It is not that Redana is stubborn, per se. Not in the way that Bella is. Or, rather, not in the specific way that Bella is. She just gets lost in the runs, looking for the way through. What is memory? That's been jumbled enough for her: lost and exploited and found again and leading back to Bella each time.

The body knows better. The body learns the bruises. The body learns what victory feels like.

This isn't the body she left Tellus in, after all. Even before she was initiated into the Silver Divers, given her silks and silvers, her body had changed. The body remembers fighting in the Eater of Worlds as vividly as it does battling the embodiment of Bella's desire, no matter what goes on in the silly head of the princess-alpha. And the body is electric with the need to match herself to Jessic.

Someone else, like one of the Pix, might grow frustrated, might walk away, might throw in the towel and sulk and require treats. But Redana isn't one of those charming little creatures. She's a puppy and she knows how to play. And eventually, she's even better with the shield than she would have guessed going in - this is the arena, this is the Olympics, this is the thrill of pushing herself which she's been missing.

Her laughter is bright as sunlight as she gets swatted halfway across the arena again, and her smile won't fade even when Bella has to pick her up off the floor by the end.