"I do not understand." I do not know how much I repeated these words today.

My body ached from head to toe.

The logs were too slippery and I would fall as fast as I could get on it. Running was hard so I tried walking but I was only rewarded by another sword slash from my master. I could not even get past from one log to another, then how am I going to cross this river.

"I wanted to be a swordsman, not a ninja," I screamed in my mind. Is this for agility or for balance? Questions just keep piling up in my mind as I try to answer them by myself.

I was getting cold from being wet for a long time, the fatigue kept building up but I tried to continue with this grueling task. This was the first task given to me so I should not fail. I was the one who asked to be trained so I should suck it up and be a man. I tried to encourage myself, thinking that I could do it making it as a support to energize myself to keep trying.

I do not know when I should stop, so I persisted and continued. I was waiting for my master to command me to stop but that never came. It felt like a never-ending punishment as I was swept away by the rushing water from the river. I was not fast enough to hold on to a log and fell straight out of the waterfall at the end of this river. I tried floundering, trying to grab anything, hoping there are protruding rocks that are not slippery. But my hopes vanished as I felt I was inside a washing machine at the strongest spinning level. Instead of holding on a rock, I got hit all over my body.

The inevitable came and I was at the edge of the river heading towards the waterfall.

I was hoping that master was only playing with me and he would rescue me before I fall. However, that was just a wishful thinking because as I was looking while falling down, I saw a silhouette quite similar to the body shape of my master at the bottom of the waterfall.

"Ah, he did not lie. He did say he will wait at the bottom if I fall." I thought to myself as I did not have time to scream anything while falling. I fainted from the fatigue after this, not from the fall or the height but because I was too tired.

I woke up, and I was now comfortably lying on my bed. My body is aching, all my muscles hurt.

"Lumi please heal me," I said.

Lumi can now use heal on me. Without any incantation, she produces a white holy light that surrounded my body. All the muscles that were aching, the wounds and bruises were healed. However, the accumulated mental fatigue could not be removed or rather there is no spell that can. I have been trying and experimenting but I cannot find the right way to do it.

"Thank you," I said to her with a smile. The little fairy was on her favorite spot on my right shoulder. She hugged my cheek as if trying to comfort me.

"How long have I been asleep?" as I said this out loud a voice was heard beside me.

"It's now night time master." Said the little slave girl.

I looked at her and asked her, "Have you eaten yet?"

She moved her head from side to side, expressing she hasn't.

"The whole day?" I asked again.

She moved her head up and down, expressing she hasn't eaten the whole day.

"Next time, you should eat even if I'm not here," I said seriously while looking at her.

She did not reply, instead, she looked down.

"That's an order." She must not be used on acting on her own, so I said this instead. If I wanted her to change her way of thinking then we need baby steps and simple tasks as a start.

"Come, let's go eat first." She looked hesitant to follow me so I grabbed her hand as we walked towards a table filled with food. We ate together and afterward we prepared to sleep. I still not have prepared a room for her to sleep in so she will be sleeping with me again. "Did you see who brought me home?" I asked.

"It was a big burly man with frightening eyes." The little slave girl said.

"I see, did anyone visit while I was unconscious?" I asked again.

"Your mother and sister came worried, but the man said a few words to them while heading out and they did not make a fuss afterward." She said.

"I see," I replied.

As we were lying down, I remembered that I haven't thought of a name for her. So I asked her, "Is there a name you would like for yourself?"

She seemed surprised with my question as her eyes are opened wide like saucers looked at me.

"You don't have any name you like?" I asked again gently.

"No." she answered not even taking the time to think of a name.

I kept quiet for a bit thinking of a good name for her.

"Then from today onwards, your name shall be Lyla," I said with a smile.

"Lyla." She repeated the name.

"Yes, it means night. Your hair and your eyes are as dark as the night sky. But when it comes alive, your eyes have a sudden twinkling in them like the stars in the night sky." I said with a gentle smile. Well Lyla means night in Arabic, but I guess she won't ask me about it, he thought to himself.

"Goodnight Lyla," I said to her while closing my eyes.

She did not reply but her face was looking at Max's while repeating to herself the name that Max gave her. She repeated her name a couple more times and checked Max's breathing. His breathing became stable, a sign that he was already asleep. Lyla who sensed this slide closer to Max's side and found a comfortable place where she did not disturb his sleep but close enough for her to feel his warmth.

She then said softly, "Goodnight Max." she closed her eyes and tried to sleep as well.