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Stella Rainbowmountain never particularly thought of herself as a student prone to getting herself into trouble. Though perhaps her definition of what ‘trouble’ entails was… misguided at best.
With another long day of studies behind her, she gingerly made her way to the dorms. Endless possibilities of how she might spend the last few hours of her day swirling in her mind. She could always make more of her favourite chocolate chip cookies, get a quick nap in or maybe even try to turn her beloved Romeo into a kite again.
As soon as Stella walked into the dorm’s common room and set her eyes on the small bulletin board next to the door, all her potential plans left her head just as quickly as they had entered. A new poster had caught her attention, stuck next to aged and faded notices about missing pets and students who might have been long graduated offering tutoring.
‘After school arms training’ apparently, ‘safe for all ages.’ Those were almost the only words on the poster, the rest of the space had been taken up by an illustration of an ever so slightly intimidating woman clutching a sword.
“Expressions of interest at the arena on Unicorn Way… Right. Like that isn’t just a disaster waiting to—” Turning away from the bulletin board mid-sentence had caused Stella to walk directly into what felt like a metal wall. Only as she craned her neck up and honestly far further up than she ever would have expected, she met the gaze of an extremely tall, gentle faced woman, covered neck to toe in a suit of striking red plate armour.
Stella could only manage to stare in silence for a few seconds, her mouth hanging open in dumbfounded silence. Eventually, the words came to her.
“S-Sorry! Wasn’t looking where I was going! You’d think the glasses would help with that, but…”
“It’s quite alright, dear.” The stranger interjected. “I’m more worried about you. That breastplate isn’t exactly soft.”
“Oh! Don’t worry about me! I run into hard objects all the time! I’m fine!”
“Spatial awareness could use work…” They hummed to themselves, just quiet enough for Stella to not catch on. “I take it you were interested in that poster, no? I’d be happy to show you the way to the arena, it’s the least I can do after slamming into you like that.”
“Show me to the…” Stella sputtered out before covering her mouth to giggle. “You must be confused, I lived on Unicorn Way my whole life! I used to pass by the arena every day on my way to school!”
“Wonderful!” They reached down to grab Stella’s wrist and had pulled her out the door before she had a chance to protest. “You can remind me of the way then.”
“Woah! Uh… Yeah! Of course I can! You must be new around here, but don’t worry! I’m Stella and I know this place like the back of my hand! Two hands Stella is what they call me, because I know the city so well I… know it twice? Also I have two hands.”
“Nobody calls you that.”
“Nobody calls me that.”
The rest of the short walk to the arena was spent with Stella hanging her head in shame, trailing behind the newcomer who clearly didn’t actually need a guide.
“Thank you for taking me here, Stella. I appreciate it.”
“Oh, yeah! No problem. Even if you were the one who ended up taking me…”
“I’ll be heading inside, I assume I’ll be seeing you in there too?”
“Huh?” A tilt of her head. “Oh! The poster! I guess I should have figured… you look way more prepared than I do!”
“Well, preparedness is the key to an insightful lesson. I do hope you’ll join me, it’d be terribly embarrassing to be the only one to show up.”
Before Stella could respond or even ask their name, the stranger had slipped through the arena’s large wooden doors.
For her part, she was under no obligation to enroll in a dangerous extracurricular she was certain would lead to a serious injury. Yet there was something about that woman… Despite having only briefly met and barely having a connection with them, she felt it would be some kind of personal failing to abandon them here.
Assuming this was her more wizardly nature kicking in, Stella opened the doors and made her way inside.
Stella’s proximity to the arena throughout her life had meant very little. It was not a place she frequented, so every time she visited almost felt like the first all over again. She could swear some of the signs had changed places since her last visit. Near the entrance to the centre dueling circle was Roland Silverheart, speaking to some smaller, younger boy. Probably critiquing his casting… How many years had he been volunteering here? And how old even was he?
Stella would not be getting the answers to these questions as out of the corner of her eye she spotted another poster, identical to the first. The edges of the corridor immediately to her left were more or less covered in a few more of those posters and a few wooden signs that looked hand painted.
…She couldn’t decide if the sheer number made it more inviting or unsettling. At least the pink they’d chosen to paint them with was nice.
At the end of the corridor was an enclosed stone room, much the same as every other part of the arena. It would look abandoned were it not for a number of racks displaying far too many swords of different types and sizes to the side, with a few wooden ones simply leaning against the wall at the end. And of course, in front of it sat the woman from before, who perked up the moment she noticed she had company.
“Stella! I’m so glad you made it!”
“Uh. Yeah! The only thing in my way was a door. I’ve opened doors before.” Stella scratched at the back of her head nervously, her eyes scanning the rest of the empty room. “I never caught your name by the way…”
“Oh, you’ll find out in due time.”
“Oh! That makes sense. I— I guess? Where’s the teacher for this anyhow? Don’t tell me they forgot to show up.”
The woman grabbed one of the larger swords from the table and twirled around with surprising delicacy and grace, more like a ballerina than an accomplished swordswoman. After only a few rotations, she set the end of the blade gently against the ground and smiled.
“I will be your instructor. You may call me Fiona Emberglade, or simply Fiona.”
Once again Stella was left to stare in equal parts shock and horror. The irony of being ensnared in such a ridiculous situation that wasn’t of her own construction was not lost on her.
“So… due time came already… wow. Um, miss Emberglade—”
“That was not one of the titles I said you may call me by.”
“Right! Fiona. Did you… trick me into signing up for your classes?”
“Stella! How could you say something like that? I haven’t lied to you a single time.”
“But I thought you were new here! I thought we’d be in this together! You know, two students against their stuck up sword teacher! With nothing to rely on but their wits and each other!”
“Stella… I’m to be your instructor. We’re not at odds with each other. I’m to do my utmost to support you on your learning journey.”
“R-Right…”
Seeing all of Stella’s peppy confidence vanish stung just a little.
“My apologies, Stella. By your posture I thought this would be something you’d be interested in.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing important. Only that… well. You’re a theurgist. The bright green dress does give it away somewhat. I thought you’d be interested in some method of self defence.”
“Well… I’m already a pretty good pyromancer, you know?” Stella demonstrated, snapping her fingers, a few sparks flying from them and bringing a small flame to life in the palm of her hand.
“And that’s wonderful! But if what I’ve heard about Wizard City wizards is true… you probably don’t have a lot of experience with what I’m teaching here. That’s what gave me the idea to start this little venture in the first place.”
“You’re not wrong, and it’s not like this is something I haven’t been thinking about lately, but… I don’t know. I’m not exactly the best student.”
“And that’s okay. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t go at a pace that was comfortable for you, or accommodate your needs?”
Stella went silent, her eyes flicking between Fiona and the selection of swords on the racking.
“How about this…” Fiona grabbed two of the out of place wooden swords and held one out by the blade to Stella. “We’ll practise some basic techniques today, and these will help you have a starting point before you get used to the weight of a real blade.”
Stella took the sword and turned it on its side to examine it, clearly still weighing up her options in her mind.
“You’re under no obligation to return for future lessons if you don’t want to. But I’d appreciate it if you at least gave it a try. I promise, I only bite people I don’t like.”
That actually got Stella to smile, just a crack.
“Oh, alright… But you have to promise you like me. I don’t want to get bit.”
“Yes, I already like you Stella. I wouldn’t have dragged you all the way here if I didn’t.”
Stella looked up at them, her wooden implement of a sword held confidently in her hand.
“So first, we’ll teach you a stance. Then we’ll work on some very basic swings and thrusts…”
Stella had read about sword fights in many of her novels, but she quickly came to realise those may have been written by people with just as much swordplay experience as herself…
She stumbled several times throughout the lesson, and at one point even managed to set her sword ablaze.
But each misstep was met with a gentle nudge in the right direction. Stella hadn’t quite fallen into a rhythm by the end, but she clearly had some idea of what she was doing.
That seemed to be good enough for both her and her teacher.
The sun had nearly set by the end of the lesson. Fiona had just turned away to clean up and ward her swords on the off chance someone tried to steal them overnight. By the time they were facing Stella again, she had almost slipped away.
“Uh, Fiona…? Thanks. For today.”
“Of course, Stella. It was a pleasure to have you. I know it may seem small, but I’m proud of your growth.”
Stella continued to back away, but just before the wall obscured her entirely she spoke up again. “Um… yeah. So… see you next week? Tomorrow? You didn’t exactly give me a schedule.”
Fiona lit up at the confirmation that Stella would be returning. If they had just a tiny bit less self restraint, they’d have run up and excitedly grabbed her hands.
“I’ll be available most days! There’s no real schedule to speak up but I would like it if you could show up somewhat consistently. I understand if you get caught up in your regular work though.”
“I’ll make time. Thanks again and… Have a good night!”
With that, Stella disappeared beyond the stone wall, probably running judging by the brief look Fiona got at her.
“What an odd girl…” Fiona mused to herself. “There’s something wrong with her.”