Hes lost in his mind

Chapter 12 : P.A.Q.T

I woke up to 5 shaking me.

"what NOW?" I asked. "What is it, 9o'clock?"

"7. Get UP - the Queen's here! She's gonna do something with us called 'P.A.Q.T'."

"what the heck does that stand for?"

"I think it's Princess and Queen Training. We've got special uniforms for this, too."

"did 4 leave last night?"

"yeah. Apparently she cried as she left. But you're changing the subject. Get dressed! We have P.A.Q.T!"

I sighed and shuffled out of bed. There was indeed a uniform - I was expecting something long and gown-like, but instead it was a black top with red and black checkered mini skirt, and necklace with a cross at the end. Very gothic.

"you got a cool one," 2 sighed. "mine was pink, with a flower necklace. I'm gonna go put it on in the bathroom."

"Apparently these are the P.A.Q.T. Action suits. We have floaty dresses and heels for a ballroom dancing unit!" 5 cheered.

Ballroom dancing unit? Were they TRYING to pick out stuff I was good at? Or was this just what Queens' had to do? I had to admit, I never thought Queens' had to do action...

2 came out of the bathroom and posed in her uniform.

"It's not bad - not bad at all!" she cheered. It was the same design as mine, but the top was pink, mini skirt red and pink, and her necklace had a flower on it, like she'd said.

5 went in and came out pretty quickly wearing her orange and yellow one with a bee on the necklace.

I went in and put on my outfit. It was wonderful - I loved it. The colours suited me perfectly, and the actually outfit was the perfect size. 2 and 5 clapped as I came out, and I just grinned.

"lets go, we don't want to be late!" 2 cried. We rushed outside and down the steps, out into the front garden instead of the back. Team two was already there - but there were only 2 of them now.

Molly had a blue outfit, mixed with purple, with a dragonfly necklace. Cat had a green and brown outfit with a tree necklace.

"Aren't these outfits totally cheek?" cat asked. I nodded, and she turned her attention to who I guessed was the Queen, in a jump suit.

"Welcome to P.A.Q.T. Training, girls! As you can probably tell, I am the Queen, and I will be leading your training. I am not all swords and guns - this is only one unit of the training - let me explain."

"you have already been up for one challenge. Challenges are to see if you are worthy - and the one who isn't gets eliminated. I trust you know this? P.A.Q.T is totally different. There are 3 units - which will occur every 6 days. There is no eliminations for this training - it is simply to test you're skills."

I heard the other girls breath out sharply, and held back my giggles.

"there are, as I told you, 3 units. Today, we will be doing the first unit - fighting. We will be practicing against each other, gun-fighting. The other two topics are 'politics' and 'elegance'. I trust you are all ready?"

I laughed. I'd been taught by my dad how to defend myself. He was in the army, a hero. He was always away now - because he was one of the best soldiers. I was pretty good with a gun, and could use a sword, could do things like cartwheels to avoid things like shells - to say the least, I was advanced.

"OK, girls. As you can see, I've set up a course just over there, in that green. There are things to hide behind and places to camouflage yourselves."

We began to walk over to the area and collected our guns. I eyed Molly and she eyed me back, as she preloaded her gun.

"You're suits are laser sensitive to the fake lasers, so after 3 hits your gun will stop working and you return to the sideline. Go!"

Molly instantly shot a shell at me, and I ducked and shot from that position. It hit her pack and she swore angrily, just as 5 aimed a shot at me. I back flipped from my place on the floor, just missing the laser.

I was firmly on my two feet and aimed a shot at 2, who dived to the right but go hit in the leg. Then I aimed at Cat, but she dodged.

Molly aimed at me again, but I rolled and stopped on one knee, before carefully planting two shots. Her gun shut down with a click, and she screamed in frustration as she made her way to the bench. 2 managed to hit Cat, and then 5, while Cat attempted to hit me.

I used my gun to shield the shot and ran towards her, shooting 2 as I went and shutting down her gun. I jumped on top of a rock and shot 5, who faked dying before running off to join Molly and 2 on the bench. That left me and Cat.

She aimed a shot at me and I ducked behind the rock, and then emerged to shoot at her. She'd already shot another shot at me so I ducked to avoid it, and heard the faint click of her gun shutting down. The Queen, 5 and 2 clapped as Cat walked over and offered to help me up. I took her hand and walked over to the Queen.

"Well done, girls! Especially 6! Damien will defiantly to hearing of your triumph! All of you may go shower or bathe - and again, well done! Remember that tomorrow you will have another challenge, and elimination!"