17. The tenacity

                                    

                                          
Helena needed just one sip of water. She was out of breath and her stamina was running low. She felt that her cheeks were flushed red from pumped blood. Her hair was a bit of mess, but it did not bother her. She was elated and wide awake.
She stood tall and proudly put her hands on her hips. She finally did it. She defeated Nils Ragus, the First Class Intermediate Magic Knight of the Silver Eagle squad, during the practice sparring. Helena fought elegantly and in style that perfectly matched her Royal Status. She had improved her Paper Storm spell and was able to obstruct visibility in a larger radius, while using the sheets of paper to inflict multiple small cuts. The precision that she learned was astounding. Her whips, also became much more powerful and she could sharpen and make them even thinner, than they were before.
All of the time Helena spent practicing with the Silver Eagles was not in vain. Her control of her spells, grew with each use.
Before getting something to drink Helena approached Nils and reached out her hand to him. The ice magic user took it and she helped him stand up. He shook his black hair and looked up at her in awe. She noticed that the magic knight held his right arm close to his chest. She had cut him there before, but not too deeply.
"Let me fix this," she said and her griamore opened up. Few paper bandages flew out and wrapped around Nils's injured arm. Helena lifted her palm and focused on pouring her magic into healing him. It did not even take a minute for her to be done.
"Royals indeed have massive stores of mana," the magic knight admitted impressed. "I've almost used everything up during our fight. However you Helena-sama are able to effortlessly heal me, despite using such powerful spells a moment earlier."
"I've gotten stronger," Helena commented in a calm voice. She started unwrapping his arm. "Now I'm able to better manipulate the magic I was born with." The bandage shone brightly and then dissolved. "It's all thanks to practicing with your squad."
"It's good that the captain allows you to join us," Nils said.
"The captain and I have figured some things out," Helena smiled brightly.
The messy, dark chocolate braid fell on her shoulder. She wore a pair of dark, high-rise pants and her long sleeved, red practice shirt. It was a bit ruffled from the fight. The flat collar was not buttoned up, revealing her collar bones and a bit of cleavage beneath them. She had a wide, brown belt hugging her waist. The griamore satchel was attached to it. Helena put on leather, knee high boots with a flat heel. All of this, to feel comfortable while fighting. She did not want to wear a dress that would constrict her movements.
"Let's get some water," Helena said. "I'm extremely thirsty."
Nils nodded and followed her to the small wooden table, which stood underneath the cloisters. It allowed them to hide in the shade. The sun was shining very brightly at the yard of the Silver Eagle's base.
Helena poured Nils and herself two glasses of water. She chugged on the liquid greedily, not necessarily in a sophisticated way, that a princess should drink. Her lips stayed wet.
She glanced to the side and saw the three Silvas walking her and Nils's way. Solid seemed to be explaining something to his older siblings. Maybe he was commenting on her sparring. Helena had noticed that they were watching her from the high steps in front of the main entrance. They all wore their classical Silver Eagle's attires, with colourful capes and feathery mantles. Their silver hairstyles were perfectly styled.
"Captain," Nils respectfully bowed, when Nozel approached. The magic knight took his duties very seriously and held his captain in high esteem.
"Hi everyone," Helena smiled and lifted her hand, in which she was still holding an empty glass.