《Zoe Grinma》


 Can I even see?

    In the dimly lit area quick short gasps and loud screams could be heard throughout the whole bedroom. Small cries were soon followed by a large sigh of disappointment.


    ¡°It¡¯s a girl M¡¯lord.¡±


    ¡°Yes I can see that you dog, Helen, yet again you¡¯ve failed. I''m very displeased with you.¡±


    Weakly his wife replied, ¡°Im sorry dear, please forgive this one¡±


    The mother of the child motioned the midwife to bring the child over, ¡°she''s beautiful, she has your eyes Hank¡± she said as the child began screaming again. ¡°Shuu shuu it¡¯s okay, mother is here; mothers here for you Katherine.¡±


    As the baby began to quiet down her husband roared in anger.


    ¡°Katherine!? Thats a whores name! Her name shall be Zoe!¡±


    ¡°But dear-¡±


    The baby began to scream yet again as the mother slowly rocked her back and forth.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°No buts, its final. Her name shall be Zoe Yadir Grinma, or do you dare disrespect me?¡±


    ¡°No M¡¯lord¡± she said as she lightly bowed her head. Gently holding Zoe in her arms, she watched her husband storm out of the room muttering profanities under his breath.


    ¡°Please let me rest Mary.¡± Said the mother of the newborn


    ¡°Of course M¡¯lady.¡± As the midwife left the mother looked down on her child and smiled brightly as the baby was sleeping on her bosom. As the mother wiped the smile from her face she let her head fall onto the soft pillows and she too drifted off to sleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    (???POV)


    Blackness, blackness everywhere it¡¯s all that I saw. Saw? Can I even see? Where am I?


    Hmm, the last thing I remember was jumping and then blackness¡­


    Oh! Im dead, finally.


    Wait a sec is see something, a light? It¡¯s so blurry, why is the blackness getting tighter? I can feel air and something grabbing my head, ow! That hurts, ahhh my eyes it burns! I scream and scream but the blinding pain is still there and I can feel something holding me up.


    Then I hear a monstrous roar and I start to scream again.


    I hear something slam shut then i feel gentle hands, hands? Caress my head and im held against something soft and bouncy. Ahh I feel safe now, i''m so tired, hmm I think Il go to sleep now.

 Shit

    (??? POV)


    Waking up to blurry colors and muffled sounds I started to panic but after realizing that the light did not hurt me any more I started to calm down.


    ¡°Hmm, where am I?¡± he thought. ¡°This doesn''t seem like hell or any afterworld I''ve read about. Just where the fuck am I?¡±


    Time went by surprisingly as far as I could tell it was night time because the bright colors quickly faded to dark shadows? Wait something''s wrong, I feel weird, like bloated. It reminded me of a couple of days ago, I don''t know if it was days ago but it felt like a long time, but i felt hungry. So that means I''m alive¡­ Dammit!


    Anyway I feel bloated annnddd now I don''t. Hmm that was odd. I feel sleepy.


    (Helen POV)


    This is odd. There is something wrong with Zoe. Not only does she not cry when she¡¯s hungry, she just lies there and doesn''t make any noise besides the occasional curious blurt of a noise.


    My first child was always getting into trouble, may it be getting stuck in small places or roaming away from me.


    Hank stopped visiting me after the third week of me giving birth. What did I do now¡­


    *SIGH* OH! Almost forgot to feed Zoe. She also sleeps for days, at first I thought she was dead but I soon got used to her strange behaviours. What a strange little one.


    (???POV)


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I can finally see! It''s amazing I woke up after that nice nap and I can see and hear. Hurray!


    Hmm lets see, there''s a woman looking down on me and there''s a lady in a maid outfit standing by the bigass door to my left.


    The nice lady is smiling at me, and I just stare back blankly and then I look down only to realise that i¡¯m a midget. Fuck, i''m not a midget i¡¯m a baby.


    (Helen POV)


    Zoe finally opened her eyes, phew, I thought she was blind. When I smiled at her she, she just looked at me and then she looked down and started to scream, I got off the bed and knelt down next to her and started to baby-talk her and she stopped screaming but just looked at me with her icey blue eyes. Those eyes. ¡° Z- Zoe?¡±


    (??? POV)


    ¡°Who the hell is Zoe¡± I thought. Maybe it''s that maid lady. Well I dont think its her because she didn''t respond to that name. Why is this pretty lady just staring at me, could she be my mother or something? I think I¡¯ve been reborn, SHIT FUCKING DAMMIT! Can a man die in peace and stay dead for fucks sake! Wait, the pretty lady looked at me when she said Zoe. Could it be that i''m a girl? Well this could be worse.  I could be a female squid. Do squids blink? How long has it been since we''ve both blinked? Looking back at the maid the pretty woman finally started to breathe normally again, good for you pretty lady! I feel drained for some reason, time for bed.


    (Helen pov)


    Th-this is unprecedented! This child has mana! She''s only 3 weeks old and she can already manifest her mana! ¡°Mary!¡± ¡°Y-Yes M¡¯lady!¡±


    ¡°Go find Hank NOW!¡±


    ¡°Yes¡±


    Hmm how is this possible? This can only happen when one experiences a life and death situation, how is this possible?


    Not even three minutes later was the door opened again with Hank in the lead and Mary in tow.


    ¡°Helen, what is the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°Dear, Zoe has manifested mana! She caught me in her gaze and even I was unable to break out of it. Not only that but she just sits there all day and night with her eyes closed and she doesn''t even attempt to crawl around like Ella did.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what, slow down Helen. Start from the beginning.¡±


    (Zoe POV)


    Oh that must be dad, their talking about me, must be because i¡¯m hungry again.


    Why does he look like an asshole? ¡°Well if he looks like one, he is one¡± said my late father from my other family.


    Oh, what are you doing lady, put me down! Oh shes just showing dad whats up.

 Zoe?

    (Zoe POV)


    Why is this creepy dude just staring at me? Is there something on my face? Do people just stare at babies eyes, is that normal?


    A small smile creeps upon his face and he requests to hold me and mother complies and hands me over to father. They''re saying that I have mana, mana? You mean the shit that Gandalf uses. Hmm, am I cool or what.


    (Helen POV)


    After Hank inspected Zoe he concluded that I was crazy because she had no gaze and promptly left the room. *SIGH* Am I going crazy to think that a baby has mana yet? I need some rest. Hugging Zoe like a pillow we both lay down for an afternoon nap.


    ...Two years later...


    (Zoe POV)


    Crawling around I hide underneath mothers bed so that Mary cant wash me. Don''t get me wrong, I love getting washed, it''s just that I still can''t stand the lack of a certain member. Just the site of my new¡­ feature is unsettling. Shit, she found me.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Aahhh that was nice, I really needed that.


    Oh there is mother, staring at her blankly, hmmm, I can see through you, I can see through you.


    (Helen POV)


    Zoe finally started to move around after her first birthday, why is everything so delayed when it comes to this one? She doesn''t appear slow or dim-witted but she can''t even talk yet. Can she not talk? I''m scared for this little one, how will she fare on her own if she can''t talk. ¡°Zoe? Come here Zoe.¡± looking at me she just sits there and doesn''t respond to anything I say or do. Waving my hands in the air above my head only gets me a small giggle. A small giggle. Thats nice¡­


    ¡°Tha hell!¡± I scream. She can make noises, so she''s not mute! Frantically waving my hands again causes her to burst out in laughter, ¡°mother stop please!¡± She can talk too, I feel faint, this is too much for my poor heart.


    ¡°Zoe, say mother again.¡±


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    ¡°No no no say more than that¡±


    ¡°Mothers silver hair is very pretty and it compliments her pale skin nicely.¡±


    How does she know those colors, how does she know those words? The heck?


    (Zoe POV)


    After seeing mothers chest bounce with everso vigor and responding to her request, she just stares at me like I have a horn and two tails. Oh, babies don''t talk like that, shit. ¡°Who are you,¡± mother says with a firm tone.


    ¡°Zoe mother¡±


    ¡°Zoe can''t talk. Who are you.¡±


    Shit, now what? Hmm, I think this will work.


    ¡°Mother the Infurmin taught me.¡±


    ¡°Infament? What is that? Some kind of demon?¡±


    ¡°No no, Infurmin, it''s my angle, he taught me how to talk.¡±

 What a joke

    Zoe POV


    Mother is still questioning me after that day, so far it¡¯s been a week and she is always asking what Infurmin is up to and whether he is dangerous or not. I had to reassure her that only I could see and interact with him and that he is not a danger. Father came to visit a couple times and he was pleased to hear that I could talk. He deemed me worthy of going outside mothers chambers because of that, so today is my first day exploring the house.


    Trying to stand up on my stubby little legs proved to be humorous to mother as she softly giggled as I fell on my ass. Getting up again I succeed in standing on my own two feet without help.


    ¡°Mother,can you carry me?¡±


    ¡°No, you need to get strong bones and muscles.¡±


    Tsk annoying prick. Cant even carry her own daughter, what a joke.


    Helen POV


    As Zoe wandered around to the house she seemed satisfied that there was ample enough rooms that she could explore. After leaving the maid¡¯s section we went to the kitchen, living room and finally to Hank¡¯s study.


    Gently knocking on the door with Zoe in my arms, ¡°what do you want!¡±


    Grimacing at the loud noise Zoe asked ¡°why is father so mean?¡±


    ¡°Father, had a rough time recently, he wanted a son but-¡±


    ¡°You got me right?¡±


    Reluctantly nodding my head while entering his study I place down Zoe so she can explore. I walk towards Hank and explain to him about Infurmin. ¡°What? Both of you are crazy, talking about an invisible angle. Angles are dead and you know it. She probably has an imaginary friend or something like what Ella had.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    *SIGH* ¡°Yes dear you''re right¡±


    ¡°Of course im right, I can''t remember a time where I was Goddamn wrong.¡±


    Disengaging from the conversation I look to find where Zoe wandered of to.


    Zoe POV


    Walking through the open door, I stumble into Mary and ask her if I can go outside.


    ¡°No M¡¯lady, you need permission from your father.¡±


    Fuck, why is everything revolve around that asshole.


    ¡°Zoe, it¡¯s time for your nap.¡±


    ¡°Mother i''m not tired and I still want to go outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Zoe but your not allowed outside till you turn of age.¡±


    Of age? What the hell is that? As if sensing my question she says till i¡¯m five.


    Oh well, resigning to my fate to take a nap misday I comply and go back to mother¡¯s chambers.


    ...Two years later¡­


    Zoe POV


    Finally,finally I can go outside, it¡¯s finally my fifth birthday and I can go outside.


    Running up to mother I ask her if I can go out now but she says not till the priest comes.


    ¡°Priest, who¡¯s the priest?¡± I ask and mother says its someone who will judge my combat and magic potential. Magic! I finally can learn magic i''ve been waiting for this moment for four whole years. Will I be a fire mage that puts the sun¡¯s heat to shame? Or will I be a lightning mage that rivals even the most violent of storms. As I quell my enthusiasm I sit down to breakfast and of course father isn''t here, I hear a knocking at the main door and mother gets up to greet the person. Wiping my silver hair from in front of my face so I can get a better look at the stranger as mother brings em inside. It''s a woman, green hair, green eyes and green clothing¡­ okay.


    ¡°Please come inside¡±


    ¡°Yes of course¡±


    ¡°Zoe, this is the Priest I was talking about, her name is Ivy. Ivy this is Zoe¡±


    ¡°Good morning Priest¡±


    ¡°Pleased to finally meet you Zoe, i''ve been hearing a lot about you from your mother.¡±


    What, how, i¡¯m always with mother 24/7 how do they talk?


    ¡°Telepathy Zoe.¡±


    Tha fuck, telepathy is real?


    ¡°Yes it is, and that is not language becoming of a nobles daughter.¡±


    Helen POV


    ¡°Zoe don¡¯t you want to go outside. Seeing her nod her head slightly while giving Ivy a death stare shocked me. I¡¯ve never seen Zoe get upset before.


    ¡°Please begin Ivy.¡± I said as she walked towards Zoe. Placing her hand on Zoe¡¯s head she began chanting those familiar words she used on Ella and I.


    ¡°Dear gods, grant this meek one the power to see into this soul and draw forth the power to fight the demons from below.¡±

 But what?

    Ivy POV


    What in the god''s name is this. This child, this child. How is this possible? I need to get a skill tablet for this girl.


    ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Helen said,


    ¡°No, the opposite actually. She has an outstanding combat potential but her mana is low.¡±


    Not even I was this powerful as a child and was one of the best in the village at that age.


    ¡°Mother can I go outside now?¡±


    ¡°Not yet Zoe. We need to have breakfast first, Ivy would you like to join us? We are having Pig strips and eggs.¡± i''d rather not but I don''t want to be rude...


    ¡°That would be nice.¡±


    Zoe POV


    Quickly gobbling down my food and drink, I ran to the door and only to find father standing there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his tanned face. His light brown hair that was neatly brushed backwards and hazel eyes reflecting anger and disappointment.


    ¡°Father?¡± I hesitantly asked not daring to anger him should another beating arrive.


    Ignoring me he addressed Ivy in a tone that was sure of my failure to the testing.


    ¡°How bad is it?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± taking a moment to think she followed up with, ¡°If your referring to your daughter, she is much stronger than those her age but she needs to be taught how to use her potential. Her mana is low but its enough to cast a couple spells to defend herself. I recommend that you send her to the training school so she can learn the basics along with her academics if she has not learned them already.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°She has not received any form of training so far besides the basics of history, speaking of which. Why don''t you demonstrate your knowledge of Azreal. Zoe start from the top.¡±


    Fucks sake woman, can I get a days break from constant qizing?


    ¡°The country Azreal is neighbored by Arkan to the West the great Seas from the North, The Empire Manx to the East and finally the demons to the far South.¡±


    ¡°What are the names of the king and queen?¡±


    ¡°Of which country mother?¡±


    ¡°Azreal¡± she said smiling


    ¡°Gus Grayson and Wren Grayson.¡±


    ¡°Very good Zoe, now, what are the ranks of warriors?¡±


    ¡°Beginner, novice, intermediate, expert, sagely, godly and primordial.¡±


    ¡°Ranks of mages?¡±


    ¡°Umm, isn''t it the same?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is, but there is one more rank than primordial, remember?¡±


    Shaking my head slowly she responded with ¡°Oblivion.¡±


    Oh yeah, the one that doesn''t sound cool. Well at least not to me, seems pretty unoriginal.


    Looking up to father with a pleading face, ¡°can I go outside father?¡±


    Acting nice in front of the guest who already proved that she won''t take his shit he said


    ¡°Of course Zoe, well be out soon we just need to talk to Ivy first.¡±


    Okay¡­ weird old man. Opening the door a rush of bright colors and new smells assaulted my nose and eyes. Taking my first step out the door, actually it was my second step because i''m still just a little dude, girl, dude girl. It seemed my house was on top of a large hill and I could see various houses down below, medieval houses might I add. Straw or stone roofs mostly straw, weird cows and chickens roamed the streets along with various merchants and peddlers conversed over prices and barterd over different things. What was strange was that there was barely any children around and those that were around were my age or older. Barley any women were outside as well.


    Hearing the creek of the door behind me I noticed that it was only mother and Ivy that exited.


    ¡°Zoe lets go to the training school now.¡±


    Nodding my head and holding her hand we walked down the path to the village.


    Helen POV


    Walking through the village I expected Zoe to be scared but she seemed totally at ease. Oh? I expected nothing less from the younger sister of Ella and daughter from myself¡­ and Hank¡­


    Seeing a young boy run up to Zoe and ask ¡°What''s your name, I haven''t seen you before. Hi, im mike, what''s your name?" Do to Zoe being so small I couldn''t see her eyes but i''m sure that she was glaring at him due to the boy seizing up and falling over


    Z-zoe? The heck? ¡°Mother? What''s wrong, why did we stop?¡±


    There''s something wrong with her, but what?

 Start!

    Ivy POV


    Eh? What just happened? That little boy, just asked Zoe who she was and Zoe used her gaze on him. Bending down I placed my hand on his chest and channeled some mana into him to break the effect. The boy immediately started crying and ran away.


    ¡°Helen, did you teach Zoe that?¡± answering in her head she said


    ¡°No, the first time I''ve seen her use that she was only three weeks old. As far as I know, she hasn''t used it since.¡±


    Most people don''t unlock their gaze until they experience a life or death experience. Was she born with it? I might have to train her less she does this to everybody who crosses her, or till she runs out of mana. But that would be beneficial to her in the long, running out of mana increases your mana pool.


    Reaching the large training school at the edge of the village we proceed to walk inside.


    Seeing the various ages all practicing different things brought a smile to my face.


    Zoe POV


    Ahhh the smell of sweat and tears, this is home. Scanning the area I found that there were girls here as well which surprised me. I thought all girls were dainty like mother.


    Reading my thoughts Ivy burst out laughing at me.


    ¡°Your mother, dainty ahahahaha!¡± wiping a tear from her eye I gave her the same death stare I gave the little brat.


    ¡°HIII!¡± that''s what I thought.


    ¡°Hello, what can I do for you Helen, Ivy, young miss?¡±


    ¡°Brock, we would like for Zoe here, to take the entrance test for the school. Academics not included.¡±


    ¡°Very well, come with me. Little miss, would you rather do the obstacle course, the monster pit or fight a student?¡±


    ¡°All of them please¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°What? Zoe, you''ve never held a weapon before and this is your first time outside.¡±


    ¡°Mother, please, I can do this have faith in your daughter.¡±


    Ivy looked at mother, likely talking to her but mother slowly nodded and said ¡°fine but be careful¡±


    Smiling ¡°yes¡± finally I can fight something


    ¡°I¡¯ll have you fight a student first then the monster pit then the obstacle course as the last one.


    Nodding my head as Brock called over a girl that looked...young. Older than me but younger than twelve.


    ¡°Jen, this little miss will be your opponent. No weapons allowed. Now, everyone! Clear the space so that the little miss and Jen can spar.¡±


    By the time Jen and I were on opposite sides of the room the students have cleared away.


    ¡°Ready little girl ¡° Jen said with a smirk, probably thinking I''ve never fought before.


    ¡°Bring it.¡± I replied as I lightly bounced from one foot to the other with my hands uselessly dangling by my sides.


    ¡°Start!¡± Brock yelled and we both rushed at each other.


    Right before we both ran into each other I abruptly spun and delivered a sidekick to her abdomen. Eating the unexpected kick she scrunched forwards and I grabbed her hair in a tight fist only to knee her in the face with my secret ¡®jumping knee attack 2000¡¯. As I was still in the air and she was recoiling backwards, I took a quick step of her bent knee, still holding her short hair and spreading my legs into a splitz; I slammed her head down into the dirt floor with that was a satisfying crunch.


    Helen POV


    What. The. Hell. Seeing Zoe do that ruthless combo while smiling, was unnerving to say the least.


    ¡°Mother?¡± Zoe asked while slightly tilting her head to the left.


    ¡°Y-yes?¡±


    ¡°Why are you scared?¡± what the heck? Is it that noticeable? Slowly looking at Ivy and noticing her rush up to the knocked out Jen, she then began healing her while shaking her head in what I think was disbelief. Brock, the last to snap out of it began to say,


    ¡°Lit-Zoe, good job but try not to go too far in a spar.¡±


    ¡°But I barely went at it,¡± she said with her cheeks puffed up.


    ¡°Zoe, listen to your elders.¡± nodding her head slightly she walked over to Brock and asked,


    ¡°The monster pit Mr.Brock.¡±


    ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    We were led outside to a separate attachment to the training center. The attachment held various large doors but it was surrounded by a large fence. Next to the fence was a weapon rack with weapons from daggers to bladed shields and halberds. Zoe, walking up to a small buckler shield and large dagger she picked her weapons before Brock could even explain what was going on.


    ¡°Zoe I see you''ve already picked your weapons, but the monsters are much different from humans. The monster that you would face will be a wild boar.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mr.Brock¡±


    Lifting Zoe over the fence he placed her down on the inside of that filthy death pit. Brock, then channeling his mana into a small orb the door to the wild boar garage opens and an angry male boar exited his little domain.

 Tsk.

    Zoe POV


    Standing still I notice that the boar is sizing me up, judging that i''m easy prey he rushes in for the kill. I immediately turn and run towards the fence and wait for the boar to reach me.


    ¡°Brock, isn''t this a little dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Nah, Zoe has this¡± I heard Brock and mother¡¯s conversation as the boar was about to reach me.


    I threw the buckler and put the dagger in between my lips and climbed the fence, the boar too close to stop, ran right into the fence. Falling off the fence do to the impact, I moaned in annoyance as I hit the ground hard. Right next to the boar I jumped to my feet and hopped on top of the beast only to grip its mane? Ughh, the scruffy hair on the back its neck. Taking the dagger from my mouth I held it in my left hand as I ruthlessly stabbed the boar over and over again. Of course it won''t be that easy to kill a oversized pig; the boar immediately started to roll over as soon as it knew what was happening.


    Having my leg pinned, the boar started to thrash its head all over in hopes of gouring me with its large curved tusk¡¯s.


    Getting gored in the face right below my left eye I continued to stab the beast, moving up to, hmmm. Holding the dagger in both hands I held it in front of my face only for the boar to impale itself on the dagger, I began shoving the dagger even further into its neck. Severing the spinal cord.


    Seeing that the boar stopped its movements I wrenched out the dagger and slit its throat.


    ¡°Mother, a little help please.¡± Shocked as mother easily cleared the fence with such ease, she ran over to my side and lifted the boar off my leg and picked me up and hugged me.


    ¡°Im glad your safe. Please, let us go home now.¡± She requested, even though it was an order.


    ¡°Brock, did Zoe pass your tests?¡± grinning like a creepy dog he said


    ¡°Hahaha, of course, of course. Class starts tomorrow at sunrise.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be taking our leave now, goodbye Brock, Ivy.¡±


    Ivy, nodding towards our direction soon was out of sight as we traversed the annoying trek up the hill.


    ¡°Zoe dear, who taught you to fight like that?¡±


    ¡°Infurmin,he teaches me in my dreams.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Helen POV


    I see, so whoever this Infurmin character is, he¡¯s the one corrupting my little Zoe. I¡¯ll have to speak to Hank about him again.


    Reaching our home I instructed Mary heal Zoe¡¯s wound and to give her a bath.


    Getting dinner after she gave Zoe a bath, Mary prepared grilled chipin and a nice cup of tushek milk. After dinner I read Zoe the tale of Gus, again, I tucked her into bed and headed off to Hanks study. Telling Hank about the day and Zoe¡¯s performance and the involvement of Infurmin. Furrowing his brows he said,


    ¡°So Infurmin is actually real?¡±


    ¡°That''s not what i''m saying, im sure he is just a figment of her imagination but there''s no proof that he is real, besides what a five year old says. Although she is very mature for her age, she still is just a little one¡±


    ¡°Maybe she''s more than a little one, maybe she is one of the evolved. They were rumored to have silver hair and she has silver hair as well.¡±


    ¡°That''s just because my illness is in her veins as well. Ella doesnt have silver hair but shes an outstanding warrior.¡± I said as Hank contemplated that.


    ¡°Anyway, it was a long day and i''m off to bed.¡± kissing him goodnight I headed off to bed.


    Zoe POV


    ¡°Zoe, time to wake up.¡± fucking hell it¡¯s still dark out.


    ¡°I refuse.¡± hiding under the covers and trying to wiggle my way under mother, she grabbed the covers and pulled them away from me and then picked me up and carried me to the wardrobe.


    After getting dressed in pants similar to sweatpants and a loose light blue shirt we both went into the kitchen and ate breakfast.


    Slowly heading down to the training center, there was no talking between us as we silently open the doors.


    ¡°Your late, five extra laps and fifteen extra push ups.¡±


    ¡°Bye Zoe, i¡¯ll pick you up after dark¡±


    Nodding my head at mother I saw Brock with his arms crossed yelling at a little shit.


    ¡°Zoe, your in the child section until you prove otherwise.¡± Nodding my head I walked over to the little shits¡­ I mean kids.


    They were all running around a large ring, sweating profusely and one of the little sh- boys fell down and I started snickering. He walked over to me and asked


    ¡°Hey, that''s not nice!¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Apologize, now! Or else.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you want to fight? Then bring it on.¡±


    ¡°I''m not gonna fight you, Brock!!¡±


    Brock, hearing the annoying shit came over to see what was going on.


    ¡°Whats going on over here. Zoe be nice.¡±


    ¡°But Mr.Brock I was only giggling at his face plant an-¡±


    The little twerp started to cry and gave me the stinky eye and a smirk as Brock went to comfort him.


    ¡°Zoe, start running around the ring and dont stop till I tell you.¡±


    Tsk.

 Dangerous

    Zoe POV


    It has to have been twenty minutes or more before Brock told me to stop running.


    Completely out of breath I collapsed to the floor, gasping for air.


    ¡°Get up and go get some water, then start running again.¡±


    Getting up on wobbling legs I scanned the room for were there was water fountain. Oh, there''s no such thing, they probably have a well or something. Never mind, I see a big bowl full of water.


    After drinking my fill, I started to run again.


    Not even ten minutes later Brock and a teenager walked towards me and Brock said,


    ¡°He will be your sparring partner, go easy on her though she¡¯s only five.¡±


    ¡°Understood. My name is Crish and i''ll teach you how to fight hand to hand. I saw your little display yesterday and I was impressed.¡± this guy is already annoying. Acting all high and mighty when he just passed puberty.


    ¡°My name is Zoe, i''m pleased to make you an acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Well mannered and ruthless, if you were a little older I would have courted you¡±


    What the fuck? Creepy pervert. Dirty little boys should be punished. Oblivious to my subconscious plan he led me outside towards the beautiful sunrise.


    ¡°All right, start doing jumping jacks. You will do ten of those and five pushups, then we will spar.¡±


    Easily doing the jumping jacks, I struggled with the pushups, but I managed.


    ¡°All right, now the reason I made you do that is because in the field of war or hunting or anything you do, it''s always important to have good stamina to do the task even after your tired.¡±


    Nodding my head he smiled.


    ¡°Now, I¡¯ll bring you hell!¡±


    Walking towards each other he did a front kick with his leading foot, I purposely ate it but stepping back a little so I didn''t feel the full force of the kick, knowing he would be off balance I took a big step backwards while pinning his leg against my chest.


    Overextending his kick he was forced into a splitz and I followed up with consecutive knees to his face.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Him, not being an amueture, caught my weak little leg after the second knee to his face and brought me to the ground.


    Knowing that I would have no chance on the ground I rolled away and stood up.


    ¡°Not bad little girl, not bad at all. It was good that you realized you would not be able to withstand my weight if I got on top of you while on the ground. The knees were a good option but, I would have done a roundhouse kick or a sidekick to the face. That''s it for now, go back inside and get some water and come back out here.


    After getting the water I came back outside only to find him holding two wooden swords.


    ¡°Now I¡¯ll teach you how to use the shortsword. Usually, I would have longer swords but do to your short arms these will have to do.¡± Throwing me the sword he rushed at me,


    ¡°Show me what you know!¡±


    Quickly stabbing forwards he knocked it aside and it fell out of my hands.


    Tsk, weak body, being defenseless, he went for an overhead attack aimed at my shoulder and so I kicked him in his balls and side kicked him in his abdomen as he dropped the sword and crumpled to the ground. Jumping atop of him I started to pumble him into a bloody pulp all while reciting this mantra in my head.


    ¡°Boom boom, here comes the boom!¡±


    Desperately putting his hands in front of his face I backed off.


    ¡°Wha- what the fuck? What is wrong with you, you bloodthirsty freak, trying to kill me?


    Huh!? Say something for once!¡±


    ¡°My name is Zoe, I''m pleased to make you an acquaintance, creepy pervert.¡±


    Crish was yelling profanities at me as I made my way inside to tell Brock I was done sparring.


    ¡°Finished Mr.Brock.¡±


    ¡°Already? Where''s Crish?¡± pointing behind me he understood that he was still outside.


    ¡°Is that Chrish¡¯s blood on your hands and face?¡± nodding, he sighed.


    ¡°Your now part of the adolescent group till your told otherwise. Anyway, it''s time for lunch,  after lunch we will resume your training.¡±


    Taking my tray of food to an empty table outside I sat down.


    Only for the little boy from before to sit next to me.


    ¡°You should be nicer to your elders.¡±


    ¡°Eat a dick,¡± I responded,


    ¡°What''s a dick? Is it tasty?¡± he asked tilting his stupid little head.


    ¡°Ask your mother, she¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    ¡°I will, but hey, what''s your name?¡±


    ¡°Zoe, you?¡± he responded with John.


    ¡°So Zoe, why were you laughing at me when I fell, that really hurt y''know.¡±


    ¡°Cause it was funny,¡± I responded bluntly.


    ¡°Oh, ok.¡±


    oh, lunch must be over as many people started to get up, getting up with John, we headed towards the kitchen area to give our trays back.


    ¡°Bye Zoe¡± not responding to him at all, I made my way over to the adolescent group.


    ¡°What''s a little girl doing here?¡± a teenage boy asked.


    ¡°Hey Brock, what''s she doing here?¡± A girl asked.


    ¡°She''s part of your group from now on, treat her nicely, she¡¯s dangerous. She took out Jen and Crish in a one v. one.¡±

 ...Ten years later...

    Zoe POV


    While their busy talking about me, I asked Brock,


    ¡°What''s the next exercise?¡±


    ¡°Archery. Now everyone follow me, for Zoe here I will explain the basics.¡± walking out to the range next to where I sparred with Crish.


    ¡°Everyone pick up a bow that you think will fit your height and strength.¡± picking up a shortbow I proceeded to grab an arrow.


    ¡°Noc your arrow and fire when I say so. If anyone besides Zoe lets their arrow fly before I say so you will all run a lap and do extra sparing.¡±


    Straining my muscles to the fullest, I could barely hold back my tears as he finally said, ¡°fire!¡±


    As a few arrows missed the giant hay bale my arrow hit strong.


    ¡°Good job Zoe, now go fetch your arrows and come back here.¡±


    After we all returned, we did that exercise four times more and that resulted in two extra laps and extra sparring. Finishing up last in the last lap I collapsed to the floor,


    ¡°Ha ha ha good job Zoe,¡± an out of breath teenage boy said as he gave me a thumbs up.


    Not paying him any attention I got to my knees and looked towards Brock who was sparring with two of the teenagers.


    As the female with the ponytail ran towards Brock the male started to deliver consecutive sidekicks, only to be dodged or blocked by Brock. Reaching them both, the female did a jumping front kick and Brock sidestepped it and gave her a spinning elbow to her chin, instantly dropping her. The boy not deterred by the loss of his teammate, threw a uppercut to Brocks chin.


    Putting both hands underneath his chin, he caught his punch and delivered a knee to his bent elbow and there was a loud crack and an even louder scream. Collapsed on the floor was the teenage boy holding his arm. Holding back a smile at his pain, I ran to Brock and asked for a one v. one.


    ¡°No,¡± as if sensing my ¡®why¡¯ he said


    ¡°When you turn fifteen. I know that somehow you have real combat experience but that body of yours is too weak to be of any use to your full potential. So until then you will have to be satisfied with the adolescents and adults.


    Tsk, pesky old man. Knowing what''s best and all, where''s the fun if there isn''t a handicap? Giving me a strange look he said that training for today will be over and that I should stay here till mother gets here. Having nothing to do, I just watched the healers resuscitate the downed girl and heal the boys broken elbow.


    ¡°Zoe, it¡¯s time to go.¡± slowly walking towards mother as she was talking to Brock about my day.


    ¡°She''s a strong girl, by the time she reaches fifteen, I suspect that she will be on par with Ella when she was twenty.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Hank will be pleased to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Anyway dinner is cooking and we must get back.¡±


    Walking us to the exit, Brock waved us goodbye.


    After dinner, I went to bed with mother as she tucked me into sleep.


    Helen POV


    How powerful will Zoe get when she¡¯s older? Will she fight for the kingdom like Ella? Or will she¡­ or will¡­


    Waking up before dawn I woke up Zoe to get her ready for another day of training. Today will be mana training, I will teach her that at home before dawn and when the sun first speaks i¡¯ll guide her down to Brock.


    After breakfast and a bath I led Zoe outside into the dark night.


    ¡°Zoe, to draw mana from the body, one must think of what your trying to create. If you just draw from your mana pool without a thought, then it will dissipate into the air.¡± thinking of lightning it crackled and zaps in my open palm,


    ¡°Right now I thought of the element lightning, the more you think, the more strain it takes on your mind and mana. The greater the mind, the more dense and powerful the spell. The larger the mana pool, the more spells you can cast and the longer they last. Any questions? No? Oh, anyway, close your eyes and try to find your mana pool in your heart and draw it forth into the air.¡±


    Seeing her close her eyes and focus, I began to walk in small circles.


    Zoe POV


    Hmm, this is hard. Focusing on my mana pool I pretended that it was a glacier and my mouth was the exit hole¡­ I know it sounds weird but I got some progress. Drawing forth my mana I opended my mouth and breathed out a ice breath. It went as far as four or so meters and encased the ground in small ice spikes and faint snow.


    ¡°What! How did you do that Zoe!¡± shaking my shoulders, mother asked with wide eyes.


    ¡°I drew my mana forth and I imagined a glacier of ice and then I shot it forth like how a dragon would.¡± In deep thought she slowly said,


    ¡°Please don''t try anything dangerous like that again.¡± tilting my head she sighed and said,


    ¡°Drawing forth mana from any other outlet besides your hands is very dangerous. And doing out of your mouth is almost as worse as using light magic from your eyes. Anyway it¡¯s time for your training.¡±


    After the walk down to Brock¡¯s mother left me to his devices but she told me not to use my mana. Tsk, pesky mother, always watching out for others.


    Running outside till it turned bright was much harder than I thought. At first I thought till the sun peeked over the trees but it turned out to be till the sun was all the way up there. Hmm, it should''ve been around nine o''clock by the time we stopped. By that point I was just walking.


    Moving on to sparring I was forced to watch, when Brock said that he wont let me spar with him I think he meant everyone because he wont let me spar.


    Quickly the time passed and we went to weapons training and I was made to practice against a tree. Watching them spar again I made myself busy by jogging in place and by doing pushups. Next was archery and he let me nock a few arrows before my fingers started to bleed. I wanted to continue saying that it wasn''t an issue, but he said that I should rest for the remaining time left. Walking with mother up the hill she ranted on about how I should be careful. After a nice dinner and bath I went to bed with mother as she sang me to sleep. Mana training with mother in the around four in the morning till six, then training with the adolescents till ten. Having the same day over and over again time passed very quickly.


    ...Ten years later...


    ¡°Haa, haa, haa.¡± completely out of breath I jumped up to avoid a leg sweep. Almost getting tripped up, I threw a jab in his face only to have it blocked by his arm and then he pulled me in close and kneed me in the stomach. Bending over I head-butted him against his forehead. Following up with a ruthless combo to his groin and stomach, I kicked him away so I could get some air.


    ¡°He he he, good! Good! Show me more!¡± he said roaring with laughter as he stood up.


    ¡°Why, won''t, you, stay down Brock! No matter how many times I knock you down you still get back up.¡±


    Mother said I can use my magic if I''m fighting an expert and I think it''s about time I used it.

 Follow me

    Zoe POV


    Channeling my mana through my hands I shot it forth in the shape of a raging ice dragon. Brock, slamming his foot down conjured up an earth wall; colliding together, the two elements battled furiously. The immovable earth, versus the rage of a dragon. Brock, not standing idle ran to the side of the battle and flanked me while throwing boulders and earth spikes. Getting caught off guard, I was thrown across the field as a boulder slammed into my head. Coming to a stop after rolling on the ground a couple of times, Brock¡¯s hand was at my neck with his hand covered in mana. Tsk, after all these years of waiting and and training I get my ass kicked by a guy that doesn''t seem to age.


    ¡°Good job Zoe, the ice swords were a nice touch but their not as strong as metal swords so be careful of when you use them. The dragon was strong, but it lacks in mobility. If it can only go in a straight line then your at a disadvantage than most things. Try creating appendages that reach out or something.¡±


    Grasping his hand as he helped me up, I walked away to where mother was standing.


    ¡°Zoe, what did I say about using your mana?¡±


    ¡°Don''t use it against anyone except an expert. But mom, Brock is an exper-¡±


    ¡°No he is not. He¡¯s at the intermediate stage.¡±


    What? He¡¯s not an expert or above? Just how big is this world. As I shudder at the thought.


    Mother, healing my wounds, said this while shaking her head,


    ¡°If your father were here to see this, he would be amazed at your progress.¡±


    ¡°That arrogant bastard has no right to be anywhere except hell. He left you for what? Just so he can have a son? What a joke. If I see him again I swear that I will cripple him in the worst way possible for a man.¡±


    ¡°Zoe, I appreciate it, I really do but you shouldn''t talk about your own father that way.¡± she said with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Im sorry mother, please forgive me?¡± I said hugging her tightly. Hugging back, we separated after a couple of seconds, and proceeded to walk up the hill to our house.


    After eating dinner with just mother and I, we both went to bed.


    The next morning there was a commotion in our small town.


    Knocking on the door, standing outside was John,


    ¡°Zoe, there are soldiers here asking for every girl boy and girl from the age of twelve to thirty that has been trained by Brock to report to the plaza.¡±


    ¡°Mother what''s going on?¡± putting her hand on my shoulder, she beckoned me to go down to the plaza. Tsk, pesky people interrupting my seren life.


    Reaching the plaza, it was filled with young nervous boys and girls.


    I overheard the town chief talking to one of the soldiers,


    ¡°Everyone is accounted for m¡¯lord¡±


    ¡°Good, so we may now begin. Everyone listen up! I will only say this once. There is a war brewing in the South. The demons are invading our lands and are raiding our towns. This is unacceptable. We will push back the demons and gain the kings land back; our land back! I will not stand for the innocent slaughter of our brethren nor will I stand for the demon scum on our land. As I have heard, some of you have received training from the heads son. Those of you who did will join our army. You have till tomorrow morning to say goodbye to your families and then you must report back in this spot.¡±


    A war? Will this has to be good.


    ¡°Mother? Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°Zoe! Your going to war against demons! You might get hurt or, or even worse¡­¡±


    As she trailed off I hugged her in a tight embrace.


    ¡°Mother, I can take care of myself. Plus, I got John with me and ever since we met he would never leave me alone; I doubt he will leave me now. And you taught me magic, so i''m a step above everyone else in our town, so I might get a safer spot in the war.¡±


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.As I tried to reassure her we walked up to our house. The night quickly passed as we both slept without any dinner.


    Waiting in the plaza I saw John walking in my direction as he waved to me.


    ¡°So what do you think about this situation?¡±


    Not even recognizing him, I looked around and saw that the soldiers were beginning to come back into town with wagons i tow. Unloading the the cargo I saw that it was swords and armor.


    ¡°Everyone! You all must equip these armor plates and ready your swords as we march in ten.¡±


    Before anyone else moved, I grabbed John''s arm and ran to the armor. Whispering to him, I said,


    ¡°Hurry up and pick an armor set that actually fits you and then do the same with the swords.¡±


    Nodding his head we both grabbed a set before anyone else got there. Quickly putting on the armor, we both ran to the swords and picked out one that suited us the best.


    ¡°Thanks¡± John said as we made our way back to the middle of the plaza.


    Minutes later, everyone was wearing their own set of armor.


    Looking around I saw that some people had armor too big or too small.


    ¡°Now that everyone is protected, we move out to the South!¡±


    John, talking to me said,


    ¡°Stick together.¡± nodding my head as we walked out of our town.


    Walking through the flatlands for days proved to be very annoying, especially with the extra weight of the armor and sword. Walking was all we knew was for weeks, constant walking only to break at sundown to sunrise; then walk to sundown.


    ¡°Do you think we are almost to the South?¡± John said.


    ¡°Were always to the south.¡± I responded, well at least I think we are¡­


    Hmm something''s wrong, were slowing down.


    ¡°Battle formations!¡±


    Quickly grabbing John¡¯s arm and the soldier next to me arm as well, I assumed the battle formation. The battle formation was all the villages people first and then the real soldiers in the back. This was an assholes formation for the newbies to gain real battle experience.


    The reason why they ordered this was because one could see smoke towards the South. The cause of the smoke was a village on fire.


    ¡°Charge!!¡± whoever is the leader of this army is really mentally sick. Having fresh bloods run in like that when the veterans stay back. Wait, why are they not coming with us?


    ¡°John stop! Something''s wrong.¡± not hearing me he kept rushing like the idiot he is. Ughh, running after John I began screaming his name like a madwoman while keeping my eyes on him.


    By the time I reached John, was when we were at the village gates and the front lines were trying to funnel in the small front gate. Grabbing his shoulder, I turned him around started to yell at him


    ¡°Something is wrong so stay with me!¡± Nodding we held hands and entered the village. Seeing dead bodies piled ontop of eachother in a burning pile was very interesting. Not the first time i''ve seen this but this definitely is the worst constructed. While the ones that i¡¯ve seen were much larger and well put together, like bodies neatly piled ontop of eachother; this was as if whoever had done this was in a hurry. Anyway, John threw up with some other soldiers; while others looked ill.


    ¡°John, get your shit together and lets go and see if there are any survivors. Then you can puke all you want but don¡¯t do it where I can see you.¡± I hate throw up, it smells worse than rotting corpses. Barely recognizing what I said John stated,


    ¡°Their all dead,¡± no shit dumbass,


    ¡°Who did this¡±


    ¡°Probably bad guys.¡± Hmm something is up here.


    ¡°John, follow me.¡± grabbing his hand I led him to the pile of burning bodies and we went the the back of it so that no one could see us. That noise¡­ shit we have to go now!


    Still holding his hand I ran into hut near the pile and I threw down a shelf with books on top of us