The room was quiet and the sounds outside echoed. Tall pillars lined the hall and the purple carpet was as cold as ice. Almost as cold as Janya felt. The doors were tons bigger than her and magnificent arches decorated the ceiling. Janya stopped moving and sat by the glass table, looking down at her feet.

Janya was before her father again.
The very thought of made her queasy as the only times she ever came to his room was when she was in trouble. Big trouble.

Her father didn't talk to her for a while. He paced up and down fingering his cup and looking away to the window. Suddenly, he put both his hands on the desk and looked at Janya face-to-face. His frown made her feel even more disappointed.

"Is what I've heard about you true, Janya? That you keep pestering Ishin to let you be a townguard or at least train with them? What have I told you about this." her father said.

Janya raised her head to look at her father.
"But I want to be a warrior, father. I want to be as strong and brave as you. I don't think that it's fair to shut me out because I'm a girl." Janya said, a little surprised at what she had said.

"Janya, my dear daughter." he said. "Why do you wish to throw your life away so badly? Being a warrior is not easy nor is it desirable in the slightest." He paused to frown at her again. "You are merely being naive, Janya. Stop acting like a child."
Whenever he called her a child even if he meant it as a compliment, it was usually him scolding her. Her father never stopped scolding her for tiny things and she rarely got complimented. Why couldn't he just understand, Janya thought clenching her fist.

"Father, I'm not a child!" Janya said loudly. "I am your daughter. The daughter of Garin the Brave. I merely want to become like you, a great warrior. Is this just because of mother?" She knew she ended her protest wrong and she was proved right when her father glared at her.
"Don't bring her into this." he hissed. "You have no idea what she ws like or what she would've wanted for you."

Janya stood up, still looking at him dead-on.
"You keep blaming yourself for mother's death but why won't you let me help? If I could become a warrior, I could wield your sword, Vyzenlay. I could help you, father! I think that's what my mother would've wanted."

His face became sad as his eyebrows sunk to a level they almost covered his eyes. With his back turned, Janya still heard his husky whisper as if he had shouted it.
"My answer's still no, Janya."