Chapter 27. The Arrival

I clenched my jaws tightly and tightened my grip around two large ropes as I pulled a large, two-wheeled, wooden cart around the palace wall. My face was covered in sweat, and my palms had become so red that I was sure the ropes had melted and attached themselves to my skin. I had gone around the palace wall up to five times and was now walking toward the palace gate for the sixth time.

“Move faster; we don’t have all day,” Moriah yelled, relaxing on top of the carriage with a long whip in her right hand. She had a black sleeping mask on her eyes and rested her back over large sacs of wet sand. She hadn't used her whip, though; I was sure she only brought it out to scare me.

“How is this even part of my training? I’m supposed to be learning sword fighting,” I yelled angrily.

“We need to build up your strength so you'll be able to hold a sword properly. Swords can be really heavy, you know? If you constantly struggle to use a wooden sword, then there’s no way I’ll l