The Bride He Hates-Chapter 26: Let’s See The Progress

Lyanna barely slept that night. She’d expected Azrael to change his mind overnight. But in the morning, Clara arrived with breakfast and training clothes.

"His Majesty has arranged everything, my lady." Clara said as she helped Lyanna dress. "Lord Adrian is expecting you in the eastern courtyard. He asked that I tell you to eat lightly."

Lyanna ate some bread and fruit, her stomach was tight with anticipation and nervousness.

What if I were terrible at it? What if Adrian reported back to Azrael that I was hopeless, and Azrael revoked this tiny freedom of mine?

She pushed the doubts aside and made her way to the eastern courtyard. It was a large open space with high walls that was especially designed for combat training.

Adrian was already there. He looked up as Lyanna came.

"Queen Lyanna. His Majesty said you want to learn to fight. May I ask why?"

"I need something that I chose to do. Also, I’m tired of being helpless. I know I’ll never be strong enough to fight vampires but maybe I could at least defend myself against humans, or weaker threats."

"Fair enough. I’ve trained hundreds of soldiers over the centuries, and the ones who survive longest are the ones who fight for something personal rather than just following orders."

He picked up two wooden practice swords, testing their weight, then tossed one to Lyanna. She caught it awkwardly, nearly dropping it. Adrian’s lips twitched in amusement.

"Remember, I won’t go easy on you because you’re a queen. I won’t make lessons easy just because you’re human or female or married to my king. You’ll be bruised, and exhausted. You’ll even want to quit. Still interested?"

Lyanna gripped the sword, feeling its weight.

"Yes. I’m still interested."

"Excellent." Adrian walked to the centre of the courtyard, gesturing for her to follow. "Then let’s begin. Show me your stance."

The first hour was brutally humbling. Lyanna had imagined training would involve dramatic sword fights. Instead, Adrian spent the entire session correcting her posture.

"Feet wider. You need a stable base or the first strong blow will knock you flat."

She adjusted her stance, feeling awkward and off-balance.

"Now bend your knees. Not that much...you’re not sitting."

She straightened slightly.

"Hold the sword higher. It’s not a walking stick, it’s a weapon. Your grip is too tight...you’ll exhaust yourself in minutes fighting like that. Relax your hands but keep them firm.

You’re thinking too much. Fighting isn’t an intellectual exercise. Your body needs to know these positions instinctively. We’re building muscle memory, teaching your muscles to react without waiting for your brain to process and decide."

He demonstrated to her the proper stance.

When Lyanna tried to copy him, she felt clumsy, and uncoordinated. Her body wouldn’t do what her mind told it to do. The sword felt heavy, and awkward in her hands.

"Again. Get into position."

She tried again and again, until her thighs burned from holding the position and sweat dripped despite the cool morning air.

"Better." Adrian said, after what felt like the hundredth time. "Now I’m going to teach you a basic downward cut from high guard to middle target. You’ll practice this strike fifty times before finishing the session today."

Fifty times? One strike?

Lyanna wanted to say that this was too slow, and she was capable of learning more complicated techniques. But she remembered her promise to herself that she’d tolerate everything, no matter how difficult or frustrating it became.

Adrian demonstrated the strike, moving the sword up, then cutting down with force, and making the blade stop on the opponent’s shoulder.

Lyanna tried. Her movement was jerky, and uncontrolled, the sword wobbled as she brought it down.

"Again."

She tried again, but still wrong.

"Again."

By the twentieth repetition, her arms were trembling. By the thirtieth, she thought she might drop the sword. Finally, after the fiftieth strike, Adrian told her to stop.

"Enough for today."

Lyanna lowered her sword. Her arms were shaking badly. She was drenched in sweat, and her legs were unsteady. Adrian handed her a water skin, and she immediately drank from it.

"You did better than I expected. Most nobles give up after twenty minutes when they realize training isn’t about glamorous sword fights and heroic victories. You lasted the full hour and completed everything without complaint. That’s impressive."

Lyanna wiped sweat from her face, trying to catch her breath.

"I feel like I didn’t learn anything. We spent an entire hour on basic stance and one simple strike."

"You learned more than you know." Adrian replied. "Your body is now familiar with balance, weight distribution, and how to move with a weapon. Flashy techniques mean nothing if your basic is weak. Tomorrow, same time. We’ll review today’s session, then add a defensive parry."

Over the next few weeks, the training became the most important thing in Lyanna’s life. Each morning, regardless of how cruelly Azrael had treated her the night before, regardless of how little sleep she’d gotten or how exhausted she felt, Lyanna showed up for the training.

Adrian taught her how to fall without injuring herself, how to roll out of a strike, and how to use an opponent’s momentum against them since she’d never match their strength.

"You’re small and human. You’ll always be weaker, and slower than vampires. So you need to fight smarter."

She learned basic strikes and defensive parries. She learned how to read an opponent’s body language to anticipate attacks, and how to exploit the openings.

The physical confidence began translating into mental confidence. She carried herself differently now. She’d learned that her body was capable of more than she’d believed.

Vampires at court began noticing the change. Servants whispered that the queen looked stronger now.

One morning, after three weeks into her training, Lyanna was mid-session with Adrian, when she felt someone watching her.

She glanced towards the courtyard entrance and saw Azreal standing looking at her. Adrian noticed her distraction immediately.

"Eyes on me, not him. Never take your attention off your opponent during combat." But even as he said it, he lowered his sword and turned towards Azrael. "Your Majesty. We’re just finishing the morning session."

Azrael stepped inside the courtyard.

"Don’t stop. I just came to observe her progress."

His tone was neutral. Lyanna couldn’t tell if he was pleased, angry or just curious.

"Interesting." Azrael said, his gaze moving between Lyanna and Adrian. "You’re actually learning. I expected you’d give up after the first week when you realize how difficult real training is."

Azrael turned to Adrian.

"How is she doing?"

"She’s dedicated, Your Majesty. She hasn’t missed a single session and works hard. Her technique is developing well for someone with no prior experience. Although, she’ll never match vampire strength or speed, but her basics are solid. If she continues to train consistently for a few more months, she can hold her own against human opponents, maybe, even against some very young vampires if she catches them off-guard and unprepared."

Azrael’s lips curved into a smile as hewalked towards Lyanna.

"Show me what you’ve learned. Attack me."

Lyanna’s heart stuttered in her chest.

Attack him? My husband who can kill me without any effort?

His expression made it clear that it wasn’t a request but an order, and refusing would mean proving she wasn’t actually learning anything useful. She glanced at Adrian, who gave her a small nod.

Lyanna took her fighting stance and studied Azrael’s position, looking for openings the way Adrian had taught her. Then she lunged, executing a fast, controlled downward cut aimed at Azrael’s shoulder.

Azrael didn’t even move his feet. Just shifted his weight slightly, and her blade passed through the air.

She adjusted her position and tried a faster side strike this time. Again, he dodged with minimal effort.

She tried a third time, then a fourth, each strike was faster and more desperate than the last. She used every technique Adrian had taught her. Azreal dodged every single attack effortlessly.

Finally, on her eighth or ninth attempt, Azrael moved. He was so fast she didn’t even see it. One moment she was mid-strike, the next, her sword was in his hand, and his other hand was at her throat.

"You’ve learned more than I expected. Adrian’s clearly not wasting his time with you." He released her abruptly and stepped back.

"Whatever independence you think this training is giving you is an illusion. An illusion I permit because it keeps you occupied and apparently improves your posture. But it’s still just an illusion, Lyanna. I could end it any time I want."

He handed her sword back to her and turned to Adrian.

"Continue her training. But make sure she understands her limitations. I don’t want her to get overconfident and do something stupid because she thinks a few weeks of sword practice make her dangerous."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Azrael left without another word, leaving Lyanna standing in the training courtyard. Her sword was trembling in her hand, and her throat was still feeling his touch.

The training was her choice. But Azrael, once again, made sure that she knew she was training only because he allowed it.