The next several weeks were a blur.

I spent my mornings assisting in any way I could with the reconstruction of the temple. The swift attack on the now vulnerable village, from the horde risen from the nearby cemetery, resulted in the townsfolk responding quickly to rebuild their beloved Goddess’ temple. As the inadvertent cause of the town’s misfortune, I tasked myself with its restoration as one of my first goals. My role in the destruction of the temple, as well as my true identity, was kept a secret between the boys and the Magos family.

Among all the blessings the Goddess granted me on bringing here, knowing how to hold a hammer wasn’t one of them. After nearly killing someone when I accidentally let go of one mid swing, I was regulated to “please, go lift the heavy stuff” by Edward, who was the foreman at the site. I was familiar with these outcomes as, back home, crafting and building were not some of my strong suits. Unless you wanted an ashtray. I was Queen of the ashtrays.

Still, I couldn’t complain about all the physical labor. It gave me ample time to exercise and get used to my new body, as well as test out its limits! I was not going to let another mistake like the one I made against the large zombie happen again. I made it a priority to get used to my bigger body and longer limbs as quickly as possible.

And these changes were something else! The strength and physical appearance in my frame were not just for show, as the Goddess had granted me some enhanced physical prowess beyond the norm. My strength was juiced up enough that I could lift lumber and rocks effortlessly alongside the men whose bodies had been honed to do it their entire lives. While Edward was extremely proud of my efforts and duly impressed with the ease at which I could accomplish my tasks, he also had an insider’s understanding of what was going on. The other men working the site didn’t quite know what to make of me. Even on the rare occasions Edward was able to convince Dorian and Chad to volunteer some free labor, they also struggled to keep up with my pace.

But the differences didn’t stop there.

Not only was I taller than all the women in town, the color of my hair and eyes further helped me stand out from everybody. I was truly one of a kind. All the men were both in awe and terrified of me at the same time and were hesitant to approach me for anything when we weren’t working together.

The standoffish behavior suited me fine. I didn’t excel at constant social interaction and people going out of their way to give me space worked in my favor more often than not. I occasionally did have one of the younger workers attempt to ask me out for drinks, but Chad and Dorian would swiftly cut in and I would be saved from my embarrassing attempts to say no.

Or maybe, yes? Some of them were cute when they were dirty…

With the men struggling with what to make of me, eventual derogatory nicknames started to float around. Having dealt with name calling back in school, I had no desire to repeat the experience in this new world, so I subtly started to encourage the moniker of “the Amazon.”

None of them knew what it meant, so I took advantage of their naïve nature and told an embellished tale of warrior women ruling a far-off land. The looks on their faces as my tale got more elaborate was worth every moment. Every now and again there was someone who would scoff in disbelief, and I would respond with one of my usual acts of picking something up that one of them would have struggled to do alone, giving truth to the tale. Thus, I swiftly became known as the “exotic Amazon,” friend to the Magos family from “lands from afar!”

The ladies of Bronzemead, specifically the Wish girls, were all enamored with me. Catherine and Noelle assisted with introductions to some of the women in town and they were in awe of everything about me. It was amusing to hear their stories of the older gents complaining to their wives about the “demoness” showing them up at work.

Okay, so I wasn’t making friends with everyone. Edward was doing his best to encourage the men to be cordial at the site but given my task from the Goddess to shake things up, it was to be expected.

My stamina was also jacked up several notches from home. But considering my sloth like tendencies back home, that bar had been so low it was a joke. I would have considered any improvement extraordinary. Now, I could work my shift at the temple in the morning and still be able to train with Noelle, Dorian, and Chad in the afternoons. I may have been physically gifted, but the horde attack reinforced that I had no idea what to do with it when it counted.

So, train I did. Hard.

In the early days of my work and exercises, Catherine and I realized I needed new clothes, and I quickly learned the downside of being one of a kind. Catherine wasn’t too much shorter than me, but she still had nothing I could borrow that was suited for heavy manual labor. And while Edwards clothes were hardy enough for the job, there was no way I was fitting into those either.

Catherine immediately set to work designing me some basic clothes for my day-to-day activities, vigorous or not. She sewed me up some tight-fitting makeshift tank tops and pants, all the while scheming and drawing up blueprints for something more permanent.

Chad assisted our efforts to craft my new duds with money and contacts for materials gathering. The “Amazon” nickname from the men was catching on within the rest of Bronzemead, and so I started nudging Catherine with designs that would fit the theme. She was puzzled with some of the suggestions but went along with it, nonetheless.

“I’m not sure any of this is appropriate for a lady!” I heard her mutter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started training with Noelle first, and I was extremely grateful for her kind and understanding teaching methods. She had learned some basic self-defense hand fighting from Dorian as younger girl and had become quite proficient at it. As we trained, I was able to glean from them both that he had a thing for Noelle while they were growing up. This wasn’t a huge surprise to me, as I didn’t have to be around him long to learn he would chase anything in a skirt.

Noelle had kind heartedly spurned the persistent affections of the younger, self-proclaimed ladies’ man at every turn. Dorian eventually came around and realized they were not meant to be but still put in the effort to stay close friends. She had expressed an interest in earning a living at a younger age and Dorian made sure she knew how to take care of herself, which ended up being put to immediate use against Roscoe after becoming employed at the Wish.

Noelle used these skills to make sure Ash and I knew self-defense of our own. She persistently reminded me I may not always have a weapon available and how to turn my body into one. She taught us proper posture, stances, and movement as well as grappling and throws. She also taught us where to strike opponents efficiently. Her techniques and teachings were carefully thought out, and she always showed care and restraint leading up to each new stage of our training, each of them coming quicker than I was ready for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THUMP!

I hit the ground on my back hard as Noelle quickly countered my strike, using my momentum to flip me over her knee onto my back. She twisted my left wrist lightly, implying I would be at the mercy of any other opponent.

“Break,” I gasped out, some of the air returning to my lungs. Noelle released her grip and helped me off the ground. I groaned as I stood, dusted myself off, and we both walked over to the chairs Noelle had borrowed from the Wish. I collapsed into mine and grabbed my large mug of water, guzzling it down greedily. I came back up for more gulping breaths of air, willing it back into my body.

Noelle dusted off nonexistent dirt from her apron and smoothly swept her hands under her skirt to sit next to me in her chair. She then clasped her hands in her lap, shook her head lightly to shake any imaginary dirt out of her hair and then settled her gaze on me.

She continued to wear her maid outfit while we trained. I initially was concerned that either she wouldn’t be able to properly train with me or we would have ended up damaging it. It quickly became clear my concerns were misplaced. She was always so graceful, like a dancer, even while we were sparring. Despite all the dust we would kick up during our sparring and dancing, she didn’t ever seem to have a speck of dirt on her. She never even appeared to sweat hard. Picture perfect grace, she was beauty incarnate, both the calm and the violent storm.

I had to continually remind myself that she was a force to be reckoned with. Here I was, exhausted, collapsed all unladylike in a chair, covered in dirt and sweat and heaving uncontrollably. You’d have thought I had been fighting against myself. And still losing.

I finally composed myself enough to start a conversation while I got in my breather.

“So, you and Dorian, huh?”

A small smile betrayed her, cheeks lightly turning a shade of pink. Had I not known better, I might have thought she merely got too much sun.

“Told you about that, did he?”

I took another swig of water, “It came up. You’re extremely proficient at this, and it felt like there was more back story then you both were letting on. He avoided most of it, but still couldn’t stop talking about you.” I elbowed at her a bit playfully, “A lot.”

She sighed and swept some of her hair behind her ear.

“Of course, he would talk about me. I’ve been trying to let him down easy since we were both kids. At least for ten years now.”

Her eyes looked pained and distant, and it became obvious why she hadn’t shared this with me, or possibly anyone, before. Something about their past was painful.

“He’s so different, Amelia. It’s almost like he’s from another world! He’s connected politically and runs in the same social circles as the prince. Our standings are so different, and my dream has never been to be trapped at home, tending to little ones. I did that enough with my sisters growing up.”

She continued to force a small smile, but more sadness was seeping in from the past. “Besides, I’d never be able to give him the son he would want. And the prince and others would pressure him to—” she stopped, not wanting to finish that train of thought.

“If I were to pair with someone like Dorian, their ambitions would be forced upon me. I would have none of my own. I love my mother. I love Father. I love seeing them both happy, his light reflected in her eyes.” Noelle’s eyes started to get misty, “But she has no dreams.”

She bit her lip for a moment, not daring to show more emotion than she already had.

“I want more. I can do more. Dorian knew early on I wasn’t a bird to be caged. And despite turning his affection away, he’s stayed by my side, encouraging my path forward. Part of that support became teaching me self-defense.”

Her eyes quickly shifted from sad memories to hurtful ones.

“I know you’ve seen Roscoe, and the conditions he’s enforced on the girls at the tavern, but behind closed doors, it’s so much worse. When I first started working there, he-” she choked away a small sob. “He did things. Despicable things. Dorian was the only person I could confide in.”

Mastering her emotions, her face quickly became one of resolve, “I will get the tavern away from him, Amelia. At any cost if I must. That monster cannot be left unchecked!”

I put my hand on hers and we sat in silence for a moment. I attempted to switch to a happier topic and settled on Dorian again.

“I think what you and Dorian have is really special, Noelle. And he seems like the kind of guy who would support you and your dreams, even as your wedded husband, don’t you think?”

She smiled again, clapped her knees with her hands and stood.

“Our break is over! Time to get back to practice!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had always been a fast learner, but now I was picking things up faster than usual. I soon realized it was yet another gift the from the Goddess. I quickly learned all Noelle had to teach me and our training moved from tutoring into light sparring within a couple of weeks. Within a couple more weeks, I surpassed her as a partner and moved on to Dorian, with Ash continuing his studies with Noelle.

Sessions with Dorian were less combat and more survival training, along with the occasional prank. I went through various methods of learning how to hunt and survive off the land in a pinch. He taught me how to read a map and find cardinal directions even if lost deep in a forest or a cave. Training also included how to track animal trails or things even more dangerous. Once he was confident none of his pranks would end up with me injured or worse, he started intentionally losing me deep in the woods on the far outskirts of the town borders.

The occasional weapon training from him always involved his specialty: the bow. Despite his skill with a sword, we never crossed blades once. He favored archery and the feel of the hunt, the mastery in holding one’s breath till the last possible moment. He took every opportunity to show off to me, and even I had to admit he was talented. Like… on Robin Hood levels. He would split arrows on targets and hit bullseyes without looking. His ability to hit targets from a distance was also something I had only seen elf like characters do in books or movies. I didn’t dare praise him out loud, but the man was good.

I took to archery pretty well. Not near his skill level, but enough to have the confidence I could handle myself with a bow if in a pinch. However, I had never been a fan of ranged combat in my online games and the same was true now that I was applying it in practice.

He breathed softly in my ear slowly, yet again, while I aimed down my sightline for my next shot. It had the adverse effect of sending unavoidable shivers through my spine down to my toes.

Dorian had made it a habit of getting within my personal space to see what he could get away with, but the more capable I had become with my training with Noelle, the less frequent it became. It didn’t bother me, per say, as he never tried anything that made me feel uncomfortable, but that didn’t mean I was able to easily shake off his advances emotionally.

Instead, I ignored the roller coaster my heart was on, along with the heat in my cheeks, and pretended like it didn’t bother me.

“You know I don’t think Noelle would appreciate you getting that close to me.”

I released my arrow and still hit the target, if only barely. His dumb distraction still had its stupid intended effect.

I lowered my bow and gave him a look dripping with annoyance.

He raised his hands defensively, “If you think that was a distraction, Princess, wait until your target is charging at you full speed, all fangs and hunger in its eyes.”

He then decided to acknowledge my previous comment, “And I’m sure the only reason she might care if I got close to a girl was if the girl was you. She’s otherwise never made a big show about it before.” He casually leaned back against a wooden fence. “She’s pretty protective of you. Probably doesn’t want any harm coming to you from big, bad Dorian.” He gave me a wolfish grin.

I drew another arrow and took aim again. “So, tell me again why you two didn’t work out?” I released and again, barely hit the target. I was now more interested in our line of discussion than my archery practice, but apparently distractions were good, right?

Dorian faked disinterest in the topic. This hadn’t been the first time I’d poked at this, only now, I knew more. I had to keep digging.

“She claimed I wasn’t her type, which always felt like an excuse.” His charming grin hadn’t left his face, “After all, I’m every woman’s type.”

I rolled my eyes and released another arrow. Taking my eyes off the target cost me, and I missed completely. Dorian didn’t comment on my error, however, which was good. It meant I had his attention.

“For argument’s sake, let’s assume she’s been honest about her feelings towards you. That, Goddess forbid, you met the one wom-” I stopped myself before he could pounce on my poor choice of words, “sorry two women in all the realm that could resist your charms. Why do you think she feels that way? Or has a reason to claim otherwise?” I had stopped shooting completely, my attention now focused on our conversation.

He shrugged, pretending he was only casually invested in this train of thought, “Look, I try not to think about it anymore. It opens old wounds. She said she didn’t have an interest in me and, after she inflicted enough pain on my body and my heart, I got the message.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “There are other beautiful fish in the sea, Amelia.”

I hoped to the Goddess he wasn’t implying me, as Noelle’s competition otherwise was nonexistent in my opinion. She was gorgeous and it was one of the things that made her so intimidating. Men thought twice about approaching her. The Goddess’ aura was as strong with her as I felt it was with me. If she ever settled down, it would be her choice and, if the man played his cards right, he’d be a lucky fellow indeed.

Suddenly Edward made a whole lot of sense.

I also feigned interest in our conversation and released another shot. This time I struck much closer to the bullseye.

Satisfied, I decided to aim at another target.

“I just think you guys make a pretty cute couple and maybe you shouldn’t give up so soon on someone you obviously seem to care about.”

I turned back to Dorian to gauge his response and realized he was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once I had completed Dorian’s survival and archery lessons, Chad’s were the last to complete, and the difficulty curve reflected it. Training with Chad was grueling and borderline cruel. He was the exact opposite of Noelle as a teacher. He expected me to pick up everything the very first time he taught it. He allowed no mistakes, reminding me that my last mistake almost cost my life with moments of my arrival. We started with sparring with practice swords within the first day, and I proceeded to get hit.

A lot.

His frequent strikes at my left hand, meant to disarm me, had me toying with the notion in the first few days that he was getting back at the same hand that had struck him on our first meeting. Fortunately, this is where I discovered Ash’s skills as a descendant of the Goddess came in handy: healing.

Catherine informed me early on that all of the Goddess’ descendants were not just blessed with gorgeous looks and the ability to easily birth children. They were also blessed on various levels with Her powers. These powers often included, but were not limited to, manipulation of light or the ability to project it in different ways, as well as the ability to heal. Most of the time these powers, while impressive, did not manifest themselves within their hosts very strongly.

Ash was a completely different story. He was a savant, even surpassing his mother, and while the other sisters appeared to be above average, Noelle was his only other sibling anywhere near his level. While he was shy, and plagued with self-confidence issues, his ability to take care of others was the one thing he was exceptionally proud of.

He was always on the sidelines ready to see to any various injuries from work or training and had me ready to go for the next day. While Noelle and Dorian training regiments had me only needing his care occasionally, that changed under Chad, and resulted in needing his attention daily.

Despite his harsh tutoring, it was clear Chad’s demeanor towards me took immediate shift. He started treating me better, less as the girl he wished to court, and more as a fellow comrade in arms. At least he did while we were training. He still always carried himself with an air of arrogance, but he slowly started treating me with the same level of annoyance he showed Dorian. While aggravating, it was still an improvement.

Dorian and Chad also took time to keep their skills sharp. I learned they had been rivals from the time they were born. Dorian, while not royalty, was still from a high-ranking family that from a long, direct line of descendants from Ptarkin, the God of hunting and harvest and one of the six Gods of Light.

His father worked directly with the king as a leading advisor for the planning, monitoring and distribution of all the agriculture of the Kingdom. Their home was an agricultural hub to the southwest, called Occo, which they had been assigned stewardship of by one of King Chadwick’s far descendants.

As he regaled me yet again, Chad was the firstborn son of King Chadwick the 126th of the house Chaddington. And yes, through obnoxious probing on my part, I learned the firstborn in their family had always been male and was always called “Chadwick”, which earned him a bemused chuckle from me that he still didn’t understand. Their rule was ordained as holy and righteous due to their direct lineage from Obarith, head honcho of all the Gods of light.

As a result, despite their difference in stations, they had known each other since they were small boys and had competed in all things. However, there were two things where they both drew a stalemate: combat and women.

Both were still very single, despite being in their early twenties. Dorian was 22, and a year older than Chad, yet another thing Dorian enjoyed having the edge on. But both of their moods turned sour when I forced them to spill how much pressure they were under from their families to start continuing their lines.

They were infamous amongst the higher standing women in the kingdom: Chad for being, well Chad. And Dorian for being, well, Dorian. Chad continuously turned away his arranged courtings due to his belief the matches were not as perfect as he was, and Dorian turned away women with his cavalier attitude and by opening his mouth.

Their stalemate in combat was interesting, as their styles were another thing that separated them from each other. Chad fought with the skill and precision taught by any number of the military masters he had at his disposal as a youth. Dorian, on the other hand, fought with a more unorthodox style and took advantage of terrain and other things that aren’t taught, but learned through experience. It gave them completely different fighting styles when they sparred, but they were too intimately familiar with one another, and neither could win consistently.

Dorian also preferred the benefits of attacking from range and only fought close combat when hard pressed. Chad preferred to see the whites in his enemy’s eyes.

And it showed.

I quickly learned if I didn’t want to end up as Chad’s punching bag, I had to get better with the sword, and the sooner the better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Don’t hold your sword so far from your body!”

Chad struck at me forcefully. I blocked and immediately attempted to counterattack with a stabbing lunge. Chad saw it coming and easily side stepped while batting my strike away. My momentum continued to carry me forward and, as I stumbled past him, he swatted my ass with the flat of his practice blade, way harder then was necessary.

“Ow!”

I spun and pointed my sword at him, rubbing my ass with my other hand. He had started making it a habit of smacking me if I left myself open. Hands, back, leg. Anything was fair game if I left it undefended. And whether through his irritation, amusement, or both, the more frequently I did it, the harder the hits became. That was the sixth time today I had gotten a swat. If I kept this up, even Ash’s healing might not be enough to let me sit down later.

He sighed and shook his head as I scowled at him.

“Not every attack from an opponent is going to leave an immediate opening for a counter. You try it immediately after every block. It’s made you too predictable.”

He suddenly rushed forward, “And predictability leads to death!” He thrust the point of his sword forward and I swept my sword down in an arc to deflect it.

He responded by slapping me square across the face with his other hand.

I gasped, dropping my sword in surprise, and reached for my stinging cheek. It only took a moment to overcome my shock and I glowered at him.

There was only boredom on his face as he responded.

“Apology accepted.” He then casually turned away from me, “We’re done for today.”

“Why you—!”

I leapt at him, but Dorian had quickly moved behind to stop me from acting on my frustration, or possibly to keep me from getting smacked around some more. I struggled and flailed against his grip, but he held firm. In the end, I settled for more angry yelling and kicking dirt in Chad’s direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chad and Dorian began training the volunteer militia after my sessions were over to assist in improving the town’s defenses. Even after the temple was finished, there was no guarantee Bronzemead would regain its sacred protection. Thus, the men, some of them the site workers, would arrive for their training each afternoon just in time to catch the tail end of mine. I had garnered enough of a reputation in the village already that word quickly spread I was now putting on shows in the afternoons. It wasn’t every day the townspeople got to see a gorgeous, terrifying woman spar with the Crown prince himself, and my training soon became spectacle.

The men especially loved when Noelle and I fought, which I understood. Arguably the two most beautiful women in the whole town? We were just a “rainy day in the mud” away from some supreme entertainment in their eyes. Once, they brought out their own kegs and attempted to splash us with drinks during our fight. This just turned them into unwilling participants, as Noelle and I turned on them in a tag team scrum. Stories of “The Amazon and War Maiden” partnering up to wrestle some drunks only increased our fan bases and the crowd size continued to grow.

By the time I had moved on to regular training with Chad, the betting had started. Odds were always in Chad’s favor, which bugged me. I knew he had an entire lifetime of royal training in his favor, but the Goddess had picked me. She had blessed me, right? I kept telling myself that edge meant something, and I had unique abilities too!

We once had a session where he wanted to test out what I had learned from Noelle. That was a one and done affair, with the rumor spreading through town that the prince loved to eat dirt! Dorian gladly rewarded me with dinner at the Wish that night. Chad avenged the loss, and his wounded pride, the next day but it had been worth it. I used that experience for motivation moving forward: it taught me that I could beat him. I just needed to catch up.

Eventually, Chad and Dorian agreed I was far enough along in my training that I could join them and the militia on nightly perimeter scouting to ensure there were no monsters lurking on the outskirts of town. Chad and Dorian were certain I could now handle myself, and it would serve to get my feet wet in a controlled environment.

After one such successful night of patrolling, where I had killed nearly half a dozen undead single-handedly, we were unwinding at the Wish, and I received a pat on the shoulder by Chad.

“You did good tonight. I think we’re ready for our next step in your training.”

He had a grin on his face that told me he was up to something, and my relaxation was swiftly replaced with concern. He waltzed over to the notice board in the tavern and made a show of nailing a notice to it. He then walked over to the bar, pretending he didn’t care if I was interested or not.

After he had gotten far enough away, I tried to seem only mildly interested and walked over to peer at the new announcement.

Chad had organized a fight. And not just any fight.

Chad had organized a tournament.