" I don't think you'll be able to go back."

                       °°°°°°°♧°°°°°°

"What?" I uttered, looking to Negus questioningly. He didn't respond for a while, his eyes vacant and then, at long last, he let out a sigh.

"If what you say is true then it would be too dangerous for you to go back." He said simply, his stance terse.

Demir stood up from his seat, his arms folded.

"So, she can travel to the human world now?" He questioned, his tone aggressive.

Emut shook his head, his eyes deep in thought.

"We don't know that. It could be the eye of Horus." He reasoned to which Demir tutted.

"The eye of Horus hasn't been seen for a whole millennia. I highly doubt it." He retorted. Maya nodded at his words, looking to Negus.

"It's most definitely the eye of Ra. It means she can travel between worlds." She uttered.

Negus shook his head, a wilful look in his eyes.

"Worse. She knows about Hanna." He whispered and silence fell.

I waved my hands frantically to get their attention.

"Woah, what is going on?" I asked, although I had a pretty good idea and I didn't like the sound of it.

Emut shook his head, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"You can't go back, Hanna. Anouke knows about you. It's too much of a risk going back." He reasoned and I opened my mouth to speak, but Demir beat me to it, a laugh escaping his mouth.

"Humans- they're too weak for their own good. What? Are we supposed to protect her for all eternity?" He said bluntly, a condescending tone to his voice and I seethed at his words.

"I'm sorry we can't all be a God's love child." I gritted out to which his grey eyes flashed dangerously. Thankfully, Negus spoke, saving me in the nick of time.

"You are quite right, Demir." He let out, nodding his head slowly. At this point, all of us looked at him in confusion, even Demir.

"I don't think you've ever agreed with me." Demir drawled, his head tilted in curiosity and suspicion clouding his eyes.

Negus smiled slightly at this, waving his hand dismissively.

"I believe in giving credit where credit is due. You said that Hanna was weak, very well. Her training will start first thing tomorrow. Emut you will be helping her. Is it settled?" He asked, a firm tone to his voice and I watched as Maya's fists clenched, a look of pure hatred on her face.

Emut nodded at Negus's words.

"I'll be there for her for as long as she needs me."

                    °°°°°°°♧°°°°°°

"How about fish?" Ayla questioned, shoving the plate in my face, a grin on her face.

I shook my head, a smile on my face.

"No, it's okay, I'm not hungry." I reassured her, but it was to no avail.

After the ordeal in Negus's office, I had come to accept that I couldn't go back for the time being and decided to stay. Negus had said that training was essential to stay and tomorrow was the day that I began.

I had relayed this to Ayla when I had left the room and she squealed, excited that I would be joining her. She then proceeded to take me to the dining hall where a large and lengthy oak table stood to try feed me several dishes like sweetened bread, lentils, wild bird- all of which I had refused. After all that happened, food was the last thing on my mind.

But, the fish looked rather good

Ayla noticed my hesitation, her grin growing wider. She rushed the plate past my nose.

"Roasted, it was. It's been dried and salted. Here, in Aaru, it's our staple food. It's delicious." She said, her words tantalisingly slow as if she knew it would drive me crazy. And, that, it did. I was going beyond insane due to the hunger I felt. It must have been a day or two since I've eaten and the prospect of food was driving me crazy. I tentatively reached out to take the plate from Ayla's hand and she smirked, handing it over before sitting back and picking up her own plate. I looked over to her plate, curiously as she stuffed her face, morsel after morsel.

"What are you having?" I questioned to which Ayla grunted, wiping her face with a napkin. She gestured her hand over to her plate.

"It's a loaf sweetened by dates and figs. It's so good. want some?" She offered, shoving the bread in my face and I shook my head slightly. I wasn't such a big fan of figs. At this, Ayla looked at me, a curious look in her eyes.

"Well, what do you eat where you're from?" She questioned, taking a bite of her food. I shrugged my shoulders, thinking back. At home, I never had anything special to eat. I'd eat a small sandwich for lunch, during my breaks in the cafe and, in university, a fruit of some kind that Marie would give me. When I got back home, I was generally too tired to feel hungry, so I probably just had a little plate of soup. Still, I knew that wasn't exactly the 'staple' food of Earth.

"I don't know. I think, everyone enjoys burgers, pizzas and things like that?" I said, taking a bite of the fish and relishing in the taste of the flavour after so long. It actually tasted better than fish back home. Ayla made a small noise of a grunt, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Burger? What's that?" She asked and I laughed at the way it sounded, coming from her lips. Ayla smiled as I laughed and I bit my lip in thought.

"Hmm, it's a.. cooked meat that's encased in bread." I described, although even I knew that it was a pretty terrible description. Ayla nodded her head, the confusion clearing from her face.

"We have that, I guess, although we don't encase the meat. We have bread made from barley and wheat which accompanies roasted mutton. It's a good dish." She commented and I nodded, unsurely, taking another bite of my food. Ayla poured water in a cup for me before placing it near my plate and I smiled in thanks before taking a sip.

"So, what about your life? Your family? Friends? Husband?" She questioned and I almost spat the water out of my mouth. I gazed at Ayla to see her hands resting under her chin as she looked at me with interest, a small smirk on her face. I shook my head violently, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

"No. No husband. Not at all." I let out quickly, thinking back to the lonely life I held back at home. Ayla nodded her head slowly, processing my words.

"Why? Are they not attractive?" She questioned, drinking from her own cup and I shook my head, recalling all the encounters I've ever had with males.

"Well, they can be attractive, physically. It's just.... none of the boys I've met have ever been... They've just never been the type of guy for me personality-wise." I blurted out honestly and Ayla laughed, raising her cup in 'cheers'.

"I think, that's something we both can agree on." She joked before 'clinking' her cup with my own and I laughed at her words. I don't know what it was, but it just felt so good to be able to talk to someone about something that was trivial and make small talk with a person. My whole life, I've only ever conversed with someone about work, assignments and chores. Sitting here with Ayla made me feel a sort of warmth at the prospect of friendship.

"So, are you ready for training?" Ayla questioned, her blue eyes piercing into mine and I felt my stomach churn nervously at the turn of conversation. I shook my head slowly, putting the cup down. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry.

"I don't know, Ayla. It's not something I've ever done. I don't even know why I'm doing it, but as long as I'm here, I live under Negus's rule. I'm just scared, you know." I explained truthfully and Ayla put her cup down, stroking my arm in a means of comfort.

"Hey, I was scared too, my first time. But, trust me, it's not as gruelling a process as you think. We're all supportive. We all succeed or none of us do- that's how we think around here, so don't worry. Plus, it's Emut who will be training you. You're in good hands." She reassured me and I nodded my head before glancing over at Ayla, curiously.

"Why is Emut so passionate about this prophecy thing?" I spoke, recalling all the encounters I've had with him. It seems that he was the only one who actually believed in it, suffice to say, given Maya's and Demir's reaction. He had always defended it. Ayla smiled to herself before looking at her plate, her eyes deep in thought.

"Emut's parents were part of this team before he was born. As soon he was old enough to understand, his parents taught him about the prophecy and what his duty, as a defender, entailed. He's really proud to be a part of this." She explained and I nodded, the pieces of the puzzle coming together. A solemn silence filled the room for a while but, with Ayla being Ayla, she broke it, her tone cheerful.

"So, like, what are you going to wear tomorrow?"

                      °°°°°°°♧°°°°°°

Scared. I don't know why, but that was the only feeling pulsing through my veins as I sat on Ayla's bed. She had just given me clothes and was currently putting my hair into a plait. It was in the early morning hours and the air was slightly colder than usual. Today was training and I was feeling nauseous.

"Your hair's so long and shiny." Ayla marvelled and I muttered a 'thanks'. I honestly did like my waist-length black hair, but I rarely got compliments on it. Ayla finished up with my hair before getting up and we made our way out of the room and into the hallway. Currently, I wore a similar outfit to yesterday, only this time I wore a navy blue tank top. We descended down the stairs and past the courtyard and I breathed in a deep breath, the sound of the trickling fountain water, calming my disarrayed thoughts. Ayla let out a giggle.

"You'll be fine, Hanna." She said before opening up the door with a creak and then we were on the training grounds. The hallway was just as big as yesterday, but this time everyone was here. I looked over to Maya who stood on the far left, her leg kicking at a wooden dummy. I watched as she let out a powerful kick to the side of it's head, gasping when it rolled off across the hallway. Demir and Abrax were near a weapons bench, both of them talking while picking up weights that looked significantly different to the ones we had on Earth. Arun sat in the corner, his hands working away at writing something in a book. I pointed to him.

"He wasn't one of the defenders. Does he not have powers?" I questioned, watching as he dipped the pen in an ink pot before continuing, his thin hands fast at work. He brushed his long blonde hair out of his eyes before continuing. Ayla shook her head, performing some stretches.

"No, he doesn't. He was brought here by Negus. He has an extensive knowledge on a lot of medicinal stuff. He's our doctor, basically. He's also knows a lot about the weaponry arts. He's made all these weapons by hand." She explained, gesturing to all the weapons hung on the wall and I marvelled internally at his talents.

"Oh, Emut's here. I'll see you later. Good luck." Ayla rushed out, looking behind me before running up the grounds towards Maya. I uttered a quick 'bye' before turning to look behind to see Emut. He walked up with a smile on his face, his brown hair brushed out of his eyes. He wore a black tank top and black shorts, fit for training. He came to a halt in front of me, his hazel eyes looking down at me.

"You ready?" He asked and, when I nodded, he walked down towards the grounds. He gestured around before speaking. I looked towards where he pointed.

"The grounds are separated into three divisions. The white court, on the far left, is for solo purposes only. Here, we train alone against dummies or just testing our weapons. The middle green ground is for measuring improvements. We generally use this to measure the time it took to perform an attack and how to increase efficiency. The red court, on the right, is for actual combat. We fight against each other here. Was all that clear?" He spoke and I nodded, looking to all three courts. Right now, Maya and Ayla were on the white court. Maya was still practising her kicks against a dummy and Ayla was on the other end, throwing arrows against a target, each landing perfectly in the middle. Both Demir and Abrax were on the green court, engaged in conversation. I turned to Emut.

"Where are we going to be?" I asked to which Emut smiled, his eyes lighting up.

"We're going to be on the red court." He said bluntly and I followed numbly behind, nearly tripping over my own feet. I looked up to him as we walked over.

"Wait, what? I can't even handle a weapon. How am I going to be able to combat with you?" I questioned, a panicky tone to my voice and Emut stopped as we reached the court, his eyes tracing over the weapons bench.

"I figured, we'll jump right in. You learn this, you'll automatically learn how to handle the weapon." He retorted, picking up a sword. He brushed his hair back with a hand before turning to me. I shook my head for the twentieth time today.

"How am I going to be able to learn all that so quickly?" I questioned quietly and Emut's smile widened as he handed over the sword.

"Lucky for you, you have an amazing teacher."