Book 3: Chapter 37 (1/2)

Tafel lay on the ground, panting for breath. She stared up at the sky, sweat running down her face, dripping onto the cold earth beneath her. Her sword lay by her side, and Vur was sitting next to her, munching on a muffin. Tafel glared at him. “Are you just going to watch?”

Vur nodded as he chewed.

Mary opened her eyes and brought her legs down to her face. She righted herself and dusted off her forehead with the tips of her gauntlet. Her hair flowed like red water as she shook her head, scattering the leaves that had piled up in her hair. She looked down at Tafel, her body casting a shadow along the demon’s face. “You gave up already?”

Tafel gritted her teeth as she sat up, clutching her sword. “I was just taking a short break. Breaks are necessary to prevent overexertion.”

“Are you sure?” Mary asked, tilting her head. “I never had to take any breaks.”

Tafel dug the tip of her sword into the ground and used it to support herself as she climbed to her feet, her body trembling. “I bet you couldn’t do ten thousand right off the bat,” she said and bit her lower lip. “I’m just getting started.”

“But you won’t finish,” Mary said. “It’s been six hours and you’ve only done two thousand swings. Even if you can keep up your current rate, you’ll only finish eight thousand. Now that you’re tired, you’re only going to slow down. And when will you find time to sleep and eat?” Mary tilted her head. “You’re half a magician too, aren’t you? How are you going to practice ten thousand spells as well?”

Tafel exhaled. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

“Can’t you draw a magic circle on the ground and teleport?” Vur asked. He crumpled up the paper used to hold the muffin and set it on fire, dusting the ashes off of his palm. “You can skip all the steps that way.”

Tafel narrowed her eyes at her husband. “You’re not helping.”

Vur shrugged. “Just saying.”

Mary crossed her arms over her chest. “Didn’t you want to know how I trained to catch up to me? Do you think I’m going to be waiting around for you to catch up? When you’re able to do ten thousand swings a day, I’ll have doubled that. When you catch up again, I’ll have doubled it again. As long as you try to compare yourself to me, you’ll never be satisfied.”

“I can do it,” Tafel said and bit her lower lip. “I’ll catch up, beat you, and make you eat your words. I promise.”

“You’re like a child telling an adult that she’ll one day be the same age as her,” Mary said. “The sooner you realize which tasks are futile, the more time you can devote to things that matter.” She sighed and shook her head. “When I was growing up, my father had me and my siblings tutored in many subjects: geography, math, economics, philosophy, ethics, literature, music, etiquette. It was to prepare us in case we succeeded the throne.” Mary puffed her chest out. “From the very start, I failed every single one of my courses. My tutors were famous individuals with multiple publications backing them, but they were perplexed by my inability to retain even the slightest bit of information. Once I realized I wasn’t suited for learning such trivial matters, I skipped all my lessons and devoted myself to training instead. While my brothers and sisters spent time learning, I spent my time training. When they spent time training, I spent my time training. They didn’t realize how inefficient it was to focus on two things when they should’ve picked the better one to focus on instead. That’s why I’m the empress.”