That morning's training had been intense. The five companions, Yuli, Sol, Lua, Nira, and Isha, challenged each other with combat drills, laughter between each fall, and shouts of encouragement when someone faltered. The bond between them was stronger than any well-landed punch.
During the break, while the others sat laughing in a circle under the shade of a tree, Yuli stood without a word. She walked alone to a quiet corner of the training garden, where the sun kissed the ground and the wind passed without questions.
It didn't take long before she heard steady, calm footsteps approaching. It was Varka.
"May I sit?" she asked, her voice deep but gentle.
Yuli nodded, though the silence that followed was thick as summer air.
Several minutes passed in wordlessness. Varka watched the horizon, and Yuli stared at the ground. Then, the veteran broke the pause:
"Kaela told me about Ren."
Yuli pressed her lips together. She wasn't sure whether she should respond, but Varka didn't expect an explanation.
"I want to tell you something," she continued. "When I was young, I fell in love with a soldier. He served at the palace, in the old king's guard. He was… my friend. We trained together. I was stronger, of course," she said with a nostalgic smile. "And he always told me he wanted to surpass me, though he never could. But he tried every single day."
Yuli looked at her, unintentionally intrigued. Varka spoke with a softness she rarely revealed.
"I never told him how I felt. I wasn't sure. I thought that if I said something, I might ruin everything. He saw me as a friend, a comrade. So I let it go."
The wind blew, carrying dry leaves between them.
"One day, he was assigned to a diplomatic mission abroad. And he left. For years, I heard nothing. And just as I was beginning to regret not saying anything… the unthinkable happened."
Yuli swallowed.
"He died?" she whispered.
"No," Varka replied, and a wide smile bloomed across her face. "He came back. Came back just to ask me to marry him."
Yuli stared at her, stunned.
"He told me he had loved me in silence all that time. That he regretted never saying a word. Now he works from home, organizing kingdom archives. We raise our three children," she added proudly. "I visit them twice a week. Sometimes, when I can, I stay a whole month. The Aunt allows it. My family is one of the few permitted to visit the village."
Yuli didn't know what to say. The image of invincible, stone-faced Varka now merged with that of a fulfilled, loving woman, her story sounding like something from a tale, and yet… real.
"Why are you telling me this?" she finally asked.
Varka looked at her with a rare tenderness.
"Because sometimes, if you wait too long to say how you feel, you might miss your chance. And because not all pain comes to remind us of what we've lost. Sometimes, it comes to push us toward what we still might gain."
Yuli held onto those words as if they were a seed, one that, soon, might give her the courage she needed for whatever came next.