Casey clapped her hand at a beat and observed with narrowed eyes at those in front of her.

"You! Yes you!" she pointed a finger at a young girl in the second row. "Why are you always one beat later than others? And you! You nearly dropped the sword while turning, didn't you? Go practice with your sword more!"

Casey pulled her hair with her hand and muttered beneath her breath, "I am going crazy. Finally most of them remember the moves, but they're just not moving at the same time! And we're still practicing with a practice sword! Dew Court has moved onto practicing with real swords days ago!"

The senior standing next to Casey, Lily, patted her on her shoulder and said, "We'll be alright."

I nodded. "We still have a few days. Don't compare with others."

"The pressure! And I was happy when I was named Deputy! How silly was I? I thought being named Deputy meant Master Fu remembered me. I thought if he remembered me, then I might be called to take on those easy missions! Of course not! Everything goes to his gold pupil, Georgia."

"Well it's not only Georgia," Lily said.

"There's also Tim and many other of his star pupils," I added.

"Argh!! You! You missed a beat again! And you! You are as stiff as a board! Again, let's practice again!"

I took my practice sword and got into my place. And we practiced again and again into the night.

The event was coming up in a few days, we finally changed the practice sword into a real sword. Everyone brought out the sword they hid underneath all the clothes in the wardrobe. We as apprentices seldom used real sword. It's to prevent us from harming each other. If we're hurt before we could even go into the real world and work for the Manor, what's the point of grooming us all these years?

Most new apprentices held their allocated sword gingerly. However some were already edging their swords out from the sheaths bit by bit in excitement even though they're told not to. They were the most dangerous type. They just wouldn't learn without some consequences.

It seemed like all the other seniors were too busy to notice this. I sighed and walked over to those naughty children. I took the sword from one of them and with a twist of my wrist, I drew the sword out of the sheath. In lightening speed, I slashed through the grass in front of them. 'Schlik' and the grass fell lifelessly onto the ground.

"You want your fingers to befall the same fate, continue playing with it." I returned the sword to that apprentice I took from and walked away.

"These naughty children! Back in the days, we're all as gentle as a lamb!" Casey complained.

"I thought you're pretty naughty," joked Lily who was standing by her side.

Casey returned by shooting eye daggers at Lily.

"Haha." Lily winked. "Those older at least have some experience with a real sword, we'll have to focus on those babies."

Casey and I nodded. Even though it's not often for us to use a real sword, there're still lessons that required us handling a real sword. But not for those newly admitted.

We recruited some older apprentices and together each of us was responsible for one newly admitted apprentice. Luckily there were only five new apprentices in Mirror Court.

"Now practice the sequence with the real sword. Be careful with the spacing," Casey shouted. "Don't harm anyone! If you do, you'll be..." Casey sliced her hand across her neck.

I was responsible for one of those naughty children, named Min. I sighed and got on to work.

"I am Arina." I gave her a brief nod. "Remember to handle your sword carefully. You never knew who you would harm. Now hand over the sword you're holding."

"Why?" Min pouted, hugging her sword closed to her.

I held out my hand and said, "Sword."

Pouting, she handed over her sword reluctantly.

"Now perform the sequence once for me using a practice sword."

"Why..."

I sighed. "I have to understand how well you're performing, before deciding if you could handle a real sword now."

Unwillingly, she went and picked up her practice sword. Her sequence was a disaster. Granted she was just learning the most basic sequence at school. So the sequences we used might be slightly out of her league, but definitely not by much. The sword sequences we assigned those younger apprentices were really simple, usually involving a flip of hand or wrist and then walking a few steps.

She finished her sequence in a rush and looked at me expectantly, eyeing her sword once in a while. I pointed out a few things she had to change and then commanded, "Again."

Min was a stubborn child, adding to the fact that she was not so patient. It took me a few days of practicing with her before her movements were satisfactory and that she would not harm herself using a real sword. I let her practiced a few times with the real sword and nodded. At least she wouldn't stand out because of her extraordinary bad movements.

I took away her sword as soon as she finished practicing. I noticed that she had a tendency to slide the sword out from the sheath when she thought no one was looking. She loved showing off. Showing off was not a problem, but if she couldn't master the sword well, it's easy to cause accidents. She pouted whenever I took her sword away, but that could not be helped. Even Casey and Lily agreed with me.

Finally it's the day of Lord Atherton's birthday. We're waiting at the side for our turn. I just wanted this to be done with. Babysitting a stubborn child was hard work. When it was nearly our turn, I finally returned the sword to Min with a word of caution.

But apparently my advice just passed out of her ears as soon as they entered. I turned my back from her for just one second to reply to a call from Casey, then I felt a slice on my forearm.

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