’t make it any easier.
At some point, she caught herself putting her hands on Lily’s hip. She looked down, seeing the girl’s butt just a breath away from her hand.
“Go on! Claim the prize! I know you want it!” Lucia’s voice came from behind Yelena.
Not happening! I told you! I’m not going to start just randomly groping this girl. Yelena clenched her teeth as she was mentally having a conversation with the goddess.
“Well, you need to do something soon. You are getting more and more worked up. If you ignore it for too long, it will be bad.” Lucia pointed it out.
Yelena ignored the advice and focused on the training with Lily. They went through the motions together a couple of times before she let her go and told her to practice it on her own for a little while.
Lily did as told and swung her sword. She did learn; her form was much better than before. It still wasn't perfect, but Yelena never expected her to learn it in just one day.
“Why did you decide to join this academy?” Yelena suddenly asked this question.
She wanted to get to know Lily better, but that was only half the reason she asked. She was desperately trying to get a conversation going, to take her mind off the lust that was getting stronger each minute.
“That is simple. Ever since I learned to read, I have loved doing it. Spent hours each day in the local library, studying. One day I met a mage there. He was a kind old man. After talking for a while, he gave me a book on magic. It was a very basic one, not really enough to actually learn magic.” Lily kept training while telling her story.
“I was really interested. I read it again and again. That was the first book I could ever get my hands on that explained the topic. Our library obviously didn’t have anything on the topic. Later on, I met that mage again. He suggested this place. He said, If I want to learn how to be a mage, this is the best place to do it. He told me it won’t be easy, but if I can make it through, I’ll be able to go far.” There was a smile on Lily’s face.
“I didn’t really believe him back then. How can a simple girl like me go far? After today, I think he might have been right. Maybe he saw something in me back then.” Lily finished her story.
Yelena listened patiently. It was a nice goal to have. She didn’t seem like the type who craved power or riches. She just wanted to learn and make something out of herself.
“That sounds great! It is always good to have a goal. Even here, there are people who come just because this is a prestigious academy. They wander around aimlessly until they wash out. Having something to aim for will help a lot. Didn’t think I asked before, but where do you come from?” Yelena changed the topic once again to keep the conversation going.
“Ah, it is a town up north. Emib. You probably already know the place.” Lily answered.
It was hard not to; after all, it was within Yelena’s family’s territory. Yelena hoped that wasn’t the case. It really complicated things.
“Yes, I know the place. Visited it a few times in the past.” Yelena confirmed.
“I guess I should be addressing you, my lady, correct? Lily paused her practice to bow respectfully before Yelena.
Yelena scoffed. She wasn’t a fan of these theatrics. Especially not from somebody whom she tried to get close to.
“Don’t ever do that! You can call me Yelena. It is fine. We are classmates here. Rank doesn’t matter.” Yelena told her.
Lily seemed a bit surprised. She had a feeling Yelena was different, but to allow a simple commoner to call her by her first name. That was not something to take lightly.
“Most here would disagree with that. They are very proud of their rank and their origins. They wouldn’t even look my way twice.” Lily told her.
She didn’t look upset about it. It was the way the world worked. She accepted it.
“Maybe, but I don’t care about what others think. I was raised differently. Commoners like you are the ones who toil day and night to bring the world forward. Without people like that, we nobles wouldn’t be anywhere.” Yelena replied.
“That makes a lot of sense now.” Lily smiled as she was getting back to practicing.
Yelena couldn’t understand what Lily meant. What made sense? It was really an odd thing to say. The confusion was probably written all over her face, but soon Lily started to clarify.
“You know, your father, the duke, is very much loved by the people. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who disliked him. Not in the town I live in. He takes care of his people, looks after us. He is a good person. Of course, we all know he knows when he needs to be strict. Still, we have him to thank for living in a safe and prosperous town. You are very much like him. You don’t look down on others, even if you have a much higher status.” Lily explained her earlier sentence.
Yelena smiled a little. She looked up to her father. As Lily said, he was a good person. He always taught Yelena to treat even those who serve her with respect. She lived her entire life like that.
Yelena grabbed a wooden sword from the racks and walked in front of Lily. She took her normal fighting stance in front of the girl. Yelena tried to pretend everything was normal, but she felt weak. The burning desire in her was getting more distracting. Her face was flushed.
As she was standing face to face with Lily, she noticed something. Lily was also blushing. It can’t be, right? Probably just from the practice. There is no point in overthinking.
“Oh sure! Anyone would be blushing if a beautiful girl like you were pressing her body against theirs.” The cheeky goddess commented on the situation too.
Yelena did her best to ignore her words. That was the last thing she wanted to think about right now. It was already hard enough to keep the naughty thoughts out of her head.
“Okay! You got this down pretty well already. There is still room for improvement, but for now it will do. Next, let’s talk about defense. There are three main ways to defend yourself. Block, deflect, and dodge. Try attacking me, and I’ll show you.” Yelena slightly shifted her stance and got ready.
Lily was visibly hesitant at first. Attacking Yelena was not something she wanted to do. She was worried she might end up hurting her or something, but soon realized it was foolish. Yelena has been training with the sword since she was young. It was unlikely that someone so amateurish as Lily could even get close to hitting her.
Lily stepped forward and assumed her stance too. She swung her sword, just like Yelena showed her. Yelena watched the attack coming from above. She turned her sword, raised it above her head, and blocked the attack.
“Block. The point is to catch your opponent's attack and stop it entirely. It is a very effective way to defend yourself. You still have to be careful. If your opponent is much stronger than you, they can break through your defenses still.” Yelena looked down at Lily’s body and smiled.
“Usually it is more difficult, if not impossible, to counter after a block. Depends on the situation, but if your opponent forgets about her stance, you can do this.” Yelena was getting ready for something.
Their swords were still touching, and Yelena simply pushed hers forward. Lily immediately lost her balance as the force was applied against her. She fell backward, and her butt hit the ground.
“Always watch your stance!” Yelena told her firmly.
The white-haired girl leaned down. She was about to reach her hand out to Lily when something hit her. The arousal that has been tormenting her all this time suddenly grew stronger. Yelena felt her heartbeat increasing. Before, the sensation was warm and unpleasant; now it was more.
She felt like her body was burning; it was actually getting painful. The feeling was hard to bear, and it was showing on her face.
“You are out of time.” Lucia said, her voice seemed serious, if not a little sad.
Yelena couldn’t control herself. Her hand moved to Lily’s shoulder and pushed her back onto the ground. She got above the girl, her face was getting closer, until they were almost touching. Thoughts went through Yelena’s head, things that she wanted to do with the girl.
Then she saw her green eyes. Lily was confused, maybe even scared. It was hard to tell, but she clearly didn’t want any of this. Yelena cursed in her head. She hated how weak she was. How this feeling overtook her and almost made her do something horrible.
Yelena turned her head away, then quickly got off Lily. She stood up and started running away. She knew she had to get as far from her as possible while she still had some control.
“L… Yelena, wait!” Lily called after her, but Yelena didn’t stop.
She ran out of the room and down the hallway. By the time Lily got up and tried to go after her, she had already disappeared.