MALIA’S POV
Again, I never ceased to be amazed by just how much work they put into every single detail of this place. The normal structure of the pack that I was used to, was having the training center right inside the palace and nowhere else.
But the exact opposite of that was what I was met with. The training ground was not only outside of the palace but at the outskirts of the pack, away from civilization. The chemistry behind that was what I was still failing to understand but then again, I never cared to take into consideration why the training ground was imputed in the palace in the first place.
The smile on my face was unmatched, as I stared at the open field, swords clashing, skills showcasing, it was all so fetching that I couldn’t get my eyes off it even for a second.
For something to get me, it has to stretch far more than average, and watching a battalion of army training was at the top of the list.
The last time I checked, I was standing by the opened entrance but my legs had unknowingly moved gradually into the field and when next I checked, I was seated in one of the benches meant for those who were there to watch and replenish their skills.
I don’t know if you actually get the picture of what I meant when I said this place was large. There were roughly hundreds of soldiers all in groups of not more than three, training against each other in the field while each group managed to have at least twice an arm’s length distance from the next.
Now you get the picture.
For the few minutes I have been here, I had probably got the hang of the whole thing. In a group of three, two trainers combat against each other and when one is tackled to the ground, he steps away for the other to combat with the winner, while he combats with a tackler member from another group. That was not only beautiful but thoughtful too. How they move and change places each time, I could watch this for the rest of my life.
I was so immersed in my world that I had no idea someone had taken it upon themselves to occupy the space beside me. And I didn’t get to realize that until the said person cleared their throat.
I twirled my head around rather too fast to face him and my eyes met the most unique shade of green eyes I have ever seen. Without being able to stop myself, I blurted it out.
“You have an extremely ravishing eye”
I didn’t realize how badly I just portrayed myself, saying that when I had just met someone for the first time until I said it but there was nothing I could do to take that back when they were already out so I waited for his reaction.
“What….uhk thank you?” He scratched the back of his head nervously. “I was born with them”
His comment cracked me up when I noticed he was equally a bit nervous as I was.
“I am Malia by the way” I extended my open palm toward him as I introduced myself.
“Derek. My name is Derek” He shook my hand softly, as if he was scared not to smash it, and then let go quickly like it was on fire.
“It is nice meeting you” I smiled, already liking him.
“You came here alone?” He asked, looking around as if expecting some sort of two-headed snake to puff out. I don’t know what to tag the kind of gaze he was giving me.
He looked almost……. terrified or was it mesmerized? I couldn’t point it out.
“Uhm…yeah?” I also looked around to see if there was something behind me that was causing the type of reaction from him.
“Alone with no company?” He repeated the same question, making me even more confused.
“Yeah? Is there something wrong with that?” I asked in disarray. I skimmed around again to see if I was missing something but I couldn’t see anything unusual.
“No, absolutely not. It’s just quite uncommon” He scratched the back of his head again, a habit I was starting to notice was a part of him.
“Uncommon? Why is it uncommon” I asked.
“Oh, nothing, forget it. I saw you looking at the warriors with interest. Do you perhaps have some basic knowledge of sword skills?” He questioned, waving away the former issue like it was nothing interesting.
“Yeah,” I shrugged, not giving much thought to his sudden change of mood. “I used to be interested and have even been a part of the army in the past. But it’s been so long I am not sure if I can still do it” Remembering old times when I used to go sword training with Zade, I smiled, painfully, might I add.
“Woah, that is quite commendable. I have never seen a single woman handle a sword. I gather you might not be from around here” He was seemingly very much interested in the conversation.
“No, I came here just a day ago. My pack is miles away” I replied with a light smile.
“Oh” He exclaimed. “Here, have a closer look. It was passed down to me from my father who got it from his father too” He presumably noticed how I was looking at his sword with interest.
“A generational wealth I see” I smiled genuinely.
“You should practice a bit with it and see. It is even more stunning in action” He responded with so much enthusiasm.
“Alright, who am I defeating” I jolted up and swung the sword around playfully.
“Just wait a bit let me fetch another sword. You are going to gather lots of crowds considering you are the first female to ever come here”
I froze, he halted in his step too after moving a few steps, probably realizing what he had just said.
“What” I looked around to confirm his statement and true to it, I was the only female hanging around.