Mat felt guilty the next morning as he got dressed. He was dreading meeting Spring after last night. How could he be with her? He didn’t deserve somebody like her. And how could he just give his heart to somebody again after what Mary had done?

  Getting that close to somebody left him vulnerable to that betrayal again. Yet he also deeply wanted Spring. Holding her the previous night had felt right, righter than Mary had felt. He hadn’t realised it at the time, but something had been off with her. It had been small things, and Mat had felt grateful that she even gave him a second glance.

  But there had been signs that she didn’t care for him, ones that he should have picked up on. She belittled him for things he enjoyed, or for his looks or his voice. Small things that hurt him. But he hadn’t wanted to be without her either.

  Spring was different. She actually cared about him. He’d only know her for a few days, but she was so much sweeter than Mary.

  What would he say when he saw her? Should he act like nothing had happened? Maybe he should turn her down politely so they could remain as friends.

  Before he could make his mind up, he heard a knocking on his door.

  Sighing, he walked to the door and opened it, seeing Spring’s beautiful face. She smiled when she saw him and entered the house, closing the door behind her.

  “You don’t mind me coming in do you?” She asked. There was something different about her. When he looked at her closer, he noticed that her hair was slightly different, being puffed up slightly with a few curls throughout it. She was also wearing eye makeup, making her eyes popout more than usual. Looking at her, Mat found himself unable to reject her. Still though, he was scared. There was an awkward silence, so Mat decided to address the elephant in the room

  “Look, about yesterday -”

  “I’m sorry if I forced myself on you. I’d understand if you didn’t want to see me again.” Spring said apologetically. She was giving him an easy out. All he had to say was that it was a mistake they both made and pretend it never happened.

  “That’s not what I was going to say.” Mat said. Relief spread across Spring’s face. “I… do you want yesterday to be a one-time thing or…” His voice died in his throat.

  “We could try making this something.” Spring said. “Last night, kissing you and… it all felt right. I know it was spur of the moment, and I don’t know if you have anybody back home, but I’d like to see where this could go.”

  “I would really like that.” Mat smiled. “I know it hasn’t been that long since we met but I feel a real connection to you. You look really pretty by the way. I like what you did with your hair. It looks really nice.”

  “You noticed.” She said shyly.

  Before they left to go to training, Spring pulled him in for another kiss, which Mat found lingered on his lips for the entire trip.

  ***

  Sammuel was so engrossed in his book that the rest of the world was completely gone. A hand shaking his shoulder finally brought him back to the real world. According to his teacher that was both his greatest strength and worst weakness.

  “Sorry, I was distracted.” He said, putting a bookmark on the page so he could easily refer back to it.

  “Where’s Eritandellion?” Spring asked.

  “Ah yes. He told me that he had urgent business and would be gone for a few weeks. Apparently the Clarentsi family, who are distantly related to the Emperor a few generations down, want to meet you.” He said to Spring.

  “Why?” She asked.

  “Probably marriage.” Sam said.

  “Marriage!?” Spring shouted angrily.

  “Yes.” Sam said, fishing in his bag for a new pen, since his had run out a few minutes’ prior. “Since you’re the main student of Eritandellion people will see you as a good connection to him.” When he turned around, he saw anger on Spring’s face as she stormed off, summoning practice dummies to fight. Mat looked more concerned than angry, which Sam was pleased to see. He didn’t like the thought of people being angry at him.

  “Did I say something wrong?” He asked.

  “I think it’s the way you go about explaining things.” Mat said, leaning on the gate. “That could have been done with a little more tact.”

  “Ah, I see.” Sam said. He had always struggled with talking to people. Other than his teacher, he had little contact with others, focusing mostly on his studies. “Would it help if I said Eritandellion is unlikely to force it upon her?” He asked.

  “Is it true?”

  “Most likely.”

  “How do you know? Did he say that?” Mat asked.

  “Well, he didn’t say it outright, but I’ve studied him extensively since he’s such a legendary figure and nothing I’ve read talks about him forcing things upon other people. In fact, it says the opposite. Did you know that five hundred years ago he single handedly freed a continent that was run by slave labour in the north? The stories don’t agree on which one, but the archives here are limited.”

  “I see.” Mat said. “When are they likely to arrive?”

  “By the end of the month, I’d guess.” Sam said.

  “You should probably tell her that when she’s done.” Mat said.

  “I will. Does she not want to marry into a powerful family?”

  “What do you think?” Mat asked. Sam looked back at Spring before answering.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Well done. Full marks for you.” Mat said.

  “Right, should we get on with practice”? Sam asked. “I’ve got some fresh ideas about how to activate your powers. We’ll start by changing up your cycling technique.” Sam said, pulling out a notebook with a drawing. It was the general shape of the Core, but it consisted of a different pattern for cycling. It forced Mat to slow down how quickly it moved through his Core. Mat moved a little away and began cycling to match the pattern. Sam sat back and began taking notes. Despite looking easy, manually slowing your cycling was more difficult than you would assume.

  ***

  Spring took all her anger up on the dummies, parrying each attack perfectly before destroying them. How could Eritandellion do that to her? At the bare minimum, he should have spoken to her. She didn’t want to be married off to some smug noble, who only wanted her for the benefits marrying her would bring them. Perhaps they would grow to love her eventually, but Spring didn’t want a relationship based on power. Why did it have to be her? Why now?

  Slamming four daggers into the last dummy, she began summoning more dummies. She needed to get it all out.

  ***

  “This isn’t working Sam.” Mat said dejectedly, sitting down on the bench and watching Spring. Sam didn’t respond, writing all his notes down. Mat wondered if he had even heard what he said. Mat leaned forward, enjoying watching Spring. She fought so cleanly. How she fought now was a huge departure from when they had fought the Garnlax. Clearly she was skilled.

  “Do you think she’ll agree to marry the bloke in the end?” Mat asked. Sam heard this, as he looked up from his notes.

  “I don’t know.” Sam said quietly. “The whole family will be trying to convince her to do it. Whether or not she will is yet to be seen.” Sam said, lapsing into silence for a moment before saying more. “Are you two close?” He asked sympathetically.

  “I hope so.” Mat said. “Doesn’t really feel real though. Back home…” Mat trailed off into silence, unwilling to speak about his life before to Sam. Not that he didn't trust Sam, in fact, he quite liked the boy. But telling Sam might show him how much of a loser he was back home. What if it incited people to start doing that to him now?

  “Back home?” Sam prompted him. Mat waved his hand at Sam.

  “Nothing. I was just thinking.” Mat said sadly. “Anyway, since that cycling technique didn’t work, what are we going to do now.”

  “Ah yes.” Sam said, glancing back at his notes. Mat was sure he had them memorized. “You said that the first time you froze time it was during a fight.” Sam said. “I was thinking that, if we could get you into another fight, you might be able to activate it again. You’d obviously need to inform me the second you used it so I could figure out how to consistently use it, but that should be the easiest bit.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Where are we going to find a fight?” Mat asked. “We’re not going to initiate one, are we?”

  “Of course not. We’re going to go monster hunting.”

  ***

  Mat nervously approached Spring, who was still fighting the dummies, her eyes filled with rage. Explaining the plan to her, she eagerly agreed. Mat wondered if she was doing it to take her mind off of the marriage. After a brief explanation to the guards, they were let through. It turns out, having powerful teachers and one of the most powerful Academy’s in the world behind you gave you a lot of power. Who would have guessed?

  It wasn’t long until a creature that looked like the mix between a turtle and a lion emerged.

  “A Dronkas.” Spring said for Mat’s benefit. Sam walked over to a rock, sat down and pulled out his books and pen again. On the side of the rock, he left an elegant looking wand. So he’s a wizard.

  Mat brought himself back to the present moment, pulling out a dagger that Sam had provided for him. It was magically enchanted, but not very strong

  Spring summoned her sword in one hand, shooting a weak fireball at the Dronkas. It wasn't their aim to kill it, after all. Mat ran in and plunged the dagger into its leg, causing it to grunt in pain. It kicked Mat in the chest, sending him flying into a tree. Much to his surprise, he hadn’t been knocked unconscious or killed by the attack. He hurt, but it wasn’t more than he could handle. Maybe that was due to him being Foundation Rank. Another surprise was the feeling that arose in him when the monster kicked at him. He had felt a sensation of when to dodge, much like his fight with the boys a couple of days before. If he had to describe it, it was similar to marvel’s spider sense. He hadn’t listened, trying to get the dagger out of its leg. Although he had succeeded, it had hurt like hell.

  Pushing himself to his feet, swaying a little, he ran up to the Dronkas, who was now attacking Spring. She couldn’t kill it, as she was trying to help Mat, and he could see she was being pushed back, taking small slashes here and there. Mat rushed in, jumping on the creatures back. There were small cracks in its shell, which Mat stabbed into over and over, using it as a hand hold so that it couldn’t throw him off. Instead of throwing him off, it did something unexpected. It rolled over.

  ***

  Spring watched in horror as the creature began rolling on its back. Mat was still there, and if he dropped off now, he would be crushed. She shot several powerful balls of fire at it, trying to weaken it as much as possible.

  Pushing herself off the ground and into the air, she watched Mat brace himself before throwing himself to the side. His foot got caught on the monster’s rough, uneven shell, stopping him from getting away. Although Mat needed danger to test his powers, she wasn’t willing to put him in a situation where he would die if it didn’t work. As before she landed, she threw her weight toward Mat, reaching him just before he got crushed. As he got his foot free, Spring grabbed him and threw herself off its back, not even a second before it hit the ground. She landed, putting Mat down, before jumping onto the creature’s stomach. Her Sword of Eternal Flame had vanished, so she summoned it back and plunged it into the monster’s stomach several times until it was dead. She calmed herself before going back to check on Mat.

  “I believe I may have something. But I can’t guarantee anything at the moment. Perhaps you should go and get some rest Mat. We have a busy few days ahead of us.”

  ***

  Eritandellion smiled politely as Claudia Clarentsi bragged about her son, Humphrey, who was standing next to her, looking smug.

  “Isn’t he remarkable?” Claudia said, less a question and more a statement. It’s remarkable how dull he is. While not trying to be rude, Eritandellion really had no positive feelings for the boy. He had clearly been raised thinking he was the most important person ever boon, and it showed in his cocky… everything. There was no part of him that radiated humility. While some could get away with it, people as advanced as Eritandellion at least, cockiness was never attractive.

  To make it even worse, he wanted to marry Spring, and not because of any actual care or love for her. He had never even met Spring. Eritandellion had agreed to bring all of them to Kandala so Humphrey could meet her. It had been made very clear though that Eritandellion wouldn’t force it upon Spring; it was all her choice. If she fell for the man, then he would support her fully and wouldn’t do anything to stop her.

  While it would throw his plans off a little, he was certain he could make it work. In all honesty though, he seriously hoped that she wouldn’t fall for him. Not because he wanted her to be lonely, but because he knew she could do much better. Knowing that she was with somebody who actually cared about her, rather than somebody who only wanted her for what she could give him, would make him feel much more comfortable. Still, it was her choice. It was also a comfort to know that she wouldn’t just fall for a few flattering words and ignore the person behind them. Spring was good with people.

  “Absolutely remarkable!” Eritandellion lied. “Spring would be lucky to have you.”

  A young man, only a year younger than Spring, entered the kitchen. Humphrey’s brother George. He was the reason that Eritandellion was really here. George was the Clarentsi’s second son, so he wasn’t going to inherit the family’s Toh training school, the biggest in the world. That was why they were such a powerful family. George would remain a background character in the family though. He had no expectations of grandeur, so he wasn’t full of himself. That made him perfect. Not for Spring, he had no actual intention of marrying her off to anybody. Humphrey was simply a ploy; one with risk of getting married to somebody far better than him, but it was a low risk.

  “Would you like me to travel us back to Kandala now?” He asked.

  “No, we’ll make our own way there. It will be a good bit of training for my sons.”

  Eritandellion had expected that and offered to join them.

  “How could we refuse such a generous offer?”

  ***

  The following weeks passed by slowly, each day following the pattern of trying and failing to use Mat's Time Manipulation Bloodline. A Bloodline, Mat learned, was the name given to the set of powers you gain. The monotony was broken only by testing his other Bloodline power, Eyes of the Tiger. That gave him his superhuman ability to dodge. The other thing breaking up the monotony was his growing relationship with Spring. At first, he had worried that he was simply trying to distract himself from Mary, which he still vaguely worried about, but less so. As they spent more time together Mat grew closer to her. Butterflies flew freely around his stomach when he saw, even more so when she touched his hand or gave him a kiss. Mat was dreading the day the Clarentsi family arrived.

  The Eyes of the Tiger was, in Mat’s opinion, incredible. While it gave him no offensive abilities it allowed him to dodge anything that came his way, assuming he actually listened to his senses and had the agility to use them, and if he was really tactical it could give him an opening to attack.

  As Mat was doing some standard cycling training, not focusing on his time manipulation, he felt something strange it his Core. It was throbbing wildly; Mat worried something might be wrong. A searing pain shot through his body, digging into every crevice and organ. Spring ran over to him, but she didn’t look worried, although she did cover his mouth with her hand. A scream Mat didn’t even know he was releasing became muffled.

  “Nothing’s wrong sweetness.” Spring said soothingly. “Just stay calm and let your Core do what it has to.”

  She gave Mat her other hand, which he clutched gratefully. Sam had come over and was taking notes rapidly, inking spreading all over his hands.

  The pain lasted for an eternity, but eventually it began to subside. Mat weakly squeezed Spring’s hand, finding his voice too tired to make any noise. Instead of looking down on him for his weakness, Spring looked at him warmly, caressing his cheek until he found his strength. Spring held him up until he could do it by himself.

  “What happened?” Mat asked.

  “You Advanced!” Spring exclaimed joyfully.

  “It didn’t feel good.” Mat moaned. His joints still ached.

  After a while Mat felt as good as new. Better then new, in fact. The pain had all been washed away by a wave of strength. He felt like he could run for hours without getting tired. If Advancement felt that good, ignoring the initial pain, then he would have to try and Advance again. Soon.

  Sam was lost in his own world, writing enthusiastically in his notebook.

  “I want to try something.” Mat said, taking a step away from Spring. “I want you to go all out. Well, maybe not all out but go harder on me.”

  Spring gave him a coy look.

  “Not like that.” Mat said. “Act like you’re trying to properly harm me.”

  Spring looked hesitant, but her curiosity won out. Summoning her Sword of Eternal Flame, she started slashing at him. Wildly at first, to see what Mat was really capable with.

  Mat could feel the superior agility the Advancement had granted him, and he found it much easier to dodge the attacks. Some did hit him, causing a burning sensation in the wound, but Spring clearly hadn’t infused enough Toh to do any significant damage. Mat was grateful for that.

  Spring stopped after a couple of minutes, an impressed look on her face.

  “That power’s really something isn’t it.” Spring said. Mat gave her a big grin.

  ***

  Spring had plans to meet up with her other friend, Susan, later that day. She had asked Mat whether he wanted to come, to which he had agreed, somewhat hesitantly Spring noted. She knew that something had happened to him in the past, even if he never spoke about it. Since she had met him, Mat had only mentioned his home a handful of times, and it had all been very vague. She knew a few basic things about the world’s history and knew Mat had several siblings, but other than that she knew nothing. For that reason, she knew something had happened to him that he didn’t want to discuss. She hadn’t pushed it, but she hoped he would open up to her soon.

  An hour passed and it was time to meet Susan. Spring hugged her when she saw her, happy to see her close friend.

  “How have you been?” Spring asked.

  “I’ve been good. What about you?”

  “Yeah, I have been great! Mostly.” Spring exclaimed. “What have you been up to?”

  “I took up fencing club a few weeks ago. Always good to know how to use a sword of you need one.”

  “Very smart idea.” Spring agreed. She turned around nervously then spoke again. “I brought someone else along to join us today.” Spring said, stepping aside to allow Susan to see Mat. He gave her an awkward smile.

  “This is my boyfriend, Mat.” Spring said. Susan’s eyebrows rose, but she moved forward to greet him.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” She said, shaking his hand.

  “Yeah, you too.” Mat said, his voice shaking.

  “How did you two meet?” Susan asked. Mat and Spring shared a look. Nobody but them and Eritandellion knew the truth. They hadn’t even told Sam. Spring didn’t want to betray his trust and spill his secrets, but she couldn’t think of a reasonable excuse.

  “I ran away from home.” Mat said quickly, looking down at the ground. “While I was out, I got attacked by a group of monsters. Spring helped me and brought me back to Destol.”

  Spring had to get herself together so as not to throw the lie into question.

  “Eritandellion had told me to practice monster fighting alone, just in case I ever needed it.”

  Spring felt a little bad about lying to her best friend, but she understood Mat not wanting it known. She would speak to him about it to see if he would be comfortable with sharing the truth with people soon. Not in a pushy way though.

  ***

  Zato looked over his camp, a mix of both monsters and humans. A black cloak covered his entire body, other than his black leather boots. His long silver hair, when uncovered, ran down half of his back. His fiery orange eyes scanned over the camp. The initial attack would be ready within a few days. Patience was his only enemy now.